Grandpa Wang clearly didn't want to pay him any heed.
He stepped closer, performed a standard butler's bow, and asked with a surprised look on his face, "Is this the little miss you often talk about, young master?"
"I've never mentioned Nian Nian at home."
"The little miss is so pretty. She's a perfect match for you, young master."
"She's only six. Don't make me sound like a beast!"
"I just wonder what her family background is. Madam was quite picky."
"My mom's been dead for eight years."
"But it doesn't matter. As long as you're happy, young master, everything's fine. I'm sure the old master in heaven would be very gratified to see you so happy."
"That old geezer is still alive and kicking!"
Shen Weixun's eyes gradually lost their luster.
Grandpa Wang was really getting into character!
"Ahem, have you had dinner, young master?"
"Yes, I have. Her name is Yu Nian Nian. She's my junior sister. She'll be staying with me. There's no need to prepare a separate room. Ask someone to draw water for a bath upstairs. Also, send some snacks, preferably sweet ones. And bring over the books from my old phone."
Shen Weixun really didn't want to keep playing this game with this old rascal.
He didn't want to scare his junior sister.
Grandpa Wang probably had his fill of fun and didn't continue to pester him. He resumed his serious look and stepped aside automatically.
The other servants were used to this scene.
It happened almost every day.
Just chatting with Grandpa Wang for a few sentences made Shen Weixun feel exhausted.
What could he do?
He'd chosen to keep this old rascal, so he had to accept him no matter what.
Shen Weixun looked down at Nian Nian.
The little dumpling's eyes were shining, and she was looking at Grandpa Wang's departing back reluctantly.
"That grandpa is so interesting."
Oh no, was his little one going to be led astray?
"Don't look. He's just an old geezer. There's nothing fun about him. Come on, brother will take you upstairs to tell you stories."
"Okay, okay!"
At the thought of stories, Nian Nian immediately forgot about the interesting old grandpa.
With her third senior brother around, she didn't need to walk at all.
The little dumpling was used to being carried and quietly lay in Shen Weixun's arms, twirling the strings on his clothes with her little fingers.
Upstairs, Shen Weixun first asked someone to give Nian Nian a bath.
Out came the fragrant little dumpling.
She was so cute that his heart melted!
At the moment, his cutest little one was wearing a dinosaur onesie. Her hands were wrapped in the puppet claws of the onesie, and the attached hood on her head always blocked her vision.
Nian Nian struggled to push the hood away with her "claws" one by one.
Aww!
Whose dinosaur cub was this?
Oh, it was his!
The idea of bringing his junior sister home had been in his mind for a long time.
There were all kinds of items suitable for children here.
Clothes, toys, daily necessities—everything was available.
Even this manor was prepared because his junior sister said she liked castles.
He personally didn't really like such a big house.
It was empty, lonely, and lacked a human touch.
"Lie down quietly for a while. These books are all for you. Read them by yourself first."
Shen Weixun patted the books on the bedside table.
The words on the covers of these books were already blurred, and the edges were a bit damaged. The few words that were visible were hard to understand when put together.
They were all rare books about Taoism that he'd painstakingly retrieved from outside.
The little dumpling liked Grimm's Fairy Tales.
But compared to fairy tales, she liked Taoism more.
Sure enough, when she saw these books she'd never seen before, Nian Nian's eyes lit up.
The drowsiness that had swept over her after the bath disappeared in an instant.
She wanted to read! She wanted to read!
She was so eager! So eager!
She couldn't wait to pick up the top one. Without even looking up, she waved her hand and said, "Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! I know. I'll wait for senior brother to come back. You go quickly!"
It meant don't disturb her reading.
Shen Weixun chuckled and gently pinched Nian Nian's little face, which was smoother than an egg. He teased, "You little heartless thing. Okay, read then."
With that, he turned and went into the bathroom.
Nian Nian was completely immersed in the world created by the books.
It had to be said that her third senior brother really understood her.
She'd wanted to read this kind of book for a long time.
They all told stories about lost spells or more profound inheritances of Taoist magic.
There were also such books in the Taoist temple.
She knew her master had a lot of them.
But her master never let her read or touch them. She was only allowed to learn the orthodox spells.
Was it because she couldn't understand those things?
No.
She'd already mastered everything her master had taught her.
For the things she wasn't allowed to learn, she could actually understand them after reading them twice.
She didn't quite understand why her master didn't allow it.
Obviously, her other senior brothers could flip through and learn them at will.
But for her, when she'd just secretly read the spell of Summoning Five Ghosts to Carry Objects and learned it, her master had punished her to kneel in front of the incense for a month.
No one could persuade him.
After that, only her third senior brother would reveal a bit of this kind of spell to her, telling it to her like a story.
But that was all.
Although she'd been a bit sulky before, she was obedient and thought it didn't matter not learning them.
But after coming down the mountain this time, she'd encountered too many things beyond her cognition.
She could find the answers in those books her master had forbidden her to read.
She wanted to know more.
So when her third senior brother brought the books in front of her, she had an unprecedented craving.
This was the first time she didn't want to listen to her master.
But she didn't feel the least bit regretful.
At worst...
At worst, when she got back to the Taoist temple, she'd kneel in front of the incense for two more months!
Looking at the obscure words in the book, Nian Nian pondered over them again and again. She wouldn't move on to the next paragraph until she completely understood the meaning of the words.
She read very slowly. By the time Shen Weixun came out of the bath, she'd only read three chapters.
There were twelve chapters in a book, so she'd only read a quarter of it.
She was so engrossed in reading that she didn't even notice her third senior brother approaching.
She rubbed her slightly sore and swollen eyes and was just about to turn the page when the book was snatched away by a pair of well - defined hands.
"Ah! Third senior brother, I want to read it!"
Nian Nian stretched her little arms up as hard as she could, and her voice was full of coquetry and eagerness.
Shen Weixun remained unmoved.
"Go to sleep first. You can read it tomorrow. Lack of sleep will make you grow up short. Don't worry. There's no master here, and these books are all for you. You can read them whenever you want."
Hearing what her senior brother said, the little dumpling didn't insist anymore.
Hehe...
Her senior brother was right. Anyway, her master wasn't here now.
Shen Weixun turned off the light and got into bed. He skillfully pulled the little one into his arms, took a deep breath, and felt extremely at ease.
He closed his eyes and spoke in a lazy and gentle voice, just like when telling a fairy tale.
"Okay, close your eyes. Now I'll tell you something about the Holy Cult."