Chapter 83: Career Ambition
Lizi did not know whether to respect her young mistress’s decision or counsel her to rethink her options. It was by no means a horrible ambition. However, there were simply so many other things Anji could choose from and excel at.
While her personal maid was fretting internally, the gardener in charge of the landscape beamed. Unlike the other children of the Celestial Dragon Sect, Anji was different. Although every other young master and mistress were well-liked, Anji was the servants’ favourite. It was no secret how Anji loved hanging out at the physician’s clinic and the kitchen. However, it was also her first time exploring the gardens and talking with gardeners at length about raising plants.
After receiving a sack of fertiliser from the friendly gardeners, Anji left and announced offhandedly how she wanted to become an herbalist in the future.
"Father," Anji called out when she arrived at Mingfeng’s study. "I have a present to give you before we start our lesson!"
Keeping his promise to teach and oversee his youngest daughter’s cultivation progress, Mingfeng smiled and tried his best to hide his fatigue from her. The Celestial Dragon Sect leader had chosen to forfeit sleep to cope with Anji’s lessons and the mountain of administrative matters that required his attention.
"Good morning, Anji. I see that you’ve picked up a new hobby?" he questioned the sack of fertiliser Lizi was carrying on her daughter’s behalf.
Pulling out a small cloth sachet, Anji presented it with both hands to her father. There wasn’t enough for her teacher yet, but Anji already had plans to increase the production of these special leaves.
"Anji learned a lot from the gardeners how to care for a plant," she explained. "These are the persimmon leaves I carefully selected so Father can enjoy them as tea. Unfortunately, the persimmon plant takes a long time to grow. I don’t have enough leaves to give shifu."
Hearing how Anji prioritised him over Yan Ping, Mingfeng could not keep a wide smile away from his face. After two long months, it finally felt as if his daughter had returned to him both in heart and in person. Touched by her gesture, Mingfeng called a servant on duty to prepare a pot of water to brew the tea while conducting his first lesson with Anji.