Chapter 29 My Background: Please Light an Incense Stick for Him for Me

In front of the hall of the Marquis of Xuanping's residence, there are two tall earthenware pots carved with four-clawed golden pythons and hollowed-out bottoms, in which several goldfish and red carp are kept for people to admire.

One afternoon, Chen Liangyu picked up a handful of white pebbles and threw them into the water. The pebbles sank with a "plop," and ripples spread across the wide mouth of the water, startling the fish into swirling around in circles.

Chen Luan appeared out of nowhere, holding a food box, and hesitated at a distance.

A group of soldiers from the garrison walked towards them, and Chen Luan quickly stepped aside to make way for them.

How could a second young master make way for his subordinate? The leader abruptly stopped, hurriedly moved to the other side in a panic, and respectfully bowed his head to clear the way in the corridor.

Chen Luan thought he was in the way, so he hurriedly walked and ran along the railing.

Chen Liangyu also saw him.

Well, for over a decade since her birth, there had never been any concubines or mistresses in her family. One day, Uncle Yan suddenly brought home a woman who was only three years younger than her and told her that this was her half-brother. The feelings she had were indescribable.

Even now, she still hasn't come to terms with it, and when she mentions her brothers, she only recognizes Chen Linjun.

She buried this tangled contradiction in her heart, intending to process it slowly, which made her behavior somewhat inconsistent.

She wanted to follow her parents' wishes to break the deadlock and get along peacefully, but she also instinctively kept her distance from him. Apart from the day he first entered the mansion and was forced by Uncle Yan to acknowledge him as her second brother, she had never spoken to Chen Luan on her own initiative.

Today she still intended to pretend she hadn't seen him, but after hesitating for a long time, Chen Luan started walking towards her.

One sat crookedly on the veranda, clutching a few white pebbles in his hand. The other stood in the courtyard beneath the veranda, holding a two-tiered food box, his eyes slightly darting away.

Chen Liangyu realized that he was coming for her, so she sat up straight and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Chen Luan tried to open the food box lid, but whether it was due to nervousness or something else, his fingers went limp after several attempts. His fingernails dug into the gap between the top of the food box and the wooden lid, and after a slight scraping sound, the food box opened.

He carefully held it up and presented it to Chen Liangyu, stammering, "Do you...do you want some? Aunt Shan just made it, it's still warm."

Inside the box was snow-white cotton cake, sprinkled with a layer of dried osmanthus petals. The moment the box was opened, it cooled and released a white mist, releasing a sweet aroma.

She instinctively waved her hand to politely decline, but realizing it was a letter he had handed her to repair, she paused. She reached into the small food box and picked up a soft, white cake, even though she wasn't hungry. "Thank you..."

The title "Second Brother" was still unfamiliar to her, and she choked on it before she could even finish the sentence. She could only take a bite of cotton cake to cover it up.

"If you are not used to calling me brother and sister, then call me by my nickname. My name is Dasheng, but they used to call me Shengzi."

He is also trying hard to find a way to integrate into this family that seems to not value him much. Everyone in this family has the world on their minds, and he is like an inconspicuous weed in the corner, not worth these 'big shots' having trouble with.

There is no warmth, only numerous rules.

Although those social etiquettes were ingrained in Chen Liangyu's bones and were not considered "rules"—behaving upright and sitting properly was her daily routine—outsiders still considered her to be overstepping boundaries.

Chen Luan felt even more apprehensive, fearing that one day he might make a mistake and cause the Marquis's mansion to lose face.

He couldn't fit into this family, just as the imperial court couldn't accept Chen Liangyu.

They all suddenly stumbled into territory that did not belong to them, exploring and adapting in the new land, trying to integrate into the indigenous community, and intending to be accepted.

She still has her father and brothers to protect her, but her second brother has to face a completely new environment on his own, forcing himself to actively approach strangers whose morality is still unclear. He must be even more uneasy.

Thinking of this, Chen Liangyu continued the conversation, saying, "Great Sage, is the 'sage' of inner sage and outer king?"

Chen Luan blushed, smiled shyly, and said, "It's the 'leftover' in 'leftover rice'."

Why is it called that?

“My mother died of illness very early. I grew up begging for leftovers. The families I begged for called me ‘Big Leftover.’ My father said that a name is a reflection of one’s destiny, nature, and will, and a name should not be disrespectful. So he abandoned the previous name and gave me a new one, Chen Luan. It is taken from Luanchuan, meaning that my heart is as vast as a river, capable of embracing all things. He also said that when I came of age and underwent the coming-of-age ceremony, he would give me a courtesy name.”

When he spoke of his name and courtesy name, his eyes shone brightly, and his eyebrows and eyes were filled with laughter. The laughter reached his eyes, and he seemed much less awkward.

They must have high expectations.

Perhaps he was too excited, because his hand slipped and the food box fell, scattering the cotton cakes all over the ground. He was visibly startled and quickly bent down to pick them up.

"Just have the servants clean it up," Chen Liangyu said.

Chen Luan kept his head down, looking embarrassed, as if blaming himself for messing things up again.

"Perhaps... we shouldn't trouble others."

Chen Liangyu could only squat down and pick them up with him, saying, "Second Brother."

Chen Luan quickly stopped what he was doing, looked at her, and waited quietly for instructions.

"It's just a few pieces of cotton cake, it's nothing. You don't need to be so humble, and don't be afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. This is home, and home is a place that will forgive mistakes."

But you have to kneel in the ancestral hall.

She didn't say that.

Aside from giving food to others, Chen Luan only liked reading.

His room was filled with books, all of which he had taken from the library.

Yan Baizhang saw that he had flipped through two books and said that the books he had chosen to read were too wide and too varied, and that it was not systematic. He said that it would be useless to study like this.

It just so happened that Hanhong Academy was recruiting students for the fall semester, so they asked him to give it a try.

It's impossible for him not to be worried; he had only read a few classic texts with Han Song's father.

Han Song's father was a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), but after passing the Xiucai exam, he repeatedly failed the higher-level exams and had no chance of becoming a Juren (a scholar who passed the provincial-level imperial examinations). Only Juren could report to the Ministry of Personnel, while Xiucai could only be exempted from some taxes and corvée labor and could not become an official. So he set up a few tables and taught people to read and write to make a living.

Founded by Imperial Tutor Gu Changxue, Hanhong Academy is located in Cangnan County. It only considers the talent and character of its students and does not care about their family background. As a result, countless spoiled young men who wanted to use their family background to get into Hanhong Academy were all rejected by the discerning examiners.

As a result, many of the poor students who became officials came from Da Rong. Although the academy was still mostly populated by students from noble families, it was the largest number of students compared to other academies.

Since its establishment, Hanhong Academy has provided the imperial court with countless key personnel. They are known for their adherence to etiquette and law, their integrity, and their courage to speak out against current malpractices and criticize flaws.

Over time, they formed their own faction: the Hanhong Party.

Grand Tutor Gu, now over sixty, was no longer able to manage the academy and handed it over to his eldest son, Gu Heng. Fortunately, since Gu Heng took over the academy, the rule of "not judging talent based on family background" has not been broken. Anyone who wants to enter the academy must undergo a unified examination, and royalty and nobility are no exception.

To get in, you need to have real talent and ability.

At that time, there was only a little over a month before the exam. Chen Luan asked Yan Baizhang to cram for some time, and he actually passed the exam.

Yan Baizhang praised him for being quick-witted and eager to learn, and for his exceptional talent.

At that time, Chen Liangyu said, "It is true that Hanhong Academy does not consider family background, but it is selective and does not admit women. I think the number one academy in the world is nothing more than this."

Yan Baizhang asked, "Then what do you intend to do?"

Chen Liangyu put his hands behind his back, raised his head, and said, "Naturally, we should build an academy for women to study."

Yan Baizhang said, "I wish you success." Then he chased her out, telling her not to disturb his second brother's studies.

A few days before Chen Luan set off for Cangnan, the imperial court sent Chen Liangyu to Xiling again. This was her original strategy of "replacing suppression with land reclamation," and it seemed she also had a responsibility to verify its results. If anything went wrong, adjustments could be made in time.

Chen Yuanqing instructed Chen Luan to go along, ostensibly to provide extra support.

Chen Liangyu didn't need someone as weak as him to look after her, but she probably knew why her father wanted her second brother to go with her, so she didn't refuse.

Sure enough, Chen Yuanqing emphasized to Chen Luan, "Light an incense stick for him." After thinking for a moment, he added, "Light an incense stick for him on behalf of your father."

When an elder passes away and is unable to move around easily, there is a tradition in the family for the male members to perform the ancestral rites on behalf of the father. Chen Luan thought that Chen Yuanqing had been wounded in battle and was in poor health, and since his elder brother was not at home, it was only right for him to perform the rites on his behalf, so he obediently agreed.

But looking at it from all angles, Chen Liangyu didn't need him to look after her; he was better at holding her back.

He quickly came up with a self-consistent logic: "Maybe Dad was afraid you would be captured by bandits again, and I was able to run back in time to call Dad and Mr. Yan to rescue you."

"Don't mention it."

Chen Liangyu was used to traveling on horseback, but Chen Luan was not a skilled rider, and fearing that he might fall off the horse and disappear, they drove on by carriage.

More than a month later, when I walked this road again, my feelings were very different, a mixture of emotions.

The houses in Bogongzhai that were burned down have been mostly rebuilt, and the seedlings have turned golden yellow after they mature.

When I saw A-Yin again, she had just finished cutting the last row of crops, straightened up from the field, and wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve.

A-Yin led them to Lin Jianshu's grave. The tombstone was just a simple piece of wood with black charcoal writing on it. After a rain, the writing was washed away and could not be read.

Chen Liangyu found another piece of wood suitable for making a monument, and carefully carved his name with his Lancang sword, then erected a new monument.

Chen Luan knelt before the grave, bowed three times, lit incense, and burned some paper money.

Will he come again?

The overwhelming hatred in A-Yin's eyes had disappeared. After a brief conversation, she said that from their respective perspectives, no one had done anything wrong, so she no longer hated them.

Finally, she asked that question.

Will I ever see him again?

Chen Liangyu then remembered that when she dumped Zhai Ji on A Yin, she had tricked him by saying that he would become her husband once he recovered from his injuries.

Seeing her stunned, A-Yin smiled and said, "I know you're just trying to fool me. He's a prince and I'm just a country girl. We're not a good match. I didn't take your words seriously."

She waved goodbye to them.

"A-Yin," Chen Liangyu called to her, "would you like to join the army?"

In fact, she had this idea in her mind as soon as she discovered that the bandit she had captured was a woman.

Where there are officials, there are people; where there are soldiers, there are bandits. Conversely, if she can be a bandit, she can also join the army.

We must give women a vast world to explore; education and schooling should not be the only path for them.

Women's education was something only daughters of officials could do; most common people were illiterate, so the path of education was not an option for them.

Joining the army is an option.

The bandit, a peasant woman, was used to wielding hoes and sickles, carrying loads of water, and possessed great strength. She wondered if she could form a women's army, brave and daring to charge into battle.

A-Yin stood in the golden sunset, the beams of light merging with the golden farmland. With her back to the light, she carefully considered her answer to Chen Liangyu's question.

"Almost all the men in the village are dead. We need a leader to pull everyone together. I can't leave yet."

She walked against the light into the distance, her coarse linen clothes appearing as if they were draped with gold.

"But if you need me someday, I'll come to you," she said without turning her head.

Author's Note: Were these two chapters a bit boring? I swear on my integrity that there was no filler content. A new chapter is about to begin! So there will be transitions and connections!

Remember, do not overlook any character who appears in the story.

The next chapter will feature the return of sixteen-year-old Jiang Ning.

Thank you for reading this far!