Chapter 12: Following in His Father's Footsteps

Su Jingyao felt a bit strange. She picked up the glass bead that still had a bit of the necklace attached; its color seemed to have faded slightly. As for anything else, she really hadn't discovered anything. Could it be that her current situation was brought about by this glass bead?

This glass bead was truly special, and at the same time, it filled Su Jingyao with wild joy.

A smile appeared on her face involuntarily.

She opened her bedroom door and began to wander around the General's Mansion.

Unknowingly, she walked to Su Jingyan's courtyard, where she heard Su Jingyan humming and hawing early in the morning.

Su Jingyao quickly walked over to see what was going on. It turned out that Su Jingyan was holding a tree branch, practicing swordplay.

Su Aotian was standing to the side, guiding Su Jingyan.

A very serious expression was plastered on Su Jingyan's small face, which Su Jingyao found quite amusing.

Su Aotian stood in front, demonstrating a few moves first and letting Su Jingyan follow along.

Su Jingyan was very earnest, doing as Su Aotian did.

Many leaves drifted down from the trees. It was autumn, so it was no wonder the leaves were falling.

"You must grip the branch firmly." In the Northern Yue Kingdom, the average sword weighed about ten jin. It wasn't heavy for an adult man, but for small children like them, they couldn't hold it for long. Therefore, children in the Northern Yue Kingdom all used tree branches to practice, and once they were a little older, they would be given wooden swords to practice with.

Su Jingyao watched as Su Jingyan gripped the branch tightly, beads of sweat even trickling down his temples. A child of this age in the modern world would practically be treated like a little emperor; how could they possibly suffer like this?

However, as the son of General Su Aotian, he had to endure such hardships. In the Northern Yue Kingdom, sons traditionally followed in their fathers' footsteps. Unless the father gave his permission, a son who refused to inherit his father's profession would be branded unfilial!

Moreover, protecting the Northern Yue Kingdom was the mission of all its citizens. No citizen wanted their country to be invaded by others, which made the Northern Yue Kingdom an extremely united nation.

The Northern Yue Kingdom didn't need to press-gang men into service; there were always plenty of men willing to join the army! If someone sacrificed their life on the battlefield, their family would be exempt from taxes for life and would receive twenty taels of silver as compensation.

Because of this, whenever the soldiers of the Northern Yue Kingdom reached the battlefield, they fought with reckless abandon. Since the country had already made arrangements for you, why hesitate? All you had to do was kill the enemy!

Su Jingyao stared blankly at Su Jingyan, feeling a sense of sorrow in her heart. She knew that her younger brother would eventually take over their father's position, guarding the border to prevent incursions from neighboring small nations.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Su Jingyan caught sight of Su Jingyao with his sharp eyes and shouted excitedly, "Sister!"

Following Su Jingyan's gaze, Su Aotian also saw Su Jingyao, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Father, Jingyan," Su Jingyao said as she walked over.

"Yao'er, you were up at the hour of the rabbit (5:00-7:00 AM) running around the garden. Why is that?" Su Aotian had heard the servants gossiping about it early in the morning and couldn't help but ask.

"I just wanted to exercise my body," Su Jingyao replied.

Su Aotian nodded upon hearing this but didn't say anything more.

Beside them, Su Jingyan stared at his sister excitedly. "Sister, have you gotten a bit thinner?" Su Jingyan asked, puzzled. Usually, his sister's face was so fleshy that her eyes were barely visible, appearing only as slits. But now, there was clearly less flesh on Su Jingyao's face, and her eyes seemed larger, which made Su Jingyan feel a bit strange.

Hearing this, Su Jingyao touched her own cheeks. Now that he mentioned it, she did feel that her face had lost some weight. She wondered if she had lost any on her body as well.