Inside the study.
Old Master Huo sat at the desk, while Huo Xiaozheng lounged on the master chair to the right, leisurely pouring himself a cup of tea.
Although the Huo Family wealth was built upon accumulations of past generations, maintaining it proved to be more difficult than building it. By the time it reached Old Master Huo's generation, the family unity was not as strong as it once was.
Old Master Huo exhausted all his abilities, barely managing to maintain the existing fortune of the Huo Family.
Yet, this was far from sufficient.
Old Master Huo had the intention to mentor his eldest son, but Huo Yanqin went into the civil service early.
After Huo Yanqin entered service, he brought considerable benefit to the Huo Family.
But it was still not enough.
His old age would inevitably come one day.
Thus, Huo Xiaozheng became the definitive choice.
As expected, his judgement was impeccable.
Even in his youth, Huo Xiaozheng displayed wits and maturity surpassing his peers, and his means grew increasingly decisive and ruthless with time.
The family matters that Old Master Huo couldn't resolve due to old affections, Huo Xiaozheng dealt with them directly, without sentimentality.
Old Master Huo felt deeply relieved.
Until recently.
"Have you looked into the background of that little girl?" Old Master Huo asked with a voice carrying inherent authority.
Huo Xiaozheng nonchalantly set down his tea cup, "Yes, she's my daughter."
A gleam flashed in Old Master Huo's eyes, "I heard you've already registered her under your name."
"Yes."
"That's fine. The Huo Family can manage to raise another little girl," Old Master Huo said, "Let's register her under your elder brother's name."
Huo Xiaozheng remained composed, "No need, I will raise my own daughter."
It was rare for Huo Xiaozheng to defy him like this, leaving Old Master Huo momentarily startled, his countenance darkened, "The Jiang and Qin families are about to form a marital alliance. You should know what this implies, without me having to spell it out for you, right?"
Huo Xiaozheng remained unperturbed, "They won't stir up much trouble."
"Bang!"
A tea cup flew past Huo Xiaozheng's cheek, smashing against the bookshelf and shattering.
"Not stir up trouble?" Old Master Huo was enraged, "Do you really think I'm senile? You and that youngster from the Jiang Family have been at odds for years, you just won a fight using the case of that little girl. That Jiang boy made a few remarks and redirected the blame towards his own family branch, taking the opportunity to clean out internal traitors."
"Now that the Jiang and Qin families are getting married, the Huo Family stocks are consistently dropping, what's your countermeasure?"
Huo Xiaozheng showed no expression, only a slight twitch in his brows when he heard about 'winning a fight using the case of the little girl'.
"Father, the Huo Family has been in my hands for so many years, you should trust me."
Huo Xiaozheng maintained his composure throughout, which seemed to ease Old Master Huo’s worries.
"Never have I worried about you since you were a child. I've always had faith in your leadership of the Huo family," the sight of the blood on Huo Xiaozheng's cheek softened Old Master Huo's tone. "As for the matter of the little girl, deal with it as you see fit."
As he spoke, Old Master Huo got up, "Let's go, we shouldn't delay your older brother's birthday celebration."
"She's my daughter, logically speaking, you should call her your granddaughter." Huo Xiaozheng's voice sounded rigid and somewhat oppressive, "Or, you could call her by her nickname - Ning Ning."
Old Master Huo was taken aback.
Huo Xiaozheng didn't expect the Old Master Huo to take a stand, he got up, slightly bent his waist at the old man, and walked out of the study first.
Separated only by a wall, the atmosphere inside and outside the study was starkly different.
The Huo family had few girls, and thus, the young lady was dearly treasured. At the moment, Huo Ning was surrounded affectionately by everyone.
Upon catching a glimpse of Huo Xiaozheng walking out of the study, sheinstantly broke from the crowd and rushed to his side, looking up at him and calling out, “Dad.”
Huo Xiaozheng responded with a grunt, asking her, “Did you have fun?”
Huo Ning stepped back a bit and instead of answering, she asked, “Does it hurt?”
Huo Xiaozheng gave her a puzzled look.
Huo Ning pointed at her own cheek indicating, “There’s blood.”
Huo Xiaozheng belatedly felt a burning sting, he lifted his hand to wipe at the blood.
Huo Ning quickly handed him a napkin, “Use this to wipe.”
Huo Xiaozheng chuckled abruptly, obediently wiping the blood from his cheek with the napkin.
Seeing this, Huo Yanqin frowned. “Did Dad hit you?”
Huo Xiaozheng was back to his reticent self, “I'm fine.”
Zheng Jinxiu moved closer to Huo Xiaozheng wanting to wipe his wound but hesitated.
In the strained atmosphere, Old Master Huo walked out leaning on his walking stick with the help of the butler.
Seeing this, Huo Ning took a few steps forward, shielding Huo Xiaozheng behind her, her eyes fixed on the Old Master Huo with a fierce determination of a wolf pup.
The old master paused in his tracks.
This time, Huo Xiaozheng genuinely laughed.
He bent over to pick up his fierce little niece and gently said, “ Ning Ning, you must not be impolite.”
“Hitting someone is wrong.” Huo Ning emphasized earnestly, “It hurts.”
This reminded Huo Xiaozheng of his niece’s past experiences, she must be afraid of pain.
He reassured her gently, “Mm, Grandpa didn’t do it on purpose, so, you must not be impolite.”
Huo Ning realized that Huo Xiaozheng was trying to keep the peace, but as she was under their roof she had no choice…
“I'm sorry,” Huo Ning mumbled in the direction of the Old Master Huo.
Huo Xiaozheng stroked her head.
Old Master Huo stepped forward, cleared his throat, and said, “It's okay, let's eat."
Huo Ning didn’t want to interact with Old Master Huo any further, she burrowed into Huo Xiaozheng’s arms after apologizing, unwilling to give the old man another glance.
Her child-like behavior livened up the atmosphere as everyone teased, “Young Miss really is close to her father, she knows how to protect him.”
“Yes, unlike my brat at home!”
"Huo Ning, will you protect your brother in the future?" Huo Yueze couldn’t resist jumping in to vie for affection.
Huo Ning thought for a moment, considering that this silly brother of hers did a pretty decent job at making a snowman and even appreciated her own creation, she nodded, “I will.”
At her words, Huo Yueze completely erased his fear of snowmen from his memory, basking in the adoration his younger sister showed him.
Apart from Old Master Huo, everyone else was all smiles.
When it was time to eat, Huo Ning sat down next to Huo Xiaozheng and whispered into his ears, "Where is Aunt Dimei?"
"Your aunt has an award ceremony to attend tonight, she will come back late," explained Huo Xiaozheng.
Huo Ning spoke with an air of longing, "So, did Auntie win any awards? She's amazing."
"The results haven’t come out yet, so we still don't know if she has won."
"Oh, I see.”
Although this was a family banquet for Huo Yanqin's birthday, there were some distant relatives who came to offer their congratulations after the meal.
Due to Old Master Huo, even though the Huo Family wasn't particularly close with these distant relatives, they were always cordial on the surface.
As more and more people arrived, Huo Xiaozheng started to think about leaving with Huo Ning.
"Letting Ning interact with children her own age might be more beneficial for her physical and mental health.”
Shen Shiyan's words echoed in his mind.
"Ning, your dad and your uncle have some matters to discuss. Would you like to play with the other kids?" Glancing around at the room full of toddlers, Huo Xiaozheng subtly steered Huo Ning towards a group of little girls, away from the mischievous ones.
Admittedly, Huo Ning was a bit tired, but she obediently agreed to her father's request.
Little did she know how much she would regret saying ‘yes'.
