Shen Shangling smiled and leaned down slightly to look at the child’s wide, staring eyes, asking gently, “What is your name?”
“Jiang Sanwen,” the little boy replied in a crisp, clear voice. “My father said that back then, he went to the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy and spent three coins to buy incense and make a wish, and only then did my mother have me. It’s a name sent by the heavens.”
Perhaps he had heard his father chatter about it many times, as he managed to say such a long sentence without stumbling at all. His little expression was quite proud.
Shen Shangling: “…That is truly wonderful.”
“How should I address you, sir?” Jiang Sanwen asked seriously, raising his small face, reciprocating the politeness.
“You can call me… Old Shen,” Shen Shangling paused for a moment before saying gently, “Just call me Old Shen.”
In his heart, he wanted to say ‘Uncle Shen,’ but although he was currently being treated with respect by Lu Xiao, he was, in reality, a condemned slave. When he was following the plot, he remembered that this local physician was known for his sharp tongue and was a character who was extremely difficult to get along with… As a condemned slave, he shouldn’t have the man’s son calling him ‘uncle.’
Jiang Sanwen was momentarily bewildered, but still obediently called out, “Old Shen.”
Seeing that Shen Shangling acknowledged it, the boy’s eyes lit up instantly. A bit more intimacy crept into his expression as he looked at Shen Shangling. He tugged on Shen Shangling’s finger, pointed toward the beehive in the distance, and asked loudly, “Old Shen, are those little bugs all yours?”
“They are mine,” Shen Shangling smiled.
“Can I play with the little bugs?” A look of anticipation shone in Jiang Sanwen’s small eyes.
“You can,” Shen Shangling held the little fellow’s hand firmly, then thought for a moment and cautioned, “But you are not allowed to touch them recklessly; the little bugs will get upset.”
Jiang Sanwen nodded his head vigorously in an obedient manner.
It didn’t matter that the two of them—one large and one small—were talking, but it gave Yutao and the others standing by a fright: Firstly, because Young Master Shen actually let a child call him “Old Shen,” and secondly, because he was actually planning to walk toward the beehive!
“Young Master…” Yutao was so nervous her voice nearly cracked.
“It’s no matter,” Shen Shangling signaled for them to stay calm. “With me here, they will not sting anyone.”
After speaking, he led Jiang Sanwen slowly toward that side. As they walked, he communicated with the small earth bees. The bees transmitted a sense of excitement; it was clear that they also particularly wanted to be close to Shen Shangling.
At the same time, in the unseen corners and shadows of Qiyu Courtyard, three or four of the prince’s secret guards tightened their stances instantly.
“Brother Zhao, those are Honey Rakshasas. Will something happen if Young Master Wen goes over there?” one of the secret guards whispered in a low voice.
“Keep a close watch,” the other ordered in a low tone. “Young Master Wen must not be harmed. If anything goes wrong, act immediately.”
They were Lu Xiao’s trusted secret guards, tasked with protecting Jiang Sanwen from the shadows. None of the other staff, personal guards, or even the members of the inner residence… knew of this matter.
Shen Shangling led Jiang Sanwen to the gallery where the dense swarm of bees danced wildly. Once there, he controlled himself not to look at the densely packed hive.
A few bees flew over to them immediately. Jiang Sanwen opened his eyes wide in surprise and reached his hand out excitedly toward them. After these few bees circled them a few times, some landed one after another on Jiang Sanwen’s small hand, and only one landed on Shen Shangling’s shoulder.
Shen Shangling felt his blood pressure skyrocket: Ah, ah, ah. Even knowing these were just spiritual bees, having them land on him… still terrified him nearly to death.
“Old Shen, Old Shen!” Jiang Sanwen was so excited he looked as if he were about to cry. With both small hands almost cradling the bees, he shouted happily to Shen Shangling.
Shen Shangling: “…”
Don’t look.
Shen Shangling spoke to distract Jiang Sanwen while keeping his eyes almost shut. Naturally, he could not see that at this moment, Yutao and the others on the gallery were all stunned. They couldn’t describe the scene: those dense, terrifying Honey Rakshasas, like a black fog surrounding the two, were actually… not stinging anyone.
Not only them, but even the secret guards in the shadows were dumbfounded.
“That Shen Shangling actually knows how to tame bees?” one of them muttered in disbelief.
The others didn’t speak. While their eyes flashed with sharp light, they kept their gazes fixed firmly on the scene, taking every move of Shen Shangling and Jiang Sanwen and even the state of the bee swarm into their field of vision.
“Alright, alright,” at this moment, Shen Shangling only felt dizzy. With his eyes closed, he coaxed, “Sanwen, have you seen enough? How about I take you inside and tell you a story?”
He felt as if the little earth bee on his shoulder was excitedly dancing a jig; his legs already felt weak, and if he stayed any longer, he feared he might collapse right where he stood.
“Tell… tell a story?” Jiang Sanwen, who had been enthusiastically staring at the bees on his hand, suddenly heard this. He was puzzled at first, then his eyes lit up again. “Old Shen, do you know how to perform sujiang (folk storytelling) or shuobian (transformation storytelling)?”
Shen Shangling paused. He remembered what Yutao had said earlier—that this Great Yin Dynasty had an entertainment industry similar to the Tang Dynasty. Besides brothels and tea houses, there were singing, dancing, cockfighting, dog fighting, and wrestling. Compared to the eras after the Song Dynasty, there were still fewer varieties. However, poor people rarely saw these, while temple monks or others would tell stories of religious teachings or folk legends… which the common people called sujiang, shuobian, or changbian. No wonder Jiang Sanwen thought of this when he heard the word “story.”
“It’s even more interesting than sujiang or shuobian,” Shen Shangling quickly continued to coax. “Do you want to go inside and listen?”
“Yes!” Although Jiang Sanwen liked these bugs, he could see them everywhere once the weather grew warm. But sujiang or shuobian… it had been a long time since his father had taken him to listen to one. His father always said he was too young to understand, but he felt he really could understand a little bit—it was fun and lively.
Shen Shangling finally persuaded the little brat. Once they returned to the room, he let out a long breath, ignoring even the regretful emotions transmitted by the small earth bees outside.
The two of them went into the room, and Yutao and the others, along with the secret guards, let out a sigh of relief. Shen Shangling didn’t just want to deceive the child; since he had brought the child inside, he kept his promise and pondered what to tell him. He quite liked children, especially those like Jiang Sanwen—well-behaved and like a little adult—with whom he could talk. Furthermore, he didn’t have to be on his guard like he did when talking to Yutao and the others. To put it plainly, after arriving in this world, Jiang Sanwen was the first conversational partner who made him feel relaxed and comfortable. Even if he was just a little brat.
“Old Shen?” Jiang Sanwen sat obediently by his side, raising his face with eyes full of enthusiasm. “I’m sitting properly. I will listen well and not move around.”
After pondering for a while, Shen Shangling decided to tell Journey to the West. First, the child liked bugs and was clearly interested in animals. Second, Journey to the West was an ancient story, so it should be well-adapted to this world. In general, it should be well-suited to a child’s nature. Of course, most importantly, he was most familiar with this book.
Shen Shangling first had Jiang Sanwen drink a cup of water. It was easy for children to get sick in the spring, so drinking more liquids was good. After he also drank a cup to moisten his throat, he began to tell the story.
“Wow! The Monkey King! It must be the best-looking monkey.”
“Wow! He is so amazing.”
Listening to Shen Shangling’s smooth narration, Jiang Sanwen’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, becoming increasingly excited… He had never heard such a wonderful piece of storytelling!
After finishing the story of the Monkey King setting off on a raft across the sea to seek immortality and the Way, Shen Shangling stopped. Jiang Sanwen was still young, after all, and he feared the child wouldn’t be able to digest too much at once.
Jiang Sanwen: “…” Jiang Sanwen: “Old Shen, Old Shen?”
The little fellow’s eyes were filled with disbelief. Old Shen was actually not continuing? He was about to cry from anxiety.
“Drink some water first,” Shen Shangling pointed to the water cup gently. “After you finish, we will chat for a bit. It’s your turn to tell me about the fun and interesting things you have seen.”
He hoped that through this child, he might learn more about the situation. He couldn’t finish Journey to the West in one sitting, and he had his own little ulterior motive: he wanted to use the story to hook the little fellow so that he would come back often. Perhaps… when Lu Xiao wanted to torment him, he might show some leniency for the sake of the child.
Once Jiang Sanwen had animatedly gestured and described all the fun things he knew, a servant from Wutong Courtyard arrived to request the boy, saying that Physician Jiang wanted Young Master Wen back. Upon hearing this, Jiang Sanwen’s little face fell. He looked at Shen Shangling with lingering reluctance, his small hands grabbing onto Shen Shangling’s hand and refusing to let go.
“Whenever you want to come, just come over,” Shen Shangling pinched his cheek with a smile. “I will continue telling you the story. Be good—listen now, go back.”
“Really?” Jiang Sanwen’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Of course,” Shen Shangling laughed. “However, don’t go to sleep and forget about Sun Wukong, okay?”
Jiang Sanwen clenched his little fist tightly. “I won’t! I definitely won’t!”
After sending the child away, Shen Shangling didn’t pay attention to the confusion in the expressions of Yutao and the others, but he didn’t forget to have Yutao help him grind some ink first. As Yutao ground the ink, he watched her quietly from the side, and after watching once, he generally understood how the ink should be ground.
When the night grew late and everything was quiet, he sat at the table. After taking a breath and letting out a sigh, he picked up the smallest brush. He was going to start trying to recall the soap-making process he had seen in the past. Activating his hyper-memory state would likely give him a headache, and he feared he wouldn’t have time to think and ponder while in that state, so he could only try to transcribe it as quickly as possible.
“Ugh.”
As he started to recall, Shen Shangling only felt his consciousness fall into a vortex: countless things he had previously seen flew through his mind like rapidly spinning images, and his head felt as if it were exploding with pain. He couldn’t help but let out a muffled grunt, feeling his eyes ache unbearably. But this ability was truly useful; very quickly, he actually “found” the relevant memory. The things he had once glanced at were as clear as if the original text had been pasted in front of him.
He endured the headache and used the brush to write rapidly on the paper. He forced the fine brush to be used as if it were a fountain pen, and lines of characters quickly appeared on the rice paper.
“Plop.”
After he finished copying, he threw the pen in his hand away, leaned back against the chair, and rubbed his face hard: his face was a bit wet; it seemed he had been stimulated to tears by the headache again.
“This was told to you by that Young Master Shen in Qiyu Courtyard?”
At this moment, in Wutong Courtyard in a corner of the prince’s residence, Jiang Yuanlin listened in astonishment as Jiang Sanwen chattered away. He couldn’t help but blurt out the question. This Shen Shangling not only took Young Master Wen to see those bees he kept, but actually actually told Young Master Wen a story about Journey to the West?
This content… made even him curious. No, this really doesn’t seem like something that “Shen the Scholarly,” who held his eyes up in the clouds, would do, right?