After the meal, Su Youen lay down on the recliner as usual for her afternoon nap.
Jiang Yunnan, bored with nothing to do, pulled up a small stool and sat beside her, chattering incessantly:
“Su Youen, oh Su Youen, look at you—how can you have no ambition at all? We’re supposed to be outstanding young people of the 21st century, and here you are, content to wallow in mediocrity?”
Youen, unable to sleep from his noise, kicked him irritably.
“Get lost! How is taking a nap wallowing in mediocrity?”
Jiang Yunnan, unfazed by the kick, continued his lecture: “Isn’t this mediocrity? Just look at your living conditions.”
He swept his gaze around the Su family’s old residence, then clicked his tongue and sighed: “Bare walls, cold in winter and hot in summer.
Your eldest and second brothers are dirt poor. As the only evolved person in this family, you don’t even go out to find ways to earn some money.
Just lying around at home all day—you’re not really planning to be a hopeless idler your whole life, are you?”
“What’s wrong with being an idler? I find this kind of life quite comfortable.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yunnan heaved a long sigh: “A hopeless idler cannot be taught, just as rotten wood cannot be carved.”
Youen lazily replied, “Alright, Jiang Yunnan, if you dislike our poor conditions so much, hurry back to your Jiang residence. Your family are wealthy merchants after all—they won’t treat you poorly.”
“How can I go back when I remember nothing? What if the Jiang family realizes I’m not actually their son? Then I’d be done for!”
“Pretend to have amnesia. That trick works pretty well, doesn’t it?”
As everyone knows, pretending to have amnesia is an essential skill for every time traveler.
Having traveled through time with such difficulty, if one can’t even fake amnesia, how will they manage in the days to come?
Hearing this, Jiang Yunnan looked up and sighed to the sky: “Just thinking about it gives me a headache. Me, a top student of the 21st century, a postdoctoral graduate from a prestigious university, reduced to such a state one day.”
Su Youen sat up and looked at him with deep understanding: “Your situation is still relatively good. At least you’re still the young master of a wealthy merchant family. Not like me…”
Having to disguise as a man every day.
With a family poor as church mice.
Hearing her words, Jiang Yunnan’s mood suddenly improved considerably.
“That’s true. Although I know nothing about this world, at least my family is rich. I really am better off than you.”
Youen ignored him further, her gaze falling on Su Yan who emerged from the house.
He carried a basket on his back and wore a straw hat, seemingly about to go out.
Youen quickly stood up and called out to him: “Second Brother, where are you going?”
Su Yan replied, “To the mountain to pick tea.”
“Our family still has tea that can be picked?”
“Our family owns a tea mountain.” He said this with extreme calmness, as if mentioning the most ordinary matter.
Hearing this, Youen was first stunned, then her eyes instantly lit up upon realization.
So the Su family actually owned a mountain!
With a mountain to their name, how could they still be so poor?
Youen found it hard to comprehend.
After Su Yan left, Jiang Yunnan pulled Youen over. Suppressing his astonishment at never having seen such wealth, he feigned calmness and asked in a low voice, “Your family owns a mountain?”
Youen sat back on the recliner, crossed her legs, and casually waved a hand.
“Keep it low-key. It’s just a mountain.”
Jiang Yunnan applauded for her, “Well, I’ll be! So you’re the real wealthy one after all.”After finishing the household chores, Su Yang couldn’t stay idle and decided to fulfill his duties as a Teacher by comforting Jiang Yunnan’s wounded heart.
Seeing him approach, Youen quickly abandoned her boss-like sitting posture and settled down obediently.
Jiang Yunnan was about to comment on his sudden transformation when a pale yet strong hand patted his shoulder twice.
Raising his eyes, he met Su Yang’s concerned gaze.
In that instant, he felt like he was being summoned for a talk by his homeroom teacher after school.
This feeling made him want to escape the Su residence.
Meanwhile, Youen had somehow produced a cucumber and was munching on it while waiting for the show to begin.
As expected, Su Yang soon began what would become a two-hour lecture for Jiang Yunnan.
True to form, Su Yang brought over a small stool, sat beside Jiang Yunnan, and earnestly commenced the day’s admonition.
“Yunnan, being rejected in marriage isn’t really a big deal. It just means this particular match wasn’t suitable. You’re still young and handsome – you’ll certainly find a good match in the future.
This matter wasn’t your fault, so don’t feel bad about it. Her decision to flee the wedding wasn’t because you’re lacking – perhaps you two simply weren’t compatible.”
He spoke for a full hour, essentially repeating these same phrases.
Jiang Yunnan felt his ears were growing calluses from hearing them.
Su Yang’s lecturing proved even more dreadful than his homeroom teacher’s nagging during school days.
He had never encountered someone so relentlessly talkative.
Meanwhile, Youen kept nodding while crunching on her cucumber, offering unhelpful comments:
“My brother is right.”
“My brother is absolutely right.”
“Listen to my brother – it’s never wrong.”
She repeated these three lines tirelessly countless times, making Jiang Yunnan wish he were deaf.
He finally couldn’t bear it anymore: “Brother Su, please rest assured, I’m truly fine. This incident won’t affect me at all.”
While saying this, he forced a smile at the corners of his mouth to reassure Su Yang.
Seeing this smile – three parts sorrowful, seven parts strained – Su Yang immediately understood:
This young master Jiang was truly brooding over the matter.
This incident had likely affected him deeply.
Just as Su Yang prepared to launch another round of counseling, Su Ting called Youen away, saying he needed to discuss something with her.
Suddenly, the courtyard contained only Su Yang diligently advising Jiang Yunnan, and Jiang Yunnan helplessly forced to listen.
Inside the room, Su Ting carefully closed the door, retrieved a letter from a book, and handed it to Youen.
“A letter from the Director?” Youen asked.
Su Ting nodded, his face still clouded with worry.
Seeing his expression, Youen immediately guessed the letter’s general content.
She sighed softly and slowly unfolded the letter.
It was the Director’s handwritten message.
The letter contained only eight characters: “Western Depot gone. Do not return to capital.”
The familiar handwriting reappeared before her eyes, suddenly reminding her of all their shared moments over the years.
Though they had parted merely days ago, it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Director Wang was the person who had treated her best in this world.
Unfortunately, many things in this world change in the blink of an eye.
Court struggles were like this, power and status were like this, and even the emperor’s trust was like this.
In the 18th year of Chenghua, Western Depot Director Wang Zhi had safely escorted her out of the Western Depot.
In the eighteenth year of Chenghua, Chief Grand Secretary Wan An submitted a memorial requesting the abolition of the Western Depot, which Emperor Mingxianzong approved, bringing joy to everyone inside and outside the imperial court.
The world feared his extraordinary talent, feared his overwhelming power, feared everything about him.
As if only when he fell from grace could their lives improve.
This was never fair.
The Director had done nothing wrong.
His entire life had been devoted to serving the monarch with utmost loyalty and strategizing for the nation.
Yet in the end, he was left with a legacy of infamy.
Youen clutched the letter in her hand so tightly that another ounce of force would have pierced the rice paper with her fingernails.
Su Ting gently patted her shoulder twice, comforting her, “The Director has always been resourceful; he will surely make a comeback.”
She remained silent, only offering a bitter smile.
For she knew that Wang Zhi would never have another chance to rise again.