"It's not like what you think. The one that has the chance to be the family head is Lu Zhi's husband."
Lu Zhi's husband?
The phrase seemed stranger in Ye Jiao's opinion because Lu Zhi was clearly only 12 years old or so. She knew that some girls married young, but she had never heard of them getting married at the age of 12 and still stayed in their parent's residence.
Lu Wan pondered for a moment. "What's your impression of Lu Zhi?"
"She's pretty." As long as she didn't open her mouth.
Ye Jiao only has a short time to observe Lu Zhi, so she still didn't know much regarding Lu Zhi's capabilities. What she had seen so far was only the girl's appearance and foul mouth that didn't reflect on the girl's pretty face.
"That's correct." Lu Wan shrugged. "When I'm in the Hell Island, it seemed that someone powerful took a fancy of her and proposed a marriage. In short, she's the fiancée of a high rank official in Chen Kingdom. Once she reached adulthood, she'll be married away and the position of Lu Family Head can be taken by her husband or my brother depending on who's more capable."
Ye Jiao was truly speechless at the words that Lu Wan uttered. She knew that Lu Zhi seemed to be so confident, but she didn't think that this would be the case.
"Is she also a genius in Eon Energy?"
"The opposite," Lu Wan replied. "She's worse than average people in the capital city, so she doesn't have much hope in this field."
"I see."
The two of them stayed silent for a short period of time. Ye Jiao was trying to digest everything she could into her brain while Lu Wan just tried to relax. From what he said, she could infer that Lu Zhi only has the potential to inherit the position because of her face.
Right, she had completely forgotten a woman's weapon.
"Now, you're going to help me with my experiment," Lu Wan suddenly changed the conversation. His face turned sour. "Starting tomorrow, I'll have to go to school, so you have to stay here today to accompany me creating new poison."
"School?"
"Like I said before, My Father wanted me to uphold the Lu Family name. First of all, I have to start attending school again," Lu Wan replied. The thought of attending school again aggrieved him. He longed for the freedom he could get after the training schedule was over, but now it was impossible.
"I understand. It seems that I need to learn more about etiquette first."
"Wait, you have to help me in my experiment."
"I don't have any knowledge in herbs. Besides, it'll be better if I train my acting skill lest that I make it hard to believe that I'm your servant."
The last time Ye Jiao acted in her mission, she was so awkward in her movements. It was all pure torture for her, which she hoped to forget for her entire life. Because of that, she had been trying to engrave the acting skill into her bone whenever it was possible. Of course, her level was still low.
The only persona she could act out was only an ordinary servant, which was intended for her to survive in this residence. It was still in training, but she had become better as the thought that Lu Wan was her senior brother made it easier for her to act.
"True enough," Lu Wan sighed. "We'll have a break from our training from now, so there's no need to bother me too much."
In training, knowing when to train hard and rest was important. As their body was still developing, it would be impossible for them to train all the time. They needed proper rest to let their body absorb the training they had.
With the new arrangement, the two of them have a peaceful day for the first time in a few months. Ye Jiao headed to the servant's quarter and asked about the rules and regulation while Lu Wan spent his time in his room to make new poison.
The day passed quietly.
The next day, Lu Wan woke up early. He glanced at the window as he sighed deeply. "Ye Jiao, you're there, right?"
"I'm here," Ye Jiao replied. She was standing by Lu Wan's door. As her room was located in front of his, she could reach this place quickly.
"You should think of a name for yourself. I can't possibly call you with your real name in front of the Wei Family," Lu Wan said. He prepared himself and walked out after a few minutes. Seeing Ye Jiao was contemplating, he patted the girl's shoulder.
"I truly didn't know what name to use," Ye Jiao admitted. If she used a random name, she was worried that she wouldn't be able to get used to it.
Lu Wan scratched his head. "Certainly, you're not allowed to use Ye surname."
"Why?"
"Didn't you realize that you're the only person with Ye surname in this kingdom?"
Now that Lu Wan mentioned it, Ye Jiao had never heard of anyone else around them with the same surname as hers. She thought it was because her grandfather had died, but if that was the case, was the Ye Family so small that it only has one successor?
"Ye Family is a small family?"
Lu Wan shrugged. "Don't ask me, I'm not good at history. But at least, I know that this surname will grant you instant death. Not only Wei Family, the Imperial family also issues an order to kill everyone with Ye surname."
What?
Ye Jiao shuddered when she heard Lu Wan's words. She thought that they had been too much when they pressured her father and chased after her mother. Now they didn't give any leeway and gave an order to have her dead.
While Ye Jiao was in deep thought, Lu Wan entered the main hall. He turned his head to the nearby servant. "Bring my food to the carriage. I'll eat there."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Xiao'er, come follow after me."
"Ah- yes, Young Master," Ye Jiao was startled, but she followed after Lu Wan. Hearing the name that he used to call her, she didn't know whether to cry or laugh. It was her father's name with a different tone as this one was the one used for girls.*
The two of them headed outside the residence where a majestic carriage was ready. It was coated in brown color with beautiful engraving around it. Not only that, there was also character Lu on the front door.
"Tsk, I hate this carriage," Lu Wan muttered.
Lu Wan entered the carriage while Ye Jiao hesitated. Only after Lu Wan beckoned for her to come inside did Ye Jiao move. She ignored the eyes of the servants around them, who seemed to wish to make a hole on her head.
As the carriage moved, Ye Jiao sighed in relief.
"I feel that there are a lot of people who wish to share the carriage with you, Young Master," Ye Jiao remarked.
Lu Wan shrugged. He picked up the bowl on the table that the servants have set up in the carriage. It was a large carriage and the table itself was luxurious, though the two of them paid it no heed.
"They're just trying to gain my favor because they know that whoever can gain my trust will be given an important role by my father," Lu Wan sneered. "That old fox just wants to tie me up to the residence."
Ye Jiao blinked several times as she tried to digest the word that Lu Wan said. It seemed that the lives of people in a large family was more complicated than what she had thought. They lived by making use of other people around them.
"Just eat, Xiao'er. They always prepare too much for me."
"Ah, right," Ye Jiao picked up the chopstick. Then she remembered something. "Right, why did you call me Xiao'er?"
"It's normal to use Xiao as a girl's name, so I think that this will be good. If you're against it, you can suggest a different name," Lu Wan replied.
It was indeed a common name, so Ye Jiao found Lu Wan's reason to be normal. She didn't have much qualm to use this name as it also helped to remind her of her father.
"It's fine. I'll just use this name."
"Good, now eat."
"Ok."
The two of them cleaned up the food on the plates as the carriage going to the school. When it was already near, Ye Jiao took a sneak peek from the window. Seeing the large gate in front of them, she sighed to herself.
If she was alone, she would never have a chance to enter the school's ground.
"There's no need to worry. Try not to catch any attention and you'll be able to escape unscathed."
"Yes."
…
*Chinese pinyin can have multiple tone and have several different writing even with the same tone.