Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Ji Yan’an didn’t have anything particular to do; it was simply a rare occasion where he had overeaten and decided to take a walk to aid his digestion.

He walked ahead, occasionally glancing back.

A certain pair of short legs was struggling. With her small face tensed in concentration, she was working very hard to stretch those little legs and keep up with him.

Ji Yan’an wasn’t walking fast, but there was no helping the fact that his legs were long. The men of the Ji Family were all tall, and at twelve years old, the youth was already nearly one hundred and seventy centimeters tall.

Jiang Yunsui used to be very good at running away-especially by burrowing into the ground-but she hadn’t quite tamed this new pair of short legs yet. Her pace was a bit slow, and she could no longer vanish into the earth.

She trotted behind Ji Yan’an like a little tail until the person in front suddenly stopped. Unable to brake in time, she crashed right into him.

Ji Yan’an looked down at her from his height and used a slender, bony finger to poke her forehead.

“That’s the second time.”

Fortunately, he had been prepared this time. Otherwise, this little meatball would have sent him stumbling forward again. Did he, the Young Master Ji, have no dignity to maintain?

Jiang Yunsui sniffled, holding back the physiological tears that pricked her eyes from the impact.

“Sorry, ow.”

The little creature’s milky voice was actually quite pleasant to the ear.

He gave a soft huff. “This Young Master is magnanimous, so I won’t hold it against a little dummy like you.”

Jiang Yunsui didn’t get angry at being called a little dummy. She really was a bit slow right now; otherwise, she wouldn’t have come looking for a backer to cling to.

Ji Yan’an sat down in a pavilion, looking at the courtyard scenery with a face full of disdain.

“That area would be suitable for a fish pond. We could stock it with fish and plant some lotuses. The lotus blossoms are quite beautiful in the summer.”

Jiang Yunsui followed his gaze, her face full of innocent confusion. She didn’t know what a lotus was, nor what a fish pond was. But she knew what fish were.

Uncle Li asked, “Young Master, should I have some servants dig a pond?”

“Forget it.”

Ji Yan’an’s voice was listless. “This isn’t the Ji Mansion in the Capital anymore. It’s hard to divert water here; it would be a waste of manpower.”

He leaned back slightly against a pillar of the pavilion, playing with a folding fan in his hand.

“I can barely keep myself alive, so why bother raising fish?”

“Young Master, please don’t say such things. Didn’t Doctor Shen say that as long as those items are found, there is still hope?”

Ji Yan’an lowered his eyes, his tone indifferent. “I know.”

He gave a light laugh. “Who wants to die if they can live, even if it’s just scraping by?”

He couldn’t die so easily. If he died, what would happen to the women of the Ji Family, to Uncle Li and the others, and to the Ji Family Army?

“Young Master, Commander Wang is here to visit.”

Ji Yan’an’s eyes grew deep. “He finally came, then.”

He said calmly, “Let him in.”

Ji Yan’an didn’t move from his spot. Jiang Yunsui glanced at him, and seeing that she wasn’t needed, she went off to the side to daze out and play by herself.

Soon, a servant led in a burly man with a face full of beard. The man was still wearing armor and was built like a bear, smelling strongly of sweat.

Never mind Ji Yan’an, even the Little Mushroom found it a bit hard to bear. Ji Yan’an’s face turned a shade paler as he gestured with his hand.

“Nanny Zhou, go serve some tea.”

“Yes.”

“Has the Young Master’s health improved?”

Wang Hu laughed loudly. Without bowing to Ji Yan’an, he sat down directly opposite him with a heavy, arrogant thud.

“I heard the Young Master summoned everyone a while ago. I had some business at home and couldn’t make it. Surely the Young Master won’t blame a crude fellow like me?”

Uncle Li glared at him from the side. Ji Yan’an’s expression, however, didn’t change in the slightest.

“Of course not.”

Nanny Zhou poured two cups of tea. Ji Yan’an made a gesture of invitation, then picked up a cup himself to sip slowly.

“Tsk tsk, the Young Master’s life is truly one of enjoyment. You certainly are a noble young master from the Capital. Have you found anything difficult to get used to since coming to Mobei? We’re all coarse people here and aren’t used to this stuff. I hope the Young Master won’t look down on a crude man like me the way those other high-and-mighty nobles do.”
Ji Yan’an looked at him with a faint, mocking smile. “Commander Wang, there is no need to be so self-deprecating.”

“If you hold yourself in such low regard, how can you expect others to look up to you?”

“You…”

Wang Hu hadn’t expected the boy to play so far outside the rules, turning his own words back on him with such biting sarcasm.

“Heh, Young Master Ji might have a sickly body, but your tongue is certainly sharp. You sound just like the women in my back courtyard. It makes a crude man like me seem quite clumsy by comparison.”

“How dare you!”

Uncle Li was livid. Wang Hu truly had no respect for their Young Master, going so far as to mock him by comparing him to a woman of the inner chambers.

The atmosphere instantly froze. Jiang Yunsui silently hugged her knees and crouched a little further away.

Driven by a Little Mushroom’s sense of danger, she felt a strong urge to run.

But if she ran now, she would be discovered.

Jiang Yunsui clenched her small fists to cheer herself on.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. They can’t see me.”

She took a stealthy peek at Ji Yan’an.

Although the expression on Ji Yan’an’s face hadn’t changed, the Little Mushroom’s danger intuition was screaming at full volume.

Ji Yan’an didn’t get angry; instead, he smiled.

“So, Commander Wang actually feels he cannot even compare to a woman.”

“I didn’t realize that despite your hulking appearance, Commander Wang possessed such a delicate heart. Since you feel so inferior, perhaps you should spend more time learning from those in your back courtyard. There is no need to wallow in self-pity here.”

“Ji Yan’an!”

Wang Hu slammed his palm onto the table. “I call you ‘Young Master’ out of courtesy, but you really think you’re something, don’t you? I gave you face by coming to see you today, and yet you dare humiliate me like this!”

The force of the slap made the stone table tremble.

Jiang Yunsui covered her ears at the loud bang.

Frightened, she instinctively shrank toward Ji Yan’an’s feet.

The moment Wang Hu’s hand hit the table, the surrounding guards drew their swords.

Ji Yan’an’s eyes turned cold as ice as he looked at Wang Hu.

“When exactly did Commander Wang start thinking the Ji Family Army had become the Wang Family Army?”

Facing the bear-like Wang Hu, who was radiating a murderous aura, Ji Yan’an stood up to confront him. His cold, elegant features showed not a hint of fear.

“For three generations, my Ji Family has led the soldiers here in Mobei to guard Great Liang and protect the people of this land. Fifteen of my kin have died in battle.”

“I am a son of the Ji Family, the heir to the Ji Family, and the Young General of this Ji Family Army. If this Young Master remembers correctly, Commander Wang has only been here for a mere five years. To think you could replace the Ji Family in just five years… you are far too arrogant.”

With every sentence he spoke, he took a step toward Wang Hu.

The originally weak and frail youth now seemed to carry the shadows of the entire Ji Family behind him.

“The heroic spirits of generations of my Ji Family guard this place. It is not your place, Wang Hu, to act insolently before me!”

Looking into Ji Yan’an’s familiar eyes, Wang Hu felt an inexplicable pressure that forced him back two steps. When he realized what he had done, his face turned a sickly shade of green.

He hadn’t expected the Young Master to be so unyielding and give him so little face.

Certain things were ugly once they were brought out into the open.

“The Young Master must be joking. When did I ever say anything about replacing the Ji Family? You can’t just spread rumors like that.”

Even if he thought it, everyone knew to keep such things hidden.

“It seems the Young Master’s illness hasn’t recovered yet, since you’re talking such nonsense. I’ll take my leave then, and visit again another day.”

Without waiting for Ji Yan’an to respond, he turned and left, showing a complete lack of regard for him.

Ji Yan’an watched Wang Hu’s departing figure with dark eyes before turning back to sit down.

However, his face suddenly grew two shades paler, and he began to cough uncontrollably.

“Young Master!”

Uncle Li and Nanny Zhou both looked at him with deep concern.

Ji Yan’an shook his head. “I’m fine. I just haven’t spoken that much in a long time.”

When mentioning the fallen members of the Ji Family, it was inevitable that his emotions would fluctuate.

Because of the poison in his system, he could not afford to let his emotions run too high.