Chapter 447: Ascending Again

Although he wasn’t certain, Xu Lei felt it was still possible.

After all, the larger the amount of dynamite detonated at once, the greater the power.

So-called Magical Power was also a form of energy.

The stronger the explosive energy, the greater the chance it could destroy other forms of energy.

Of course, there was no hurry. Xu Lei was only one year old. Ascending to the Celestial Palace at such a young age would be too shocking; the Saint Master and Bodhisattva Guan Yun would surely pay special attention to him.

They might even suspect him of being the former Liao Chen, or rather, the Hui Chi of old.

It might even lead them to figure out that he could reincarnate.

Therefore, Xu Lei decided not to perform his Ascension so quickly in this life.

Besides, he had already learned some things about the Celestial Palace.

He knew that Bai Ling, Qing Lian, and Zhao Xin would not age and die so quickly.

The Celestial Palace still had the effect of slowing down aging.

After taking the Treasure, Xu Lei activated the Lotus Treasure Fragments to fly.

Because his body was still small, his flight speed was faster and consumed less energy.

After all, the cargo he needed to carry was smaller, so the cost in Magical Power was naturally lower.

Thus, Xu Lei didn’t expend too much Magical Power on this trip.

He returned overnight.

He flew all the way back home, slipped back into the house, and went to sleep in his bed.

No one in the family noticed a thing.

The next afternoon, Xu Lei was taking a nap.

A child’s body couldn’t stay awake for too long; he was still prone to sleepiness.

Unexpectedly, when he woke up from his nap, his wet nurse was gone.

Only a graceful and elegant young woman was there, watching over him.

This was Xu Lei’s mother in this life.

“Mother!” Xu Lei called out.

This made the woman overjoyed.

“Good boy, good boy! Mother thought that after being away for a while, you wouldn’t recognize me anymore!”

Based on some memories he had gathered, Xu Lei’s mother managed some of the family’s businesses, meaning she was involved in commerce.

So, she often had to travel to various places to inspect the businesses and check on projects.

“The master is back!” At that moment, a servant in the residence called out.

Before long, a scholarly-looking young man walked in. “My lady, you’re back?”

This was Xu Lei’s father in this life.

“How have things been recently? Is everything alright at the Ministry of the Secretariat?”

Holding Xu Lei, his mother stood up and asked, “You haven’t been scolded by the Lord Minister, have you?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Everything is going smoothly.”

Xu Lei’s father said, “I’m still quite diligent in my work, so there haven’t been any problems.”

“I heard they were supposed to promote a few Assistant Ministers to Ministerial Secretary this time, but your name wasn’t on the list. Is that true?”

Xu Lei’s mother then said, “You’ve been wronged, my husband. You once said that if you hadn’t married me, but wed another Official’s Daughter instead, your career might not have been like this. How about we spend some money to… smooth things over?”

“Absolutely not. There’s no need for that.”

But Xu Lei’s father shook his head and said, “Let’s just wait and see. The Court is cracking down hard on corruption right now. We live a good life as it is, so what if I don’t get promoted? Having you and our son is enough to make me content. If I were to spend money to grease palms and accidentally got implicated in corruption, the loss would far outweigh the gain! Besides, marrying you was my heart’s desire. It was my choice, so you don’t need to worry about it! Being your husband is my good fortune! Some people curry favor with the daughters of high officials, but so what? Are their lives any good? I don’t think so! Some of my colleagues come home walking on eggshells. Even if they get promoted, what does it matter? Besides, I’m still young. It’s not like I can’t get promoted on my own merits.”

Xu Lei’s mother smiled as well.

“Here, let me hold our son!” Xu Lei’s father said with a smile, taking off his official robes.

Watching his father and mother like this, Xu Lei couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth in his heart.

Of course, at this point, Xu Lei didn’t have a complete understanding of his parents’ past or his father’s work.

So he couldn’t figure out exactly what kind of history the two of them shared.

‘I’m still a bit young, just one year old. It’s not a good time to ask.’

So, Xu Lei decided to leave it be.

「Five years later.」

Xu Lei was now six years old.

Over these six years, Xu Lei finally figured out his parents’ story.

Xu Lei’s father in this life was a devoted man.

Although he was an official in the Capital City, he only had one wife at home—Xu Lei’s mother—and had never taken another wife or concubine.

He was born into a scholarly family, but their fortunes had declined. He frequently received help from his neighbors, who were his mother’s family.

He studied diligently, was hardworking from a young age, and showed talent early on. He passed the imperial examinations and earned the title of Advanced Scholar.

Afterward, he began his career as an official. He was initially assigned to a local post for several years. Due to his good performance, he was recalled to the Capital City and entered the Ministry of the Secretariat, working under the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Currently, he was an Assistant Minister under the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

The next rank up was Ministerial Secretary.

One more promotion after that was Vice Minister.

And finally, there was the position of Minister.

Originally, after becoming an official, Xu Lei’s father actually had opportunities to marry the daughters of high-ranking officials.

However, because he was already engaged to the neighbor’s daughter, he refused them all.

He went on to marry Xu Lei’s mother, the so-called neighbor’s daughter.

And that’s how things have been up until now.

In this life, the affection between Xu Lei’s father and mother quite moved him.

Having three wives and four concubines was one way of life.

But having one person to love was also a beautiful way of life.

Now, five years had passed, and Xu Lei’s father still hadn’t been promoted.

He was still an Assistant Minister.

His mother’s businesses, on the other hand, were still doing quite well.