After the big and little tiger left, the four who had watched a boy be brutally slaughtered made their way to the loser.
"Er-ge are you fine?"
"Never better"
Li Muqing answered with a tone filled with pure sarcasm. How could anyone be all right after that?
"Why would you provoke her anyway? We were never her opponents. Even me who is four years older than her would not fare much better than you"
Li Muzhong offered the hand for his brother. Is not that he wasn't cheering for his brother, is just that Xiao Hu is way too abnormal. As her eldest cousin, he was ashamed to admit that he only won her once: when she didn't know anything about martial arts and even then, it was not an easy win.
Li Muqing took the hand from his Elder Brother. Just as he got up, he heard something that almost made him meet the ground again.
"No one can blame Er-ge. Peng-ge said that Xiao Hu was focused on literary studies and she sure looked like a little Lady once she got here. But she not only improved her martial arts, she also had the dawn breaker to help her. It was impossible for you to win today bro"
Muqing froze after hearing his third brother.
"True. It was not even a proper fight, it was a one-way slaughter"
"What did you just said?! I- no, this is not the matter right now. San-ge you're saying that the spear Xiao Hu hit me was THE dawn breaker?"
"Hm? Yes. Grandpa borrowed her, can you believe? The gap on treatment is just too wide that it doesn't even make sense to be jealous. I'm sure once Father and Eldest Uncle hear about this they will be dumbfo-"
"Fufufu"
A laugh interrupted Li Muli talk. It grew louder and louder, until even the instructors and the soldiers that were training in the hall stopped and turned to the source.
Li Muqing was laughing so hard that his brothers thought that maybe Ming Shu hit him so hard that made him a little dumb. Concern about his brother and ashamed with the attention they were getting Muzhong asked about his well-being.
"Brother, Xiao Er are you all right? Do you feel any pain in your head by any chance?"
"Haha, is not that. Is not that AT ALL. Dear Brother, I have a good and a bad news to tell you. Which one do you want?"
Still concern about his brother state Muzhong chose to pick the bad one first. If he says that he is hurt I will need to carry him to the doctor without Mom realizing.
"Well, the bad one is that you didn't get to touch the dawn breaker"
"...just that? What about the good one?"
"The good one is that your brother did! Haha. Besides Xiao Hu only me touched. Isn't this a happy thing?"
'This-this brat!'
Like an organized team, the four plunged into Muqing who was still laughing loud.
"W-What are you doing?"
"Teaching you not to brag. Boys aim for the face"
"NO!"
The laugh that reverberated in the hall was soon replaced by desperate wails.
————
After promising over and over that she would come back in the next week, Ming Shu finally got the permission to return from her Grandpa.
'Sigh. He is so stubborn since always, but I had fun anyways. It's a pity that I couldn't see Grandma this time, since she was visiting Madam Wang today'
Madam Wang was her Grandma's sworn sister. The Wang Household has the Minister Of War title granted to them, so it was unavoidable that the two houses were close, but even when the Li fell from the Imperial grace and everyone avoided them, the Wangs always supported them and stay as their friends. It's from there too her two childhood friends are from, Wang Fangyi and Wang Xizhi.
Remembering her two friends, Ming Shu was filled with guilty. In her previous life, both of them had painful death or life. And in both of the cases she had some sort of involvement in their suffering. They were two of many souls that she should redeem herself and ask for forgiveness in this life. This time, if depend on her, they will live a happy and glorious life for sure.
"Miss we arrived"
After she went out of her carriage, Ming Shu made her way to her father's study. Before leaving her Grandpa gave her a letter to her Father and emphasized that was very important that she gave to him as quick as possible.
After receiving the permission to come in, Ming Shu opened the door and entered.
"I see you are back. Care to tell where you went without previous notice?"
Her Father asked in a calm and compose voice, but the hand gripping the brush betrayed his real emotions.
"Answering Father, I went to Grandpa. This Daughter knows her mistakes and asks Father for a proper punishment"
Ming Peizi waved his hand. Rather than angry he was concerned about her. Since she just went to her Grandpa, it was nothing big.
"Don't do it again. You should at least inform your Mother where are you going, she was very anxious"
"I will go to her courtyard after here"
Ming Shu took out the letter from her robes and gave to her Father.
"Here Father, this is a letter Grandpa gave me. It's probably about Lady Ye's case. Mother asked me to go to Grandpa and ask him to do a background check on her, since Grandfather has a vast knowledge about the Poison Sect"