Chapter 1218: TangNing Leaving home (2/2)

“What about the eyes? Where are the eyes?” Tang Li asked.

Little Tang Tang immediately widened her own eyes for Tang Li to see. Although her eyes were already quite big, she gritted her teeth and tried to widen them even further. That ended up making Tang Li laugh out loud. He wasn’t a patient man, but he played the game of facial features with Tang Tang over and over again. Ning Jing watched them from the sidelines and carefully counted the times. In the end, they’d gone 20 rounds without finding it boring.

This man was forever more patient to his daughter than his wife!

Looking at them smiling and comparing features with each other, Ning Jing couldn’t help but wonder if Tang Li would his son to his daughter if she could bore him another child? She had no idea how he would break the news to Tang Zijin tomorrow, either.

Lady Tang was worrying about the same thing! Both mother and wife were lost in their thoughts, but Tang Li was happilly fooling around with little Tang Tang. When he laughed, he was just like a child, carefree and happy.

In the end, Tang Li looked up and asked, “Ning Jing, does our daughter have a full name?”

“Not yet. We were waiting for you to give her one,” Ning Jing answered.

“Tang…” Tang Li began to think. “Tang...Tang...let’s call her Tang Red Bean!”

Lady Tang’s lips pursed instantly bfore she cursed, “Stinking brat, a girls’ name is very important. Are there any fathers like you? Why don’t you learn from your big brother! He gave your nephew such a good name!”

“My sister-in-law gave birth to a son?” Tang Li exclaimed in surprised.

“When we went to the army camp, you even held him in your arms. You forgot it all?” Ning Jing asked.

“It’s really a boy?” Tang Li asked again.

“As if that could be faked?” Lady Tang rolled her eyes unhappily at him. “A’Li, your little nephew’s name is Rui, short for Xuanyuan Rui. Have a good listen to his name, and now think of your ‘Red Bean.’”

Tang Li didn’t pay any attention to Lady Tang’s words as his lips drew up in a mischievous smirk. “A son, huh? Heheh, that’s not bad. My big brother likes sons.”

“Ning Jing, you say something. How can this name work? Change it!” Lady Tang was still stuck to her sticking point.

“Red Bean, Red Bean…” Ning Jing murmured to herself. She recalled the red bean soup she always drank and didn’t find it in poor taste at all. “He’s the father, so what he says goes.”

“No good, no good, I’ll think up a few for you all later,” Lady Tang insisted. Tang Li didn’t bother paying her any attention since his mind was made up anyways.

The family of three had dinner at Lady Tang’s place before returning to their own courtyard. Lady Tang watched their retreating forms before finally exhaling. She didn’t want Tang Li to take any concubines either, but…

“Where did the old master go?” she turned to ask a servant girl.

“I think he went to Lotus Peak,” the servant girl replied.

Lady Tang didn’t send anyone after him, but simply shut the doors and waited for tomorow to come.

--

Tang Li held little Tang Tang in one hand and Ning Jing’s hand in the other as he rushed through the little daisies. Although the patch of flowers was small, he felt like he could run through them for all eternity.

Back in their rooms, Tang Li asked, “Ning Jing, you know how the Tang Clan’s women never marry outside of the clan?”

“I’ve heard of that. What about it?” Ning Jing replied.

Historically speaking, none of the Tang Clan’s daughters ever married outsiders, because the Tang Clan would use their dowries to contract the weapon masters within the clan and ensure their loyalty. This way, none of the weapons blueprints would be spread outside.

The fact that Tang Yiru had yet to marry was an exception; the fact that Tang Yiwan married into the East Qin royal family was also an exception. Beyond those two, no daughter of the Tang Clan ever had the luck to escape their wedding arrangements. After explaining all this, Tang Li finished, “Tang Tang can’t escape this fate either.”

“No!” Ning Jing refused instantly. She didn’t fully understand the marriage customs of the Tang Clan females until Tang Li explained them today. Although on the surface, they were avoiding outsiders by marrying weaponmasters, this was simply a way to take son-in-laws into the clan. After the wedding, they would be stuck inside the Tang Clan for life to serve its purposes.

Ning Jing whirled towards Tang Li and said, “Tang Li, since she can’t leave the Tang Clan for the rest of her life, then have our daughter become the next clan head. If she needs to take a son-in-law into the clan, then have her recruit them openly!”

A daughter had every ability to lead the household too. Hadn’t she herself led Cloud Realm Trade Consortium back in the day? She hadn’t wanted to marry anyone then and simply wanted to spend her life serving the consortium.

“Aiya, I don’t call the shots on that,” Tang Li sighed as he held little Tang Tang. “Only my father and mother can decide that. How about this? Let’s go play at my big brother’s for a few years until my father and mother think it through. Then we’ll come back? In any case, they’ll need careful consideration on the issue.”

Ning Jing gave a start, but she quickly smiled. So Tang Li wasn’t planning to tell Tang Zijin a thing. He long made plans to leave the Tang Clan and threaten him that way!

“Fool, hurry up and pack your bags. Don’t let them find out, or else we won’t be able to leave!” Tang Li muttered in a low voice.

1. This mix-up makes more sense in Chinese as both words are pronounced as “bao.” The only difference is that “bun” (包) is pronounced with the first accent while “carry” (抱) is pronounced with the fourth. You can paste both words in GoogleTranslate to hear the difference yourself.