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When Dongkui and the others learned about Tao'er's arrangements for Ayan, they were all heartbroken.

She also tried to persuade her younger sister, Peach, but it was no use.

Qingfeng tried to persuade him a few times, but it was no use.

Finally, Ah Chen came over to persuade him, but it was no use.

Why?

Because Ayan himself not only didn't feel it was hard or tiring, but actually thought the arrangement was very good.

His eyes held no resentment or displeasure, only gratitude and joy.

He knew that Sister Tao'er's arrangements were all for his own good.

All he wanted to do was study hard so he could protect Sister Tao'er and Huanhuan in the future.

At six o'clock in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, Ayan was already dressed and standing in the courtyard.

The little boy stood tall with his back straight, like a newly planted poplar sapling.

When Xiao Yi taught him to practice the horse stance, he bit his lip and remained silent, his legs trembling like leaves in the autumn wind, refusing to relax.

Huanhuan squatted down and watched for a long time, then suddenly ran over and imitated Ayan's stance.

Her hair was tied crookedly, her two short legs were spread wide apart, and her bottom was sticking up high, making her look like a little frog trying to imitate a human.

Ayan glanced at her, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, but he didn't say anything and continued to stand in a horse stance with a straight face.

"Huanhuan, you don't need to practice with me."

Tao'er brought out breakfast and couldn't help but laugh when she saw this scene.

Huanhuan shook her head, her little face tense, with an expression that said, "No one can stop me."

They tried to persuade her several times, but to no avail, so they just let her be.

Thus, during the hour-long martial arts practice session, this unique scene was added to the courtyard.

A serious, almost stubborn little boy, with a little girl squatting next to him whose movements are never quite right but who never gives up.

After finishing his martial arts practice, Ayan rested for fifteen minutes, drank some water, wiped his sweat, and then sat down at his desk to read and practice calligraphy.

At this time, Huanhuan moved a small stool and sat next to him, and took a pen to draw some "words" on the paper that only she could understand.

Ayan was extremely focused when practicing calligraphy.

He seems to have a natural ability to calm down, even as birds chirp and insects hum outside.

Huanhuan kept muttering to himself beside him, but it didn't bother him at all.

He wrote each stroke neatly and correctly. Sometimes when Tao'er passed by and glanced at his handwriting, she found that it was better than that of some of the adults she knew.

We ate lunch promptly at noon.

Tao'er prepared a variety of dishes for them, such as steamed egg custard one day, steamed fish the next, and dumplings the day after.

Ayan is not picky about food; he eats whatever is given to him and finishes everything, never leaving a single grain of rice in his bowl.

Huanhuan eats little and slowly, but she doesn't waste food.

I took a half-hour nap in the afternoon.

Ayan lay motionless on the bed with his eyes closed, while Huanhuan lay beside him with her eyes half-closed as well.

Sometimes she would secretly open her eyes to glance at Ayan, and then close them again to go back to sleep.

Half an hour later, he quietly got up, covered Huanhuan with his blanket, and then went to find Grandpa Li to learn medicine.

The two hours spent studying medicine and recognizing herbs were the quietest time of Ayan's day.

Grandpa Li is a man of few words, but he is extremely patient when teaching.

He taught Ayan to identify herbs, memorize their properties, and learn the basics of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation. He was not in a hurry to achieve quick results, but he was also not perfunctory.

Ayan studied very diligently. If he couldn't remember something, he would ask again. If he made a mistake, he would honestly admit it and start over.

Huanhuan sometimes tries to learn medicine from Ayan, though she doesn't understand it.

But she was very quiet at that moment.

She sat obediently to the side, watching Ayan fiddle with the bottles and jars, occasionally reaching out to touch a leaf or smell the medicinal fragrance, but without causing any trouble.

Free time is after 4 p.m.

This is the most relaxing time of day for Ayan. He can eat fruit and snacks, or take Huanhuan to chase butterflies and watch ants move house in the yard.

Sometimes, when Xiao Yi finished his work, he would come over and take the two of them to the backyard to see the pomegranate tree, or sit on the veranda and tell them stories about marching and fighting.

Ayan listened intently, and Huanhuan fell asleep leaning against him.

Without doing any homework that night, Ayan washed up early and went to bed, slowly closing his eyes as Tao'er softly told him a story.

Several days passed just like that.

It was the same morning again, with the same little boy in a horse stance and the same little girl next to him who could never squat steadily.

Days passed by peacefully, as calm as the old well in the corner of the yard covered by a stone slab, showing no signs of disturbance.

For several days in a row, nothing happened.

No suspicious people passed by the door, and no one was spying in the alley.

Qingfeng didn't find any suspicious people loitering around the door.

Tao'er gradually relaxed, thinking that the scoundrel named Awang had probably been scared out of his wits by the wanted poster and had gone to hide in some village outside the city.

Unbeknownst to her, at noon that day, a carriage stopped in front of the inn on the main street.

A young man in fine clothes and a middle-aged man with a fierce face walked out.

They entered the inn where Xiao Yi and his companions had stayed before.

"Manager, bring me two of the best rooms."

Then they brought up hot water; my young master wanted to take a bath.

Finally, bring up your restaurant's signature dishes, along with a pot of fine wine.

Is this enough silver?

The man took out a ten-tael silver ingot from his hand and placed it in front of the shopkeeper.

Enough, enough, enough...

That's enough!

Sir, we'll arrange it for you right away.

Here's the room key, please take it.

The shopkeeper took out the key and placed it in the man's hand.

Then the man and the elegantly dressed young man went upstairs to the second floor.

The shopkeeper watched the two people go upstairs, thinking to himself that these two must be someone of great importance and their identities must be extraordinary.

He has to be careful and not offend him, or he won't even know how he died.

"Xiao Liu, hurry up and send hot water upstairs to our esteemed guest."

Remember to give them a generous portion; don't neglect our honored guest.

The waiter in the lobby quickly responded and hurried to the kitchen.