Chapter 443: Chapter 443

Caution? That was naturally a given.

In the study, her eyes scanning ten lines at a glance over the messages transmitted from the palace, the Grand Princess sat upright beside the writing desk, not even a flicker of movement crossing her brow, as if she had long anticipated this.

Before long, the paper recording these various messages had already turned to ashes amidst fiercely burning flames.

It was April, the season when grass grows long and orioles fly.

At dawn, on the training grounds, accompanied by the sharp sound of something slicing through the air, a long arrow was seen landing steadily right in the center of a straw target placed in the very middle of the grounds.

Across more than half the training grounds, a distance of several dozen meters, it had hit the bullseye dead center, without the slightest deviation.

The strength and accuracy were impeccable, not lacking in the slightest. To say this of a young girl barely over eight years old was remarkable; even among adults, few could likely match it at this moment.

From around the training grounds, occasional cheers from young men, unable to suppress their admiration, rang out.

Even so, the young girl at the center of the grounds, dressed in a fitted red narrow-sleeved outfit with a gold and jade circular ornament at her waist, her appearance exceptionally neat and capable, showed not the slightest change in expression. With an unchanged face, she took the arrow carefully handed to her by a guard beside her and quickly drew the longbow once more…

Yet, what was most surprising was that out of thirty arrows in total, not a single one had missed earlier; every single one had struck the bullseye.

Imagining the distance the little princess had been shooting from, several guards subconsciously assessed their own likely performance. Never mind archery skills, there was also that swordplay from earlier, each move could be described as fierce and sharp.

A moment later, the men exchanged a look of shared sorrow.

So, they who prided themselves on being elites, having trained diligently all these years, in the end, were almost surpassed by an eight-year-old little commandery princess.

Probably in just a few more years…

While inwardly marveling at how she was indeed the little princess, her future promising, the several guards present silently increased their daily training hours a bit more. One could say it was a mix of pain and pleasure!

At Qingwu Courtyard, after washing up and changing clothes with the assistance of a group of maids, and after briefly instructing several of her study companions behind her, everything settled, Little Commandery Princess Xie finally strode towards the main hall, Ninghui Hall, where her grandmother resided.

As for her parents, need one even ask? Based on past experience, just looking at the sun outside that hadn't fully risen yet, one knew that going to see them now would be a fruitless trip.

The hour of Chen (7-9 AM), main hall.

Sharing a similar daily schedule as her granddaughter, the Grand Princess had also just finished her morning exercises. Dressed in a deep red palace robe embroidered with peonies, she was currently sitting upright before the writing desk handling official matters.

Seeing her granddaughter arrive, the Grand Princess's typically stern face unconsciously gained a few traces of a smile.

Raising a hand, she pointed to the still-empty rosewood long chair beside her:

"Jun'er is here, sit!"

As she spoke, she had already skillfully pushed a portion of the unprocessed official documents on the desk over to the other side.

Clearly, Xie Jun was already accustomed to this. After offering a simple bow to her grandmother before her, she didn't stand on ceremony now, quickly stepping forward to pick up the documents.

Roughly a little over half an hour later, accompanied by maids bustling in and out, the official documents on the desk were once again replaced by a familiar black and white Go board…

Leaving aside for now who won or lost this game, by the time Xie Jun left the main hall again, it was already the third quarter of the Si hour (around 9:45 AM). Though the little commandery princess's face showed nothing, inwardly her mood was quite good.

Back in Ninghui Hall, however, staring fixedly at the clearly defined black and white board before her, a game filled with implicit conflict and killing moves yet ultimately lost by a single misstep, and thinking of that so-called imperial prince in the palace who had, to this day, caused countless Grand Tutors to worry their hair white, all to no avail…

There was not a trace of anger over losing by a single move.

A moment later, toying with the warm, jade-like white Go stone in her hand, the Grand Princess suddenly let out a hearty laugh:

"Hah, Imperial Father! Imperial Father!"

Yet the moment after laughing, a highly authoritative female voice suddenly rang out in the originally quiet room:

"Shishu, go inform them that this palace has important matters today and requests General Shao to come to the mansion for a discussion."

As if unaware of the suddenly shifting atmosphere in the mansion, around the end of the Chen hour, bathed in sunlight streaming through the window, An Ning and Xie Huai, the husband-and-wife pair, only just managed to struggle out of their warm bed.

After a simple wash-up, seeing their daughter arrive, identical expressions of joy simultaneously overflowed on the couple's faces.

Without needing any words, Pearl and others waiting nearby deftly served various teas and pastries.

The first to speak was undoubtedly the old father, Xie Huai. Towards this precious daughter, burdened with countless studies from such a young age, Old Father Xie had always felt the most heartache.

Even after truly witnessing his daughter's intelligence firsthand, this heartache and sense of guilt hadn't diminished much.

For instance, right now, Old Father Xie was looking at his treasure of a daughter with a pained expression, repeating his old refrain:

"A-Bao has so many things to busy herself with daily, there's really no need to come pay respects every day!"

With this time, she could rest a bit more, or go out to play with her study companions, relax a little!

With one glance discerning what her father was thinking, Little Commandery Princess Xie, seated below, holding a cup of warm milk, couldn't help but pause slightly.

Was it possible that not everyone enjoyed resting, or even admiring flowers and playing games? Compared to these various amusements, clearly, those official documents might actually be a bit more interesting.

"Father, don't worry, your daughter doesn't find it hard at all!"

After all, it wasn't anything highly challenging either.

A moment later, Xie Jun said with a relaxed expression, her slightly raised brows unconsciously carrying a hint of pleasure, clearly not lying.

Still, she was an eight-year-old child after all. No matter how intelligent or mature, with her life experience at this stage, some emotions were still difficult to conceal completely.

Especially when facing her parents, whom she had been close to since childhood.

It must be said, regarding having won against her grandmother in a game of Go, or rather, having no more opponents among all she had encountered so far, the little girl, calm on the surface, felt somewhat elated inside.

Xie Jun was born exceptionally exquisite and lively, with features like a painting, spiritual energy overflowing around her. Though only eight, one could already glimpse the form of a future beauty. Right now, even with a little bit of pride, it would only make people find her utterly adorable.

However, seeing this, An Ning's heart stirred slightly for a moment, though her face remained as usual, still smiling cheerfully as she took her daughter's hand, saying happily:

"Didn't I say I'd take you to see the new specimens in Mother's flower room these past few days? Mother will take you there now!"

As she spoke, she was about to pull her daughter along, with Xie Huai naturally following behind.

Although she had anticipated it, given her mother's prowess in this area, anything she specifically mentioned would naturally not be ordinary, Xie Jun still froze for a moment upon seeing the plant before her.

Perhaps due to their blood connection, like her mother, A-Bao, though busy since childhood, also quite loved flowers and plants, and viewing them brought her much joy as well.

Thanks to a mother extremely skilled in this art, Xie Jun had seen countless rare flowers big and small, but none compared to the one before her:

The world praises the secluded orchid of the empty valley as the purest and most pristine, since ancient times hailed as the gentleman among flowers with an elegant reputation.

Yet true purity and flawlessness, just viewing it from afar made one feel the whole room brightened, and looking closer gave an exceptionally ethereal sensation.

Xie Jun couldn't help but exclaim in praise. For the next several days, the family would come over from time to time. Unexpectedly, on this day, just as the family finished admiring it, Little Commandery Princess Xie herself still immersed in the magnificent sight from moments before, she heard her mother beside her suddenly light up, speaking with a bright, sparkling expression:

"Ah, right! Hearing you mention it just now reminded me. Come to think of it, since you were little, Mother doesn't seem to have ever played a game of Go with A-Bao, have I?"

As if suddenly struck by interest, An Ning rested her chin on her hand, looking at her daughter with an expectant expression.

A game of Go, with her own mother?