Chapter 1545 Extra: A Complete Fiction (Part 2)
Boarding students can only go home once a month, but Yan Sui, as the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, has much more freedom. She first discusses important matters with the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, then processes the student suggestions collected from the suggestion box, and then patrols the school. She only leaves after all the candles in the dormitories have been extinguished.
As the daughter of the Duke of Anguo, and a woman of exceptional literary talent, Yan Sui would have had a better future in the court, so there was no need for her to focus on her position as Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy. Outsiders speculated that the emperor was wary of her mother, Ning Yan, which was why she had to keep a low profile.
Yan Sui: "..."
That's a good guess. Don't guess again next time.
There wasn't really any complicated reason; Yan Sui simply wanted to pursue a career in education, nothing more. Her grandfather, while not exactly a teacher with countless students, had still produced many successful ones, and she felt that one person's efforts couldn't compare to the combined efforts of thousands of like-minded individuals.
The officialdom doesn't need another one like her.
But those talented students may just be missing a discerning mentor.
Returning home under the stars, she was greeted by the steward, who then instructed the kitchen to prepare a late-night snack for her. Yan Sui, accustomed to this, sat down to eat. Not long after, her mother returned from her shift. See, this was one of the main reasons she went to the Imperial Academy.
The Lord has too much energy.
As a court attendant in the Secretariat, my mother risked her life to accompany the gentleman.
"Mother, let's have some together."
Ning Yan nodded expressionlessly, her mind preoccupied with something. Yan Sui asked, "Mother, are you worried about matters of state?"
This statement is utter nonsense.
Over the years, my mother has had no days without worry.
Kangguo dominates the entire continent. With such a vast territory, one can imagine how many problems it has. New issues can be discovered at any time, which is truly exhausting. Ning Yan looked at the crystal-clear chicken soup but did not touch her chopsticks. She sighed, "Today, the Ministry of Revenue reported the latest household registration survey. Since the change of era, the number of newborns has been rising year by year."
Yan Sui: "Isn't this a good thing?"
How many people have been wiped out by years of chaos?
In order to survive, the lower classes have no choice but to keep having children, hoping to offset natural disasters and man-made calamities through sheer numbers. As long as enough children are born, some will survive, and these children, once they reach eleven or twelve years old, will be considered as a source of labor, providing more security for their families.
With more people, there is more strength.
This family has a greater chance of continuing.
But how could such inefficient behavior keep up with the speed of killing in chaotic times? Now the world is at peace, there are no bandits who come to kill at the drop of a hat, and no warlords who forcibly conscript people to their deaths. People can work in peace and have enough to eat.
Women of childbearing age can also give birth to new life with peace of mind.
With a thriving population within the country, how can we not expect a prosperous era?
“Having more people is a good thing, but there are other problems too,” Ning Yan sighed. “A few days ago, a local official submitted a memorial requesting that a woman be granted a title. This woman remarried at the age of thirty-one and had four sons and five daughters with her new husband over six years, a total of nine children. Of the nine, only one daughter died young.”
"Six years...nine children?"
"The woman's ancestors had a long history of having multiple children in one pregnancy."
The officials went to great lengths to achieve their political goals. Learning that she had a history of multiple pregnancies before her remarriage, they arranged for her to be sent to a local clinic under the Ministry of Health for childbirth after her second pregnancy. She survived several difficult deliveries. The officials documented this as a political achievement in their memorial to the throne, hoping the royal court would bestow upon the woman an imperial title and honor, thus setting a precedent to encourage more women to give birth.
"Oh, I see."
Ning Yan sighed, "But that's the problem."
"Does Mother think that women are giving birth too frequently?"
Ning Yan: "That's secondary."
The post-war period was precisely the time to encourage the recovery of production and the importation of new children, so Ning Yan wouldn't oppose it at this time. Moreover, Kangguo had already laid the foundation to discourage the unsustainable practice of frequent births. Ning Yan saw a more critical issue behind this matter. Looking at Yan Sui with a hint of nostalgia in her eyes, she asked, "Do you know how difficult it was to care for you when you were a child?"
Yan Sui had no idea how the problem had somehow turned to her.
"Really? Doesn't Mother always say that her daughter is thoughtful and considerate?"
"Yes, when you were born, I wasn't that old myself. Your father and I lived in the mountains for a long time, and life was hard. We had to do most things ourselves. Even with the help of a wet nurse, you always had diapers and blankets that never dried before you were three years old. If we didn't keep an eye on you, you would crawl off somewhere... If we restrained you too much, you would lie down and cry. Your legs would have some strength from who knows where, and you would pound the wooden boards with a clanging sound, and you would even bruise your father's thighs."
Yan Sui: "..."
Is a child under three years old capable of such destructive power?
Not only does it exist, but it's also extremely time-consuming.
Ning Yan's smile faded slightly, and a look of worry appeared on her brow: "If even one person like you causes so much trouble, imagine how much more so a family with many children of similar ages? Nine children in six years, the youngest just born and the oldest only six years old. These children can't just be left unattended and they'll grow up like crazy; someone always has to keep an eye on them..."
"That's natural." Many children die not purely from illness, but also from accidents caused by adults not being able to take care of them.
Ning Yan said seriously: "The crux of the problem is that young children need to be cared for, and the people who take care of them are mostly women and children in the family. Women either take care of their children at home and can't take care of production in the fields, or they take their children to the fields to produce, and they can't take care of either."
Although it's not a chaotic time, ensuring basic survival still requires a great deal of effort. Couples have to earn enough to feed themselves and their children, so the pressure is immense. If women stay at home, the heavy labor falls on the adult men. With women helping out, children can't be properly cared for, which can easily lead to a higher infant mortality rate.
"This seems to be an unsolvable problem; the only option is to choose the lesser of two evils?"
Yan Sui pondered for a moment but couldn't come up with a good solution.
Ning Yan: "This issue isn't black and white, where one side has to be sacrificed to save the other. Isn't there a third option? Today, after the court assembly, I saw Qi Yuanliang and suddenly remembered that his only daughter, Qi Junqiao, has already opened three charitable institutions, specifically to take in the abandoned infants and wartime orphans she has adopted over the years..."
“What Mother means is…”
"If the government could set up a place similar to a charity hall and hire women to take care of the children, the parents would be free from worries and could concentrate on their work." Ning Yan also didn't want women to be confined to their homes because of childcare; that wouldn't be a good thing.
"Where did the money come from?"
The government also has charitable orphanages, which only take in abandoned infants and orphans. As long as the parents are alive, raising them is the parents' responsibility, and the government will not interfere, nor does it have the manpower and financial resources to do so.
Ning Yan said, "Parents can provide some childcare fees."
She knew exactly how much to charge for childcare; the price had to be lower than the value the woman created, so that the common people might be willing to send their children to her for care. Yan Sui then asked, "This isn't enough... Even if the royal court subsidizes some more, where will the children come from?"
This "person" refers to the adult who takes care of the children in a unified manner.
Ning Yan's furrowed brows finally relaxed a little.
"I have an idea that might solve this fundamental problem. The warriors who are the embodiment of martial courage are not as intelligent and flexible as the warriors who are the embodiment of literary energy, and they cannot think. However, they have one advantage: they are numerous and obey the original body. They are able to follow orders without question."
A single sentence brought Yan Sui a sudden clarity of thought.
This method doesn't kill two birds with one stone anymore.
This is clearly a win-win situation.
This would solve the problems of women being unable to participate in productive labor due to their burdens and the lack of proper care for young children, while also providing more employment opportunities for martial artists. Only when the boundless energy of martial artists is released can they settle down.
Yan Sui couldn't help but slap the table and exclaim, "Brilliant!"
Ning Yan: "..."
“It’s late at night and we’re far from the neighbors, so we shouldn’t disturb them.” Yan Sui withdrew her hand, coughed guiltily, and said, “Mother, are you planning to report this to the Emperor tomorrow?”
Ning Yan: "It's better to do it sooner rather than later."
The earlier the policy is proposed, the sooner the Ministry of Revenue's budget can be secured.
The Ministry of Revenue has become increasingly stingy in the last two years.
Appointing Xun Zhen as Minister of Revenue was a brilliant idea.
Yan Sui smiled and agreed, then mentioned the interesting things that had happened to her that day, with particular emphasis on the child Xing Ning.
"Mother, two promising students came to the Imperial Academy today. One of them is even a second-rank senior student. Can you guess which family she comes from?"
"It must be from the Wei Junhou family."
There's no need to guess.
After Wei Sheng successfully consolidated the literary heart, Wei Lou could no longer hide his true colors. Every time, he would use Wei Sheng to belittle his colleagues who had unworthy offspring, causing some of them great anxiety.
Ning Yan was relieved that her child had grown up.
Otherwise, she would also be driven to anxiety.
Ning Yan asked, "What about the other promising candidate?"
Yan Sui: "The only son of the Imperial Diarist... Speaking of this, I learned by chance that the Imperial Diarist had admired my father for many years and even named his only son Xingning. I went to the school register to check the roster and found that his registered name was also 'Yan Xingning'..."
To be honest, it feels a bit strange.
But she can't complain about being taken advantage of by a six-year-old.
Ning Yan paused.
Yan Sui thought she had the same idea as her: "I met that child today. He looks a bit like my father, and he even shares the same name as my father... It's strange, even though it was our first time meeting, I felt a strong urge to get close to him."
I felt an instant liking for it upon seeing it.
Yan Sui attributed it to fate.
Ning Yan asked, "You saw him?"
Yan Sui realized that her mother's question was a bit off: "Mother, do you mean... you saw this child a long time ago?"
Ning Yan: "Never seen it before."
Yan Sui still felt that something was wrong.
Ning Yan didn't explain further: "How is he now?"
Yan Sui's voice trembled, as if the ball of yarn in her heart had been tangled up and was becoming more and more complicated the more she tried to untangle it: "He... that child is in his growth period and is a little too thin, as if he hasn't eaten enough for several years. He speaks humbly and politely, which shows that he has a good upbringing."
Ning Yan said, "That's good then."
Yan Sui pressed further, "Mother and his elders were old friends?"
That's probably the only possibility.
Ning Yan shook her head and denied it: "No."
They refused to say anything more.
She casually made up an excuse to go to the study to write a memorial to the emperor.
She picked up her pen several times, unsure where to begin, and finally put it down with a soft sigh. She hadn't expected Miaohua and Xingning to meet so soon; it felt like only yesterday that Xingning had appeared in her dream. Before the change of reign title, Xingning's spirit had drifted into her dream.
The couple returned to their wooden house in the mountains.
[Tu Nan, did I scare you?]
Seeing the young man watching the rain under the eaves, Ning Yan felt her eyes well up with tears.
But by then she was well past forty, having weathered over a decade of bloodshed and turmoil alone, and had long since developed the composure to remain unmoved even in the face of a collapsing mountain: 【No, why did you suddenly appear in my dream?】
Ning Yan sat down next to Yan An, and the two sat very close together.
I'm going to be reincarnated, and I'll come to see you one last time.
Ning Yan paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."
After waiting for a while, there was no further news.
Ning Yan asked proactively: "Is this all you said in my dream?"
Yan An: [There are so many things I want to say, but those words, spoken to you in my dreams, only linger in your heart, leaving no trace upon waking. Even if I were to apologize with thorns on my back, I should have come to you in person. If I have the chance to regain my memories soon, I will tell you everything in detail.]
[Where will you be reincarnated?]
[Heavenly secrets must not be revealed.]
In fact, Yan An didn't know the location either.
However, his intuition told him it probably wouldn't be too bad.
What if you can't regain your memories?
Regardless of whether he can regain his memories, Tu Nan, look forward.
Previously confined to the Investiture of the Gods, Yan An could only learn about the outside world through the newly listed figures. He pieced together fragmented information, and while there wasn't much about Ning Yan, every word was something he savored. With each new discovery, he felt a sense of certainty—"Bearing the blue sky on his back, and none can hinder him, he is now poised to soar south"—the man who once despaired of being nothing more than a sparrow had finally transformed into a free-spirited roc soaring through the heavens.
He couldn't tell whether he felt more heartache or pride.
Yan An and Ning Yan had been separated for too long, their memories stuck in the past. He couldn't decipher the emotions beneath his wife's expression, but he would act according to his heart: [Regardless of whether she has memories of this life or not, as long as Yan Xingning is still Yan Xingning, then—you are like the bright moon, and I am like a firefly.]
Even with thin wings, it still yearns for the color of the Milky Way; with a faint gleam, it is willing to fly towards the Jade Wheel.
The moonlight will naturally draw him towards the light.
After waking up, Ning Yan thought it was just a dream she had been thinking about during the day, and at first she didn't take his talk of reincarnation seriously.
Until the Lord secretly revealed the truth.
She then realized that the dream was real.
Shen Tang is always lenient with her own people: [Want some spoilers?]
As long as Ning Yan speaks, she will reveal where Yan An was reincarnated.
Ning Yan shook her head and politely declined: "What good will knowing do? What if he regains his memories in the future? Isn't he still an innocent child, a blank slate? If he were an adult and understood right and wrong, it wouldn't matter how much they loved each other, but he isn't yet."
To arbitrarily dye blank paper with one's own desired color.
Making contact now would be considered bullying.
Xingning now has a new life of his own. How he chooses to live is entirely up to him, not constrained by his past life. I don't want him to be unfree. Look ahead; if he's there, then so be it. If not, there's no need to force it.
Ning Yanqiu wasn't just after one particular person.
She seeks a like-minded confidant.
And this person happened to be named "Yan Xingning".
She slept very restlessly that night, and went to court as usual the next day. The solution she proposed was already the best solution at present, but there were still many difficulties to overcome in how to improve it and how to implement it meticulously. Ning Yan soon became so busy that she forgot herself.
In the seventh year of the Yanhuang era, in the first month, I visited relatives.
The Imperial Diarist, 18.0, had few relatives to visit, but he had colleagues he got along with and they often interacted. During the New Year, he would take his son to various banquets to broaden his horizons. After half a year of being fed, Xingning still had the physique of a young boy, but his cheeks had become rounder and fuller, no longer thin and sunken, and he was increasingly showing the demeanor of a scholar. At first, everything was fine, but Xingning soon noticed something was wrong.
Some people's reactions seemed to indicate that they recognized themselves.
Or rather, you look like someone who is someone else's deceased relative.
The 18.0-year-old official couldn't help but grimace, regretting bringing his son out to meet his colleagues so early: "Don't overthink it."
It's not his fault that he looks like someone else.
The next day, the Minister of Justice sent over an invitation.
Kang Xiang called Xing Ning over to talk, his eyes scanning over the details of his face repeatedly, occasionally muttering, "So similar!"
Even Yan An herself couldn't give birth to a child so similar.
He spent the first month of the lunar year visiting various people, including his father's colleagues and his own teachers and friends in Xingning. He specially prepared a New Year's gift and visited the Director of Education to offer his New Year's greetings. Over the course of the semester, Director of Education Yan had taken great care of him, so it was only right and proper for him to pay him a visit.
Unfortunately, Yan Siye was not at home.
The only remaining master of the mansion was the mother of Yan Siye, the Duke of Anguo.
This was the first time Xingning had met Ningyan.
Although the Duke of Anguo was already past fifty, she looked only twenty-five or twenty-six. Standing next to Yan Siye, they looked more like sisters than mother and daughter. Just as her father had said, the Duke of Anguo seemed aloof and taciturn, but she was not difficult to get along with. Her eyes were as bright as moonlight, and her gaze held the sparkling stars of the Milky Way.
What surprised Xingning was the way she looked at him.
There was nothing unusual about him, nothing at all, which made Xingning wonder if what others said about him resembling the young Yan Gong was just his imagination.
"what's on your mind?"
"I'm thinking about something—these past few days, many people have been saying that I look just like Master Yan, but you don't seem to find that surprising?"
"You can't judge a person by their appearance alone."
"It was the student's presumption."
Ning Yan was the most composed and powerful scholar Xing Ning had ever met. Her erudition surpassed even that of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, and she could resolve any doubt with just a few words. Xing Ning was captivated, and a strange, unfamiliar feeling stirred within her soul.
It flashed by, yet remained vivid.
He looked away, afraid that his impolite behavior might offend the other person: "There is still one thing I don't understand about the way of the scholar. Master always talks about seeking the Way—but what exactly is being sought? Is it something illusory or real?"
"Seek your true self."
What was An Gong's true intention?
"I will do my best to bring peace to the world. As long as there is even one person in the world who is at peace because of me, Ning Tu Nan will not be considered a desolate place."
Upon returning home, the court attendant, 18.0, saw his only son and was filled with sorrow.
"Is my son troubled?"
Xingning: "My son desires a resemblance in spirit rather than in form."
The 18.0-year-old male proctor: "0.0???"
(_)
Thank goodness, my bank card is finally unfrozen.
God knows how I survived today's three meals a day. I just drank water and was starving, sob sob sob.
P.S.: There are a few more short paragraphs, I'll add them later (once finished).
(End of this chapter)
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