Da Ni'er hasn't revealed her identity to the Emperor of Great Yan yet. She feels that she's fine as she is now. She bought a courtyard next to the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion and placed her father's ashes in a separate room for worship.
I've heard that in the Central Plains, people burn incense, and the dead eat incense offerings. I wonder how my father is doing down there these days.
It's getting a bit autumnal; the evenings are cool and not stuffy. A gentle breeze makes you feel slightly tipsy. She has so much to say to her father.
The dark-skinned girl held a rag and wiped the altar while muttering to herself.
"Dad, I still think it's better to be the manager of Wang's Pancake Shop."
"Because the people I admire are all from Great Yan. When I was little, you always said you wanted to see the capital of Great Yan. Did you see it today? Isn't that palace grand and imposing?"
"Being the king of the grasslands is no good, so I can't even hang out with Huo Xiaolong and the others."
A few candles flickered inside the room, and a cool autumn breeze blew in, wiping away the beads of sweat from the girl's forehead.
"Even the king of the grasslands has to clean the floor himself."
"Dad, I miss you..."
Even after she finished cleaning, still kneeling and wiping the floor, she finally uttered the sentence she most wanted to say at the end of her long rambling.
Father, I miss you. If possible, I hope you can come with me to Great Yan, to see the capital city of Great Yan, and to see the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan.
Just take a look.
Time is too cruel, glossing over many things without leaving a trace, the only evidence that they ever existed in this world is the memory in your mind.
Tears dripped from her lowered face onto the bluestone slab with a soft 'plop', the teardrops breaking into tiny water stains.
The wind suddenly picked up, making the ventilation windows in the room creak.
"Dad, do you think you'll be unhappy if I become the manager of Wang's Pancake Shop? It's like you've entrusted the grasslands to me, but I'm... neglecting my duties every day."
Da Nier stood up and looked at the memorial tablet, then added a few more offerings to the altar.
Then she blew out the candles one by one, plunging the once bright little house into darkness. Dani closed the door and turned around, when a gust of wind swept in from the yard, carrying fine sand from the ground, making it hard for her to open her eyes.
The willow tree swaying gently in her eyes nodded to her, as if to say: If you want to be the manager of Wang's Pancake Shop, then go for it. My son can do whatever he wants if he's happy.
As if sensing the care and tenderness of the deceased, Da Ni'er turned around and smiled at the wooden door.
I knew you loved me the most, Dad.
"Mom, it's fine if you bring Grandpa and the others back. Our family is so big, I could support two hundred more grandpas. Why do you have to make these old men, who can barely walk straight, do all the work?"
Huo Xiaolong didn't understand. He thought, "Why not just bring the elders back and let them stay? They can walk around with their birds and enjoy the scenery. It's fine. She's already provided their retirement money."
Do we really have to work?
Cen Ang rubbed his temples and said
"Mom had no choice. You don't know how stubborn your grandpa is. They would never come if they wanted to eat for free."
Wang Gonggong was also pondering this when the eunuch who had come with him asked him.
"Brother, why are the candles in the Prince's mansion picked out during the day?"
"Then do we need three people to water it?"
"Having stayed away from the palace for so many years, do the aristocratic families now hire night watchmen to keep watch during the day?"
Eunuch Wang understood that the children were taking care of them, but these old brothers and sisters were used to serving others in the palace, and they themselves couldn't accept it if he told them the truth abruptly.
A master is a master; how can he possibly care about a bunch of eunuchs?
"That's probably how it is in the border town. Go to sleep, we still have to work tomorrow."
The next morning, Huo Xiaolong was woken up by Xiongzai scratching at the door. Xiongzai hadn't done this since he became a father. Perhaps he had drunk too much spiritual spring water. The little green bean eyes were very clever all day long.
"What's wrong with you? Let me sleep a few more days. In half a month, I'll have to get up early every day to attend court."
The little bear couldn't speak, it just pulled Huo Xiaolong towards its own little courtyard.
The first thing he saw was Snowball clinging to the water basin, its white claws peeking out. Huo Xiaolong wanted the bear cubs to stay with him longer, so he added some spiritual spring water to their drinking water every day.
The little cat in the palace really knows its stuff; it was already so full from drinking, yet it still kept drinking.
"Snowball, stop drinking. You can drink more tomorrow. There will be more tomorrow."
The little white cat didn't even glance at Huo Xiaolong. The tattletale who had been around since childhood sneered, "You little brat, I can handle you. You just wait."
"Mom! Your Snowball is bullying my Bear!"
You've really made something of yourself, becoming a prince and still calling me "Mom."
Snowball didn't understand what the sentence meant or who its mother was. It only saw the woman who had disciplined it since it was a child come over, grab it by the scruff of its neck, and throw it onto its shoulder.
Oh, it's her.
The familiar woman has returned.
Last night's tenderness was just due to the novelty.
"You, you stole someone's water and drank it all? How pathetic..."
The woman led the cat away, and Huo Xiaolong added some more spiritual spring water to the bear cub's bowl, patted its head, and said...
"Be good in the capital. Don't sneak out to play with the kids in the middle of the night. If you want to go out, I'll take you to the mountains for a few days when I have time."
When she spoke, Xiong Zai rubbed his head against her hand. The other bears nearby didn't understand; they just thought their father adored this woman, and that she always fed them treats. Although they weren't as close to He Yi as Xiong Zai, they felt it was okay to play with her.
The little brat, unaware of the danger, caused Huo Xiaolong to stumble as a wild bear charged at him.
The girl gave a thumbs-up without expression, and then started playing around with the bears.
The eagle was also a little embarrassed. He got up in the morning to wash and clean, and also washed and put away his wife's summer clothes. As he was working hard with the washboard in hand, a eunuch suddenly appeared behind him.
Yesterday, his wife told him about it.
"Now that Long'er is a prince, things are different from before. This household needs some servants. Today, Sister Cen brought back a few eunuchs, but they are all old and should be enjoying their retirement in the mansion. When you see them, don't be cold and intimidating, understand?"
The eagle nodded, suppressing his instincts, and stiffly turned back to look at the eunuch with mostly snow-white hair, who cautiously asked him...
"Are you from this household?"
"Oh, I'm Huo Xiaolong's father."
"Oh, it's General Huo! How can I let you wash your own clothes? This old servant will do it!"
This eunuch was extremely thin; Huo Shuwen probably wouldn't dare to argue with him, so he simply picked up the basin and stepped aside, saying to him...
"Um... I'm used to doing this myself. You're in the army, right? There's a ton of stuff in the kitchen. See if there's anything you can do to help."
"Yes, General Huo."
Watching the old eunuch stoop a few steps back and then turn away, the eagle breathed a sigh of relief.
So skinny, all withered and dry, how could he possibly work?
It looks like half of his body is buried in the ground.
He really dared not enjoy this blessing, for fear of shortening his lifespan.
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