Heaven's Greatest Professor

"Before you leave, you should know I'm putting you under Master Warden. You're to help him in whatever he asks of you," Elder Ming said, causing Jenni to groan. "I hope you can impress him with your work ethic and creativity."

Jenni clenched her jaw, her eyes moving from her father to Warden as she slowly nodded "Am I to relieve in bed too if he asks me?"

Elder Ming glared at her.

"I mean, you said whatever he asked of me," she pointed out.

"You damn know what I meant," the elder barked.

"Of course, as you order, Elder Ming," she bowed and walked away.

On her way out, she mumbled, "Maybe I should find someone to sleep with tonight."

"Jenni!" Elder Ming lunged up from his seat.

"I'm, of course, joking," she yelled and shook out of the perimeter of the house.

Elder Ming kept on growling, his eyes where Jenni vanished into, his aura blazing furiously. Warden could easily tell how much affection the elder held for his disobedient daughter, even if he failed to show it to her directly.

He stood there for over a minute and finally came back to his seat. He glared at Warden, wiping the smile off his face immediately.

"The joke wasn't funny alone," Warden said awkwardly, "your reaction made it."

"I assume you have no kids of your own," Elder Ming said. "So you don't understand."

"Maybe," Warden said, not completely agreeing.

Elder Ming could tell that as well, as he put no effort into hiding it. "You think it's all my fault, that I failed to raise her?"

"What I think really doesn't matter, does it?" Warden said. "What matters is that you believe you failed to raise her."

Elder Ming narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

Warden took it as affirmation and continued, "Elder Ming, how old is Jenni?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Just answer the question, please."

"It's hard to calculate time when you're in and out of the rift." The elder mulled over it for a moment. "Jenni is in her early twenties, she hasn't gone over 25."

Warden nodded. "And how old are you? Just give me a rough number."

"I'm close to two hundred fifty years," Elder Ming sighed. "Spent most of my time on the front line and in work; can't believe so much time has passed."

"Elder Ming, I must apologize for what I'm going to say here," he said. "I believe it is because for so long you lived, time doesn't have the same effect on you. You believe your daughter to be only a child and don't see the fine woman she became. You interfere in her life too much." By this point, the elder's face already twisted into an ugly scowl, but Warden continued.

"I just think you're being too hard on her. But she's an adult. Let her live the life she wants to live."

Warden absolutely thought the elder would shout and throw him out of his compound for a moment. But he reined that anger in, taking a slow inhale.

"Also, I believe you failed to change with time," Warden continued. "I don't know what society was like two hundred years ago, but I'm sure it is very different now. Women do not just want to marry someone and raise a bunch of kids; they want to have a future of their own, have a career and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their better half.

"You have raised a daughter who is very true to her character, a creative adept runesmith before she even turned twenty-five. You have shown her a higher horizon, imbued her with a thirst for life and power; do you think she'll just rein that in to be the little girl you raised?"

Elder Ming remained silent for a while, mulling over the words he heard, his aura turning and twisting into an unreadable mess.

"You are very insightful in this than you look," the elder said and sighed.

I'm surprised too, Warden thought.

"Perhaps you're right in your thinking," he said, his voice turning surprisingly slow and soft. "I have lived over two hundred years, married a few times, and had over a dozen kids. Many of them died over the years. I hadn't been there for most of them. However, when Saline, Jenni's mother, died, it hit me the hardest. She was the most brilliant I had known.

I'm sure she would have done a far greater job in raising her, while I just tried to be better than my own parents who lived an unremarkable life in poverty."

"Elder Ming, I do not think you failed to raise her."

The elder shook his head. "Some of my offspring hold very desirable positions in their work. Some are talented in various fields, but none can compare to Jenni. Her talent and potential outweighs my own. I should have known she won't be satisfied with everything before I promised to give her hand in marriage."

Ah, so that was the main reason for the debate between the father and daughter, not that they engaged in a debate at all. If they had, their problem would have been solved ages ago.

"The groom in question is a man of honour, a good match for Jenni. He's a guild leader of a silver rank guild and all. But most importantly, I gave my word," the elder said with an exhalation. "And as you mentioned, a man must carry out what he promised."

Warden breathed sharply. "While it is a man's honour to carry out what he promises, it is prudent to know if he's making a mistake."

The elder frowned. "What would you do if you were in my place?"

"That's irrelevant."

"Just tell me. I know you don't want to sway my decision too much, but your thinking has affected me too much already."

Warden drew in a slow breath. "I'll think about it very hard. First of all, I'll determine which is more important to me, my daughter or my pride, my honour. I honestly believe it will be the former for me. So the first thing I'd do is talk to my daughter, and try to work out our differences.

I'll put her decision above mine and would only provide my support and counsel in what I think is right for her.

"Of course, it might be more naivety on my part, as I'm not of the same station as you, nor have I raised any kids to my knowledge."

Elder Ming moved into another round of contemplation. After a while, he opened his mouth again. "I wanted to talk to her about this arranged marriage that I set up before she was even born," he said. "But whenever I brought the topic, she becomes like that, and doesn't listen to me at all."

"Maybe you should start by giving her some credits for everything, or better..."

"What?"

"Canceling the marriage might solve the problem between you two, but it might cause another problem as well. Before you do anything drastic, it will be better if you discuss this will all the parties. Like I don't think Jenni will be that happy knowing her father was dishonoured because of her."

____________

Almost 200 chapters...

Let's have a character popularity context. Details below.