"Chi Song Lian? That little brat who's too arrogant?" Old Master Nan asked in strange tone.
"Yes, Master."
Old Master Nan sneered when he thought of that Chi Family brat. "My granddaughter is just too exceptional. If that brat tried to do anything funny to my granddaughter, just break his arm."
"Yes, Master."
After the report from Hou Liang, Old Master Nan nodded. He didn't mind with the way the two brats took care of the things around them. It was clear that he would let those two do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't cross the line.
"Hou Lin."
Swish!
"Master," Hou Lin greeted respectfully.
Old Master Nan nodded. "Tell me more about Hua'er."
"Young Miss…" Hou Lin's tone was extremely low as he explained what had happened, including the short episode with Bai Yin. Everything that Nan Hua said and her small gesture was reported. While Nan Hua was expressionless most of the time, there was some emotions that would brew inside her eyes from time to time for a split second.
It was very brief, though.
"I see, they've actually planted such a spy in my son's home." Old Master Nan sighed. He didn't know which family it was because there were several of them who had grudge against him and could do something like this.
"Yes. Would you like this servant to investigate more?" Hou Lin asked.
Old Master Nan shook his head. "There's no need. Nan Shu Cheng must have realized it too but he chose not to bother with it. Since he himself didn't want to bother with it, I would not care either. He can take care of the problem himself."
Looking at Old Master Nan's tired expression, Hou Lin knew that the Old Master was tired of wiping his son's mess all the time. Even after having a family on his own, Nan Shu Cheng was still as unreliable as ever.
"Master, Young Miss seems like she wants to know more."
Old Master Nan was silent and shook his head. "It's not the time yet. There are too many of them and asking her to be wary of each of them would be too tiring. Call Si Qiao here and ask her to accompany my grandchildren for the time being."
"Yes, Master."
"Also, create some trouble for Qu Family. That Concubine Qu is already going out of hand in this matter." Old Master Nan chuckled. If that Concubine Qu had so much time in her hand, why don't she just pay more attention to her family?
Qu Family was not really a big family. They had made a big leapt with Concubine Qu marrying quite a high ranked official and often created trouble. Someone should report this matter so that Concubine Qu could focus more on her problems and not created trouble for his grandchildren.
"Yes, Master."
Swish!
The soldiers moved to do their job while Old Master Nan stayed in his place.
Looking at the pile of bamboo strips in front of him, Old Master Nan felt tired. There were so many things to do but his children couldn't even help while his grandchildren were too small.
'I hope Nan Family can survive and thrive.'
…
In the afternoon, Nan Family had a guest.
"Aunt," Nan Hua greeted. She was curious why she had to dress up right after she woke up but upon seeing Nan Si Qiao, she understood. There was no way she would be allowed to dress up as usual when she was about to go training in front of Nan Si Qiao.
Nan Si Qiao looked at Nan Hua and her eyes lit up. "You're here, Hua'er. Ao Si and Ao Kuai are training with Ah Luo."
Nan Hua nodded. She could hear the faint sound of wooden sword clashing. Since the voice sounded different from usual, she had guessed that the one who was fighting was not Hou Liang and Nan Luo. It must be Feng Ao Si and Nan Luo.
"Father wants me to proceed with the next step of your lessons. He told me that you met with Princess Yue?"
"Yes."
"While it's true that the Emperor had changed, the princess didn't really experience much chance. Those who are useful will be left alive while those who are not will be abandoned." Nan Si Qiao's eyes were cold when she recalled the matter that occurred when Emperor Xuan ascended to the throne.
Different from the current Emperor, Emperor Yang Zhou, Emperor Xuan was already an adult. He could make all the decision in the court but of course, the person himself might have not realized that he was nothing more than a puppet being controlled by the other ministers.
How tragic.
Nan Hua looked at Nan Si Qiao. "Does it mean that Princess Yue is still useful."
"She'll be married away in a marriage agreement." Nan Si Qiao smiled faintly, yet there was not even any trace of mirth. "Whether she can survive or not in the end is still unknown."
Nan Hua didn't comment.
Women's status in this era was impossibly low. Only servants were lower than them, noble ladies. But even then, their existences were more often than not, only to become a tool used by the males to expand their connections and also to stabilize power.
That was why the Emperor would have such a large harem.
"But even if she's being married away soon, it didn't mean that one can afford to offend her. Her status will still be quite high." Nan Si Qiao then pointed to the painting equipment at the side. "Your task today is to learn how to paint. I believe that you have some basics."
Looking at the painting equipment, Nan Hua shook her head.
She never painted in her past life, much less in this world.
Nan Si Qiao sighed. "Anyway, we'll learn zither, painting, and some poetry…."
Upon mentioning poetry, Nan Si Qiao's tone faltered a bit. How could she forget that Nan Hua's vocabulary really needed a vast increase. The words that Nan Hua used has always been the simplest one that could be easily found.
It didn't sound that good….
"Come here, let's learn from beginning."
"Mhm."
Thus, Nan Hua learnt under Nan Si Qiao for the next few days.
Nan Luo would be training with Feng Ao Si while Feng Ao Kuai usually spent his time to read books.
Time was very peaceful, except during dinner time.
"Mother, I defeated Nan Luo again!" Feng Ao Si said proudly. He was puffing his chest as if what he did was something that was worthy being so proud over.
Nan Si Qiao looked at her son and nodded. "Good, if you lose to him, you won't be having dinner."
"Hehehe, how could it be."
"Hmph! Just watch I defeat you soon." Nan Luo sulked.
The difference in built between him and Feng Ao Si was the biggest reason why he had been losing continuously. Not to mention, Feng Ao Si had more strength as he was a 13 years old boy and had some experienced in the real battlefield. Even if his role was nothing more than a small helper, it was still experience nevertheless.
Nan Hua looked at her brother and she tugged his sleeve.
"Ah, what is it, Hua'er?"
"Target his blind spot, the right side," Nan Hua gave advice. She could see that Feng Ao Si was someone who was very good at controlling his weapon and had more strength. So, the only chance for her twin brother to win was if he made use of Feng Ao Si's weakness.
His movement was broad and big, which meant that he could barely cover his right side. It was the time when Nan Luo should strike.
Hearing the advice, Nan Luo's eyes brightened. "I'll try it!"
"What are you talking about?" Feng Ao Si noticed that the twins were speaking at low voice. He furrowed his brows.
"I'm going to defeat you in the next mock battle!" Nan Luo proclaimed.
"Hmph! As if I'll let you."
"Just see!"
Feng Ao Kuai ate silently in the midst of his brother and younger cousin's quarreling. He didn't have any interest in these fights and preferred the quiet time he could spend by eating and reading.
Bletak! Bletak!
"Ouch!"
Old Master Nan looked at his two grandsons who were fooling around. "Eat properly and stop speaking. If you don't want to eat, you can go out."
The two finally quieten down and ate silently. However, their eyes were filled with burning fighting spirits when they were looking at each other.
The only good thing was that it was not filled with malice since they were only competitive against each other but not to the point of wanting each other lives. Despite their age differences, the two of them were indeed similar to each other.
Watching these two, Old Master Nan felt tired. It has been a week and these two were still like that.. He turned to look at his daughter. "How's Hua'er progress?"