The Little Shopkeeper

"Mother will come after you, Zi'er", said a beautiful woman wearing a pheonix crown. The tears trickling down from her eyes and the pearls on her crown were shining equally, making her look like an immortal fairy from heaven.

"Mother will follow you soon, okay?"

The little Zi'er nodded her head. Unlike other days, she didn't have any hairpin on her hair, not her favourite moon pandent dangling from her waist, not even her bangles.

She had a lot of questions but she didn't ask, she didn't dare.

She is afraid to hear the answer though in her little heart she knew it.

"Will father also come with you?" her doe eyes glimmered in hope.

Mother never lies.

"He can't Zi'er, everyone has their own way of walking, sometimes our ways meet and we stay together and when the ways go differ...."

A bearded man in iron armour pushed the door open and came forward with a pair of anxious eyes.

"Your highness, the time has come. We must leave now."

.............

"Mother...."

The woman smiled brightly and hugged Zi'er.

"Xiao Zi, for you... I wish that you take a normal way. Grow up healthy and marry a person who loves you alot. Alright?"

While saying this she slowly slipped a jade ring inside the sleeves of Xiao Zi.

"Commander, Zhang, my hope lies on you."

Commander Zhang bowed by putting his palm together.

"Farewell, Your highness."

Zi'er left with Commander Zhang hearing her mother whispering with Nanny Xu.

"Your highness, why don't you think this over? Little princess is just a child, oblivious to the way of world. You should accompany her."

Her mother didn't reply anything.

Zi'er knows, she knows too well. The path which her father follows is always same with her mother's.

There's no detour in that way.

_____________________

"Xiao guo, guo'er ... wake up! Xiao guo!"

In a weekly market of Jin kingdom a woman is shaking a boy vigorously to wake him up.

"Won't work, it won't work." She gasped for breath and lift up a big tub of water pouring all of it on that boy's head.

"Rain, rain...it's raining. Aunt du, it's raining." The boy hastily woke up and creating a lot of noise but became puzzled immediately.

"Haah!! it's not raining though. Who poured water on me then?"

"Aigoo!! You stupid, sleeping again in my shop?"

The merciless aunt du grabbed his ear and start dragging Xiao guo out of the shop.

"Aahh!! it hurts aunt, ouchhh, I'm dying... your little guo is dying...."

"Die then...die, sleeping all day, why don't you die!!"

"Aunt du..."

She dragged him out of the store and made him stand there.

"Listen, today is the royal wedding of the Second Prince with the Princess of Chu. Many young ladies will come, get them to visit my shop and buy a lot of items. Go!!!"

The little boy Xiao guo who wished to sleep a little more : ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ

"Can't she let me sleep a little more! I'm not growing tall because of this...Who will marry me if I don't become tall and strong!"

However, these complains are all made silently in his little heart, can't be told too loud.

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