Chapter 906: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 906: The Matchmaker Comes to the Door (4)
Mo Yan nodded quickly. “Don’t worry, Father. I won’t do anything rash.” She would only torment the two women from the Zhao family to no end.
Seeing his daughter acting so innocent and obedient, Mo Qingze did not detect the underlying "wickedness" in her actions. He said, “Then we’ll leave it at that for now. If anything comes up, I’ll write you a letter!”
Speaking of letters, he was reminded of the clever mynah bird. Clearing his throat, slightly awkward, he added, “That mynah bird is quite good. If you can train another one, I’ll keep this one to myself.”
“Ah, you want it?” Mo Yan was a little surprised. But then, thinking that her father was alone in the top scholar's residence and might not have much to talk about with Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun, keeping a bird could be a good way to pass the time. She added, “It depends on whether the bird agrees. Please wait here, I’ll call it over.”
She then called the mynah bird, which was perched on a tree branch in the backyard, into the hall. The other dozen or so birds followed suit, eager to join in.
Mo Qingze stared blankly at the many birds in front of him, their curious eyes fixed on him. He felt the need to have a serious conversation with his daughter.
“Yan’er, did you train all these birds in such a short time?” Mo Qingze asked with difficulty, knowing that just ten days ago, there hadn’t been a single bird in the house.
“Yes, I’ve raised them in this short time!” Mo Yan smiled proudly. “I didn’t expect that not only Xiao Hua and the others, but even these little guys are charmed by me.”
“Has anyone else found out about this?” Mo Qingze ignored his daughter’s shamelessness and asked seriously. He wasn’t concerned with how she trained the birds but worried that her actions might bring trouble. Taming fierce beasts had already been astonishing enough. If she could easily tame birds as well, was she even human?
Mo Yan understood her father’s concerns and shook her head. “Only Father and I know. Even Xin'er and the others think the birds just came here to eat and drink.”
While people have tamed birds for various purposes, it takes more than ten days to accomplish what Mo Yan had. For instance, Maomao, being highly intelligent, was tamed by its owner soon after birth, but it took three years for it to only relay messages, and another five years for it to be fully accurate.
Mo Qingze sighed in relief but then admonished her seriously. “I know you have abilities that others don’t, and that’s a good thing. But if someone with ill intentions finds out, it could bring you trouble. You must be cautious and never speak of it.”
Three years ago, during their escape, Mo Yan had a knack for finding food, which had already made Mo Qingze suspicious. Later, more clues led him to confirm that she had abilities beyond ordinary people’s. Though he didn’t know exactly what those abilities were, he understood that if anyone found out, he wouldn’t be able to protect her. For that reason, he never asked about it, fearing that his accidental slip of the tongue might bring trouble to Mo Yan.
The taming of fierce beasts could be explained away as them having a spirit that formed a bond through mutual understanding. But taming birds in such a short time was harder to explain.
Mo Yan, sensing her father's worries, felt warmth in her heart. She said seriously, “Father, I understand the importance of discretion. I only let my guard down in front of you. If it were anyone else, I would be much more cautious.”
Mo Qingze also understood that some things had already been revealed to him three years ago, and since he knew that he would never harm her, Mo Yan had been more open this time, not hiding the taming of the birds.
Looking into his daughter's trusting eyes, Mo Qingze felt his heart soften. He gently stroked her head and sighed, “I don’t ask what your abilities are, but you must never speak of them to anyone, including your future husband or your children, do you understand?”
Mo Yan nodded earnestly. “Father, I understand.”
Mo Qingze’s expression softened, and he patted her shoulder. He then turned his attention to the birds in front of him. Although there were three mynah birds, he quickly identified the one that had previously delivered a message. He reached out his hand toward it.
Recognizing him as the one who had delivered the message earlier, the mynah flew obediently onto his hand, chirping happily with its bright yellow beak.
Although it was pleased to know that it would be kept by Mo Qingze, it had agreed to deliver messages primarily because of the tempting food in Mo Yan’s space. It wasn’t as eager to follow Mo Qingze now.
Mo Yan, understanding the little glutton's thoughts, made an arrangement with it. When her father went to the government office, it could come back to enjoy the delicious food.
The little bird was happy with the arrangement and agreed.
One of the parrots, fond of excitement but lazy and gluttonous, usually stayed in the tree unless it was hungry. Now, seeing that it didn’t have to fly and could go to the city to watch the hustle and bustle, it eagerly hopped onto Mo Qingze’s thoughts, squawking loudly, “Go, go, master, master!”
Startled by the parrot speaking, Mo Qingze’s hand shook, nearly dropping the mynah.
The parrot’s loud squawking made Mo Qingze’s ears ring. He quickly grabbed the noisy bird and curiously examined it. When he realized it could speak human language, he found it amusing and decided to keep it in the top scholar's residence to keep the mynah company.
Mo Yan didn’t hesitate to agree. The parrot was a chatterbox and constantly squawked in her ear. It had nearly driven her to the point of exhaustion, and she was glad someone else would take it.
[End of Chapter]
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