My Twin Sugar Mommies and Two Systems are 100 Years Late! Chapter 10.
The [Myriad Worlds Auction House] had already notified Yan Anle that the construction of the Secret Realm was complete while he was still in the bath. Eager as he was to explore it, he held back, intending to dive in only after shoving breakfast down his throat and finishing the dishes.
Alas, who could have expected Dou E to return in such a sorry state?
Speaking of Dou E…
After her quick bath, she slipped into a light green dress he had hung outside the bathroom for her. Unlike the martial attire she had crawled back in, this gown was better suited for an elegant young lady.
Seeing her, his lips curved slightly upward as he gestured toward the dining table. "It's been ages since I stepped into the kitchen, but culinary skills are like riding a bike—you never truly lose the knack."
Dou E raised a brow, curious. "A bike? Young Master, what is that?"
Yan Anle bit his lip as he pulled out a chair and grasped her wrist, guiding her to sit. "Don't sweat the details. Just get something into your stomach first."
Dou E's lips curved into a warm smile. "Thank you, Young Master."
Yan Anle sat opposite her, observing her expression closely as she tried his rice dish. "Here, dip it in the soup like this. Yes, just like that..."
The lady's eyes lit up after the first bite.
"Is it good?" Yan Anle probed, feeling pleased.
Dou E didn't answer verbally. Instead, she nodded with a muffled "Mm-hmm" as she stuffed the rice into her mouth like a starved little animal. Very soon, her bowl was empty.
"Sigh! Young Master, that was so good! I didn't know you could cook so well!"
Yan Anle chuckled lightly and reached across the table, wiping two stray grains from her face. "And whose fault is that? Someone always caused a scene, like the world was ending, whenever I tried to enter the kitchen."
Dou E's cheeks reddened and her gaze darted to the side. "I-I just believed it would be a failure on my part if the Young Master still had to handle such menial tasks after pulling me from the pit of despair."
Yan Anle recalled the situation back then and couldn't help but feel melancholic.
You know those harem intrigue subplots from dramas? The ones where the wives and concubines of the female lead's father scheme against one another, targeting each other overtly and covertly? That was the environment Dou E was born into.
Dou E wasn't even her original name. It was Cai…
'Cai something.' He could only remember her family name.
Her mother being the first legal wife should have guaranteed a prosperous life for Dou E, but her father was actually a grandson of a certain Three-Star Alchemist. While he only possessed a Seventh-grade Spirit Root, he had popped pills like candy since childhood, forcing himself to the Ninth Level of the Qi Gathering Realm with no hope of ever achieving Foundation Establishment.
This cultivation base wasn't rare among cultivators, but among mortals, he was quite special—standing above most martial artists. As far as Yan Anle knew, martial arts levels on Pacified Grace Star were divided into: Disciple, Warrior, General, Commander, Warlord, King, Emperor, Saint, and God.
Dou E's "cheap" father, being a Qi Gathering Level Nine cultivator (albeit a substandard one), was able to kill Martial Emperors in a few exchanges—provided he didn't allow them get into close range. He was second only to the so-called Martial Saints and Martial Gods. This was the difference between Immortal Dao and Martial Dao.
Consequently, wealthy mortal families sent him their daughters one after another to forge connections. By the time Dou E was a teenager, the man's harem had exceeded thirty members!
Those ladies, carrying the hopes of their families' futures on their shoulders, schemed against one another as fiercely as if their husband were an Emperor. In the process, they even framed fifteen-year-old Dou E for killing her own mother! It was a "two birds, one stone" maneuver: it freed up the position of Main Wife and eliminated the child of the man's first flame, who threatened to hoard the father's attention.
'I've got to say, that father of hers was quite blind! How could he not see the obvious flaws in the frame-up? Instead, he was more hung up on placating the concubine who claimed to have fallen ill from the fear of living with a "mother-killer."'
"Young Master, please, can I have more?" Dou E's voice snapped him out of his trip down memory lane.
Seeing her pleading expression, he shook his head mentally. 'Forget it. What's the use of thinking about those things now? She has already grown into a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. That cheap father of hers would have to bow his head and respectfully call her "Senior" if they bumped into each other now.' This wasn't an exaggeration. In the cultivation world, seniority was dictated by cultivation base, not age.
He nodded and shifted the central bowl of rice closer to her. "Sure, sure. All of this is for you. Eat your fill. If it's not enough, I can prepare more."
Like a puppy who just received its favorite chew toy, she flashed her pearly whites. "Thank you, Young Master!"
He had the urge to tell her, "There's no need for 'thanks' between us," but he held back. What was the point? She never listened to him about those things anyway.
Eventually, the bowls were practically licked clean. It was hard to believe this was the handiwork of someone capable of Fasting.
Yan Anle leaned back in his chair, arms folded with a proud air. "Satisfied?"
Dou E leaned back as well, a hand on her stomach as she nodded. "Mm! Satisfied! Very satisfied!"
After a brief moment of silent staring, Dou E calmed down, drank some water, and asked, "Young Master, you mentioned you had some good news?"
Yan Anle sat up straight and cleared his throat. He thought he was mentally prepared for this confession, but now that the moment had arrived, his heartbeat was anything but normal. Still, he had made up his mind; it didn't take long to push past the intangible barrier in his head.
He didn't speak immediately. Instead, he toggled through the system's [Inventory]. Within seconds, three pill bottles appeared on the table. Under her shocked gaze, he pushed them toward her.
Dou E picked up the bottles and observed them closely. Each one shocked her more than the last. "Is this a Beauty Pill? No, it isn't... Or could it be a higher grade of Beauty Pill than the ones I've seen?"
"This is… another five of those miraculous healing pills from earlier!"
"Goodness! This one contains Foundation Establishment Pills! One… two… six… fifteen! Fifteen of them!"
"This… This… This…" she stuttered in utter disbelief.
She had already struggled during her entire bath just to come to terms with the fact that her Young Master had produced one high-quality healing pill. Now, he had casually whipped out five more—along with Foundation Establishment Pills.
Foundation Establishment Pills!
Strictly speaking, they should be called Ninth-grade Realm Breakthrough Pills and just one of those could fetch a hefty price, nearly as much as the Eighth-grade pills used by Golden Core seniors!
Let's not even mention the fact that their quality was also quite high! So high a sniff gave her the illusion she would breakthrough on the spot!
Her mind felt like boiling oil. 'There is also the fact that these seemed to appear from a storage artifact. Where did he get one? No—how can he even open one without possessing Spiritual Qi?'
Seeing her carefully place the bottles back on the table, as if afraid they would slip and shatter, Yan Anle pushed them back toward her. "Put them away. They are all for you."
"Y-Young Master… where… how…?" She had so many questions bouncing around her mind that she became inarticulate.
"Calm down, calm down. This is just the start. From now on, you don't have to depend so much on the breadcrumbs given by the clan. In the future, you won't even look at those monthly dividends—you'll treat them like food for chickens and dogs," Yan Anle boasted. "As for how I possess these things, it's like this: Do you remember last night, during dinner, when I suddenly choked on a fish bone even though you had already deboned it?"