Chapter 251: Long Time No See
The winter sun was not very warm.
But as long as there was sunshine, one’s mood would improve a little.
Mianmian was in Father’s study helping him organize books.
Books were an important resource, and there was a whole carriage full of them on the journey to the capital.
The courier industry at this time was not well-developed; otherwise, it would have been more convenient to arrange a courier for things like books.
Because courier services were underdeveloped and transportation was inconvenient, they only brought books that had been carefully selected over and over again.
Or more often, they just memorized them.
Father’s study was quite large.
Perhaps because Uncle He had seen the Censors Suite in Jingzhou, he had decorated Father’s study to have that same vibe, complete with a wall of bookshelves.
Father was simply organizing the books onto the shelves.
Father didn’t have much talent for tidying up, so he was a bit slow.
Often, he would take out a book, flip through it, sit down, and flip through it some more.
The progress was significantly hindered.
However, flipping through books aimlessly was also a kind of pleasure.
Mianmian had been called by Father to stay and help with the work.
Although Mianmian didn’t like memorizing books, she could understand them, so she sorted them one by one for Father to put away.
Modern people had too many channels to acquire knowledge and didn’t like memorizing, but the ancients had very few channels, so they wanted to memorize every single book.
Mianmian discovered a pile of books on Yin-Yang and Bagua; she hadn’t expected Father to believe in such things, let alone enjoy reading them.
There were also many books on traditional Chinese medicine, including one titled “Interpretation of Herbs,” signed by the author, Hermit Changtian.
One look and she knew it was Father’s pseudonym.
Giving himself the title of a hermit was quite amusing.
Jiang Mianmian wondered if she should go and write a book herself.
It seemed that if one wanted to publish a book at this time, there was no need to buy an ISBN.
The main limitations were printing and paper.
Jiang Changtian would often pick up a book he hadn’t read in a long time, flip through it suddenly, and feel a mix of nostalgia and realization.
He closed the book and looked at his busy little daughter putting away the books.
“Mianmian, what do you want to do when we arrive in the capital?”
“Keep a low profile?” Jiang Mianmian replied tentatively.
Jiang Changtian: 6.
Something must have gone wrong with his parenting.
But thinking about it carefully, it seemed his little daughter was right.
A fifth-rank Official Rank, an officer recruited from the Rebels, in the capital, was nothing more than a tiny ant at the very bottom.
Above him were various officials of the first, second, third, and fourth ranks.
And all sorts of imperial relatives and nobles.
Their only relative in the capital now was their in-law, Old Meng.
The court valued civil officials over military ones, so his in-law must be doing just average.
When he arrived at the Meng Family, he discovered there was absolutely no sign of forming cliques for personal gain; this indicated two things: either his in-law was too upright, or his in-law had been excluded.
Jiang Changtian, who always assumed the worst of people, felt it must be the latter.
The Meng Family had been excluded from the center of power.
But to advance as an official, one had to collude, form cliques, and have a stance.
Being a loyal or upright official just meant that others wouldn’t play with you, so you had to become the Emperor’s blade.
To become a blade is to have no personality.
Take Censor He, who confiscated homes, for example…
He was also a big blade.
Jiang Changtian sorted this out and realized something was wrong; the officials he was on good terms with in the court were all blades.
That was two blades already.
However, he still had connections; Saner had eventually entered the palace.
If he hadn’t guessed wrong, the Emperor’s current favorite, Eunuch Yan, Attendant Yan Wenxin, was Saner.
It was just that there had been no correspondence, so Jiang Changtian wasn’t certain.
He would have to wait until he had a chance to meet him to be sure.
As a newcomer to the capital, he really should keep a low profile.
But hearing these words come out of his daughter’s mouth, why did it feel so off?
Jiang Changtian began to understand Xia Mei’s urge to spank the child.
His hands were a bit itchy too.
Looking at his daughter’s grinning face, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
With Mianmian’s help, Jiang Changtian’s efficiency in organizing the study greatly improved, and the books were sorted and put away.
Over there, Mother had already sent someone to call them for dinner.
If one ignored the adjacent courtyard that had been connected to the backyard, their own little courtyard was actually quite cozy.
It was convenient to call everyone for meals.
Lunch was simple; the cook from Jingzhou had also come along, so the flavors were familiar.
Noodles.
It seemed not many people in the capital ate noodles.
Mianmian’s taste now followed her family’s, and she liked eating noodles too.
“I feel like the water here isn’t right; the noodles aren’t chewy and don’t taste as good,” Qin Luoxia complained.
“The powerful and wealthy here go specifically to Qingquan Mountain outside the city to fetch water, and that water costs money. It’s said that many people pay to buy water to drink. Those nobles feel that because there are too many people in the city, the water there is turbid and doesn’t taste good, especially for brewing tea, which requires mountain spring water,” Jiang Feng said.
Although Qin Luoxia had been Madam Jiang, following her husband for a long time, she was still surprised by the idea of paying for water. If their family owned such a mountain, wouldn’t they be sitting on an inexhaustible gold mine? As long as there was water, there was money, and it could be passed down for generations.
“Whose mountain is that Qingquan Mountain?” Qin Luoxia asked curiously.
“Qingquan Mountain belongs to the Imperial Family, and the money is likely collected by people from the Imperial Household Department,” Jiang, the all-knowing, Changtian answered.
Mianmian thought to herself, it’s not strange, not strange at all. In later generations, ordinary people all had to buy water to drink. But this thing about using mountain spring water to brew tea… she inexplicably felt like an arrow shot many years ago had finally hit her own forehead today.
What a sucker.
“Then let’s buy a barrel tomorrow to try.” Qin Luoxia was very good at adapting to local customs; she thought if her husband wanted to brew tea, he might need that water.
Thinking about it this way, expenses in the capital were quite high.
This house had already cost a lot of their savings.
The two courtyards next door hadn’t been fixed up yet.
They couldn’t let Brother Jiang spend money every day; some money that needed to be paid should still be paid.
Her husband probably needed to obtain a new official position upon arriving in the capital, and she heard from Brother Jiang that one had to give bribes to secure an official post.
The capital was much darker than the provinces.
The family chatted while they finished lunch.
They didn’t take a nap.
There was still one important thing to do today.
To pay respects to Great Marshal Zi.
Jiang Mianmian actually didn’t quite know what to do.
Because she had received a letter from Little Bug separately, asking her to help take care of the turtle he raised.
And he seemed very depressed.
Others couldn’t comfort such a mood.
Every word felt pale and powerless.
She didn’t even know how to write back.
The weather was fine.
People going out of the city for outings were endless.
Below Yanshan Mountain, there was a green lawn; it wasn’t the flat kind, but a large slope where one could roll down from the top.
There was a river.
It hadn’t frozen in the winter, and the water flowed gently, making a pleasant sound.
In fact, it was already evening by the time they left the city and arrived at the place.
It was when the evening glow filled the sky.
It was at such a time that Mianmian saw her childhood friend again.
He stood before the grave, dressed in a white robe, with only the front part of his long black hair tied up; the tips of his hair and the hem of his robe fluttered gently in the wind.
“A young gentleman peerless in the world, like jade upon the path.”
There were two more lines to this poem.
“Unable to be born in the same lifetime, I only pray to return to the earth together.”
Seeing such a peerless, one-of-a-kind, gentle-as-jade handsome man, though they couldn’t be born at the same time, she hoped they could be buried in the same place after death.
The pragmatism and romance of the ancients.
Seeing a handsome man, she had even thought of the graveyard.
The five or six-year-old boy in her memory didn’t like to talk, was very serious, acted a bit like an old man, was probably a bit lacking in love, and liked her Mother, with his eyes always lingering on her Mother.
Now he was a dashing young man, a teenager, tall in stature, just like his Father.
Not fat, just growing tall and slender.
He was very beautiful.
Great Marshal Zi was a bearded, dashing, and heroic figure, with the feeling of a martial arts alliance leader, like the charisma of Xiao Feng.
Zi Congheng grew up very clean and beautiful, with a pair of cold, clear eyes.
In the eyes of Jiang Mianmian, who saw Father’s looks every day, seeing Zi Congheng again still made her feel he was very beautiful.
It was quite rare.
Fortunately.
Her childhood friend hadn’t grown up to be ruined; he had grown up even better-looking.
Zi Congheng turned to look at Mianmian.
They had written letters.
Not many.
Just a few words, but he always felt her life was very vivid and exciting.
He remembered she was a very pretty little chubby child.
Now, she had grown up, a graceful young lady, walking over slowly.
Her pace was just as he had imagined, a bit fast.
She liked to trot as she walked.
She almost ran over.
Standing in front of him.
They stood there in silence.
Mianmian reached out her hand.
Zi Congheng was stunned for a moment, then also reached out his hand.
Her hand took his.
“Long time no see.”
“Long time no see.”
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