Losing His Temper

Another week of waiting passed.

Xiaoguo was completely done with her preparations. She had bought Zhuang Zhuang’s school bag, clothes, shoes, and books that might be of use. She even bought new rice paper, brushes, and ink.

Even though she didn’t say anything, she could tell from Zhuang Zhuang’s face that he already knew what was going on.

“Zhuang Zhuang, get up.”

Xiaoguo made breakfast and returned to the house. When she saw Zhuang Zhuang still lazing in bed, she stuffed her cold hands under the covers without thinking.

“Ah… ”

In an instant, Zhuang Zhuang jumped out of bed, wailing.

“Get up!”

Xiaoguo smiled and patted his exposed butt. With that, she got up and left.

She returned to the kitchen and scooped out some porridge. As soon as she placed it on the table, there was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

Xiaoguo asked instinctively in the kitchen, but within the next instant, she realized what she had done and chuckled to herself. How silly of her to ask from inside the house. No one could possibly hear her.

The knocking on the door continued. Xiaoguo put down her chopsticks and shouted as she walked into the courtyard, “Coming!”

As soon as she opened the door, she saw a familiar face. It was the face that Xiaoguo had been looking forward to seeing.

“You’re finally here!”

“Huh? Oh yes.”

The courier was a little shocked by Xiaoguo’s enthusiasm, so he took out the letter and handed it to her in a daze.

“Thank you, thank you.”

After thanking him, Xiaoguo was about to close the door eagerly when the courier suddenly reached out and stopped the door. “Wait a moment!”

Xiaoguo was shocked and almost injured his hand. Fortunately, she reacted in time.

The courier scratched his head in embarrassment. He had just been startled by her enthusiasm earlier so he only gave her one letter. He took out another letter from his pocket and handed it to her. “There’s one more.”

“There’s more?” This time, it was Xiaoguo’s turn to feel puzzled. Who else would write to her other than Jiang Danhe?

Xiaoguo took the envelope and studied the unfamiliar handwriting. She wondered who it could be.

Other than Jiang Danhe, Xiaoyi was the only person from the capital who would contact her!

After guessing who it was, Xiaoguo accepted the letter with relief. Just to make sure, she checked with the courier to see if there were any more letters for her. After confirming that there were no more letters, she waved goodbye to him.

She wanted to go straight back to the house to read the letter, but as she passed by the kitchen, she was stopped by the sharp-eyed Zhuang Zhuang.

“Mother, it’s time to eat.”

“Sigh, I’ll be right there. You can eat first.”

Xiaoguo did not stop. She responded casually to the boy and returned to the house. Nothing was more important than reading the letter now.

Zhuang Zhuang rolled the eggs on the table and looked into his bowl with a pout. This was the first time he was wishing that his mother hadn’t received a letter.

When Xiaoguo returned to the house, she first opened Jiang Danhe’s envelope. She realized that there were two letters inside. She opened one, and there were only two lines on it. The first line looked like an address. Xiaoguo read the second line for a while before putting down the letter and opening the other one.

After reading Jiang Danhe’s letter, Xiaoguo had a better idea of the situation. She picked up the other letter again and carefully studied the second line. Based on her thoughts and Jiang Danhe’s guess, this sentence was probably meant for Zhuang Zhuang.

At the thought of this, she was about to look for Zhuang Zhuang with the letter when she suddenly remembered that there was another letter.

She opened the envelope and unfolded the letter inside. The handwriting was mature and steady. It did not look like Xiaoyi’s handwriting at all. Moreover, the first sentence was his self-introduction.

“Oh my God!”

Xiaoguo exclaimed. It was actually a letter from the emperor, Shao Zhan. What could he be writing to her about? The two of them weren’t on very close terms at all.

The more Xiaoguo read, the more her brows furrowed. So this was a letter asking for help.

In the letter, Shao Zhan told Xiaoguo the reason why Jiang Danhe was going home. He was asking Xiaoguo to help persuade Jiang Danhe from resigning. He emphasized that Jiang Danhe was actually unwilling to leave the military camp.

Initially, Xiaoguo did not intend to get involved in Jiang Danhe’s decision, but she was distracted by what he said next.

In summary, he was saying that he would reappoint Jiang Danhe’s position. Apart from not having to go to the battlefield, everything else would remain the same. Moreover, he would be entitled to many leave days. He could even return every month if he wished to.

When Xiaoguo saw it, her first thought was that it was a bad idea. The proposal and the proposer were just as unbelievable.

What was the purpose of doing this? How could such a bad idea come from the emperor?

Xiaoguo shook her head. If Jiang Danhe were to agree to this, he would become an idle general.

Shao Zhan had thought of all these too. He was not a brainless idiot. There must be a reason for him to propose such an idea.

With the current situation, he could confidently say that there would not be any major battles for the next ten, twenty, or even thirty years. For small disputes and fights, he had many other generals on standby. There were also many experienced veterans stationed at each border.

Jiang Danhe only had to stay on to be a general in the capital. In any case, the foreigners had been beaten numerous times by Jiang Danhe in the past few years. With his reputation, those people wouldn’t dare to invade the Shao Kingdom so recklessly. For that reason, Jiang Danhe would only have to do his part to groom the existing troops and recruit more military talents.

If there was no war, he could lead a stable and peaceful life until old age. In order to prevent Jiang Danhe from leaving, Shao Zhan had thought of many plans. Since Jiang Danhe said that he couldn’t spend time with his family, he would give the man a lot of time off. It should be enough to ease his longing for his family.

As soon as he thought of this perfect solution, he couldn’t wait to write to Xiaoguo. It was better for her to persuade Jiang Danhe.

However, he had miscalculated one thing. Xiaoguo would not impose her thoughts on Jiang Danhe.

Xiaoguo did find this idea very attractive. After all, it sounded like an easy job, with good money and lesser duties. Moreover, he was right about one thing. It was inevitable for a family to step on each other’s toes if everyone was stuck under one roof. It might be better to maintain a distance from each other. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

However, she decided to let Jiang Danhe make his own decisions. This was his business and his choice. No one should interfere. Even as his family, they had no rights to do so.

She calmly put away the letter and returned to the kitchen with Teacher Kong’s letter.

When she went in, Zhuang Zhuang was holding a half-filled bowl of porridge and looking at her with resentment. “I’m almost done.”

“Does she know that during this time, I was feeling so tormented?”

“Hehe, this is just the right time.”

Xiaoguo smiled and finished half of the porridge in one go. She had caught up with Zhuang Zhuang in an instant.

Putting down the bowl, she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and looked at Zhuang Zhuang quietly. She asked tentatively, “Zhuang Zhuang, do you want to learn from a teacher?”

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Zhuang was exceptionally emotional.

“No, no, no!”

Zhuang Zhuang reacted in agitation. He had been suppressing his emotions for a long time.

Xiaoguo was so startled that she stood rooted to the ground. She had never seen Zhuang Zhuang lose his temper like this.

Zhuang Zhuang flung the chopsticks in his hands. They bounced off the wall before falling to the ground. Only then did he calm down.

What followed was guilt. He immediately regretted losing his temper. With that thought in mind, he wilted. His head was hanging so low that it almost dropped under the table. His tears fell like beans pattering down from his eyes. His chubby hands were twisted together, every now and then he would lift them to wipe his tears.

Xiaoguo held back her laughter. It was rare to see Zhuang Zhuang lose his temper. When he was provoked on other occasions, he would mostly whine or act dumb. Today was his first time throwing a tantrum. For some reason, she felt that it was worth commemorating. Should she mark today as the anniversary of Zhuang Zhuang’s first tantrum?

At the thought of this ridiculous scene, Xiaoguo couldn’t help but laugh.