Chapter 353: Do What You Want to Do

But Kang Baihe was as determined as iron; she would marry no one but him.

The Feng Family Young Master was also a decent sort; having set his sights on Baihe, he brought his family straight to Jingdu to ask for her hand.

One reason is that the Feng Family person is decent, and the Feng Family has always been charitable; their reputation in Jiangnan is also good, every winter they give out porridge and also donate cotton clothes to poor families.

But mainly it was Baihe who had made up her mind; as her mother, I couldn't persuade her, so I had no choice but to yield.

She married into the Feng Family.

Thinking of this, looking at Kang Ziwei, I had always thought the third daughter was mild‑tempered, always smiling and compliant in everything.

But now it seems I misjudged her again.

"You seem to understand the Dean," she snorted, a little jealous.

Kang Ziwei was always smiling; she, crouching beside her mother, lifted her head slightly and said, "No, I understand Mother as well."

"Although I'm eager to return to Zhuang City to see my great‑grandparents, Mother is more worried about the Dean's health; hearing the news, she would certainly want to go advise him."

"Mother, I've grown up; I can choose my own future."

"I told you once before, you were just listening for fun."

"Today I still want to say it again."

Kang Ziwei's usual smiling demeanor was gone; instead she bore a solemn, earnest expression—a look that rarely appeared on her face.

"Mother, I want to become a medic, a doctor, so that when my companions go to the battlefield I can keep them safe, and if they are wounded I can heal them."

She lightly rested her head on Zhuang Miao's body, and Zhuang Miao lowered her gaze to look at her daughter.

Who would have thought that among the four daughters, the seemingly gentlest Zi Wei is actually the most strong‑willed.

And…

She saw off to the side a little girl directing people to saw wood.

She had always thought the little girl was timid, afraid of things, and used to follow silently behind Zi Wei, saying nothing.

But seeing her now, with her tiny brows furrowed, she is still a child under ten, yet she is already directing others to do work.

Even when someone doesn't understand, she will step in and gesture to show them.

"Zi Wei, am I a failing mother?" Zhuang Miao suddenly realized she seemed not to understand her own child.

At least, she doesn't understand as Yun chu does.

Kang Ziwei smiled and said, "Mother, I'm very fortunate to have been born in the Kang Fu."

"If it were another manor, how could they allow their daughter to go to Chun Hua Xue Yuan?"

"Mother, you're wonderful, always have been, but you're just too busy—you have to look after grandfather and grandmother, father, and the whole Kang Fu."

"The Dean once said, nobody can do everything perfectly, nobody can attain utter perfection."

"Just as not everyone is silver, you can't make everyone like you."

"But you have always been a wonderful mother; when I wanted to go to the academy, you agreed."

Zhuang Miao couldn't help but smile, lowered her head, looked at Kang Ziwei, and said, "So, letting you go makes me a good mother?"

She raised them bit by bit, never expecting that the rightest thing she did—what the children would remember—would be sending them to the academy.

"Mother, you've endured hardship to raise us; we all know that, even the fifth and sixth younger ones know."

"But do you know?"

She lifted her head from her mother's lap, met her gaze, and said, "In the Kang Fu, we are the Kang Family Eldest Miss; we must watch our words and deeds, our bearing, and live up to the title of Kang Fu miss."

"But at the academy I am merely Kang Ziwei; even without the Kang Fu, I still have myself."

"There I felt my own worth, felt that I am a person, not an object; I can be selfish, self‑reliant, self‑strengthening, I can do whatever I want to do, as long as……"

"I can bear the consequences."

Her mind was filled with the Dean's words; she recalled his vigorous spirit and sometimes wondered what kind of person he really was.

Capable, so perceptive, so strong; even if she might get hurt, even if she also has weak moments, in their hearts she remains strong.

"I think I'm beginning to understand," Zhuang Miao blinked, imitating Kang Ziwei's manner, and smiled.

Kang Ziwei's eyes smiled like crescent moons; the joy that spilled out at that moment needed no concealment.

Zhuang Miao watched and realized that when the third daughter was happy, this was how she looked.

As it turned out, when they had given her jewelry, tailored her clothes, and given her monthly silver, her faint smile and words of thanks were not genuine happiness.

She gently smoothed the third daughter's wind‑tousled hair and said, "Do what you want to do."

"Your eldest sister married into Jiangnan—that was her own choice; your second sister……"

"Sigh."

"From now on, you all do what you want to do; the Kang Fu has a mother."

Kang Ziwei never expected that her mother would say such things; she stood up, bent down, and planted a fierce kiss on Zhuang Miao's cheek—"pah"—a sound loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Mother, you are the best mother in all of Da Ning."

After saying that, she ran off to Kang Nai Xin's place; the two sisters didn't know what they were whispering, but the fourth daughter flitted over a few times, her usually icy little face also showing a hint of a smile.

Their happiness, too, seemed simple.

And it was only now that she, as a mother, came to know this.

"Make way, make way—how can you sit here? Don't you see people working? Who is this, so oblivious?"

Just……

Kang Wen turned his head, and only then did he see……

"Mother!"

He wore a miserable face, covering his own backside; with so many people around, he hoped his mother would save him some face, otherwise he'd still have to hang out with his mates later!

Just now it was really the timber blocking him; otherwise he couldn't have……

"All right, I'm leaving, making room for you."

Zhuang Miao smiled, looking at Kang Wen's action of covering his buttocks, also feeling somewhat amused and exasperated.

She not only left on her own, but also, as an afterthought, moved the stool she had just been sitting on.

Huh?

"Is my mother in such a good mood today?" Kang Wen, feeling he had escaped a disaster, no longer covered his buttocks, and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Zhuang Miao had already left leisurely, and she already had a plan in mind.

Compared to Yun chu, I am far behind; the second brother's wife is right— the right thing should be given to the right person.

She only hopes that the children, on their path to finding their own goals, can proceed smoothly and safely.

She will guard Kang Fu well, become their strongest backing, and wait for them to return home.