Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 49 Extra: Rong Wanyin (1)

There is a beautiful person, with a clear and graceful voice. She whispers softly and gracefully.

On the 20th day of the 12th lunar month in the second year of Guangshun (952 AD), the prime minister's residence in Kyoto was decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, and guests came in an endless stream.

To the left of the prime minister's gate stood a man dressed in a dark purple robe, resembling an elderly civil servant, bowing to the guests. He sported a small, neatly trimmed goatee, and though his eyes smiled, he possessed a commanding presence without anger. The guests all bowed respectfully.

On the right side of the prime minister's residence gate stood a man who looked like an elderly military general in dark red casual clothes. He was about the same age as the prime minister, with a snow-white beard and gray hair. He also had a smile on his face and exchanged a few words with the guests from time to time. I could vaguely hear the guests calling him General.

But anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that one of them was smiling with a fake smile, the other with a fake one. Both were extremely polite to the guests, but occasionally their eyes met, smiling broadly, but behind them were gleaming swords and hidden dangers. They quickly looked away, each uttering a slight "humph" through their noses to express their dissatisfaction.

A few customers were sitting in the wonton shop in the alley across from the Prime Minister's residence. A middle-aged man from another city was puzzled. "Isn't this the Prime Minister's residence? Even though it's the twelfth lunar month, it's not even the New Year yet, so why are they having a banquet here?"

"This is the full moon party held by the Prime Minister's residence. Prime Minister Rong's daughter is one month old today." The owner of the wonton shop said with a smile while making wontons with ease.

"Prime Minister Rong is so old, and he only just got a daughter?"

"Hahaha, no, that old man is Prime Minister Rong's father, Mr. Rong, not Prime Minister Rong. Although he doesn't hold an official position, he is a famous writer."

"Isn't the Prime Minister a civil servant? Why is there a general welcoming guests at the door?" The middle-aged man was a little confused.

"Oh, the one on the right? That's General Fan, Prime Minister Rong's father-in-law. Back then, Prime Minister Rong was the top scorer in the imperial examination and was very promising. Many royal relatives and nobles wanted to marry their daughters to him, but he rejected them all. Later, somehow, he asked the emperor to grant the marriage. He finally married the daughter of General Fan. The story of a talented man and a beautiful woman became a legend at the time." The boss said with a smile, but he did not stop working.

"Are they relatives? They don't look like that. Do they have a feud?" The middle-aged man took a sip of wonton soup and continued to ask.

"It's not just one or two days since we've had this feud. It started before Prime Minister Rong even got married."

"What's the holiday?"

"I heard..." The boss pretended to be mysterious, lowered his voice, and whispered a few words in the ears of several customers.

"Oh..." Several guests looked as if they had suddenly understood something.

One of them spoke up again, "I heard that Rong Xiang finally got a daughter? Congratulations!"

"That's right! After four sons, we finally have a daughter. And just in time for the Lunar New Year, His Majesty has shown mercy and granted leave to General Fan, who's stationed at the border, so he can come back and enjoy some family time." The wonton shop owner spoke with a beaming smile, his colander flicking, sending the remaining soup cascading down onto the customer. The shop was in a state of chaos.
-
There was also a small commotion in the Rong Mansion—the little girl had wet Old Master Rong's clothes. While Old Master Rong was changing his clothes, General Fan, with eyes full of joy, quickly picked up his precious granddaughter and played with her.

"Look at the name your grandfather gave her, Wanyin. Humph, only a nerd like him would come up with such a name. How sour!" The old man had changed out of his military uniform and put on casual clothes long ago since he came back from the frontier, just to hold his precious granddaughter. He couldn't bear to let the armor hurt his precious granddaughter.

"Hmph, what do you know? There is a beautiful person, with a clear and graceful voice. She hums softly and whispers gently. What a wonderful meaning! Don't you think, little Wanyin~" After changing his clothes, Old Master Rong hurried back. He seemed to be able to change his expression. He was glaring at General Fan, but then turned around and smiled to tease the little baby.

"You literati just love these flowery things." General Fan said with a look of disgust.

That's what he said, but after a while, General Fan started teasing the little girl with a smile, calling her more than a dozen nicknames one by one, such as "Wanyin, Xiaowan, Xiaoyin, Yin'er, Wan'er, Wanwan, Yinyin, little baby, little good boy, Rong baby, little darling..."

The little girl had just woken up, and with her tiny hands, she immediately grabbed her grandfather's beard, making him so happy that he almost cut off his most treasured beard for her to play with. General Fan was overjoyed and said with great energy, "Look at my little darling, she knows how to pull the general's beard at such a young age. She will definitely grow up to be a female general who is as brave as any man!"

"Hmph! You don't even speak softly to a child. Do you think these are your tough and thick-skinned soldiers? Aren't you afraid of scaring the child?" The grandfather, who had been itching to hold the child for a long time, said with a dissatisfied look on his face.

"Hmph!" Although General Fan looked disdainful, he still unconsciously lowered his voice, "Xiao Wanyin~"
-
Kaiyun four years, summer.

In Prime Minister Rong’s residence, under the shade of the willow trees in the backyard, an old man and a young boy were sharing a common hatred for the enemy.

"Look at your grandfather, what kind of thing is he doing? Why is a girl practicing martial arts in this scorching heat? What if my little baby gets too hot?" Old Master Rong, who had long since retired to his hometown to enjoy his retirement and devote himself to raising his granddaughter, stood behind Wanyin, fanning her and complaining, "Even though we're in the shade, it's still hot and tiring! Besides, girls aren't pretty anymore if they get that tanned."

Three-year-old Wanyin sat on a high chair, too high for her little feet to reach the ground, so she dangled there. She sipped the candied pear drink her grandfather had prepared, nodding her head vigorously in approval. The little girl felt as if she had been granted a special imperial decree, eager to raise her chubby feet and hands in approval.

But no matter what I say, after drinking the rock sugar and snow pear water, I still have to practice, otherwise my mistakes will be exposed when my grandfather comes back and tests me.

The next day, still in Prime Minister Rong’s residence, in the study, a young man and another old man were also united in their hatred of the enemy.

"Look at your grandfather. Every little girl needs to study, but there's no need to be so strict. She's not going to take the imperial examination, but she has so many books to read and so many characters to practice. Wouldn't he be exhausted?" General Fan, who was on leave and in semi-retirement at home with nothing to do, picked up a copy of "Thousand Character Classic" and frowned.

Wanyin took a big bite of the meat bun in her left hand and responded absentmindedly. Her right hand was trembling as she wrote on the rice paper. She cursed inwardly, "Grandfather is much more cruel than my grandfather. If I can't finish writing these words, I really won't have dinner."

After all, it’s not noticeable if you miss a moment in horse stance, but if you miss a single character when writing, it’s obvious at a glance.

"You old man, why are you here again? Didn't we agree that Wanyin would learn martial arts with you on odd days and study literature with me on even days?" A loud voice sounded outside the study.