Extra: Xiao Shaoduo 5

The grass is lush and the birds are singing sweetly on the branches.

The boy inside was engrossed in writing, completely unfazed by the beautiful scenery outside the window or the lively blossoms on the branches.

Wu Huaisi sat at the head of the table and nodded to himself.

"Grand Tutor Wu, I've finished writing." The boy stood up, walked to Wu Huaisi, and handed the completed article to him on the table.

Looking at the boy's striking face, a blend of the best features of Xiao Lingyan and Zhao Ruxi, Wu Huaisi ignored the article on the table and asked, "Yesterday, Her Majesty the Empress attended the flower-viewing banquet, didn't she? Could Your Highness tell me about their strengths and weaknesses?"

This is routine work.

Because of Xiao Shaoduo's identity, Zhao Ruxi guided him from a young age to observe the people around him, analyze their personalities, motivations, and so on. When problems arose, Xiao Lingyan would teach him how to handle them.

When he turned twelve, Wu Huaisi, who had served as Minister of Ministry of Personnel for many years, began to teach him about interpersonal relationships. He analyzed the personalities of court officials and the relationships between factions.

Because of these teachings, although Xiao Shaoduo is sixteen years old this year, which is the age for marriage according to custom, he is often encountered or surrounded by women of all kinds when he goes out or attends banquets. However, he has a very clear mind in this regard and is very good at handling these issues. He will neither do anything that would cause misunderstandings nor embarrass anyone too much.

As early as last year, Zhao Ruxi had discussed marriage with him. Xiao Shaoduo said he wanted to find a woman who, like his mother, possessed virtue, talent, and beauty.

Zhao Ruxi gave him a brief warning about the taboos and rules in this regard, and then let him do as he pleased.

She believed that all those years of teaching would not be in vain. Xiao Shaoduo would not be too concerned with gains and losses and neglect his feelings, nor would he lose all rationality because of his feelings.

Although more than a decade has passed, Kang Shilin, who is over eighty years old, is still alive and well. Wu Huaisi and his three fellow disciples visit their master once every ten days to chat, catch up, and maintain their relationship. Their bond as fellow disciples has always been excellent.

Wu Huaisi knew what his junior sister was worried about. So when he learned that Empress Cen was holding a flower-viewing banquet and wanted to choose a consort for Xiao Shaoduo, he assigned Xiao Shaoduo some homework.

Analyzing the personalities and preferences of the young ladies not only tested Xiao Shaoduo's ability to observe and discern human nature, but also helped him to more clearly understand what kind of spouse he wanted.

"This..." Xiao Shaoduo hesitated, "Grand Tutor Wu, is it inappropriate for us to discuss these women behind their backs like this?"

Wu Huaisi's amiable expression vanished, replaced by a serious one. "Your Highness, you are mistaken. They are not simply women. Behind them lie families, factions, and the corresponding conflicts and struggles."

"If in your eyes they are merely simple, cute, and pretty women, then Your Highness, I will give you a failing grade for this subject."

Xiao Shaoduo suddenly in a bad mood.

If he only gets a grade of F in his studies, he'll definitely get a double beating from both the boys and girls when he gets home.

His father was alright, having practiced martial arts since childhood. But he didn't know that his mother was also a martial arts master.

You should know that he started practicing martial arts with his master when he was four and a half years old. But last year, he and his younger brother and sister were being naughty and got into a minor trouble. When his mother hit him, he didn't dodge a single blow.

The entire court of the Great Jin Dynasty, including his grandfather, was unaware that his mother possessed martial arts skills comparable to his father's, which both shocked and pleased him. He longed to be like his mother, displaying an invisible kind of prowess.

Sigh, I've been thinking too far ahead without realizing it.

Anyway, he didn't want to be chased and beaten by his mother anymore.

He thought about it carefully and began to hand in his homework to Grand Tutor Wu: "There were fifteen unmarried or engaged young ladies who attended the banquet yesterday. When I went to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, my second uncle's cousin and my cousin from the Cen Family took the initiative to greet me..."

Because of his position, he was very careful about maintaining a distance from women. So, apart from these two relatives who greeted him, he nodded to them in acknowledgment, but avoided contact with the others.

However, because of the assignment given by Wu Huaisi, he still had someone observe those women, and he also paid attention to them when he was present. Combining this with what he had learned in his daily life, he was able to analyze some of the personality traits of these young ladies.

Although Wu Huaisi asked him to analyze, he also wanted to find out his attitude and his opinion on these young ladies. He was very satisfied with his extremely objective and fair answer.

He went over the network of relationships behind each family again, then stood up and said, "Alright, that's enough for today's lesson."

"Respectfully seeing off Grand Tutor Wu." Xiao Shaoduo bowed, and only after Wu Huaisi left the house did he straighten up and say to Xiao Lizi, "Let's go back."

He took Xiao Lizi out of the house and glanced at the room next door, where he saw his younger brother intently drawing something. The tutor had already left because it was time to go home from school.

Xiao Shaoduo didn't disturb his younger brother. He walked out of the courtyard gate to the next courtyard and saw his younger sister standing in front of his third uncle. His third uncle was pointing at a painting in front of him and saying something.

Xiao Shaoduo didn't disturb them. Instead, he listened at the door for a while until Wu Zong stopped talking. Only then did he knock on the door and, with Wu Zong's permission, go inside to admire his sister's paintings.

He knew from a young age that he bore a heavy responsibility, so he only pursued hobbies such as playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and focused more on learning political strategies.

The second brother has loved mechanical devices since he was a child. He would unconsciously take apart and reassemble toys, and as he grew up, he became completely absorbed in various mechanical designs.

The third sister inherited her mother's talent for painting. Her grandmaster, three uncles, and parents all praised her paintings for their spiritual quality.

Xiao Shaoduo had heard about the devastating coup that year. He was very fortunate that his three siblings did not value power but rather affection. Of course, this was influenced by their parents.

My grandfather is now over sixty years old and has recently been saying that he wants to pass the throne to my father and become the retired emperor.

But his father disagreed. He simply delegated more political affairs to his grandfather so as not to overwork him, but he refused to sit on the throne no matter what.

After admiring his younger sister's painting and praising her work, Xiao Shaoduo asked Wu Zong, "Third Uncle-Master, yesterday the Empress Dowager held a flower-viewing banquet, but Sister Miao'er didn't come. I heard she was sick. Is her illness serious?"

"It's nothing, I just caught a bit of a chill. I was worried about catching someone else's illness, so I didn't go," Wu Zong said with a smile.

Xiao Ziya rolled her eyes and said, "Brother, are you free after class this afternoon? How about we go to Third Uncle's house to see Miao'er? Aunt just made peach blossom cakes, let's go and have some."

Wu Zong was both amused and annoyed. He tapped Xiao Ziya on the head with his pen. "I bet you just wanted to go eat peach blossom cake, didn't you? And you're using your sister Miao'er as an excuse."

Xiao Ziya tugged at Wu Zong's sleeve playfully, "Then, Uncle-Master, please tell me, will you let me go to your residence with my brother?"