"I...I'm not your brother..." Zhao Xuanyang's voice trailed off, and Qin Xi couldn't hear a word he said.
Seeing her blinking at him, Zhao Xuanyang sighed in frustration and twisted the hem of his shirt. "Fine, call me whatever you want."
He said it hesitantly, but Qin Xi had already run off to look at the flowers.
Watching her retreating figure, Zhao Xuanyang felt a strange sense of wonder. She had just mentioned that her father's name was Qin Deng, a name he had seen in the official register of court officials—it was the name of the Prime Minister. So she must be Prime Minister Qin's daughter.
He felt a little excited; besides Zhaoyang, it seemed he had gained another younger sister!
"Hey, can I call you sister?" he asked, leaning closer and trying to sound calm.
"Are you older than me?" She blinked. "Father said that older peers are called brothers and sisters."
Why didn't you say these things when you called him "brother" just now? Zhao Xuanyang thought to himself, but still said to her, "I'm seven years old and taller than you, so of course I'm older than you."
"Oh." Qin Qi nodded. "Then you can call me sister."
"Sister Qin? Sister Qi?" Zhao Xuanyang frowned and muttered to himself, "Sister Qi, I'll choose Sister Qi. It sounds better."
Qin Xi glanced at the butterflies on the flowers and casually replied, "Whatever you want~"
"Then remember this, my name is Zhao Xuanyang, courtesy name Qiyu." He patted his little chest. "From now on, I'm your older brother."
Qin Xi blinked.
"Little sister Nasu, you came in from outside, didn't you?"
"yes."
"Is it fun outside?" Zhao Xuan gestured excitedly. "I heard them say there are lots of little gadgets outside, all of which are not available in the palace."
Qin Xi pouted and thought for a moment, "It's alright, it seems more fun than here."
"Ah...really..." Zhao Xuanyang was a little frustrated. "Then can you tell me what it includes?"
So when Prime Minister Qin came out of the Imperial Study, he saw two little chubby boys huddled together, whispering to each other.
He tiptoed over, scooped Qin Qi up in his arms, startling her into a gasp. Turning around and seeing it was him, she immediately hugged the Prime Minister's neck affectionately and called out sweetly.
"Daddy~"
"Hey, let's go home~" He put Qin Qi on the ground, gave Zhao Xuanyang a farewell bow, then took Qin Qi's little hand and prepared to leave the palace.
Qin Qi was very happy and waved to Zhao Xuanyang without any hesitation, "Brother Qi Yu, I'm going home now. I'll come to play with you another day."
Zhao Xuanyang pouted, "Prime Minister Qin, could you please come to the palace again tomorrow?"
"Hmm?" Prime Minister Qin seemed surprised by his response. "Does Your Highness wish to speak to me about something?"
"N-nothing...it's nothing..." Zhao Xuanyang waved his hand awkwardly, "I just...I just wanted to play with my sister..."
"I see." Prime Minister Qin chuckled and stroked his one-inch-long beard, saying, "When I enter the palace depends on His Majesty's orders. If Your Highness wishes to play with my daughter, you are welcome to visit my residence. I will certainly treat Your Highness well."
Zhao Xuanyang lowered his head in frustration. He wanted to go out too, but his father wouldn't allow it.
Seeing this, Prime Minister Qin said nothing more and led Qin Qi away.
He stared blankly as they left. It seemed like he watched for a very long time, so long that they were long gone, yet it also seemed like a very short time, as short as the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.
Zhaoyang, who had gone off to retrieve the kite alone, returned sometime earlier, soaking wet, her eyes watery, like a drowned rat. But her face was rosy, like a ripe apple in autumn.
Zhao Xuanyang asked her how she got into this state, but she wouldn't say. Worried that she would catch a cold, he had no choice but to take her back to her palace to change her clothes.
Just as Zhao Yang finished changing his clothes, Emperor Yu Ming arrived, followed by the teachers of the Imperial Academy. Seeing the displeasure in Emperor Yu Ming's eyes, Zhao Xuan Yang knew that the teachers had discovered he had skipped his lessons and then informed his father.
Thinking of his newly acquainted younger sister, he said nothing and voluntarily accepted the punishment. However, five-year-old Zhaoyang blocked his way, insisting that she had dragged him there.
The division commander was furious behind Emperor Yuming.
Emperor Yuming had always valued Zhao Xuanyang, and thus he had devoted considerable effort to cultivating him into a prized student. If Emperor Yuming were to one day establish Zhao Xuanyang as the crown prince, then he would be the true tutor to the crown prince.
But Princess Zhaoyang always managed to cause trouble, and Emperor Yuming just couldn't resist. Looking at his beautiful little daughter, he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh, only telling her not to do it again.
Princess Zhaoyang nodded like a chick pecking at rice, looking extremely obedient. Although he knew she was just being polite, Emperor Yuming still smiled and praised her for being obedient. The teacher lowered his head and silently rolled his eyes.
Zhao Xuanyang looked down at Zhaoyang, but the image that flashed through his mind was of Prime Minister Qin leading Qin Xi away. The sight of the two figures, one tall and one short, remained etched in Zhao Xuanyang's memory for over a decade.
At first, he didn't know which character "栖" in Qin Xi was, so he wrote down all the characters he knew that had that pronunciation, resulting in a long and detailed piece. Then he circled the appropriate ones one by one.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be the character for "to live" (栖).
Having guessed so many things, yet failing to guess a single one correctly, Zhao Xuanyang was somewhat frustrated. As he remained frustrated, something began to feel off.
One day, the teacher was lecturing on the Analects, and afterwards, students were asked to write it down from memory. When the teacher got to the part about "When you see someone virtuous, think of emulating them; when you see someone not virtuous, reflect on your own shortcomings," he kept writing it incorrectly.
Qi? Qi?
Zhao Xuanyang hesitated for a moment, then wrote "栖" (qi).
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