That night Little Shan was left in his own courtyard. He wailed, threw a tantrum, and even pleaded with his Mommy to stay with him. But in the end, his Mommy just sniffled and told him it would be fine and he must learn to sleep on his own. Up until the very end, he continued to cry and scream, right up until he lost sight of his Mommy.

The moment his Mommy was gone, he stopped. Standing up, he dusted himself off and walked into his room. His baby steps turned firm and steady. Without his Mommy watching, he didn’t have to pretend to be a toddler.

There was a certain amount of freedom in having his own home, though he’d never let the Old Man know that.

Turning to Nanny Qing and Nanny Ling, he said without even the slightest lisp, “I hope you both understand that I’m the Boss here.”

They both answered: “Of course Little Master.”

“Tsk.” His face scrunched in annoyance. “When my Mommy isn’t around, you can just call me Master Shan Hui.”

“As you wish, Master Shan Hui.”

“We servants obey, Master Shan Hui.”

“Eh…” He sat over by a table designed to fit his small, toddler size. “You guys are surprisingly submissive considering the Old Man made you.”

“Master Shan Hui is his Lordship’s son, how could this servant not submit?” Nanny Qing spoke as if he’s suggested something scandalous.

Nanny Ling gave a small nod. “Master Shan Hui is the spitting image of his Lordship, it’s this servant’s honor to serve Master.”

Little Shan’s face stiffened at Nanny Ling’s comment.

“What do you mean ‘spitting image’?”

“Master’s spirit is just like his Lordship, is that not so Nanny Qing?”

“This servant agrees, Nanny Ling. The crushing aura, the desire to dominate and control all, even Master’s eyes, ah! All like Lord Jin.”

Little Shan stood up and pointed at them angrily, eyes blazing.

“You two! You dare offend me with your nonsense! I am not like that Old Man! You take it back!”

“Ay Ay, Nanny Qing!” Nanny Ling ran over to the other fairy and clasped her hands, putting on a show of shivering fearfully. “See his temper! Just like Lord Jin’s! Do you remember?”

“Nanny Ling, this servant remembers! How his Lordship chased out the people who angered him, destroyed their homes, called the wolves to drag their corpses!”

“Oh Nanny Qing, do you think Master will drag these servants’ corpses?”

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“Come now, Nanny Ling, if Master wishes us to die, we servants must throw ourselves into the wolves’ mouths!”

The toddler stamped his feet and grabbed his head, furious. He wanted to beat these two senseless, but if he did, then it’d prove they were right and he was just like the Old Man! He’d rather die than admit being anything like that stupid Father of his! After a few moments of being unrestrainedly angry, he finally calmed himself and sat back down.

Putting his little hands on the table and entwining his soft chubby fingers, he examined the Nannies again. It occurred to him that his Old Man might not be as stupid as he’d previous thought.

“…what if I just run away?”

Nanny Ling’s brow crinkled. “Of course if Master Shan Hui runs, we Nannies could never catch him…”

Little Shan smirked.

“…but we would have to report your absence to Lady Mei Hua.” Nanny Qing continued. “Her Ladyship would surely cry enough to fill a lake.”

Little Shan scowled.

“Not just that, Nanny Qing.” Nanny Ling continued. “If Lady Mei Hua finds out Master Shan Hui ran away purely out of spite, what do you think she’ll do?”

“Oh! Ah! Her Ladyship would be quite angry, wouldn’t she?”

Nanny Ling nodded with utmost seriousness.

“And then what could we servants do then, ah! So sad to hear Master’s cries while she disciplines him.” She dabbed her red rimmed eyes with a sleeve.

Nanny Qing looked sorrowful. “Nanny Ling, let’s not think about such a sad future.”

At this, Little Shan wiggled uncomfortably. When Mommy got angry, it was scary. This was something both Little Shan and the Old Man could agree on whole heartedly: do not make Mommy truly angry. The fallout simply wasn’t worth it.

“You… you don’t have to tell her I ran away out of spite.”

Both Nanny’s eyes went wide.

“Does Master want us servants to lie?”

“Master! We servants are fairies, we servants can’t lie!”

“Ye bends the truth all the time.”

They both snorted disdainfully.

“That one— he would do so. Master mustn’t let his noble self be influenced by such a fairy!”

“We servants will always be completely truthful to Lord and Lady, especially in relation to Master’s wellbeing. To lie about that, we servants would really deserve to have our corpses dragged away by wolves!”

“Just as you say, Nanny Ling!” Agreed Nanny Qing wholeheartedly. “So Master should never worry, we servants will always be honest!”

After hearing this, Little Shan felt genuinely defeated. If he ran away, he’d make his Mommy sad. If he did it out of naughtiness, he’d make her angry. If he acted rashly and brashly, then he’d be behaving like his Old Man, which was intolerable. In the end, he decided to go to bed and plot with a clear head tomorrow.

Ah! These two nannies! They looked like pushovers, but it was clear they had tongues sharper than swords!

——

While his son was suffering, Jin was in Heaven. That night he got to eat as much of his wife’s tofu as he wanted and then roll in the sheets until the sheets flew right off the bed. She had missed his touch too, and allowed him to be extra rigorous with his affections. It was a truly joyous reunion!

As he was drifting off to sleep, with his mountain flower snuggled closely in his arms, a slight malicious smile fluttered across his lips.

A thousand years too early to bully me, little brat. Try again next time!

——

And so, time passed in the Blue Flower Palace.

Little Shan thought long and hard about the best way to truly best his Old Man, and decided in the end it was to be nothing like him. If his Old Man was ill tempered, he would be cool headed. If his stupid Father was violent, he would be peaceful. If the idiot Lord was a wild-man, than he would be refined. And each step of the way, he’d make sure to contrast all his good points against his Old Man, so that his Mommy could see how wonderful he was and what an idiot she married.

Mei Hua naturally saw how well her son was behaving under the loving care of the Xiao Nannies and could only sing their praises. She’d never been able to get Little Shan to behave so well, so she couldn’t help but admire them. The Xiao Nannies could only humbly accept their Ladyships praise.

The secret to their success, only they knew.