Birth

Immediately after being born, Bai Shuixian was forced by Yao Zhu to dress in male clothing and to lie about her gender. Her clothes were not luxurious for unknown reasons and her skin toughened from the rough material of the fabric used. As time went by, the treatment towards her from the surroundings got worse.

Barely 10 months old, when one knew how to walk, Bai Shuixian was forced to master the way of the sword with her grandfather. Unfortunately, her bones and limbs were still weak and she could not handle the strength of her grandfather, someone who already has skin thicker than iron.

At the age of six, she met Teacher Chang. A man who got famous after scoring first on the empire's national scholar exam. He became renowned later on when he accepted the emperor's invite to become the teacher for the royal offsprings.

Teacher Chang was Bai Shuixian's teacher for history, language, and calligraphy. Since very young, she was known to be very smart, but since her day was packed with learning, the time allowed for her to intake information was lowered immensely.

She was too tired in the morning to understand what Teacher Chang was saying and too fatigued in the evening to gather enough strength to train with her grandfather.

As Bai Shuixian was young, she could not understand why she had to learn all these things. One day, she had asked her mother why she had to learn all those things, but only got a scolding. Later on, she asked her dad and he said that it was something all sons of the Bai family had to go through.

However, not just three days later, a servant told Bai Shuixian that there was no son in the house that was forced to learn about etiquette but Teacher Chang would teach her about palace etiquette and the rules in the palace. Once again, she was confused.

The most depressing moments of her childhood were during the monthly tests she had to take. These were privately performed between her and her grandfather. And for some reason, Bai Shuixian always failed the tests, no matter how good she did.

Whenever Bai Shuixian would leave the examination room, she would be filled with bruises. They came not only right after failing the tests but also from harsh practices just the days before the test. Her body was ridden with visible wounds, but it was filled with even more hidden scars that could not heal completely due to how deep they were.

After going back to her room, Yao Zhu would follow Bai Shuixian in. From the outside, it seemed peaceful as they appeared like a loving mother-son pair. Right after the beating from her grandfather, she would get another beating from her mother.

_ _ _ _ _

Leaving the hall leading to Teacher Chang's place, Bai Shuixian headed to the front of the estate as usual. As he walked out, he slowly checked his surroundings and did something out of the ordinary.

Why was that? Because Bai Shuixian did not board the carriage waiting for him at the front, but instead walked down the street, ignoring the driver who was calling him out. And as the driver got down from his seat, trying to catch up to him, Bai Shuixian already outran him through the crowded streets of the capital.

After making sure no one was still following him, he walked up to a random person and asked them, "Excuse me, lady. May I ask if you can tell me where The Aqua Cuisine is?"

When the lady looked down at Bai Shuixian's small form from her height, she blushed a little before answering, "Ah, yes, I can. It is two blocks away from here. Turn right when you pass the stall selling wontons."

Giving her a deep bow, Bai Shuixian said, "Thank you, ma'am. I wish you a lifetime of luck."

Saying his thanks, Bai Shuixian left the blushing lady as he walked towards the way that she had pointed. It was a little hard for him to walk through the crowd as everyone kept on pushing each other towards another direction. Thankfully, he was tiny, so he was able to run swiftly and get through the small areas.

After running for a while, Bai Shuixian stopped to take a breath all while examining the street. He did not know how much he ran as everything was blocked off by all the tall adults.

Shaking his head, Bai Shuixian hoped that he did not pass the stall and started muttering under his breath about all the hardships he would have to go through if he did not reach The Aqua Cuisine in time. Truly, if he got lost, it would be bad. The deal he made was that he would be there before eight o'clock. Doing his best to avoid the main street, he crammed through the many people that were strolling. Once in a while, he would take a pause and curse at how many people there are on such a tight street.

It was only when the sun was starting to set that Bai Shuixian could finally take a breath as the streets emptied as time went by. Since he could finally relax now, he took his time to rest once again for a short while before looking around once more. After staring from side to side, he saw a gold plated sign which read 'The Aqua Cuisine' just another building away from where he stood. With such a flashy sign, Bai Shuixian knew he found the place he was searching for.

With a relieving sigh, Bai Shuixian looked around the restaurant instead of going in. It only took him a few seconds to see a lone carriage on the opposite side of the street. Walking closer and examining the carriage, he saw the wyvern symbol. It was only then that he walked confidently to the entrance of the carriage.

Opening the door, Bai Shuixian got on. Immediately after he sat, a man's voice was heard.

"Little Bai Boy, is what you tell true?"