After Veronica set off for Mayton, Anlong also packed his luggage and prepared to go out the next day. Seeing that his son was going on a business trip, Xiao Tianjian hesitantly asked him how many days he would be going so he could confirm his itinerary. An Long raised his eyebrows and said angrily: "If father is in a hurry, you can do it. Qedun is just a small place in the countryside and is not worthy of a hero like you. It is really a sin to let you hang around here." Xiao Tianjian remained silent and never mentioned this matter again.
After Anlong left, Xiao Tianjian wandered around the town every day, and his life was quite easy. He still lived in the study. As a wandering hero who often slept in the open, he didn't feel there was anything he was not used to. Dora was very uneasy and always tried her best to get some comfortable pillows and bedding for him. Winnie also gave him that The bed was made again and again, and finally Xiao Tianjian got impatient and hinted to his daughter-in-law that it was already summer and laying so many things in bed would cause him to get prickly heat, so he stopped their neurotic behavior.
However, he felt a little uncomfortable when he saw that Dora had to make careful calculations every day, using as much money as possible from her limited income, buying good food and wine to entertain herself, and even using her savings.
He has never been short of money, not to mention that the business firm under his name can earn a lot of gold coins for him to spend every year, and he himself often makes some windfall when taking risks. The eldest son Yunlong's family has always lived a wealthy and even luxurious life. More than once he advised his eldest son to be more simple.
But he never expected that his son, An Long, would live such a miserable life. He couldn't even guarantee to eat meat every day. In order to entertain him, his daughter-in-law had to do everything possible to save money from other places. Only now did he realize how much he owed Anlong, his son, not only in terms of feelings and responsibilities, but also in terms of being unable to guarantee a prosperous and worry-free life. He remembered that Anlong seemed to have vaguely mentioned that since he became an adult, he had never asked for money from the Card Family. Even the cost of Meili's medical treatment was paid by Anlong himself with his knight's salary.
Xiao Tianjian felt guilty, so he took out a bag of gold coins and gave it to Dora, saying it was the food expenses for his temporary stay at their house. This bag of money is almost three times Anlong's monthly salary, enough to cover his expenses for ten days. But to his surprise, Dora flatly refused.
She said: "We welcome you to come to our home as a guest. How can we ask for your money? Our family does not run an inn." The most important thing is to let Yidong City know that Yilong and What would Lilith think? They will definitely laugh at her and Anlong.
Xiao Tianjian had no choice but to take back the bag of money, but his impression of his daughter-in-law was much better. Although it was annoying to pay attention to etiquette and rules in everything, it was really rare to have such integrity. So he changed his approach and bought some meat or candies from time to time while wandering outside. He claimed that they were just "little gifts from the elders" because they were not very valuable. Dora did not refuse, but ordered Winnie to Make some pastries as a gift in return.
Xiao Tianjian looked at the table full of delicious pastries and had a better opinion of his daughter-in-law. He saw that in addition to taking care of the housework, Dora also had to take care of the flowers and plants in the garden and discipline her naughty daughter. It was really hard. Thinking that he was idle anyway, he took the initiative to take over the responsibility of taking care of his little granddaughter. Dora was worried about not having time to prepare for the May Day ball, so she hurriedly handed Minna into the hands of her grandfather.
Ming Na was very happy, she liked this grandpa very much, and it was a wonderful thing to be able to get rid of her mother's thoughts. And after two days of getting along with Xiao Tianjian, he also deeply realized that the nature of this little granddaughter was far different from the "shy" little girl when they first met, or in other words, she didn't look like a person at all. God knows why he thought this child was cute and well-behaved in the first place? She was simply a naughty girl, so daring that she ran off to nowhere without paying attention.
However, her temperament was more pleasing to him than his grandson Bevin. Bevin was also very quirky when he was a child, but the older he gets, the more honest and old-fashioned he becomes. Now he is only twelve years old, and he is no different from an adult. He is not fun at all, and he is not as lively as this little granddaughter. Thinking like this, he indulged Ming Na a little more. Not only did he take her everywhere, but he also often told her about his adventures. He even took her to a bar in a small town to broaden her horizons. Of course, drinking was strictly prohibited. of.
In this way, Mingna likes her grandfather even more. Although he is younger and more like her uncle, he is really good, isn't he? Once they got acquainted, she took Xiao Tianjian to her "secret base". In addition to the big tree when they first met, there was also a cave on the hillside at the end of the woods.
She mysteriously pulled out an old wooden box from the depths of the cave. The lock on the box was broken, as if it had been thrown out by some family when it was no longer useful. Opening the wooden box, she found the "treasures" she had collected inside, which were actually a complete cicada shell, a newly shed snake skin, more than a dozen large pine cones, a few beautiful stones, and an old knight's hat that had lost its hair. , a piece of dirty red felt cloth and a half-cut and rusty knife.
Ming Na wrapped the felt cloth around her body, put on an old top hat, brandished the rusty knife, and shouted: "Warrior, what is your name? I want to duel with you!" She was still waving the knife randomly in her hand. .
Xiao Tianjian saw it, but was speechless for a while, and then said after a while: "Ming Na, you... you are a girl... do you usually play with this? Don't you play with dolls? Don't you like beautiful clothes and jewelry? Otherwise, beautiful flowers will do." The granddaughter actually put the dusty cloth over her body without hesitation. Doesn't she think it's dirty
Mingna stopped waving the knife, blinked and said: "Doll? Do you mean dolls? I don't like that. My mother likes beautiful clothes and jewelry, and she also likes flowers. I like dueling games the most. All the children here are no match for me! Grandpa, am I very powerful?" After that, he waved the knife again.
Xiao Tianjian looked at her unorganized movements, nodded reluctantly, and asked: "Have you played with other children? Do they all play this? Do girls here also play this kind of game?" No way? His daughter-in-law said that this place was a remote place full of rough people. He thought it was prejudice, but if the folk customs were so "simple" that even girls could only fight with people with the garbage they picked up, he really had nothing to say, even if it was just for fun. You can pretend to be sewing and picking flowers or fruits at home.
Ming Na said: "My mother doesn't allow me to play with the butcher's daughter. The grocer's daughter has to help her parents look after the store. Susanna from the Cavaliers' captain's family is only one year older than me. She likes to play with dolls, but when she eats cookies, she I raised my little finger, was pretentious when I spoke, and always said I had no ladylike temperament, which was the most annoying thing. I used to only play with boys, but they were all afraid of me, so I had to play alone."
Xiao Tianjian patted his granddaughter on the head lovingly: "It doesn't matter, that's because they have no vision." It seems that Xiao Mingna's personality is more boyish. As the granddaughter of the number one master in the mainland, it is normal for her to like to dance with swords. He thought for a while and suddenly had an idea: "Mingna, you may have heard of it, right? Grandpa's swordsmanship is very powerful, and he also knows many kinds of kung fu. Do you want to learn it? That is not a trick for children. But real martial arts." Anyway, he has already taught a grandson, one more or one less is fine. He has no patriarchal mentality.
Ming Na's eyes lit up when she heard this: "Then can I learn the martial arts you used when you carried me home from the woods that day? It sounded like flying. I want to learn that!" She has never forgotten that feeling. , in the past two days, she often forced her grandpa to take her to "fly"
Xiao Tianjian naturally knew that, and said with a wry smile: "That is Qinggong, not martial arts. I am referring to the way to defeat the enemy with a sword, not this kind of knife." He pointed to the rusty knife in his granddaughter's hand, reached behind his back and pulled it out A sword came: "It's this kind of long straight sword. It's a little thinner than what you usually see. It's our Chinese swordsmanship."
Ming Na only glanced at the sword briefly, but she was more interested in Xiao Tianjian's back. She remembered that he suddenly slipped out a sword from his sleeve that night, but he was wearing such thin and neat clothes. It doesn't look like it can hide such a big thing.
Xiao Tianjian avoided his granddaughter's detection, and when he saw her staring at him curiously with her eyes wide open, he coughed lightly, stretched out his right palm, showed her a simple-looking ring on his hand, and whispered: "Don't tell others, this is a storage ring. It can store many things. My sword is usually placed in it."
Ming Na looked at the ring excitedly and wanted to take it off and take a closer look. Xiao Tianjian stopped her with a headache. In order to save his property, he quickly changed the subject: "Didn't you say you wanted to learn Qing Gong? Grandpa will teach you right now."
But when it came time to actually learn it, they ran into trouble. Ming Na is only a six-year-old child and knows nothing about Chinese culture. She doesn't know where Dantian is and where Baihui point is, and she can't understand what "concentrating the mind and silence" is, even if Xiao Tianjian pointed out the acupoints to her In this position, she didn't know how to circulate her energy.
Xiao Tianjian didn't know what to do. He had only taught swordsmanship to others in the past, and rarely taught internal skills to others. The only one who taught him was his grandson Beiwen. The child was already ten years old at the time and had been practicing martial arts for a long time. He had already mastered some tricks of luck, so there was not much difficulty. But it was his first time to directly teach inexperienced children.
After thinking about it, he had to give up his mental skills for the time being and practice his leg and foot skills first. He asked Mingna to run circles around the woods every day and follow the tips he taught her to keep her breathing regular. Ming Na was somewhat interested in running at first, but gradually she became impatient. However, Xiao Tianjian attracted her by offering to help her catch crested birds or butterflies, and promised to give her many delicious candies and tell her more. Taking risks, she managed to persevere.
Dora felt a little weird about her father-in-law's method of teaching her daughter to "run", and she was very unhappy that he took her daughter around every day. In her opinion, this heroic father-in-law only needs to stay in the living room and tell his daughter about adventures, so that her daughter can stay at home and not go out to cause trouble. But not only does he take her outside all day long, he even Take your daughter to the bar. Oh my God, God of Light! What if they encounter gangsters, thieves, robbers or robbers? And I heard that many people challenge the father-in-law, what if they hurt their daughter? !
Winnie sneered at the hostess's worries: "Miss Dora, what are you worried about? When has such an exciting thing happened in a small place like Qedon? Except for the occasional appearance of a dwarf, even thieves can see Not here. Besides, with Earl Xiao here, who will be his opponent? He is the person with the strongest martial arts in the entire continent! Who are those hooligans, thieves, robbers, and robbers? Even Earl Xiao can't do it with a finger. Can’t compare!”
Dora knew she was telling the truth, but as a mother, she couldn't help but worry, what's the point of going to a greasy place like a bar full of rough guys? The trees and mountains outside are full of bugs and snakes. Where can I compare to being safe and comfortable at home? As soon as she finished her slander, she expressed her dissatisfaction with the attitude of the dowry nanny: "Winnie, please stop acting like that. Although the Earl looks very charming, he is actually an old man twenty years older than you. There is no way he has anything to do with you." Thinking of the night when her father-in-law first came, Winnie fainted at the sight of him. It was so rude.
Winnie lamented: "Oh, Miss, you are so cruel, can't you let me keep a little bit of imaginary hope?"
Ever since she entered Zhu Fa's family as a trainee nanny at the age of twelve, her only pleasure after work with other young maids was to inquire about and discuss the gossips of aristocratic and wealthy merchants, the one they talked about the most was the legendary hero Earl Xiao. They were fascinated by his graceful demeanor (legendary), and even more fascinated by his touching love with the elf princess or female magician (legendary). Privately, they fantasized about becoming his heroine one day and sharing the story with him. Compose an intoxicating love song (even if it is just a legend).
When Dora wanted to marry An Long, who was in an awkward position, she originally did not approve of it, but she reluctantly agreed because he was the son of an epic hero. And now that she could finally meet the hero of her dreams and live in the same house, how could she not be excited? She wanted to praise him with all the good words she could think of, and even Miss Dora couldn't stop him!
But Dora couldn't help but repeatedly stopped her feelings for Xiao Tianjian: "Winnie! Don't forget that you are a professional nanny!" Are you kidding me? ! If her heroic father-in-law or anyone else found out about the thoughts of the forty-year-old dowry nanny beside her who weighed two hundred pounds, she would be willing to die!
In order to divert Winnie's attention, she quickly asked something else: "I asked you to find out where Gudwin Chulov stayed. Did you find out?"
Winnie barely woke up and returned to her role as a professional nanny: "I heard about it. It's in the northern fortress 30 kilometers away from here. I heard that I went on business. I've asked the owner of the grocery store to send a message. Yes, Master Chulov will surely send someone soon."