The sky was densely covered with stars and clouds, and the silver moon hung on the branches.
Dressed in white, Ye Anping sat at the dressing table in his bedroom, staring blankly at the handsome face reflected in the bronze mirror.
Deep purple eyes shimmered with captivating radiance.
His complexion was smooth and fair, a coldness exuding from its well-defined angles.
Ye Anping couldn't help but sigh. "The guy in the mirror is getting more and more handsome."
Xiaodie, who was combing his hair behind him, also sighed when she heard this. "Ah-- Young Master, I've missed your narcissism for the past year."
Ye Anping shook his head and asked: "Just tell me if I look good or not."
"Of course you look good. Young Master has always been good-looking, just a bit shameless."
Xiaodie turned to look at the face in the bronze mirror.
Her Young Master had been away for a year, his height and figure hadn't changed much, and his face was still handsome and well-defined. However, there were traces of hardships on his brows and in his eyes.
The difference was not noticeable, but she could feel it.
"Young Master, do you have something on your mind? Why don't you tell me? Maybe I can give you some advice. After all, I've lived for over thirty years, and I must have experienced and seen more than you have."
Ye Anping hesitated, but after all, Xiaodie was not an outsider, and since he was still inexperienced when it came to love, he simply confessed. "Xiaodie, tell me, would it be bad if I wanted to marry two or more wives?"
"Huh?" Xiaodie tilted her head, thought for a while, then asked, "Oh, Young Master, are you confused because there are many good girls around you, and you don't want to give up on any of them?"
*Not really*... Ye Anping pursed his lips and said, "Let's say so."
"Well... throughout history, it wasn't considered wrong for men to have three wives and four concubines. But the problem is that many men don't have the capability to support three wives and four concubines, but still do so."
"Capability?"
Xiaodie nodded and raised her index finger. "To put it simply, you can have as many wives as you have bowls of rice."
"..."
"Before spiritual energy appeared in this world, men exercised authority over women and were responsible for providing food. For example, if the food brought by a man could feed three mouths, he would marry three wives. In this way, the three women wouldn't have to go hungry because they married the same man at the same time."
"Hmm... continue."
"However, lots of men have no self-awareness. They can only provide three bowls of rice, but they marry five wives who eat a lot. This eventually leads to wives leaving, children scattering, families falling apart, and everyone starving. And this kind of man who cannot evaluate himself properly is a hypocrite and a heartless man."
Ye Anping lowered his head and followed Xiaodie's train of thought.
He had to admit that there was some truth in what she said.
---How many things you can do depends on your capabilities.
---How many wives you can have depends on your capabilities.
Both these things are the same.
But the key point was...
Xiaodie smiled and further added, "The key is to understand clearly how many bowls of rice you can provide and how many bowls of rice the woman you want to marry eats at each meal. This is quite difficult; you'll have to figure it out yourself, Young Master."
"I see..."
Ye Anping held his chin and assessed himself but found that it was very difficult to tell how many bowls of rice he could bring.
The only thing he could be sure of now was that the food he could provide was enough for him and 'Xiyue'.
'Xiyue' was just like him, an ordinary person with two spiritual roots and nothing special: the level of a bowl of rice.
As for the others...
His sister's spiritual roots were special and countless times better than his qualifications. If he hadn't caught a ride on Feng Yu Die's special luck train, his cultivation would have been left far behind by his little sister: probably the level of ten bowls of rice.
Xiao Yunluo was even more terrifying, with a heavenly spiritual root and being the daughter of Old Loli and also the Young Lady of the ***Black Star*** Sect. It should be the level of fifty bowls of rice.
Li Longling, single fire spiritual root, the young miss of the ***Dragon House***. She was now the Lady of the House, with limitless prospects: probably the level of five bowls of rice.
...
These four were the ones he was currently thinking about.
If he were to marry all of them in the future, he would have to ensure he could provide them with sixty-six bowls of rice.
For a moment, Ye Anping's face was full of worry, suddenly feeling a lot of pressure. But after thinking about it, no matter what, he had to earn at least 'eleven bowls of rice' and make sure that both his sister and Xiyue were well-fed.
"Sigh... I can't afford them all."
"What?"
"My little sister can eat quite a bit." Ye Anping shrugged slightly. "I won't be able to feed her enough."
Xiaodie frowned upon hearing this, and she said, "Young Master, you used to torment Miss Pei every day, and now you want to marry her? Will she agree?"
Ye Anping smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Of course she'll agree. I'm so handsome, how could she not agree?"
"Tsk... Wake up, Young Master. Miss Pei suffered so much when she was young, all because of you. Now she has grown up, and if she doesn't take revenge on you, it's only because of her kindness. Hmph~~"
*Knock knock---*
Two light knocks interrupted Xiaodie's words.
She looked toward the door and asked, "Who is it? Young Master Ye is about to rest."
"Ah... Xiaodie, it's me."
?!
"Huh?"
Xiaodie looked at Ye Anping in surprise, only to be greeted with his smirk.
"Heh~~"
Ye Anping stood up with a proud face and went to open the door instead of Xiaodie.
*Creak---*
Pei Lianxue was now wearing a new set of snow-white pajamas and had her hair tied back. The skin on her cheeks and neck was pink and moist, and she looked like she had just taken a bath.
She stood at the door, holding her pillow, and when the door opened, she immediately smiled. "Brother, let's go to sleep."
Ye Anping joked. "We've returned to the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect. You can sleep in your own room now."
Hearing this, Pei Lianxue instantly became unhappy. After hesitating, she lowered her head and pursed her lips before turning around to leave.
"Oh..."
Seeing this, Ye Anping stopped teasing her. If he angered his little sister, she would probably give him a good beating at the sparring session in the morning. He grabbed her shoulders and said, "Okay, okay, I was just kidding."
Pei Lianxue turned her head to look at him, then suddenly frowned and shook his hand off her shoulder. "Hmph! No way!"
"Ah? Are you sure you won't?"
"..."
Pei Lianxue walked five or six steps out, then circled back. "Well, since you want me to..."
Had this girl been led astray by Xiao Yunluo? Why was she acting so arrogantly?
Somewhat helpless, Ye Anping could only open the door and let her into the room.
Xiaodie stood dumbfounded in front of the dressing table, looking at Pei Lianxue and Ye Anping up and down. She witnessed little Pei's childhood experience with her own eyes, but...
Seeing them together, she found that they were a perfect match.
Suddenly, it didn't seem strange for Young Master and Miss Pei to be together.
How should she put it?
One who abused and one who endured... were they complementing each other?
But from her own perspective, this was actually quite good.
She was Ye Anping's maid, and whoever he married in the future would also be her mistress.
If he married a wife with a bad temper, who would constantly vent on her, she wouldn't be able to bear it.
But if Pei Lianxue became the mistress, she could still speak her mind.
"Well..." Xiaodie hesitated, but still reminded him, "Young Master, does the Patriarch know that Miss Pei came over to sleep?"
"He knows."
"Then, I have nothing to say." Xiaodie placed the comb on the dressing table, and as she walked out of the room, she turned around and closed the door halfway with a smile. "Goodnight Young Master and Madam Pei. I will come tomorrow morning to clean up."
?
Ye Anping looked at the strange smile on Xiaodie's face and felt helpless. She probably thought that Pei Lianxue was a girl who could be fed with a bowl of rice.
"Hey... you should rest early too."
"I will, hehe..."
*Creak---*
Meanwhile, Pei Lianxue's eyes lit up when she heard this "madam" address from Xiaodie, and she felt a little shy.
"Madam..."
"Sister, you can sleep now. I still have something to do."
Pei Lianxue tilted her head. "Well, what is it? Can I help?"
"You can't help. Go to sleep."
"Oh..."
