Fortunately, there were many students walking in the same direction as Hua, so the others didn't know who the "young lady" the bodyguards were talking about.
The dozen or so bodyguards didn't rush up to Hua either. They were neatly dressed in black suits, tall and imposing, all standing together, impossible to ignore.
Hua abruptly lowered her head, doing her best to avoid the bodyguards' gazes.
The hand gripping her backpack strap trembled slightly.
Hua wished she could dig a hole on the spot and bury herself in it.
'That unreliable guardian… what on earth is he doing now?!'
The classmates around her were stunned by that shout of "Hello, young lady," frozen in place.
With no choice, Hua stopped along with everyone else.
For a moment, the crowd was deeply shaken and fell into a strange, collective silence.
Even the students who hadn't yet left the academy sped up and headed outside.
More and more students gathered at the gate. After the silence, quiet whispers began, and before long, they figured out why the bodyguards were here.
So they were here to pick up the young lady after school.
But still, no one had ever heard that any of their classmates was some rich family's young lady.
Most students looked around, trying to identify who the bodyguards were talking about.
A smaller number quickly snapped out of it and continued walking out.
Hua kept her expression steady and walked forward with her head down.
Every step felt nerve-wracking.
She could clearly sense the dozen bodyguards' gazes landing on her, subtle but unmistakable.
Hua felt extremely uneasy, afraid her guardian might pull some new stunt.
Like having the bodyguards shout something about her inheriting the Xianzhou Alliance…
Logically, she shouldn't even be thinking such outrageous thoughts, but once she remembered it was her guardian…
That was someone who absolutely couldn't be judged by common sense.
Hua couldn't help but let her imagination run wild, guessing at his intentions.
She hurriedly said goodbye to her classmates and quickened her pace toward a quiet, deserted alley. Before long, one of the bodyguards followed her.
Seeing that no one else was around, the bodyguard finally took off his sunglasses, his face full of admiration.
He started, as usual, with three minutes of praising the Marshal, then moved on to praising Hua.
The bodyguard said loudly, "As expected of the Crown Princess! Truly thoughtful, just by seeing us, you immediately understood our purpose, "
Hua, "..."
How was she thoughtful? What purpose?
The bodyguard continued, "You even considered problems we hadn't thought of yet and improved our plan. That's why the villains hiding in the shadows didn't succeed. Truly worthy of being the Crown Princess! Truly worthy of being the Marshal's child!"
After hearing this, Hua finally understood.
Most likely something had happened on her guardian's end, which was why he'd sent over a dozen bodyguards to pick her up from school.
Hua asked, "What happened?"
The bodyguard first looked like he was about to cry, then quickly firmed up and shook his head.
"Sorry, Crown Princess. I can't say."
He patted his chest, making a solemn promise.
"But please don't worry. From now on, the nineteen of us will protect you at all times. Oh, and there'll be another nineteen people who'll start work at your academy tomorrow..."
Hua, "..."
'Who wants nineteen bodyguards?!'
And why does the academy need people sent by her guardian too?
And why are they so obsessed with the number nineteen?
Hua was holding in her anger, but she knew blame had its proper place. No matter how angry she was, she couldn't take it out on innocent people.
What fault did the bodyguards have? Even if there was a fault, it was her guardian's.
Only five or six bodyguards followed Hua closely.
As for the others, they were probably lurking somewhere nearby.
On the way back, Hua didn't say a word.
When she returned to her guardian's residence and had just stepped through the gate, she ran straight into the Head of the Alchemy Commission.
On the very first day she met her guardian, she had entered the Alchemy Commission.
It was this very head who had examined her back then.
For some reason, the Head looked distracted. Only after a reminder from the physicians behind him did he notice Hua.
He stopped, smiled stiffly, and gave a slight bow. "Crown Princess."
The others followed suit, saluting a child not even a fraction of their age, all with respectful expressions, as if there were nothing strange about it.
Hua tightened her grip on her backpack strap, nodded quickly in return, and hurried inside.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she reached the courtyard, she smelled a faint scent of rust.
Hua stopped.
In the courtyard, servants were scattered around in small groups, crouching down and cleaning something.
Hua turned her head and looked toward the pavilion with the best view, where the strange rocks and pond could be seen at a glance.
Her guardian was talking with Guanliang about something. Then, sensing someone's gaze, he turned and looked toward Hua.
Their eyes met for a brief moment. Zero was the first to look away, focusing intently on the object in Guanliang's hands.
Hua walked over to the pavilion, chose a seat close to Guanliang, and sat down.
On the stone table lay a zither.
This was something Guanliang had gone out of his way to find for his superior.
He was genuinely worried about the Marshal's emotional state, afraid that one day he'd suddenly snap and kill him.
If the Marshal spoke up openly, that would be manageable, Guanliang would try to persuade him.
But if the Marshal showed up at his house without a word and casually stabbed him to "put him out of his misery," there'd be nowhere to argue.
Because of that, Guanliang had scoured the StarNet, searching for hobbies that could cultivate the mind.
Music, chess, calligraphy, painting, the six gentlemanly arts, flower arranging, tea ceremony…
He didn't care whether something was considered masculine or feminine. As long as it had anything to do with self-cultivation or stress relief, he looked into it all.
Thankfully, the Marshal had also recognized his own emotional issues and was very cooperative.
Of course, it might also be because Guanliang was paying out of his own pocket, so the boss didn't have to spend any money.
The zither in front of them was one Guanliang had specially gifted to his superior.
Unfortunately, before the Marshal could even begin cultivating his temperament, he'd swung the zither around and used it to take out seven or eight assassins, damaging the instrument in several places along the way.
Guanliang sighed. "The corner's cracked, and the strings are broken."
Zero tried to console him. "It's fine. It might not have worked anyway."
Guanliang rolled his eyes at his boss. When he looked up again, he saw Hua.
His eyes widened in shock. He immediately stood up, glanced around, and only after seeing the servants disperse did he sit back down.
With nothing else to do, Zero brushed his fingers over the strings.
He plucked out a few off-key notes, then withdrew his hand.
Zero said indifferently, "What's there to worry about? It's just a few dead assassins. Hua isn't scared at all."
Guanliang, "…Is there any chance she's still a child?"
Zero couldn't be bothered to argue further. He looked at Hua and asked, "You saw it yourself. Staying by my side is dangerous. Do you think a dozen bodyguards is enough?"
He'd learned from the mistakes of company shareholders and hadn't prepared dozens of bodyguards, just over a dozen.
Nineteen still counted as "over a dozen." No problem there.
Hua knew that a single sentence from her could very well affect those people's jobs.
So she spoke carefully, "They're very good, but I don't need protection."
Zero refused to budge and rejected it outright.
Hua went on to talk about being picked up from school, then about staff inside the academy.
She clearly pointed out that whether it was bodyguards in plain sight or those entering the academy to protect her secretly, all of it would make her stand out too much.
After talking for a long time, Hua reached a conclusion, only excessive protection would attract villains.
Zero listened while observing her expression.
A child trying to hide her true thoughts, unfortunately, it was far too obvious.
Zero couldn't help laughing.
He said, "I get it. If you don't want to take over my position, I'll just send dozens of bodyguards to pick you up from school every day."
His tone was light, like he was coaxing a child, but what he said made Hua completely collapse inside.
She tried hard to maintain her earlier expression.
She absolutely couldn't let her true emotions show in front of her guardian.
If this awful adult found out the truth… he'd only go even further.
Zero smiled even more kindly.
"Oh, and I'll have them bow to you and shout, 'Young lady, the master wants you to come home and inherit the family business...'"
Hua's expression completely broke as she stared at Zero.
Zero guided her gently. "Do you want to be my successor?"
Zero had given different explanations to Lan, Hua, and Guanliang.
To Lan, he said that if Hua refused, then Lan would become the next Marshal.
To Hua, he said that if the "Aeon of the Hunt" didn't agree, then Hua would take the position.
Zero was extremely confident that Hua wouldn't refuse him.
The scene her guardian described was so embarrassing that Hua's face flushed red.
She stayed silent for a long time, then squeezed out a single word through clenched teeth. "Fine."
Guanliang was so shocked by this turn of events that he couldn't speak.
Wait, just like that? Wasn't this method a little too unfriendly to Hua?
Zero nodded in satisfaction. "Good thing you agreed. Otherwise, some things might have happened that you wouldn't want to see."
Hua asked cautiously, "What things?"
Zero pretended to think, then said in an exaggerated, operatic tone, "Probably something like dozens of bodyguards standing at the academy gate, saying, 'Young lady, you're the master's only heir. If you don't come back, who will inherit such a huge estate...'"
Hua couldn't take it anymore. She realized she'd been tricked.
But what could she do?
Her guardian really was capable of pulling something this bizarre.
The angrier Hua got, the more she acted on impulse. She swung her fist at the stone stool beside her.
When she pulled her hand back, the stool collapsed.
More precisely, it shattered.
The stone stool, unmarred by blades and weathered by countless years, broke into tiny fragments and dust.
Hua said slowly and clearly, "I don't need anyone's protection."
Her guardian and Guanliang fell silent at once.
Zero frowned, stood up, and brushed the broken stone and dust off himself.
He had a splitting headache and wanted nothing more than to soak in the bathroom for an hour.
"…Alright, alright. I know you're amazing."
Guanliang stared blankly at the shattered stone stool.
After snapping out of it, his face filled with rage as he pointed a trembling finger at his superior.
"Damn it! What exactly did you do to Hua?!"
Zero looked incredulous, pointed at himself, and shot back, "Me? What could I possibly have done to Hua?!"
The veins at Guanliang's temple throbbed. He looked around, spotted the zither on the stone table, and immediately stepped forward, clearly intending to imitate his boss and smash someone with it.
Zero raised a hand and pressed down on the other end of the zither, stopping Guanliang from getting his way.
Unable to help taking it out on him, he said impatiently, "The cost of the stone stool comes out of your allowance."
Hua, "..."
Fine. When there's no money left, she'd just sell that building.
With a blank face, she sat on the stone stool and watched two unreliable adults hurt each other.
Guanliang struggled with all his might but couldn't move the zither an inch.
Watching Guanliang strain with his whole body, his face flushed red, Zero sighed softly and let go on his own.
Guanliang was still in the posture of fighting for the zither. When Zero suddenly released it, he didn't react in time and toppled backward with the instrument in his hands.
Zero grabbed his subordinate to steady him, shook his head, and deliberately put on a disappointed expression.
"Ah, you really should be more careful…"
Guanliang, "You..."
Considering a child was present, he swallowed the Xianzhou curse words he was about to unleash.
Guanliang put the zither back on the stone table, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to duel his boss.
Hua thought to herself, 'When is the universe going to end?'
Too lazy to watch elementary-schoolers fight, she slung her backpack over her shoulders and walked toward her own courtyard.
"I'm going to do my homework."
Hua couldn't help recalling what had happened a few days ago.
A few days earlier, her guardian had found her another new teacher.
When the "Aeon of the Hunt" heard this, they immediately said they needed to leave for a few days.
Her guardian looked suspicious. "You're not unable to solve elementary school math problems and trying to cram at the last minute, are you?"
The "Aeon of the Hunt" endured the humiliation, shook their head, and denied it, only saying they would be gone for a few days and would return to Yaoqing afterward.
Her guardian half-believed it and let them go. A while later, he brought the new teacher over and said to Hua in a tone like asking what to eat for dinner, "Zandar. He created the Aeon of 'Erudition' and is also the founder of the 'Genius Society.'"
"For the next year, he'll be traveling in Yaoqing. During that time, he'll be teaching you."
Zandar, standing to the side, twitched at the corner of his mouth, clearly very unhappy with this description.
For some reason, no matter how unhappy he looked, he still ended up tacitly accepting her guardian's version of events.
After her guardian left, Hua looked up and asked the same question Lan had asked.
"…Was this voluntary?"
Zandar sighed. "Yes. I volunteered to come to Yaoqing."
Hua understood immediately.
He had volunteered to come to Yaoqing, not to teach her.
Keeping that in mind, Hua didn't ask any difficult questions. She simply took out her homework and asked Zandar for help.
A few days later, the "Aeon of the Hunt" returned and met Zandar.
Lan, "..."
Zandar, "..."
One god and one human exchanged a look, speechless.
They didn't need words, one glance said more than a thousand sentences.
Bound by shared misery, the god and the two humans quickly became familiar with each other, even chatting about things unrelated to lessons.
For example, the Aeon of "Erudition" created by Zandar.
When Zandar heard this, his expression turned strange, as if he'd heard something deeply unpleasant.
He quickly adjusted his expression and said calmly, "You mean that stellar computer?"
"Honestly, the entire production process was dull and boring."
He soon changed the subject, and neither of them asked further.
Aside from this small episode, they got along extremely well.
Hua snapped back to the present. After walking for a few minutes, she finally reached her courtyard.
Zandar had arrived early. Hua took out her homework, and the two of them quickly finished the day's lessons.
Facing an elder far more reliable than her guardian, Hua couldn't help voicing her worries.
Zandar smiled and offered her a suggestion.
"Why not be more direct? As his daughter, praise him and express your affection?"
Hua's eyes widened as she shook her head repeatedly.
Zandar asked, "You always say he's your guardian, not your father, but actually… he's pretty much like a father already. Try putting yourself in his shoes, can you imagine him saying something like that to you?"
Hua, "..."
She subconsciously rubbed her arm.
It felt like goosebumps were about to fall off everywhere.
Zandar continued, "Exactly. You can't imagine it, and neither can he…"
"Isn't that the best form of revenge?"
Hua's gaze shifted slightly.
Zandar saw this and smiled.
She had taken his words to heart and planned to accept his suggestion.
Zandar calmly closed the textbook, his tone confident.
"Trust me. This move will absolutely make him experience how you felt at the academy gate."
"It will absolutely make him unable to sit still..."