From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 138 Concubinage
A few more days passed.

Xu Zhongchao couldn't resist and, after "unintentionally" getting drunk that night, shared a bed with Liu Yun.

He used to enjoy visiting brothels, but after marrying Ma Shujie, he was strictly controlled and, lacking money, never went again.

Now, a delicate and beautiful maid is constantly in front of him, with all sorts of seductive hints. She's available without spending any money and is within his reach. No wonder he can't resist.

early morning.

When Liu Yun woke up, she cried and sobbed, tears streaming down her face. She said aggrievedly, "Young Master, how am I supposed to get married after this?"

Xu Zhongchao looked at the bloodstains on the bed and said helplessly, "You didn't resist last night, so why are you blaming me?"

Liu Yun didn't reply, she just kept wiping away her tears.

Xu Zhongchao was agitated: "Stop crying. Didn't you say you didn't mind being a concubine? I can still afford that title. Wait for me for two days."

After saying that, he got dressed and walked out the door without looking back.

After hesitating for a long time, he decided to confront his wife.

Taking concubines was not unusual; many wealthy men took concubines, and some even had more than one.

However, taking a concubine is not so easy, especially for those whose principal wives have a high status.

In a situation like Xu Zhongchao's, where his wife controls the family finances, he would definitely need her consent to take a concubine.

"Shujie's belly has not shown any signs of pregnancy for seven years. I think she would agree to me taking a concubine."

Xu Zhongchao rode in a carriage to Baihe Mountain, lost in thought.

This was his only "reason" for taking a concubine.

Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have dared to mention taking a concubine in front of Ma Shujie.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Baihe Mountain.

When Xu Zhongchao met Ma Shujie, he did not immediately bring up the matter of taking a concubine.

He first spent two days with sweet words, and then took the initiative to be affectionate and intimate with her at night.

Three or four days later, he mustered up his courage and said, "My wife, I have something to discuss with you."

"Speak, do you want money or..."

Ma Shujie had anticipated this.

She noticed that Xu Zhongchao had been behaving like a honeyed man these past few days, constantly hovering around her and being unusually enthusiastic at night, which was unlike his usual behavior. She guessed that he must have something to ask of her.

"I want to... take a concubine."

"what?"

Ma Shujie's face immediately darkened.

She didn't care about other men, but she never imagined that her own husband would take a concubine.

"My dear wife, please don't be anxious, let me explain. I can wait patiently as you haven't gotten pregnant yet, but my mother is pressuring me very much, nagging me all day long..."

My brother's child is already four years old, and all my cousins ​​have children, but I have no children of my own..."

Xu Zhongchao used his mother as an excuse.

He knew that Ma Shujie and his mother didn't have a very good relationship, so Ma Shujie would definitely believe him if he said that.

"I only take a concubine to have children. Besides, the children born to my concubines will have to call you 'Mother,' since you are our legal wife."

Xu Zhongchao's statement is true.

Concubines had a low status. If required by the master, the children born to concubines had to call the principal wife "mother." Concubines were reduced to tools for bearing children.

"..."

After a long silence, Ma Shujie finally said, "Let me think about it."

Two days later, she finally agreed to let Xu Zhongchao take a concubine.

Now that she has agreed, there is no longer any obstacle for Xu Zhongchao to inform his parents.

Xu Zhongchao and Ma Shujie had already discussed it, and Xu Xiaoyun did not object.

And so, Xu Zhongchao became the first person in the Xu family to take a concubine.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A remote village.

In the dilapidated mud-brick house, the female demon cultivator Huang Guihua sat cross-legged, circulating her cultivation technique in an attempt to break through a bottleneck. Beside her, a single man in his thirties lay dead with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

His death was very similar to that of Zhao Gang.

He died unjustly, purely out of bad luck and suffering an undeserved calamity.

After leaving the brothel, Huang Guihua recently resorted to her old tricks again, seeking out elderly men as before.

This method was relatively slow, but after absorbing the vital energy of two people, she felt she had a chance to break through.

However, when he was about to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, he found that he was still a little short. So, on a whim, he sneaked into this dilapidated courtyard at night, where there was only the presence of one man.

She forcibly controlled him with a mind-controlling spell, draining his vital essence.

At this moment, the internal energy cultivation technique was constantly circulating, transforming the absorbed primordial yang into pure spiritual energy within her body.

Finally, she overcame the bottleneck, and the spiritual energy that had filled her dantian increased slightly and merged into her acupoints. Furthermore, the divine soul power in her Niwan Palace became stronger and stronger, and could merge with the spiritual energy.

"This feeling is so powerful!"

The difference between the sixth and seventh levels of Qi Refining is only one level, but their strength is worlds apart.

In the later stages of Qi Refining, due to the strength of one's soul, one becomes increasingly adept at controlling spiritual energy, making spells more precise and powerful, while reducing the consumption of spiritual energy.

"In the late stage of Qi Refining, one can fly using Qi."

She couldn't wait to try it.

For a demonic cultivator, the ability to fly by controlling their qi significantly enhances their escape capabilities.

"I've killed at least twenty or thirty people in Tonggu County, not to mention those guests whose primordial energy I've absorbed... It's time to leave."

Osmanthus flowers rarely stay in one place for too long.

She secretly made plans, and she would be even more careful when she arrived at the next place.

"Perhaps one day I, a demonic cultivator, can also advance to the Foundation Establishment stage."

"I wonder what the primordial yang of a male cultivator at the Qi Refining stage feels like?"

She has never absorbed the vital essence of a Qi Refining cultivator.

With her current strength, even a rogue cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining cannot escape her bewitching and charm techniques; only a cultivator in the late-stage of Qi Refining with divine soul power can resist her.

With that thought in mind, she walked out of the room to leave.

The dilapidated courtyard was unusually quiet, with no villagers passing by.

She didn't care; this was a remote mountain village after all.

However, she had only been gone a short while when waves of spiritual energy suddenly surged around her.

"Someone's lying in ambush?!"

She instantly activated her spiritual energy to protect her entire body.

The powerful spiritual energy of the seventh level of Qi Refining easily blocked spells that were at most at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

As she watched figures appear one by one and surround her, she didn't want to linger and tried to fly away using her inner energy.

Unfortunately, she had just broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining and had not yet mastered the knack of flying with Qi. She tried several times but failed to take off.

A martial artist with innate talent attacked at close range.

She laughed. What threat could a martial artist of this strength pose to her?
She casually waved her sleeves, and spiritual energy mixed with a strange fragrance rushed towards the innate martial artist.

The innate martial artist held his breath, shielding his mouth, nose, and acupoints, but he couldn't stop the spiritual energy from seeping into his body. Even more impossible to stop was the interference this spiritual energy caused to his soul.

The innate martial artist was immediately stunned, as if he were lost in a dream.

"You helped them kill them."

The sweet laughter reached the ears of the innate martial artist, who obediently turned around to help Huang Guihua fight.

Others, fearing the consequences, dared not actually harm him and could only try to control him.

"Everyone be careful, don't fall for her tricks."

The crowd shouted in unison.

Even the two martial arts grandmasters who were helping out did not dare to step forward easily.

Huang Guihua gave a flirtatious wink, then used her lightness skill to leap away into the distance, her skirt fluttering as she made her way to the distance.

(End of this chapter)