Lan Xi pursed his lips and lowered his eyes, his hands resting by his thighs clenching slightly in discomfort.
"I haven't lost weight, I've just grown a bit taller."
Song Shixue reached out to measure his height with her hand; it seemed he had indeed grown a bit taller.
"The tasks my elder sister assigned to you are important, but you must also take care of your health."
"Don't ruin your health at such a young age. At the house I visited for a medical consultation today, their five-year-old child studies until late every night and has become malnourished."
Lan Xi raised his eyes to look at her. "I understand. Thank you for your care, Second Miss."
Gazing at Song Shixue's retreating back, Lan Xi stood rooted to the spot, his heart feeling terribly empty.
It wasn't until she disappeared around the corner that he took a deep breath, let it out slowly, turned around, and rode his horse out of the city.
He was now a servant; there were some things he shouldn't dare to wish for, nor did he deserve them.
In a secluded, humble courtyard in the capital, ten children were practicing martial arts in a room, and the number was increasing every day.
These children, aged ten to fourteen, were all orphans that Qingshuang had bought from various human traffickers according to Song Jinzhao's requests.
Their daily task was to train according to the methods written by Song Jinzhao.
They were to become special forces soldiers equipped with combat prowess, disguise and infiltration skills, and intelligence-gathering abilities in the shortest possible time.
With so much to do every day, time passed by like flowing water.
In the blink of an eye, the pregnant concubines in the palace were already eight months along.
When the first snow of winter fell, Song Anhao, wearing a thick fur coat, hurried out of the side door of the Dongfang family's residence carrying his book box.
"A'Ying, let's hurry back to the estate. Big Brother has the day off today, and he promised to take me hunting outside the city this afternoon."
Twelve-year-old Yao Ying was the guard Song Jinzhao had assigned to her youngest brother; he followed him whenever he left the estate.
Upon returning to the estate, Xuetuan, who was playing in the snow, rushed over and pounced on Song Anhao, knocking him down.
The massive tiger head continuously rubbed against his face.
"Xuetuan, stop touching me. Your head is covered in snow, it's so cold."
Song Anhao pushed the tiger away while scrambling up from the ground. As soon as he entered the house, he smelled the aroma of chicken soup.
Seeing the table full of dishes, he excitedly climbed onto a stool to see if there was anything he liked.
"Why aren't there any fish balls? I want to eat them."
Song Shixue walked over, untied his cloak, and hung it on a rack.
"Business at the shop was so good that the fish balls sold out. A fresh batch will be delivered shortly."
Sitting on the heated brick bed, Song Qiming looked up at him. "I heard from Yukun that the results of the academy's quiz are coming out today. How did you do?"
Song Anhao opened his book box, took out two test papers, and ran over to show them to Song Qiming.
"They are both A grades! I'm also ranked first in arithmetic at the academy. Grandpa Dongfang even praised me."
Ever since Dongfang Yuanbin retired from his position as the Director of the Secretariat, he had started a small academy in his home.
Originally, it only taught the children of the Dongfang clan. When Song Qiming found out, he pleaded with Dongfang Yukun and managed to squeeze Song Anhao in.
Therefore, he now went to the Dongfang residence every morning for school.
Song Qiming bent down, picked Song Anhao up, and set him on the heated bed. He took the papers and read them from beginning to end.
Seeing that not a single arithmetic question was wrong, he couldn't resist pinching his younger brother's little cheek.
"I heard from Yukun that you can solve the problems the academy gives to the ten-year-olds. This cleverness surely takes after me."
Song Anhao struggled, turning his head to save his cheek from Song Qiming's grasp.
"Narcissist! Eldest Sister taught me arithmetic; I didn't take after you at all."
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Song Qiming forcefully pulled the boy into his arms and rubbed his head.
"Where did a little kid like you learn such a word? Tell me, what does 'narcissist' mean?"
Song Anhao lifted his chin. "Being a narcissist means overly focusing on and admiring oneself."
"Just like Brother Yukun. Not only is he a narcissist, but he's also vain."
Song Jinzhao couldn't help but smile, her eyes curving in amusement.
Song Shixue burst out laughing and reached out to pull Song Anhao over to sit in front of her.
"That's because your Brother Yukun has the capital to be a narcissist. His looks are number one in the capital, and his talent is number one in the capital. It's normal for him to be a little narcissistic."
Song Anhao pinched his chin and looked up at a forty-five-degree angle, deep in thought.
"But I think Brother Cui, who came to our house to see Eldest Sister last time, is better looking than Brother Yukun."
Song Qiming shook his head with a helpless smile.
"Make sure you never say that in front of your Brother Yukun. He'll get angry if he hears it."
"County Princess, the fish balls from the shop have been delivered."
A servant walked in carrying a food box. It was so cold that the freshly made fish balls were already almost frozen.
Sitting around the table, Song Anhao spoke while eating, "Brother, you promised to take me out of the city to hunt this afternoon. You can't go back on your word."
"We will leave as soon as we finish eating. By the time we get there, our food will be mostly digested."
Song Qiming said, "We'll just look for wild hares or roe deer in the nearby woods. It will only take a little over an hour to get there."
"If you can digest your lunch that quickly, we should have your Eldest Sister and Second Sister take a look at you."
Song Anhao chewed on his mutton and said, "I have a big appetite, I can definitely digest it all."
And then he ended up overeating. It took a cup of hawthorn tea for him to feel better.
Half an hour later, the four fully armed siblings of the Song family headed out.
Song Jinzhao, Song Qiming, and Song Shixue all rode their own horses, while only Song Anhao sat in the carriage with Xuetuan.
It wasn't until they were out of the city that he let Xuetuan out of the carriage to run on its own, while he shared a horse with Song Qiming.
Half a year ago, Song Anhao used to frequently ride on the white tiger's back.
Later on, as his weight soared, he worried it would be bad for Xuetuan's spine, so he rarely rode it anymore.
The sparse wind and snow hit their faces. While it felt cold, the endless expanse of white fields was a refreshing and uplifting sight.
Considering the time, they didn't go too far. After playing in the nearby woods for about two hours, they prepared to head back home.
They didn't see any other prey besides wild hares, so they simply hunted a few rabbits to roast and eat back home.
Song Anhao looked reluctantly at the four snowmen standing in the snow, which they had just built.
Seeing him stop every two steps, Song Jinzhao simply said, "If you can't bear to leave them, let's move them back. They won't melt in this weather."
Song Anhao shook his head without a second thought. "It's better to leave them here. The scenery is nice, the space is big, and they can see further."
Faced with her youngest brother's childish words, Song Jinzhao merely smiled dotingly.
Just as the four of them were riding toward the main road, a convoy of carriages passed by ahead. Yao Ying drove their carriage to the side of the road to make way.
Looking at the familiar faces before her, Song Jinzhao narrowed her eyes.
These were the guards Xiao Rongyan had taken with him when he left the capital.
As they passed in front of Song Jinzhao, a familiar voice rang out from the carriage.
"Stop the carriage."
As the curtain was slowly pulled aside, Xiao Rongyan's loathsome face appeared before Song Jinzhao.
"It has been half a year. I trust you have been well, County Princess Linghui."
Song Jinzhao led her siblings to dismount and bow to Xiao Rongyan.
"Greetings to Prince Yingcheng."
