Чистое сердце в нефритовом сосуде - Глава 30
"Can I do it too?" Zinuo asked.
"It should be fine. I'll ask the young prince later. You rarely go out since you came in, right?"
Zinuo nodded and said, "I've gone out with Brother Song and Brother Lin occasionally, which is better than with my sister."
I could only manage a wry smile.
In the garden, five thick, straight maple trees towered much higher than the courtyard wall, their leaves turning fiery red in late autumn, slightly dazzling my eyes in the sunlight. I took Zinuo's hand, lightly leaped onto one of the trees, and found a comfortable spot to sit. Over the years, the only skill I've been good at is light-footed martial arts; I have no other abilities. If I can't beat someone, I have no choice but to run faster than them.
"This place is really nice." I leaned against the tree trunk and took a deep breath. "How come I never noticed it before?"
"The closer something is to you, the easier it is to overlook it," Zi Nuo said meaningfully.
"Come on, don't give me that philosopher look." I patted Nuo on the shoulder.
Zi Nuo is only twelve years old, so why does he never seem like one? Yun Ruo looks so much better.
Did a series of events in his childhood make Zinuo so precocious? I don't want Zinuo to bear so much at such a young age. Zinuo's precociousness makes me feel at ease, but it also makes my heart ache.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 023
Chapter word count: 3822 Update time: 09-07-27 10:58
The children who had been practicing in the martial arts field gradually entered the dining hall. They glanced at me and Song Zhixuan sitting to the side with curiosity. After a while, two boys brought their food and sat down opposite us.
"Did you just arrive today? I arrived five days ago, my name is Lin Zhao," the boy named Lin Zhao said, pointing to the boy next to him.
"His name is Shi Nan, and he arrived two days earlier than me."
Shi Nan smiled shyly at us.
Lin Zhao seemed very talkative, saying non-stop while eating, "No one has come in for several days, but I didn't expect two to come today."
Seeing that Song Zhixuan didn't seem inclined to speak, I had no choice but to say something to keep him from feeling awkward: "My family only found out yesterday that the Prince's Mansion was hiring, otherwise we would have come much earlier."
Lin Zhao smiled brightly, and I continued, "Haha, I also have the surname Lin, and my name is Lin En. His name is Song Zhixuan."
Lin Zhao said happily, "That's great! I have a younger brother at home, who looks about your age. But practicing martial arts here is very hard. I'm in pain all over every day. You're so thin and small, I'm afraid you can't handle it."
They didn't have much time to eat, and after finishing, they had to go to the training ground. After a short rest, they would continue practicing. Song Zhixuan and I went back to our room, where we found two quilts and two bundles. I opened the bundles and saw two sets of winter clothes inside, the same ones worn by the children at the training ground.
After making the bed, I noticed that Song Zhixuan had been sitting by the window ever since he came in, without even changing his posture.
I clapped my hands, sat on the stool next to him, and rested my head on the table to watch him.
"What are you looking at?" After a long while, Song Zhixuan finally couldn't help but speak.
“Aside from when you were with the young prince, you haven’t said a word,” I said with a smile. “We came in together, can I call you brother?”
"casual."
Do you hate your father?
“It’s none of your business,” Song Zhixuan said resentfully.
I sighed and said, "Actually, my father didn't die. He just had too many women and kicked my mother out."
Song Zhixuan glanced at me and finally said, "My father is a gambler. He lost everything. He sold my mother a few days ago, and today he sold me too."
"Then why aren't you happy? Now you're your own person."
"Isn't it the Prince's mansion now?" Song Zhixuan asked in confusion.
I laughed and said, "They belong to the Prince's mansion, but we're about to learn skills, aren't we? The skills we learn will be our own, and who knows, we might have a chance to make a name for ourselves someday?"
Song Zhixuan then nodded.
That evening, another person returned to the room; it was none other than Lin Zhao.
"I knew you guys lived here." Lin Zhao jumped onto the bed excitedly.
The three of us lay side by side on our beds, listening to Lin Zhao tell us how he had been these past few days. He also mentioned that his whole body ached, so I got up and went to his bed to massage him. He would cry out in pain one moment and then cry out in pleasure the next.
From Lin Zhao's words, we learned that not all of these children were sold because their families were poor. Lin Zhao's father was a small merchant, and his family was relatively well-off. He sold him in order to toughen him up and see if he could make something of himself by following the young prince. If all else failed, they could see if they could redeem him later.
It seems they've all turned Prince Qing's mansion into a free training school. But this kind of life really makes me feel like I'm back in school, or even more like during military training, only I'm not free anymore.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, I was awakened by a sharp whistling sound. Lin Zhao urged Song Zhixuan and me to get dressed quickly and get up, saying we were going to the training ground. He jumped out of bed first, found a flint and lit a candle, and then I found my clothes, got out of bed, washed up a little, and followed Lin Zhao to the training ground.
Later I learned that this was the sound of Master Kong, the same Brother Kong who fought with Mr. Qi, waking people up. It was said to be produced using internal energy. For me, this howling sound was a nightmare that tormented me for years, just like the school's wake-up bell that rang when I was sound asleep, something I deeply loathed. I thought I would say goodbye to those days forever after graduation, but now it's started again.
Everyone mustered their spirits and gathered in the open space of the training ground. Master Kong paced back and forth imposingly, with four martial arts instructors standing beside him. Mr. Qi and Meng Yue were not present; they were distinguished guests and instructors of the Prince's residence, residing elsewhere. Shen Haojue hadn't arrived either; this young prince was trying to get special treatment.
Master Kong finally stopped pacing and stood in front of us, saying loudly, "You children, eighteen of you in total, big and small, will practice martial arts and live together every day. You must be like brothers. You are not only the young prince's sparring partners, but also his guards in the future, protecting his safety. To emphasize your importance to the young prince, he has specially named you after himself, 'Yu Guard.' From now on, the young prince's safety is entirely in your hands. Do you have confidence?"
"Yes!" After Master Kong finished his passionate speech on the establishment of the "Yuwei Team," the children below responded confidently. But what I was thinking was whether Mr. Qi, who seemed so refined, had taught him to say those words.
After the meeting was dismissed, Master Kong divided us into two groups. One group consisted of the ten former princes' children, and the other group consisted of the eight of us who had just joined. Since the princes' children had all been learning together from the beginning, only one martial arts instructor was assigned to teach them. The eight of us were further divided into three groups, with Song Zhixuan and I in a separate group.
The new children were far behind the previous princes' children, and the requirements were very strict in order to catch up with them quickly. I glanced at Song Zhixuan with concern; we were the last to come in, so we would probably have the hardest time.
The person who took me and Song Zhixuan with him was a handsome young martial arts master with cunning eyes named Jiang Ming, who was Master Kong's junior brother.
Jiang Ming taught us some basic skills. Since Song Zhixuan and I both had some foundation and were both quite smart, we learned quickly.
Jiang Ming said happily, "You two newcomers are just to my liking."