24. Grandpa

Mother and son had both quickly turned after seeing the man leading a huge group of elderly and middle-aged men towards them.

They both quickly stood up as a form of respect as the loud group slowly walked to the seating area reminding her of how brides slowly walked down the aisle. It was the same but only this time it was a group of old guys making the duo anxious as they threw glances at each other.

She casually stood up when they got closer avoiding the old man's glance as she looked down at the ground.

"Master Si, welcome to this childe's humble abode." the prince happily welcomed and was downcast on receiving an 'mmh' as the response.

She fixed her eyes on his clenched fist before looking away pretending not to notice. The atmosphere was awkward as the mother tried to salvage the situation only to be ignored by the old man who was now staring at her.

They had only met once and she wondered if he was here because of her or something else.

She hoped for the latter as she did not want him to expose their relationship before she learned more about his relationship with her father.

"Girl, aren't you going to welcome your Grandpa Si?" he asked in a gentle voice making her look up at him in shock wondering why he wanted to expose their relations.

The mother and son duo looked exceptionally shocked after hearing what the man said before turning to her in shock. She avoided their eyes, feeling bullied she was also shocked and did not need some judgment from them.

"Sorry, this child did not want to interrupt the elders," she answered in a shy voice getting a warm smile in response.

He behaved as if they were close making her wonder what was wrong with him given the fact they had only met once. Which had been awkward as she had attacked his disciple and servants.

"What a reasonable child, you were right to take her in as your granddaughter." one of the numerous men behind him commented making her turn to the duo that looked as if it had been struck by lightning.

She didn't know what the old man was thinking claiming connections with her but she didn't mind as long he got her out of this mess.

"You are teasing me" she mumbled shyly looking down at the ground and shuffling a bit.

All the attention was focused on her making her feel slightly uncomfortable despite the majority of the gazes being kind.

"Sorry, for keeping you standing please join us" the woman suddenly inputted asking them to take their seats.

The servants had brought in additional seats and they were just enough for everyone to seat without being crowded. She had been seated opposite the duo but now was flanked by warm elders on both sides as she faced them. They seemed to be uncomfortable and probably were still reeling in shock from the news revealed earlier. She had planned to talk with the old fogey later before he left but would roll with the flow till then.

"I am very sorry we were not prepared to welcome such an important guest please excuse my delayed reception." the prince apologized as a group of servants moved back and forth trying to serve some tea and cakes to the additional guests.

"It is okay, we are not here for the tea, but for Li Ju." the old man cut in getting straight to the reason he had come knocking so early in the morning.

He still remembered when one of his people rushed to him in the middle of the night reporting an assassination attempt on their young miss.

The news had been spread all around the capital and all people were talking about was how a group of mercenaries had all been killed in a single night. Unlike everyone else what worried him the most was the fact, the attack had been on the young miss. She was strong enough to protect herself but their duty was to ensure nothing happened to her and yet it had.

"Of course, we were also shocked when we heard of the news." the woman commented in a scandalized tone pretending to care about the attack.

He stared at her emotionlessly pretending not to hear her as he instead looked at her son for answers. The young miss remained silent acting as if everything going on had nothing to do with her.

He did not think the prince or his mother were involved because they would lose a lot of the girl died, but it was still their fault as the young miss had been under their 'protection'.

"I am looking into it, so far all we have deduced is that they were from the mercenary guild but we still don't know who hired them." the prince reported making him nod in response.

"I do, one of them dropped this when they were fighting with my savior." the young miss suddenly said before placing a wooden token on the table.

They all turned and noticed the blatantly curved out tiger in the token and remained silent as the information sunk in.

They all knew who the culprit was and before she had taken it out they suspected it since he was the only one she had offended. He could feel the fear sipping out the men who had followed him here in an attempt to curry favor. Yet they grew silent when the storm hit leaving him to handle everything on his own not that he minded. The only problem was that he was the heir of one of the emperor's closest friends and was also supported by the crown prince making him a hard target.

He looked at the girl who was expressionless and immediately understood what she intended to do even with no words.

It was indeed true that an apple never fell far from the tree and if anything she had fallen right in the center of the tree. Which meant the days to come would be anything but peaceful.The whole city was tense as everyone gathered to silently discuss what happened the previous night.

A simple story of an attack and being saved by a mysterious master had been spread and spurn by many different people and had turned to a different tale.

Restaurants, streets, shops were all buzzing with talk of how the girl was too lucky and should not have been saved. Meanwhile, the said girl was seated calmly studying the expressions of everyone around her and seeing into them.

"Did you tell anyone else?" the prince suddenly inquired anxiously.

He was not anxious for her but for the harm that could come to him if he dared retaliate. One would think a prince had nothing to fear especially as the second most likely candidate for the throne but here he was almost soiling himself.

They were all cowards and with a reasonable cause because acting meant going against the emperor and half the court but she was not and she would. Only the old man seemed to be willing to fight for her but she could not trust him, based on his thoughts something was wrong.

Not only him but the imperial concubine as well, she had been combing through their thoughts and it seemed as if the emperor knew of her existence.

It was weird given the fact they had never met and it made her feel uncomfortable and intended to get all the information regarding herself at all costs.

Her father had been good at planning and executing and it seemed like he had no intention of leaving her future up to one person.

Good thing she had started remembering and she would track down every person contacted by him and get all the information out of them starting with the imperial concubine and the old man.

"No" she retorted calmly and narrowed her eyes when his tense shoulders seemed to sag down in relief.

"Good, don't let anyone find out about this." he went on to advise before picking the talisman and putting it away. It was clear he had no intention of retaliating and even though the issue had been solved.

"Yes, don't think about this thing I will handle it from here" he promised looking up at her as everyone seemed to relax except for the old man who seemed uncomfortable. He would have long ago burst out in rage if not for the young miss signaling him to remain quiet.

"I didn't intend to do anything in the first place." she fibbed a gentle smile resting on her face.

"Good, good what a reasonable girl to know when to back down" one of the men complimented making her turn to him before looking back at the prince who was smiling calmly.

"Master said he would take care of it, so why should I worry" she stated before standing up pretending not to notice the frozen figures of all the people around her.

Their faces were pale as they looked as if they had been struck by lightning. What did she just say, master as in the man who had cleared out a whole squad of mercenaries in minutes would handle it.

Was all that was running in the minds as they did not want to even fathom what that would spell for the general's mansion.

"Grandpa can I talk to you?" she inquired before walking away but they both knew it was not a request.

The old man looked around at the still shocked group before walking away hiding away a smile as his chest blossomed with joy.

It was clear the master was herself and she had every intention of seeking the culprits out for revenge.

That would teach them to never mess with their young miss, his steps were energetic as he followed behind her small figure which was gracefully walking away.

"Why did you do that?" she asked immediately after he caught up with her figure. He immediately stopped smiling and turned to her with a guilty expression.

"I am sorry young miss, but I couldn't stand up as other people bullied you." he apologized realizing she was not happy about his behavior. She remained silent and stared at him for a while before nodding in acceptance.

"What exactly were you told to do?" she suddenly interrogated crossing her arms as she fully turned to face him. He didn't know what was going on but her eyes made him ready to tell her everything.

"To keep the young miss safe until you left," he answered still dazed as he looked into her eyes.

"Where am I supposed to go?" she asked immediately.

"I don't know everything is in the box" he answered cryptically.

As expected, she had come to understand that her cheap father would give little tidbits of information to different people. Which probably meant there were many more people involved and she had to find them all.

"How many people know about my identity?" she went on to ask curious just how many people knew her father and had given numerous missions before living.

"I don't know" he answered making her frown.

"I've heard you and will keep safe, just go home and rest I will call for you if I need any help," she reassured the old man.

"Don't forget to do that, goodbye," he answered before walking away as she stared at his back with a blank face.