Chapter Seventeen - Sun visits his mother

While Jin Li and Leon were beginning their explorations in the wealthy section of the city, Sun was sitting in the reception of his mother's courtyard, accompanying the older woman.  A cup of tea had been placed in front of him, but the sweet scent was too floral and light for him having been subject to both Jin Li's preferences and Leon's medicinal teas. The walls seemed to be lined with his mother's personal maids, all ready to attend their needs, but it made him really uncomfortable, which was one of the reasons he disliked coming here.

As for the mistress of this courtyard...

Sun took after his mother; this was one of the reasons his grandmother couldn't help but find fault with him. They both shared the same long, straight, dark brown hair, the same round, sunny face gently touched by a smattering of freckles and bright, expression-filled eyes.  Sun was taller than his mother, but it was not as if this was an impressive thing; her lack of height meant even the most diminutive of her maid's did not challenge her for this trait.  Three children and a generally comfortable way of life had given the woman a wider hip, breast and waist over the years and being small on top meant she resembled a cute dumpling rather than a sophisticated lady, but few were as happy and content as she.

If there was one true blot on her cheerfulness (harsh words of family members were like a punch on a large wad of cotton wool) it was that her baby boy had left home to attend school. 

Any wife could be proud to birth a son and content to birth a daughter, but she had not only been blessed with both, she had born her cute baby boy as well. Her first son needed to be educated and strong in order to follow in his father's and potentially his grandfather's footsteps. Her daughter needed to be taught skills and grow beautifully and wed a capable man worthy of her. Her second son had not these responsibilities and could be totally spoiled her, his mother.

She'd been so proud when he unlocked his potential as a Cultivator, but also so worried. Could her happy and lovely baby boy cope with the expectations of him? Could he cultivate well and with ease? Her heart faltered when she saw him trying to be so strong and broke when his smile began to fade, the jealousy of others finally wearing him down. And when that little relative of her brother-in-law's daughter's friend convinced her family to send a matchmaker to her mother-in-law wanting to marry in, marry her precious child, she was dead set against it!

Fortunately, no matter how her mother-in-law half-heartedly considered it, the General would not.  After all, the little girl was a concubine daughter and Sun was born of the main wife of his second son, their statuses did not match and she could only be his concubine should she marry in.  However, Sun had no wife yet and unless one was a Prince, it was unusual to marry in concubines before wives.  Still, the idea of having Sun marry was there now and even if the child himself was unwilling, he could not easily go against his elders should they make a decision on his behalf.

At that time, Yunisa had come home to visit and mentioned her husband's cousin was due to graduate from the Ascending Mountain Institute as an honourable scholar.

"Ascending Mountain Institute?" Mond had queried. "Is that not a school for Cultivators?"

"Hmm," Yunisa had agreed and proceeded to tell her family how the Institute was actually made up of five schools studying separate main subjects. "A student who graduates usually not only has skills beyond his peers, but has had the opportunity to make connections to others of excellent learning. I do not know much about Cultivators, but I've heard that it is an extremely rare thing for a student to still be at Primary level when graduating. Most are of Secondary or Tertiary Stage or even stronger!"

Immediately, within Sun's mind, the seed had been sown and with an obvious renewed enthusiasm for life, he and his servants had learned all that they could about the Institute before Sun had begged to be able to attend. As his mother, wanting him to smile, wanting the best for him, how could she not put in a few words of her own while lying on her husband's pillow? But she did miss him terribly!

So it was only natural for her to summon to her side her cute and grouchy little sweet Osmanthus pudding cup!

"So, are you getting on well with the other Cultivators?" She asked him as she sipped her tea.

"Mom, it's not a commoner school for boys, you know!" Sun rolled his eyes and crossed his arms about his chest as he leaned back upon the soft couch.

"I know that, dear," she reassured him, "but I don't want to see you getting hurt by fighting with the other boys!"

"They'd have to catch me first," Sun muttered beneath his breath then sighed.  "It's fine.  I'm friends with a couple of seniors, good guys and then you know there's Jin Li, my roommate and his... I mean Leon." He scratched his chin in thought and quietly added; "I suppose Maimai could count as a friend."

"Oh!" Her dark eyes began to sparkle with glee.  "Is that a girl you like?"

"What? No, mom!" Actually Sun did once have a small crush on Maimai, she was, after all, a very pretty girl.  But she was also... really... unique.  For one thing, she was slightly obsessive when it came to knowing all about how Leon and Jin Li were doing as a couple.  And there was the way she occasionally looked at him, as if she were examining the potential of some rare species, never as a man!  She was also a bit dangerous, whether it be her cauldron flying randomly or her fist flying in a very specific direction, both would definitely hurt if they made contact.  "Maimai happens to be Leon's best friend and attends the Alchemist school with him."

"So your friend Leon likes her, then," his mother concluded, "but that doesn't mean you need to step away if you are interested in her.  After all, as sweet as your friend Leon seems to be, you are definitely a better catch!"  Sun blinked, trying to figure out in which direction his mother's thoughts had wandered off to.

"Mom, I do not like her that way," Sun said, firmly.  "And neither does Leon.  She is just a friend."

"Oh," his mother looked slightly downcast; she had been warming up to this subject.  "So is there anyone at the school you do like?"

"There's no one," Sun replied.  All his crushes ships had sailed.  That's what happened when you hung around with dashing figures like Jin Li and Bowyer or strong, protective types such as Pike.  The small, cute type apparently lacked the same appeal.  That and the moment any of those pretty girls had acted beguiling towards the men they liked and out of character, he immediately lost interest anyway. "And I really want to focus on improving my martial arts and cultivation." His Teacher, Corvus, was a weird one, overbearing and stupid at times, but all the things he taught Sun were an excellent fit for him.  This was probably due to the fact that they both shared the same root, thus Sun was benefiting from Corvus' many decades of experience and refinement of wind-based skills.  His Cultivation, which had remained stagnant until he began attending school, was now rapidly improving, thanks to Leon for helping him smash through his bottleneck and Corvus' Cultivation method.

"Well, if there is someone," his mother was not as ready to let go as Sun was, "then you just tell me and I'll see about her background and approaching her family!"  Sun remained silent, knowing this battle was lost.  The woman took his silence as acquiescence and smiled, before taking a small sip of tea.  Unfortunately, she now had to broach a subject she didn't really want to, but her mother-in-law had been insistent.