CH 109.1

Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 109 Pt. 1

Translated by gingercat

Edited by gingercat

At this time, the baby named Zhao Chen, whose nickname was Xiaobao was wandering around Huju Hall

Duke Ningguo was born to a military household. What occupied the most space in this entire Huju Hall, was not the row of houses in the main courtyard, but the martial arts field behind the main courtyard.

Actually, there was also another larger martial arts field, but it was only used by the members of the Duke Ningguo Manor. Inside were sandbags, quincuncial stakes¹, the Eighteen Arms of Wushu² as well as other weapons and tools.

Out of all the weapons, Duke Ningguo was the best at using the bow and the halberd. According to him, during his prime years, he was able to use a 2.3 stone³ bow. Even now at his old age, he could still use the military-standard longbow and pierce a willow leaf from the distance of a hundred paces

Ever since showing off to Xiaobao, Xiaobao couldn’t turn his eyes away.

When he first saw Xiaobao, Duke Ningguo knew that Xiaobao was a good seedling for martial arts. Duke Ningguo was overjoyed to see this child willing to get close to him. In his entire lifetime, he only had two sons. His eldest son had the right build and crossed the threshold at a young age. His great results were also because he had personally taught him what he knew. As for his youngest son, he had been stopped by the old woman from teaching him, but Second Master Shen was indeed born with a bad physique.

Now that he had seen such a good seedling, Duke Ningguo truly treated him as a treasure. He greatly wished for Xiaobao to turn five years old overnight so he could personally teach him everything that he knew.

From his previous life, Xiaobao had well-developed the skill of understanding people’s hearts. He naturally understood how to cater to one’s likes and wishes. He pretended to be very interested in these various knives and weapons and as a result, Duke Ningguo looked at him differently. But after these few days, Duke Ningguo’s enthusiasm for martial arts also infected him. Holding the small wooden knife Duke Ningguo had specially ordered to be made for him, Xiaobao thought to himself about how he could only study texts and literature in his past life because of the state of his body. Now that he was given another chance, it was better to practice martial arts in this life.

“The weapons that your eldest uncle and second uncle played with when they were younger were all made by your great-grandfather. I will make you a small bow tomorrow. Your great-grandfather’s bows are first-class. Back then, your paternal great-great-grandfather had said that if you wanted to learn the bow, you must understand the nature of the bow. From the type of wood to the bowstring, they all affect the range of the bow. The most powerful bow is the ox horn bow, but this kind of bow is a bit more complicated to make…”

One was willing to speak and the other was willing to listen. The old and the young had a great time as they got along with each other. On the other hand, Shen Tai felt as if he was in the bottomless abyss of suffering.

He had lived in the capital ever since he was a child. Although he knew the glorious history and the family heritage of the Shen family, he never experienced it personally. While he and Eldest Madam Shen were in the capital, Eldest Master Shen had sent many letters to urge him to learn martial arts. He had even found several martial arts masters for him. But Eldest Madam Shen felt sorry for her son, and Shen Tai was also a playful child who could not bear hardship. With nobody peering over their shoulders, this so-called martial arts that he had practiced was only for appearance’s sake. It was enough to fool amateurs and those who didn’t know anything but an expert would be able to see the truth.

In the past, after Jin Wang received his vassal state and the Shen Family returned to the capital, Duke Ningguo and Second Master Shen were preoccupied with various matters and couldn’t take care of him. Feeling sympathetic over Shen Tai losing his father, Emperor Hongjing arranged for him to be under the care of Second Master Shen, who couldn’t bear to discipline him or be strict to him.

He, who had been used to eating, drinking and playing, was suddenly trained like this by Duke Ningguo. Although Eldest Madam Shen loved her son, she was also afraid of her father-in-law. She went to mediate and caused some trouble a few times but after Duke Ningguo personally reprimanded her, she never dared to show up again.

Xiaobao walked around before arriving at the martial arts field.

The ground was covered with flat black bricks. There were also many weapon racks on the surrounding walls with all kinds of weapons inserted into them.

Xiaobao was small and short, so he could only reach the bottom of the shelf. Even so, he could still feel his blood boiling with excitement. Following him was Fucheng, and there was also another person in this martial arts field. It was Shen Tai.

Not far away, Shen Tai was being watched by several servants performing the horse stance.

Shen Tai’s legs shook as sweat dripped down. He felt pain all over his entire body, then seeing the small person not far away, his heart grew even more irritable.

Over these past few days, Shen Tai didn’t see Duke Ningguo holding Xiaobao, talking to him with affection, only a few times. He was clearly his biological grandson so why was he kissing other people’s children? He even wondered whether his own father was the old man’s biological son. Otherwise, why was it that his father died but his second uncle was still alive? The heir position should’ve been his, so why was it given to his second uncle?

While his mind was blank, he suddenly remembered what that man had said the other day.

Although Shen Tai didn’t know who that person was, he knew that he must be an extraordinary nobleman. Otherwise, how could he promise him the position of Duke Ningguo? But-

His legs faltered and he staggered backwards. Before he could even stand still, he was hit by a piece of bamboo. Turning his head to look, he saw an expressionless middle-aged servant, holding a two-feet-long piece of thin bamboo, staring at him coldly.

“Young master, stand straight. If you want to attack something, you must first sharpen your weapon. Martial arts is the same. If you want to be good at martial arts, the first thing you must practice is this horse stance.”

In the past few days, it was unknown how many times Shen Tai had suffered from this bamboo stick. But this man was as sly as a chicken thief. Although he felt pain everywhere, the man had left no traces. Even if he wanted to pretend to be unwell, it was impossible.

Shen Tai shuddered in pain and felt as if his bones were torn apart. He wanted to reach out his hand but before he could, he was beaten again. He howled miserably, and the flesh on his hands and feet shook. Happening to catch sight of Xiaobao looking in his direction, he scolded: “F*ck your mother, you little bastard. Is it your turn to watch this lord make a fool of himself?”