"Third brother, we've come here to discuss something."

Uncle Anping said, "This time, what exactly should we do?"

An Mao, who was holding a cup of tea with his eyes slightly lowered, asked, "What? How do you make it?"

"Third Brother, the question is whether to reconcile with the Hundred Women Pavilion, or..."

Anmao gently brushed the tea leaves aside.

"Does it mean that if we say we want to make up, the Hundred Women's Pavilion will open its doors and welcome us in?"

These words immediately silenced the person.

Yes, they no longer have the initiative at all.

The fourth brother-in-law grew anxious: "But we can't just do nothing!" He hurriedly went to ask Anping: "Brother, isn't your Qinghuan at the Hundred Women's Pavilion? What should she do?"

With the Hundred Women's Pavilion gone, he couldn't enjoy his time as much as he wanted when he went out to play.

Anping ignored his good-for-nothing younger brother who only knew how to loaf around and wait to die, and asked Anmao in a low voice, "So what are your thoughts?"

An Mao put down his teacup and said calmly, "We will no longer get involved in anything. Zhengzheng has her own plans. Let's just focus on clearing out the rest of our clothes."

Then they had someone bring up the altered sample garment.

The An family members couldn't understand An Mao's behavior at all, and stared blankly at the clothes displayed in the hall.

“The old clothes were too ornate and the sleeves were too wide, which is not suitable for cultivation.” An Mao coughed twice to warm himself up before saying, “Nowadays, there are many female cultivators in the cultivation world, and the old clothes are not cost-effective.”

With that money, they would rather buy elixirs, talismans, or cultivation techniques.

The An family members took the clothes; the gorgeous embroidery was still there, but it was clearly altered.

The cuffs are tightened, and the skirt is smaller, making it more form-fitting and more suitable for cultivation and combat.

"This..." Will it sell?

An Mao seemed to know what everyone wanted to ask, so he spoke first: "Some of them have already been sold, only slightly more than the cost... but it's better to sell more than make a small profit than to have them piling up."

That's good, that's good. I was just afraid it would be stuck with me again.

"But Third Brother, are we really going to abandon the Hundred Women Pavilion?"

That's a real gem! You could eat a piece of it anytime and it would last you a long time.

The An family members wanted to speak, but An Mao waved them off.

“As I said, Zhengzheng has her own ideas. Now that she has left the family, why should we do so much? We might as well mind our own business.”

His tone was calm, yet it conveyed a firm resolve.

It was as if he would break away from the family and establish himself independently if his clan disagreed. He was completely different from before, a sight that none of the people present had ever seen before.

We can't afford to lose another member of Anjia!

Everyone was a little scared.

After seeing off her clansmen, Lin Jing was helped in by a maid.

In order to give birth to a son, she has been drinking a lot of tonics to nourish her body these days.

She asked with a worried look, "How did it go? What conclusion did you reach?"

Should we continue targeting the Hundred Women's Pavilion?

When An Mao saw her, his originally stern expression softened a bit. He came over and said, "It's alright. The An family no longer interferes with the Hundred Women's Pavilion. What they want to fight and do outside is their business."

He had learned to let things take their course and no longer expected An Zhengzheng's talent or marriage to exchange for anything.

“That, that Zhengzheng and Yirou…” Lin Jing was very worried.

An Mao calmly replied, "Let them be. She's just a young girl in her early twenties anyway."

“They have their own world. As for Rou, it’s fine. Zhengzheng will always protect her.”

An Mao still believes this.

Lin Jing then asked, "What about Zhengzheng?"

"..."

After a long silence, An Mao looked out at the sky.

He said, "Let her be."

We've already prepared for the worst.

"If the Hundred Women Pavilion fails in this struggle, we can bring back two more young ladies to be our mistresses. We won't let them starve to death."

An Mao has finally figured it out.

Soon a maid came and said, "Master, the old lady wishes to see you."

Someone must have gone to tip them off.

An Mao had no intention of going over there. He told Lin Jing, "Send a few more maids to serve you."

He was unwilling to listen to those clichés anymore, and after speaking, he went to deal with his affairs.

Lin Jing watched An Mao's departing figure, opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

And look at the An residence, it's deserted.

In the past, when Zhengzheng was renowned and Bainu Pavilion had a bright future, the An family's doorstep was almost worn down by visitors.

But now, it's eerily quiet.

"The An family is truly finished this time."

It seems unlikely that he will ever be able to return to his peak!

Even Lin Jing, who had managed household affairs in the inner quarters for many years, knew that the building was about to collapse and no one could stop it.

\/\/

"Don't worry, young lady, I can talk about this."

Knowing that An Zhengzheng was going back to participate in the annual assessment, Madam Pei took on the task herself.

An Zhengzheng nodded slightly: "I'll trouble you, Madam Pei."

They set off towards Siyue Gate.

After several days of training in the cave, the annual assessment finally arrived.

Master Wushang has many disciples and there are unified assessment standards, so An Zhengzheng went to Master Wushang's place first.

When the senior students saw An Zhengzheng again, they couldn't help but sigh, "Things have changed, and people are no longer the same."

They were junior sisters and junior brothers a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, Zhou Xu went down the mountain and disappeared, while An Zhengzheng jumped to the second level of Foundation Establishment.

When they reached the second level of Foundation Establishment, they were almost all in their early twenties. Even someone like Senior Brother Pei Jin only reached it at the age of nineteen.

"Hello, senior brothers." An Zhengzheng greeted them calmly.

The senior brothers also bowed in the same manner.

"Congratulations on your great improvement in cultivation, Junior Sister," Senior Brother Pei Jin said first.

An Zhengzheng smiled and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother."

The process remains the same as before: after entering the magic circle, you encounter one level after another.

An Zhengzheng's cultivation has improved, and she has actually made it to the eighth level. Her senior brother Yu Tiao, who was traveling with her, was very surprised: "I thought you would slack off in your cultivation because of doing business, but I didn't expect you to be even better than before."

"How long does Junior Sister rest today?" Senior Brother Pei Jin was also very curious.

An Zhengzheng shook her head and said, "Apart from being injured, I have hardly rested. I have fasting pills and fatigue-relieving soup."

They neither need to eat nor rest; they are cultivating almost day and night.

The senior brothers were shocked. No rest? How much fasting pills and fatigue-relieving soup must have been used up!

Although they are supported by their families, they dare not spend so lavishly, since they have never earned money themselves.

However, since my junior sister is self-reliant, she can spend her money however she wants.

Yu Tiao's family has declined and stopped supporting him for decades.

On the way, he asked An Zhengzheng in a low voice, "Junior sister, is there any way I can be like you?"

The higher one's cultivation level, the more good things one needs, and he has already clearly felt that it is becoming increasingly difficult to improve his cultivation.

An Zhengzheng didn't hold back and, after thinking for a moment, said, "There is a way."