Chapter 3: The invitation
Seasons come and seasons go, that’s the easiest way for me to calculate time.
Six winters have passed since I was born.
I’ve long since learned to read and write and on top of my literary classes, I’ve had to learn martial arts and meditation.
Only after coming here did I understand just how pampered we are in the future.
At this age, no noble boy can live without learning martial arts… in my past life the closest I ever was to knowing martial arts were Hollywood movies and anime.
In here, “one’s body is a temple and we must work to care and strengthen our link to divinity” that was the first-ever lesson I got from the kung-fu master coming to the house to teach me.
If I were my past self, the intensity of the exercises I normally perform now would have probably killed me. This body, however, is incredibly flexible and I love the feeling of freedom and strength I get from every exercise I do. If gym freaks get this rush from working out, no wonder they spend their lives pushing and pulling weights!
But there are no gym subscriptions in this place. Here, the teachers come to me every day to teach all they can in their not-so-limited time.
As a noble, society has many expectations of my young self. I’m supposed to continue my father’s career as a servant of the emperor. I’m also supposed to be knowledgeable, fair, compassionate and honorable, while still remaining myself.
I am also very fond of books, but there isn’t much variety. Most literature I’ve found is about war, martial arts, cultivation (whatever that is because it appears to hold no relationship with plants), or romantic fiction for females. There are no fantasy sagas and of course no science-fiction.
I might be doing the world a favor by writing something innovative.
Fortunately, practicing martial arts and the discipline behind them aids my creativity, so it’s a win-win for all.
My teachers are pleased by my dedication, I’m pleased by my quick progress in both areas, and my parents are pleased by their genius son.
“Young master” I heard the voice of my MA teacher calling me as I finished the kata I was taught that same day. As soon as I stop, a younger boy comes and hands me a towel so I can clean the sweat from my face.
I turned to the old man “How did I do, Master Fa?”
“Excellent as always, young master. This teacher is honored to have such a talented student.” That’s one thing I still have issues with. Most people here talk in the third person when they refer to themselves as formal speech.
“The honor is mine for having such a knowledgeable teacher” I bowed my head with a wushu salute, and he returned the gesture with a more pronounced bow.
He keeps smiling “young master, the Emperor’s eunuch is here, and Master Shen is calling for your presence in his study.”
I sigh.
The bald man I mentioned earlier turned out to be the royal Eunuch, a messenger from the Imperial Family that comes and goes at their bidding. This past year, my father has requested my presence every time the man appears in our home. I always feel like I’m being put on the spot whenever he comes because my father loves to boast about how intelligent his son is.
I gave the towel to the servant who then rushed to the house, probably to fix my bath and clothes to receive the imperial messenger.
Before exiting the training room, I looked at my teacher “Master, will you teach me how to cultivate my spirit?”
Master Fa smiles pleasantly but doesn’t seem surprised. It seems he had been waiting for me to ask that. “Of course, young master. I shall bring the books with me tomorrow.”
I bathed and dressed quickly and went to my father’s study, where a servant announced my presence, and I was soon admitted.
“Good afternoon, master Sun, Father.” I bowed to both, still unsure as to how I was supposed to greet the messenger, so I gave him a polite bow.
The eunuch smiled for a change, as did my father.
“Master Shen speaks highly of you,” the eunuch said, still looking at me. His smile was polite, but I could sense a glint of untruthfulness from his eyes. It would do me good to take his words with a grain of salt. “Even at court, your talents are known”.
Even I knew that answering arrogantly was not a good idea, “It is all thanks to the teaching of my family and masters. Father is a great man, and I can only hope that someday I will be as strong or talented as the great General Shen.”
My words made my father smile further. He placed a hand over my head “The empress has sent a word with Sun here: we have been invited to the palace for the third son’s birthday.”
Ah, so that’s what it was. My father is well known in court, it was to be expected that his family was invited to a party. It must mean that the third prince is close to my age, so that’s why they’re taking me this time.
“Does mother know?” I asked, using the same innocent act that has served me much in this life.
“Not yet. Be a good boy and tell your mother and siblings.”
“Yes, father.” I bowed to both again and left the room.
As soon as I was out of earshot, I sighed.
It would seem that my cultivation would have to wait for a few days.
I walked back to the house intending to search for my mother, when a pink torpedo impacted my chest, stopping me in my tracks.
“Ge-ge!”
Ah yes. How could I ever forget about this tiny source of chaos?
I’m the first of three children, so far. This one here is Shen Zhi Ruo, my younger sister. She’s three years old and very cute, but also mischievous. I sincerely fear for the man who will marry her in the future.
“Mei-Mei, where is mother?”
She pouted at me. She probably wants to play with me but knows that if we go to mother, she will be scolded for running in the halls.
“Ge-ge play with me!”
I pet her on the head, and she smiled. “I will, but I must talk to mother first.”
“Come then!”
She took my hand and pulled me around the house until we found mother, who’s breastfeeding the youngest addition to the family. Shen Yin was born a few months ago, and like myself at that age, does nothing but sleep and eat. He is a normal boy though and shows no desire for anything other than eating and sleeping. I’ve tried talking to him in English and Spanish, but there is no sign of recognition, so I’m thinking that I’m the only weird one in the family.
Then again, how often is an old man reborn with his memories intact? Most people think I’m a genius, when in fact, I’m the product of two school systems: the scientific-minded of the 21st century, and the spiritually-minded of this age. In pure knowledge of the world, I have at least two thousand years of advantage, so I can focus my mind on learning about the spirit-body connection that this culture is so famous for, and still come out on top in everything else most of the time.
“Mama! Ge-ge’s here!” Zhi grins, sitting beside our mother, and gazes lovingly at the small bundle that’s her new brother.
My still beautiful mother looks at me with surprise. Normally, I would still be training at this time. Of course, one look at my fancy clothes and she understands.
“Mother” I smiled and bowed to her. “We have been invited to the third prince’s birthday.”
“Dearest Mu, must you be so cold to your mother?” she scolds me lightly for being so formal with her.
I must still be influenced by the clothes I’m wearing to forget that she’s always preferred me being warmer with her.
I can’t help but blush a little as I scratch the back of my head. “Sorry.” She, of course, laughs at me, but in truth, I prefer her light teasing. It helps me remember that there are two environments in this life: family and work, and both have different rules.
“Ge-ge, can we play now?”
I rolled my eyes at the hopeful tone of my baby sister, making mother laugh.
“Yes mei-mei, let’s go.”
Thus, I get pulled into taking care of my baby sister while the servants fuss about to comply with my mother’s orders to prepare for our departure.
Chapter 4: I think I broke her
What I didn’t know was that only my father, mother, and I would be going to the palace while the rest of the family waited at our house in the capital. Both my siblings are too young for such gatherings, which told me just how boring it would be.
Fortunately, I planned to use this gathering to find out more about noble society. Hopefully, that would help my future novels.
Oh yes! I was already planning some of them: I wanted to write an action-packed thriller for men, and maybe an epic romance for girls. I had already created the main characters, but I needed to know how much was appropriate and what I could get hanged for before publishing them.
I was hoping the royal family would have a library I could raid.
The trip from our house to the capital took over two days by horse, but since mother was traveling in a palanquin with my siblings, that became four days instead.
Fortunately, I could choose to ride in the palanquin or a horse with my dad. Which I did every other day, so I could maximize my time with both parents.
It was the night of the fourth day when we finally arrived at the capital. Only then did I understand how important father really was: He had his own mansion in the capital city, with the symbol of our last name engraved in silver on the main doors of the state. I don’t know if it is the norm for the Empire’s officials or not, but even if it were, our family must be quite connected.
There were many servants waiting for us at the door, and we were quickly led to our rooms. But, instead of bathing and going to sleep like everybody else, I decided to investigate the place.
Although more opulent, this place was smaller than our main place of residence. There was no training room, and the stables were on the smaller side. I found the horse that carried me here and handed him a carrot which he made disappear from my hands in a moment. I patted him on the side of the head, and went on my way, colliding with someone.
“What are you doing here?” a shrill voice demanded. I found myself having to look up at a girl, who was glaring at me.
“Looking at the horses?” I answered unfazed. Raising an eyebrow at her.
“You can’t be here! Only the masters and stable hands can touch the horses!” She must have been one of the servants of the house, and since it was the first time I came here, she must have thought I too was a servant. I couldn’t blame her, with the amount of dust on my clothes and face.
She grabbed my arm and tried pulling me forcefully. Unfortunately for her, I had been well trained by my masters and she ended up looking up at the stars from the ground. She looked up at me with bewilderment, as I grinned down at her.
“You ok down there?”
Her glare intensified at my grin. She picked herself up and put her hands on her hips. “Just wait until the lead servants know what you did! I hope they flog you!” Seeing I was not afraid of her, she invoked the higher powers, but all I did was raise an eyebrow.
She tried grabbing me again, only to find herself biting the dust again.
I couldn’t help but laugh as she glared daggers at me from her sitting position on the ground.
“If you ask nicely, I might decide to accompany you to see the lead servants.”
I think I broke her.
She stared at me as if I grew another head.
I turned around and took a few steps toward the main house before looking back “are you coming?”
I heard her huff and walked behind me. Her legs are longer than mine, so that’s a feat, I guess.
As soon as we reached the house, she jumped at the chance of calling her boss to punish me.
I couldn’t help but smile at her face when the lead servant appeared and bowed to me.
I asked if my bath was ready, to which he responded affirmatively. The old servant turned to her and ordered her to lead the young master to his bath.
On our way, she kept sending timid, apologetic glances my way, probably thinking I was going to punish her for shouting at me. But truth be told, I’m not a petty person, and early on, I knew she was making a mistake.
Not that I couldn’t tease her for it.
“I never got your name” I asked when she opened the door to the bath for me.
She grimaced. “This servant’s name is Ling, young master.”
“Very well Ling. You may leave.” I smiled at her disbelieving face “don’t go jumping to conclusions at every turn.” I closed the door behind me, leaving her alone in the corridor.
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