No, it’s not just about being stubborn.
Zhiwei is also stubborn, but her stubbornness is completely different from Qing Jun and Mao Qingzhu.
Zhiwei’s stubbornness is a prideful kind of stubbornness.
But this "mother and daughter" duo, they are both cowardly and stubborn.
Chen Ye silently cursed, but outwardly he remained respectful: "If Qing Jun isn’t Sister Qingzhu’s child, then whose descendant is she?"
"Hmm..."
Mao Qingzhu hesitated slightly, examining Chen Ye again.
Since he’s been Qing Jun’s mentor for nearly ten years, akin to a father-daughter relationship, perhaps he could be told?
Her thoughts settled, it felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart.
This secret had been buried within her for eight or nine years, and now having someone to confide in undoubtedly relieved her.
With her mind relaxed, she looked at Chen Ye again, finding a bit of amusement.
Hmm.
Brother Ye is clearly a grown man, yet his face is thinner than hers, a woman?
He’s bowing so low; his head is almost touching the ground...
Seeing his cautious demeanor, part of the embarrassment she felt after being discovered bathing was oddly replaced by a sense of playfulness.
She leisurely stretched herself in the water, the warm pool covering her snow-white shoulders, leaving only a graceful neck line.
The ripples accentuated her jade-like skin, delicate and charming.
She gently parted her red lips, her voice gentle yet teasing: "Brother Ye, with your head so low, could it be that the warm jade floor is more pleasing to look at than your sister?"
"No... it’s not!"
Chen Ye lamented inwardly and hastily explained, "I just... I just don’t dare to offend Sister Qingzhu."
"Oh?" Mao Qingzhu’s phoenix eyes curved into a lovely crescent as she deliberately elongated her tone, "But if you keep your head down, how do you know what sister looks like now, and how could it be offensive?"
This... This is simply a trap!
Chen Ye felt a tingling sensation on his scalp; as a former corporate slave, how could he handle such verbal exchanges?
He simply steeled himself, remaining silent with his head lowered.
Ugh!
He’s becoming more like Qing Jun...
Also having a bit of a demoness tendency, yet deep down just a timid bundle!
Seeing his "a dead pig not afraid of boiling water" demeanor, Mao Qingzhu finally burst into laughter.
"Alright, I won’t tease you anymore."
She curbed her laughter, appearing gentle, though she couldn’t hide the amusement in her eyes.
She slowly revealed Qing Jun’s background:
"The outside world believes Qing Jun is my illegitimate daughter with a man from the Xu Family, isn’t that right?"
Chen Ye instinctively nodded.
Mao Qingzhu shook her head, a complex emotion flickering in her phoenix eyes: "Actually... Qing Jun isn’t from the Xu Family lineage, not even... part of the Human Race."
Chen Ye stopped in his tracks.
"Nine years ago, I was forced to marry into the Xu Family, but... it was out of obligation to my father’s kindness. I didn’t like Xu Buhui and never interacted with him. I always practiced alone on the Xu Family’s back mountain."
Mao Qingzhu’s beautiful eyes turned hollow, lost in long-past memories,
"The back mountain of the Xu Family, called Dragon Sleep Mountain, is the resting place of the Xu Family’s ancestors. Accidentally, I discovered... a round stone there, constantly moving. Curious, I reached out to touch it, and it pricked my hand."
"The moment the blood seeped in, the stone... burrowed into my belly. Using me as a cradle, it bore Qing Jun."
At that moment, the fog in Chen Ye’s mind cleared completely.
So that’s how it is!
Hundreds of years ago, perhaps the Xu Family ancestors discovered something peculiar about Dragon Sleep Mountain.
So they relocated to Dragon Sleep Mountain, yet the Xu Family ancestors were ignorant that there was a dragon egg there.
And afterwards, this dragon egg invisibly influenced the Xu Family’s lineage, causing what they called bloodline ailments.
In other words,
previously Chen Ye thought the Xu Family’s lineage influenced Qing Jun, but in reality, it’s Qing Jun who influenced the Xu Family!
To this day, even Mao Qingzhu doesn’t know that the bundle that emerged from her belly is actually the renowned True Dragon!