Raising a child is a troublesome matter, something Han Xiangxun understood deeply. At this moment, watching t…
Raising a child is a troublesome matter, something Han Xiangxun understood deeply.
At this moment, watching the child's small back as he happily carried his bedding into his new bedroom, she suddenly felt as if a lifetime had passed... Ten years had silently slipped away just like that.
Before the child could even walk, Han Xiangxun began taking care of him, she disliked Jiang Wulang's clumsiness, sometimes thinking he fed the child too much, other times complaining he dressed him too lightly. Three or four days out of ten, she would actively take the child to look after herself.
Thanks to her, that coarse cloth swaddling stained with old blood was lined with a soft piece of red silk, originally bought by Han Xiangxun to make clothes for herself.... The jade-like, snow-white, adorable baby, wrapped in bright red soft cloth, would often fall asleep by the counter listening to the sound of Han Xiangxun's abacus. Blissful Retreat received guests from all walks of life. Daily, the sounds of finger-guessing games, laughter, and curses filled the air. Loud voices could make the mice in the secret compartments tremble in fear. Yet this little young master could clutch a corner of his blanket and sleep soundly, drooling, amid the full-room clamor.
They say the more well-behaved a child is in childhood, the more they'll become a little hellion when grown, it's absolutely true. During the Ghost Festival when he was seven, the little hellion, holding a lantern, chased after a spirit-guiding banner. Not only did he singe two tufts of his baby hair on his forehead, he also knocked over the altar table... Later, punished by Han Xiangxun to stand under the eaves and reflect on his misdeeds, before even one stick of incense had burned, he was secretly carried away by Jiang Wulang who had returned from outside...
... The most amusing was last year. Jiang Wulang, having done some unknown important business outside, returned so exhausted he collapsed and slept in the Bamboo Retreat for three days and three nights, the little hellion thought he had died. Sobbing, he ran to Blissful Retreat, begging Han Xiangxun to perform rites to summon his soul and give him a grand burial... This provoked even the usually impassive Jiang Wulang to suppress a remark: "You are quite filial."
The past events were vivid in her mind. As Han Xiangxun recalled them, she couldn't help but smile secretly. At this moment, hearing the rustling sound not far away, she figured the little hellion was rummaging through his pile of tattered treasures, picked-up straight wooden sticks, colorful pebbles, clay pots and jars... This child had been restless since he was in swaddling clothes, yet today, when he said he wanted to choose his own room, he showed a hint of solemnity.
"The incense burner Aunt Han gave me goes here, the little wooden sword Uncle Jiang carved for me hangs behind the door... My treasure chest goes by the bed, and my small stool goes in the corner..."
After arranging the furnishings, he excitedly opened the wardrobe, which contained a small quilt made from his old swaddle. The outer layer was a piece of cloth torn from Jiang Wulang's clothes back then, and the inner layer was the red silk Han Xiangxun hadn't had time to cut into clothes. From infancy to a young boy, he had always held this quilt to fall asleep.
A light wind blew through the tall tree branches, rustling them. The child excitedly stepped on the blue bricks to measure his new residence, his figure outlined by the moonlight already had the shape of a bamboo or cypress just taking form.
Han Xiangxun suddenly felt grateful that the child had chosen this neither too high nor too low location, it allowed the young boy to look up at the Star River and imagine the martial arts world, and also let her see the warm light shining through the window paper with just a glance.