The golden autumn afternoon sun filtered through the carved window lattices, casting coin-like specks of light on the blue bricks of the Prince's study. Xiao Yu reclined on the pearwood couch by the window, his fingertips tracing the yellowed bamboo slips of "The Art of War." The scent of ink mingled with the sweet fragrance of golden osmanthus outside the window lingered in his nose. As his gaze passed over the words "兵者之道之道" (The Art of War), he subconsciously raised his hand to rub his sleeve—the itchy powder that had been stuck there with his saliva last week hadn't been cleaned off yet. The movement now sent up fine dust that floated like stars in the beam of light.

"Your Highness, your Biluochun." Chuntao delicately offered the teacup. Pearl-like water droplets clung to the celadon cup, and the rising steam was tinged with a faint earthy aroma. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a lotus-like leg swaying behind the door. The red silk trouser leg, embroidered with a golden toad, swayed gently with its owner's movements, like a small animal eager to try something new.

Xiao Yu took the teacup without looking up. The warmth of the tea wafted through the cracked porcelain walls. He took a sip when a sudden, rough, crunching sensation hit his teeth, and the tip of his tongue tasted the distinct astringency of fine sand, as if he were choking on sun-warmed river sand. "Ahem!" He sat up abruptly, his tea splashing onto the bright yellow jade belt buckle. Fine yellow sand floated in the tea he spat out. At the bottom of the cup lay a half-finger-thick mass of sand, gleaming in the sunlight like a handful of crushed stars.

"Xiao! Trap! Trap!" The veins on Xiao Yu's forehead were throbbing. He looked up and saw his son squatting behind the antique display cabinet. The fat boy was holding a cassia seed tea bag with the bottom cloth worn through it in his hand. There were a few grains of sand on the corners of his mouth, just like a little cat who had stolen candied fruit juice. Even his eyelashes were covered with specks of sand.

Kenkeng was caught red-handed, but he blinked his almond-shaped eyes, which were exactly the same as Chen Weiwan's. The sand on his eyelashes fell off with the blinking movement. He raised the tea bag and called in a baby voice: "Daddy! Drink!" The tone was innocent, as if he was holding the nectar of the Queen Mother in his hands. There were two milk stains on his chubby face caused by sand.

"What are you drinking?" Xiao Yu slammed his teacup down on the rosewood table. The splashing tea soaked the four characters "Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy" written on the bamboo slips. The ink smudged in the water, like tears dripping onto rice paper. "Which rat hole did you get this sand from?" He had barely finished his words when a chubby finger pointed at the goldfish pond outside the window, then at the teacup. Suddenly, he clapped his hands and laughed, his teeth leaking through his teeth as he shouted, "Dad! White teeth!"

"White teeth?" Xiao Yu was stunned at first, then realized that the brat had mistaken sand for toothpaste! He was so angry that he wanted to grab the meatball and spank him, but Henkeng was smarter than a monkey. He hid behind the rosewood screen, only his round head showing, and made faces at him with his eyes and wrinkled nose, just like a little fox stealing fish.

"Oh, Your Highness, why are you getting so angry at a baby?" Chen Weiwan entered, waving a round fan. Her moon-white silk skirt swept the ground, bringing with it a faint orchid fragrance. The newly pinned begonia in her hair trembled gently with her steps, and the pearl and jade tassels reflected tiny glints in the sunlight. She pinched the chubby face of Kenkeng, who was hiding behind the screen, and smiled until her eyes narrowed into crescents. "Kengkeng, I see you've been busy reviewing memorials lately, so I'm here to help you 'clean up'."

"Do I need to sprinkle goldfish pond sand into my tea to clean my teeth?" Xiao Yu's knuckles turned white as he gripped the teacup. He plucked a grain of sand from between his teeth and twisted it in the sunlight. The rough texture reminded him of the Gobi Desert in the northern frontier. "If I drink this a few more times, my gums will be calloused enough that I can chew raw beef."

"You can't say that." Chen Weiwan squatted down and wiped the sand from the corners of Kangkeng's mouth with a handkerchief embroidered with lotus flowers. Her fingertips brushed across her son's chubby cheeks. "Look how clean this sand is! I specially asked the kitchen to sift it three times with fine silk to get the fine sand from the South China Sea. It's more precious than the dental salt sold on the market. A grain of sand is worth half a penny." As soon as she finished speaking, Kangkeng immediately opened his mouth to cooperate, revealing his milk teeth that had not yet grown in, and cried in a baby voice: "Mom! White teeth! Bright!"

Xiao Yu watched his wife and children echoing the same sentiment, his voice etched with rage. Beside him, Chuntao pretended to tidy up the bookshelf, but her shoulders shook like leaves in the autumn wind. With a clatter, she knocked over a stack of the Analects, sending pages scattering across the floor. One page, opened right at the line "Without learning propriety, one has no way to stand firm," sent Xiao Yu's temples throbbing.

"Oh, Your Highness," Chen Weiwan seemed to suddenly remember something and pulled out a palm-sized piece of cloth from her sleeve pocket. There were a few colorful silk threads wrapped around it. "Where's your stone-blue python-patterned court robe? Kengkeng said he wanted to alter a cloak for you. Just now, you were sitting on the carpet muttering, 'Daddy's cloak, so handsome,' in that sweet, baby voice that could make you sick."

Xiao Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at the clothes rack—sure enough, the new court robe he'd had Chuntao iron with a jade ruler that morning was gone! It was woven from Suzhou brocade, the python pattern using twenty-four ounces of gold thread, and the embroidery alone had taken three months. He rushed into the inner room and saw Kenkeng sprawled on the Persian carpet, clutching a pair of ivory-handled children's scissors. The hem of the robe had been cut into jagged tassels, and fragments of the finest brocade scattered across the floor, like windswept crabapple petals, gleaming with a poignant beauty in the sunlight.

"Xiao Kengkeng!" Xiao Yu's roar shook the dust off the beams. He snatched the scissors, only to see Kengkeng burst into tears and throw himself into the arms of Shen Weiwan, who had just followed him in. His little body trembled like a sieve, and his tears fell on Shen Weiwan's skirt: "Mom! Dad is fierce! Beat me!"

Chen Weiwan quickly protected her son, picked up the damaged court robe and looked at it left and right. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, as if she had discovered a rare treasure: "Hey? My family's tassels are cut very smartly!" She draped the court robe on Xiao Yu, gestured left and right, and brushed her jade fingers over the damaged area. "Your Highness, look, the wind blows when you walk. It's much more lively than the original rigid hem. Doesn't it look like the knight in the opera who robs the rich and helps the poor?"

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