Chapter nine

"When I enter, I hear someone say I am great at hanging out."

"Is it right or wrong?" Lady Chen said. "Your brother is working, and you play around from morning to night."

"I'm not playing. I go to work."

"What is work?"

"I do research."

Lady Chen expressed "hss" from her throat as she felt nonsensical towards her daughter's indication.

"It's true. I go out to do research on how big the world is," Lantian said and shook eyebrows at her mother.

"You still dare to say! I've got an invoice; you spent almost two hundred."

Hearing that, the naughty daughter was muted.

Because things were just getting better, lady Mei did not want her sister and her own daughter to have a dispute, so she tried to ease it, "Eldest sister, Lantian has just arrived. Don't blame her yet. Let her eat first."

Words of the stepmother seemed to inspire her with an idea. Immediately, Lantian covered hands over her belly and cried, "Ooh, my stomach is hurt."

Hearing that, lady Chen jumped from seat, "How are you?"

"Mother," Lantian showed an upset face, "my stomach is painful."

Suddenly, lady Chen's face became pale like a boiled fish. She gently touched her kid and offered soft and sweet words, "Sit down. I think it is because you did not have a meal. I will call the maid to bring you food."

Seeing the scene, lady Mei and Longwei looked at each other and smiled. They realized that Lantian was acting; however, lady Chen did not even care whether her daughter lied to her or not; she forgot all angers when she heard her daughter was not fine. 

After finishing the rice, Lantian added a bowl of hot soup. The dish was very good because it was made with the love and warmth of the mother. The daughter did not remain even a drop in the holder.

Longwei also had a bowl. The same as Lantian, he emptied it.

The actions of the two children made the mothers smile from the bottom of their hearts.

"Do you want more?" Lady Chen asked.

"No, I'm full," Lantian said.

Then lady Chen turned to stepson, "What's about you?"

"No, thanks. I'm full," Longwei stated.

After dropping the spoon, Lantian said to her brother, "Second brother, tomorrow, will you go to the office?"

"No." Longwei shook his head. "Tomorrow, I am invited to have a meal at the houses of the millionaires."

Lantian giggled, "You are famous."

"Don't laugh at me." Longwei showed a sour face. "I don't want to go, but I cannot refuse their invitations."

"The meal on their table is their daughter."

"This is impolite. Don't say it," lady Chen blamed.

"I speak the truth. It can be seen on the land. They invite brother to their house in order to get him as their son-in-law."

"Though you should not speak ill-words."

"Fine." Lantian nodded, then she returned to the brother, "How many houses are you going to tomorrow?"

"In the morning, I go to Master Ma's house. At noon, I go to Master Soun's house. In the mid-afternoon, I go to Master Li's house. And at late-afternoon, I go to Master Yang's house."

Lantian laughed her belly off, "You have a lot of meals. Can your stomach accept all of them?"

Longwei shook his head.

After laughing, Lantian held the tea pot to pour into the cup. At that time, her brother made a soft calling, "Lantian!"

"Yes?"

"Tomorrow, you don't go anywhere, do you?"

"I don't have a plan yet. What's the matter?"

"If you are not busy, go with me."

"No way." Lantian shook her head. "I don't like joining meals with those riches. It's boring."

Hearing it, Longwei showed a long breath.

"Well," Lantian raised the tea cup to lips, "will you go to their houses without coming home?"

"I will come back between times to change clothes," Longwei said.

Even though Lantian just wagged her head. When she finished her tea, she put the cup on the table, saying, "You are the heir of Wu. You have to fulfill your duty. I cannot help you." Then she gave a gentle tap on her brother's shoulder, "Good luck." Afterwards, she got up from the chair, kissed her mother, said goodnight to her third stepmother and went to her bedroom.

"Ugh," Longwei exhaled very long. He was trying to smile towards his two mothers though his mind was not at ease at all, and lady Chen and lady Mei smiled at their son's back.

Apparently the two mothers knew well that Lantian said she did not want to join her brother, but her mind thought of going with him. They just could not guess she would go to all the houses or some. However they didn't say it, they wanted their son to get a surprise from his sister himself.

Like lady Chen and lady Mei predicted, the next day, when Longwei left the entrance of the house on purpose to go to millionaire Yang's homestead, he saw his sister and her maid standing on the stairs.

"Lantian!"

The girl approached her brother, "The previous houses have only one spider demon. But at millionaire Yang's house, there are many. So, I go with you to protect you because you are so gentle."

After saying that, she went down the stairs.

With content, Longwei's lips grinned his cheeks up, as he knew his sister cared about him.