Chapter Twenty-Eight: Reaping What One Has Sown

On the way back, Tang Wei said nothing. Tang Jing assumed her younger sister was still upset about what had happened and hurried to comfort her, “Little sister, people like that are not worth your sadness! Don’t dwell on it!”

Tang Wei replied softly, “Second sister, I’m not angry. I haven’t cared about those two for a long time. I just feel so embarrassed—I’ll never come to this pedestrian street again!”

Hearing that Tang Wei didn’t mind, Tang Jing breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, “What’s there to be embarrassed about? If anything, they should be ashamed, making a scene in public!”

“It’s not that,” Tang Wei said awkwardly. “It’s about me having children out of wedlock. It really does feel a bit shameful to go out now. At the time, I didn’t think too much—I just knew I had children, and I didn’t want to get rid of them. The children are innocent, and I myself wanted to have them, so I decided to give birth. But being exposed like that in public, I felt truly embarrassed.”

Tang Jing smiled and gently coaxed her, “Now that the children are here, it’s no use worrying about it anymore. Who cares what others think? As long as you’re happy. Besides, don’t you love Bug and Yaya? If you had another chance, would you abandon them?”

Tang Wei answered firmly, “Of course I love them. Even if I could do it all over again, I’d still have them!”

“See? You’re sure about your own choices, so why worry about what others think? The most important thing is that you’re happy,” Tang Jing concluded.

Having let go of her worries, Tang Wei followed Tang Jing home in high spirits. On the way, they stopped to visit Fuzhi, who was preparing to open a flower shop. The renovations looked good, and Tang Wei decided that once the valley was habitable, she would grow ornamental flowers and plants to sell. With such a prime location left unused, she wasn’t concerned—perhaps people were gossiping behind her back, accusing her of hogging resources. After tidying up, Tang Wei headed home. The journey was uneventful, nothing worth mentioning.

In two days, it would be the Dragon Boat Festival. Tang Feng and Tang Jing’s families planned to return to their mother’s home together on that day, so Tang Wei intended to formally introduce Comrade Zixuan then. With everyone gathered, she wouldn’t have to explain it repeatedly. She decided to give her parents advance notice, so they wouldn’t be startled by the sudden appearance.

She didn’t expect that after she explained everything, Tang Papa and Tang Mama weren’t surprised at all, carrying on as usual. Tang Wei found it odd, “Mom, Dad, why aren’t you surprised? Aren’t you going to ask what my junior does, how old he is, and so on?”

Tang Mama was the one who looked puzzled, replying, “Why would I ask all that? I’m not looking for a husband for you, it’s just your junior. We’ll prepare more dishes to welcome him, that’s all. My daughter, you’re the one acting strangely.”

Tang Wei smiled awkwardly, “No, I was just asking, haha!” After that, she fled, feeling guilty. Ah, guilty conscience—Tang Wei was definitely hiding something.

On Dragon Boat Festival day, the whole family waited outside Tang Wei’s door, preparing to welcome her junior.

Tang Wei had already decided to reveal the cultivation site to Tang Feng and Tang Jing’s families, so there was nothing to hide anymore. She wanted to spark their interest in cultivation, since even Tang Papa and Tang Mama had reached the third stage of Qi training, while three others were still at the first stage, and the martial artist hadn’t even learned the basic routines yet. Tang Wei was deliberately planning to prod them into action.

Pulling Zixuan out of the space, she looked him over carefully, found him decent enough, and then opened the door. She didn’t realize she’d already grown accustomed to Zixuan’s presence.

After stepping out, Tang Wei nudged Zixuan forward and introduced him, “This is my junior, Zixuan.” Then she pointed out each family member for him and said, “Zixuan, greet my family.”

Zixuan bowed to everyone and said, “Greetings, Uncle and Aunt! Eldest sister and brother-in-law, second sister and brother-in-law, little brother, please take care of me in the future. You’re all very ‘naive,’ and I really like you!”

Everyone smiled at his initial greetings, but when they heard the last part, their smiles froze. They didn’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed—even the elderly members of the Tang family understood that ‘naive’ meant ‘simple-minded.’

Tang Wei grew anxious, awkwardly laughing, “Sorry, sorry, he’s always lived in the mountains and doesn’t know much. Please don’t take offense!”

Still bewildered, Zixuan asked her, “Did I say something wrong?”

Tang Wei’s smile stiffened. Was she supposed to explain, “Naive means simple-minded, and I was just teasing you before”?

“All right, all right! Let’s eat first. Aunt made dumplings yesterday, all kinds of flavors! If you want anything, just ask. You just arrived, so it’s fine if you don’t understand yet—you’ll figure it out soon enough. Come on, let’s go downstairs,” Tang Mama smoothed things over.

They took Zixuan to greet Grandma Tang, and then the family entered the dining room for lunch. Tang Feng, Tang Jing, and the others sat in their usual places, and the children grabbed their bowls and headed outside.

Only Zixuan was uncertain where to sit. Tang Papa led him to the head of the table, usually reserved for important guests or the male head of the house when no guests were present. But Tang Papa offered it to Zixuan, prompting Tang Wei to quickly pull Zixuan to sit next to her. “Dad, he can sit here.”

Zixuan agreed, “Yes, Uncle, I’ll just sit by Weiwei.” He didn’t know why Tang Wei wouldn’t let him sit at the head, but he trusted her judgment.

Throughout the meal, Zixuan ate whatever Tang Wei served him and echoed whatever she said.

At first, Tang Mama thought nothing of it, but as it continued, she found it odd. Seeing everyone enjoying their meal, she poured some realgar wine that Tang Wei had pushed aside earlier and offered it to Zixuan, “Xuan, have some wine! A man eating only vegetables is no fun!”

Tang Wei responded exactly as before, “Mom, Zixuan doesn’t drink. Alcohol isn’t good for cultivation.”

Zixuan followed suit, “Yes, Aunt, I don’t drink. Alcohol isn’t good for cultivation,” echoing her words exactly.

Tang Mama feigned persuasion, “Xuan, don’t listen to Wei. Your uncle drinks and still cultivates just fine. It’s not a problem. Don’t believe her nonsense; listen to me and try a little.”

Unexpectedly, this prompted Zixuan to blurt out, “That won’t do. Weiwei is the wife my father found for me. I have to listen to her.”

The words struck everyone like lightning. If not for Tang Jun’s meatball nearly falling out of his mouth and rolling on the floor, the scene would have looked like a movie frozen in place.

Everyone stared at Zixuan in shock, their movements halted, making Zixuan feel uneasy—“Did I say something wrong again?”

Tang Wei was now deeply regretful. She’d overlooked this crucial detail. She rubbed her head, inwardly groaning, “This is a disaster!”

The family launched a thorough interrogation, their motto: “Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict!”

Pressed into a corner, Tang Wei could only explain the story, mixing truth and fiction, and sincerely apologized to everyone. She admitted she’d been shocked herself when she first learned the truth and worried that bringing Zixuan out suddenly would scare them, so she wanted everyone to get used to him first. She earnestly promised never to hide anything again—everyone would face hardships together, and share blessings as well.

Thus, Comrade Zixuan formally moved into the Tang family as the third son-in-law. Whether it was a matter of simple luck or someone playing the fool to hide their true abilities remained to be seen.