I Became the Eye Candy: Four Bigshots Claimed to be My Dad?-Chapter 36: The Green Tea Concubines

Upon hearing this, Lady Liu clutched her handkerchief, her heart pounding with excitement. ’The General is still thinking of me. Does this mean I have a place in his heart?’

The concubines, having failed to curry favor and earning a scolding from the General instead, huffed in indignation.

"We’ve always been perfectly well-behaved. Here in the mansion, we’re bossed around all day, but do any of us dare to talk back?" the woman in purple said with a pout, her tone dripping with faux innocence.

"Isn’t that the truth? You won’t find anyone more obedient than us."

"We were being sincere when we offered to look after the young miss. How could the General say such things?"

The other concubines were all displeased. In all their years at the mansion, they had all kept to themselves and never caused any trouble. ’If you’re looking for troublemakers,’ they thought, ’the Old Madam and the Second Master’s family are the real culprits.’

"Alright, alright. That’s enough. You can all go now." Xiang Minghou shooed them away with a wave, not wanting to look at them for a second longer.

"Hmph. Fine, we’ll go. Let’s get out of here, sisters."

The woman in blue gestured to the others. After giving a final bow to the General and the Old Madam, the gaggle of colorfully dressed women exited with a sway of their hips.

Old Madam Xiang had never liked this flock of women and muttered curses at them under her breath as they left.

Ye Qianning, however, thought the concubines were better than Old Madam Xiang and Xiang Mingli. ’At least there was no hostility in their eyes when they looked at me,’ she mused. ’And they even seemed a little happy at the prospect of taking care of me.’

’Xiang Mingli is another story entirely. He’s a complete freeloader. The most ridiculous part is that everything the Xiang family owns was earned by Xiang Minghou risking his life on the battlefield, yet these people shamelessly live off him as if it’s their birthright. It’s pathetic.’

"Rest assured, General. I will take good care of her," Lady Liu said, stepping forward.

"Mm," Xiang Minghou nodded and set Ye Qianning down. "Qian Ning, for the next couple of days, you’ll stay with..."

He trailed off, hesitating. ’When I was severely wounded on the battlefield, Lady Liu was brought in as a bride to improve my luck. She’s my wife in name, but if I ask Qian Ning to call her ’Mother,’ the girl will probably resist.’

"Daddy?" Ye Qianning tilted her head, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"You’ll stay with your Aunt Liu. In a couple of days, once Yuehua Small Building is tidied up, you can move in there. How does that sound?" After some thought, Xiang Minghou decided it was best to start with ’Aunt.’ ’What she calls her in the future can be up to the girl herself,’ he concluded.

"Okay," Ye Qianning replied obediently.

’Aunt is much better than Mother, anyway,’ she thought. ’I’ll figure out the lay of the land first before making any decisions.’

Though Lady Liu’s expression faltered for a second, she was secretly overjoyed. ’The General is entrusting his own daughter to me. That means he trusts me deeply. This is more than enough to make me content.’

"What’s your name?" Lady Liu asked, crouching down to her level.

"Qian Ning. Ye Qianning," she replied sweetly.

Lady Liu had a soft spot for children, and the girl’s gentle voice made her even more endearing. "What a lovely name."

"Her surname is Ye? Minghou, why is the child’s surname Ye?" Old Madam Xiang latched onto the crucial detail.

"Qian Ning was lost to us for a long time and took her mother’s surname," Xiang Minghou explained.

Seeing that he had no intention of changing the girl’s surname, Old Madam Xiang breathed a sigh of relief internally. "Well, it’s a fine surname," she said aloud.

’If she doesn’t change her surname, then no matter what things look like on the surface, we won’t truly share a name. We won’t truly be one family.’

"Lady Liu, please take Qian Ning back with you for now. And get her something to eat," Xiang Minghou said, ignoring his mother and turning to Lady Liu instead.

"Yes, General." Lady Liu rose and gently took Ye Qianning’s chubby little hand. "Come now, Aunt Liu will have someone make you something delicious."

Ye Qianning nodded, but then she suddenly remembered something and turned back. "Daddy, Fourth Granny is still at the Changyang Prince Mansion."

"Don’t you worry," Xiang Minghou said. "I’ll send someone to bring her here right away."

"Okay."

Delighted, Ye Qianning obediently followed Lady Liu to her courtyard.