...
Waking up.
Jiang Mianmian opened her eyes, to see her mom's face.
Her feet were warm.
Upon looking.
She was resting her head on her mom, and her foot was stepping on her dad's face.
She felt she slept beyond the boundary of the five elements.
Jiang Mianmian could feel her dad's hand gently holding her foot.
Her head was pinned down by her mom's head.
She didn't know she would sleep like this, so wildly at her parents' place.
Absolutely not like a pampered young lady.
But, waking up to see her parents right next to her made her feel really good.
Jiang Mianmian pulled back her foot, and her dad woke up.
He opened his eyes to look at her, then immediately showed a smile.
His smile made Jiang Mianmian dizzy.
No wonder her mom looked so lovesick all the time, who could resist her dad's charms?
Especially his sleepy, sweet smile right after waking up.
Jiang Mianmian obediently slept in between them.
Qin Luoxia also woke up.
She gently slapped Jiang Mianmian's foot.
"You kicked your dad's nose quite a few times last night, almost made him nosebleed. Can't you just turn your face around and sleep, instead of insisting on facing him, doesn't it hurt?"
Qin Luoxia complained about the father and daughter.
Jiang Changtian laughed and nodded, "It hurts a bit, this little girl is quite strong. But I think, if she wakes up and sees the back of a head, she certainly won't be happy."
Jiang Mianmian felt warmth spreading in her heart, indeed, she woke up to see that her foot was stepping on her dad's face.
She was inexplicably happy.
Stepping on the face of a world-class handsome man, who else in the world has this privilege!!
Qin Luoxia also couldn't hold back her laughter.
Jiang Mianmian rolled into her mom's arms, her head obediently resting on her mom's arm.
Since Jiang Mianmian's dad wasn't being stepped on his face by her, he came closer.
The family of three cuddled together.
Just listen to the conversation between her mom and dad.
"Darling, Now that Elder Sister Yu is married, isn't it time for us to look for a suitable match for Feng? We didn't find anyone suitable in Ming County, but certainly there should be in the Provincial Capital."
Qin Luoxia was always worried about Feng, feeling that since he fainted that time, his temperament has been a bit strange. Yesterday, he saw such a pretty girl, and even though her demeanor was rather annoying, there was no denying that the girl was beautiful - fine eyebrows, big eyes, fair skin, and her bosom was so full it seemed ready to burst, and her waist was unbelievably thin.
Even Qin Luoxia, a woman herself, felt somewhat inferior when she saw her.
But Feng stayed silent. After listening to the girl's coquettish talk, he lashed out with his sword, piercing straight through. Even though her husband explained to her afterwards that they had already understood the Provincial Capital beforehand, and Mister Yan had a late night talk with him, where he had explained everything in detail.
But, Feng is a young lad, at this age, being infatuated with a girl, marrying a girl, starting a family, that's what's normal.
Feng spends every day practicing his swordsmanship, either he's leading his soldiers in training, or he's fondling Mianmian's head so much that it has become all tangled, making Mianmian run when she sees her big brother.
She never saw him showing interest in any girl, or giving them more than a glimpse.
She remembers that Feng wasn't like this before, when they were still in Ming County, many of the flower sisters there used to tease him, and they seemed to have a good relationship.
She worried about the day when Jiang Feng would bring back a girl from the red-light district.
The circumstances were difficult at that time. She was in a dilemma. On the one hand, she thought that any girl willing to be with him was good enough. On the other hand, such a girl was unacceptable. Even though she sympathized with them, the idea of having such a girl as a daughter-in-law was terrifying.
But later, Feng stopped going out but he didn't pay attention to any other girls either.
Upon arriving in the Provincial Capital, he did glance at a beautiful girl, but then he pierced her with his sword.
As parents, it's hard to please. If their child disapproves of a girl, that's a problem. But if he doesn't even look at girls, that's a problem too.
Qin Luoxia was a little anxious about Feng's marriage.
Jiang Changtian was snuggled against his little daughter and wife. Even though it was a bit chilly in the late autumn, the family's shared warmth was just right.
His head gently rubbed against Luoxia's arm and they took comfort in each other's presence.
“Hmm, I will pay attention. Luoxia, you do not need to worry. When Feng meets a suitable girl, he will pursue her himself. At that time, you will feel jealous that your son has a wife and forgets about his mother. But that’s alright, I too forgot about my mother when I got a wife. It’s fair," he said.
Jiang Mianmian then playfully pulled her father's long hair while listening to his love talk…how cheesy.
In ancient times, it was hard to manage hair without blow dryers, and shampoos weren't smooth either, all natural yes, but hair felt rough after washing.
However, daddy's hair was both, black and straight, extremely good looking.
Mianmian hoped that like her father, her hair would be similar too.
She looked forward to her brother finding a partner soon, so he would stop playing with her hair.
Mianmian snuggled against her parents, listening to their conversations. It was still dark outside and she wanted to go back to sleep.
Because Aunt Yin was reorganizing the household affairs the previous night and the house's bedding was not entirely set up, she ended up sleeping with her parents.
Qin Luoxia and Jiang Changtian were chatting.
Suddenly, the little one between them let out a steady breath, and even snored a little. She had fallen asleep again, sleeping very soundly.
They shared a look and watched their little one for a while before Jiang Changtian gently got out of bed.
"Luoxia, I am going for morning exercise. You and Mianmian sleep a little longer."
Qin Luoxia nodded in response.
Jiang Changtian got up, softly kissed their child’s cheek, and got down from the bed.
He put on his clothes, bent down to kiss Luoxia's forehead, then delicately picked up his shoes and left.
Outside, the dawn was just breaking.
Jiang Changtian thought about waking up their son for morning exercise.
But when he got to the courtyard, he saw both, Jiang Feng and Meng Shaoxia already practicing their swordsmanship.
Meng Shaoxia didn’t know why, but he felt his father-in-law gave him a serious look, not sure what mistake he made. He had woken up early in the morning, committed to improve his skills, and had even made arrangements with brother Feng.
Jiang Feng too didn’t know why, but he felt his dad gave him a serious look, unaware of any potential mistake. He too had woken up early in the morning, committed to improve his skills, and had made arrangements with Shaoxia.
The father, the son, and the daughter’s husband all practiced swordsmanship together, engaging in physical exercise.
Since the last incident where he was openly challenged, Jiang Changtian still had it in his mind.
Thankfully, both Feng and Shaoxia were strong. Though he was barely able to cope, he felt weak and realized the need to strengthen himself. Even if he couldn’t contribute to their strength, he didn’t want to be a weak link.
He clearly saw the self-proclaimed Lin Yang's bodyguard commanding to shoot before being called to the litter to speak to Jiang Wan.
Jiang Changtian felt that the person who wanted to kill him was seemingly Jiang Wan.
If the orders were from Old Lady Jiang or his elder brother, he would not be surprised. However, with Jiang Wan, Jiang Changtian found it strange.
He barely knew this niece and had barely interacted with her; where did such great hostility come from?
Reflecting on past encounters, recalling the few glimpses of Jiang Wan that he had. Remembering her actions, her expressions, Jiang Changtian had a ludicrous guess.
Feng said he had died once and crawled back from under the ground. He was buried underground for several years, where he could only hear wailing and sense the movement around him, then he was revived.
Could Jiang Wan have had a similar experience? Had Jiang Wan also experienced some miracle, probably stronger than Feng, according to her trajectory, she could possibly go to the Provincial Capital. With Old Lady Jiang's ability, it wouldn't be a problem for her to become a talented woman in the capital.
Feng mentioned that all his family had died. Old Lady Jiang returned to the capital without any concern, Jiang Wan must have had an excellent marriage arrangement. Thinking back on Jiang Wan's conduct, she was a hundred times sharper than his Elder Sister Yu. She seemed like a noble and illustrious figure.
Their origin was here, and they could not possibly be noble and illustrious.
Jiang Changtian guessed that Jiang Wan must have had a miracle, or have been very successful. If she harbored hostility towards him and combined what Feng said, Jiang Changtian thought, if all his family were also wiped out, leaving only him alone, his only goal in life would be vengeance, to let others accompany him in death.
Perhaps he succeeded in the end.
Therefore, he could explain why Jiang Wan wanted him dead, and some of the inexplicably high and extraordinary demeanor in Jiang Wan.
Of course, all of this was Jiang Changtian's own speculation based on breadcrumbs.
But he could be wrong.
Better wrongfully kill than let go.
Just thinking of the scene of his entire family being wiped out, he felt that nothing he did would be considered excessive.
He took his family to the Provincial Capital. He believed that Old Lady Jiang's family would certainly not sit still. The intelligent Jiang Wan should do something.
The sun rose from the horizon.
On the training ground, Jiang Changtian was battling Meng Shaoxia.
Meng Shaoxia figured that if he couldn't beat his older brother, he should be able to compete with his father-in-law.
The father-in-law's swordplay was very rusty, but the killing intent was inexplicably strong.
Meng Shaoxia didn't know why, but he didn't dare to physically exert himself. Mainly because his Father-in-law had an eerily handsome face. As they fought, every time his father-in-law's face was towards him, he would get distracted.
In a moment of inattention, he almost felt a sword pierce his throat, only to snap back to reality at the last second and knock his father-in-law's sword to the ground with his own, relieved.
Suddenly, he felt the training ground become quiet.
Turning his head, he saw his wife, Little Yu'er, charging towards him, rolling pin raised, fuming.
"Meng Shaoxia! I misjudged you! You dare bully my father!"
The rolling pin flew up, and Meng Shaoxia sprinted away.
Under the sunlight, his father-in-law revealed a feeble smile...
