Chapter 247: Kiting
Chapter 247: Kiting
Prince Qi brought Su Su and her two older cousins to make kites.
The kites were ready-made, and even though some parts had been smoothed out, the bamboo was still very smooth.
However, Prince Qi was afraid that some parts might be too sharp and could scratch the children.
Therefore, he only let them choose the paper and do the simple parts, while he handled the more intricate details with the help of Si Shi and Xiang Gu Gu and the others.
Involving Su Su and her cousins was mainly to give the children a sense of participation and keep them entertained.
After all, what did it matter if they messed up or even tore the kites? His royal highness's household could afford to buy more.
So, let them play! The children's happiness was the most important thing.
At first, Shen Hua Tang and Liu He Meng were a bit reserved and felt awkward.
However, they soon became so engrossed in the activity that they forgot their inhibitions.
"This part isn't right; you can't paste it like that!"
"Meng Meng, you're doing it wrong! Mine is correct!"
...
The two older girls even started bickering over how to assemble the kites.
Su Su, holding a large piece of paper and preparing to paste it, looked up at the sound of her cousins' argument.
Their tones weren't sharp, and while their voices were raised, it sounded more like a discussion than a fight.
Realizing that her cousins weren't genuinely angry, Su Su felt relieved and continued holding the oiled paper obediently, listening to their debate.
She glanced at Meng Meng and then back at Tang Tang, taking in the lively exchange.
Fighting...
In the past, the very idea of it terrified Su Su.
Whenever her aunt and uncle fought, she would inevitably be scolded and beaten afterward.
Even the dogs in the village would get kicked after their owners had a quarrel.
So, Su Su used to be very afraid of arguments.
But now, watching her cousins debate with flushed cheeks, she found it intriguing rather than scary.
Liu He Meng insisted that a particular section should be pasted a certain way, but Shen Hua Tang disagreed. She held up her paper to demonstrate her point, determined to prove herself right.
The older girls were so engaged that they decided to settle the matter by putting their theories into practice!
"I'll do it!"
"Me too!"
...
Su Su, intrigued by their enthusiasm, raised the paper in her hand high and exclaimed, "I want to try too!"
The soft voice of the little girl instantly broke the tense atmosphere of their argument.
Shen Hua Tang couldn't hold back a smile, her lips curving into a gentle curve.
The initially tense atmosphere transformed into a relaxed one thanks to Su Su's interjection.
Liu He Meng reached out and gently tugged on the small tassels on Su Su's hat.
Su Su allowed her to pull, even leaning closer.
Her obedient demeanor prompted Liu He Meng to stroke her ear affectionately.
As she touched Su Su's ear, a realization struck her, and she asked, "By the way, Su Su, you haven't pierced your ears yet, have you?"
Pierce her ears?
Su Su knew about this.
It hurt! Grandfather Liu and Mother Empress had mentioned it before.
Mother Empress didn't want her to go through the pain, and Su Su was also afraid.
So, when the topic had come up before, it had been quickly dropped.
Now that Meng Meng had brought it up again, Su Su instinctively covered her ears and took a small step back, her voice a quiet whisper, "It hurts. I don't want to."
Liu He Meng had been very young when she had her ears pierced, so she had no recollection of the pain.
Or perhaps she had felt the pain then, but it had faded from her memory.
Thus, she couldn't say for sure if it was painful or not.
Seeing Su Su's fear, Liu He Meng smiled and said, "Then let's not do it if you don't want to. It's not a necessity anyway."
Prince Qi watched the three children with a loving gaze, a gentle smile on his face.
Just quietly watching like this filled his heart with contentment.
The more he looked at Susu's adorable appearance, especially those big, round eyes that would unconsciously widen when she was startled, the more he saw a reflection of himself and Little Liu when they were young.
Of course, they were also identical to Little Liu!
Adorable, too adorable!
There was a sense of deja vu, as if he were coaxing himself as a child.
The more he thought about it, the more his expression softened with paternal love.
Hearing Susu say no, Prince Qi didn't bother to ask what the child had said before, and immediately nodded with a smile, "If Susu doesn't want to, then we won't."
With her father's support, Susu happily ran over, put down the drawing paper in her hand, hugged her father's arm, and said excitedly, "Then let's not pierce my ears, okay? Grandfather Liu said it hurts a lot!"
The thought of piercing his little daughter's ears broke Prince Qi's heart.
When Susu looked up at him with her big, doe-like eyes, pure and glistening, his heart melted even more.
He nodded without hesitation, "We won't pierce them, then."
Did earrings have to be worn with pierced ears?
He turned to ask the craftsman if there was another way.
Ear piercing must be so painful!
With her father's assurance, Susu happily nodded, "No piercing, then!"
Liu Hemeng also felt that it was better to not pierce her ears.
She had been too young when she had hers pierced, so she didn't remember the pain.
Now that she thought about it, if they really pierced Susu's ears...
Just thinking about it made her wince.
So, it was better to not pierce them.
Shen Huatang remained silent but gently stroked Susu's ears to comfort her, "If you don't like it, then we won't do it."
Although it was common for noble girls in the capital to have their ears pierced,
there was no rule that they must.
Moreover, who would dare to ridicule a princess of the Qi Kingdom?
Prince Qi spent the entire afternoon making kites with the three children, resulting in a pile of rejects.
It was inevitable, given the children's unusual and creative ideas.
One wanted to paste the paper here, another there.
No matter what they tried, the kites ended up crooked.
However, Prince Qi accepted them all without a care, even smiling as he ruffled Susu's hair, indicating that his little girl had the most wonderful and unique ideas.
No one could compare to her!
With Prince Qi's indulgence, the three children played happily.
As for the young masters who were painfully shaking their heads and struggling to follow along with their lessons...
Prince Qi expressed his indifference, "What does that have to do with me? I no longer need to sit in a classroom and listen to the teachings of a tutor, but you must experience the hardships I once did."
This was the first step to becoming an adult!
As for his precious daughter's lack of literacy...
That evening, as he lay in bed, Prince Qi thoughtfully considered the matter, "Susu really needs to learn how to read and write. Otherwise, she'll feel left out when she grows up, being the only illiterate one among her peers. That won't do."
Hearing this, Princess Qi couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated, "But you're always taking her out to play. The tutor has already been trying to teach her, but it's difficult with so many children in the class."
Prince Qi was quite dissatisfied with the current arrangement, "That won't do. Teaching a whole group of children at once isn't proper instruction. My precious daughter needs private tutoring. Let me think, who should I ask?"
Hearing this, Princess Qi felt like rolling her eyes.
If it weren't for the fact that Shen Laoshi had owed the royal family a favor, and His Majesty had intervened, do you think someone of his caliber would have accepted the position at our Qi Kingdom with its current reputation?
And now, the prince has the audacity to be greedy and want to hire another tutor?
What a pipe dream!
(End of Chapter)
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