Chapter 722: Daily Life of Adorable Kids (2/2)

“Uncle Shitou, did you come to see my lady mother? Right now, she should be in the small study of Jiale Hall.” Every day at this time, as long as Lord Father was at home, Lady Mother would accompany Lord Father to study——one grinded the ink, while the other practiced calligraphy.

Practicing calligraphy was just an excuse for them to spend some time together. The three children of Imperial Prince Xu’s Estate were all used to their lord father being clingy to their lady mother. At the beginning, Little Mantou and Little Guozi had protested against their lord father for frequently stealing their lady mother from them. After repeated failures, they finally admitted their fate.

Yu Fan nodded his head and patted his oldest nephew’s shoulder. Then he caressed Little Mantou’s head and pinched Little Guozi’s cheeks. He said with a smile, “Maternal Uncle needs to first find your lady mother for official business. I’ll play with you guys later. Little Baozi, take good care of your younger siblings ah!”

Seeing Zhu Yunxuan wrinkle up his face, which looked very similar to Imperial Prince Xu’s, Yu Fan snickered in his heart. He did it on purpose. He knew that his oldest nephew didn’t like others calling him by his nickname, but he wanted to see a helpless expression on a face that looked similar to the guy who stole his second sister from him.

“Uncle Shitou came to fight for Lady Mother with Lord Father again. Lord Father is so pitiful!” Little Guozi ate a piece of candy that her younger maternal uncle brought over from the candy shop and sighed. But, could she somewhat suppress her expression of wanting to see a good show?

Little Mantou opened his mouth to let his younger sister put a candy into his mouth. He said in a muffled voice, “Is this retribution for Lord Father because he’s always stealing Lady Mother from us?” This brat, if his lord father heard what he had said, who knew where the retribution would fall on?

“You two, it’s time to study so come to the outer study with Eldest Brother. Be careful that the teacher will hit your palms if you’re late!” Zhu Yunxuan took his younger siblings, who had wanted to join in the fun, all the way to the side courtyard.

Little Guozi looked around and revealed a pitiful expression, “Eldest Brother, today, Little Mantou pulled me along to watch him teach the little chick to swim, so I didn’t get to eat my afternoon snacks. I’m so hungry…”

“Don’t you have candies in your hand? Eat two pieces for now; we’ll have dinner soon!” Zhu Yunxuan was used to his younger sister’s tricks, so he replied indifferently.

Little Mantou held the little chick in his hands in front of his older brother, “Eldest Brother, don’t we have to take Little Ball back before going to the outer study? If the teacher sees it, he will throw him out. At that time, it will become a pitiful stray chicken——a beggar chicken. That's so pitiful ah!”

“Little Wu’zi, bring the chick in Second Young Master’s hands back to the east side courtyard!” There were no emotions in Zhu Yunxuan’s voice. Without stopping, he took the two little fellows to the outer courtyard.

Little Mantou opened his hands and wailed, “Eldest Brother, there’s chicken poop on my hands. So stinky! Can we go back to my room to wash it first?”

“There’s a wash basin, as well as hand soap, in the outer study.” Zhu Yunxuan spoke in a tone that didn’t allow any doubt. His younger siblings were very smart and learned very quickly, but they just didn’t like learning. Since they started studying at the age of three, they would try to challenge the teacher every day in an attempt to slip away.

Although the teacher was very knowledgeable, he had a rather pedantic temperament. Thus, the two little fellows often succeed in skipping classes. After Lady Mother heard the teacher’s complaint, she handed the task of supervising his younger siblings’ studies to him, the eldest brother. He would rather use this spare time to read another book or practice another set of boxing with his martial arts teacher.

As a result, the earlier situation would repeat every day. The two little fellows would try their best to escape from the classroom or delay entering the classroom. He, on the other hand, would foil their little schemes one by one——Ay! It was so tiring to be the eldest brother!

After Zhu Yunxuan threw the two little fellows in the outer study, he warned the two people who were obviously thinking of bad ideas, “You two better behave! If I hear the teacher complain about you two being disobedient, then Little Mantou will be served a bug feast tonight and Little Guozi won’t be allowed to eat sweets for a month!”

“Ah——don’t, Eldest Brother——” The two little fellows wailed. Little Mantou was a boy, but he was the most afraid of squirmy bugs and so on. Allegedly, he had been scared by a little green insect that had fallen on his nose when he was younger.

As for Little Guozi, like other children, she loved to eat sweets. Especially when her lady mother was suddenly in the mood to cook, the pastries that her lady mother made herself were her favorite. Her lady mother was afraid that her teeth would rot so she only permitted her to eat two pieces of candy and a piece of cake each day. She must brush her teeth after eating.

Zhu Yunxuan grasped the weaknesses of his younger siblings, so even if they were the Monkey King, they still wouldn’t be able to escape from his palm. Uh…would Lady Mother continue with yesterday’s Journey to the West for tonight’s parent-child storytelling time? He really looked forward to it ah!

“Disciples follow rules, while the sage teaches. Filial piety comes first, and sincerity is next…” The childish voices of his younger siblings reciting sounded from the room. Zhu Yunxuan went into the adjacent room and listened with relish to his lord father’s former subordinate telling him about the arts of war and military tactics.

He liked to read books, but he was even more interested in listening to his lord father and Second Paternal Uncle talk about the ups and downs of the battlefield. His lord father said that when he reached the age of ten, he would take him to experience life at the Xishan Barracks. Before that, he must be fully prepared so that he wouldn’t disgrace his lord father…