Chapter 6: A Slight Understanding

Chen Xiaofu’s fingers trailed along the spines of the books until they came to a stop. One volume had caught his attention: *The Legend of the Heavenly Phoenix*.

The current Empress was the first female monarch in over a thousand years of history. In his memories, whenever he went out with Cuihong and Old Huang, he often heard the neighbors speaking of the Empress’s many virtues. They hailed her as the "Heavenly Phoenix"—a phoenix sent by the Heavens to save the common people.

For a woman to ascend the throne in a world that revered men was no simple feat. It reminded him of Empress Wu Zetian from the history of his previous life. Back then, he had only known of her through history books and biographies. Now, having arrived in this world, Chen Xiaofu felt a deep sense of curiosity and anticipation at the prospect of witnessing this Empress governing her realm firsthand.

He opened the book and began to read carefully. It recounted the legendary journey of the Empress, from a lowly palace maid to the ruler of the empire. Whether the contents were entirely factual was unclear, but the story was incredibly captivating to Chen Xiaofu. At the very least, it provided him with a rough overview of the world’s geopolitical landscape.

For example, when the Zhou Dynasty was first established, it was invaded by four nations: East Qi, West Chu, South Yue, and North Wei. This indicated that the Zhou Dynasty shared borders with at least these four neighbors.

The book also claimed that the Empress had personally led her troops, commanding the Seven Great Generals and an army of 150,000 to crush a coalition of 300,000 soldiers from the four nations at Songyue Valley. This suggested that the Empress was truly formidable. As for the extent of her prowess, the book’s descriptions were somewhat hyperbolic. It claimed that her sword stroke was like a rainbow, decapitating enemy generals from a hundred paces away. It even stated that while sitting in her phoenix carriage, a mere shift in the Empress’s expression caused three of the seven phoenixes depicted on the carriage to let out piercing cries and fly toward the enemy ranks. With a flick of her finger, the three phoenixes ignited into raging flames, exploding like a scorching sun and turning the enemy army to ash in an instant.

Chen Xiaofu smiled and shook his head. The story was thrilling, but to him, it seemed unrealistic. However, her ability to command her subordinates must have been exceptional. That was enough; for the Empress to lead a campaign in person was a statement of resolve that bolstered morale. The victory over the 300,000-strong coalition spoke volumes—her Seven Great Generals must be truly formidable. His own father, a man he had never met, was one of these Seven Great Generals—the Kaiyang General. That he was able to establish a prominent estate in the Imperial Capital must have been a sign of the Empress’s favor.

The book further noted that after the Empress signed the Jieqing Treaty with the four kings at the old capital, Jieqing, she decisively abandoned it as the seat of power. She moved the Imperial Capital to Jicheng in the north, proclaiming that as the Holy Empress ordained by Heaven, she must guard the gates of the Zhou Dynasty.

To the north of Jicheng lay the Northern Desert, home to many wild barbarians who posed a grave threat to the north of the empire. In the spring of the fifth year of the Phoenix Era, the Empress personally led three of her Great Generals on an expedition into the Northern Desert, driving the barbarians back a thousand miles. She named the mountain range at that distance "Mount Bugui" (The Mountain of No Return). At its summit stood a stone tablet, upon which the Empress had carved a line with her sword:

"Dare to cross Mount Bugui, and I shall wipe out your entire clan!"

She left not a single soldier at Mount Bugui. Relying solely on that tablet and the inscription upon it, the northern border had remained remarkably peaceful for over a decade. In the vast Northern Desert, finding a single barbarian was harder than reaching the heavens.

What a grand spirit! Chen Xiaofu was deeply impressed by the Empress. Just as he was immersed in thoughts of her heroic majesty, a voice interrupted his reverie.

"Young Master...!"
"Old Madam, Old Master, the Young Master is on the third floor!"

Chen Xiaofu looked up and turned around to see his grandmother and grandfather hurrying up the stairs. His grandmother always seemed to be a step ahead of his grandfather. She rushed forward and grabbed his hand.

"Jie'an!" she cried out. "Didn't we tell you not to read? Why are you reading these things? Is it because you ran out of crickets? If you did, just tell us! I’ll have people catch more for you!"

Chen Xiaofu smiled warmly. In this moment, he truly felt the concern, worry, and care his grandmother had for him. Yet, why had she been so distant from the previous version of himself? Perhaps it was because of the time he had asked her about his mother. Maybe she didn't want him to ask again, or perhaps it was because the previous occupant of this body had died once before.

Chen Xiaofu didn't dwell on it. His smile was gentle, and his tone sincere. "Grandmother, I really don't like crickets anymore. I... I just wanted to come here and look around."

Chen Linyuan, his grandfather, felt the weight lift from his heart upon seeing Chen Xiaofu. Being more rational than his wife, he stood by the desk. His nose caught the faint scent of ink. He glanced at the desk—the letter that had been there was gone. Looking closer, he saw that the inkstone, which should have been dry, contained half a cup of fresh ink, and one of the brushes from the rack was resting on the desk. Clearly, someone had ground the ink and prepared the brush recently.

Had Jie'an been writing? But the stack of paper on the desk showed no signs of being used. Chen Linyuan instantly dismissed the thought, assuming his grandson had intended to write something, prepared the ink and brush, but ultimately didn't know what to put down. As for the letter from An Xiaowei... he must have put it away to have Cuihong read it to him later. *Yes,* he thought, *and I’ll have Cuihong write a reply for him as well. That’s fine. I’ll just have to tell him later that the girl is very good, and he shouldn't write anything foolish in the reply—he needs to marry her first.*

With this in mind, Chen Linyuan’s gaze fell upon Chen Xiaofu’s hands, noticing the book he was still holding. He asked in surprise, "...You... are you reading?"

"Yes."

"...Can you understand it?"

Chen Xiaofu grinned, appearing a bit bashful. "I understand a little."

Cuihong looked at the Young Master’s back, thinking that while he had always felt different lately, she finally understood why: the Young Master had become thicker-skinned! He only knew about forty characters, yet here he was, pretending to read and brazenly claiming he "understood a little."

The Old Madam was also surprised, though only for a fleeting moment. However, Grandfather Chen Linyuan stared at Chen Xiaofu, the confusion in his eyes deepening. He couldn't fathom what "a little" meant. He had tested his grandson before using the *Three Character Classic*—the simplest of primers—and the boy hadn't even recognized thirty characters! That was after three years of effort from Master Jiang. He hadn't wanted to believe it, trying to polish this dull piece of wood himself, spending three months day and night teaching him, only to be met with despair. In those three months, the boy had learned only six more characters!

In total, his grandson knew fewer than forty characters. Yet here he was, reading a book! Who would believe it? This "understanding a little" must mean he understood nothing at all. As for the reading... well, let him read. As long as he didn't jump off the third floor again, that was a blessing.

"Jie'an, let’s go home."

Although the Old Madam’s heart had settled, she didn't want her grandson to remain in the library; she couldn't risk another accident.

Chen Xiaofu pondered for a moment. His frail body was beginning to feel a bit tired. Besides, there was the matter he had just taken to heart: he needed to write a reply to his fiancée in the Imperial Capital. That letter had been written on the third day of the tenth month of last year; it had been half a year since then. Would she be waiting anxiously in the capital?

"All right, let’s go back."
"Jie'an, don't read books anymore in the future."
"...Don't worry, Grandmother. Your grandson will not seek to end his life again."
"Truly?"
"Yes, truly!"