Feng Jin noticed something amiss with the two boys, Da Bao and Er Bao. Their clothes were unfamiliar, and the inner sleeves were dirty, suggesting they had recently been changed.
"Who changed your clothes for you?" she asked.
"It was... Grandfather..." Er Bao started, but quickly shut his mouth, remembering the instructions from his great-grandfather. He had almost let slip a secret.
Sensing Er Bao's silence, Old Master Ling let out a sigh of relief. He pulled Er Bao closer, shielding him. "Now, now, you've just returned. Don't put on a cold face and scare the children."
Feng Jin immediately sensed something was amiss. She continued to question Er Bao, who was now protected behind Old Master Ling. "Tell Mother the truth, were these clothes just changed?"
Er Bao was terrible at lying. The only way to get the truth was from him. Da Bao, being the clever one, would never reveal anything.
"Mother..." Er Bao looked at Feng Jin, then at Old Master Ling standing behind her. Caught between them, he didn't know what to say. He finally lowered his head, choosing silence. He couldn't afford to offend either of them, so it was best to stay quiet.
"Mother... clothes... clean..."
Da Bao pulled at his sleeve to show Feng Jin, then quickly retracted his hand as if afraid of being found out.
"Let Mother see if they're clean," Feng Jin said. She reached out and grabbed Da Bao by the collar, pulling him to her side.
She pulled back his outer garment, revealing the soiled inner clothes. Feng Jin's expression darkened. She looked at Da Bao. "Is this what you call clean?"
Feng Jin's voice rose slightly, making Da Bao feel guilty. He lowered his head, not daring to meet her gaze.
"When did you learn to lie? How dare you deceive Mother like this!"
"Mother... wrong... I was wrong..."
Great-grandfather had taught him that if Mother got angry, he should admit his mistake immediately, and he would avoid a beating.
Da Bao forced a few tears from his eyes, his eyes glistening. He clutched Feng Jin's sleeve and gently shook it, looking pitiful.
In the past, Feng Jin would have softened and forgiven Da Bao. But today was different.
Feng Jin maintained her stern expression. No matter how Da Bao pouted or pleaded, she did not smile. Instead, she pulled him away and forced him to look at her. "Mother has taught you never to lie, haven't you? What... what have you done? Tell Mother, why did you lie!"
Ultimately, he was still a child. Seeing that his mother was truly angry, Da Bao felt a pang of fear. His gaze shifted to Old Master Ling standing behind him, his eyes begging for help.
Old Master Ling had no good solution at the moment. He turned away, unable to bear Da Bao's pleading gaze. To cover his embarrassment, he reached up and stroked his beard.
After a long pause, he coughed lightly. "Actually... this is nothing. After all, they are just children. It's common for them to make mistakes when they're young. There's still plenty of time to educate them properly. There's no need to get so angry. Look, you've scared the child..."
Old Master Ling spoke evasively, pulling Da Bao and Er Bao to his side for protection.
"Butler Wu... Butler Wu!" Old Master Ling called out loudly.
Butler Wu, who had been waiting outside, quickly pushed the door open upon hearing the call.
"You're here just in time. Take the two young masters out to play. Don't scare them."
Da Bao and Er Bao were quick-witted. They immediately understood and darted over to Butler Wu, deliberately skirting around Feng Jin.
Butler Wu didn't dawdle. He scooped up Da Bao and Er Bao, one in each arm, and carried them out.
Once the children were gone, Old Master Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention to Feng Jin.
"Look at you. You've been away for days, and as soon as you return, you're shouting at the children, giving them dirty looks. You're not being fair at all. Aren't you afraid of scaring them..."
Old Master Ling lectured Feng Jin for a while, then switched to a softer approach. "Alright, let's forget about this. From now on, you must be more patient with the children. Don't be like this again..."
"Grandfather, by scolding me like this, you only highlight your indulgence towards these two children. Grandfather, they are like blank slates right now. What they become—good or bad—depends entirely on what we adults tell them. If you continue to indulge them like this, you will spoil them sooner or later."
Feng Jin spoke patiently and reasonably, trying to avoid a major conflict with Old Master Ling.
However, if she allowed Old Master Ling to continue like this, the two boys would indeed be spoiled beyond recognition. Now that they were older, it was time to establish some rules.
"How am I spoiling them? Look at Ling Mo Han. I raised him myself. Did I spoil him? Not at all. Look how outstanding he is!"
Old Master Ling puffed out his beard, indignant. He vehemently disagreed with Feng Jin and insisted on arguing his point.
"That's because you were strict with Ling Mo Han. Look how indulgent you are with these two children. And when you had everyone guarding outside just now, weren't you trying to prevent me from finding out? You didn't want me to know you were letting the children run wild, and you were afraid I'd discover you'd changed their clean clothes..."
She had long seen through Old Master Ling's little tricks. She had only refrained from exposing him because the children were present. Now that they were gone, Feng Jin no longer held back, bringing everything out into the open.
Feng Jin walked to the door of the inner room and opened it. The floor was littered with the children's dirty clothes, and toys were scattered everywhere. However, a large mat on the floor immediately caught Feng Jin's attention.
She walked over to the mat and bent down to look. She immediately understood what had happened. "Grandfather, you're so old, and you're still squatting on the ground, letting the children ride on you. You are truly spoiling them!"
"No, that's absolutely not true!"