106 He’s Vengeful, She’s Vicious, You’re Greedy! 7 (1/2)

”Father, why do you seem so distraught today?”

An Fei's inquiry during dinner startled Wei Xuan, and a fragrant piece of prawn slipped from his chopsticks to splatter into his bowl of soup.

Rapidly shaking his head to bring his senses back to normal, the minister cleaned up the mess, reclaiming his now-soiled piece of prawn as he glanced at the young girl.

”Fei'er, why do you say that? Father is fine, don't worry so much!”

”…has there been any issue with the Imperial Court?” the young girl pressed on between mouthfuls of jiaozi.

”Imperial Court?” Wei Xuan muttered, a hint of surprise masked behind a doting gaze.

Raising his hand to pet the young girl on her head, the minister adopted a clueless expression.

”Why do you say that there's trouble at the Imperial Court?”

”Because Elder Brother is still living in the study even after a week had passed.”

The hand froze midair as awkwardness suffused the atmosphere.

His countenance visibly contorting from the uneasiness roiling in his stomach, Wei Xuan eventually continued his action, nearly causing An Fei to topple her bowl of rice onto the ground in surprise.

Hurriedly reclaiming her bowl and stuffing her mouth with a mouthwatering proportion of spicy chicken, the girl took a glance at the minister and Eldest Young Master's countenance, and couldn't help but withdraw a little.

Father and Eldest Brother… what were they thinking to adopt that sort of unusual expression, as if they were attempting to stomach something vulgar and intolerable?

Nonetheless, the girl fully employed her advantage to its limit, spearing the most delicious and fragrant articles of food whilst the two men were recovering from their surprise.

An Fei preoccupied herself with eating to her heart's content without interruption, but Wei Xuan and Wei Chang Feng couldn't bring themselves to eat another bite.

The Fourth Young Miss of Wei had now reached a stage of development of which by Great Yong's standards, though she couldn't explore out of the manor without permission, her reputation and image would receive harsh scrutiny.

Each and every conduct committed by the girl would be judged by the elders of Jiang'an, thus maintaining a healthy reputation was paramount.

Living in her father's study could be considered as acceptable for she lacked a residence of her own, and Wei Xuan did not stay at the Flowing Wind Residence for long.

However, if they were to throw in an Eldest Young Master staying in the same study room as a young girl, could they truly explain later in the future?

This… was quite the difficult question, ah.

Without their awareness, the Eldest Brother and minister exchanged a wry glance, before losing themselves in their thoughts, blankly observing the young girl slowly demolish the vast array of dishes one by one.

–

”Father, why did you want me to do this absurd calligraphy assignment?”

An Fei asked, placing the enormous stacks of paper onto the drawing table before Wei Xuan's astonished gaze. With each stack of paper slammed onto the wooden surface, the drawing table and the sitting Wei Xuan groaned at the sudden impact.

”What's this?”

Wei Xuan murmured, setting aside the book clenched in his hand to pick up the sheet of paper at the top of the nearest overwhelming stack of paper.

As usual, the formerly white and pristine sheet of paper had been covered with rows upon rows of thinly written characters.

”The unearthly spirit is of two facets, the unwillingness of man and the harsh fate of destiny…” the minister read, his lips silently tracing each word.

”The principle of forgiveness dispels the unwilling resentment within conflict and allows, at the minimum, remedial of an incident…”

Suddenly, the minister's head shot up, an incredible agitation and excitement displayed on his countenance.

Before the young girl's bemused glare, the minister's bloodshot eyes roamed across the stacks of paper, patting each stack with a contented gaze.

”Fei'er, have you finished Father's calligraphy assignment?”

”No!” An Fei instantly shot back with resentment, turning away from the drooling minister to march towards the curtained bed.

Wei Xuan revealed a wry smile at the young girl's aggrieved temperament, and quickly rushed forward the clasp her arms to bring her to a halt.

”Little lass, don't be mad, alright?” the minister wheedled without shame before the Eldest Young Master's gaze.

Before her puffed cheeks and annoyance fermenting within her gaze, Wei Xuan immediately escorted the young girl to relax on the bed, his gaze as warm and doting as it could ever be.