"Hold on tight to your dad, don't fall."
I replied, "I understand, Mom."
Spring afternoons are the time when people feel sleepy, but my sleepiness has already disappeared. It’s because I’m nervous.
My dad wanted to test my skills. It was totally inhumane for a six-year-old kid like me to fight with them.
When I walked into the training ground, the people who wanted to train me were already rubbing their hands in anticipation.
I greeted them one by one.
"Aunt, uncle, cousin, Uncle Qi."
The people in front of me are Zhou Huanan, Jiang Yi, Lin Cixiao and Qi Tianyang. They are the ones who train me every time, oh, and my dad too.
My aunt came over and pinched my face, smiling: "How's your training been lately, little one?"
Don't be fooled by her smiling face now, she showed no mercy when she attacked me.
"Hahaha, Ah Xian must have made progress." My uncle patted my shoulder.
My cousin's husband and Uncle Qi laughed beside me. I shook my head and smiled at them, "Please, elders, please show some mercy."
I'm not being modest, I'm cherishing my life.
They laughed even more happily, and I felt sad, thinking about the outcome of today. I didn't know if my mother would feel sorry for me so that I could sleep next to her again tonight.
My parents were chatting with them when they suddenly heard a voice from behind. When they turned around, they saw it was Feng Yi.
I just told him this morning about the tragic things I was going to experience today, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing next to me with a miserable look on his face.
We all saluted. "Your Highness, Your Majesty. Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness."
"I heard that you want to test Ah Xian's schoolwork, so I brought Xiao Yi with me. Don't show any mercy and just practice." The emperor said with a smile.
As soon as I stood up, my aunt and cousin followed closely behind me, half a step behind.
"Hello, auntie, hello, cousin." I greeted them.
My aunt came over and hugged me affectionately, saying that I had grown taller.
"Mother, what's so interesting about their martial arts competition? I still need to write back to Xingxing." My cousin complained, pulling on my aunt's sleeve.
My aunt told her to go out and relax, and not to stay in the house all the time, and to write to my aunt Xingxing when she got back.
The adults were greeting each other, and Feng Yi and I looked at each other, and we saw despair in each other's eyes.
It’s even better now, as we have an emperor to train our people.
I sighed softly and picked up my sword.
Come on, come early and finish early.
"Good son, come on!" My mother waved at me under the awning in the distance. I gave her a bitter smile and turned around to prepare for the fight.
They came up one by one. Although I was young and short, they showed no mercy to me. This showed how much they loved me.
Aunt Huanan was the last one to come up. I was already out of breath and could barely lift my sword.
Although my aunt is a woman, she just returned from southern Xinjiang last month. She's been tempered on the battlefield for two years. Isn't she more than capable of beating me? She's no worse than a man.
She stabbed me with the sword one last time, but I barely dodged it. I staggered and fell to the side, into someone's arms. When I looked up, it was my father.
He put me down, smiled, and praised me, "Not bad, you've made great progress."
I felt a little elated and very happy.
When Feng Yi was being trained by them, I was sitting next to my mother, leaning lazily in her arms, letting her wipe the sweat off my face with both heartache and satisfaction.
"That's great, Ah Xian is my pride."
I saw her smiling face and smiled too. Later, Xiao Lang told me that I smiled very foolishly and my face was very red.
He's talking nonsense. I was just exposed to the sun, not because I was shy.
On the way home, I was allowed to ride in the carriage with my mother. I swung my legs and told my mother how the tutor praised me in class today, and how I almost couldn't get up in the morning and missed the time.
My mother is so gentle. She always listens to me carefully and responds to every word I say. She praises me for being so capable and says that it doesn’t matter if I don’t get up. It’s not a big deal. My father won’t be angry with me, and even if he is angry, she will stop me.
I was so happy, burying myself in her arms and acting like a spoiled child, when suddenly I heard my father's voice coming from outside the car curtain, "Be a man, don't act like a spoiled child all the time."
I refused to listen and poutingly whispered to my mother, "Dad is always acting like a spoiled child to Mom, but he doesn't let me do the same. How unreasonable."
My mother laughed and whispered to me, "You act like a spoiled child secretly and don't tell your father."
I felt happy again. I like having little secrets with my mother.
When dinner came, I ate two bowls of rice and received praise from my great-grandfather, who told me to eat more so that I could grow taller. My great-grandmother felt sorry for me because I was too tired from practicing martial arts, and also told my father not to be too strict.
My father looked helpless and said, "I was like this when I was a child. Don't spoil him too much."
My grandmother frowned and spoke for me, while my grandfather listened without saying anything. He also told me that to be a man of integrity, I must not be afraid of hardship.
My aunt also interrupted and said that when I grew up, she would take me to the battlefield.
I have some yearning for it, as I have never been to the frontier or the battlefield.
After dinner, my mother took my left hand and took us for a walk. She said that I would get indigestion if I ate too much, and that I should take a hot bath before going to bed at night to relieve fatigue. My father held my right hand, smiled and said nothing.
It was so peaceful. The three of us walked back slowly. It seemed like there were insects chirping in the flowers.
My mother felt sorry for me and told me not to study late and to go back to bed. I was a little tempted and turned to look at my father.
"You decide." He looked at me and said.
On one side is a boring book, and on the other side is a warm bed.
It’s such a hard decision.
We just walked to Xiuzhu Pavilion, and I looked at the door and stopped hesitantly.
"I'll finish my reading before I go to bed."
Otherwise, the piled up homework will have to wait until tomorrow morning, which means less time to review the lessons. If you don’t know the answer to the tutor’s questions in class, you will be slapped on the palm of your hand.
I smiled and said, "I'll finish my homework tonight so I can relax tomorrow morning."
My father smiled, and my mother squatted down, hugged me, and kissed me twice, saying softly, "My dear son, a hardworking man is the most handsome."
I chuckled and ran into Xiuzhu Pavilion, touching my face feeling a little embarrassed.
When I stepped into the house, I heard my father acting coquettishly to my mother, saying that she only encouraged me and not him at the martial arts training ground today. My mother smiled and said that he was jealous, and her voice gradually faded away.
At 9:30 pm, I finished my homework and took a shower, then lay down in the warm bed. I felt like my eyelids were about to droop.
This is my day, it goes on like this every day, over and over again. Isn’t it boring?
But it's better when my dad doesn't take a day off. In the afternoon, I can play shuttlecock, pot-tossing, archery, and wooden spinning tops with my mom...
I’m so sleepy. Zhou Gong has already set up the chessboard. I’m going to play chess with him.
"Xiao Lang, remember to call me tomorrow morning. I'm afraid I won't be able to get up..."
——End of text——
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com