AFTER walking for only five minutes, Lily changed direction.
She had nothing interesting to add to the so-called banquet, so she decided to let Concubine Qin handle whatever needed to be done.
Besides, she had just seen her Sixth Brother, whose arm was fractured, heading somewhere.
Having nothing better to do, she followed him.
They ended up in the estate's massive garden—with a lake in it, even.
It was Lily's first time there. Whenever her father had asked her to visit the garden before, she had refused. She had thought it would be another ordinary garden with only flowers and a few plants. She had not expected it to have an artificial lake.
Then, her Sixth Brother picked up a pebble and angrily threw it into the lake while cursing her name.
"..." said Lily. What had she done to this nutcase? He even had tears in his eyes.
"Damn you, Tianli! I hope you die!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Just die in a beast stampede! Get kidnapped! Just disappear!"
What a fool, Lily thought. She knew how to curse better than this older brother. Even when she had been a genuine seven-year-old, she had already known plenty of curses.
Still, after hearing herself being cursed to death, she walked toward her Sixth Brother. When she reached him, she kicked him in the back.
Splash!
"Who dar—"
Lily pushed his head back into the water with her foot.
When he emerged again, he shouted, "Pei Tianli!"
She pushed his head back into the water once more.
When she saw her Sixth Brother finally struggling with only one arm flailing around, she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back onto the shore.
"Sixth Brother, your mouth stinks. It needed washing," she said casually as she watched him cough up water.
Pei Tianrui looked up and glared at her. "I am going to kill you!"
Lily blinked. She squatted down, rested her chin on her palm, and suggested, "Sixth Brother, you're too weak to do that. How about hiring an assassin instead?"
With her Sixth Brother's stupidity and frailty, he wouldn't even be able to kill a pig.
Pei Tianrui's face darkened.
He hated being called weak!
His hand clenched into a fist as he gritted his teeth.
"I am going to surpass my brother," he whispered.
But Lily still heard him.
"And then I am going to kill you."
Well, what a motivation.
But...
"Sixth Brother, if your goal is to kill me, then maybe you should surpass someone else instead. If you're already going to work that hard, why not surpass Father?"
"..." said Pei Tianrui.
He opened his mouth to retaliate, but no words came out.
Being cornered and defeated, he felt suffocated. His expression looked as though he was on the verge of tears.
"What are you two doing here?"
Both children turned toward the person who had spoken.
"Father," they greeted.
One voice was filled with complaint and indignation.
The other was merely stating a fact.
Lord Pei had gone to Concubine Qin's courtyard to look for Lily, only to learn that she wasn't there. The servants then reported seeing Lily and Tianrui heading toward the garden, and he thought the two had gone there to play.
Yet...
This was the scene that greeted him.
Sighing, he picked Tianrui up and comforted him before handing him over to Butler Chen.
Before leaving, Pei Tianrui didn't forget to glare at Lily.
But Lily simply looked away, unconcerned.
That only made him even more frustrated.
"What?" asked Lily when she noticed her father staring at her.
Lord Pei bent down to pick Lily up, but the latter swiftly avoided him.
"..." said Lord Pei.
"Don't you dare," Lily glared.
Lord Pei sighed. He straightened up and said, "I miss the days when you were still a baby."
She had been cute, and although mischievous, she never minded being held.
But when she turned five, who knew where she had picked it up, she insisted that being carried like a baby was not ladylike and would affect her reputation and independence.
Since he couldn't hold her in his arms, he took her little hand and guided her to the side. The two of them sat in a pavilion by the lake.
Lily didn't mind.
"Why didn't you tell your brother that he shouldn't assassinate you?" Lord Pei asked as soon as Lily settled into her seat.
He had reached the lake when he heard his Sixth Son cursing his sister for some reason. Before he could reprimand him, Lily had already retaliated. He knew his daughter wouldn't do anything beyond her control, so he let her teach his Sixth Son a lesson.
Then came their conversation.
Lily looked at him, confused. "Isn't that supposed to be your job?"
"..." Now it was Lord Pei's turn to be confused.
"You created a lot of children with different mothers. Don't expect a harmonious family," Lily explained bluntly, as though stating a simple fact.
Lord Pei couldn't argue with that. He suddenly felt ashamed.
"Still," Lord Pei tried to reason, "wouldn't you feel sad if your siblings wanted to kill you?"
If his brother suddenly announced, with genuine emotion, that he wanted to kill him, it would break his heart.
"No," Lily answered honestly.
Lord Pei fell silent for a moment before asking, "Why?"
"Why?" Lily asked back. She couldn't understand why they were talking about this.
"What?"
"Why should I feel sad?"
Lord Pei suddenly felt a jolt. Emotions flooded him all at once. He had raised Lily to become the successor—the next Clan Head. Now that he thought about it, he had never seen her build a close relationship with any of her siblings. He had never even seen her have fun with the children of Concubine Qin.
She was always alone.
She—
"Father... Father!"
Lord Pei snapped out of his thoughts when Lily slapped the table.
"What are you doing? You could hurt your hand!"
"You suddenly blanked out," Lily tsked. "You have that look again."
"What look?"
"That look where you seem constipated and about to collapse on the spot."
"Lily! Language!"
"That's already vague!"
Lord Pei took a deep breath as he massaged his forehead.
"Father...."
"What is it again?"
"You know..."
Lord Pei looked at his daughter and froze. Usually, she looked bored, languid, or wide-eyed while pretending to be innocent. Now, she still looked innocent, but her eyes were unusually clear.
"It doesn't matter if all my siblings want to kill me," she said. "It doesn't even matter whether they love me or not. In fact, if Tianrui becomes stronger because of that motivation, wouldn't that be a good thing? It's not like he could kill me anyway."
Plus, it would be embarrassing to tell people she had a stupid and weak brother. It would be fine if he were only weak, but he was also foolish.
That wouldn't do.
"You are that confident in yourself?" Lord Pei asked, amused.
"Yes," she answered, her feet swaying back and forth.
Lord Pei stared at his daughter's expression. Only after he was certain that the girl wasn't emotionally hurt did he finally let go of his worries.
"What if he did what you suggested and hired an assassin?"
Giving advice to her brother on how to kill her—it was extremely bold and overconfident.
"I haven't really thought about the what-ifs of that scenario yet."
"Why?"
"Because it didn't happen, and it might never happen."
Lord Pei turned serious. "Lily," he said, "a Clan Head should think ahead and plan ahead. You shouldn't let your guard down. Always think of the possibilities and make plans to prevent future catastrophes."
Lily nodded in agreement. "That is true. But we're talking about Sixth Brother here," she said. "He is like that because he's competing with me for the position of Clan Head. I can't keep thinking about what might happen to me in the future if he does as I suggested—-
"—-If it concerns the clan, then of course I'll think ahead. If it only concerns me, why should I waste my time worrying about something that hasn't happened? He can come at me anytime he wants, and I'll fight him when that time comes. If I keep thinking that he wants to kill me, then my judgment might become twisted—-
"—-What if I suddenly decide to end his life because of that? He hasn't even done anything yet. Those were just empty threats. Then I suddenly decide to kill him. But at that point, he hasn't harmed me in any way. That wouldn't be fair."
Lord Pei was silent.
"What if Tianrui becomes the Clan Head?"
Lily looked at her father, wide-eyed. "Are you that stupid, Father?"
"I am talking about the possibilities."
"Very well," Lily said, already feeling like holding a grudge over all these what-ifs today. They were killing her brain! "If Sixth Brother is the only child left, then you will probably look for someone capable."
"Why do you think I would do that?"
"Whether Sixth Brother grows a new brain or becomes the most capable and powerful member of the Pei Clan, he is still not suited to be the Clan Head. A Pei who kills his own people for the sake of power is not fit to lead."
"Your way of thinking as a seven-year-old is complicated." Lord Pei shook his head, unable to hide his smile.
Lily blinked. "You made it complicated, Father. I only want to think about my present self. Why bother with an uncertain future?"
That's exhausting.
He sighed once again. He stood and patted Lily's head.
Lily got off her seat and took his hand. "Father, can we not talk about things like this again?" she asked earnestly. "It's exhausting explaining them to you."
Lord Pei flicked her forehead. "Then stop making me worry."
"You're obviously worrying over nothing," she whispered.
"What's that?"
"Why were you looking for me? We just talked this morning."
"You'll come with me to the Council Hall. There are matters the other clans and elders wish to discuss."
"Can I not go?"
"Request denied."
What a shame.