The eldest prince, along with the other princes, the left chancellor's son, and the children from the Minister of Rites' household, all got along very well with Guaizai. Guaizai didn't slack on his studies either. At first, since he was just a village kid who didn't know any better, he thought the lotus flowers in the imperial garden and pond were like wildflowers by the roadside—not worth much and perfectly fine to pick. That wasn't really mischief, just him and the princes messing around.
Later, Fang Zichen explained things to him, and he understood. He learned that Emperor Xia Jinghong had planted those flowers because he liked them. That pond wasn't for swimming either. The flowers weren't weeds that grew on their own—they were planted on purpose. They weren't the same as wild roadside flowers, so he shouldn't have just picked them. That was wrong. So he went and apologized to Xia Jinghong. When Xia Jinghong saw Guaizai rummaging through his backpack, he was worried the boy would pull out something that would leave him speechless again. But it turned out to be a small jar.
This time, Guaizai had brought his own little savings and offered it as compensation to Xia Jinghong.
His attitude was very sincere. He even bowed. Xia Jinghong gently picked him up and patted his little face. He knew the child was cheerful, not naughty. Earlier, Fang Zichen had fooled him into thinking the imperial garden was like some empty lot at the edge of a village. And there were some things he'd never seen before, so he couldn't recognize their value. Once he understood, he would never do such things. So although Xia Jinghong had been angry at first, he never scolded Guaizai.
Grand Tutor Ji taught him literature, and at home Fang Zichen taught him math and reasoning. Guaizai picked up arithmetic quickly—it came almost effortlessly to him.
In the mornings, he had to hurry to his classes, so his martial arts training was moved to the evening.
He already knew how to throw punches, and his endurance had improved. So Fang Zichen started teaching him archery and horseback riding. These were things every noble family's son learned, so naturally his own son would learn them too.
Although the Fang residence had a large courtyard, it wasn't big enough for horse riding. So Fang Zichen took him to the General's mansion to use their training ground. He wasn't shy about borrowing the place at all—just handed over two jin of meat and said, "Hey old man, with our friendship, is it okay if we borrow your place for a bit?" Steward Qin almost laughed. Everyone in the court knew Fang Zichen was stingy—money flowed in but never out. For him to bring two jin of meat was probably keeping him up for two nights.
Zhao Ger felt embarrassed and brought some other gifts, but Steward Qin refused them. He said he just liked braised meat. At his age, he'd eaten everything, but now he had a craving for that one thing. Zhao Ger understood and said he'd have Da Li bring some over the next day. Steward Qin smiled.
The horse training ground inside the General's mansion was very spacious. Steward Qin saw that the horse Fang Zichen brought wasn't much to look at, so he ordered a servant to bring one of the mansion's horses. That horse was a mixed breed—cross between Da Xia and Western Zhou. Western Zhou horses were the tallest, with glossy, shiny coats. Standing next to the mansion's horse, their own horse looked like a pauper next to a rich gentleman.
Zhao Ger had gone along for the first few days. At first, he worried that Guaizai might fall off the horse and hurt himself as he watched him gallop across the field. But after seeing how steady he was, Zhao Ger felt reassured. He told Fang Zichen to keep a close watch on Guaizai, and after Fang Zichen promised he would, he stopped going along. But he never expected what happened next—the following evening, Guaizai came home with the front of his clothes soaked in blood. He was holding two candied hawthorn sticks in his hand. And when he opened his mouth, his one and only front tooth, which had been standing proudly by itself, was gone, leaving behind a bloody red hole.
Fang Zichen bribed him with the two candied hawthorns, but when Zhao Ger asked what happened, Guaizai said he'd gotten an itchy hand and pulled it out himself—sending it to join its brother.
Zhao Ger was speechless on the spot. He pulled Guaizai into his arms and examined him carefully. When he saw that no other part of him was hurt, he finally relaxed.
When Xia Jinghong learned that Guaizai had also been learning archery and horseback riding, he called the boy to the archery pavilion one day to show off his skills.
A palace attendant brought a horse over and was about to bend down to lift Guaizai onto it when the boy grabbed the reins himself, leaped up with a light and agile movement, and landed firmly on the horse's back.
Xia Jinghong applauded. "Good!"
He really looked the part.
Guaizai had been learning for two months or so. He squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, drew the bow and nocked an arrow in one smooth motion. The bowstring twanged, and the arrow hit the target squarely.
Xia Jinghong was stunned.
The other children jumped up and cheered for their friend.
"Guaizai, you're so awesome!"
"Guaizai is amazing!"
"Guaizai, you rock!"
Xia Jinghong: "…"
Is that the kind of thing a prince should say?
He had no idea how Fang Zichen had taught him. In just two months, Guaizai had reached this level. His own princes had studied for years and had only reached this level.
Looks like that tooth didn't fall out for nothing.
After leaving the archery pavilion, Guaizai and the others went off to ride their bicycles together.
Back when lessons were boring, and the summer heat was stifling, and they had to get up early and arrive at the study hall by maoshi (5-7 AM), the sons of the Minister of Rites and the right chancellor stayed in the palace. Guaizai was sharp—not quite photographic memory, but his comprehension was outstanding. He remembered things after only one go and could draw inferences. Grand Tutor Ji valued him greatly, believing that with proper teaching, Guaizai would become a great minister in the future. He suggested that Guaizai stay in the palace as well. But Guaizai didn't want to. And when Fang Zichen found out they had to start class at maoshi (5-7 AM), he didn't want that either.
The misery of not getting enough sleep was just too painful.
That schedule wasn't scientific. A five-year-old child needed thirteen hours of sleep a day. Even at thirteen, they still needed ten hours.
How could a child grow tall if they didn't get enough sleep?
Starting class at maoshi—no wonder those kids looked like IT workers who'd pulled all-nighters for half a year.
He didn't have a fortune that required his son to work that hard. Better to bring the kid back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment