Chapter 2

The Jiang family was flourishing. Old Master Jiang had three sons and two daughters, though only my father and my eldest aunt had been born to his principal wife.

I was the only “son” in the eldest branch.

Naturally, everyone doted on me.

Even Father, who spent most of his time away on business, hurried home and lavished affection on Mother.

After he left, she was more determined than ever to keep up the deception and raise me as a boy.

Fortunately, I was very young, and Mother and Nanny Lin tended to everything themselves.

Father and Old Master Jiang spent most of their time traveling on business and seldom came home.

And so my identity remained a secret.

In this way, I reached my first birthday.

I had already learned to toddle.

What could I do? My body might be a child’s, but the soul inside was nearly thirty. This was child’s play to me.

For my first-birthday banquet, Father and Grandfather both made a rare appearance.

All sorts of objects had been laid out on a bright red cloth.

I glanced over them. Gold, silver, and jewels were closest; brush, ink, paper, and inkstone lay farthest away.

The old man stood just beyond a book, watching me expectantly.

I wobbled forward on unsteady legs, full of enthusiasm.

A major reason Jiang Mian, the original novel’s hero, had been admitted to the genealogy was that he passed the entry-level examinations at eight.

That made him one of the most exceptional children in all of Wushui County.

The Jiangs had therefore placed great importance on him.

Before he could stand on his own, they had given him a great deal of support.

They might be merchants, but years of trading by river had brought them plenty of useful connections.

Why let Jiang Mian benefit when I could have them instead?

I made straight for the copy of the Three Character Classic in front of Grandfather.

Then, under his delighted gaze, I hugged the book tightly to my chest.

At the same time, I called to him in a slurred little voice, “Grand… pa…”

Well, that caused a stir.

Plenty of one-year-olds could walk.

But a one-year-old who could walk, choose a book, and even address someone was rare indeed!

The old man scooped me up at once, his face glowing. “Good! Good! Wonderful!”

Mother and Nanny Lin exchanged a glance.

Both stepped forward with auspicious words.

“Little Yu hasn’t even called me Mother yet. He must feel especially close to you, sir!”

“No child in the Jiang family has ever chosen a book at the first-birthday ceremony. Perhaps little Yu will come first in the palace examination!”

“Then you’d be the grandfather of the top graduate!”

Father was grinning so broadly that his eyes had nearly vanished. “And I’d be his father!”

After the ceremony, Old Master Jiang began taking a much greater interest in me.

He stopped going away on trading trips and took my upbringing into his own hands.

As he put it, the Jiangs had finally produced a child with a gift for learning. He couldn’t let anyone lead me astray.

At first, Mother worried.

When nothing went wrong, she relaxed.

Winter passed and spring came. I turned two.

In this era, that was old enough to begin one’s education.

One morning, Mother took me to the old man’s rooms.

He sat in the main room with a book in front of him, beckoning me over, his eyes bright.

“Little Yu, come here.”

I obediently climbed onto a chair and glanced at the book.

It was the Three Character Classic.

Was Grandfather planning to start my lessons?

I laughed inwardly. A two-year-old barely understood the world. He was getting ahead of himself.

If I had been the original Jiang Yu, he would certainly have been disappointed.

Pointing to the book, the old man spoke with a mixture of apprehension, nerves, and rather more hope.

“Be good, little Yu. Repeat after Grandpa. If you do well, I’ll take you out for sweet rice cakes.”

After this coaxing, I sat up straight.

He cleared his throat. “At birth, human nature is good…”

I repeated in my baby voice, “At birth, human nature is good…”

My speech was indistinct, but the sounds and tones were right.

He clapped, praised me, and went on reading.

We spent the morning with him reading one line and me repeating it, then two lines at a time, then three.

Before we knew it, the whole morning was gone.

The old man looked at me with ever greater wonder.

“Wonderful! Wonderful! Ancestors of the Jiang family, hear me! At last, we’ve produced a child prodigy!”