Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Li Mingwei arranged for the people her mother had brought over, so the Tangs didn't have too much to deal with. Except for the maids and servants who personally attended to Tang Jue, Tang Jue had dismissed the rest and sent them back to Anhuai County.

Tang Jue was busy with his studies and came back very late every day. There were no changes in the people around him, so he didn't notice anything at first. It was only when he saw the signboard of the Liu family's residence erected at the main gate that he clicked his tongue, thinking, "My sister-in-law is really rich to be able to buy such a big property just like that."

He walked to the back garden and saw Li Mingwei sitting there. He couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law, did you buy this property?"

Li Mingwei gave a light laugh and poured him a cup of tea. "It was mine to begin with."

"Huh?" Tang Jue turned back and saw the smiling face of the steward, realizing that the reason they didn't let him stay in the main house was because of this. He had been so ignorant before.

He took a sip of the tea and saw some potted flowers on the ground. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed a small child squatting behind the flower pots, playing in the mud with his back turned to them.

"Sister-in-law, why are you letting Xiao Bing play in the mud? That's so dirty."

"He's not playing in the mud! He's planting flowers!" Li Mingwei said, unable to hold back.

If she didn't let him plant some flowers, he wouldn't know the hardship of growing flowers that his mother had. She wanted to see if he'd still dare to ruin her flowers next time.

Li Mingwei glanced at Xiao Bing, who was still digging in the dirt, and couldn't help but urge him, "Hurry up, you've been at it for half a day and haven't even dug a hole yet. When you ruined my flowers last time, your hands were so quick!"

Xiao Bing looked up at her, seeming to sense her displeased tone, and continued to dig into the soil diligently.

Tang Jue felt a bit bad for Xiao Bing, but there was nothing he could do.

Li Mingwei examined Tang Jue's clothes and noticed that since she came to the capital, he had started dressing much more simply, unlike before. "Your fashion sense has changed since coming to the capital city?"

Tang Jue let out a long sigh, his brow furrowed with an indescribable bitterness. "It's not that I want to, but the other students at the academy all dress very plainly, and I stand out too much in the classroom. The teacher has called on me like eight out of ten times."

He had just started there not long ago and was still adjusting. He often couldn't answer the questions, which was very embarrassing. So he had quickly made a batch of plain clothes to hide himself.

Li Mingwei lowered her gaze, understanding that they were just catering to Granduncle's preferences.

Tang Jue said helplessly, "The teacher even called on me once. I couldn't answer, and I was so embarrassed that I was sick for several days after."

Li Mingwei comforted him, "It's okay, I'll talk to Granduncle to call on you more often. Do you have any topics you're particularly good at? I'll ask him to specifically quiz you on those."

Tang Jue spat out his tea, thinking, "Can you really do that?"

Tang Jue obediently greeted, "Greetings, Master Li."

"Ah, Tang Jue, right?" Li Yi smiled. "I remember you. Come, have a seat."

Remember what, that he couldn't answer the question? Tang Jue's heart skipped a beat, and he had to suppress the urge to cry as he bowed and said, "Yes, thank you, Master."

Li Mingwei saw how stiffly he sat, completely different from his earlier fatigue, and his hands clenched tightly under the table. She tried to put him at ease, saying, "You don't need to be so formal here. This is home, not the academy."

Tang Jue smiled, but he still didn't relax much.

The students at the academy usually acted this way around him, and Li Yi was already used to it. His gaze fell on Xiao Bing, who was still playing in the mud, and he smiled, "Xiao Bing, are you playing in the mud?"

"No, he's planting flowers," Li Mingwei huffed. She tattled, "Last time when my mother brought him, he pulled out all the flowers in my little garden. Now he has to plant them back to make up for it."

"You..." Li Yi couldn't help but scold her a little. "Fighting with your mother and taking it out on the child, do you have the nerve to make your mother compensate you?"

"I don't have the nerve." Li Mingwei admitted.

Since her flowers got ruined, she had to be compensated, and she couldn't control her mother, so she couldn't control her son either.

Li Yi saw that Xiao Bing's clothes were covered in mud and felt a bit sorry for him. "There are still many flowers blooming nicely in the garden. You can just go take a look, and if that's not enough, I'll have someone transplant a couple more for your little garden. He's still so young, how could he know how to plant flowers?"

"Ah Xiu is helping him, it's not like I'm letting him do it himself," Li Mingwei said smugly.

Li Yi could only nod reluctantly and let her be.

Li Mingwei called out, "Xiao Bing."

Xiao Bing stopped working and looked back at her.

She spoke softly, "Are you enjoying planting the flowers?"

"Mm-hmm!" Xiao Bing smiled at her and then continued digging the holes with Ah Xiu's help.

Li Mingwei turned to Li Yi proudly, shaking her head. "See, he's doing it willingly."

Li Yi could only nod half-heartedly and let it go.