Chapter 676: Target: Yu Family

It was not scary falling for someone. What was scary was falling for someone that one once hated.

At present, Miss Sakura was struggling with this particular quandary. She was unable to hate Xia Fei despite him having bullied her before, but she was instead worrying over just where Xia Fei had gone off to, when he would be back, and other such things.

Sakura was still very young, so she could not make sense of her own feelings, but Poria, the girl’s mother, easily figured it out from the anxiety that her daughter was showing. The young girl had yet to learn how to hide her own feelings.

Hyacinth frowned as he said gravely, “Sakura’s only fourteen!”

His voice was somewhat hoarse, and it even betrayed a bit of his frustration over the idea.

Poria was unfazed. “Hyacinth, I’m only suggesting a possible solution. Whether you accept it or not is up to you and your father to think about. It’s not like you can’t tell that Sakura has had something on her mind lately. Besides, wasn’t I about the same age myself when I married you?”

In the Law Realm, age was a very abstruse issue. People would clearly look like they were in their middle-age when, in reality, they were already old in terms of years that they had lived in the world. Poria was actually a whole thirty years younger than Hyacinth and was only fifteen when she was married off.

The old man Otter, who was a lot calmer, laughed. “Poria, just tell us your thoughts. We’re all family here, and we can still discuss it further whether that’s the final decision or not.”

Poria was the daughter of a big chieftain of the Rockies and was highly regarded. Had it not been for Hyacinth renown those years back, he would surely have been unable to marry the maiden daughter of the chieftain. After Poria entered the household, she kept to the traditional roles the wife played, never once overpowering others with her stature. Otter and Hyacinth both of course witnessed this and remembered it in their hearts. It was just that even Hyacinth’s closest kin and most trusted underlings had no idea that Hyacinth was actually henpecked at home, deferring most matters to his spouse.

Poria had her hands on her waist as she said, “From what I’ve observed so far, Ah Fei is someone who discriminates between retribution and reciprocity, returning respect with respect, but if anyone offends him, his revenge is terrifying to behold, and against such a person, we first must give a show of our attitude toward him.”

“Attitude? Carry on.” The elderly Otter mulled over her words. His daughter-in-law sure lived up to her name as someone from a major tribe, speaking with propriety and sense that the old man could feel her words warming his heart.

“That’s right. We need to demonstrate an attitude of gratefulness. Ah Fei has had prior altercations with us, but it hasn’t been on purpose; after all, he still has need of us, so as long as we show him gratitude this time, treating him with great respect, I’m certain that we can easily tide things over.

“Speaking of gratitude, there’s no greater demonstration than offering Sakura’s hand in marriage. Ever since Sakura turned twelve, how many suitors have come to ask her hand in marriage and how many of them did our daughter fancy? Forget those from afar, even Sambo, who’s been smittened to the point of delirium by our daughter, failed. Why is that? Isn’t it because not one of these young men can even be accepted by Sakura’s discerning eyes?

“Ah Fei is different. He has the cultivation and the smarts, and our daughter is very fond of him. I’ve been in her shoes once, so I know that there’s nothing more important to a girl than marrying the right person.”

“But—” Hyacinth was hesitant and wanted to refute her words, but he had no idea just where to start.

“No buts,” Poria said firmly. “I was many years younger than you back in the day; why did I marry into your family? Wasn’t it because you’re such an outstanding man. You can see for yourself: Did I make the wrong choice?”

The moment she used Hyacinth as an example, the man no longer had any words to say. Reality had proven that it did not matter whether someone married early or late. What mattered was with whom.

At the end of the day, they were a nomadic tribe, and there were plenty of cases within the Rockies of pairs tying the knot as early as when they were twelve years old. Poria had been carefully considering this important event in Sakura’s life even when the girl was still very young, and she was determined to find her an excellent mate.

Hyacinth was somewhat peeved, stating, “We can suggest her hand in marriage, but if Ah Fei says no, won’t we have disgraced ourselves, instead?”

Poria did not think much of it. “At the very least, our attitude has shown our sincerity, and even if Ah Fei refuses this arrangement, he at least won’t continue making things difficult for us, and we’ll surely be able to bury the hatchet from there onward.”

“And if he agrees?” Hyacinth pressed.

“We’ll set a date for the wedding and wait for Sakura to become older before they officially wed. With such a powerful son-in-law whom our daughter is fond of as well, what’s the downside?”

Poria was not a simple woman. Just as she said, as long as marriage was on the cards, the relationship between Xia Fei and Hyacinth would be greatly relieved, and no matter the outcome, the favor they owed Xia Fei would be considered repaid.

Actually, the wedding itself was never an important event to the Rockies. What mattered was making connections with the strong and subsequently strengthening their own tribes. After all, this was a very complex world, and the lack of strength would only serve to make progress difficult. Had Hyacinth not married Poria and gotten the full support of their people, no matter how powerful Hyacinth was, it would have been very hard for him to have achieved the accomplishments he had today.

The three were in the middle of discussion when suddenly they heard the sound of urgent footsteps and labored breathing. It turned out that Sakura had been eavesdropping on their conversation before, and her heart had been beating so wildly with her face flushed when she ran off in her fluster.

Poria wrinkled her brows and got up to chase after her daughter, leaving Otter sighing in the study. “It’s unlike Sakura not to raise any objections despite having heard what we’re talking about.”

Hyacinth was startled. Everyone knew that his daughter was rather obnoxious, and the fact that Sakura did not object even after knowing what her mother meant could only signi