"Where is that damn boy?!"
"Dear, calm down"
"Calm down? He even kidnapped his sisters! To think that not even the barracks could fix him"
Looking at her husband gnashing his teeth, Madam Ming could only sigh. 'They were right behind me though'
"I'm sure that they will be right here— look here they come"
"Father I'm back"
"Hmph. I thought that you wouldn't be coming"
"How come? I just went to pick little Zigui"
"I'm not littwe!" (I'm not little)
Ming Zigui smacked his Elder Brother face with his chubby hands.
Seeing the annoyed appearance of the little dumpling, Peng decided it was better not annoy him anymore. 'But his hands sure are nice to pinch too'
"Yes yes. You are very big"
"Since we are all here let's sit down, otherwise the food will become cold"
In the table there was all Ming Peng favorite dishes. When Ming Peng caught a glimpse of the table, he almost cried. 'Finally normal food again'
Ming Shu and Madam Ming knew that the food in the barracks had the bare minimum of nutrition and was awful. So they didn't found strange Ming Peng reaction to the food, however the other three looked at him with doubt and pity. 'How awful was he treated in that place?' they unanimously thought.
"Cough, cough— we should begin eating"
Trying to get his son's emotion under control, Ming Peizi signaled to his family to start to eat.
"So, Older Brother, did you liked the barracks?"
Hearing the question of his sister, Ming Peng paused for a bit.
"It was educative"
"...elaborate please"
"I was beaten into a pulp for most of the time. The rest of the time I was rather lectured or went to do the drills"
"Pfft— this is what Father-in-law had you do?" Asked Ming Peizi incredulously.
"En. I don't want to see his face anytime soon"
"H-How could it be..."
"Father, isn't it great? At least some kind of discipline must have been drill into Brother's bone right? And my Esteemed Brother, have you forgotten that the end of the year is in a month? We are clearly going to see him by then. So don't slack okay~?"
The color from Peng's face could be seen draining quickly.
"B-brother don't worry, I'm sure you can do it. Taste this ribs, they are delicious"
Trying to cheer up her Brother, Ming Yunning started to feel his bowl with a lot of foods that were displayed in the table.
"Thank you Yunning... but it's enough"
"Jiejie, don't welp stupid bwothe, welps Zigui. Zigui wants the wibs too" (Jiejie, don't help stupid brother, help Zigui. Zigui wants ribs too)
"You! You should respect me more you little brat, I'm your Elder Brother"
"I'm not littwe!" (I'm not little)
Pfffft! The rest of the table started to laugh of the brothers antics.
'How long didn't I ate such a enjoyable meal?' Looking at his children laughing and his lovely wife with a bright smile, Ming Peizi thought that he could get used to this type of meal.
If someone asked him 6 months ago if he thought it was possible to have a happy meal with the people present in this room, Ming Peizi would have said that it was impossible. The Eldest son was a wastrel, his elder daughter was a trouble maker, and the other two, because of their status were not close to him.
'And this all change because of her' Ming Peizi looked at his Eldest daughter, who, with simple actions, brought his family together.
Feeling a gaze on her, Ming Shu looked at the source. Once she laid eyes upon it, she got startled. Her Father was looking at her with a loving gaze and a soft smile. Ming Shu never thought that she could ever make him do such an expression for her.
She always thought that her Father was a ruthless character, that only thought of his children as something that could be used as political pieces. He could even like them, but never love them. For example, she thought that he always liked Ming Yunning better because of she fitted better with his plans than her.
Getting out of her stupor, Ming Shu open a big smile to her Father. However, the loving expression suddenly turned into one of worry.
"Is everything all right Shu'er?"
Everyone in the table stopped laughing and turned to Ming Shu. They all had similar expressions as her Father when they laid their eyes on her face.
'Is my smile that strange?' Touching her face, Ming Shu saw that there was water on it. 'Hm? Am I c-crying?' Embarrassed Ming Shu quickly dried them. 'I can't be weak in front of them'
"Is something hurting baby? If that is, you can tell Mother"
"Mother is right, if you are feeling pain you should say, you can be excused and should take medicine"
"Stupid Bwothe is wight" (Stupid Brother is right)
'That's right. I can tell them. Different from before, I don't need to isolate myself anymore and pretend to be strong outside while collapsing inside'
"Everything is fine. I was just really happy that we could all have such a blessed meal together"
Ming Shu answer startled all those in the table. But the momentary stupor was broken by Ming Peng.
"Hahaha. Who would have thought that the martial prodigy would cry for such a stupid reason! If I knew it would I spend so many years coming with pranks to make you cry? Of course not! You are truly silly Shu'er"
Hearing what her Brother said Ming Shu started to blush. 'Couldn't he let this pass?'
Although the atmosphere went back to be joyful, everyone in the table tried to savor every second of the lunch.