Song Mu'er

The carriage traveled along a broad street for about half an hour before stopping in front of a residence.

The Old Madam's birthday banquet would likely end very late. For safety's sake, Li Nuo would spend the night at Song Manor. Steward Wu would see them to Song Manor and return, then come to pick him up first thing tomorrow morning.

A sixtieth birthday was the most important birthday in ancient times. Even ordinary families would celebrate it in grand style, let alone a family of the powerful and influential.

This was not Li Nuo's first time visiting the Song Family. Steward Wu had said that before the two of them married, his father had brought him here once. But that had been another Li Nuo's experience.

Red lanterns symbolizing celebration hung all around Song Manor. Carriages and sedan chairs filled both sides of the broad street, while richly dressed guests lined up before the main gate and entered the manor one after another.

At the gate, an old man smiled at Song Jiaren and said, "Miss, you're back. The Eldest Young Lady arrived earlier and has been looking everywhere for you. Hurry inside..."

On the way here, Li Nuo had learned a little about the Song Family's circumstances. The "Eldest Young Lady" mentioned by this Song Family servant should be Song Jiaren's aunt, the only woman among the second generation of the Song Family. She had been married for many years. The Old Madam of the Song Family had five children, and his wife had been born to the Old Madam's third son.

Unlike the single-heir Li Family, the Song Family was vast and prosperous, with generations of descendants filling the household.

After the two entered Song Manor, a wave of discussion rose among the guests waiting at the gate.

"That's Lord Song Zhe's daughter, isn't it? She's truly a beauty capable of toppling cities. No wonder she's called Jiaren."

"Not only is she beautiful, she already possesses Fourth Realm cultivation at such a young age. Her future on the Martial Dao is limitless."

"What a pity. Such an outstanding Phoenix girl actually married a fool..."

"Shh, mind your words, mind your words..."

"What's there to fear? I'm a military official. I'm not afraid of that Li Xuanjing..."

Song Manor was even livelier inside than out.

The courtyard just beyond the main gate was filled with Longevity Banners and longevity screens of every kind.

The banners and screens were covered with birthday blessings such as "May your blessings be as vast as the Eastern Sea," "May your longevity rival the Southern Mountain," "May the sun and moon shine brightly," and "May the pines and cranes herald eternal spring."

The birthday banquet had not officially begun yet. Guests were scattered throughout Song Manor, gathered in groups of two and three, chatting and laughing. Li Nuo did not know a single person, so he could only follow closely behind Song Jiaren.

Song Jiaren brought Li Nuo to a table in the courtyard and said, "I'm going to see Auntie. Stay here for now and don't wander off. Later, we'll go pay our respects to Grandmother together."

Li Nuo nodded and watched her leave, then casually picked up a piece of pastry from the table and put it in his mouth.

Before the birthday banquet began, fruits and pastries had been placed throughout Song Manor for the guests to enjoy.

He did not know anyone in Song Manor. Bored, Li Nuo leaned against the table. He did not actually like lively gatherings. At night, he preferred staying home to read or sleep. But it was his wife's grandmother's sixtieth birthday, and it would be discourteous for a junior not to attend.

He had just picked up a second piece of pastry when a crisp voice suddenly rang beside him.

"Oh, I've been looking for you forever! So you were here!"

Li Nuo turned toward the voice and saw a pretty little girl looking at him with delighted surprise.

The little girl was six or seven years old, with a lovely, adorable face. When she smiled at Li Nuo, two cute little canine teeth showed.

Li Nuo, however, wore a completely bewildered expression. Did he know someone else in the Song Family?

Seeing his expression, the little girl knew he did not recognize her. Her face fell, and she pouted. "You don't remember who I am? You forgot? The last time you came to my house, I even invited you to eat little cookies!"

She had said "my house," which meant she was a member of the Song Family—and likely one of its masters, perhaps the child of one of his wife's uncles.

The little girl sighed and said, "So you forgot. Fine, I'll tell you again. My name is Song Mu'er. You have to remember this time, okay? Otherwise, I won't play with you anymore!"

It seemed that Li Nuo had known this little girl before, and that the two of them had been quite close. He simply could not remember what had happened before.

The little girl named Song Mu'er took Li Nuo's hand of her own accord and said, "Let's go play shuttlecock..."

Song Mu'er liked this big brother she had only met once very much. Not only was he handsome, he was also the only person who would play house with her, kick shuttlecock with her, and help her with her homework.

The older boys in her family had never been willing to play house with her.

Although all the homework he did was wrong and had gotten her punished with a ruler by her teacher, she forgave him because he was willing to play house with her.

Although the little girl was more than ten years younger than Li Nuo, she acted very naturally around him.

Thinking about it, Li Nuo did not find it strange. Although his predecessor had been eighteen, his intelligence might not even have matched that of an eight-year-old child. He and this little girl, who looked only six or seven, were therefore perfectly suited to play together.

Li Nuo did not follow the little girl. With some apology, he said, "Not today. I still have to pay my respects to Grandmother later."

The little girl hugged his arm and shook it lightly. "Just for a little while. Just for a little while, okay..."

With such an adorable little girl clinging to his arm and acting coquettish, Li Nuo truly could not bring himself to refuse. But he was also worried that if he went too far, his wife might return and be unable to find him. Thus, he said, "I can play with you, but we can't go too far..."

The little girl pointed to an empty space not far away. "Let's go there!"

Li Nuo turned and glanced over. The empty space was only about a dozen meters away. If he kept an eye on this place, it should not interfere with anything.

The little girl held Li Nuo's hand and skipped to the empty space. Then she pulled a beautifully crafted shuttlecock from the small pouch she carried and said to Li Nuo, "Just like last time. I'll toss the shuttlecock to you, you kick it back to me, and then I'll kick it back..."

Although it was already night, so many lanterns hung throughout Song Manor that the place was lit as brightly as day. The little girl tossed the shuttlecock over, and Li Nuo lightly extended his foot and kicked it back.

When the shuttlecock flew over, Song Mu'er did not hurry to kick it back. Instead, she nimbly turned sideways. As the shuttlecock passed her and was about to fall to the ground, she gently lifted her foot and brushed it with the sole. The shuttlecock immediately changed direction, tracing a graceful arc through the air before flying toward Li Nuo again.

As he watched the shuttlecock fly toward him, a strange sensation suddenly arose in Li Nuo's heart.

Then the little girl opposite him widened her mouth in astonishment.

The shuttlecock danced and circled through the air with every movement of the big brother opposite her, yet never touched the ground. Each of his kicks was graceful and unrestrained, controlled with effortless ease. Some of his techniques were ones she was seeing for the first time.

Li Nuo was also somewhat surprised. The moment the shuttlecock had flown toward him, he had felt as if everything were under his control.

Yet he himself did not know such extremely difficult, almost miraculous shuttlecock-kicking techniques. His predecessor most likely had not known them either. The reason was therefore obvious. Of the four portrait pages in the Code of Law, only the page belonging to Steward Zheng's concubine was lit. Could her specialty be kicking shuttlecock?

Women in this era did not have many forms of entertainment. Cuju and shuttlecock were the most common. Whether they were daughters of wealthy households or young ladies from modest families, all of them could kick a few rounds.

But to kick shuttlecock well enough to light up the Code of Law... This woman really had something.

After playing by himself for a while, Li Nuo kicked the shuttlecock back over. But Song Mu'er had been too focused on watching him and forgot to catch it. The shuttlecock fell to the ground behind her.

Before she could pick it up, several voices suddenly came from the side.

"Huh? Isn't that the Li Family's idiot?"

"He came tonight too?"

"It's the Old Madam's birthday banquet. What did he come here for? Isn't he afraid of making a fool of himself..."

Three young men walked over from the side. One of them casually picked up a piece of candy from the table and approached Li Nuo, teasing, "Little fool, bark like a dog for us. If you do it well, I'll give you some candy..."

Li Nuo looked at him and asked, "How does a dog bark?"

"You only learned it last time. You forgot so quickly? You really are an idiot." The young man shook his head without giving it much thought and said, "Woof, woof..."

"Two more times."

"Woof, woof. Woof, woof..."

"A few more times."

"Woof, woof. Woof, woof. Woof, woof..."

Li Nuo reached out, gently patted him on the head, and smiled. "Good boy..."

Quite a few guests in the courtyard heard the commotion and turned their gazes over. They had no idea what had happened to the Song Family's young master. Why had he inexplicably started barking like a dog?

The young man whose head Li Nuo had gently patted finally realized what had happened. Embarrassment and fury surged across his face, and he shouted, "Little fool, you dared to toy with me?"

If it had been anyone else, he naturally would not have barked like a dog. But who would guard against a fool?

In his shame and anger, he reached out to grab Li Nuo by the collar. But at that moment, a small figure blocked Li Nuo's path.

Song Mu'er stretched out both hands to stop him and said in her crisp voice, "Brother Yu, you can't bully him..."

Song Yu was furious that one of his own family had turned her elbow outward. He said, "Mu'er, move aside. I'm going to teach this idiot a proper lesson!"

Song Mu'er clenched her little fists. "If you bully him, I'll hit you..."

At her words, Song Yu's body trembled, and he immediately retreated warily.

Although Mu'er was only six, she genuinely possessed Martial Arts Second Realm cultivation. She had begun practicing under Jiaren's guidance at the age of two and had already cultivated Inner Breath. Children had no sense of restraint. If her little fist struck him, several of his bones would probably break.

"Little fool, just you wait!" After leaving Li Nuo with that threat, he slunk away with the other two.

Watching them disappear into the distance, Li Nuo thought, It seems I'm not very popular in the Song Family.

But that made sense. If he were a member of the Song Family, he probably would not have a pleasant expression toward the fool who had married the family's proud daughter either.

At that moment, Song Mu'er picked up the shuttlecock and patted her little chest. She said to Li Nuo, "Brother Li Nuo, don't be scared. I'll protect you and won't let them bully you..."

Thanks to "Bu Guan Bu Gu Bu Li" for the Alliance Leader tip. The big shot has already become an Alliance Leader for several of my books. Many thanks!