Chapter 5 Part 2

Zhang Dengqing laughed. “Anyway, just know one thing: they have the profound heritage of noble houses that you don’t, but you have the worldly experience of the common people that they don’t. Never mind your astonishing early years before age seven; after that, your trader’s life, traveling and living in different places, has been rich. They go on about noble and base, making you bend your waist and crook your knee. Don’t fall for it. Reading ten thousand scrolls of books is amazing, but traveling ten thousand miles of road is also amazing.”

Gu Xiaodeng felt a sudden sense of clarity.

Zhang Dengqing pondered the boy’s epiphany. “We grew up in the jianghu. The greatest rule of the jianghu is righteousness, and righteousness isn’t dictated by wealth or status. Now that we’re with the Gu family, we’re still outside the gates of the court. There’s no guarantee we won’t be dragged in later. The Gu family’s rules are the laws of the court, deeply tied to status. ‘Status,’ frankly, just means the powerful crushing the weak. You’re learning this rhetoric right now. Once you understand it, use it to protect yourself. That’s enough. But don’t worship it like a superstition.”

As he finished, Zhang Dengqing was even a little stunned himself. He hadn’t expected to spout such profoundly nonsense-sounding wisdom. Could it be the old saying was true—that oranges grown south of the Huai River stay sweet, but those grown north turn bitter? Well then, his own human-shaped orange was growing remarkably fast. Absolutely stunning.

He glanced at Gu Xiaodeng, who was thinking, with the look of someone thinking very hard.

Then Gu Xiaodeng nodded seriously. “Oh… So, Brother, you’re trying to tell me that living in the Gu family, I need to adapt to circumstances without changing recklessly. Don’t cross those of higher status, don’t curry favor with them either. And don’t find fault with, or take pleasure in, those of lower status. The most important thing is still to take good care of myself.”

Zhang Dengqing was shocked. Did he actually understand my nonsense? Well, damn, nothing stumps him!

He nodded vigorously. “Right, right, right! All that rambling was for just that point! You, kid—you might be clueless sometimes, but when it counts, you’re sharp as a tack!”

Gu Xiaodeng pouted. “Because that’s our relationship right now! There are few nobles here and many servants. They deliberately made you my personal servant. You’re advising me not to ruin my relationship with them because of you.”

Zhang Dengqing laughed again. Suddenly, he felt the pride and fulfillment of a parent seeing their child finally grow up. It seemed they were both oranges growing north of the Huai River that would rather be bitter than lose their nature. That was good. Circumstances were stronger than individuals. Adapt to the new situation. Docility and defiance were both just tools. The only goal was to protect oneself—minimize harm to the body, minimize hurt to the heart. Then the days would pass cheerfully enough.

When Zhu Mi returned from his rest, he expected to see Gu Xiaodeng still deflated. Who knew that in a short while, he’d be bursting with vitality again, his unique, sunny energy undiminished?

Gu Xiaodeng sat ramrod straight. His eye sockets were still red, clearly from crying, but his gaze was clearer and brighter than before. “Iron Door God, this afternoon, shall we continue with the lecture on status, learning the rules, and etiquette?”

Zhu Mi paused, then ordered a maidservant to bring a riding outfit. “The Gu family cultivates both the literary and martial arts. In the morning, you’ve practiced the literary. In the afternoon, it is appropriate to properly temper the body. You are the same age as the Fourth Young Master, yet your frame is thinner than his by more than a little. Your martial lessons must be pursued with even greater urgency.”

Gu Xiaodeng blinked, turning to glance at Zhang Dengqing. Coming from the jianghu, he inevitably carried a trace of the martial world on him. Although his frame was slender and slight, he wasn’t completely weak and helpless. Martial arts lessons were far more exciting and interesting to him than literary ones.

Once properly attired, they left the small courtyard. Zhu Mi, his face grave, led him to the training grounds of East Forest Garden. As expected, upon entering, he first delivered a discourse on the riding and archery aspects of the gentleman’s Six Arts. Only after finishing did he lead him to the stables.

Zhu Mi inexplicably hoped the boy would suffer a minor setback, to dampen that brilliant, radiant energy. “Can you ride a horse?”

“I should be able to.”

“What do you mean, ‘should’?”

“I’ve ridden cows, mules, little donkeys, even pigs.” Gu Xiaodeng was confident and driven. “It’s all about coordinating with small animals. Riding a horse shouldn’t be a problem.”

Zhu Mi was speechless. “…”

A part of him wanted to ask what riding a pig was like. But he had to restrain himself. One must endure, and then one endures.

He rallied his spirit, sternly explaining the key points of horseback riding. Gu Xiaodeng nodded repeatedly, looking at the horses as he listened. His eye was immediately drawn to a horse with a mixed coat of chestnut and blue. “That horse with the lotus-leaf pattern on it looks so spirited. Can I ride that one?”

“What horse has a pattern?” Zhu Mi followed his pointing finger. His first reaction upon clearly seeing the horse was to observe its mixed colors. Remarkably, he discovered that the coat from belly to back did somewhat resemble a lotus leaf: the stem was the withered chestnut of autumn, while the canopy was a large swath of vibrant blue-green. The more he looked, the more it resembled… a lotus leaf growing a large canopy from a withered stem.

In all his years of service with the Gu family, neither he nor the horse’s owner had ever noticed this detail.

“Can I ride it?”

Zhu Mi snapped out of it, turning to see Gu Xiaodeng’s eyes sparkling. He shook his head after a moment’s delay. “That is the Fourth Young Master’s mount. A thousand-li horse he raised from a foal and trained himself. A horse, like a person, has its own temperament. I fear it might offend you. Let me select a gentle colt for you instead.”

Gu Xiaodeng was a little disappointed. “Alright then. If I can’t ride it, can I at least go touch it a couple of times?”

“You may try. Be careful it doesn’t chew your hair.”

Gu Xiaodeng let out a sound of acknowledgment and trotted over. He gestured excitedly in front of the thousand-li horse as if casting a spell, then cautiously reached out and gave its head a sneaky stroke. Then, happily, he trotted right back.

“It really does have a temper! You saw it so accurately.” He affirmed Zhu Mi’s judgment. “It’s a bit like Gu Jinyu. It looks at me like I’m an idiot. It probably didn’t chew my hair because it figured it wasn’t worth the effort. No need to chew on an idiot.”

Zhu Mi found himself at a loss for words once again.

In the end, Gu Xiaodeng accepted the little white horse Zhu Mi picked for him. He spent a good while bonding with it before trying to mount. The little horse was docile and well-behaved, its tail not even swishing. It only pawed the ground lightly once he was seated.

Gu Xiaodeng contentedly hugged the horse’s neck, stroking it thoroughly. “Iron Door God, this is my first time riding a horse. Should I give it a name too?”

That one word, “too,” made Zhu Mi want to sigh. “Perhaps you should try riding first.”

“Okay, I’ll call it Little Run then.” Gu Xiaodeng cheerfully grabbed the reins. “Little Run, charge! Run far, far away, run to the edge of the sky! Just don’t throw me off!”

The little white horse pawed the ground and broke into a slow, gentle trot. Truly, it lived up to its name.

Although it wasn’t fast, Gu Xiaodeng was thrilled beyond words. The wind rushed through the white mane and his fingers, as if piercing mountains and cleaving the sky, giving him the freedom as if he’d grown wings.

Unable to contain himself, he tilted his head back and howled twice into the sky. When elated, he raised his head and laughed to the heavens; when heartbroken, he lowered his head and wept to the earth. The Sovereign Sky and Vast Earth sustain all things with profound virtue; thus, I exist.

He didn’t know what his upward laughter had disturbed, but a swift black shadow suddenly streaked across the sky. He thought it was a swallow at first, but in the blink of an eye, the dark shape swooped down and glided close above his head, revealing massive claws the size of a bowl’s mouth.

Gu Xiaodeng: “Such a big bird!!”

He quickly turned his horse’s head to flee, but his mount, Little Run, only continued at a small trot.

Fortunately, the large bird was not aggressive. It merely flew in circles around him. Gu Xiaodeng quickly lost his fear, and Zhu Mi swiftly rode over to explain.

“That is the residence’s Gyrfalcon. It also belongs to the Fourth Young Master. Though infamous for its ferocity, it never harms anyone without cause. With the Fourth Young Master away from the residence, it often roams freely through East Forest Garden. It’s probably just out for some air now. You need not be afraid.”

Gu Xiaodeng’s head swiveled, following the Gyrfalcon’s movements. He couldn’t get a clear look at its full appearance, only able to remember those massive, terrifying claws.

His fear and curiosity were equally matched. “How many of these does the Gu family have? Do the others have big birds like this too?”

Zhu Mi shook his head. “Currently, there is only this one. The Prince prepared a Gyrfalcon for each child. Falcon taming is a mandatory lesson for the Gu family. The Second Young Lady was too gentle when taming hers back then and was injured by the bird, declaring it a failure. The Heir was too harsh, taming his bird until it died. Even now, he has not found the proper method. The Fifth Young Master is still young; it remains unknown whether he will succeed. Most likely, he will be unable as well.”

“He really is good at everything.” Gu Xiaodeng let out a “Wow.” “But you only mentioned four of them. What about Eldest Sister? That Eldest Young Lady of the Gu family who married out early?”

A crack instantly appeared on Zhu Mi’s expressionless face, as if a fine spiderweb of fissures had suddenly spread across a beautiful mask. They weren’t enough to make the mask fall apart, but more than enough to leave it riddled with holes.

Just then, the Gyrfalcon circling midair suddenly flipped backwards playfully, folded its wings, and plummeted straight down like a meteor. It descended right above Gu Xiaodeng’s head, only abruptly spreading its massive wings just before flattening him, delivering a stunning, open-palmed smack of air right against his face.

Gu Xiaodeng let out a startled series of yelps. The rush of fishy wind from the Gyrfalcon’s body hit him full in the face. Filled with lingering fear and indignation, his cheeks puffed up in anger. His fury turned onto the Gyrfalcon’s owner. “What’s with Gu Jinyu? Even when he’s not here, his big bird still bullies people!”

Zhu Mi: “…………”