"What, you won't admit to it?" An Yu'er pretended to be upset, stomping with playful force upon Yan Qianfan's foot.
Her husband smiled wryly. "Yu'er, they're Huang'er's grandfather and cousin no matter what. Qingsang was just a twerpy little child when all that happened. What could he possibly have known or done? Do you hate him too?"
Huang'er looked pleadingly at her mother in response to this. She clung softly to the lady’s arm.
"Mom, no matter what House Yan did wrong, my maternal grandfather has repaid them back ten times over for it. My paternal grandfather… hasn’t been well these years. He’s remorseful and contrite about his choices to this day. He failed to protect his own son and granddaughter, right? But he also ended up breaking with the rest of the house for my sake, just so I could be together with Brother Chen. The house patriarch even made attempts on his life…"
Huang'er felt that there'd been enough retribution. She didn’t want her mother to be mired in hatred any longer, nor did she want a gulf between half her family and the rest.
An Yu'er had accumulated considerable anger over the years, but her daughter's helpless gaze caused it to melt away entirely.
Had she suffered more than her daughter?
She had chosen her path alongside Yan Qianfan's, sharing in his every ordeal and plight. But her daughter hadn't had that luxury. She’d been cursed for misfortune from birth.
In a way, Huang'er had endured more severe misery than she. Though An Yu’er suffered a great deal, her husband had always been together with her through thick and thin.
On the other hand, her daughter had been separated from them since birth and had been bullied and tormented besides. If Huang'er could forgive her grandfather despite these circumstances, what did she as a mother have to complain about?
An Yu'er sighed softly, meeting Huang'er in a firm embrace.
"I’m sorry, dear. It was my fault for not letting go. I need to learn from your compassion and willingness to forgive. I promise you that I won’t mention it again. I don’t want your father to be too troubled over it either.”
“That’s wonderful, mom.” Huang’er was very happy. “I knew you wouldn’t be stuck on that for too long. After all, you stayed with dad despite all the difficulties you went through, right?
An Yu’er was in an even better mood when she heard her daughter’s praise.
She glanced at her nearby husband, who was glad despite his reddened eyes. Her heart ached slightly, she didn’t want him to be stuck in his own predicament.
“That’s the end of that, Qianfan. I’ll tell my father in a bit, and we can visit your father with our daughter soon, perhaps.”
Yan Qianfan rejoiced at his wife’s new attitude. He was blessed to have a wife that was so virtuous and a daughter that was so understanding.
In truth, Divine Kasyapa had already perceived all that had happened here.
He wasn’t opposed to the resolution of the issues in his daughter’s heart. No one consumed by their hatred could possibly be content. It wasn’t a bad thing for her to overcome her past grievances in this way. If she did not, they would strain her relationships with both her husband and her daughter.
Moreover, though House Yan had invited punishment upon itself, it was as his granddaughter had said: they had received retribution ten times over. Despite that being the case, the god found her leniency astonishing.
Perhaps her receptivity to new things was what had allowed her to pick out someone like Jiang Chen from the crowd?
Yan Qianfan saw Divine Kasyapa in front of them. “Yu’er,” he muttered, “father-in-law is right there. Shall we go speak to him? Why do we stand around blankly here?”
“Sure!” The family of three went to greet Kasyapa together.
The divine was cool as he waved a hand. “We’re family. There’s no need to be so formal. Yu’er, your daughter is quite remarkable. A child like this may yet render the tribulations of your union worthwhile.”
An Yu’er was happier to hear her father compliment her daughter than to hear one herself.
“I’d always thought I had a bad time of it,” she replied cheerfully, “but now I see that I have an incredibly accomplished father, a considerate husband, and an excellent daughter – as well as a son-in-law who’s every bit her equal.”
“Indeed. Your son-in-law is really something else.” Divine Kasyapa wasn’t stingy with the praise. “Given sufficient time, he could very well surpass me.”
“Huh?” In An Yu’er’s heart, her father was the strongest in all the world, but that same man had just said that her son-in-law could eclipse him someday. She was incredulous at this claim. She knew Jiang Chen was very competent, but hadn’t expected him to be more gifted than her father.
Her father was a powerful divine, after all.
Empyrean experts were rather common in Myriad Abyss in general, and the Boundless Prison specifically. However, godhood was an opportunity that less than one in ten thousand had the chance to take.
It couldn’t be sought out, only obtained via happenstance.
She and her husband, for example: Divine Kasyapa had already declared it largely impossible for them after their ordeal. At least, the god admitted that he couldn’t offer them such.
However, her father had also said that their daughter – Huang’er – did have the potential and destiny.
“Father, does Huang’er really have it in her fate to achieve godhood?” asked An Yu’er.
“Yes. The probability for her to do so is very large.” Having become a god himself, Divine Kasyapa had the rudimentary ability to see into the future. This was the basis for his statement. He could very well use his own strength to guide her onto the path, if nothing else.
Husband and wife were overjoyed. “Huang’er, do you hear what your grandfather has said?” An Yu’er beamed. “You will be a goddess someday!”
Huang’er already knew this. “I just want everything to happen naturally, mom,” she smiled and inclined her head. “Right now, I only want our family to remain happily together.”
“Of course. We won’t ever separate from now on.” An Yu’er nodded as much as she could to affirm this.
