"Alright, you men drink; we respectable wives won't meddle here. Little Yi girl, come with me!" The last phrase was somewhat stern, yet it was because Dugu Xiaoyi saw Jun Moxie arrive that she couldn't pull her legs away and didn't want to leave.

Before leaving, the Old Madam suddenly stopped, turned, and faced Dugu Zongheng and Dugu Wudi: "Hmph, there's something I forgot to ask you two. Haven't you always said that Jun Zhantian's grandson is dissolute, impossible to mold, rotten wood that cannot be carved, and sludge that won't stick to the wall, a dog meat that can't be served at the main table? These words were all spoken by you two gentlemen. How is it that after seeing him today, this young man is not like that at all? I find him much more pleasing to the eye than those seven brutes outside. You two owe me an explanation!"

Dugu Zongheng was stunned. Dugu Wudi was struck dumb!

An explanation? What explanation? How could we explain! Jun Moxie’s swift and formidable rise over the past few months—we wanted an explanation for that too, but who explains it to us?

"Such a fine young man, with true character, unafraid of power, holding fast to his heart, and moreover, handsome beyond compare—how did he become a dissolute wastrel? Is it that you two look down on the Jun family? Deliberately distorting the facts? Or perhaps you have reservations about the Emperor’s view? Fearing that an alliance between two major military families would invite suspicion? Hmph! Let me tell you two 'cowards,' you almost ruined my precious granddaughter's important marriage prospects! Is your granddaughter's lifelong happiness determined by your joys and sorrows? Worried about this and that? I say, putting the two of you together, you're not as capable as one Jun Moxie! I'm telling you, I am very angry about this! I'm not finished with you two! You two wait; this matter is not settled!"

The Old Madam roared for a spell, then calmly walked away. Dugu Zongheng and Dugu Wudi exchanged glances, both looking as if they were about to weep but couldn't.

The contingent of women slowly retreated, and the Old Madam's severe voice could still be heard echoing along the way, like issuing a charge on a battlefield: "I don't care what methods you use, but during this period, you must train this girl to the standard required of a primary wife! Look at what you've made of her with all your spoiling! Where is the slightest bit of a refined young lady’s demeanor? Never mind whether others agree, would even your own sons agree to such a woman as their main wife? I entrust this matter to the eleven of you; if you fail, every single one of you will be swept out the door! Ah, little Yi girl, hehehe. My precious jewel, why the frown? Smile for Grandma. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Grandma is here for everything. Grandma will certainly make things right for you; Grandma will handle everything."

Hearing this, the dozen or so madams who had just received orders from the Old Madam, the Dugu father and son in the main hall, and Jun Moxie were all struck speechless, overcome by a helpless feeling of nausea.

On one hand, she ordered the madams to teach properly; on the other, she shielded the girl to such an extreme extent.

How could any teaching possibly succeed under such circumstances? When would they ever see results?

The three great men exchanged silent glances for a long time. Finally, Old Master Dugu Zongheng, proving the old saying that the old are still strong, leaped up first and bellowed: "Damn it all, bring out the wine! Bring out the food! Are all the servants dead? Hurry up!"

Dugu Wudi also jumped up at the same time, but seeing his father shout first, he stopped, merely waving his arms and making a few gestures.

Before long, two large tables laden with fine wine and delicacies were set out.

Dugu Chong and the others returned with Tang Yuan right on schedule. Truly well-timed.

The eleven great men filled the two tables completely. They had intended to merge them into one, but everyone, except for Jun Moxie, was rather large in stature, much larger than average, especially the stout Tang Yuan. Once seated, one person nearly occupied the space for four.

It was truly exasperating; if they forced themselves together, no one would get to eat.

Dugu Zongheng poured his wine, drank it down in one gulp, and wiped his mouth. "I won't say much else. Young man Jun, you must treat my precious granddaughter well. If anything goes amiss, this old man definitely won't forgive you! Others might fear that old rascal Jun Zhantian, but I am not afraid of him!"

Jun Moxie forced a wry smile. He finally understood: no matter how pleasant the words, coming from this family, they sounded like provocations, always carrying a strong hint of threat. This entire family never knew how to speak gently.

"Exactly! Jun Moxie, if you dare bully my daughter, I'll skin you alive!" Dugu Wudi raised his cup to touch Jun Moxie's, tilted his head back, and gulped down three measures of wine in one go.

"Brother-in-law, hahaha, brother-in-law!" The heroes rushed forward, cups in hand, crowding around. The clear intention was to toast this pretty boy until he was completely drunk!

Dugu Zongheng watched the younger generation making a ruckus and sighed with some melancholy, "You all drink to your hearts' content; this old man won't join you. I can only drink three cups of wine at a meal... Alas, thinking back to those years, this old man was also a dashing hero who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk."

Dugu Wudi quickly comforted him, "Father, why worry? Your old waist injury is serious. Once we find the hide of the Snow God's Call, we can suppress that old injury from flaring up, and then you can drink as much as you like."

"The 'Snow God's Call'—easier said than done! That is a spiritual creature between heaven and earth! We have been searching for over a decade without any news... You must know, capturing the Snow God's Call is probably much harder than defeating a level nine Xuan Beast for its Xuan Core!" Dugu Zongheng became somewhat despondent.

"Does the Old Master have a waist injury? What kind of injury?" Jun Moxie asked, startled, his curiosity piqued.

Dugu Wudi blinked, suddenly recalling that this young man was the divine physician who cured Jun Wuyi’s leg injury. He looked at Jun Moxie with expectation: "My father was injured in battle years ago, damaging his meridians. Since then, any slight amount of alcohol causes him to cough and suffer from asthma; it still hasn't been completely cured. Perhaps you could take a look?"

"Take a look if you must," Jun Moxie said without hesitation, grabbing Dugu Zongheng's left wrist and placing two fingers on his pulse. The Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong spun within him, and instantly, the condition of Dugu Zongheng's meridians appeared in his mind as if he could see it.

"It's another case of severed and withered meridians... Is there truly no cure for this ailment in this world?" Jun Moxie pondered for a long time before withdrawing his hand. "It must have been an arrow wound entering the body, injuring the Lung Meridian. It wasn't too severe originally, but accumulated over the years, it has evolved into a chronic illness. I believe even if the legendary Snow God's Call hide is found, it would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause."

"Ah? That serious? Then do you have a way?" Dugu Wudi was greatly alarmed.

"There isn't no way," Jun Moxie said with a slight frown, "but it's rather troublesome, and it will take at least half a month before we see results."

"Half a month to cure it? That's not long, not long!" Dugu Wudi’s voice trembled. He suddenly grabbed Jun Moxie’s shoulder: "Son-in-law, you absolutely must heal my father's old injury. I have absolutely no objection to you and Xiaoyi’s matter."

This move was highly effective; Dugu Wudi actually called him son-in-law directly.

"Of course you have no objection, but I still have objections," Jun Moxie rolled his eyes at him. "It’s nothing life-threatening for now. I'll give you a prescription. Gather the herbs and take them once in the morning and once at night. Starting from the third day, come to my grandfather’s place daily, and I will administer acupuncture. With continuous treatment like this, it should be completely healed in about ten days."

Jun Moxie said with a smile, then took paper and brush, his writing flowing like dragons and snakes as he swiftly wrote out a prescription. Dugu Wudi clutched it like a treasure, his fingers trembling with excitement. He quickly tucked it into his bosom and patted it to confirm its presence.

In truth, the Old Master's illness wasn't overly complicated. Damaged meridians would indeed be considered incurable by contemporary physicians, but under the Great Young Master's care, it was nothing significant. Although the Old Master’s old injury had persisted for over ten years, it wasn't as severe as Jun Wuyi’s decade-long affliction involving both poison and paralysis. A surge of spiritual energy from the Hongjun Pagoda would suffice; that was the most fundamental energy of life between heaven and earth!

But since Jun Moxie already had a vague plan in mind, how could he miss out on securing the Dugu family as a strong ally? It would certainly be more appropriate to bring the two heads of the military faction together. Then, discussions could flow easily as the two military giants held their wine cups.

As for his relationship with Dugu Xiaoyi, Jun Moxie didn't want to push things too much. Because that would make him feel like he was relying on nepotism, which Young Master Jun didn't want to exploit, nor did he want to profane his feelings because of it!

With that matter settled, everyone began to celebrate wildly.

Dugu Zongheng, in particular, felt that there was hope for a cure and was overjoyed. Although he couldn't drink much, he transformed into the most excellent and forceful supervisor of drinking, glaring at everyone to ensure no one drank too little!

Tang Yuan was somewhat tragic. Although he was fat, his tolerance for alcohol was quite poor. In less than an hour, he had snuck out to vomit three times. He kept returning only to be force-fed until finally, he lost consciousness of the situation, managed to mumble something about the latrine, and staggered out, never to return. Jun Moxie thought he heard a resounding clang from a nearby pond, as if some behemoth had plunged in, kicking up immense splashes, but he didn't pay it much mind. After all, this was the Dugu residence, not the Jun residence. Perhaps the Dugu family had some unique activity going on?

General Dugu Wudi didn't know how many cups he had drunk. At first, the eight large men of the Dugu family were puzzled why Jun Moxie couldn't get drunk, no matter how much he drank. But later, everyone was thoroughly intoxicated. They stopped caring if the person opposite was Jun Moxie, directly raising their cups and shouting heroically, "Bottoms up!" and then tipping their necks back. By the end, Dugu Wudi was squinting, slurring his words, and using his stiff arm to loop around Jun Moxie's neck, drunkenly rolling back and forth repeating just one sentence: "Brother, uh, I'm entrusting my father’s matter to you, big brother, uh..."

Jun Moxie wore a pained expression, unsure if he should agree—what kind of seniority was this?

Dugu Zongheng's slap landed squarely on his son's head, and he cursed loudly: "Damn your mother! That’s your son-in-law!"