Before he could react, Xiao Qing nimbly fetched a basin of warm water.
Seeing this, Fang Er could only brace himself and step forward to help Li Xiuning remove her socks.
To his consternation, beneath the traditional loose white cotton socks, his elder sister-in-law was wearing a pair of flesh-colored stockings...
"Mother-in-law, this..."
Looking at the stockings, he was at a loss. How was he supposed to wash them?
"Tear them off!" Li Xiuning waved her hand carelessly.
"It's rare to have a son-in-law wash my feet. It's just a pair of stockings, don't worry about it."
Fang Er: ???
Tear off his mother-in-law's stockings?
He shivered, "Damn, what kind of nonsense is going through my head!"
If Chai Yue and Xiao Qing weren't watching, he would have slapped himself.
"Tear!"
The sound of stockings being ripped echoed in the hall, revealing Li Xiuning's size 38 feet.
Although foot-binding was not yet a custom in this era, her feet were not considered beautiful. As a martial artist, the coarseness of her joints was almost identical to that of a man.
It was the peak of autumn, and with two layers of socks, her feet carried a slight scent of sweat.
Fang Er carefully placed her feet in the basin and looked up at Li Xiuning.
"Mother-in-law, is the water temperature suitable?"
"Mmm, just right!" Li Xiuning's eyes narrowed slightly as she nodded gently.
As the eldest princess of the Great Tang, she had many maids, and her feet would not be heavily soiled. After soaking them for a while, Fang Er brought a towel to wipe away the water.
Thinking of Li Xiuning's constant care for him, and the lack of opportunities to show filial piety, he spoke.
"Your son-in-law has learned some massage techniques from Master Sun, which can relieve fatigue and invigorate the meridians. If Mother-in-law doesn't mind, I'd be happy to give you a massage?"
Li Xiuning was quite surprised: "Oh? You have such skills? Then I won't be polite!"
Fang Er smiled slightly: "If the pressure is too strong or too weak, don't hesitate to tell me directly."
After speaking, he placed one of her feet on the edge of the basin and brought the other to his lap, beginning to knead it gently.
The seemingly professional technique caught the eye of Xi Tong and Chai Yue, who seemed to have found a new way to pass their evenings.
Meanwhile, Li Xiuning once again narrowed her eyes, enjoying the foot massage from Fang Er.
"Mmm... a little lighter there..."
"Hiss... comfortable..."
"Don't stop, right there, press two more times!"
"Yes, yes, just like that, so comfortable..."
"Ah, not there, a little gentler..."
"..."
After half an hour, Li Xiuning, completely satisfied, put on her shoes and socks.
"This is the first time I've known An Zhi to have such exquisite skills. Compared to this, the maids in my mansion are simply pressing randomly!"
Chai Yue, who had been watching from the side, her face flushed red, said when she heard this, "Not only is it the first time Mother knows, but even I just found out!"
After speaking, she playfully glared at Fang Er.
They had been married for so long, and he had never washed her feet, but now her own mother had gotten there first. She felt a bit...
"Cough cough!"
Fang Er coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
"May I ask if Mother-in-law has something to instruct your son-in-law about?"
Seeing that the serious business was about to begin, Xiao Qing and Xing Er made excuses and left, leaving only Chai Yue and Xi Tong in the room.
Li Xiuning watched Xiao Qing's retreating back and nodded approvingly.
"This girl is perceptive."
Then, she recounted in detail how she had beaten up Li Shimin.
"Mother tells you, your father, you absolutely cannot spoil him too much!"
"If something like this happens again, you let him come to Mother, and I'll break his legs!"
"He's always up to no good, always coveting your family fortune. What a disgrace!"
This string of curses made Fang Er feel embarrassed, but immensely pleased, knowing that the foot massage he'd just given hadn't been in vain.
However, he then heard Li Xiuning say, "These days, if you need anything, send all those spaceships to the main world."
"Firstly, they need manpower for defense there, to deal with the enemy who might appear from anywhere."
"Secondly, it's to cut off your father-in-law's thoughts, so he won't continue to covet them."
"Finally, it's to save him some face. If his prestige doesn't match yours, a mere prince, at the capital relocation ceremony, it wouldn't be fitting."
This last sentence stunned Fang Er. So, this was Li Shimin's reason for shamelessly trying to frame him?
He knew then that the Great Tang had no formidable enemies, nor did they need so many spaceships. Against the indigenous people of small countries, weapons of this caliber were completely unnecessary.
With everything said, he had no reason to disagree and immediately contacted Wang Xuance, ordering all the spaceships to be deployed to the main world for defense.
Li Xiuning, satisfied, gave him a thumbs-up: "In terms of understanding the bigger picture, there's truly nothing to fault with my son-in-law!"
"Alright, it's getting late, and Mother should return to Chang'an."
"Fang Xin and his siblings have nothing to do on the estate, so I'll take them back with me, to avoid them being in your way at home!"
Fang Er wished he could keep the three siblings at home. With them around, he could slack off a bit...
But the words just wouldn't come out.
He could only watch Li Xiuning leave with Hua Niang to find Fang Xin and the others on the estate.
Turning around, he saw that the foot basin had been set up in the backyard again. Xi Tong was sitting casually on a chair, her shoes and socks already off, smiling at him.
"Technician number 66, aren't you going to serve this young lady?"
Fang Er was stunned!
"What the hell is this?"
Forced to work?
But soon, he readily put on a smile.
"Sister, please wait a moment, I'll go prepare the tools!"
After saying that, he dashed into the room, fiddled around, and after a moment, returned to the courtyard with a storage box.
Damn it, a foot massage is better than being a weakling. He'd go for it!