Cunning General Si Ning

Si Ning was a bit shocked to see that it wasn't Xiu Junjie that called out to him but Xiu Yuan. It was only Xiu Zhicheng and Xiu Junjie that do call him without adding any honorifics so he didn't even think the childish like and tiny voice he heard was different from Xiu Junjie voice which means the voice doesn't belong to Xiu Junjie but he was confused that it was Xiu Yuan that called him.

Where was his cute nickname? What happened to the name Nin Nin? But the real problem was why was Xiu Yuan walking towards him instead of running?

A palace guard also appeared walking behind Xiu Yuan, it was someone Si Ning had never seen, it was expected for him not to know them because the palace had many guards but the confusing part was that they were walking extremely slow and it seemed that Xiu Yuan was hesitant with his steps that the guard fell to his side only to stop so he would fall behind Xiu Yuan.

This wasn't a matter of sitting so Si Ning stood up and walked to the open space, he spread out his arms and knelt on the grass without care that his white cloth might get stained. Immediately Xiu Yuan saw this his eyes brightened and he started to run towards Si Ning and this made Si Ning smile widely.

"Nin Nin..." Xiu Yuan cried and jumped.

Si Ning had to move forward to catch Xiu Yuan who quickly jumped into his arms."Yuan-er." He wrapped his hands around the boy, it was then he realized how much he missed him, missed the tiny hands around his neck, missed the boy that make his troubles melt away by just being cute.

Anyone that sees this scene would no doubt feel a little tender in their heart, even the guard that appeared with Xiu Yuan who was taking his time walking was smiling. 

"Nin Nin, the... Imperial... Tutor..." Xiu Yuan cried.

Elder Qin and two palace maidens appeared walking fast in Si Ning's direction, passing by the guard. Si Ning wasn't surprised to see them because wherever Xiu Yuan goes then it was expected for Elder Qin to be there and the last person he should be expecting was Xiu Junjie.

Si Ning was about to pull away from Xiu Yuan so he could stand on his feet and hold the boy's hand to lead him to the pavilion but the boy refused and wrapped his legs around Si Ning tightly, his hands also not bulging, forcing Si Ning to stand up with a little struggle, he was still weak but that doesn't mean he couldn't carry a boy.

"General Si Ning." Elder Qin saluted along with the two palace maidens when they got closer.

"Don't... let... them... take... me away." Xiu Yuan said as he buried his face in Si Ning's neck. "I... don't... want to... go." He cried.

Seeing this reaction made Si Ning made a mental swore that he would never allow anyone to take Xiu Yuan who wanted to spend some time with him so he also tightly wrapped his arms around Xiu Yuan in a protective manner.

"General Si Ning, the Imperial Tutor is now in charge of his Highness lessons and his Highness as to report to the Imperial Tutor before nightfall." Elder Qin said.

"Report?" Si Ning raised a brow.

"Yes his Highness as notes to make, he needs to write his spelling forming words and report to the Imperial Tutor." Elder Qin explained.

Si Ning was flabbergasted, he couldn't believe a four-year-old child making notes and attending lessons when he should be taking learning easy. "Bring it here, I will help A-Yuan with it." He was a bit curious to know what Xiu Yuan's lessons entail.

"But General Si Ning his Highness has to write to show his learning abilities, General as to be stern and not soft..."

Si Ning narrowed his eyes. "You don't have to tell me how to treat a child." He interrupted her, he had to remind her Xiu Yuan was still a child.

"Forgive me, General." Elder Qin said.

"I will go and fetch it." The guard that appeared with Xiu Yuan said when he got closer. "His Highness notes." He added.

When Si Ning turned to the guard who interrupted them, the same guard that took his time walking towards them like he was just on a leisure walk in the park. Si Ning could see it was a very young boy, not more than fourteen with a friendly aura surrounding him, he had a wide smile plastered on his face and seemed to be a merry going boy and what confused Si Ning about him was that he doesn't look like a guard and after staring for a while he noticed the teenage boy attire was different from the guards, it was almost desame but the material quality was different.

From a long time ago do Si Ning always know quality material just by looking once and the moment he touches one he would be able to tell if it was the original brand or a copycat and seeing the teenage boy with that attire means the boy was no guard.

"Young Master Yan." Elder Qin said cautiously as she bowed to the teenage boy. 

"Let me introduce myself, I am Yan Dong, the nephew of Concubine Ran, I am Second Prince's uncle and soon to be specially appointed Second Prince's personal guard." Yan Dong introduced himself as he saluted. "I am also indirectly and directly related to the Xiu Imperial family." He added.

"No one asked you." Si Ning said flatly just to show he clearly had no interest in the boy. "You can go and fetch A-Yuan notes and writing materials for me or stand over there with your mouth shut." He was done with dealing with teenage kids especially one that was speaking like he needed an award from him just for being a noble.

Instead of Yan Dong having a shocked look or apologetic look he had a smile plastered on his face and how the corner of his eyes crinkled showed that his smile was genuine.

"Can I hug General Si Ning?" Yang Dong asked.

Eh...?

Before Si Ning could refuse Yang Dong moved closer to him and hugged him leaving Si Ning in an awkward position of carrying Xiu Yuan in his arms and Yang Dong hugging him. There was a saying that to understand women was difficult but to understand children was more difficult to Si Ning.

"I read about you and know how great you are General Si Ning, I have always wanted to meet you because I admire and like you."

Si Ning couldn't help but blush, it was nice receiving a compliment from a young boy. "Really?" He couldn't help but pat Yan Dong's head, He was able to do so because Xiu Yuan latched unto him so the probability of him falling off was zero. 

"When I saw you when I was ten I told my father that I will marry you but I lost to the Emperor so I will dedicate my life to protect Xiu Yuan." Yan Dong said.

Yes, he was right, it was really hard to understand children. 

"Xiao Dong!"

Si Ning raised his head to see an older boy walking towards them, he seemed angry. Yan Dong turned and snorted yet he made no move to withdraw from Si Ning. Si Ning wondered what he had Servants and guards for if anyone could just walk into his palace, he doesn't mind Xiu Yuan even coming at midnight but a delusion boy and another one appearing in his palace doesn't sit well with him. 

It seemed the Jasmine palace guards and servants needs some new training since they disregarded stopping him visitors to report to him first.