Chapter 22: A Shrewd One

Jiaoyue watched her spiritual power continue to cultivate on its own, feeling overjoyed. With a smile, she opened the little white book and began by writing down the names of her beautiful mother and handsome father.

Thanks to her sufficiently strong spiritual power, this attempt was much easier; her handwriting was now similar to what it had been in her previous life, or at least no longer crooked and messy.

Both parents' names were inscribed smoothly. Once the two names placed side-by-side lit up, they vanished.

Jiaoyue immediately checked her parents’ fortune.

Huh? The fortune had clearly improved, so why hadn't the black and white numbers changed?

She channeled her spiritual power to look at the space between her parents' eyebrows. It was much brighter; their fortune had indeed increased, yet the numbers representing it remained stagnant.

In her past life, Jiaoyue hadn’t had these black and white numbers; she had only distinguished the level of one's fortune by the brightness of the area between the eyebrows. It seemed, however, that things were not so simple here. Even though their fortune had been boosted through the white book, the numerical indicators stayed the same. What could be the reason for this?

Meng Wenxuan, watching his daughter's busy little hands tracing something in the air, felt his gaze tighten as he followed the sequence of her gestures. Weren't those his and his wife’s names?

His daughter could write?

This discovery left Meng Wenxuan in a state of utter shock. Anyone would find it abnormal for a two-day-old infant to know how to write, wouldn't they?

Meng Wenxuan looked at his wife. It was clear she had noticed as well. They exchanged a glance, both seeing the same shock in each other’s eyes. What kind of soul resided in their daughter's tiny body? Could it be that she had been reincarnated without drinking the Meng Po soup? But why would she write their names?

Lin Yuntang, being a woman of delicate and sensitive perception, said to Meng Wenxuan, "Husband, do you feel as if your body has suddenly become much lighter?"

Only then did Meng Wenxuan realize that he did indeed feel remarkably light, as if he had fully recovered from a long and severe illness.

"Yueya, our bodies feel so comfortable. Is this because of you?" Meng Wenxuan asked.

"Ah!" Jiaoyue chirped immediately. Yes, she had boosted their fortune; more good luck meant a lightness of the soul, which naturally made the body feel comfortable.

Meng Wenxuan gave his wife a shocked look before lifting their daughter from her arms. "Let your mother eat and rest. How about Daddy plays with Yueya for a while?"

"Ah!" Jiaoyue was delighted. After a night's sleep, her spiritual power had recovered so quickly that it was nearly at the level of her previous life, so she wasn't sleepy at all.

Meng Wenxuan gestured for his wife to eat breakfast in peace and rest while he looked after their daughter. He carried her to the side room, a simple study where he handled business when staying with his wife.

Sitting on the daybed in the side room, Meng Wenxuan began to talk to his daughter, telling her about the Dayu Empire.

"The Dayu Empire was founded sixty-four years ago..."

Jiaoyue listened intently.

"Our Meng family is the premier scholarly clan of the Dayu Empire. We live on Mount Lanzhi. The Hanmo Academy at the front of the mountain belongs to our family and is the top academy in the entire empire..."

Jiaoyue learned a great deal about the Dayu Empire from her father's words.

Literature belongs to the Meng family, martial arts to the Han family, wealth to the Lin family, and grain to the Zhao family. These were the four irreplaceable great families of the Dayu Empire.

All four families shared a common trait: their descendants did not hold official government positions, yet they served the imperial court in their own ways.

The Meng family had the Hanmo Academy; regardless of other officials, many of the high-ranking ministers of the first and second grade were graduates of the Hanmo Academy.

The Han family had the Jingdao Martial Academy, and the court’s renowned military officers all hailed from there.

The Lin family were merchants, known as the wealthiest in Dayu. Beyond their annual taxes, every time there was a war, the Lin family bore the majority of the military expenses. Her beautiful mother was the youngest daughter of the head of the Lin family and was deeply cherished; when she married into the Meng family last year, the long dowry procession had been the envy of countless people.

The Zhao family lived in the north, possessing the most fertile black soil in the empire. The grain they grew fed the majority of the Dayu population, and whenever war broke out, the provisions they donated to the court were one of the reasons the Dayu Empire emerged victorious time and again.

Meng Wenxuan spoke for half an hour, and his daughter in his arms listened with gusto, showing not a hint of drowsiness.

Worried that she wouldn't remember so much and fearful of tiring her out, Meng Wenxuan squeezed her little cheek and smiled. "Yueya needs to sleep more to grow up healthy and strong. Daddy will tell you more when you wake up."

Jiaoyue was just about to protest that she wasn't sleepy yet when she heard a tap on the window—not loud, but sufficient for those inside to hear.

He raised an eyebrow. "Come in."

Jiaoyue saw the window open and close rapidly, and a man in black, wearing a mask, appeared in the room.

Jiaoyue’s eyes went round. Was this the "kung fu" of the mortal world? She wanted to learn!

The man hesitated upon seeing the infant in Meng Wenxuan’s arms staring at him with bright, lively eyes, then lowered his head. "Master, as soon as Nanny Liu’s carriage left the city, a hill myna flew into her cabin. The bird knew how to hide from people; none of the accompanying guards noticed."

Meng Wenxuan’s expression turned grim. It really was Nanny Liu’s doing. Nanny Liu was almost always by his mother’s side; where would she find the opportunity to raise and train birds?

"Go to Nanny Liu’s quarters and search for anything related to bird-keeping," Meng Wenxuan ordered the man in black.

After the man left, Meng Wenxuan prepared to take his daughter back, but Qingguo arrived to report, "Seventh Master, the Family Head is here. He is in the front courtyard and said if the Young Miss is awake, please bring her to see him."

Meng Wenxuan’s mouth twitched. Father, do you realize your granddaughter was only born yesterday? But seeing his daughter’s bright, alert eyes, he realized his girl was no ordinary child.

"Tangtang, I will bring Yueya right back," Meng Wenxuan said to his wife as he carried their daughter back to the bedroom.

Lin Yuntang replied, "I know you have a plan, but Yueya was just born; don't be too flashy."

Flashy?

Meng Wenxuan had been pondering how to ensure his daughter could drink her milk and eat her meals in peace. His wife's words gave him an idea.

"Rest assured," Meng Wenxuan said, carrying his daughter to the front courtyard.

Jiaoyue was bundled up again; knowing they were worried about her catching a chill, she didn't resist.

When she saw the light again, she was already in her grandfather's arms.

"Yueya, did you miss Grandfather?" The Meng Family Head felt he was doing better at holding his granddaughter today than yesterday; at least his arms weren't as stiff.

"Ah!" Jiaoyue immediately gave her grandfather a toothless smile. She missed him—she absolutely had to miss him. Grandfather was the key figure in whether or not she could live as comfortably as a fish in water within the Meng family.

The Meng Family Head burst into hearty laughter at the sound of her "ah." His granddaughter was indeed a clever one.

After playing with Jiaoyue for a while, he turned to serious business with his son. "Keep Nanny Liu for now; she still has her uses. We must find a way to ensure my granddaughter can drink her milk and eat her meals properly."

Upon hearing this, Jiaoyue also chimed in with an "ah." This was very important; she didn't want to go through a poison test before every meal.

"Father, do you have a plan?" Meng Wenxuan asked, his eyes flickering.

The Meng Family Head glanced at him. "If your eyes didn't flicker so quickly, I would believe you didn't have one."