Chapter 361: Chapter 358: Old Family Affairs
Aunt Li looked at the three children’s disapproving faces, then at their father’s dark, fuming expression, and let out a mischievous laugh. She shook her head and said, "That’s enough. I have this under control, so you all just stay out of it. Go on and do whatever you need to do!"
"Alright, listen to your mother. You’ve all grown wings now, huh? I, your father, can’t even tell you what to do anymore, is that it!" Eldest Li snapped, glaring at his daughter and son with a dark expression.
Li Cui and her siblings lowered their heads and kept quiet. ’We’ve already said all that needs to be said. Defying Dad right now would be just plain stupid. You have to know when to back down, and besides, there’s no shame in acting timid in front of your own parents!’
Seeing her three children wisely backing down, Aunt Li smiled. "Go get some rest. This is something for us elders to handle; you don’t need to get involved. Your eldest brother and sister-in-law are sharp people. They’re not someone just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can scheme against!"
Li Cui and her siblings exchanged a look, giving an imperceptible nod. Their mother was right; their eldest brother and sister-in-law were in a league of their own, not people who could be easily schemed against. After a final glance at their father’s still-dark expression, they felt a bit intimidated and quietly slipped out of the room.
"Alright, you can drop the stern act. The kids are gone!" Aunt Li said with a helpless sigh, giving an amused look to Eldest Li, who was clearly overjoyed but had deliberately kept a straight face. ’If you’re happy, just be happy. Why hide it from the children? Honestly!’
Eldest Li shot Aunt Li a glare and said resignedly, "Of course I’m happy the children are sensible and mature. But Xiao Bo is a bit too sharp-edged. And Little Cui... she’s almost twenty, but when she argues, she shows no respect for her elders. A young woman with a temper like that will suffer for it. Our youngest daughter is the same—far too blunt. You need to teach those two a thing or two!"
"I’m not getting involved. Those two little rascals don’t listen to me anyway. Haven’t you noticed Little Cui is much better now? Before, her words were sharp enough to choke a person. It looks like her sister-in-law has been teaching her. Our youngest daughter is the same. Once she’s a bit older and in her sister-in-law’s hands, she’ll be straightened out no matter how crooked she grows. As for Xiao Bo, you have even less to worry about. His elder brother is more invested in him than we, his own parents, are!"
Aunt Li glanced at Eldest Li casually and continued in an unconcerned tone, "Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. Our nephew pays special attention to our three little ones, as well as Third Brother’s kids—especially the two boys, Xiao Bo and Xiao Guo. Even though Li Bao was sent to the Capital City long ago, don’t you feel that our nephew has invested a great deal of thought into Xiao Bo and Xiao Guo?"
"That’s true. Forget it. We can barely read, and our horizons are too narrow. It’s better to leave their education to their elder brother and sister-in-law. It’s just... I’m afraid we’ll owe them even more in the future," Eldest Li said with a pained expression. ’Our nephew has already done so much, and now he’s helping to raise his younger cousins!’
With a sigh, Aunt Li said softly, "There’s no use thinking about that now. The best we can do is try not to cause any trouble for our nephew and his wife, so they don’t have to worry about things back here. Most importantly, we must ensure that neither of our families produces any ungrateful wretches!"
"Let’s get ready for bed," Eldest Li said softly, glancing at her. It seemed this was all they, the elders, could really do now.
Seeing their parents sitting on the bed with such solemn expressions, Li Bao and his siblings exchanged confused glances. It was a rare sight to see their good-natured father looking so serious. Li Miao glanced from her older siblings to her parents, then lowered her head, the corners of her lips curling into a faint smile.
"Mom, if you and Dad have something to say, just say it. Why look so serious? Anyone would think something terrible has happened! Besides, it’s just a few troublemakers. If you two, plus my uncle and aunt, can’t handle them, then just let me do it."
With six pairs of eyes fixed on her, Li Miao simply shrugged. Looking at her parents, older siblings, and sister-in-law, she put on an innocent expression and said, "You don’t have to look at me like that. It’s a trivial matter. If Xiao Wu hadn’t stopped us, Xiao Bo and I would’ve already dealt with them, quick and clean."
"Wait, how could you..." Third Brother Li looked at his young daughter in shock, but was cut off before he could finish.
"Dad, I can do it. And I know how!"
Seeing everyone staring at her in shock, Li Miao looked at her older siblings in confusion and asked, "When you were in school, didn’t Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law teach you... that?"
"Teach us what?"
...
Seeing her siblings’ confused faces, Li Miao asked cautiously, "Scheming, maneuvering, social skills... things like that. You’ve never read books on the subject? Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law never gave you any private tutoring?"
"No!"
"You little brat, explain yourself! What’s going on?"
Looking at her second sister’s expression, Li Miao wiped her face and said, "After elementary school, Xiao Wu, Xiao Bo, and I all had to read books assigned by Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law. We didn’t just read them, we had to write reports on them. We’ve been studying this stuff for years. As for those scoundrels from the second branch, whether it’s me, Xiao Wu, or Xiao Bo, handling them would be child’s play!"
"Wait a minute, why did your eldest brother and sister-in-law have you learn this stuff?" Aunt Li asked her young daughter, confused.
Stealing a glance at her siblings, Li Miao said in a low voice, "I don’t know. We just assumed all of you had already learned it, so... we never asked."
"Nonsense," Li Bao said sternly, glaring at Li Miao. "Little Miao’er, tell me the truth. There’s no way Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law would make you learn all this without a reason! Don’t you lie to me!"
Li Miao huffed quietly and said irritably, "Fine, I’ll tell you! It’s because none of you were promising enough, so Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law had to train us instead! Brother, all you care about is making money. Second Brother is an open book. Second Sister plans to work under Sister-in-law, and Sister Cui wants to follow her example and become a teacher. That just leaves the three of us youngest ones. If Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law don’t cultivate us, what will happen to the Li family? Who’s going to maintain the incredible position they’ve built for us in the Capital City?"
Glaring at her siblings, Li Miao continued, "Nuonuo and the others are still too young, and our Li family doesn’t have a single person working in the government in the Capital City. Relying on outsiders is never as dependable as relying on your own family. What else could they do? Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law were out of options. We talked it over, and we don’t know if we have the talent for it, but we decided to just learn. If we have the aptitude, we’ll study hard. Out of the three of us, at least one should be successful, right? In any case, we can’t let Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law down!"
"So, out of the three of you, who has the aptitude for it?" Li He asked, his gaze intense as he looked at his younger sister.
Timidly sweeping her gaze over her family, Li Miao said in a small voice, "Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law said Xiao Bo and I have the most natural talent, but Xiao Wu is also capable. Plus, Xiao Wu’s logical thinking is the sharpest. Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law said all three of us are going to work in government in the future. They said they would pave the way for us."
"Wait, Dad, Mom, all of you—what’s with those looks? Is it a bad thing that our little sister has talent? Besides, with Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law guiding her, are you saying you don’t trust their judgment?" Wang Xiaojuan asked, looking helplessly at her dumbfounded parents-in-law, her husband, and his siblings. ’This little sister-in-law has been sharp and mischievous since she was a kid. What’s so surprising about any of this!’