While Sun rushes to finish dinner deliveries, Lia tends to the shop and patrons. Meanwhile, grandpa Liu lounges on his wooden chair, reading the news- though, it seems that he had fallen asleep at some point. Yuyu sits beside him, hunching over the tea table by the lantern.

“Look, look!” Yuyu pulls on grandpa Liu’s sleeve, waking him from his nap. “Smart grandpa Liu, look! I finished!”

She proudly holds up a piece of paper in front of him. Grandpa Liu, still not fully awake, takes the paper from her. He squints his eyes, reading through each line of her work one by one. At the bottom of the page, Yuyu created a table that organized details of bun sales for the past week. Grandpa Liu scans through the tables, pausing every now and then to look at Yuyu.

“Yuyu!” He puts the paper down. “What a genius little girl you are! Smart grandpa Liu has taught you well huh? Bahahahaha.”

Grandpa Liu pats his leg, signaling for Yuyu to come sit on his lap. She happily obliges.

“Look here, and here, and here…”

Grandpa Liu marks up areas where Yuyu had made miscalculations. She holds her chin and nods rhythmically as he explains each mistake. Before grandpa Liu could finish explaining, Sun returns from his deliveries.

“Mister!” Yuyu leaps out of grandpa Liu’s lap, throwing herself into Sun’s arms.

“Boy, come here.”

Sun puts Yuyu back down and makes his way towards grandpa Liu.

“Thank you for taking care of Yuyu again!” Sun cups his hands and bows.

“Stupid boy! What’s with the way you talk? Yuyu might misunderstand and think that she’s causing me inconvenience! And besides, she’s too smart to be idling with you all day. Bahahaha. It’s best if she spends some time with someone smart like her grandpa Liu.”

Though a simple word, grandpa Liu loves it when Yuyu calls him “smart grandpa”. He looks over at Yuyu as she helps Lia sweep the floor. Her tiny body, only half the height of the broom, meant that she couldn’t control it with just her arms. Instead, Yuyu holds the broom under her armpit, clutching it in place with one hand and stabilizing it with the other. She walks back and forth in a zig-zag motion, carefully dragging the broom-head behind her. Grandpa Liu smiles as he watches Yuyu express her creativity, even with the most mundane tasks. He reaches into his sleeve pocket for a pouch and hands it to Sun.

“Your pay for this week, boy. Take tomorrow off and spend some time with the little one instead. I even put a little extra in there, so make sure you treat her.”

Sun cups his hands, bowing deeply to show his gratitude.

“No need to thank me, boy. I’m a benevolent man after all. Smart too. Bahahaha.” Grandpa Liu laughs heartily as he sends the them off.

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Elsewhere in New Hope City, a young man sits beneath a pavilion in the middle of a grand courtyard. Two attendants kneel silently behind him, one to his right and one to his left. His brush moves gracefully across the paper scroll in front of him. Elegant lanterns hang at each corner of the pavilion, lighting it up with an orange glow. Two men enter the pavilion as the young man sets down his brush. He rolls up the scroll and sets it atop a pile of scrolls on his right. Both men come to a stop at the steps of the pavilion, kneeling on one knee with their heads down and hands cupped.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Chancellor!” One of the men speaks out. “A message from the Merchant’s Association.”

The young man, still sitting with his back turned to them, waves his hand. The two attendants behind him stand up and trot towards him. They carefully pick up the pile of scrolls and trot away, keeping their heads down the entire time.

“Speak.”

“A merchant from the north-eastern district claims that a beggar tried to pawn off a jade medallion…”

The men glance at each other, unsure if they should report something as important as this based on the words of a single merchant.

“I’m sure that you didn’t come with the intention of wasting my time.” The Chancellor replies as he opens up an empty scroll and picks up his brush.

Hearing this, the two men nod at each other with their eyes.

“The merchant in question claims that the medallion was marked with a sword and crown, sir.”

The Chancellor freezes in place. He sets the brush back down and stands up. He walks towards the edge of the pavilion and looks up into the moon-lit sky. The two men respectfully hold their heads low as the Chancellor strokes his chin in deep thought.

“How many are privy to this information?”

“Only the merchant, the Association Head, and you, sir.”

“Good. Keep it on lockdown. Find the merchant by sunrise. Invite him here for questioning. Find the beggar too. It goes without saying, but keep everything under wraps.”

The Chancellor sits back down and picks up his brush. He writes a short message on the scroll before rolling it up. He tosses the scroll over his shoulder. One of the men catches the scroll before setting back onto his knee.

“Find my master. Deliver that to him. Dismissed.”

“Sir!” They shout in unison.

After they depart, the Chancellor sighs as he rubs his temple.

Sword and crown… A remnant of the Crimson Century.

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As the sun rises, Sun sits in complete stasis in front of his room. Before him was a small courtyard- a shared common space for all the residents. A series of knocks and familiar voice wakes him up from his meditation. Sun opens his eyes and exhales. He stands up and makes his way to the courtyard entryway.

“Morning esteemed dummy!” Lia greets him with a big smile.

“Lia? What are you doing here? What about the shop?”

“I guess he didn’t tell you huh?” Lia replies. “The shop is going to be closed for a few days. The old man said he had to attend to some important matters and sent me home. Knowing him, that’s probably just an excuse to go laze around town with his geezer friends.”

“I see…”

“Where’s Yuyu?” Lia asks as she stands on her toes, peeking her head over Sun’s shoulder.

“Come in. She’s still sleeping.”

The two walk towards Sun’s room. Lia looks around at the courtyard as she walks by, observing the beautiful bonsai trees.

“Your landlord has great taste.” She comments with a smile. “How much is he charging you?”

“Not much. One bronze and fifty coppers per month.”

They stop in front of Sun’s room. He signals for her to be quiet as he carefully opens the door. Inside, Yuyu was sleeping peacefully with her arms wrapped around his pillow. Sun approaches her and strokes her hair to the side.

“Tianyu.” He whispers into her ear. “Wake up. Aunty Lia is here.”

Yuyu mutters indistinguishable words as she pulls him closer.

“Daddy…”

Her sleep talk causes Sun to freeze momentarily. He smiles as she smothers him.

“Yuyu.” He whispers again.

Yuyu opens her eyes. She sits up and stretches her tiny arms.

“Good morning Mister...” She greets him with a soft smile. Noticing Lia by the door, jumps to her feet. “Aunty Lia!”

“Hi Yuyu!” Lia laughs as Yuyu jumps into her arms.

“What are you doing here?” Yuyu asks inquisitively. “Yuyu thought that Aunty Lia had to work.”

Lia explains that the bun shop is going to be closed for a few days. Yuyu listens with excitement, knowing that she’ll get to spend time with Sun and Lia.

“Mister! Mister!” Yuyu hops out of Lia’s arms and runs back to Sun. “Since Mister doesn’t have to work, can we do the thing?! Aunty Lia can come too!”

Sun smiles, turning to look at Lia.

“What thing?”