A small household took ten years to build, a great household a hundred, and an aristocratic clan a thousand.
The Xiao Family had endured since the founding of Great Wei, weathering storms for more than two hundred and fifty years. They were already far more fortunate than most families.
Yet Elder Master Xiao still felt he had failed his ancestors.
Rather than expanding the family estate his forebears had built, he had watched it decline further and further. How could he face them?
Elder Master Xiao gazed at the figure in the painting, sighing with emotion.
Now that he had reached this age, he too shared the thoughts of the previous generation-he hoped the next generation would be stronger than he was.
There was little hope for Xiao Fengchun. He had spent years imprisoned among the Barbarian Tribe, and even if His Majesty accepted him again, he was unlikely to be entrusted with any important responsibilities.
Had Xiao Jinghong been a man, she would have been a heavenly pride of her generation. Unfortunately, she was a woman.
And so Elder Master Xiao turned his gaze to Xiao Wuge and asked with a chuckle, "My good grandson, do you think the portrait your brother-in-law painted looks like me?"
Naturally unaware of his thoughts, Xiao Wuge nodded repeatedly. "Yes, it looks just like you, Grandpa."
"Then am I truly that old?"
"You-Grandpa, you aren't old.
Young but shrewd, Xiao Wuge grinned at him. "You look just as young as Brother-in-law."
Elder Master Xiao laughed heartily and rubbed his head. "If I were truly your brother-in-law's age, I would take you south right now to have a look at the Barbarian Tribe."
Back then, his father had done exactly that for him.
Just before he set off for Jinling, his father had taken