Chapter 495: Chapter 491: Chili Sauce_1

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“Humph! I’ve wasted my effort raising you as my son!” The patriarch of the Wei family grumbled indignantly, but he didn’t dare to raise his voice. “I’ve already bought some land in Chuanhe Town. I’m going to build a large mansion there!”

Wei Zhan ignored him and was preparing to leave with his wife, but the Wei family patriarch stopped them, asking angrily, “Where is your mother? Where have you sent her?”

“She’s gone to the countryside to live out her old age,” Wei Zhan said irritably.

The Wei family patriarch frowned and asked, “Which countryside? Dongchen Village?”

Seeing that Wei Zhan was ignoring him, he exclaimed angrily, “You unfilial son! You’ve torn your parents apart! No! I’m going too!”

Wei Zhan, unable to shake him off, finally said, “The customs are simple in Dongchen Village, and they don’t like it when someone has a lot of concubines coming and going.”

One or two might be tolerable, but with all your seven or eight concubines, there would be a big crowd of young and old. People won’t be able to tell who’s who, and it would be quite shocking to the local customs.

The Wei family patriarch was left speechless by his son’s words.

When he returned to his quarters, he found that several of his concubines had assembled, crowding the room.

Not only were there concubines, but also their children and daughters-in-law.

The Wei family patriarch looked around.

The oldest concubine was over seventy, as old as himself. The youngest was in her thirties, about the same age as Wei Zhan.

Since living in Zhouhe County, the Wei family patriarch hadn’t taken on any new concubines for many years. However, he had many occasional affairs outside, all with young and beautiful women who would have liked to return with him as concubines.

While the Wei family patriarch was tempted to take them in, he held back when he thought about his wife, his son and daughter-in-law, and his granddaughter Nuannuan.

Now, looking around, he admitted there were indeed too many concubines in his household. Apart from the youngest one who hadn’t borne him any children, all the others had.

The children, large and small, stood by their mothers, looking at him expectantly.

Alas, this was all a sin.

The Wei family patriarch slumped into his chair in gloom and looked at them coldly: “What do you all want now?”

The lady from the Cao family, already in her fifties with hair turned white, stepped forward and gave a slight bow to the Wei family patriarch. “Husband, what did the Commandery Princess say? Did she agree to let us go to Dongchen Village?”

The Wei family patriarch slammed his hand on the table and said impatiently, “Go? For what? All of you, stop dreaming! Stay put right here!”

The lady from the Cao family couldn’t keep up appearances after being scolded by the patriarch. She pulled out a handkerchief and burst into tears.

Ever since she saw that the matriarch had regained her youth, she couldn’t have been more envious.

She sent people to inquire with the servants and maids in the matriarch’s courtyard, but to her surprise, they were all tight-lipped this time and wouldn’t reveal a word.

Moreover, all these maids and servants looked joyous, as if they had also regained their youth.

The lady from the Cao family, along with the other concubines, sensed something was amiss. After a consultation, they decided to go over and check for themselves.

However, when they arrived, the matriarch’s courtyard was deserted. Everyone had vanished without a trace.

The lady from the Cao family panicked, so she and the other concubines decided to stay in the patriarch’s courtyard and wait for a chance to ask him for information.

“Husband, in the end, this family should be managed by the matriarch. It’s not wrong for a daughter-in-law to worry about her mother-in-law, is it?” She sobbed.

In her heart, she was pondering that if the matriarch truly never came back, she, being the chief daughter-in-law, would naturally be able to take over the reins of the family.

The Wei family patriarch waved his hand impatiently: “Enough, all of you go back! I’m not dead yet, so it’s still not your turn to worry about managing the family affairs.”

They had a steward and accounting clerks at home, and lack of nothing essential, he couldn’t understand why these women had such a knack for causing trouble.

Indeed, as his son said, women were troublesome. They cried and threw tantrums all day long, to the point where it was giving him a headache.

He glanced at the old concubine. A woman in her seventies, if she stood next to his wife, others would undoubtedly mistake them for grandmother and granddaughter.

“Aman, how have you been lately?” The patriarch of the Wei Family was deeply concerned for this elder concubine who had accompanied him faithfully for decades. He beckoned her to sit and chat.

Aman sat down shakily and said, “I am well Strangely, of late I feel tired and can’t stand for long.”

“Why are you running around with them causing a scene?” The patriarch of the Wei Family reprimanded her, then instructed a nearby servant to fetch two boxes of bird’s nest and a box of ginseng from his private storage.

Aman coughed a few times and covered her mouth: “Thank you, my lord. Without your constant care, I would’ve been dead and buried a long time ago.”

The patriarch of the Wei Family frowned, looking at the person he cared for most, whose age was catching up to her, and couldn’t help but feel melancholic.

How wonderful would it be if she could also experience the same opportunities as his wife. However, Wei Zhan, the detestable lad, was just as negligent as his mother, paying little regard to the Wei family members and even showing insincerity towards him, his own father.

“Aman, when my seventh son has time, I’ll let him treat you,” the patriarch of the Wei Family said.

Aman was surprised: “Does the seventh master know medical skills?”

“Not medical skills. My seventh son has learnt a spell. If he treats you, you will surely regain your health.” The patriarch of the Wei Family stroked his beard and sighed, “The Commandery Princess’s medical skills are reputed to be better than my seventh son’s. But since your statuses differ, ah…”

Aman’s eyes twinkled. She smiled and said: “No matter how different our statuses are, she is still a daughter-in-law of the Wei Family. My lord, you overestimate her. She’s from a countryside family and has only achieved her current position thanks to the emperor’s benevolence.”

How things had changed! When they were young, even a slave in the Wei Family was more noble than anyone from the Jiangs. Now they’re talking about status differences. What a joke!

Touched by her words, the patriarch of the Wei Family sighed: “Regardless, Chuanhe Town’s Yingbao is a Commandery Princess now. Aman… in front of me, you can say these things. But don’t let her hear them…”

Aman coughed into her hand a couple of times, then said softly: “I must have spoken out of turn. I beg your pardon, my lord. It’s just that my heart aches for you. You’ve worked hard for this family all your life and ended up in a disagreement with your wife, being separated and living apart. In all my years, I’ve never seen a wife throw her husband aside, living a carefree life with her own family.”

Seeing the patriarch of the Wei Family’s face growing increasingly dark, Aman sighed: “I’m not trying to be a busybody. It’s just that I can’t bear to watch anymore. Even if the wife disregards you, she indirectly influences the seventh son and his wife to show disrespect to you.”

The patriarch of the Wei Family, moved deeply by the concubine’s words, was on the brink of tears. But due to his pride, he had to retire early and went inside his chamber.

Aman smirked and called after him, “My lord, let me send Cuicui in as your maid.”

The patriarch of the Wei Family didn’t respond.

So, Aman walked out of the courtyard to the smallest concubine’s house, with a smile, she said: “Cuicui, the lord is feeling a bit tired, could you go care for him?”

Reluctantly, Cuicui got up, called for her maid, and went to the patriarch’s chamber.

Back to Yingbao.

She was working at the Divine Mansion with her parents, cultivating crops.

After she restored her parent’s youth and activated their meridian system for qi, their spiritual roots also showed signs of cultivating the Eternal Spring Technique. So they practiced this technique in the Divine Mansion to boost the growth of the plants.

Thus, all the plants they gathered from different parts of the world were planted, each under the management of Wuxu and few others.

Wei Zhan harvested corn and pulled some off the stalk to roast and eat while it was still fresh.

Her mother made a large jar of soybean paste with yellow beans and added some chili peppers and pork to fry up a jarful of appetizing chili sauce.

Nuannuan and Wuxu were particularly fond of this sauce and could finish half a pot of rice with just this accompaniment.