At the competition venue, the fifth match ended with a score of five to two, with the Huo Family team emerging victorious.
“Wow, we won!”
“It’s true, we won! We beat those Liang Family boys.”
The children from the Huo Family school cheered.
The match result left the women present somewhat astonished. They had all assumed the Liang Family children would win, but unexpectedly, they lost.
“The strategy of Tian Ji’s horse racing!” Gu Xinyu’s gaze fell upon Luo Chaoyan. This woman certainly had some clever ideas.
The others looked at her, puzzled.
“The strategy of Tian Ji’s horse racing involves pitting the weak against the strong, the strong against the average, and the average against the weak. It seems Young Master Huo knew the strength of the Liang Family young masters, which is why he suggested their team choose opponents during the second match,” Gu Xinyu explained slowly.
Only then did everyone understand. They never expected these children to employ strategic tactics in a simple ball game, and they couldn’t help but praise Old Madam Huo and Madam Huo once again.
Although Young Master Huo was usually a little troublemaker, it had to be said that he was indeed clever.
Liang Qianyi pouted, somewhat unconvinced, and deliberately asked, “Sister Gu, if Young Master Huo had competed fairly with Ah Mo and the others, relying purely on skill, wouldn’t they have lost?”
She emphasized the word “fairly” with particular force, as if mocking Huo Rui for his trickery.
Madam Liang glared at her. “It’s just a game for children, why are you taking it so seriously?” This girl didn’t even consider the occasion.
Old Madam Liang smiled at Old Madam Huo and said, “Sister, it seems your little Rui’er has inherited Ah Jin’s intelligence. Congratulations!”
“Sister, you haven’t seen how mischievous he can be! He could tear the entire mansion apart,” Old Madam Huo laughed.
Upon hearing this, everyone chimed in, sharing stories of their own mischievous children causing trouble and so on.
Gu Xinyu looked at Luo Chaoyan with an ambiguous expression and said, “Actually, Young Master Huo received some guidance from Young Madam Huo!”
Luo Chaoyan and Su Qian had been happily eating snacks and chatting away. With her mouth still full of pastry, Luo Chaoyan noticed everyone looking at her. Her cheeks were stuffed, and she couldn’t decide whether to chew or swallow.
Seeing her comical appearance, those present couldn’t help but purse their lips to suppress their laughter. They wanted to laugh but felt it would be impolite, so they held it in.
Old Madam Huo was nearly driven mad by the sight. If not for maintaining her dignified composure, she might have roared on the spot.
Su Qian said, “Madam Liang, your family’s pastries are truly excellent. Not only does Young Madam Huo like them, but I also enjoy them very much. I wonder if they were made by your family’s chef or purchased from Xiangsu Pavilion?”
Madam Liang smiled and replied, “These were made by our family’s chef. If you like them, I’ll have someone pack some for you to take home later.”
“Thank you so much!”
After saying this, Su Qian playfully winked at Luo Chaoyan.
“Great-grandmother! Grandmother!”
At that moment, Huo Rui and the Liang brothers walked over.
Old Madam Huo took a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped the sweat from Huo Rui’s forehead. Then, smiling at the other Huo Family children, she said, “You are all good children!”
Madam Xu of the Liang Family’s main branch looked at Liang Chuxun with concern. Seeing that her son showed no signs of displeasure, she felt relieved.
Liang Chumo wore a dejected expression, his face tense with unhappiness as Madam Liang pulled him into her embrace.
Liang Qianyi, seeing his devastated look, felt a bit heartbroken. “A-Mo, don’t be discouraged. You didn’t exactly lose!” As she spoke, she glared at Luo Chaoyan and said, “That Young Madam Huo gave Huo Rui some advice, teaching them to use the strategy from Tian Ji’s horse racing to deal with you. So, they cheated.”
Liang Chumo immediately pointed at Huo Rui in a rage, saying, “Huo Rui, you cheated! Your victory is dishonorable! You actually had an adult help you come up with ideas! It’s unfair!” He had thought their side was clearly stronger, yet they ended up losing.
“So what? You never said we couldn’t ask for help!” Huo Rui wore an infuriatingly smug expression.
Liang Chumo was furious. “You! You have no shame!”
“A-Mo, no matter what, we lost, and that’s that. All is fair in war! As a member of the Liang family, how can you be so hot-tempered? Don’t you know this is a major taboo in military strategy?” Liang Chuxun frowned.
“Cousin!”
Luo Chaoyan thought to herself: Tsk tsk! Who would have thought that a children’s ball game would let me witness what it means to be precocious! Look at this young master of the Liang family—truly worthy of being from a military household. Such broad-mindedness! Such vision! In every way, he’s much more pleasing to the eye than that little demon Huo Rui. It’s just a pity he has that rigid face, a bit like that fellow Huo Jin.
Old Madam Liang nodded approvingly with a smile. “A-Xun speaks well!”
“A-Mo, do you understand your mistake?”
She spoke earnestly to her two great-grandsons: “On the battlefield, when two armies face off, victory depends not only on strength but also, most importantly, on remaining calm at all times. Only then can you devise good strategies to keep yourself in an unbeatable position. Do you understand?”
“Your great-grandson respectfully follows your teachings!”
The two replied in unison.
Just look! Even when it comes to parental guidance, the elders of the Liang family are so reasonable—they correct what’s wrong without ambiguity or favoritism. Not like our family’s old madam, who just shields her own. If it weren’t for Huo Jin, the father, keeping him in check, that little demon would cause trouble in new ways every single day. It seems that on the little demon’s path to growth, I, as his stepmother, must play a role.
Luo Chaoyan walked up to Old Madam Liang with an apologetic expression and said, “Old Madam Liang, this is all my fault. I really shouldn’t have interfered in the children’s competition.” As she spoke, she sincerely apologized to the young masters of the Liang family: “Young masters, I truly apologize.”
Liang Qianyi hadn’t expected her to apologize. She snorted and said, “At least you have some conscience.”
“Our Xiao Rui is just very competitive. If he had lost today’s match, he would have definitely thrown a tantrum when he got back. Grandmother isn’t in good health, and Mother has many household matters to attend to. I just wanted to make things a little easier for them.”
Luo Chaoyan’s words were spoken with such sincerity that they made her seem filial and admirable. But to Old Madam Huo’s ears, something about it felt off.
Madam Huo felt her words were indeed true to the situation. She smiled and tapped Huo Rui on the forehead, chiding, “You, you! You really are a handful!”
Luo Chaoyan said, “Young masters, I heard the prize for your competition is that toy Rubik’s Cube in Huo Rui’s hands, right?”
“Yes! Yes!” Liang Chumo replied.
“In that case, their victory today was indeed achieved through trickery. To express my apology, I’ll have him give it to you. Will that ease your anger?”
“No!”
“No!”
Not only Huo Rui, but even Huo Yu, who had initially remained aloof, could no longer stay out of it. If the Rubik’s Cube was given to Liang Chumo, what would happen to him? Huo Rui had promised it to him. He glanced at Huo Rui, signaling him to say something quickly.
Luo Chaoyan put on a gentle, motherly expression and said, “Xiao Rui, a true man should be broad-minded. It’s not worth damaging your friendship with your playmates over a Rubik’s Cube.”
Huo Rui gritted his teeth. This woman never missed a chance to make things difficult for him. He quickly tugged lightly at Old Madam Huo’s hand, hoping she would speak up for him.
Madam Huo felt this wasn’t just about the children’s friendship—on a larger scale, it also concerned the longstanding goodwill between the Liang and Huo families. So she agreed with her daughter-in-law’s words and said sternly, “Xiao Rui, your mother is right. You shouldn’t let a toy ruin the bond between you.”
Huo Rui pressed his lips together. Seeing that his great-grandmother had fallen silent after hearing his grandmother’s words, he knew he had lost this round again.
“I understand, Grandmother.”
Liang Chumo grinned like a cat that had gotten the cream, saying, “Huo Rui, you promised—no take-backs. Have someone bring it to me tomorrow.”
Huo Rui and Huo Yu glared at him fiercely, resentful of his smug triumph.