Chapter 5

With a direction in mind, Liang Xiao suddenly felt a bright future ahead, and he was so excited that it took him a while to calm down. He cleaned the fish, skewered it with a willow branch, and brought it back. Liang Miao had already boiled a pot of water and threw the fish into the pot. It didn't take long to make a fragrant fish soup.

The mother and son ate heartily. After cleaning up the pots and bowls, Liang Miao prepared to weave. Liang Xiao followed her. Liang Miao was puzzled. "Xiao'er, why aren't you resting?"

Liang Xiao secretly observed his mother and tentatively asked, "Mother, tell me, what should I do to become a marquis and a general?"

Liang Miao glanced at him and chuckled. "You've finally finished playing your little tricks and remembered the important things?"

Liang Xiao felt embarrassed. From her tone, it seemed that his mother knew everything he had done before. "Mother, you knew all this?"

"You are the flesh of my flesh, raised by me with my own hands. How could I not know what you've been up to?"

"Then... why didn't you scold me?" Liang Xiao was a bit anxious. What kind of mother is this, watching her son misbehave without any intervention, not even moving like Mencius' mother who moved three times or Yue Fei's mother who tattooed him, at least she should have taught him to walk the right path.

"A little mischief isn't a big deal." Liang Miao, while tidying up the loom, said indifferently, "Mother doesn't expect you to be a diligent farmer. Being too honest isn't good; it makes you easy to be bullied. In the future, when you join the army and fight on the battlefield, getting injured and seeing blood is inevitable. Now, fighting and tomb raiding can also train your courage."

Liang Xiao was speechless. What kind of family education is this, absolutely non-mainstream. Could she really be from another time?

"Mother, then tell me, how can I achieve military merit and become a marquis? There are many people on the battlefield, but how many can truly achieve merit? Most end up as cannon fodder."

"Cannon fodder?" Liang Miao glanced at Liang Xiao. "Where did you learn this new term?"

Liang Xiao chuckled. "I mean, if I don't have extraordinary skills, I might die before I can achieve any merit..."

"Spit!" Liang Miao spat on the ground and scolded, "You little rascal, what nonsense are you talking? Who curses themselves to death?"

"Hehe, to avoid death, one needs skills. Mother, what skills do I have?"

"Isn't it obvious? Just look at your arms; you are naturally good at archery. Achieving merit in the future will be a piece of cake."

Liang Xiao's heart stirred. "Mother, who is my father? Why have you never mentioned him? Are you so sure I have a talent for archery because he had the same kind of arms and was good at archery?"

Liang Miao's face darkened, and she sat in front of the loom, busying herself without a word.

Liang Xiao felt awkward and sat in front of the loom, staring at the shuttle in his mother's hands, motionless. He and his mother had relied on each other for so many years, and he knew her character. She appeared gentle but was strong-willed. If she didn't want to say something, no amount of questioning would make her speak.

However, this made him even more curious. The previous Liang Xiao only cared about playing and never paid attention to these questions, even avoiding them. But he was different; he was very curious about this.

There was no way around it; this was an era where having a good father mattered. If he had a good father, he wouldn't have to work so hard and could easily be a second-generation official.

However, if his father wasn't good, that would be a problem.

According to Han Dynasty law, the basic requirement for entering the bureaucracy was to be from a good family. To be from a good family, two conditions had to be met: one, the family must have a certain level of wealth, meaning poor families didn't count. Two, the family must have a clean record, with no direct ancestors in lowly positions or with criminal records.

Of these two conditions, the first could be solved if he got lucky and became wealthy. The second, however, was a lifelong stigma that couldn't be shaken off.

Seeing his mother's expression, Liang Xiao became worried. Could my father be a deadbeat? If so, it's better not to have him. I don't want to be associated with him; we're not that familiar anyway.

Liang Miao, seeing her son lost in thought, said, "Is there anything else? If not, go to sleep. It's important for your growth, and you shouldn't stay up late."

Liang Xiao was taken aback but then smiled. "No, Mother, I want to practice my eyesight. To be a great archer, one needs good eyes. I want to learn from the ancients and use your loom to practice my eyesight."

"Use the loom to practice eyesight?" Liang Miao was skeptical. "Which ancient said that?"

Liang Xiao laughed. She didn't know this, so she probably wasn't from another time.

Liang Xiao, while thinking, stared at the shuttle in his mother's hands, hoping to see its movement clearly like Ji Chang. The prisoner Huan Jun had said that to become a top archer, one needed good eyes. Without talent, no amount of practice would make him a true great archer.

However, Liang Xiao soon discovered that great archers were rare. He hadn't been staring at the shuttle for long when his eyes started to ache and tears streamed down his face. Liang Miao, seeing this, thought he was missing his father and was crying, so her eyes also turned red, but she still wouldn't speak, only making the loom clatter.

...

The next morning, Liang Xiao got up early, washed up, and instead of going out to play as usual, he took a broom and swept the courtyard clean. He then brought out a wooden basin, filled it with water for washing, and placed it on the porch. Only then did he seriously practice archery in the courtyard.

When he shot the 321st arrow, the window of the east room was pushed open, revealing the prisoner's sleepy face.

"Stop practicing, it's a waste of time and disturbing my sleep."

Liang Xiao quickly put down the crossbow, picked up the water he had prepared, and walked into the east room, smiling. "Huan Jun, you're awake? Please wash up. My mother has prepared breakfast for you, and we dare not eat before you."

"Why are you so respectful now, when you were so arrogant before?" The prisoner lay lazily in bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"I have no intention of robbing or harming you." Liang Xiao glanced at the prisoner and smiled silently. "Huan Jun need not worry about that."

The prisoner was taken aback and couldn't help but laugh. "Then why are you so attentive? Could it be that you want to learn my archery skills?"

Liang Xiao shook his head. "I am not talented, but I want to fulfill Huan Jun's regret."

"Oh?"

"Huan Jun has excellent archery skills, but you've wasted your life without a successor. Isn't that a pity?"

The prisoner's eyes narrowed, and after a moment, he chuckled. "Who says I don't have a successor? I have a son, but he has been missing for many years, and I don't know if he's alive or dead. If you can help me find him, I might teach you something real."

He glanced at Liang Xiao disdainfully. "If you want to become a true archer, stop practicing for now. Your method is more harmful than beneficial."

Liang Xiao was taken aback, his heart sinking. "How old is your son?"

"When I was imprisoned, he was seven years old. He should be... twenty-three now."

Liang Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

---

---

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends