Chapter 142: Blood Kin

In the Hua family courtyard, the east room of the main house.

Yao-shi sat silently wiping tears before the dressing table, Hua Minghe sat beside her with a worried face, and not far away were Hua Dalang, Hua Sanlang, and Hua Liulang, all silent.

Hua Minghe handed a handkerchief to Yao-shi: "Alright, stop crying."

Yao-shi threw the handkerchief away: "Jiuniang has left, and I can't even cry?"

Hua Dalang couldn't help but say, "Mother, it's clearly Jiuniang's fault today. She embarrassed Grandfather in public and left him no way out in front of Uncle Mingzhe and Third Master He. No matter how you look at it, she was in the wrong."

Yao-shi: "Yes, Jiuniang is a bit stubborn, but she didn't start this. I just can't figure out why every time Jiuniang comes home, there's always a scene like this."

Hua Dalang: "… If Jiuniang were as obedient as the other sisters, this wouldn't happen."

Yao-shi glared at him: "You want Jiuniang to be like Qiniang, don't you?"

Hua Dalang said helplessly, "Mother, we're talking about Jiuniang, let's not drag others into it. Jiuniang doesn't know when to restrain herself. Do you really think it's good for her to keep acting like this?"

"Grandfather didn't make any excessive demands of her today, but look at how she reacted—she gave him no face at all in front of outsiders. Do you really think that's good?"

Yao-shi gave a cold snort: "Your grandfather didn't give Jiuniang any face either."

Seeing that his mother was so unreasonable, Hua Dalang's head ached: "Mother, Jiuniang is the younger generation, Grandfather is the elder. Even if his words were a bit inappropriate, as the younger generation, she should have been understanding and tolerant."

Yao-shi thought of something, a cold smile curling at her lips: "When Wuniang had a difficult labor, Jiuniang went and made a scene at the Wuyi Marquis's mansion. After that, your grandfather didn't keep such a tight grip on the family and stopped interfering so much in everyone's choices."

"But ever since he started body refinement, especially after becoming the clan elder, he's put on the air of being the indisputable head of the family again, wanting everything to go his way and demanding that everyone follow his arrangements."

"The ridiculous thing is, he could only cultivate and become a clan elder because of the body refinement technique Jiuniang brought to the family. Without Jiuniang, he'd still be a nobody on the fringe of the clan…"

"Enough!"

Hua Minghe saw his wife talking more and more out of line and had to interrupt her: "Yutong, the children are here. How can you say such things?"

Yao-shi looked at Hua Minghe, her expression furious: "Do you really not want your daughter anymore? Don't you know Jiuniang's temperament? Is she the kind of person who would willingly be arranged and controlled? If Dad keeps going on like this, he'll only make Jiuniang grow more and more alienated from this family."

Hua Minghe was getting irritated.

On one side was the father who raised him, on the other was the daughter he had doted on since she was little. One was thinking about the family's development, that the family should work together; the other was thinking about personal growth.

Neither was wrong, and neither would yield. Stuck in the middle, favoring either side would hurt the other. At that moment, he wished he had two bodies—one body to support one person.

Hua Dalang: "Mother, I think you're taking the problem too seriously. Jiuniang just has too much pride and is too willful. I don't believe she'd really never come home."

Hearing this, before Yao-shi could react, Hua Liulang spoke decisively: "Jiuniang would."

Hua Dalang choked, glaring at his younger brother who was undermining him.

Hua Liulang said seriously, "Big Brother, you've been studying away from home all year, so you might not really understand Jiuniang's temperament. She always means what she says."

"Besides, you can't treat Jiuniang like an ordinary young lady. The reason she embarrassed Grandfather like that today was because she saw through his real intentions."

At this, Hua Dalang's eyes flickered, a trace of unnaturalness crossing his face.

Hua Liulang continued, "And I also think… the family really has been going too far."

"Grandfather has already exchanged the body refinement technique for the position of clan elder, and my siblings and I have also caught the attention of the noble mansion because of body refinement. Everything we have now is way better than before."

"Most of this came from Jiuniang."

"But Grandfather wants to maintain absolute authority as the head of the family. He doesn't want anyone to challenge his power, so he deliberately suppresses Jiuniang and ignores her contributions to the family."

Hua Dalang wanted to defend Grandfather Hua: "Grandfather isn't…"

"Big Brother, let me finish first."

Hua Liulang forcibly stopped Hua Dalang: "Grandfather told Jiuniang to leave the Medical Department and come back to help the family, ignoring her own thoughts and wishes. Wasn't his real purpose to make Jiuniang hand over the eleven pharmacy shops under her name and the spirit mine in Sancha Medicine Valley to the family?"

"Big Brother, isn't the reason you're so responsive to Grandfather also because you'll be the biggest beneficiary once this goal is achieved?"

"I can guess all the calculations you guys are making, let alone Jiuniang."

"Think about it—Jiuniang built this fortune all by herself. How could she be some naive young lady who never leaves the house and knows nothing?"

"Jiuniang must have seen through your schemes at a glance, which is why she was so ruthless today."

Listening to Hua Liulang's analysis, Hua Minghe, Yao-shi, Hua Dalang, and Hua Sanlang were all shocked. They never expected that the straightforward Hua Liulang would have such insight into the facts.

Hua Dalang was silent for a long while before speaking again: "Liulang, aren't you also taking Jiuniang's side? You're doing this because Jiuniang put you in charge of the spirit mine, right?"

Hua Liulang did not deny it: "I admit, by helping Jiuniang manage the spirit mine, I can gain a lot of benefits. I have never tried to hide this. Having a younger sister like Jiuniang, I am truly proud of her from the bottom of my heart."

"But what about you?"

"You clearly covet Jiuniang's things, yet you insist on putting on an act of caring for her own good, constantly finding fault with her."

"You all say Jiuniang has a bad temper, but have you ever considered that it might be precisely because of her bold, unyielding, and unruly nature that she was able to single-handedly earn eleven medicine shops and a spirit mine?"

"Grandfather is even worse, trying to use his elder status to suppress Jiuniang and force her to give up the medicine shops and spirit mine for free, while also belittling her in his words. If that isn't greed, what is?"

Hua Dalang never expected that his younger brother, who had always been taciturn since childhood, would one day render him speechless.

Hua Sanlang also looked at Hua Liulang in shock: "Liulang, since when did you become so articulate?"

Hua Liulang ignored Hua Sanlang and continued: "Earlier, I had a talk with Jiuniang. I suddenly realized that everyone in the family uses filial piety and the expectation that a woman should be obedient, humble, and yielding to demand things of her. They turn a blind eye and ignore what she wants or wants to do. It seems no one in the family is on her side. Seeing her lonely expression, I suddenly felt she was so pitiful, and I began to understand why she never tells the family anything."

Hearing this, Hua Minghe and Yao Shi were stunned, and Hua Dalang and Hua Sanlang also fell silent.

Hua Liulang looked at his parents and two elder brothers: "Put yourselves in her shoes—if we had earned eleven medicine shops and a spirit mine, would we be willing to hand them over to the family for free?"

"If we wouldn't be willing, then by what right do we demand that Jiuniang give them up?"

Pausing, Hua Liulang added: "From what I know of Jiuniang, after today, she won't provide the family with the herbs for the body-refining medicinal bath anymore. You should be mentally prepared for that."

"She gave the body-refining technique and the medicinal bath herbs, and in the end, not only did she receive no gratitude, but she ended up being blamed for everything. No one would let that slide."

Hua Minghe looked at his third son, somewhat gratified. He thought, It's true that going out and gaining experience builds a person. Liulang has only been at the spirit mine for a few months, but his growth is astonishing.

At the same time, in the west room of the Hua family's main courtyard.

Old Master Hua sat on the kang with a face full of gloom. Old Madam Hua sat across from him, flipping through the gift list received for the Mid-Autumn Festival. As she looked, she said: "You know what Jiuniang is like—she's been unruly since she was little. When you called her out in public, you should have expected her to make you lose face in front of everyone."

"If you ask me, you brought today's humiliation entirely upon yourself."

Old Master Hua snapped back: "Enough, don't just stand there making sarcastic remarks. Think quickly about what we should do next."

Old Madam Hua paused: "What is there to think about?"

Old Master Hua wiped his face in frustration: "The Earl's Manor wants the complete chapters of the Nine Transformations Profound Art."

Upon hearing this, Old Madam Hua said directly: "Why didn't you refuse? This matter cannot be agreed to. Even if Jiuniang is willing to give it, you cannot hand it over to the clan."

Old Master Hua hung his head and said nothing.

Old Madam Hua knew that her husband had always been eager to prove himself in front of the clan: "...Don't worry about it. Who knows if Jiuniang will still provide the family with the body-refining technique in the future."

Old Master Hua jerked his head up: "Jiuniang... she wouldn't really be that heartless, would she? She won't care about her brothers and sisters in the family anymore?"

Old Madam Hua said irritably: "Wasn't it you who told Jiuniang not to come back to this family anymore?"

Old Master Hua knew he was in the wrong: "I... I was just too angry then, wasn't I?"

Old Madam Hua: "When the clan came to you back then and demanded that you hand the Qihuang Body Refining Technique over to them, I told you to let Jiuniang know first. But you refused for the sake of your precious pride."

"If you ask me, you should let go of that pride. An elder swallowing their pride a little isn't the end of the world."

Old Master Hua: "Why have I done all this? For the good of this family! And now I'm the one being blamed."

Old Madam Hua said bluntly: "You truly are doing things for the good of the family, but you've left out Jiuniang altogether. Not only did you leave her out, but you also expected her to give up her own things for everyone else's benefit. If it were me, I wouldn't go along with it either."

Old Master Hua was furious: "Fine, fine, fine. I'm the villain, and you're all the good people." With that, he stood up angrily and rushed out of the room.

Seeing this, Old Madam Hua continued to flip through the gift list. She wasn't the least bit anxious about her granddaughter's outburst today. She knew very well that as long as her eldest son and his wife were around, even if Jiuniang was furious, she wouldn't truly abandon the Hua family.

That's the bond of blood and kin!