13.5 – But he didn"t look like a middle-aged uncle at all!
translator: xiin
editors: alamerysl & Macabre
When Xue Ling was brought into the Marshal"s Palace, there was still an hour before lunch. So although Mu Xi pulled Xue Ling away and said she would take him for a stroll, in fact, he was simply brought into the main house and given brief instructions on the uses and distribution of the structures in the Marshal"s Palace.
“The Marshal is a workaholic. He doesn"t necessarily come back every day, so you don"t need to concern yourself too much about getting along with him." Mu Xi led Xue Ling into the main house, which was a three story building. It looked old from the outside, but the interior decoration was brand new. Most of the foot traffic came from robotic servants, and they looked very well-organized.
The entrance hall was very grand and majestic. Mu Xi took off Xue Ling"s coat for him and tidied up his shirt, smiling as she said, "Little cutie is so good looking~ You look great no matter what you wear~ I heard that you left that place without anything. That’s all right, I"ll take you shopping tomorrow."
Xue Ling didn’t say a word. It was true that he needed to obtain more clothes that suited his own tastes. Now that his guardian had been changed to Marshal Yin Jia, it was very reasonable for him to spend his money and live well in his place. In the future, if nothing unexpected happened, he would be inseparable from the Marshal"s Palace, and Xue Ling had no intention of acting like an outsider.
He just didn’t know if this so-called Marshal was easy to get along with…
Even if he didn"t like him, Xue Ling could use his charm ability to improve his goodwill; there was no need to worry too much.
Past the entrance, they arrived at the great hall. The hall looked very s.p.a.cious and had very few things within. Mu Xi explained, “This place is usually only used for banquets and is left empty otherwise. Sometimes, the Marshal enjoys turning into his animal form, and will use this place to walk around for a bit."
Xue Ling suddenly realized - beastmen could control the size of their animal form, but no matter how he changed, Yin Jia would still be a dragon! Milky Way dragons were not small at all; he also understood now why the landing zone outside would be so large. Other than being used for the Marshal"s military affairs, it was probably being used more frequently by his animal form…
After the great hall was the dining room. The dining room was also very large, the table was very long and could easily seat over ten to twenty people. Mu Xi spoke again, "In fact, this room is also rarely used. The Marshal usually eats in his room or in the study."
Xue Ling was somewhat surprised and asked, “Is Marshal very busy?”
“It depends.” Mu Xi spoke calmly, “There is a busy period every year, but it"s fine for the rest of the year. As long as there are no major battles, the work barely reaches him at all." At this point, she frowned, "But not all of it is related to his work. There are many people in the upper echelons of the Empire. Some of them don"t do anything else but host parties and gathering all day. There are some that he cannot refuse, and they will occasionally take up some of his time. Additionally, the Imperial Palace will sometimes require the Marshal"s help, so he still has limited time to spare."
Xue Ling came to a conclusion, and felt that this Marshal would not interact with him very often. Perhaps it was because he seldom came back to his own home that he agreed to adopt him. Anyway, having an extra person in his family was no big deal. The house was so big that if they didn"t purposely try to meet, they might never see each other at all.
After making the rounds downstairs, Mu Xi brought Xue Ling upstairs. "I live on the second floor, and there are also some guest rooms here. I have arranged a room for you on the third floor. The Marshal also lives on that floor; hopefully you guys can develop a good relationship."
Xue Ling: “…” That point seemed a little redundant.
They went through the second and third floors, and then Xue Ling was brought back down for lunch.
Lunch was eaten at the dining table. Mu Xi really enjoyed this way of eating. It was quite nice to have more than one person in the house.
Speaking of this, her eyebrows drooped down again, and she sighed helplessly, “I never thought that the next master to join this family would be someone that the Marshal adopted. He probably doesn"t intend to find a nurturer to spend the rest of his life happily with…"
Xue Ling was not very interested in this topic, but he was going to live here after all. He took this opportunity to continue the topic of Yin Jia with Mu Xi. "Does the Marshal have no lover?" Given how big this country was, couldn"t this person find someone he liked?
“Lover?” Mu Lu sneered. “He"s just like a stone, and n.o.body"s interested in warming him up. He has no lover. Don"t worry, everything in this family will be yours. There will be no brain-damaged stepmother, and n.o.body will bully you here." Mu Xi knew what kind of life Xue Ling had lived before, and subconsciously thought that Xue Ling was worried about repeating his previous tragedy. She soothed Xue Ling by saying, “You can rest a.s.sured that Marshal is quite cold-hearted and unfeeling, despite appearing quite easy to approach. He"s just a little prejudiced against nurturers. I watched him grow up, and have never seen him like anyone. The likelihood of him falling in love with anybody in the near future is very low."
Xue Ling answered vaguely, wondering in his heart that if he didn"t like nurturers, could it be that he liked other beastmen?
Forget it. There was no point thinking too much about it.
Throughout the afternoon, Mu Xi showed Xue Ling around the entire Marshal"s Palace, including the hill in their backyard. The hill at the back of the estate looked out over the sea, and there were various activity facilities at the bottom of the hill in addition to the four buildings that made up the Marshal"s Palace. One of the four buildings had been rebuilt into a conference hall, which was not used very often. Mu Xi told Xue Ling that it was rather boring there, and he shouldn"t go over for no reason so that the Marshal wouldn"t end up watching him.
Another building was the Marshal"s Palace"s library. The entire building was three stories high, but upon entering, it looked like one floor with very high ceilings. According to Mu Xi, some of the books contained within could be traced back to thousands of years ago. Even the library in the Imperial Palace did not have as comprehensive a collection of books as the Marshal"s Palace, because the Marshal liked to read from a young age and collected many good books, all of which were placed in this library. In fact, this library was also used as a place to store antiques. Xue Ling followed Mu Xi around; after the system educated him, he realized that quite a few of the things casually placed here and there were actually cultural relics. Only then did he begin to deeply understand exactly what kind of golden thigh he now hugged in his arms.
He did not know who to thank, and finally, he could only attribute his treatment to the fact that his mother had maintained a working relationship with the Marshal.
The remaining building seemed to be the Marshal’s private s.p.a.ce. Mu Xi had no right to enter either, so she did not bring Xue Ling there. She simply sent Xue Ling back to his room and told him to have a good rest before coming down for dinner that night.
Xue Ling tidied up his things, changed his clothes and took a nap. When he woke up, he dazedly went to take a bath before changing into formal attire in order to meet his nominal foster father.
After all, he was a big golden thigh. He needed to make a good impression so that he could act as he liked in the future!
He had asked for leave from school because of this matter, but he did not intend to drop out. He would be going back to school in two days time, and would still have a war to fight there.
After the sky darkened, Xue Ling stood in his room and looked outside. The entire Marshal"s Palace had been lit up. No special arrangements had been made, but it still looked very grand. After all, there was still a very big gap between true wealth and Hao family"s "faux wealth". Although they were both in the Capital Star, the difference between the Marshal"s Palace and Hao family was still the difference between heaven and earth. There was simply no comparison that could be made.
Xue Ling had really flown up to heaven and become a phoenix.
In order to highlight the image of his perseverance, independence, and personal strength, Xue Ling chose a formal three-piece suit, but he left the jacket aside and simply wore a dress shirt with the waistcoat, outlining his consistently starved slender body. After getting changed, he looked at himself in the mirror and was very satisfied with his appearance.
Previously, in order to prevent his stepmother from paying too much attention to his rather excessively beautiful appearance and make a move against him, the original owner had always kept his bangs long and preferred to wear gla.s.ses to cover his face. After Xue Ling entered the hospital, he asked the nurses to give him a slight haircut so that his eyes were no longer hidden. Only, the nurses didn"t dare to mess around and the cut was very simple, but this actually made him appear very well behaved. Paired with his current outfit, he now had a slightly youthful, pure look.
The robotic servant knocked at the door and invited him to go downstairs for dinner. Xue Ling answered the call, adjusted his clothes, and then went downstairs.
Halfway down the stairs, he saw someone coming in from the main doors and stopping at the entrance.
The man also looked up at him as he took off his coat, his eyes sweeping over Xue Ling from top to bottom before turning his gaze away and gracefully handing his coat to Mu Xi who was standing beside him.
Mu Xi beckoned to Xue Ling, who was frozen on the stairs, and said, "Little Yun, quickly come over."
Only then did Xue Ling suddenly regain his wits. His footsteps changed from their previous steadiness and became somewhat weak. For no other reason, but because Marshal Yin Jia"s gaze just now had been truly terrifying, as though he could see through him at a glance… What white lotus act, what firm and indomitable nurturer… He felt that he had been stripped bare under that gaze all at once… All camouflage was seen through, and it made his actions hesitant.
Yin Jia was an unusually tall man. Xue Ling stood on the stairs and looked at him, and was suddenly overwhelmed by his momentum and felt that he was shorter by him by a full head. Only after he approached did Xue Ling discover that he only reached up to his chest if he stood up on tiptoe.
Xue Ling: “…” For some reason, he felt so stifled!
Yin Jia"s military uniform looked basically the same as Mo Xi"s, but because he was the Marshal, there was more detailing and distinctive features in certain areas. His long silver hair was tied behind him, his face icy cold, none of his thoughts revealed on his face, making Xue Ling"s scalp inexplicably turn a little numb.
Mu Xi was not deterred by this at all. She caught Xue Ling"s hand and half pushed him along until he was standing in front of Yin Jia, saying, "This is the Marshal. Quickly say h.e.l.lo."
Xue Ling had just been caught off guard and given a scare. He didn"t have a chance to recover before having to summon up the courage to give a smile that wasn"t quite a smile as he said, "Marshal."
Yin Jia gave him a deep look, his gaze unfathomable. It made Xue Ling"s scalp turn even more numb, his smile freezing on his face.
After a while, he averted his gaze and said, “Call me father.”
Xue Ling was left in a daze.
The corner of Mu Xi"s mouth curved upwards slightly, and she urged Xue Ling, "That"s right. You"re family now. What are you calling him Marshal for? You should call him dad in the future!"
Xue Ling: “…” How come he felt a little embarra.s.sed?!
Xue Ling stewed for a while, then, under the man"s gaze, finally choked out a mosquito-like word, "Father."
Yin Jia did not push him further. He nodded and acknowledged him, then ordered Mu Xi to begin serving dinner.
Xue Ling followed behind Yin Jia as they made their way to the dining room. Yin Jia sat down at the head seat very naturally; Xue Ling thought about it, then headed for the seat two spots down. He pulled out the chair, and was just about sit down when Yin Jia spoke up, "Sit over here." The seat he was referring to was the one right next to him. Xue Ling had decisively crossed out that option earlier, but now Yin Jia had forced him back.
Xue Ling: “…” He laughed a little reluctantly. “Okay…” His heart was dripping blood… dripping blood…
Mu Xi held back her laughter as she watched the two interact. Seeing that they were both seated, she ordered the dishes to be served.
Over the years, the Empire’s cuisine had not gone down the dissatisfying path of living on nutrients. There was nothing to nitpick about regarding the food at the Marshal"s Palace. Although most of the décor was done in a western style, the dishes that were served were mostly Chinese-style dishes that Xue Ling had eaten before.
Xue Ling found that many of the dishes were to his tastes, and after Yin Jia instructed him to start eating, he very naturally began to eat. Watching as he began to select food, it was obvious that these were all dishes he enjoyed.
It seemed that the Marshal honestly did not find it strange that he now had an extra family member. He did not act like the atmosphere between them was awkward at all. Xue Ling found it difficult to eat, and could only watch as he acted as though everything was normal. Therefore, he felt stifled as he ate, and because of an inexplicable sense of embarra.s.sment, he didn"t manage to eat much and finally put down his chopsticks discreetly.
Yin Jia didn"t seem to pay him any attention, but when the mechanical servants came to tidy things up after he finished eating, he indifferently spoke a sentence, "Eat more, the Marshal"s Palace doesn"t lack for food."
Xue Ling answered "okay", and then watched as this Lord made his way upstairs.
After the Lord Marshal"s figure disappeared completely from Xue Ling"s sight, he finally moved over to Mu Xi"s side and asked curiously, "Sister Mu, is the Marshal always like this? …Why do I feel that he"s particularly scary…"
Mu Xi sighed helplessly, her face showing how much she hated that this piece of iron refused to turn into steel. "That"s right. It"s precisely this kind of att.i.tude. He treats everyone like that, cold and icy like a block of ice. No matter how good looking he is, or how good his background is, what"s the point? What kind of nurturer would be able to put up with him!"
Xue Ling"s lips twitched as he made some sounds of agreement. Mu Xi rea.s.sured him several times, saying that the Marshal didn"t dislike him, only that d.a.m.ned face of his made it difficult to convince people otherwise.
Xue Ling nodded and went upstairs, preparing to rest…
It was said that the Marshal was at least twice his age, although he was a few years younger than Hao Yuanling. He was indeed old enough to be his father, but he didn"t look like a middle-aged uncle at all!
That"s right… As long as beastmen were powerful enough, they could definitely maintain their youthful appearance. Yin Jia was the strongest person in the Empire, and his strength was enough to go against the heavens. How could that sc.u.m Hao Yuanliang be compared to him?
Although their meeting gave him a scare, Yin Jia did not seem to be a difficult person to get along with. Xue Ling thought about it, and felt that living this kind of life was very acceptable. At worst, he just needed to make sure that they did not run into each other too often and it would be fine…
Sometimes, Yin Jia"s gaze was really terrifying…