The morning light filtered through the military tent, falling onto the camp bed.
Changning opened her sleepy eyes. Before she fell asleep last night, Fan Changyu hadn’t returned yet. Now seeing her elder sister lying beside her, sleeping soundly, she rubbed her eyes with her chubby little hands. Confirming it was indeed her sister, she grinned happily.
Being very considerate, she didn’t wake Fan Changyu. After draping her red fleece cloak over Fan Changyu, she crawled to the foot of the bed using both hands and feet, put on her shoes, and got off the bed.
She even put on her outer clothes by herself.
Previously, she needed Fan Changyu’s help to put on winter clothes because the sleeves always retracted. But after being kidnapped once by bad guys, she could now put on clothes and shoes without anyone’s help. Only her hair she still couldn’t comb by herself.
Changning scratched the little bun on top of her head and found the small wooden basin for washing her face from the corner of the tent.
After getting dressed in the morning, one should wash their face.
She was about to leave the tent when she suddenly sniffed the air and turned her head. Following the aroma, she discovered something wrapped in banana leaves on the table.
Changning climbed onto a low stool and reached for the banana leaf package. After fiddling with it for a while, she managed to untie the palm leaf binding on the outside. Opening it, she saw grilled fish with the fins removed. Her eyes immediately brightened, but her sister had taught her that cold meat shouldn’t be eaten directly, or it would cause stomach ache.
She thought for a moment, then retired the banana leaf with the palm leaf, carefully placed it in the wooden basin, holding it with both hands and pattered out of the tent.
She needed to fetch water to wash her face and also heat the fish to eat with her sister!
Changning didn’t know where to get hot water, but Xie Qi had been very kind to her yesterday, constantly comforting her and even taking her to see the falcon. So Changning instinctively toddled off to find Xie Qi-
Today the army was breaking camp, and the cooking unit had already started preparing rice porridge and steamed buns early.
A batch of troops stationed at the foot of the mountain had already moved out. The troops on the mountain would be the last to depart, so the soldiers were unhurriedly packing up.
When Changning arrived carrying her wooden basin, Xie Qi was dismantling tents with other guards. Seeing the little one suddenly squeeze into the crowd, he wiped his hands on his waist and led Changning to an open space. Crouching down, he asked her, “Did you come to see the gyrfalcon?”
Changning’s eyes immediately brightened even more. She nodded, then quickly shook her head, and thrust the small wooden basin towards Xie Qi.
Xie Qi saw something wrapped in banana leaves inside. Opening it to find fish meat, the sense of achievement from taking care of the child yesterday suddenly resurfaced. He patted Changning’s head, his smile extremely gentle: “You eat it, I’ve already eaten.”
Seeing he didn’t understand her intention, Changning became a bit anxious and pushed the wooden basin towards Xie Qi more forcefully, saying: “Cold.”
Xie Qi felt the temperature of the fish through the banana leaf and finally understood the child’s intention in seeking him out. Taking the basin, he asked: “You want me to help you heat the fish?”
Changning quickly nodded, then pointed at the wooden basin and said: “Ning’er needs to wash her face.”
Xie Qi, having misunderstood the situation, had mixed feelings as he handed the fish to a nearby comrade, asking them to take it to the cooking unit to heat it. He then poured hot water from a kettle that had just been filled with hot water for Changning to wash her face.
He had taken care of his sister before and had experience with children. He initially wanted to help Changning wash her face, but saw her roll up her sleeves high, exposing two sections of chubby arms like lotus roots. She then pressed her hands into the water basin, scooped up water, and patted it onto her round, chubby face. After her entire face was wet, she wrung out the cloth that Fan Changyu had cut from old clothes to use as a face towel and cupped it in both hands to wipe her face.
She wiped quite hard, making her face a bit red. The fine downy hair on her forehead, dampened, gathered at her hairline, creating a fluffy patch.
The guards packing up the tents nearby all stopped their work to watch, saying enviously: “If only I could have such an adorable daughter in this lifetime!”
One guard negotiated with Xie Qi: “Brother Qi, you were on duty yesterday. Today you rest, I’ll take good care of this little girl and the gyrfalcon.”
Xie Qi laughed and cursed: “Get lost, all of you!”
After Changning finished washing her face, Xie Qi asked her: “Where’s your sister?”
Changning said: “Sister hasn’t woken up yet.”
Xie Qi was supposed to bring breakfast to the two sisters this morning, but just at dawn, the Marquis had returned from outside covered in morning dew and instructed him to go over later.
Xie Qi didn’t think much of it, assuming the Marquis was being considerate to his wife. After all, he had heard from Xie Wu that the lady had been very brave in killing enemies on the battlefield, so it was understandable if she was tired and wanted to sleep in.
He had Changning sit on a small wooden stump nearby, undid her half-loosened buns, and redid her hair for her.
Having taken care of his sister before, it must be said that his hair-tying skills were quite good. After tying the buns, Xie Qi even plucked two orange wildflowers and inserted them into her buns.
Changning was so delighted that she squatted by the washbasin, looking at her reflection from left to right for quite a while before allowing Xie Qi to pour out the water.
When the fish was heated up in the cooking unit, they also sent over two bowls of porridge and two steamed buns. Seeing that Changning couldn’t carry everything by herself, Xie Qi helped her carry these things back.
Just then, Fan Changyu had woken up to the sound of the camp breaking up. Finding Changning missing, she hurriedly tidied up and was about to go out to look for her when she saw Changning bouncing back with Xie Qi.
Seeing her, Changning ran over, hugged Fan Changyu’s waist, looked up, and proudly said: “Sister, look at Ning’er’s hair!”
Fan Changyu saw the two small flowers in her buns, pinched her nose, and asked: “Where did you run off to early in the morning? Who tied your pretty buns? Was it Mr. Gong Sun?”
Changning said happily: “No, it was Uncle Xiao Qi. Ning’er washed her face by herself, and Uncle Xiao Qi helped heat the fish Ning’er brought over.”
Standing nearby, Xie Qi quickly greeted: “Miss Fan.”
Seeing him holding the washbasin in one hand and the banana leaf-wrapped fish in the other, Fan Changyu said politely: “Thank you for your trouble, Brother Xiao Qi.”
Xie Qi just said it was his duty.
Fan Changyu invited him to stay for a meal, but he repeatedly declined, saying he had already eaten.
Fan Changyu then told Changning to go inside the tent to eat.
Changning sat on the stool, sniffing at the enticing aroma of the grilled fish, but she stubbornly waited for Fan Changyu and didn’t touch the chopsticks. She just swung her legs and asked: “Sister, where did the fish come from?”
Fan Changyu casually washed her face with a basin of cold water and said: “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went to the river to catch it.”
Changning’s words were startling: “Did brother-in-law grill it?”
Fan Changyu’s face-wiping motion froze, while Xie Qi standing nearby suddenly widened his eyes.
The Marquis had gone out last night and only returned this morning, and Miss Fan had also gone out last night? Recalling the Marquis’s instructions this morning, Xie Qi suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He didn’t dare look at Fan Changyu and just lowered his eyes, pretending to be a pillar.
Fan Changyu asked Changning: “Why do you think your brother-in-law grilled it?”
Changning explained honestly: “Before sister found Ning’er, brother-in-law grilled fish for Ning’er to eat, and it had this same taste.”
Fan Changyu, without any conscience about deceiving a child, said: “I grilled it.”
Thinking of what Xie Zheng had said last night, the discomfort in her heart grew stronger, and she took a forceful bite of the steamed bun in her hand.
……
After breakfast, the troops stationed on the mountain also began to move down.
Fan Changyu packed up the belongings of the two sisters and helped Xie Qi and others dismantle the military tent. When it was time to go down the mountain, they were arranged into a carriage.
Inside the carriage was an old man with white hair and beard, wearing only plain clothes. Every wrinkle on his face was very deep, yet it made people feel that those deep wrinkles were full of wisdom and understanding bestowed by the years.
A chessboard was set up in the carriage, and he seemed to be playing against himself. When he noticed the curtain being lifted, his aged eyes swept outwards, and he smiled: “Girl, we meet again.”
Although Fan Changyu had learned of this old man’s identity from Xie Zheng last night, she still habitually called him: “Mr. Tao.”
Changning saw that his beard and hair were completely white, yet he was extremely spirited, without any of the feebleness of ordinary old people. He looked exactly like the sages in paintings or the statues in Confucius’s temples. She pointed at him and exclaimed to Fan Changyu in surprise: “Immortal Grandpa!”
Her grape-like eyes were wide open.
Tao Taifu was amused by this childish remark, “The elder girl is a bit foolish, but the little one has a sweet mouth.”
He then beckoned to Changning: “Come here and let grandpa have a look at you, little girl.”
Changning looked up at Fan Changyu. In front of strangers, no matter how friendly they were, she would always wait for Fan Changyu’s approval before approaching.
Fan Changyu patted her head and smiled: “Go ahead.”
After being lifted into the carriage, Changning finally came before Tao Taifu.
Tao Taifu examined her features, and his originally kind expression suddenly became more solemn. He then carefully looked at Fan Changyu’s features and stroked his beard, saying: “The little girl is blessed. Your elder sister will protect you for the first half of your life, leading to great fortune in the latter half.”
Changning couldn’t quite understand Tao Taifu’s words, she just puffed out her chest and lifted her chin, saying: “Ning’er loves sister the most!”
Fan Changyu had always been worried about Changning’s health. Sometimes she would suddenly have difficulty breathing, and she had been taking medicine for years to improve her condition, without much effect. Hearing Tao Taifu’s words, she felt somewhat happy and asked: “Mr. Tao, can you also read fortunes?”
Tao Taifu simply said: “Living to this age, I’ve read many miscellaneous books and understand a bit.”
Fan Changyu said: “My sister has been weak since birth and suffers from wheezing. I only hope she can always be healthy.”
After pondering for a moment, Tao Taifu said: “Her future fate is too noble and wealthy to be suppressed, so her body will naturally be weaker. With you to anchor her, it’s not a big problem.”
These mystical words left Fan Changyu more confused. She scratched her head, wanting to ask but not knowing where to begin.
Tao Taifu saw her doubts and changed his approach: “Just keep her by your side until she comes of age.”
Fan Changyu understood this explanation and nodded: “Of course.”
The carriage had already descended the mountain with the main army. The road was uneven, making the carriage sway back and forth, yet not a single chess piece on Tao Taifu’s board was out of place.
He looked at Fan Changyu: “Girl, play a game of chess with this old man.”
Fan Changyu said somewhat embarrassedly: “I don’t know how.”
The mountain wind blew into the carriage through the window, making Tao Taifu’s wide sleeves flutter. He stroked his beard and said: “This old man will teach you personally. After watching a game or two, how could you not learn?”
With the old man having said so much, Fan Changyu could only agree.
When she was collecting the chess pieces, she realized that they seemed to be stuck to the board by some kind of magnetic force, which explained why they hadn’t rolled off despite the carriage’s swaying.
“In chess, black moves first. The whole game relies on qi (energy or breath). The black and white pieces fight, vying for each other’s qi…”
Tao Taifu’s voice was old yet resonant. His bony fingers placed pieces on the board while explaining. Fan Changyu listened with partial understanding, scratching her head and making moves based on guesswork and intuition.
After several games, Tao Taifu’s face had turned green: “You were taught by this old man personally, how can your chess be so terrible?”
Fan Changyu lowered her head, obediently accepting the scolding.
After venting his anger, Tao Taifu sighed to himself: “Never mind, never mind. In ancient times, even Yu Chi Gong De was a terrible chess player, yet he could still be a general and lead armies. After all, deploying troops and playing chess cannot be equated.”
He said, glancing sideways at Fan Changyu: “Girl, I heard you killed the rebel general Shi Hu. He was a figure of unparalleled bravery. Although you are a woman, with such great skills, it would be a shame to waste them. Do you want to achieve great things?”
Fan Changyu said: “Is Mr. Tao asking if I’m willing to stay in the army?”
Tao Taifu nodded: “Let this old man be frank. Someone has come to me, wanting me to take you as my adopted daughter. Just taking a daughter is nothing for this old man, but if you want to learn my skills…”
He snorted and laughed: “That would be difficult!”
He looked at Fan Changyu and asked: “Girl, are you willing to become this old man’s disciple and learn to be undefeatable on the battlefield?”