Tan Rou's persuasion of Father Tao and Mother Tao consisted entirely of sincere words. Tao Qi was already ten years old and quite intelligent, capable of thinking for himself. No matter what anyone else said, if he hadn't figured it out himself, it would be useless. It would only make him feel that he had deceived everyone, believing that while everyone else was deluded, he was alert, which could instead ignite his fighting spirit, making things difficult when that time came.
However, Tan Rou was also curious. The current attitude of Tao Qi seemed strange. He hadn't reacted as she imagined, coming home and cursing her after being instigated by Tan Jing, accusing her of bullying his Sister Jingjing. Nor did it seem like Tan Jing's influence hadn't affected him. He now stood with his back to her, silent, as if sulking or being defiant. Even her deliberate taunting elicited no response from him, which would usually have led to an immediate argument.
