Chapter 264
Chapter 264
“What has that little girl been up to lately?”
For the past few days, every time Ji Yan’an went looking for Jiang Yunsui, he found that she was not at the residence but next door instead.
Nanshu hesitated. “Uh… she went out and picked up a few children.”
Ji Yan’an raised a brow. “Hm?”
There was a touch of helplessness in Nanshu’s voice.
“Three days ago, the little one went to pay her respects at Cook Chen’s grave. She found three little beggars being beaten, so she charged in with her people, thrashed those thugs, and brought the three children home to raise.”
Ji Yan’an fell silent.
Could a person really be taken in and raised on a whim like that?
“Two of the three beggars are of mixed Great Liang and grassland blood.”
Ji Yan’an understood at once.
People of mixed blood had a difficult time both here and on the grasslands.
Mobei’s location was unique, and its people dealt frequently with the various grassland tribes. Inevitably, children were sometimes born from unions between people of Great Liang and members of those tribes.
Those cases were actually the fortunate ones. At least the husband and wife cared for each other, and so long as neither parent died, their child would not easily be abandoned.
But there were also women of Great Liang who had been abducted by the Barbarians and returned pregnant after being rescued. Their children were rarely loved by their mothers after birth, and often did not even know who their fathers were.
Then there were brothel women who accidentally conceived children by foreign patrons. Children of mixed blood born under those circumstances seldom came to a good end either.
As a result, it was common for mixed-blood children to be abandoned in Mobei.
Some did not survive their first year. Others barely survived, only to find themselves homeless and forced to live by begging.
“I’ll go take a look.”
Ji Yan’an headed next door.
The courtyard Jiang Yunsui occupied was filled with the fragrance of ripening fruits and melons, enough to whet anyone’s appetite.
The grapes on the trellis were especially tempting. They hung in heavy clusters, as if beckoning people to come and eat them.
Nanshu rubbed his hands together. “Those grapes look ripe. I wonder how they taste. They smell pretty good.”
Nanmo said nothing. He simply reached up and plucked a bunch.
“Give me some, give me some…” Nanshu urged.
Nanmo handed the bunch to Ji Yan’an.
Ji Yan’an did not refuse, though he took only one. His long, pale fingers peeled away the skin before he popped it into his mouth, and a rich grape fragrance immediately spread across his tongue.
It had just the right hint of tartness. The soft flesh was easy to chew, and its intense sweetness was not cloying in the least.
It was the finest grape he had ever tasted.
“Mm… incredible! Little Yunsui really has a gift for growing things. I’ve never tasted grapes this good in my life. I doubt even the tribute fruit served to the emperor could compare.”
Absolutely!
Nanmo nodded, already chewing on three or four grapes. Then he offered another one to Ji Yan’an.
The three of them reached the door and heard voices inside before they could enter.
Zuozuo and Youyou stood guard at the entrance. When they saw the familiar visitors, they merely wagged their tails without barking. Why bark when everyone here was a friend?
Ji Yan’an raised a hand.
Nanshu eagerly placed a handkerchief in it.
Ji Yan’an stared at him. “…Let’s not go in yet.”
He had not been asking for a handkerchief. Never mind. He might as well wipe his hands.
From inside came Jiang Yunsui’s childish voice, chattering away in the midst of an impassioned speech.
“Remember, this is your home now! The Ji Family is your family! Since your parents didn’t want you, you don’t want them either!”
“If you become successful one day and someone suddenly comes looking for you, claiming to be your parents, don’t listen to them. They’re liars!”
“They definitely have bad intentions! They’ll ruin your happy lives and use you to do terrible things!”
Hands planted on her hips, Jiang Yunsui stood before the three children and declaimed with tremendous fervor.
She had read novels, after all!
Well, one of the spirit friends in her Inherited Memories loved reading all kinds of web novels. Perhaps worried that Jiang Yunsui would grow bored after coming here, that friend had bundled up every novel she had read and sent them along.
At night, Jiang Yunsui would secretly listen to the stories. And wonder of wonders, they even came with audio narration!
She had only finished one novel so far, but it contained a plot about a mixed-blood boy raised by a general. Later, people from his birth father’s family came to find him. They said he was a prince and promised to take him home to enjoy a life of luxury and inherit the throne-but only if he helped them frame the general.
Little Mushroom had been so furious that she had pummeled her pillow as if it were the villain.
That was why the first thing Jiang Yunsui did after taking in these three was to brainwash them.
Outside the door, Ji Yan’an could not help laughing when he heard her.
“Who taught her all that?”
Nanmo shrugged to show that he had no idea.
Nanshu shook his head. “It must’ve been Song Jin. That fellow is the most scheming of them all.”
Ji Yan’an chuckled. “That isn’t being scheming.”
He pushed open the door and went inside.
Jiang Yunsui was holding an egg, her mouth dry from all the talking.
“Ji Yan’an!”
The little one lit up when she saw him. She scampered over and happily snuggled against him, then pointed at the other three children.
“Ji Yan’an, look! I’m going to raise all three of them from now on. Aren’t I amazing?”
The three little beggars huddled together, watching him with wary, anxious eyes.
They were no longer little beggars, though.
They had been given new clothes, simple gray tunics and trousers, and their hair had been shaved off. They were still terribly thin, but they looked much more spirited now.
Ji Yan’an gave them a glance and responded with a quiet hum.
“Oh, it’s time to eat!”
Almost the instant she finished speaking, Fat Grandpa’s voice rang out from outside.
“Little rascals, the food’s here!”
“Dawa, Erwa, Sanwa, come and eat!”
Hearing the names Jiang Yunsui called, Ji Yan’an paused.
“Those are their names?”
Jiang Yunsui nodded proudly. “I named them. Easy to remember, right?”
Ji Yan’an had to admit that they certainly were.
The three children’s eyes shone the moment they saw the food.
Once they started eating, they kept cramming food into their mouths, as though afraid it would be snatched away the next moment.
It was a habit left over from their days as beggars.
Jiang Yunsui held a short wooden stick and tapped Erwa’s hand. He was eating the fastest, like a ravenous wolf cub.
“I told you not to grab the food with your hands. Eat slowly. No one’s going to take it from you.”
Surprisingly, he obeyed her without question.
He stopped using his hands, though his cheeks remained stuffed full. His grip on the chopsticks was completely wrong, so he simply used them like a spoon and shoveled food into his mouth.
Jiang Yunsui clasped the little stick behind her back, shaking her head with a sigh.
“Rotten wood cannot be carved.”
Ji Yan’an and the others were rendered speechless.
Torn between laughter and exasperation, Ji Yan’an tapped her on the forehead.
“Where did you learn that?”
Jiang Yunsui gave a cheeky laugh, her pretentious manner vanishing at once.
“All the teachers I’ve seen act like that.”
“Ji Yan’an, let’s go back and eat too!”
Before leaving, Jiang Yunsui instructed the three children, “Remember to wash your own bowls and chopsticks after you finish. Clean the courtyard too, pull up the weeds, and guard the grapes so the birds don’t eat them.”
All three nodded obediently.