One child is a treasure, but a whole pack of them? That's not treasure—it's pure chaos.
Spring and the other three maids are driven half mad by this group of kids, wishing desperately they'd either hurry up the mountain or just go back to the Capital.
The first option doesn't look likely; the second is probably even harder.
The six boys had already split into factions: Max Zhai, Leo Si, and Evan Yu were all martial types and naturally stuck together.
They’ve tried everything—coquettish pleading, threats, feigning illness, even false military alarms. Any trick they could think of, they used.
"You bookworms yap all day and never get anything done. What's the use of all these pointless ideas? If you ask me, we should just charge straight up!" Max Zhai, son of Dominic Zhai, couldn't care less about his father's careful advice—he sounded every bit the brash fighter.
"Xiaoming's right. All your schemes are useless. If the Crown Prince actually fell for any of them, that'd be a miracle." Leo Si, son of Colin Si, stood firmly with Max—both convinced fists were better than brains.
Evan Yu, the young son of General Warren Yu, chimed in, backing them up: "If you're scared, the three of us will go first. My dad told me not to worry about causing trouble—as long as we're not sent home, it's fine. The Crown Prince won't let us die."
“My dad said the same. We’re not going to die, so what’s there to be afraid of? Getting a little roughed up won’t kill us.” Leo gave a thumbs-up, itching for action.
Just hearing about Skyvault Palace’s mechanisms made him want to try them out.
"Grand Heir doesn’t like people who act recklessly. If you do this, you’ll only make him unhappy." Shane Wang, usually quiet, finally spoke up—he couldn’t stay silent with these three being so impulsive.
“Tch... Why should I care if the Grand Heir’s satisfied? I’m here to keep the Crown Prince company.” Max Zhai immediately shot back, full of disdain.
He had no interest in learning from the Grand Heir—he hated those people who talked in Classics. Just hearing a tutor start lecturing was enough to give him a headache.
“No harm in trying. Sitting around at the mountain foot isn’t getting us anywhere.” Liam Fuller, son of Felix Fuller, didn’t feel pressured at all—his dad had told him to stick close to the Crown Prince.
Of course, clinging to someone’s thigh had to be done with style—you couldn’t let anyone see it, just like his dad had back in the day.
Tyler Cui, seeing everyone getting fired up, calmly reminded them: “The Grand Heir is the Crown Prince’s adoptive father, and you all know the Crown Prince respects him deeply. If the Grand Heir’s displeased, the Crown Prince will be unhappy too. And if he’s unhappy, our days at Skyvault Palace won’t be pleasant. I’m pretty sure none of you want to be sent home.”
Everyone here was a rare prodigy, no matter their personality. Deep down, they all shared the same pride—they refused to accept failure.
"The road up the mountain isn’t easy. If we end up battered and still don’t make it, the Crown Prince will just think we’re weak." Shane Wang and Tyler Cui were natural allies, always sticking together.
“If you don’t want to charge straight up, then come up with a useful plan!” Max Zhai challenged, while Warren Yu and Leo Si backed him up.
Tyler Cui and Shane Wang just sulked in silence, faces stiff.
If they’d had a good plan, they’d have used it by now—instead of just hanging around here.
Seeing things going south, Liam Fuller quickly tried to smooth things over. After a long discussion, they still couldn’t agree, and once again broke up unhappily.
“How come six of them together still can’t outplay the Crown Prince?” The Season Maids had watched these boys struggle for over a month and already figured out their personalities.
Tyler Cui and Shane Wang were related, so of course they formed a team. Liam Fuller didn’t pick sides—he got along with everyone and could hang out with both camps.
Tyler Cui and the Wang heir were related, so of course they formed a team. Liam Fuller didn’t pick sides—he got along with everyone and could hang out with both camps.
“The Crown Prince was personally taught by the Grand Heir—a famous teacher produces a fine pupil.” Autumn, a fangirl of the Grand Heir, said this as praise for Little Dumpling, but really she was praising William Wang Jinling.
Mira Tang, always cool and rational, replied, “If word gets out, their fathers—who are all respected teachers—would be crushed.”
Autumn stuck out her tongue and didn’t argue with Mira.
Cute means we can do all the things lovers do!
“It’s been over a month and they still haven’t reached Skyvault Palace. Should I have Felix and the others write to their sons?” Nolan Dongling, holding the letter, pretended to be dissatisfied.
Actually, he was feeling pretty smug.
His son going one against six—how could he not be proud?
“Fine, Little Dumpling has the Grand Heir backing him. If the others want help from their fathers, that’s only fair.” Serena Feng hadn’t been as invested in the six boys lately as Nolan.
Her disciple Simon Sun was in Northlyn and hadn’t sent word for three months, which worried her—but knowing Logan Ling was with him put her at ease.
“Does Little Dumpling really need William Wang Jinling to handle those six boys?” Nolan was completely confident in his son.
Serena set her worries aside, walked over and hugged Nolan from behind, snatching the letter from his hand: “Let me see what Spring wrote.”
“These weak tricks really don’t need the Grand Heir to step in.” After reading, Serena agreed with Nolan’s judgment.
Nolan pulled Serena’s hand, anchoring her to his shoulder: “It’s not that their tricks are weak—it’s that our son is too outstanding to fall for them.”
“Little Dumpling is older than they are.” One or two years older, but still older—and he’d been personally taught by both Nolan and William Wang Jinling. If a child taught by those two didn’t have skills, that’d be embarrassing.
“Little Dumpling’s learned more and broader things than they have.” Nolan was as convinced as ever that his son was the best. Serena thought so too, though she wasn’t as vocal about it.
Serena fairly praised Max Zhai and the others: “Among children, these few are all rare talents, each with their own strengths. With them around, Little Dumpling won’t be lonely.”
Little Dumpling may be precocious, but he’s not a genius. He needs friends his own age, and Serena felt Nolan had picked well.
“Mm.” Nolan didn’t deny it—other people’s kids were decent, but no matter how good they were, they couldn’t compare to his own son.
“Write to the Valley Master and tell him to keep an eye on Sweet Dumpling—don’t let her run off, especially not up to Skyvault Palace.” Nolan always liked to plan ahead.
The six boys were about the same age as Sweet Dumpling. If she took a fancy to any of them, that would be trouble.
“What are you worrying about? Sweet Dumpling’s still little, and those boys don’t even understand romance yet.” Serena couldn’t help laughing, looping her arms around Nolan’s neck and cuddling up to his back. “If you start fretting this early, you’ll be miserable when she actually comes of age.”
“She’s a long way from growing up.” Nolan frowned, already genuinely anxious. Serena couldn’t help laughing, and bit his neck: “You’re really cute when you worry like this…”
“Cute?” Nolan instantly bristled, spun around and scooped Serena onto his lap: “Serena, ‘cute’ isn’t a word for men. Tonight I’ll show you what ‘cute’ really means!”
Cute means doing all the loving things!