Of Soil And Sovereign

In the Fang family residence in the study of Prime Minister Fang, Shirong was kneeling at the centre of the study with both his father and grandfather sitting at the chairs staring at him down, and the mood was sombre.

When he arrived from taking his grandmother to the Li residence, the steward immediately asked him to go to his grandfather's study, and Shirong knew he was in big trouble.

When he arrived at the gate, he heard his name being called out for him to come in. As soon as he stepped into the study, he sensed a vase hurtling towards him at high speed. He quickly ducked and narrowly avoided being hit. His grandfather, with anger in his voice, instructed him to kneel, and he complied immediately.

While kneeling his grandfather asked him to explain everything that happened and Shirong started from the party meeting his cousin but omitting seeing the emperor there and coming back home to tell his grandmother and her leaving he also informed his grandfather that his grandmother insisted on staying there and instructed him to inform him that if he had a problem her staying there he should send her divorce letter directly to the Li household.

The old man sat there speechless. His wife was always obedient and understanding, but since the incident two years ago, she formed a bit of asking for a divorce the moment she saw him or, at other times, asked the servants or their grandchildren to inform him to send her divorce letter.

He felt helpless as he could not get her to listen to him even for a moment as she even chased him from their chambers and he had been sleeping in the study for the past two years.

Prime Minister Fang wondered how the two siblings could just make it back to the capital in just two years by themselves the coward son-in-law of his messed up the big time he had never seen someone change as he did Li Xin and he regretted marrying his daughter to that man he also wondered to himself if he was just hiding his evilness before as someone could not change that drastically in a matter of few years.

When authorities sent the children outside the capital, he hesitated to help immediately because the Fang family had many enemies who would use the situation to link the two families.

So he thought maybe after a few years and people had forgotten, he would bring them back to the capital and arrange a decent marriage for them.

But now in less than two years, they made it back with their own merit and now he wished his stubborn old lady to forgive him and allow him to move to their courtyard but he knew that was just his wishful thinking and she would not forgive in a long time maybe she will after the Li siblings forgive him and so he decided to visit them within the week.

Meanwhile, he permitted Shirong to leave and punished him to kneel in the ancestral shrine for the night. Also, seeing his son just sitting there with no opinions of his own annoyed him further, and he asked both of them to leave his study, and he had a headache.

In the Li family residence, Madam Fang kept close to Mei, asking her about their life on the outskirts of the capital and how they got back, but Mei told her to give them some more time, and once they were mentally ready, they would tell her, and Madam Fang agreed.

Meanwhile, as it was lunch, Mei asked Xiao Lan to go to the Mingde courtyard to call him for lunch and asked Xiao Wei to go to the kitchen and inform the chef to serve their meal.

Xiao Lan came back to inform her that the young master told her to inform Mei that he would have his meal in his courtyard and would not be joining them Mei felt hurt hearing that since she came to this era her brother and have been having every meal together every day and she felt like, she could not eat without him around.

So she removed her treasured hairpin he bought her, put her hair in a bun and went to her brother's courtyard. She always knew seeing her in that hairpin improved his mood.

When she reached Mingde's courtyard and found him sitting listlessly in the front of his courtyard, she asked his servant to announce her presence, she saw him look up, and once he saw her hairpin, he smiled at her and instructed her to sit.

Once seated, they turned quiet for a while, and Mei broke the silence, informing her brother that he was right in his anger and that his reaction was completely justified. She told him until he was okay and ready to forgive their maternal family, she would not forgive them as well.

She held his hand patting it and told him they did not have to forgive their grandmother but since she had not had a single meal without him in a while she could not eat well with him absent and since their grandmother was an elder and a guest, it will look bad on them if they both ate together and left her to eat alone and she requested gently for him to join them.

Mingde felt sense in what his sister was saying and since she could not eat without his absence, he would eat at her courtyard he could do that and much more for his sister he nodded and Mei hugged him she remembered how skinny he was the first time she hugged him and there was a big difference between then and now he looked much healthier and happier.

Mei felt selfish for forcing her brother to have a meal with their grandmother, but she could understand both of them and their feelings, for now, they will take everything slowly day by day, and the wound will take a while to heal on all ends.