After a day of handling matters with the governor, Lin Fan just sent them to an inn by themselves as he went back to the Lin Family manor.
When he arrived, he found that Lin Li Zi hadn’t been idle during the day.
Most of the mess had already been cleaned up and there were guards that were posted at the gates.
It was almost as if nothing had happened.
The one thing that did change this time was that as soon as the guards saw Lin Fan, they immediately went to open the door for him. Though they did look a bit mechanical as they opened the door, almost like they were puppets.
When he walked through, he found that there were some of the new members of the Lin Family walking around.
It seemed that they were handling the matter of designing the new manor as they walked around making notes.
The moment that they saw Lin Fan though, all of them revealed surprised and strange looks.
It only took a moment before all of them came forward like they wanted to talk to him.
But before they could approach, the guards that had been walking around with them suddenly abandoned them. These guards that had been helping them suddenly raised their weapons to point in their direction, as if they were telling them to stay away.
These members of the Lin Family revealed bitter looks on their faces seeing these guards acting this way.
However, the final nail in the coffin was the glare that Lin Fan gave them.
The cold way that he looked at them completely defeated them and they had no choice but to give up.
Lin Fan didn’t care about them anymore once they backed down.
Instead, he looked at the guards and asked, “Where’s Little Sister Li Zi?”
The moment that he asked this, all of the Lin Family members around him couldn’t help revealing strange looks.
They had heard Lin Li Zi call him Big Brother Fan this afternoon, but there was a part of them that hoped that this was nothing more than a one sided address. But the moment that Lin Fan also called her Little Sister Li Zi, they knew that it wasn’t just one sided.
It seemed that Lin Fan had also accepted Lin Li Zi as his little sister.
If they were hoping that they could get closer to Lin Fan and then use him to bring down Lin Li Zi, it seemed like it wasn’t possible…
The guard just calmly said, “The family head is waiting inside for the young master. She’s currently in the dining room.”
Lin Fan gave a casual nod before heading in as if he owned the place.
The guards even opened the door as if this was the case.
Though if one thought about it carefully, he was indeed the owner of this place.
He was the one that took down the Lin Family, so that meant that everything that had once belonged to the Lin Family now belonged to him. So in truth, this place did indeed belong to him now.
It wasn’t strange if he wanted to walk however he wanted in his own house.
Once he came in, he was surprised by the smell that filled the air.
It wasn’t particularly delicious, but it was a smell that made him think of home.
It was the smell of home cooking.
Lin Fan stood there in the main hall in a daze for a bit until Lin Li Zi came out.
When she poked her head out to look at him, she was surprised to see him just standing there. After a moment, she asked, “What’s wrong? What are you standing there for? Come in and let’s eat.”
Lin Fan looked at her for a bit before revealing a faint smile and following her in.
While walking over, he asked, “What’s for dinner?”
Lin Li Zi revealed a faint smile that had a trace of naughtiness to it as she said, “You’re in for a treat, Big Brother Fan. My mom made her special soup just for you today.”
Lin Fan couldn’t help asking, “Is she doing alright now?”
Lin Li Zi gave a strong nod as she said, “You should see her go, she’s filled with energy now.”
Lin Fan shook his head with a sigh before saying, “Make sure that she doesn’t push herself. She should still rest when she can so that she doesn’t exert herself.”
Lin Li Zi just gave a casual nod before going around him and pushing him from behind while saying, “Come on, let’s go! The soup will get cold if we take too long!”
Lin Fan shook his head with a bitter smile, but he didn’t say anything and let her push him along.
When they entered the dining room, they saw Lin Li Zi’s mother coming out of another door with a pot in her hand.
Seeing the two of them acting like this, she waved her hand at them and said, “Come and sit down, the soup’s ready.”
Lin Fan couldn’t help raising a brow in surprise when he saw this.
After all, Lin Li Zi’s mother was currently holding a pot of soup that clearly didn’t seem light. But she had let go of one of the handles to raise her hand to wave at the two of them.
To be able to hold that heavy pot in just one hand…it was clear that she wasn’t weak.
After all, Lin Li Zi’s mother wasn’t a cultivator, so she didn’t have enhanced strength.
After sitting down at the table, Lin Li Zi’s mother quickly scooped out two bowls for Lin Li Zi and Lin Fan before sitting down. It didn’t seem like she was about to eat with the way that she looked at them.
Lin Fan raised a brow and asked, “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating?”
Lin Li Zi’s mother just said with a smile, “I’ll eat after the two of you are done. It’s my job to cook and serve the soup, I shouldn’t eat with the new family head and the young master.”
Lin Fan knitted his brows a bit when he heard this before saying, “But I want you to eat with us. You don’t need to worry about these things in front of us.”
Lin Li Zi nodded in agreement before saying, “That’s right, mom. You don’t need to worry about these things in front of me.”
But Lin Li Zi’s mother shook her head and said, “You should be careful of what the others think. Though I’m your mother, if they see me eating with you, the new family head, they will have other thoughts. I’m just looking out for you, this silly child.”
Lin Fan knitted his brows even more when he heard this before saying, “You don’t need to worry about them.” Though he said this, he also added, “Sit and eat, that’s an order.”
Lin Li Zi’s mother revealed an awkward look at first, but she eventually nodded in agreement and sat down with a bowl for herself.
When she sat down, Lin Fan said, “You don’t need to worry about anything they say, we’ll just give you a special position that will allow you to do whatever you want. You can be the elder of the Lin Family from now on since you’re the mother of the family head.”
Lin Li Zi gave a strong nod of agreement when she heard this before saying, “Mom, don’t worry about these things. Big Brother Fan will take care of everything.”
Lin Li Zi’s mother still had an awkward look on her face before giving a sigh and saying, “It’s all fine for now, but you should know how dangerous it will be once the young master leaves. We need to make things clear now so that we can establish your position in the future.”
Lin Fan shook his head and said, “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already taken precautions for the future. Not to mention, you should trust your daughter, she’s not as weak as you think.”
Lin Li Zi gave a nod before flexing her bicep and saying, “That’s right, I’m much stronger than you think.”
Lin Li Zi’s mother shook her head with a worried look on her face before giving a sigh, but she didn’t say anything else on this matter.
The three of them just silently ate their soup.
When Lin Fan had his first taste of the soup, he could tell that this soup wasn’t that high class.
This was soup that was made of leftovers so to say.
None of the ingredients that were used were expensive or good, they were just scraps that could have been found anywhere.
The Lin Family’s kitchen would certainly be filled with better things, but these were the ingredients that Lin Li Zi’s mother chose to cook with.
That was because these were the ingredients that she was the most familiar with.
These were the things that she was used to eating, which showed just how poor their lifestyle was before.
But when he had the soup, he couldn’t help feeling a warmth fill him.
This was the warmth of family.
Lin Li Zi’s mother suddenly asked in a slightly worried voice, “Young master, is the soup to your liking?”
Lin Fan gave a simple nod and said, “It’s good.”
Then all of sudden, he said, “Aunty, you can just call me nephew, you don’t need to call me young master all the time.”
Lin Li Zi’s mother looked shocked when she heard this before quickly shaking her head and saying, “Young master, someone of my status can’t possibly do that.”
Lin Li Zi jumped in at this point and said, “Mom, you don’t need to worry. I call him Big Brother Fan, so you can just call him nephew if you want.”
Lin Li Zi’s mother glared at Lin Li Zi before softly hitting her head and saying, “This child, you’ll be the death of me one day. How can you act so rude to the young master?”
Lin Li Zi rubbed her head, but she also stuck her tongue out at her mother.
Lin Fan shook his head with a faint smile on his face before saying, “It’s alright, aunty. I’m the one that told her to call me that. Also, it’s fine for you to call me nephew. In fact, I want you to call me that, it’s too awkward if you call me young master all the time.”
Lin Li Zi’s mother still had an unsure look on her face, but seeing the way that Lin Fan looked at her, she had no choice but to say with a sigh, “Alright, nephew.”
Lin Fan gave a simple nod even though he knew how awkward it was for her.
At least this was a good first step.