WangXian Forever Book 10

Chapter 56: Friends

Li XiWang holds hands with Rumi, who is holding hands with the young Prince as they walk through Cloud Recesses.

First, they visit the kitchens and give back the dishes and utensils that were used during breakfast, and then Li XiWang takes them through a scenic route to the Hanshi.

Jiang Cheng opens the door and looks surprised to see them. He lets the children in, offering them tea, and they decline absentmindedly because they're too fascinated with the animals.

"Where's Li Li?" Li XiWang asks him.

"Nursery now. She likes playing with the other children," he replies.

Jiang Cheng sits back to watch them as they play with Li XiWang's familiars, DaErduo and Xiao Mao, the fennec fox and the little kitten who have evolved to tolerating each other, Ke'ai, the piglet who never seems to grow and Thing, something no one has yet been able to identify yet.

The only animal not present in her other form is Snizzy, he thinks, and as though just thinking about her is a magic summoning spell, his Zidian transforms into the long and winding purple snake. She shoots forward and coils around Li XiWang, who laughs and gives her pets.

Snizzy is curious about the Prince who is wary at first, but he gradually relaxes after his new friend makes the introductions between everyone.

"It must be exciting living here," he remarks, fingers stuck thoroughly inside Thing's thick black fur.

"It is! And it's so boring when my fathers have to travel. Everyone misses them." Li XiWang explains.

"I think it's so cool that someone has written a book about them!" Prince Wu says enthusiastically.

"What?" Jiang Cheng asks. "Who's written a book? About who?"

Prince Wu reaches into his robes and pulls out his well worn copy and hands it to him.

"The Great Hanguang-Jun," Jiang Cheng reads out, trying not to scoff at the pretentious title, "and his loyal Sidekick, the Yiling Laozu?" Jiang Cheng looks at all three children incredulously. "Are you serious?" And then he cracks up, bent at the waist, imagining what his favourite brother must have looked like when he found out! Oh! Jiang Cheng is going to have a field day ribbing Wei WuXian about this! He can't wait until he sees him! He's never going to live it down!

Jiang Cheng is STILL laughing when the children leave a little while later, all three miffed at him for different reasons...

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Li XiWang takes the Prince to the library because he mentions that he loves books.

"It's so beautiful," he whispers, looking around the central layout, and the desk formation allowing a full view of the heavily laden shelves.

Dark wood furniture matches the polished floor and yet it isn't a dark place at all. Plenty of light shines into the room through the huge round windows, dust particles floating in the sunlight beams lending the space an ethereal quality. The Lan Clan banners hang from the ceiling with the precepts elegantly written in neat calligraphy, tiny musical bells tinkling sweetly as the breeze plays with them.

"You're so lucky to have this place where you can study," the Prince continues, walking around the room slowly so he can fully appreciate its charm.

"Don't you have a library at your home? Inside the Palace?" Li XiWang asks him, trying to get her head around what it must be like to be in his shoes. "Where do you study, then?"

"The Royal children have a separate wing where we must learn our reading and writing, arithmetic and ruling skills. But I like to draw," he lowers his voice to a whisper, looking around as if he might be overheard. "I have tutors that come to educate me." He sits down on the little step that partitions the walking area from the studying part. "What about you? What do you learn here?"