Facts have proven that even if you are the literal ruler of a country, you still won’t be able to make every single decision in your life by yourself. Especially in the dragon realm, the one reigning could often be described as being below one and above ten thousand. As for who it was who had more say in matters than the incumbent sovereign … well, needless to say, it was their lover. Even dragon king Gao Huan, who had always been known as a man’s man, was the same.

Back when he married his wife, Wen Yan, he hadn’t noticed it too much. When it came to the matters of the realm, she didn’t get involved in them and wouldn’t even say much when he told her about what was recently weighing on his mind. But the year he took in his two little disciples … life changed imperceptibly.

That year, snow fell heavily in the dragon realm, covering the roofs throughout the whole capital. The big tree in the main courtyard of the dragon king’s palace held the white blanket up in separate pieces on its big branches, throwing some off whenever the layer got too heavy.

Gao Huan patiently accompanied his two disciples to teach them how to use the sword, not minding the snow that had been falling for the last two hours. Both of them were too young to use their innate magic so he could only use this time to teach them other things first.

Gao Huan once again corrected Chun Yin’s posture, glanced at Jinde flailing with the practice weapon in hand, and then looked up at his wife.

Wen Yan stood in the door to the courtyard, giving him that look.

Gao Huan’s brows twitched. Wen Yan hadn’t said a word since she stepped outside but one glance at her expression was enough to communicate how she felt. The two of them had been together for a long time, married for almost a hundred years. They didn’t need words to understand what the other meant. No, he could clearly read the disapproval in her eyes.

He sighed and patted Chun Yin’s shoulder. “You continue to practice.” He waited for Chun Yin’s nod before walking over to his wife’s side.

Looking at her, the serious gaze from the time he had focused on teaching his disciples softened. He stepped closer and reached out, grasping her hands which had turned a little cold due to the weather. “Why are you outside? Just wait inside until we are finished and I will join you.”

Wen Ya was an elegant lady. Among the outspoken dragons who might directly curse at someone’s face if they didn’t like their actions, she was certainly an exception. Even if she looked at her husband disapprovingly, she would not argue in that way. That didn’t mean that she wouldn’t voice her opinion though. “It’s been four hours, two of those in the snow. How much longer do you want to train them today? You feel reluctant to feel my hands turning cold, but you can’t be bothered about the bodies of two literal children?”

Gao Huan turned to the side, looking at the two disciples who were still diligently training. Well, Chun Yin was seriously swinging the practice sword while Jinde was somewhat swaying on the spot, barely even lifting the weapon anymore.

Gao Huan sighed. Jinde was younger between the two of them and it hadn’t taken long for him to figure out that his talent with weapons was lower than Chun Yin’s. As a result, he had already adjusted the amount and content of his training but it still seemed too much for him to handle. Well, it wasn’t like he held many expectations for him so it was alright.

He turned back to Wen Ya, wrapping her hands more tightly. “Do you want to take Jinde back inside?”

Wen Ya raised her slender eyebrows, giving her husband that same look as before.

Gao Huan winced. “If things work out as intended, Chun Yin will be king one day. There is much to learn until then.”

“So much that he can’t even get a short break on a day like this? Or do you want to show him that this is how he should one day treat other people?”

Gao Huan shook his head. “Of course not. But as king, his responsibility will be greater than anyone else’s and the work that comes with it will be harder than anyone else’s as well. It’s better to understand this early. If he truly can’t bear it … he is not made for this life.”

“He is barely a little over a hundred years.”

“That is just the right age to start.”

Wen Ya sighed and pulled her hands out of her husband’s grip. “Well, if you insist. I certainly can’t force you. Just don’t complain to me later.” She walked past him, stepping down into the courtyard and stooping down next to Jinde.

This second disciple of her husband’s was even younger than the first, not even having reached a hundred years. She didn’t think that he had any business swinging a practice sword for several hours a day but … well, at least her husband was willing to let him off the hook for now. That was better than nothing.

“Jinde, aren’t you cold? Your Master’s wife made some soup. How about coming in and having a bowl to warm up?” Clearly, his little hands were frozen stiff and his cheeks and nose had turned red from the cold wind.

Jinde stopped trying to swing the practice sword and turned to look at her. “But Master said we should continue.”

“Mn …” Wen Ya quietly glared at her husband but didn’t voice her thoughts. “Well, I just spoke to him and he said it’s alright.” Of course, he had only said so about Jinde which the little one might not like but … it was worth a try.

Jinde seemed a little doubtful though. “Really?” He tilted his head and looked at his Master. The king hadn’t been paying as much attention to him as he had to Chun Yin so he hadn’t told him specifically to continue practicing but it still seemed odd that he would just let him leave.

Wen Ya nodded though. “Of course! Would I lie to you?”

Jinde looked at her with his golden eyes and then slowly shook his head. Of course, his Master’s wife wouldn’t lie to him.

Wen Ya smiled and then motioned inside again. “So, do you want to go?”

Jinde glanced at the door and then at the snowflakes that were still falling and then nodded.

“Great!”

Wen Ya wanted to grab his hand but Jinde already slipped over to Chun Yin’s side and tugged at his sleeve. “Senior martial brother! Master’s wife said we should go inside and drink soup.”

Chun Yin who had been seriously swinging his sword up until now glanced back. He was only a few steps away so he had heard. Their Master’s wife had only spoken with Jinde though and hadn’t come to him. Even if Jinde didn’t realize, Chun Yin could tell that there was a difference.

Wen Ya just smiled at him though. If the little ones misunderstood, that definitely wasn’t her fault. Her husband could deal with it. Anyway, what was so wrong with letting the children take a break and have some soup? If he still wanted to torture them, he could do it again later. It wasn’t like she’d whisk them away forever.

Gao Huan also saw what happened. His lips twitched but seeing his wife’s look, he finally nodded at Chun Yin. “Yes, go in and warm up a little. Afterward …”

Wen Ya got to her feet and raised her brows at him. “Afterward, we can talk about the rest.” Even if she didn’t want to whisk them away, she still didn’t want them to work too hard, after all. If she could get them to just be kids for a few hours and maybe play a little, she’d already be happy.

Seeing that the king’s wife had spoken, Chun Yin grabbed Jinde’s small hand and pulled him inside. Anyway, their Master never outright disagreed with his wife. At the very least, he hadn’t heard him do so and it didn’t seem to be a coincidence. And seeing how cold Jinde’s hands were, it seemed right to go back inside now.

Jinde happily followed along, glancing over his shoulder as they walked inside and looking at the neat row of footprints they had left. Compared to the snow that had already turned mushy further into the courtyard because of their movements, it was really pretty.

Chun Yin also looked back when Jinde lagged behind, his gaze traveling through the courtyard. To him who had sometimes accompanied his mother to the palace before, this view didn’t seem like much but for this little junior martial brother of his, it might be different. Even after several months, he might not be used to it.

He turned back to face Jinde and tugged at the hand he was holding. “Let’s go out later. There is a nice spot close to where my family lives. I’ll show you then.” Of course, when that ‘later’ would be, still depended on his Master so he took a quick look.

Gao Huan looked at the two children who were holding hands and finally nodded under Chun Yin’s questioning gaze. He had taken in Chun Yin with the intention of turning him into a good candidate to take over the throne of the dragon realm one day. As for Jinde, this child who had been hastily added on the day of the ceremony … well, he had his own plans for him.

So far, these two got along well but they were truly very young. It was impossible to say how things would develop in the future. It wasn’t necessary yet to worry about this but then, it couldn’t hurt to push things in the right direction either. Since Chun Yin was taking the initiative to help this child adjust, it might be a good opportunity. Not to mention that his wife would be happy if he let them off for the rest of the day as well.

He waited for them and patted Chun Yin’s shoulder again. “It’s good that you care so much for your junior martial brother. Keep it up in the future. Today, after warming up, the two of you can go off and play. Just make sure you don’t return too late. Tomorrow, you’ll have to train again if you want to make something out of yourself in the future.”

Chun Yin nodded and Jinde followed suit even though Gao Huan hadn’t looked at him.

Finally, the four of them went to sit down and Wen Ya handed everyone a steaming bowl of soup before sitting down next to her husband.

Looking at him, she finally smiled, thinking to herself that her husband was still able to learn. She just had to give him a little bit of time to think things through.

Gao Huan glanced at her but didn’t comment, simply focusing on his own bowl. Anyway, what he had been thinking of, he didn’t have to tell his wife or she would just scold him for being overly hasty. Uh … actually, looking at these two children who were barely a hundred years old, he might indeed be rushing into this. His lips twitched and he lowered his head further, not wanting to think about it any longer. No, it was better to focus on the soup his wife had made. Ah, if he didn’t bother having his disciples practice today, he could also spend a few more hours with her. After all, the matters of the realm had already been taken care of so there was nothing left to do.