Chapter 53: Little Taro Shows Its Might

Immersed entirely in her own world, Zhantai Lingwei had no idea that Mother Wang, who was holding her, had already abandoned her long-held convictions. Mother Wang understood the grand and beautiful wishes of her master and the General, but human calculations pale before the will of Heaven. Now that both her master and the General were missing, she—a humble maidservant—and the rest of the General Estate's servants simply lacked the ability to continue upholding the ideals that her master and the General had relentlessly instilled into the little mistress.

Without the protection of the General and the Princess, the little mistress would have to learn to protect herself. Even the most loyal servants harbored their own selfish motives; not even the most dedicated followers of the General Estate could be relied upon. Depending on others, on the heavens, or on one's ancestors was ultimately unreliable—the only thing one could truly depend on for protection was oneself!

The large figure and the tiny one walked the entire path in silence. Upon reaching the kitchen, Mother Wang placed the little tot onto a chair and went back to her chores.

Zhao Meng rushed in excitedly, shouting, "Sister Wang! Sister Wang! There is news about the General and the Princess!"

The little one sprang up instantly, but her short legs failed to find purchase, and she nearly took a nosedive straight into the floor, which would have been a tragedy.

Dropping her kitchen knife just in time, Mother Wang rushed over and spared the little tot from physical injury, then turned to scold the boisterous Zhao Meng with a look of displeasure: "What kind of behavior is this, shouting and holstering like a wild beast! Just look at your age! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

To be fair, Zhao Meng was only in his early twenties, but because he aged rather prematurely and liked to sport a thick, bushy beard, he looked like a middle-aged uncle in his forties or fifties. He stood obediently in his tracks, listening to Mother Wang's reprimand.

The moment Mother Wang paused for breath, he squeezed in eagerly: "Sister Wang, the General and the Princess didn't jump off the cliff! They aren't dead!"

Mother Wang paused, looked down at the little mistress in her arms, and gently patted her back: "Little Princess, did you hear that? The General and the Princess are in no mortal danger."

"That's right, that's right, little mistress, the General and the Princess are both fine! Oh dear, little mistress, please don't cry. This is wonderful news. Sister Wang, look... whatever shall we do?"

They always said a woman's tears were a man's most formidable weapon. The moment Zhao Meng saw the little mistress shedding tears, all other thoughts vanished from his mind, leaving him with only one desperate plea: that she would stop crying.

Mother Wang gently coaxed the little one, whose nose was flushed red from crying: "Little mistress, Mother Wang knows you are crying tears of joy, am I right? We will wait together for the General and the Princess to return in triumph! They will be back very soon. Come, wipe away your tears, and you can have a hearty meal shortly. You and the General made a pinky promise, you know, and Mother Wang remembers every bit of it."

She cast a sidelong glance at the fiercely motivated Zhao Meng, then continued to comfort the sobbing little thing. Scratching his head in embarrassment, Zhao Meng lightened his footsteps and retreated to the back courtyard.

The restless little Yutou hurried into the kitchen, only to find the young miss sobbing pitifully in her mother's arms. Seized with panic and anger, she blurted out, "Mother! Why did you make the young miss cry? Don't cry, Young Miss, Little Yutou will help you teach the bad guy a lesson!"

Suffering this completely undeserved disaster, Mother Wang cast a speechless glance at her indignant daughter without a word. She transferred the little tot from her own arms into the embrace of Little Yutou—who looked ready to throw punches at her—and silently went back to preparing dinner.

Clasping the little one tightly, Little Yutou tenderly wiped away her tears. To her dismay, the more she wiped, the more the tears flowed, which only intensified her panic. She directed another fierce roar at Mother Wang: "Mother! How could you do this? Why would the young miss start crying for no good reason? What did you do to her?"

Mother Wang did not get angry; she simply said in a gentle tone: "Your mother did nothing to the little mistress. Take the little mistress outside to play, and I will call you back when dinner is ready."

"Dinner? Who cares about dinner right now? Why is the young miss crying? If Mother doesn't give me an explanation, nobody is eating a single bite today!" Distraught and protective, Little Yutou clutched the endlessly weeping young miss, speaking without thinking, entirely forgetting that she was talking to her own beloved mother.