Chapter Thirty-Four: Granduncle

The elderly woman was anything but shy—she engaged Jiang Lan in lively conversation, drawing in a whole group of her old friends. As they chatted, a line of small children, each with a bundle on their back, appeared at the entrance to the alley. They respectfully greeted the “great-aunts” standing beside Jiang Lan, calling out with reverence, “Seventh Grandma, Ninth Grandma…”

Jiang Lan, unable to untangle these intricate family relations, simply asked with curiosity, “You’re only just out of school at this late hour? You must study hard.”

The “great-niece” by her side, her face wrinkled with age, replied, “Ah, you have no idea. The school they attend is far away. They must rise before dawn, and only return after sunset. In winter, they come home in the dark.”

“Isn’t there a school nearby?”

She shook her head. “There is, but it’s too expensive for us. Even if a family scrimped and saved every penny, their children would never be admitted through those doors.”

Jiang Lan was lost in thought until a child of about six or seven drifted into her view.

This little one was all skin and bones, his face sallow and thin, but his eyes were extraordinary. At a glance, Jiang Lan could tell—they were spirit-seeing eyes.

He carried a large basket strapped to his back, weighed down with something heavy. His clothes were washed to a faded white, his feet shod in tattered cloth shoes. Though the street was wide enough, he kept close to the wall, lowering his head whenever he passed someone, as if terrified of being noticed.

“Little Ming, is your sister Lan any better?” called the “great-niece.”

The boy’s voice was clear and timid, yet pleasant to the ear. “Thank you, Seventh Grandma, for the rice porridge. My little sister is much better now.”

Jiang Lan watched as the child answered from across the street, his head lowered, his expression unreadable.

Up close, he seemed even thinner.

When the child had left, Jiang Lan’s “great-niece” resumed her conversation. “That poor child—two years ago, his father was working at the docks and tripped over a rope, falling into the sea. By the time they pulled him out, he was already gone. His mother, pregnant at the time, was so shocked by the news that she miscarried. Though mother and daughter survived, the mother passed away before the month was out. Now, it’s just the siblings, relying on each other…”

Jiang Lan glanced at the darkening sky. After bidding farewell to her “great-niece,” she made her way, twisting and turning, to the ancestral Jiang clan shrine.

This time, she made no effort to conceal her identity, stating her purpose outright.

The venerable clan elder, eighty years old, grasped her hands with tears in his eyes. “Little cousin, you are thoughtful, truly thoughtful…”

Not only did Jiang Lan cover the clan’s expenses for inviting learned scholars, she also brought a visiting card from the National Duke’s Mansion to invite a well-known old scholar. Remembering her family’s martial background, she found a martial arts instructor as well—and that Ouyang Sheng, who came along for free.

She left him there to give basic lessons to the clan’s young children, instructing him to keep up his own studies in his spare time. She provided for his needs, asking only that he not leave the Jiang family residence.

Ouyang Sheng was easily satisfied. He knew that venturing out now might mean running into all sorts of trouble, and here he had food, drink, and the chance to keep studying—what more could he want?

With everything arranged, Jiang Lan asked the old clan elder to take her to the home of little Ming.

Before her stood a dilapidated hut, which didn’t even have a proper door.

Jiang Lan stood behind the clan elder, watching as he knocked.

“Ming, Ming, cough… it’s your great-granduncle.”

Through the battered wooden door, which offered no protection at all, Jiang Lan saw the child cautiously come forward to let them in.

“Great-granduncle.”

The boy leaned against the doorframe, looking fearfully at Jiang Lan, who stood behind the elder.

The commotion, of course, drew the neighbors to their doors.

Seeing the child’s apprehension, the clan elder introduced Jiang Lan. “This is your little grand-uncle. He knows you lost your parents young and wishes to take you as his page. What do you think, Ming?”

For the first time, the boy dared to look up at Jiang Lan, his eyes misty with unshed tears. He shook his head.

“Thank you, little grand-uncle, but I don’t want to go.”

Afraid the child’s shyness would cost him this opportunity, the elder hurried to explain. “It’s not servitude—this is your little grand-uncle, the young heir of the National Duke’s Mansion…”

The neighbors all gasped—what a chance!

But still, Ming shook his head, earning a sigh of disappointment from the clan elder. Worried that Jiang Lan might be offended, he tried to explain on Ming’s behalf.

Jiang Lan shook her head, stepped forward, and gently ruffled the child’s dry hair. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your little sister too.”

Xichi, holding the nearly two-year-old girl, looked troubled, while the master ahead simply led the little boy by the hand, paying no attention to him at all.

Jiang Lan glanced at the child, who was barely waist-high and kept stealing careful glances at her as they walked.

She met his gaze. His eyes, bright as stars, were veiled by a white haze.

“Your eyes are beautiful,” she said.

The child, instead of blushing at the praise, grew anxious and tried to pull his hand away.

“They say they’re unlucky.”

Jiang Lan held on tighter, silently imparting strength to this child of the mortal world.

“They’re wrong. This is a gift from the heavens.”

For the first time, the child heard such words and stopped in his tracks.

Jiang Lan patted his head. “Be my apprentice.”

The child was startled. “But didn’t great-granduncle say I’d be a page?”

Jiang Lan smiled faintly. “That was just to fool them. I’m no scholar—what use have I for a page?” Seeing confusion in the child’s eyes, she patted her chest and boasted, “Studying is for ordinary people. I’ll teach you something different.”

The mist cleared from the child’s eyes, leaving only clarity.

Two new members joined the household. For the first time ever, Jiang Lan had the cook, Mama Fang, prepare a lavish table of dishes.

“Ming, your little grand-uncle is now your teacher. This is his home, and you are now one of its young masters. Don’t be shy—if you want to eat anything, just ask Mama Fang to make it.” Seeing Ming’s restraint—he only took a breath, not daring to lift his chopsticks—Jiang Lan kept serving him food.

“Thank you, little grand-uncle.”

But the child remained nervous, so Jiang Lan set down her chopsticks and explained her plan. “Your sister was born prematurely and is frail, often ill. I’ve sent Xichi—the one who followed behind me without a word—to fetch the family doctor. My courtyard is large; the main house and study are my private quarters, but you may choose any other room you like. Tonight, two old nursemaids and four young maids will come to look after you. During the day, you’ll stay by my side…”

Ming hung his head and stammered, “C-c-can I take care of my sister?”

What a sensible child! Jiang Lan praised him inwardly but shook her head. “No, you’ll be learning with me and won’t have much time. Your sister is still small and needs care…”

Seeing the burden in the boy’s eyes, Jiang Lan sighed. “Can you take care of yourself?”

Ming’s eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly.

“All right, then. I’ll spare the attendants for you, but you must remember to look after yourself every day!”

The child was delighted. Jiang Lan smiled. “Now, eat.”

That night, the entire National Duke’s Mansion was thrown into an uproar.

“What? The young heir brought home two children!”

“What’s this? Is he planning to raise children instead of marrying?”

“Who knows? But our young master is so generous—he’s already had the servants make several sets of new clothes for them. Tsk, tsk…”