Trouble at the academy

The second little limpet clinging to Yun Manman's leg was unhappy, his little mouth pouting.

His sly blue eyes, with their hint of heroic spirit, brimmed with grievance, and his pretty, oval face had inherited all his mother's grace.

His temperament, however, was completely different from Yun Manman's.

"Mother, Mother, you have to stand up for Erbao! Dabao was disobedient and bullied Erbao! Boohoo..."

Affection filled Dabao's purple eyes as he looked at Yun Manman with an expression of complete understanding.

He shrugged like a little adult. This brat was about to stir up trouble again!

Sure enough,

Erbao's aggrieved yet righteous accusations rang out.

"Mother, Dabao didn't practice martial arts properly today. He was over there reading all that 'thus and therefore' stuff, making me plead with him until my mouth was dry. In the end, it even delayed my calligraphy practice! Boohoo..."

Unable to help smiling, Yun Manman's lips curved slightly, her voice taking on a coaxing note.

"Then shall Mother punish Dabao and reward Erbao?"

Erbao's eyes darted about, concealing the secret delight in them.

"Then don't punish him too harshly, Mother. Erbao thanks you for the reward! Love you!"

Yun Manman's lips twitched. These two little clowns had completely opposite temperaments. Couldn't the two of them blend together just a little?

"Dabao's punishment will be to practice the Lotus Heart Art for two hours. Erbao's reward will be to sit and rest for two hours, and write fifty large characters while he's at it."

Amusement flashed through Dabao's purple eyes. He stepped forward and gently hugged Yun Manman's thigh. "Mother, your son is going to practice."

Erbao looked as though he had been struck by lightning as he stared at Yun Manman in shock.

"Mother, your son has already sacrificed so much for Dabao! You can't be a faithless man and hurt me like this!"

Yun Manman raised her eyebrows, the amusement fading from her purple eyes.

Erbao quickly drew in his neck and held up one little white-jade finger, his blue eyes filled with pitiful pleading.

"My most beloved Mother, your son is exhausted from practicing martial arts today. Look, even my arms have gotten much thinner. How about your son writes ten large characters?"

"Sixty large characters!"

Erbao's blue eyes instantly went round. He stepped forward and hugged Yun Manman's thigh.

"Mother, you're the prettiest, the most handsome, the coolest! Your son thinks fifty large characters is excellent. Your son won't keep you company any longer. Bye-bye! Love you!"

Dabao was exceptionally intelligent and resourceful, his meticulous mind unlike that of ordinary people. His talent for martial arts was good as well, and his temperament was steady, with less of Yun Manman's indifference and languor.

Erbao's martial talent was extremely high, and he had already thoroughly mastered the first level of the Lotus Heart Art. Clever and full of mischievous ideas, he disliked studying and wanted only to play tricks and cause trouble.

Yun Manman watched Erbao, his face all scrunched up, as he sprawled over his chair, scratching his head and rubbing his belly, taking forever to write a single large character.

Meanwhile, on the training ground, faint wisps of true qi spread from Dabao's body, his cool, adorable face as calm as ever.

The smile on Yun Manman's lips was gentle and peaceful. She thanked the heavens for their gifts to her in this life.

Late that night,

at the village chief's house in Huating Village, beside Red Star Village,

Village Chief Zhang knelt trembling on the floor. A burly man sat above him, his face covered in a thick beard and his eyes bloodshot, and asked impatiently,

"When exactly can we go rob that Yun Family you mentioned?"

Sweat covered Village Chief Zhang's wrinkled forehead as he replied with a fawning smile,

"Please wait a little longer, sir. They're still harvesting their grain. Once it's all gathered, I'll report to you immediately."

Irritation flashed through the man's eyes. Only two hundred men had secretly crossed the border this time. The North-Subduing Prince guarded the border tightly; without that person, they could never have gotten in.

Now they were desperately short of grain, and it happened to be autumn harvest in the Southern Mo Kingdom. The Yun Family's several hundred mu of fields were certain to yield plenty of grain. Suppressing his impatience, he said,

"My patience is limited. I'll give you five more days."

"Sir, this lowly one understands. I'll definitely get the Yun Family's grain into your hands."

"You'd better."

Over the next few days, the Yun Family and the people of Red Star Village harvested and threshed wheat at Yun Manman's home every day, carrying sack after sack of grain into the storehouse. Every night, they slept especially deeply.

Once the autumn harvest ended, the Double Seventh Festival arrived as well.

That day,

Yun Manman rose early, planning to take the two boys to stroll around the county town. Their range of activities had remained restricted all these years.

That resentment, which she still had no leads on, made Yun Manman unwilling to gamble. There was no absolute protection in this world; she could only make sure they had the ability to protect themselves.

When Yun Manman reached the boys' courtyard, she discovered that Erbao had risen even earlier and taken the two little wolves into the mountains. In the end, she took only Dabao to the county town for the festival.

On the wild horse, Dabao's purple eyes were full of delight, a sly gleam flickering deep within them. Today, he could go to the academy in the county town to see his uncle and Uncles Yun Sheng and Yun Ye. He could finally put people in their place.

He truly loved the academy, and loved even more how those who called themselves learned scholars were repeatedly left speechless by his knowledge.

Whenever that happened, Mother's gaze held pride as she looked at him. He wanted Mother to be proud of him for the rest of her life!

After they reached the county town,

Yun Manman put the horse into her space, and the two headed straight for the largest academy in the county town-One Grain Academy.

Because Yun Manman was acquainted with County Magistrate Yang's son, they were allowed straight through every time they came.

Once Dabao entered the academy gates, he hurried toward the courtyard where Yun Zeren and the others lived, excitement plainly visible on his face.

An indulgent smile filled Yun Manman's eyes. Wasn't this a kind of black-bellied behavior from Dabao?

He quietly made quite a few academy teachers doubt themselves until they withdrew into their shells.

Watching Dabao's nimble figure, Yun Manman did not speak up to curb this rare display of his childish nature. She carried a food box containing several Returning Lotus Fruits.

Yun Zeren, Yun Sheng, and Yun Ye were already licentiates and would soon sit the provincial examination. Their studies were demanding, so she would give their brains some nourishment.

Just as Yun Manman stepped through the courtyard entrance, offensive words reached her ears.

"What did this young master say that was wrong? She's already given birth to two bastards of unknown origin. Being willing to take her as a concubine is the greatest favor I could grant her and your Yun Family."

Behind her, Yun Sheng and the others had murderous intent in their eyes. Yun Manman raised a hand to stop them, lest they act rashly and affect their future studies.

Yun Zeren was brawling with eight guards. A fierce light flashed in Yun Rui's purple eyes, and he clenched his jaw as he threw a vicious punch.

"Hiss! You little bastard, you actually dared hurt me! If it weren't for your mother's beauty, I'd kill you today!"

"Who are you going to kill?"

Everyone looked toward the voice.

She wore white robes embroidered with faintly visible white lotuses, sheer gauze wrapped around her waist. A pale-blue lotus hairpin held up her black hair, and her dazzling purple eyes were indifferent and cold.

The man's eyes filled with awe at her beauty. Seeing the guards staggering around him, annoyance flashed through his eyes. So many men couldn't even beat a scholar!

"Get out of the way, you useless fools. You're blocking Lady Yun's path."

With that, he looked at Yun Manman with a gleam in his eyes, his voice carrying a hint of flattery.

"I am Qian Youjin, the young proprietor of the Qian Family Gambling House. Might I invite Lady Yun to view the lanterns with me tonight?"

Yun Manman's gaze swept coolly over this kidney-deficient man who fancied himself suave and dashing. Killing intent rose in her eyes, while her cool, indifferent voice held a touch of nonchalance.

"A long-tongued man? Very good. It has indeed been a long time since I heard anything so foolish."

With that, she walked straight past him toward Yun Rui and Zeren.

Qian Youjin reached out to catch Yun Manman's sleeve, but just as his hand was about to touch it, a powerful force knocked it away.

Qian Youjin stumbled backward several steps before steadying himself, confusion filling his dark-ringed eyes.

What was going on?

An illusion?