Just as Qiao Zhongbang and Wei Ziqin wanted to come forward to give their salutes, Mo Lian hurriedly stopped them.
“Uncle, Auntie, there aren’t any outsiders here, so we won’t be particular about those mere formalities.” Don’t kid me, his little wife was presently glaring at him. How could he dare to let Qiao Zhongbang and Wei Ziqin bow to him?
“I wasn’t intentionally hiding it from you in the past, please forgive me.”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince is speaking too seriously.” Qiao Zhongbang replied quickly.
“Uncle, Auntie, you can call me Xiao Mo when you’re at home, just like in the past. Uncle, Auntie, and Second Uncle are all my elders. Calling me this also sounds more familiar.”
“This…” Qiao Zhongbang hesitated while Wei Ziqin, on the contrary, agreed forthrightly.
“Xiao Mo, truly, you didn’t say anything. You made Auntie worry for the whole day.” And she was thinking that the king had mismatched mandarin ducks[1]. Who knew that it was actually a misunderstanding?
Qiao Mu stood on the side without saying a word. She could indeed see that the crown prince spared no effort in chumming up to her family during this period of time. Look at how flattered he made her mom, who kept adding “Xiao Mo” to her every sentence.
At the beginning, there was still a bit of awkwardness due to his status, but after chatting for a while, her mom completely reverted to how she used to act.
After Crown Prince Mo chatted with Qiao Mu’s mom for a while, he turned his head to smile at Qiao Mu: Look, I said that there was completely no problem on my future parents-in-law’s end!
Qiao Mu turned her small head and pulled Qiao Lin’s hand, saying, “Xiao Lin’er, you’ve triggered your mystic meridians.”
“Mhm.” Qiao Lin nodded her head vigorously. “Last year, a mentor from the Mystic Cultivator Association helped me trigger my mystic meridians successfully! Sister, I’m a level-four mystic cultivator right now.”
A level-four mystic cultivator that was not yet fully eleven years old was already considered extremely talented, with an exceptional root constitution.
Qiao Mu nodded, very satisfied. “Sister can see that you’ve been working hard.”
Qiao Lin pursed up her small mouth with smiling eyes.
While the family was chatting merrily, Donghe loitered about the entrance for a bit before swiftly exiting and running frantically towards Elderly Lady’s Longevity Court.
Elderly Lady had been taking her afternoon nap, and Donghe happened to come just as she was getting up.
When she heard that Donghe had rushed over, Elderly Lady’s eyes flickered, and she told her servant girl Xiayun, “Bring her inside.”
Soon, Donghe’s tall and slender figure appeared in Elderly Lady Qiao née Wang’s eyes.
“Donghe, you came in such a hurry to find this old one, is it because something happened over at Master’s end?” Elderly Lady held a cup of tea, and she drank unhurriedly without batting an eyelid while sweeping a glance at the servant girl Donghe who was kneeling before her.
The servant girl Donghe quickly crawled two steps forward on her knees to Elderly Lady, deliberately squeezing out two drops of tears as she said, “Elderly Lady, you probably still don’t know. Eldest Miss has returned.”
“What?” Elderly Lady was shocked. Upon hearing her mention Qiao Mu, that pair of ice-bead eyes that could chill the soul surfaced in her heart, and her hand that was holding her tea froze for some reason.
The servant girl Donghe didn’t notice Elderly Lady’s abnormality and added details to her story as she complained, “Eldest Miss is really an inflexible and strict person. Just as she stepped through the door, she gave Youngest Young Master a beating without room for objection.”
“How old is Youngest Young Master! What can a seven to eight-year-old understand? Eldest Miss beat Youngest Young Master’s palm until it festered from inflammation! Looking at it really makes the heart ache. Madam didn’t say anything either and just let Eldest Miss have her way and be so reckless. This servant really couldn’t look on.”
“Besides, Old Madam, Eldest Miss has been back for this long, but she didn’t even come to pay her respects to you. She truly is too unfilial!” The servant girl Donghe pursed her lips.
[1] mandarin ducks = affectionate couple
