“Dad.” Dai Zhanxiao called out, but didn’t know what to say. His heart couldn’t calm down. Dai Mingrong’s fist clenched and relaxed, and he also didn’t know what to say. There were many things he wanted to say, but when the words reached his lips, they turned into emptiness.

“Dad.”

“What do you want to say?” Dai Zhanxiao squeezed out a sentence. “Dad, you didn’t recognize him by mistake, did you?” Dai Mingrong glared at him with a look. “Your old man is not so old and senile that he can’t recognize your little brother!”

Dai Zhanxiao voiced the doubts he had held in his heart. “Little brother was captured at the age of five by bandits. Even if he ended up in a Village in Yongxiu County, he wouldn’t suddenly start making wine, tea, and knowing so much stuff that you don’t know, right? I’m not saying I don’t want to find my little brother, but I’m afraid that in the end, we’ll be disappointed.” Dai Mingrong clenched his fist tightly. “I’m afraid too.”

“But this is really the first time Dad has seen someone who looks so much like your grandfather. His age matches and he’s also adopted. When you were young, your grandfather used to say that your little brother looked the most like your grandfather. Dad also thought so. When Dad saw the painting Jiang Kangchen drew, there was a voice in his heart that kept saying it was Zhanan. That, that person was your little brother.”

Dai Zhanxiao fell silent for a moment and said, “Dad, what if I go to Xiushui Village secretly, just once?” Dai Mingrong replied, “No! You’re a general, you can’t leave the camp casually.”

Dai Zhanxiao said, “The princes of the Huhar Kingdom are all busy fighting for the throne now. There won’t be any more wars on the border for at least half a year. I can ride alone and reach Yongxiu County at the fastest in the fastest twenty days. I want to see him with my own eyes.”

Dai Mingrong said, “No!” But then he added, “I will write a letter to your little uncle and ask him to visit Xiushui Village.” Dai Zhanxiao, who had been disappointed, suddenly regained hope and said, “If Yunan is really my brother, I won’t let Shao’s family off easily!”

Dai Mingrong frowned. “Jiang Kangchen said that the way they adopted Yunan was not legitimate. Regardless of whether Yunan is your brother or not, we cannot let Shao’s family off lightly.”

Dai Zhanxiao also frowned, “If he is indeed my brother and the Shao family forced him to marry Wang Shijing, they should be punished! That Wang family too! They should not be spared!”

Dai Mingrong sighed. Dai Zhanxiao said, “Dad, if he really is my brother and he’s with Wang Shijing… Wang Shijing is a capable man, but he was my soldier. If he’s my brother, he’s not worthy of him.” Dai Mingrong replied, “Let’s first confirm whether he is Zhanan.”

The things put into the space usually land in fixed locations unless you concentrate to place them in a specific spot, but this process consumes a lot of physical and mental energy. The ebony wood was so large that simply putting it into the space would not only crush the plants, but also damage the spiritual spring. Shao Yunan placed the ebony wood in the farthest corner of the space and was left physically exhausted. He had to drink a cup of spirit milk-infused spiritual spring water to recover. Brother Tiger was very unhappy. He really wanted to drink some too!

The immortal grass was still sleeping under the spirit milk stone, its leaves curled up. Shao Yunan placed the small piece of ebony wood that Jiang Moxi had cut next to the mountain grass. There is a saying among the people that having half a piece of ebony wood at home is better than having a treasure chest. Ebony wood is a mummy in the plant kingdom… A spiritual wood of all woods and a revered wood. It was most suitable for ebony wood to be neighbors with fairy grass. However, the spiritual spring cave was too small and only this much of the ebony wood could accompany the fairy grass.

After helping Jiang Moxi take a bath, Shao Yunan made a simple dish of stir-fried vegetables with ham and cooked a tomato and egg soup. Jiang Moxi ate a large plate of fried rice and drank two large bowls of soup.

It had been five days since they arrived here and Shao Yunan really missed Wang Shijing. This was the first time they had been apart for so long since they got married. Lying in bed, Shao Yunan was still thinking about that piece of ebony wood. He had noticed the environment around them, with many fallen trees and a messy ground. 

Could it be that on the day they picked the fairy grass, there was an earthquake in the forest that shook the ebony wood buried underground or under the water? He still had a lingering fear when he thought about that day. If Brother Tiger had been a little slower, he would have had to drag the tiger into the space and who knows how long they would have been trapped in there.

“Uncle.” Shao Yunan turned his head, “You haven’t slept yet?” Jiang Moxi turned his head, his handsome eyes still had no sign of sleepiness. He said, “Nizi.”

“Thinking of Nizi?”

“Uh-huh.” Shao Yun’an smiled and teased him. “So, you don’t miss Qing? You don’t miss your Uncle Shijing, your Uncle Jing, and your Little Dad?”

“I miss them.” Then, “Nizi.”

“Hehe, so you miss Nizi the most?”

“Yeah.” Shao Yunan raised his hand to ruffle Jiang Moxi’s hair and asked with a very open-minded attitude, “Moxi, do you like Nizi?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it a brotherly liking or a liking for a wife?”

“Both, Nizi, a wife.” He liked her both as a sister and a wife. Children in ancient times seemed just as mature as modern children. But when you think about it, people here got engaged and married at the age of thirteen or fourteen. So if they weren’t engaged by sixteen or seventeen, they were considered leftover men and women.

Shao Yunan irresponsibly said, “Then, Moxi, you’ll have to work hard. Nizi is our little beauty at home and there will definitely be many men pursuing her in the future.”

“Mmm.”

“Is it a liking for a sister or is it a liking for a wife?”

“Sister, wife.” Both a sister and a wife. Shao Yunan chuckled. “Our Moxi has a bit of a domineering CEO aura. Yes, maintain that confidence. Come, Uncle An will teach you some secrets of how to pursue girls and how to defeat rivals.”

Jiang Moxi was only ten years old and Shao Yunan had already started teaching him how to pursue a wife. If Nizi knew what her Little Dad and her Moxi were talking about, she would be shy for sure.

In Wang’s residence in Xiushui Village, Nizi was lying on her dad’s stomach and still refused to sleep. Since Shao Yunan brought Jiang Moxi up the mountain, Nizi didn’t want to sleep in her own room anymore. Ever since Nizi received her dad’s affection, she had become more and more spoiled.

“Nizi, it’s time to sleep.”

Poor Wang Shijing not only had to take care of an empty house, but also had to coax his daughter. Fortunately, Wang Qing had grown up and was sensible, so he didn’t need to be coaxed. Nizi sniffled, “Dad, I miss my Little Dad. I want to eat the food my Little Dad makes, the bread my Little Dad bakes. I also miss my big brother.”

“Dad also misses your Little Dad. From now on, Dad will never let your Little Dad go out alone. This time, Dad didn’t plan properly. Once we finish our busy period, Dad will build a bamboo house in the mountains. When it’s time to pick tea again, we’ll all live in the mountains and no one will suspect anything.”

“When will my Little Dad come back?”

“He should be back soon. Go to sleep now. Your Little Dad said that girls should get plenty of rest or they won’t be pretty.”

Nizi had become good at being spoiled and Wang Shijing had become talkative at home. If it were before, he wouldn’t have been so good at comforting his daughter. Under the influence of her Little Dad, Nizi was on her way to becoming a lovely young lady.

“Dad, I miss my Little Dad.”

“Yeah, Dad misses him too. Go to sleep.” Nizi closed her eyes. Wang Shijing placed her on the bed, gently patted her back, and sighed inwardly. He couldn’t sleep either; he was thinking about his wife.

Edited by: Jaisland

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