Henan Zhong: Three Wooers, The Bride Is Not Ready Yet

Her caretaker told her that her father was at home from last night and that she could meet him after taking breakfast.

A big smile appeared on her face, she wanted to run and meet him but her caretaker warned that if she went just like this without taking care of her appearance, clothes and without breakfast, her father would feel bad and be angry.

She doesn't want to make her father unhappy at her so she hurried to wash up her face and wore the best dress and then her caretaker helped her to take breakfast.

She insisted her caretaker to give spoonful so that it could be fast eaten then she ran toward where her caretaker hinted that his father was in his weapon practice ground.

"What are you doing respected father?" she bent her little head in front of her father, she asked her father when she noticed her father doing something strange she was only five years old and wearing a delicate rob dress just as her delicate upbringing.

Her father raised his head and looked at his daughter, she was curious though very little girl, he smiled over her curious questioning eyes, the circles of her eyeballs were slightly grey.

"I'm sharpening my shaft" he answered affectionately, "It seems that you care your weapon just like you care me" there was no sign of surprise in her question she knew her father love her much, he looked and smiled again, "Remember my daughter! if you don't care your weapon you can't tame it for the right target."

She listened to her father attentively and followed with another question, "Might I learn it?" this time her tone and expression were serious and her father noticed that "Sure my daughter will learn it and will be untouchable in the entire kingdom in future."

He caressed her cheeks with his hand a little blot marked her fair cheeks, he untied a clean cloth from his waist and cleaned little smudge from her face.

"When would you teach, I'm eager" her unending questions were running along, she sat beside her father childishly and looked at tools, "I wanted to become a master of archery just like my father."

He never had the opportunity to know about her daughter's perceptions and ideal and she thought that her father was the master of archery, he was simply astonished and thought about a while and then started saying, "I wanted you to learn basics first."

Since he was at home for a week so he decided to teach her initial steps and to nourish her mind first for the master art, "A peaceful heart nourishes a peaceful mind she necessarily is peaceful either it would be a mess of targets."

She was listening attentively and inquired, "How could I make my mind peaceful when there are so many questions popping up,?" she innocently asked and he felt that his daughter had a complete notion of her own actions.

"To make a question is half a knowledge and I can see that my daughter is eager to learn fast yet she is innocent and accomplished in her tender age, you know what Confucius said, a refined person had no use for competitiveness yet if he cannot avoid it then let him compete through archery."

"Who was Confucius? was he an archer?" she posed another question looking at her father who was like a tower to her to see.

"Yes! my daughter " He taught her all day long about fundamental steps and that how she should control her emotions and mind as well, and the techniques to grip over the shaft.

He was clearly doing his steps of practice so that she could easily learn them and she was trying her best to imitate her father.

He came out of his residence with his daughter, outside was greenery and fields and it was refreshing for the mind.

She jumped here and there like a rabbit and asked between her breathes, "Father why everything seems to be so complicated?" he was sure that his daughter would be a great girl in the future just that she needed his care and time.

"Confucius was a good teacher, he said that life is simple but men make it complicated," he said without changing his peaceful tone.

She stopped in her track, and looked at her father, "I did not get it, am I thinking that things are complicated but in reality they were simple?", she asked halfheartedly making an angle of her face that she was sad.

"Oh I meant that you need to look at life with welcoming nature and simplicity," he patted his forehead and smiled at her.

In his thoughts she should enjoy her charming days of childhood with ease to avoid any complexity of nature in her future, he was brought up in complex circumstances and wanted to secure his daughter from tiny unhealthy thoughts too, no doubt he was also worried about her future but he was there to make everything at ease for his pretty daughter.

On some distance some farmers were working in the field, she looked at them and asked her father, "I wanted to go there and take a look what they are doing," he nodded and took her in his arm and pointing with his other hand toward the fields, "Farmers grow crops and food for themselves and for others, they are the most hard-working, one who works hard is rewarded by Heaven in the end," she saw those were working in the fields were sweating profusely, still they were working diligently.

She thought in her heart, if she wanted to learn and become like her father, she should work hard for it and become proud of her father, she nodded to herself.