Chapter 223: Entering the Capital
Start of Winter.
It rained yesterday.
It turned cold all of a sudden.
The Jiang Mansion was bustling, yet the scene was orderly.
Everyone was packing up.
Back when the Earthquake happened, Qin Luoxia had already reorganized and packed the family’s valuables.
Because the Earthquake had damaged the house, it had been renovated once already.
Jiang Mianmian had also acquired a sword forged from meteorite iron—the kind that was beautiful, with a tassel, a scabbard, and a very sharp blade when drawn.
She loved it to death.
Because of this, she signed up for an extra interest class: sword training taught by her Elder Brother.
She tried it out; wearing the sword at her waist didn’t actually affect her walking.
It looked very cool.
What was having a sword like? It was probably like carrying a super expensive luxury handbag in modern times.
Then, she also had a set of medical instruments she needed forged.
Her Elder Brother was very good at teaching and very patient.
Mianmian felt that compared to reciting ancient texts over and over, sword training was actually much easier.
She imagined the sword movements as radio calisthenics, which made them easy to memorize.
Foreigners think radio calisthenics are super complex and mistake them for Chinese Kung Fu, but in reality, by doing them over and over every day, they just become ingrained in your bones.
Sword training was probably the same.
She practiced with her Elder Brother every morning, starting one move at a time.
Then she connected them.
First, she connected them slowly, and once it became smooth, she sped up.
Repeating the practice every day, Jiang Mianmian felt very happy. Sword training really did feel like it strengthened the body, much like radio calisthenics. By practicing every day, her height, which hadn’t changed for a long time, actually budged a little, growing slightly by half an inch.
Jiang Mianmian was pleasantly surprised; it was a real unexpected gain, and she had to keep working hard.
Sword training was one of her favorite things recently.
Second was treating people’s illnesses, which basically broke even.
Ever since she reattached the Yamen Runner Old Jiu’s finger, he was actually able to move it freely a few months later, which completely stunned everyone.
It just so happened that the day she reattached Old Jiu’s finger was the first day of the porridge distribution; there were tons of people, and the rumors spread wildly.
Then, the number of patients increased.
Jiang Mianmian wasn’t a deity; she only took on cases she could treat. For those she couldn’t, she arranged transfers and recommended other doctors in the city.
Mianmian discovered that sword training also helped improve her hand speed and surgical level; they complemented each other.
Now, whenever she went out to practice medicine or attend school, she had an extra bodyguard. It used to be just Pang Ya, but now Wei Biao was added.
Jiang Mianmian had just gotten used to life in Jingzhou.
School, sword training, practicing medicine—it was very fulfilling.
As it turned out, a transfer order from the capital meant Father had to go to the capital to report for duty along with the Prefect’s family.
Their whole family never expected that one day they would leave Kaner Village—leaving for the Prefecture City was one thing, but now they were actually going to the capital.
They were excited and nervous.
Jiang Yu was very excited; she heard the capital had so much delicious food, and the capital had the Imperial Palace, which had imperial chefs, and it was said that every imperial chef was the best in the world.
The nervousness came from the fact that she was finally going to meet her parents-in-law.
Although they had been writing to each other and it felt quite good.
But they hadn’t met in person, right? What if the meeting was unpleasant? That would be so awkward.
Moreover, she was hitting the road with a big belly. What if they were too slow on the road and she gave birth? If it was a daughter, she’d name her Meng Lu; if it was a son, she’d name him Meng Lu. Jiang Yu had even thought of the names.
For some reason, when she said the daughter would be named Meng Lu, Mianmian laughed like a little fool. Perhaps she was just silly with the thought of being an aunt; she ran over every day to read to the child in her belly, more diligently than Mianmian read for herself.
Meng Shaoxia was also very happy. Although he was an eyesore in front of his parents, he would miss them after being away for a long time.
Plus, taking Little Yu’er back and having a new addition to the family soon—just thinking about it made him excited. He would be promoted to a new status soon.
Jiang Feng was very busy, not with packing, but because he was always responsible for training the troops. Now that they were going to the capital, he couldn’t abandon the elite; he had to take them with him.
So, during this time, apart from waking up early every day to teach his younger sister sword training, he was organizing the troops, selecting the elites, and streamlining the team.
It wasn’t that those left behind were abandoned.
Jingzhou was still their base camp; it couldn’t be lost, and they had to guard their home well.
As for Jiang Changtian, he spent half a day at the Yamen and then returned home.
He didn’t have much to hand over; the Yamen was now staffed entirely by his own people. Even if he left, they would act according to his requirements.
Jingzhou was prosperous, but unbeknownst to anyone, it had quietly changed hands.
Jiang Changtian received a letter.
A letter from his good friend Gong Qichi.
“Changtian, I hope this letter finds you well.
Since coming to the capital, we have been accumulating strength and have not succumbed to despair. We believe that as long as we work hard, there will definitely be results. However, our Lord was defeated by fate.
The Lord would occasionally mention having a headache, but we didn’t pay it any mind, because I sometimes get headaches after staying up late, thinking too much, or sitting for a long time. But then, the Lord’s head suddenly split open, and he died. He died in front of the Young Lord; the Young Lord saw it with his own eyes.
The Young Lord hasn’t been as reticent in these past few years; he was much like us. However, after the Lord died, perhaps due to shock or some other reason, the Young Lord became silent again and hasn’t spoken a word since.
I could only accept the mandate in a time of crisis and take care of the Young Lord. But the Lord had many foster sons, and their relationships were not unbreakable.
While the Lord was here, everyone could work together, but once the Lord was gone, the foster sons had differing opinions. The situation in the capital is complex now, and as I watch us fall apart, years of effort may be destroyed in an instant. If it must be destroyed, I would rather it be destroyed at your hands, Brother Jiang.
The situation is urgent; I hope you come quickly.
Your friend, Yehang.”
Jiang Mianmian also received a letter.
It was sent by the little boy from that year, Little Bug.
The two occasionally exchanged letters, but very occasionally—like one a year. Usually, it was when Little Bug’s family sent New Year’s gifts, with a letter enclosed just to say hello.
Jiang Mianmian would also politely reply, returning the greetings.
However, this letter was a bit different.
“I attended the first funeral of my life; it was Father’s.
He died in front of me, very suddenly. There was no shock, nor any sorrow; it was probably a good thing.
The thing I feared most was Father leaving me.
It finally happened.
From now on, in this world, I have no more kin.
I am like a wandering soul.
Drifting about.
The funeral was simple. Father’s grave is not far, at the foot of Yanshan Mountain.
If you come to the capital for an outing, you might even pass by it.
Father liked liveliness when he was alive; he should be afraid of loneliness after death, so it’s quite good.
My little turtle is still alive, and I am still alive.
Strange.
I once dreamed that I had died, Father attended my funeral, and Father was very sad.
Now, it is I who am very sad, and for a moment, I actually cannot tell which is better.
So, dreams are the opposite.
I am very afraid of dreaming.
Things in dreams are always a bit scary.
The only time I felt at ease in a dream was when I dreamed of you.
Hearing that you will come to the capital is probably the only reason I have to go on living.
I want to see you one more time.
And then I will go to keep Father company.
I want to entrust you with the care of my little turtle, because you look like you will live a long life, and you can take care of the little turtle for longer.”
Jiang Mianmian read the letter; she read it over and over, three times.
Only then did she realize that tears had fallen onto the letter paper.
She looked up.
Outside the window, there were two trees.
She remembered when she was very young, she told him, “You have to give a gift to your Father; you have to express your affection, your love; you must say it out loud.”
She picked up a branch and gave it to him.
He gave it.
She taught him to try hard to love others; he succeeded, and then the person he loved died.
A gust of wind blew by; the leaves on the trees fell, drifting and floating, empty and desolate.
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