Chapter Two: Serenity

Sitting by the bedside, he faced three unfamiliar faces. Three pairs of eyes were fixed intently on him, filled with surprise, joy, excitement, and relief.

Memories flooded his mind, and Chen Xiaofu realized he had transmigrated—and he now knew who they were.

Steadying his thoughts, he looked at the kind old woman with silver hair and tear-filled eyes. She was the grandmother of his former self, and thus his grandmother in this life as well.

From his memories, she had raised him, though their relationship was never particularly close. It was a complicated feeling—she seemed to care for him deeply, yet remained somewhat distant.

She lived in the East Courtyard of the Huaxi Estate. After he turned six, she visited the South Courtyard less and less. Especially in the past two years, sometimes she wouldn’t come even once a month.

When she did come, it was usually just to stroll around the yard, watch him fight crickets, ask if he was warm enough, or if he needed more clothes.

The conversations between grandmother and grandson grew increasingly sparse.

This estrangement began eleven years ago, when the former self was six.

That spring, his irresponsible father from the Imperial Capital’s Kaiyang Divine General’s Mansion came back once with his legitimate wife, bringing along a son and a daughter—the former self’s nominal younger brother and sister.

The brother was five, the sister only three.

That year, he learned he was a bastard. It was his younger brother who told him.

The brother’s name was Chen Youning. After losing a cricket fight, he flew into a rage, pointing at the former self’s nose and yelling:

“Chen Xiaofu, how dare you, a bastard, beat me!”

Then he stomped on the cricket, killing it, and shouted again:

“Don’t call me brother! You’re a nameless, worthless bastard—how dare you call yourself my brother?”

“I’ll have you know, I, Chen Youning, will inherit the Kaiyang Divine General title. This mansion will be mine, and this Huaxi Estate that I like so much is mine too!”

“As for you… you’re not even worthy to lead my horse!”

The former self stood there stunned.

When his father left the Huaxi Estate with his wife and children, he climbed a banyan tree and watched their carriage depart through the thick leaves, remaining there until they vanished from sight.

He stared down the official road leading to the Imperial Capital until the moon reached its zenith.

No one saw his tears streaming down his face.

No one knew that at that moment, all he wanted was to go to the Imperial Capital, find that cold father—not to beg for acceptance, but to ask if he truly was a bastard, to ask who his mother was, and where she was.

Fortunately, his grandmother had stayed.

She was his only support.

Being a bastard and the mystery of his mother became a knot in his heart. One day, he went to the East Courtyard to ask his grandmother seriously.

She was shocked.

Then she embraced him, not denying his status as a bastard.

Grandmother said...

“Ji’an, since you know now, I won’t hide it from you.”

“Your mother... she died giving birth to you.”

“You have me, and I won’t let anyone bully you, not even your brother Chen Youning!”

It was said that grandmother sent a letter to his father.

His brother was punished by their father, though how exactly remains unknown. At least grandmother fought for his justice.

Those memories surged like a tide in his mind.

His gaze wandered to the old man with a head of white hair.

This was Chen Xiaofu’s grandfather, who had only returned from the Imperial Capital three months ago. Though they had been together only briefly, it was far less intimate than with grandmother.

No, there was no intimacy at all.

A wave of resentment arose in his mind; this grandfather had forced the former self to study.

Chen Xiaofu quickly dispelled the emotion, even blinking at the old man and smiling weakly.

The frail smile was forced, even somewhat awkward, but it conveyed genuine goodwill from his heart—

He no longer rejected studying.

He understood the grandfather’s well-intentioned efforts.

Chen Linyuan was momentarily stunned.

The old lady was surprised as well.

The two elders exchanged glances, then joyfully, the old lady took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears and placed a withered hand on Chen Xiaofu’s forehead.

She clearly misunderstood his meaning:

“Good!”

“As long as you’re alive, that’s enough!”

“Child, we won’t make you study. If anyone dares to force you, I’ll kill them!”

The old lady glared at Chen Linyuan, “You too!”

“Someone! Someone…”

“Quick, fetch the divine doctor Zhang from the Rejuvenation Hall!”

“Take all the books, ink, brushes, and paper out of this room and throw them away!”

“Ji’an,”

The old lady sat at the bedside, her eyes full of tenderness:

“Don’t be afraid. With grandmother here, no one can force you to study.”

“This vast estate and all its holdings belong to you!”

“We don’t need studying to bring honor to the family. Living well is more important than anything! Once you recover, you can do whatever you want.”

“Grandmother will send someone to catch crickets for you. We’ll gather every cricket in Lin’an City. From now on, don’t ever think of harming yourself—you’d scare me to death!”

Chen Xiaofu weakly raised a hand.

Waving it slightly, he said:

“No crickets.”

“What do you want then?”

“Grandmother, grandfather, I just want some peace.”

“Peace? You mean Li Yuanwai’s daughter Li Jingjing or Magistrate Zhang’s daughter Zhang Jingjing? Which one do you like? Grandmother will have someone come to propose immediately!”

“…No, I just want some quiet.”

…

The three left but did not go far, standing anxiously outside the window.

Sunlight filtered through the lattice, scattering fragments of light across the floor. Chen Xiaofu finally took in the room around him.

It was quite large, filled with antique charm.

A satin quilt covered him, soft and warm.

Such a miraculous thing as transmigration had happened to him. Though a bastard, his food and clothing were clearly well cared for.

He did not mind this identity, knowing that while he could not choose his birth, he could choose the path he would walk.

A path...

Suddenly, an unbearably painful word flashed through his mind—dead end.

Where did this dead end come from?

His fiancée—

An Xiaowei!

The original owner had jumped from the third floor of the book tower. The true reason wasn’t that old Master Chen forced him to learn to read, but because of this fiancée he had never met!

Old Master Chen had returned from the Imperial Capital, bringing a letter from An Xiaowei.

The original owner could not read much, so he couldn’t make sense of the letter.

Inside the envelope, besides the letter, was a slip of paper.

On the paper was the first line of a couplet.

The original owner could not read it, let alone come up with the second line.

He was an illiterate bastard.

She was a refined lady from a scholarly family, not only brilliant but also stunningly beautiful. It was said that the young talents courting her in the Imperial Capital could line up along the Vermilion Avenue from the North Gate all the way to the palace…

One was an ant on the ground; the other, the bright moon in the sky.

It was a despair born of self-reproach.

The original owner had leapt down, and now Chen Xiaofu had arrived.

After some rest, he planned to look at that letter and the couplet.

Chen Xiaofu silently murmured:

“If she has feelings, I’ll help you consummate the marriage.”

“If she has none… aren’t there four beauties in the world? There are still three others, right?”

“Brother, give up one tree; I’ll build you a whole forest.”

Sleepiness surged in.

Closing his eyes, a faint, subtle smile graced Chen Xiaofu’s lips as he peacefully drifted to sleep.