Time Travel: The Noble Family-Chapter 1361 - 557: Winds Rising

Tension

The green leaves on the trees sway gently, the ripe rice fields are a sea of gold, occasionally a patch of taro fields appear, their color so green it seems like oil might drip off; sometimes, a few fruit trees appear by the roadside, their abundant fruits gradually turning red amidst the sound of cicadas.

Yueyao looked at the scenery ahead and said with a smile, "So beautiful." The scenery was indeed beautiful, bringing a sense of peace. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Kexin followed Yueyao here. Kexin looked at the flowers not far away, then turned to Yueyao and said, "Mom, I want to pick flowers."

Yueyao smiled and said to Xiang Wei, "You go with her!"

Yueyao found a perfect spot and had those around her open her painting supplies. With the brush in hand, gradually, all Yueyao could see were the surrounding scenery.

Kexin came back after picking flowers, saw her mother absorbed in painting, and did not disturb Yueyao. Instead, she went to a shady spot, took the basket offered by the maid, and started embroidering a screen.

Xiang Wei watched Yueyao and Kexin both engrossed in their activities and couldn’t help but smile. Kexin wasn’t very proficient in Guqin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting, but she was very fond of embroidery. Even though she was only nine, her embroidery skills were quite impressive.

It wasn’t until dusk that everyone returned.

Yueyao heard the familiar footsteps and had a delighted look on her face. Kexin felt it too and joyfully exclaimed, "Mom, Dad is here." Only her dad’s steps could be so forceful.

As soon as she spoke, a person in an official robe walked out from the house.

Yueyao went forward and whispered, "Why come so urgently? Is something wrong?" Not even changed out of his clothes, something surely was up.

An Zhichen replied with a smile, "There’s nothing wrong, I just missed you and the kids, so I came as soon as I finished work." It didn’t feel much when he was in the military camp, but now it’s different. Usually, the family was full of hustle and bustle, meals were enjoyable together, but now the meals are tasteless. Especially coming home late sometimes, Yueyao used to wait up for him, seeing the lights in the courtyard warmed his heart. Now coming home is cold and lonely.

Yueyao felt somewhat guilty inside, but with her daughter present, she couldn’t express too much, simply smiling and saying, "Go change your clothes first." Wearing official attire here felt odd.

Once An Zhichen changed his clothes, Yueyao asked, "Have you visited the teacher? If not, I will go with you!"

An Zhichen laughed, "No, just arrived when you returned."

Mr. Yu Shan was very pleased that An Zhichen supported Yueyao in continuing her painting and thus treated An Zhichen very kindly.

The family had their dinner, Kexin busied herself with her pet rabbit, while Brother Shengsheng and his two brothers went off horse riding.

After the children left, Yueyao whispered to An Zhichen, "The children are too exhausted." Every morning waking up to memorize texts, learning horse riding and archery in the morning, studying with the teacher in the afternoon, having an hour’s rest in the evening, and practicing writing and doing homework at night, the day’s schedule was packed.

An Zhichen repeated his usual saying, "A jade that is not polished cannot become a useful item."

Yueyao knew An Zhichen’s method was right, yet she felt a pang of heartache. Yueyao couldn’t help but reflect, it’s said that children raised by women are easily ruined; there is some truth to that. It’s not that women don’t know how to teach children, but those who can be ruthless enough to teach them are truly few.

An Zhichen saw this and said with a smile, "Don’t worry, what I let them do is within their ability to endure, it won’t wear them out. If we want the children to succeed in the future, they must be well-trained."

Yueyao said no more. She had always worried about failing to teach Tingzheng well, so she entrusted Uncle Li to teach him, and yet Tingzheng turned out this way. Thinking of this, Yueyao decided not to involve herself in the education of her three sons. Otherwise, if they turned out like Tingzheng, she’d truly be upset.

An Zhichen seemed to understand what Yueyao was thinking and said, "I met Tingzheng the day I returned and talked to him about some matters."

Yueyao had decided to completely let go, not intending to concern herself with Tingzheng anymore, but since An Zhichen mentioned it, she had to follow up on his words, "What did you talk about?"

An Zhichen looked at Yueyao and asked, "Does Tingzheng really not know how difficult your life was in the Lian family, why haven’t you told him what you’ve done for him?"

Yueyao was puzzled and said, "Why tell him?" After a pause, Yueyao smiled and said, "What I did at the time was willing, if I told him, it would seem like asking for something in return." What she did was to make up for the guilt within, to put her heart at ease, so she would not feel remorseful when meeting her parents in the afterlife.