Hua stayed silent.
Seeing this, Zero immediately picked out several storybooks, stuffed them into the heir's arms, and instructed her, "After you finish one book, write a three-thousand-character reflection."
Hua held the books in one hand and pointed at the label on the cover with the other, "Only Xianzhou people aged two hundred and above may read."
She finally snapped. "Is there any chance that I'm only ten years old?!"
Zero's expression was serious as he carefully corrected her wording, "You're not ten. You're almost eleven."
Once Hua turned eighteen, he'd be able to travel with Akivili.
He really didn't want to work overtime, not even for a single day.
Hua stared at him in disbelief. "Is that the point?!"
The point was obviously the books, okay?
What kind of adult gives a kid books meant for people over two hundred years old?
Zero had originally wanted to say that even in books restricted to two-hundred-year-olds, the most intimate thing was at most holding hands.
At best, he could wait until the heir turned twenty. There was no way he could wait until she was two hundred.
Zero paused, then didn't explain further.
He bent down and pulled out more than a dozen children's picture books he had bought earlier from the desk drawer.
He had placed the order the first time he met Hua.
It was just that getting goods into the Xianzhou involved an extremely complicated process, and on top of that, his subordinates were overly worried about his safety, afraid that something dangerous might be smuggled in. As a result, the procedures became even more convoluted.
After waiting a long time, Guanliang finally managed to get these picture books, after multiple rounds of inspection, and delivered them to him.
Back then, Guanliang had been extremely wary. Pointing at the four big words "Children's Picture Books" on the cover, he asked, "You're not planning to give these to Hua, are you?"
Zero slowly typed out a question mark and asked back, "Isn't Hua a child?"
Guanliang then pointed to the line that read "Recommended reading age, three to six years old" and said irritably, "Do you think that's appropriate?"
Zero thought it over carefully and felt there was nothing wrong with it.
Hua might be over the age range, but she was still a child. What was wrong with looking at picture books?
But Guanliang kept nagging, saying Hua wouldn't like them, so Zero put the books away.
And now, they finally came in handy.
If she didn't want to read books meant for people over two hundred, then she could read children's picture books instead.
Moving quickly, Zero placed the dozen or so picture books on the desk.
Hua's gaze fell on the covers. One line on the belly band stood out glaringly, recommended reading age, three to six years old.
She slowly raised her head and met her guardian's eyes.
Zero didn't think his actions were strange at all.
He continued to look at Hua with those calm, rippleless eyes that seemed capable of accepting anything.
As if they could accommodate all of Hua's thoughts. As if no matter how outrageous the things she said, he would accept them without question.
With the guardian acting like this… it almost made Hua look like she was the one throwing a childish tantrum.
Wait a second, this time, it was clearly his problem, wasn't it?
Hua opened her mouth, about to say something, when she saw Zero rummaging through the pile of picture books and pulling one out,
Teaching Children to Express Love.
Smiling, Zero slid the picture book over to her.
Hua pushed it back to him and offered her advice sincerely, "I think you're the one who should really read this book properly."
'What kind of adult makes a kid read stuff meant only for adults?!'
She refused, and the guardian wasn't happy. Then he turned around and dug out picture books meant for kindergarteners…
Zero lightly tapped the cover of the picture book with his fingertips. He paused almost imperceptibly.
"Love?"
He chuckled softly, then once again looked at Hua with those highly deceptive eyes that made people drop their guard, gazing at her gently.
Tilting his head, Zero asked in a slow, soft voice, "My heir, don't I love you enough already?"
Hua, "..."
She wore an expression like she'd just been punched square in the face. Holding the storybooks, she turned around stiffly and left, step by step.
In a great mood, Zero watched her go. As he organized the picture books, he thought to himself, 'This time… what was the score again?'
'Whatever. It doesn't matter. I won anyway.'
Zero was fully focused on waiting for his heir's three-thousand-character reflection, completely unaware that the moment she stepped outside, she went straight to Strategist-in-Chief Guanliang.
With a tightly drawn little face, Hua picked out the storybook with the most eye-catching age restriction on the cover, placed it on top, and handed it to the most reliable adult in all of Yaoxing, Guanliang.
Her voice carried a hint of grievance.
"He told me to write a three-thousand-character reflection after finishing one book."
Countless Xianzhou curse words exploded in Guanliang's head.
His first instinct was to take Hua straight to the Marshal.
But recently, he had far too many things on his plate, every single one of them related to the Marshal.
Lacking confidence and afraid the Marshal might notice something off, Guanliang could only give up.
He had to conspire with Sidian to hide things from the Marshal… and also figure out how to give Sidian and the others items the Marshal had used…
Guanliang sighed and advised gently, "It's fine. You have a heavy school workload anyway. You don't need to write any reflection. If he asks, just complain with him about the men in the storybooks."
Hua fell silent for a moment, then seemed to realize something. Her voice sounded shocked.
"He... he wouldn't be afraid that I…"
Before she could finish, Guanliang nodded.
Guanliang knew very well that Hua only had one normal person around her, him, and that he should shoulder the responsibility of teaching the child.
He patiently comforted Hua, coaxing her for quite a while. After her emotions finally settled, he walked her back to the courtyard, then returned alone to his workstation.
After thinking it over carefully, Guanliang realized the Marshal could still live on.
Just like the tarot cards said, he needed travel and relaxation.
And the Marshal's ideal type just happened to be a woman who liked his soul.
If the Marshal followed the Aeon to pioneer, he definitely wouldn't reveal his identity, right? He'd definitely live under an assumed name, right? Then wouldn't he have a chance to meet the ideal type he talked about?
Guanliang understood his superior well. He was a very responsible person.
When it came to Hua, the Marshal would try his best to live until she turned twenty.
If he had an even closer relationship, he'd have more ties holding him back.
Given his personality… he would definitely try to live even longer.
However, all of this was based on the plans Guanliang and Sidian had made.
The Marshal absolutely could not learn about the special nature of his blood and flesh.
The plan Guanliang had imagined earlier was simple and brutal, but actually carrying it out would be very difficult.
There was one extremely uncontrollable factor in the plan, the Marshal himself.
The Marshal loved messing with his enemies' mental states and even had a flawless theoretical system to back it up.
When allies secretly colluded with hostile forces and things came to light, the Marshal would impose no punishment at all.
At such times, his tone would be light and casual.
"Why punish them? Punishing them would only put them at ease."
"They're the ones who did something wrong. Why should I grant their wish?"
The subordinates would immediately echo him.
"That's right. To them, that wouldn't be punishment, it'd be a reward."
"Exactly. Why should the Marshal reward them?"
Back then, Guanliang, "..."
He listened almost numbly as everyone praised the Marshal.
They all said that the Marshal truly lived up to his name, making villains fall apart without deploying a single soldier.
Guanliang pulled his thoughts back.
If he wanted to cleanly eliminate all potential enemies… he had to keep the Marshal steady.
No, useless.
The Marshal would very likely have a sudden whim and go easy on certain hostile forces.
Looks like… he needed a more reliable method.
At the very least, he couldn't let the Marshal take charge of this operation.
Guanliang quickly came up with an idea. Sorting through the documents, he placed the files related to "Marks of Longevity Plague" on top, hugged the stack to his chest, and headed for the Marshal's courtyard.
Soon, he arrived at the Marshal's side and, as usual, assisted him with his work.
Zero took the top document, skimmed through the "Marks of Longevity Plague" report at lightning speed, then let out a deep sigh.
"Marks of Longevity Plague" now counted as having double insurance.
There was the Vidyadhara High Elder, and there were also the talismans the Marshal himself had drawn.
Ever since Hua fell ill, he had stopped teaching her how to draw talismans.
Guanliang didn't know the inside story, but he understood that there must be an extremely special reason.
Without revealing anything, he said, "It's fine. Hua is very smart. She'll definitely learn it."
Zero was silent for a moment, then said, "Forget it. I'll just draw more talismans myself…"
Guanliang didn't ask for the reason. He quietly waited while his superior processed the documents. When the Marshal finally set down his pen, Guanliang asked casually, "So, are you planning to let the 'Reignbow Arbiter' stay in Yaoqing forever?"