Nine Thousand Years Xu Xiaoman was not an extravagant person. He dressed quite normally, mostly in his Eastern Depot official uniform. In his private life, he had no expensive hobbies and was a very simple man—but this was not the case when it came to his cub, Xu Duofu.
Whether it was gold-embroidered clothes, silk shoes and socks, boots, belts, or jade ornaments, if a child’s accessory was popular in Shengdu, Eunuch Xu ensured his cub had it. The Nine Thousand Years’ entire salary was spent on raising the child.
Not to mention, when he occasionally visited Ningwu Emperor’s palace, Eunuch Xu would brazenly “fleece” some royal wool to bring back.
The world did not know that the inner garments of Ningwu Emperor, the Son of Heaven of the Sheng Dynasty, were the same style as those of the Eastern Depot’s Factory Overseer.
Later, the Weaving Department of the Internal Affairs Office began making children’s inner garments and belly bands, ranging from sizes for four-year-olds to nine-year-olds. Who else in the entire palace had a child? The current His Majesty didn’t have a single concubine.
From these small details, the eunuchs of the Internal Affairs Office, who were all as sharp as needles, knew exactly who they could and couldn’t offend, and who they had to treat with the utmost respect.
At this moment, father and son were changing clothes to go out and play.
Xu Duofu had a room specifically for his clothes. it was quite large, with tall cabinets lining all four walls. When one cabinet was opened, rows of red belly bands and red underpants were revealed. Although he had been wearing them for several days, he still felt quite embarrassed every time he saw them.
Except for those few days when he was delirious with illness and lacked awareness, during which Zhu Yue and the others helped him dress, Xu Duofu put on his own belly bands, underpants, and inner garments. He still needed help with the outer robes, however, because ancient clothing was a frantic mess to put on by oneself.
He even put his inner garments on slowly.
“Duoduo, Dad’s coming in.” Xu Xiaoman had finished changing. He was afraid of scaring people if he wore his official uniform out. As he spoke, he pushed the door open. Outside, Zhu Yue and several small eunuchs stood guard, hesitating over whether to enter. The young master hadn’t given permission yet.
Xu Duofu: “Dad, I haven’t tied my inner robes yet.” [Frantic.jpg]
“Dad will tie them for you.” Xu Xiaoman stepped forward with a beaming smile, clearly an old hand at this.
Xu Duofu stood still and cooperated with his father, lifting his arms and spinning around, which made Xu Xiaoman’s eyes crinkle with laughter. When he had first served Zhong Cheng, the man had been so precious and dignified; there was no way he would have cooperated and moved his body like this.
It was different now.
This wasn’t service; this was his cub. Zhong Cheng was his “wife,” and he had to pamper him.
Eunuch Xu was full of joy.
“Dad, why are all my belly bands red? Can I change to another color? It’s too childish,” Xu Duofu looked up to offer his opinion to his dear father. “Also, my underpants—my inner trousers have a little chick embroidered on the front.”
It was a very childish yellow chick pattern.
Whose twisted aesthetic was this?!
Xu Xiaoman nodded at the first part. “Sure, we can change the color.” But he sounded a bit proud when he heard the second part. “I specifically asked them to embroider the little chick. Isn’t it cute?!” He had a face practically begging for a compliment.
“Supplementing like with like—it’s to give you a bit of protection.”
He didn’t have one, so his Duoduo had to grow up big and strong.
Xu Duofu: …
It felt like if he said anything more, he would break his father’s heart.
“It looks good.” Xu Duofu nodded. He recalled that in the book, his father’s character sometimes had strange ideas that others couldn’t understand. People thought his father was stupid, vulgar, or just thought differently from everyone else, but Xu Duofu had actually liked him back then. Some points truly resonated with him.
After saying that, Xu Duofu added, “It really looks good. I just wanted to give you a compliment.”
Xu Xiaoman became even happier and patted his cub’s head.
See? Look at that. This is what it means to have your own child.
“Children should wear vibrant colors. When those evil spirits and filthy things see them, they won’t dare touch you. But our Duoduo is nine now; you are getting older. There is indeed too much red. I’ll tell them to switch to other colors, and we can rotate through them.”
Hearing this, Xu Duofu felt: My dear father loves me so much.
“It’s not that I hate red.”
“Then shall we wear this one? This is nice; I haven’t seen you in it yet.” Xu Xiaoman picked out a small red robe.
Xu Duofu looked at it; the garment was covered in embroidery.
“It’s beautiful!”
Zhu Yue and the others entered to serve the young master as he washed and dressed. One took the clothes the Supervisor had selected for the young master. Zhu Yue explained, “Supervisor, this was sent over by the Weaving Department three days ago. They said that since the young master was sick and frightened a few days ago, they specially rushed to make a batch of clothes with bright, lucky colors and auspicious cloud patterns.”
Xu Xiaoman was even more satisfied upon hearing this.
“Then wear this one.”
His Duoduo had fair skin; in this, he would look even more exquisite than a golden child from a painting.
Xu Duofu stood there and let Zhu Yue and the others dress him, adorning him with various clinking ornaments and sachets. Once they were finished, he realized how low-key his usual school clothes were.
He looked so wealthy now.
The items produced by the palace’s Weaving Department were extremely delicate, and their aesthetic was on point. Even a red robe didn’t look gaudy. It was a red round-collar robe, revealing a light blue inner collar. In the center of the robe was a cluster of light blue auspicious clouds, and below them was a charming little lion pouncing on a butterfly. Lions were said to ward off evil.
The trousers underneath were a slightly thicker navy blue, embroidered with round, red “Fu” (blessing) characters.
A belt sat at his waist, with a scent bag hanging on the left and a jade pendant on the right. Zhu Yue had chosen the jade pendant to match—it was white jade carved into the shape of a butterfly.
Xu Duofu, who had been a minor “rich second generation” in the modern world: …I’m sorry, my family used to be poor.
On his feet were small boots with thick, multi-layered soles. The boots were black, with blue embroidery and a row of small red agate beads stitched along the seams of the shafts.
In short, his entire body screamed: Wealthy!
He was only nine and hadn’t reached the age to bind his hair, so his hair hung half-loose with a small topknot. It was first wrapped with a red silk ribbon and then fitted with a small gold crown inlaid with pearls.
Xu Xiaoman looked at his cub’s outfit. “Our Duoduo is just so handsome.” Zhong Cheng used to dress too plainly, and later, when he was fighting and killing, he loved wearing black.
His cub looked truly wonderful dressed like this.
Xu Duofu: His dad really looks at him with such pride and joy.
If I have to wear it, I’ll wear it.
He was happy too!
Time to leave the palace!
“Dad, where are we going to play?”
The Nine Thousand Years, who usually preferred riding a horse to a carriage, was sitting in the carriage today. Xu Xiaoman sat next to his cub, listing the fun places in Shengdu. “If we want to see plays or acrobatics, we’ll go to Baifu Street first. There are stalls for everything there—haircuts, shaves, you name it. It’s very lively. If you get hungry, we’ll head east to Tianshui Workshop. That place is full of delicious food.”
“If we want to climb a mountain, we don’t even have to leave the city. There’s a temple on West Hulu Mountain. That mountain is short, like a little earthen mound, covered in grass. The temple’s incense is good, and along the way, local farmers sell fruits and wild vegetables. There are also people flying kites.”
“Although spring is the best time for outings, it’s beautiful now too. Some farmers sell wild chestnuts; they’re small but quite sweet. The chestnut trees over there have all been picked clean, but there are some in the mountains outside the city. One day, Dad will take you to gather chestnuts and pick dates. But the maple trees on the path to the temple have turned red, and they’re lovely to look at.”
The more Xu Xiaoman talked, the more excited he became. He had originally planned to take the cub to Baifu Street and then to Tianshui Workshop to eat. If they went to West Hulu Mountain now, it would be too late.
“Dad, wait until my next school break and then take me to West Hulu Mountain.” Xu Duofu wanted to do it all!
Xu Xiaoman agreed readily. “Alright. There’s still some time before the maple leaves fall. When the time comes, Dad will make a kite for you. We’ll fly it high. You run in front, and Dad will hold the kite for you.”
“Okay, Dad. Let’s paint the kite differently.”
“Of course. As expected of my son, we think alike. I’ll have a good think about what to paint. If it’s just a normal one, no one will be able to tell it’s Duoduo’s kite when it’s up in the sky.”
“Then I’ll definitely run fast to fly it the highest.”
The father and son grew more excited as they talked, laughing heartily.
The carriage slowed down as the noise of the crowds grew louder. There were shouts and calls from street vendors, both men and women.
It had been forty years since the founding of the Sheng Dynasty. Forty years ago, there had been war everywhere. It took seven or eight years of fighting to overthrow the previous dynasty. War is a drain on resources and population, so during the reign of the Sheng Dynasty’s Great Ancestor, various policies were implemented to reduce taxes and allow the people to recover.
In the final years of the previous dynasty, the social atmosphere had been extravagant yet strictly focused on ritual teachings, especially those restricting women. For instance, if a man accidentally touched a woman’s arm, the arm would have to be cut off—though that was an extreme case, such things were promoted. Local officials across various prefectures and counties, in order to gain “political merit,” fabricated many stories of “chaste and martyred women.”
Chastity arches and stories of wives following their husbands in death were highly praised.
How many of those were voluntary, and how many were quiet murders committed by natal families, in-laws, or local officials seeking a reputation for merit?
During the early years of the Great Ancestor’s reign, he had ruthlessly prosecuted “Chastity Arch Cases,” crushing the trend of officials using such plaques to earn merit. He encouraged widows to remarry, and the imperial court even granted them land and allowed them to establish independent female-headed households.
As those above did, those below followed. Since then, the social atmosphere of the Sheng Dynasty had become much more open.
Shengdu, the capital of the Sheng Dynasty, was particularly bustling.
“Duoduo, how about we walk? We can look at things as we stroll along,” Xu Xiaoman asked when he saw the cub impatiently peeling back the curtain to look out.
Xu Duofu nodded like a chick pecking grain. Yes, yes, yes!
It was just like on TV. The streets were incredibly lively, filled with men, women, young, and old. There were young girls with bamboo baskets selling flowers and ribbons, nimble women selling pastries, peddlers carrying poles through the streets, and toddlers in open-crotch pants running around. It was a sea of people.
This street was wide—a main thoroughfare. About ten meters away, a crowd had gathered to cheer.
Xu Xiaoman carried the cub out of the carriage and set him on the ground. “Come on, there’s an acrobatic performance over there.”
“!” Xu Duofu’s eyes lit up.
The father and son had only brought Zhu Yue, the eunuch Wang Yuanyuan, and another tall, powerful-looking man who appeared to be a guard but was actually a core member of the Eastern Depot.
The group got off their horses and out of the carriage to see the excitement. The driver first went to find a place to park and look after the horses.
Baifu Street was a melting pot of people and very lively. Usually, young masters from wealthy families came here to play, so the commoners weren’t surprised. The bolder ones would even try to sell things, and if they encountered a kind-hearted young master, they could make a decent profit.
When some young masters went out, the spectacle was grand, with over a dozen maids, servants, and guards following them.
Compared to that, Xu Xiaoman and his son having only three followers wasn’t much on Baifu Street. However, the colors of Xu Duofu’s outfit were so striking that many commoners couldn’t help but look twice.
“Which family’s young master is this? He looks just like a golden child standing beside a Buddha. Truly handsome.”
“Dressed so exquisitely, and his features are so fine.”
“He even needs a servant to carry him out of the carriage.” This person had mistaken the Nine Thousand Years for a servant.
Xu Xiaoman was dressed simply and normally, the exact opposite of the stereotypical image of a treacherous eunuch official.
The acrobatic performance was surrounded by people. Xu Duofu was short and thin, so he couldn’t see anything inside. Standing on the outside, his view was nothing but other people’s butts and waists. It was truly a case of him being the first to suffer if someone let out a fart.
“…”
The next second, his body swayed, and he soared into the sky.
Xu Xiaoman had scooped up the cub and placed him on his shoulders. “Can you see now, Duoduo?”
Xu Duofu realized what had happened and quickly hugged his father’s neck. His face was flushed as he shouted excitedly, “Dad, I see it! So cool! That person is breathing fire! It’s so hot!”
He provided a real-time broadcast for his father.
Oh, so they’re father and son. That father really dotes on his boy.