The Prince's mansion's back garden was still vibrant in late autumn. Chrysanthemums in full bloom blanketed the entire flowerbed, their petals in shades of crimson gold, crimson purple, and moon-white unfurling in the morning dew. Xiao Yu stood in the center of the flower path, his hands behind his back. The dark dragon patterns embroidered on his dark brocade robe loomed in the sunlight. He was leaning over to observe the growth of a black chrysanthemum when a sudden sound of air-breaking sound came from behind him—a bullet wrapped in fresh cotton brushed past the jade belt around his waist and landed with a "puff" on the Taihu Lake stone three feet away, startling two roosting sparrows.

"You little brat!" Xiao Yu whipped his head around to see three-year-old Kengkeng hiding behind a blossoming crabapple tree, his chubby body knocking rouge-colored petals off his head. The little boy clutched a bamboo slingshot, a yellow leaf still clinging to his pigtails. When his father turned around, he grinned, revealing his missing front tooth, and proudly swung the slingshot in his chubby little hand, "Dad! I hit your butt!"

Before Xiao Yu could react, he felt a sudden tightening sensation around his ankle. He looked down to see two-year-old Wa Wa, clutching a length of scarlet silk rope, using all her might to tie his trouser legs around the trunk of the old locust tree. The little girl, with her hair in a double bun, a pomegranate-red velvet flower tucked into her hair swayed with her movements. Her arms, like lotus roots, were stained with grass juice. She tilted her delicate face upwards and called out in a baby voice, "Daddy! Become the big horse!"

"Gee! Dad, run!" Kengkeng seized the opportunity to burst out from behind the tree and, unexpectedly, looped the sling string around Xiao Yu's neck as a bridle. Xiao Yu stumbled, the hem of his brocade robe brushing against the dew-soaked autumn grass. He cried out, both amused and helpless, "Rebellion! You two little bastards..." Before he could finish his words, Wa Wa had already tied the red silk rope into a knot, and Kengkeng picked up a second bullet and prepared to shoot it at him.

"No, no, no!" Xiao Yu hastily raised his hands in surrender. Seeing his son and daughter's sparkling, expectant eyes, he bent down helplessly. "Daddy's the boss, isn't it enough to be the boss?" Before he could finish his words, Wa Wa had already climbed onto his back, his chubby legs clamped around his waist. Ken Ken was running ahead, pulling the "reins," shouting a discordant chant: "Gee! Gee!"

Xiao Yu was dragged along, stumbling and falling. The hem of his dark brocade robe was stained with grass and petals. Chun Tao, who was passing by with a basin of water, hurriedly lowered her head, but her shoulders trembled violently. Water droplets splashed from the edge of the copper basin, leaving tiny streaks on the bluestone slabs. The old butler, leaning on a jujube wood cane, happened to be inspecting the area. His gray beard stood up in anger, and he pounded his cane on the ground: "How can this be! How dare you treat the Seventh Prince..."

"Don't be angry, old housekeeper!" Chen Weiwan swung a silk fan as she entered through the moonlit gate. She wore a smoky-colored silk dress embroidered with gold, and a scarlet-gold and jade-embroidered hairpin trembled with her steps. Seeing Xiao Yu's hair disheveled and his brocade robe wrinkled like a rag, she burst into laughter. Even through her fan, half her face was covered, a crisp laugh still emanated: "This is to improve your Highness's physical fitness! In the future, he'll be able to carry a ten-pound suit of armor on the battlefield!"

Xiao Yu took the opportunity to straighten his back, threw Wa Wa from his back into his arms, pointed at Shen Weiwan and said angrily: "Shen Weiwan! Take care of your son and daughter! If you don't, I will throw them to the Imperial Academy to recite the Analects!"

"Oh, no, Your Highness!" Shen Weiwan hurried forward, took out a palm-sized drawing board and charcoal pencil from her sleeve, squatted among the petals on the ground with a smile on her face, "I finally captured the heroic figure of Your Highness as a 'human horse', I have to draw it down as a family heirloom." She pinched the charcoal pencil with her fingertips and outlined the outline of Xiao Yu tied to the locust tree on the rice paper. The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadow on her face, and even her eyelashes were coated with gold.

"What are you drawing!" Xiao Yu was both angry and amused. He raised his foot as if to kick, but Wa Wa grabbed his calf. Seeing this, Henkeng immediately raised his slingshot and shouted in a baby voice, "Look, Mom! I can hit Dad's jade belt buckle!" Before he finished speaking, the cotton-wrapped bullet "popped" and hit the mutton-fat jade pendant on Xiao Yu's waist, and the jade pendant shook with a crisp clinking sound. Shen Weiwan laughed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. She pointed at the grass leaves in Xiao Yu's bun and said, "What a good shot! Much more accurate than your father's willow-shooting skills!"

Only after Shen Weiwan finished sketching did Xiao Yu let Chuntao untie the red silk rope. He rubbed his wrists, which were red with marks from being strangled, and looked at the two children who were still giggling helplessly and said, "Tell me, what do you want Dad to do today?"

Kengkeng immediately raised his slingshot, his face filled with anticipation: "Dad, teach me how to use a slingshot! I'll use this white parrot in Grandpa Kenghuang's cage!"

Wa Wa raised a red silk rope and twisted it into a circle in his hand: "I want to learn how to tie people up! Tie the tutor to a chair and let him listen to me recite the Three Character Classic!"

Shen Weiwan nodded repeatedly beside him, tapping Xiao Yu's chest with her folding fan: "That's a good idea! Your Highness, just work harder and be a living teaching aid, right?"

Xiao Yu held his forehead and sighed, "Did you three of you collude all along? You've completely disgraced me, the Seventh Prince..." Despite this, he still took the slingshot from Kenkeng and knelt on one knee to demonstrate the aiming position. "Watch this," he said, narrowing his left eye as the bullet flew out, accurately striking a falling yellow leaf off a branch. "When shooting with a slingshot, you need to keep your three points in a straight line. Do you understand?"

Hang Hang was stunned. He took the slingshot and tried to imitate him, but he shot the bullet into Xiao Yu's bun. "Dad! There are leaves in your hair!" the little guy exclaimed. He reached out to pick them, but pulled Xiao Yu's hairpin off with it. Shen Weiwan laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her back. She stepped forward to help Xiao Yu tidy up his messy hair, her fingertips brushing against the broken hair at his temples: "Your Highness, you are not a qualified teacher. You even let yourself down!"

As the noise was going on, the Empress Dowager's personal maid hurried over. Seeing Xiao Yu's disheveled hair and wrinkled brocade robe, she forced herself to smile until her face flushed red. She bowed and said, "Seventh Prince, Seventh Prince's Consort, the Empress Dowager asks you to bring the young prince and princess to the Cining Palace for dinner."

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