NOVPUBHao Ren went to visit his elders, and as soon as he stepped inside the Hao Family mansion, a sharp voice echoed in his ears, "You unfilial child, you still have the face to come back home?"
The young man flinched his neck and said, "Old Boy Hao, can you cut me some slack? I wasn't out fishing, you know?"
Hao Xinyuan appeared before him and then snorted as he said, "Who asked you to come over here?"
Hao Ren turned to look at the blushing Han Lingshi, and that was enough. The old man sighed and said, "It is still my Daughter-in-law who can give you some sense."
Hao Ren clicked his tongue and said, "Yeah? You dare to say that it is my fault?"
Han Lingshi reached out and grabbed a pinchful of his waist flesh and gave it a strong twist. The young man winced and the old man smiled as he said, "Lingshi, come in."
Han Lingshi nodded and then she followed the old man with Hao Ren in tow. Under the respectful gazes of the family members, they came to a slightly secluded, yet one of the biggest courtyards in the mansion. Hao Ren was surprised and as he walked with his hands behind his back, he asked, "Old Boy Hao, what is going on here? How are they all so happy and respectful to you?"
Hao Xinyuan said, "What does it matter to you?"
The young man rolled his eyes, and said, "Are you going to tell me about it or do I have to grab someone and ask them directly?"
The old man flicked his sleeves and said, "You can do what you want, but know that you would be giving them the idea that you are an unfilial brat."
Hao Ren clenched his fist, and Han Lingshi watched them with a smile on her face. They entered the courtyard and the young man spotted Tang Zhen sitting under the pavilion doing some embroidery work. She sensed the movement from the people and asked, "Old Hao, did Lingshi send something again?"
The old man wanted to say something when Han Lingshi said, "Ma, I came to see you."
Tang Zhen raised her head and smiled at her, but then her expression froze, when she saw Hao Ren standing beside her husband and daughter-in-law. The two of them looked at each other and under the constant poke attack by Han Lingshi, the young man said, "Ma, how have you been?"
Tang Zhen smiled and said, "I have been fine, how was your journey?"
The young man replied, and said, "It was fruitful."
That was it, the young man fell silent and Tang Zen also didn't know what to say to this anymore. She sighed and stood up as she said, "I have learned some spirit cooking dishes, you guys sit, I will go and cook them for you."
The people sat down on small stools inside the pavilion and the young man was being stared down by his father and his wife.
*Come on, just pick the hint it is about time that you made up with her. Go, deal with it like a man, you have punished her enough already. As a reward, I will make sure that out of the seventy eight tickets, none is a blank.*
Hao Ren sighed and he stood up from his stool as he followed his mother to the kitchen. When he reached the kitchen, Tang Zhen was making some nice chicken legs for them, although it looked just like any other chicken but it was spirit beast mode.
The young man saw that the lady was working rather quickly and suddenly he asked, "Do you know that you are a cultivator, why must you wear those glasses?"
Tang Zhen smiled and replied, "Because I remember our time at the Blue Star. I found those women quite weak, and I abhorred weakness. This was also the reason why I neglected you as well. I used to think that you were weak, but the thing is that after such a long time, reading about the struggles of the people who had nothing but made something out of themselves, I feel like I was a fool."
As she spoke, she added chives and spring onion to the chicken legs, and turned them over to add the flame. She paused for a moment and then said, "You were never in the wrong, Ren. It was my fault that caused you to be driven in the corner."
Hao Ren looked at her, and while he had a lot of sarcastic remarks in his mind, he found that he could not say anything. Tang Zhen looked older and her frame looked fragile. It was as if she had lost her vitality. He sighed and used his Yin and Yang eyes to look at her, and he asked, "Is it because of guilt that you have stopped cultivating?"
Tang Zhen froze for a second but then she said, "Ren, I have achieved all that is there to achieve in this world and thus I have no more dreams and hopes. What is the point of cultivation?"
The young man clenched his fists and said, "Ma, are you really going to do something like this because you cannot restore the relationship between us to how it was in the past?"
Tang Zhen didn't reply and just sighed as the young man continued, "To be honest, I think that the present condition of our relationship is way better than the past where I used to chase for your acknowledgement and you used to shove me away because I was weak.
At least, at this moment, we are both honest to each other, and can say all that is there in our hearts. I am not ashamed to say that I did hold you guilty for the way you treated me, but that was a minor part. The big thing that caused me to shove you away was how you hid the fact about big sister hidden from me."
The old lady sighed and said, "I was.."
Before she could complete her words Hao Ren said, "Ma, I am not what I used to be in the past, and similarly, you are not the same either. If you really wish to restore things, then please learn to let it go. You made a mistake and you paid a price, now, yes we have a bitter sweet connection but it is still better than having nothing at all."
His words fell on her ears and then Hao Ren turned around to leave, just when he was about to leave the kitchen he said, "All your life, you have done things the way you wanted them. You would decide when you were wrong and when you were right. If you really wish to see me as your son, then please, learn to let go of this control. Learn to let us have some power over you like you have over us."
That said, he walked away from the kitchen and came back to the pavilion. Han Lingshi smiled as she looked at him and said, "You did good."
Hao Ren rolled eyes at him and then a swift figure came out of the kitchen. Tang Zhen smiled and said, "Here, try this."
She gave a plate filled with seven chicken legs to Hao Ren to eat. He could see that Han Lingshi and Hao Xinyuan were itching to snatch the chicken from him. Tang Zhen saw this and said, "You two, there are enough of these chicken legs for the two of you."
The two people vanished and sat down across Hao Ren. The young man took big bites and said, "Where have you been all this time, god damn it, if I were to launch this in the restaurant I would have made so much money."
Tang Zhen saw him gobbling it up and then he ran up to the kitchen and yelled, "Old Boy Hao, how dare you eat fifteen of them, god damn it are you a black hole?"
Tang Zhen couldn't help but chuckle and then she burst out in laughter. Gradually her laughter became so loud, that it drowned the quarreling voices from the kitchen.
She was recalling all the times when Hao Ren and Hao Xinyuan would fight, or chastite her as Empress Dowager. She recalled that even without her love, Hao Ren managed to grow up normal and he loved her back.
She felt sad, and tears slipped down her cheeks, but then she quickly calmed down, and wiped her face, when a white handkerchief was offered to her. She turned around and found Han Lingshi standing there with a smile on her face as she asked, "Are you happy now, Ma? He is not holding you guilty for anything. This is time that you also move on."
Tang Zhen nodded forcefully, took a few minutes to calm down, she hugged Han Lingshi and said, "Thank you my dear, thank you very much."
Han Lingshi returned the hug and patted her back gently. The equation was solved, and now it was time for Hao Ren to infuse the few gifts he got from the system.
