However, Xin Er didn’t see it that way. The mont she heard that her father might have found a woman he liked and was considering marrying her, Xin Er felt unbearable pain in her heart. She not only cried in front of her brother, but she also had an awkward confrontation with her father at the dinner table. It was clear in her heart that once her father remarried, he would no longer be the good father of just the three of them.
After hearing everything, Mo Yan didn’t know what to say anymore. The matter hadn’t even taken shape, but one sibling was eager to find a stepmother for themselves, hoping for another person to dote on them, while the other was hopelessly falling into anxiety and fear, dreading that their father would be deceived by the stepmother and end up like a forlorn little cabbage without the love of a father or the care of a mother.
Seeing the lingering confusion in his sister’s eyes, Mo Yan rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Dad hasn’t explicitly ntioned remarrying, and you’re already treating him coldly. I feel it’s unfair on Dad’s behalf! Regardless of whether Dad has feelings for Auntie from the Cui family or whether he will remarry, what you need to know is that he is our father and he will always love us. That’s enough."
With Mo Yan’s comforting words, Xin Er started to see things differently. Although she couldn’t accept her father remarrying and didn’t want a stepmother, her opposition wasn’t as strong as before.
After personally making a bowl of noodles with green vegetables and shredded pork for his sister, and watching her eat it all, Mo Yan returned to his room. He wanted to write a letter to his father to ask what the situation truly was, but upon reflection, he decided against it.
"Yanyan, why don’t you ask?" Xue Tuanzi’s voice popped up again, soaked in a thick gossip tone.
"It’s too hard to explain clearly in a letter. When dad Mu Xiu returns, I’ll ask him face to face. If Dad really likes Auntie from the Cui family, I would actually support him being with her," Mo Yan had always wanted his father to remarry, especially after becoming betrothed and feeling the bonds of his own affections. This desire grew even stronger.
Auntie from the Cui family was a good person, gentle on the outside and strong on the inside, graceful and generous. Such a woman was well-matched with their father and was not likely to treat the siblings poorly.
"Tsk tsk, you’re quite open-minded! Why don’t you get your dad to propose to the Cui family? If you both celebrate your wedding on the sa day, one marrying off and one taking a wife, it would be quite lively," said Xue Tuanzi, taking his suggestion seriously and feeling quite proud of it.
A muscle twitched in Mo Yan’s eye, and upon entering Space, he grabbed Xue Tuanzi and gave it a good thrashing, "Not only is there nothing set about my dad and Auntie from the Cui family, even if it was, that kind of arrangent is impossible. It’s nice to have double happiness strike the household, but not in this way!"
Doing so would make their family infamous throughout Jing City, and certainly not for anything good!
"Ah, stop, stop, I was just thinking for your good!" cried Xue Tuanzi as it tried desperately to escape the clutches of the ’Magical Claw’.
Mo Yan stopped his actions, chuckling, "For my good? Then do tell how it’s for my good."
Xue Tuanzi’s soft body twisted, seizing the opportunity to escape the "Magical Claw" and flew up into the air. Feeling at a safer distance, it complained, "Every ti you et with Bro Xiao, you get more attached than the last. I’m really afraid that one day, you two won’t be able to hold back and end up making a baby. If your dad gets married, would he still have the face to delay your wedding?"
Mo Yan’s face turned beet red, but he was too preoccupied to feel embarrassed, staring suspiciously at Xue Tuanzi, "Every ti I et with Bro Xiao, I make sure to block you out. How do you still know? Speak up, do you have another way of spying on ?"
Xue Tuanzi’s eyes darted around, clearly panicked, "No, no, if you block out, I have no idea what happens outside."
Mo Yan wasn’t convinced and reached out to grab Xue Tuanzi from mid-air again, his voice malicious, "I suggest you tell the truth, otherwise, hmm!"
Xue tuanzi was almost scared to pee by its owner’s sinister laugh, but instinct told it not to reveal the truth, otherwise it would surely be left with no intact body. Thus, it slumped in Mo Yan’s hand, playing dead with an air of "do whatever you like."
Mo Yan’s face darkened, and after a long ti of threatening and enticing, Xue tuanzi’s "mouth" remained clamped shut like a clamshell, refusing to utter a single word, and even tickling it was no use anymore.
Out of options, Mo Yan couldn’t really do anything to Xue tuanzi, so he dishearteningly let it go, secretly reminding himself to control himself and not do anything intimate when eting with Xiao Ruiyuan in the future. He always had the feeling that a pair of eyes were watching them from the shadows, which was too horrifying!
...
Lately, Mo Qingze had a bit of annoyance. It had been five or six days since he last returned to Scholar Mansion for dinner! It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go back for a al, but every ti he finished his official duties, the sa person used various excuses to invite him over for dinner. The invitations were hard to decline, and there was another voice inside urging him to go, so he had to oblige.
But after several days of this routine, even he was not so foolish as to miss the issue at hand.
Glancing at the corner water clock, there was about a quarter of an hour left before he was off duty, Mo Qingze beca sowhat restless. Despite feeling it was inappropriate, a small sense of anticipation still welled up inside him.
People had already started packing things in the room when a teaching servant ca over and said, "Mr. Mo, how about a drink at Langui Pavilion after you finish your duties?"
This teaching servant had been with the Hanlin Academy for five or six years. With no prestigious family connections due to his poor background and lacking impressive talents, he had not been promoted. But since he was a senior, Mo Qingze had no intention of acting pretentiously just because he was favored by the Crown Prince. He imdiately got up, wearing a troubled look as he declined, "I have private affairs to attend to after my duties, so I’m afraid I have to disappoint Official ng this ti. I will surely invite Official ng for a drink on another day."
Hearing this, Servant ng didn’t insist, smilingly he said, "Let’s settle on that then. Just don’t forget, Mr. Mo."
"Certainly, certainly!" Mo Qingze breathed a sigh of relief and cheerfully made the promise.
Servant ng returned to his own seat, tidying up his brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and waited to be off duty. Another teaching servant sitting next to him leaned over with jealousy, glaring at Mo Qingze not far away and bitterly said, "He just had the dumb luck to catch the Crown Prince’s eye, and now he dares to disregard his seniors. If he hadn’t had a daughter who married into power and influence, who would give a damn about this lowly-born nobody?"
Official ng furrowed his brows, disagreeing with his colleague’s words in his heart. If there was a lack of genuine talent and learning, how could he have been exonerated in the cheating scandal that broke out after the autumn exams two years ago? If it was all just blind luck, how could he have beco Champion Scholar, earning the admiration of scholars all over?
However, considering they had been colleagues for years and the man was speaking out for him, Official ng did not want to argue directly. So he gently reminded, "Mr. Mo’s talent is well-recognized. If your words just now were to spread and reach the Crown Prince’s ears, how do you know the Crown Prince wouldn’t misinterpret that you are mocking his ability to judge people, mistaking the false for gems?"
At this, the teaching servant was struck with cold sweat, hastily looking around to ensure no one had paid attention to their conversation. He sighed in relief and lowered his voice even more, "Hmph, Mr. Mo acts all high and mighty in public, who knows how disgraceful he might be in private? Every day, Lord Cui waits for him outside; I’ve never heard of any connection between them before. If there isn’t sothing fishy going on, I’d be the first not to believe it."
Upon hearing this, Servant ng truly beca angry. His face turned stern as he chided, "Even if there were sothing, it’s none of our business! If the Cui family has been prosperous for hundreds of years and still stands unshaken, could the Family Head be a fool? Mr. Mo caught Lord Cui’s eye with his own capabilities. Ordinary people can’t even find the door to the Cui family! I’ll pretend I’ve never heard what you said today. You better not bring it up again in the future, or don’t bla for not considering our years of collegiality and washing my hands of you."
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