As he passed through the shadow wall and turned the corridor, Song Chongjin saw a slender man standing at the door of the study. Though still fairly young looking, his hair was already half gray, with a thin beard under his chin. He was holding a bowl of tea, skimming the tea foam with the cup lid.
At first glance, Song Chongjin knew this must be Jian Huaifeng.
He walked up with steady steps, and made a respectful bow in front of Jian Huaifeng: "Junior Song Chongjin greets Uncle Jian."
"Song Chongjin?" Jian Huaifeng murmured, then drawled lazily, "Are you a relative of Lord Gu? How co I’ve never heard of you?"
Song Chongjin respectfully replied, "Lord Gu is the uncle of my wife."
Only then did Jian Huaifeng lift his eyelids to glance at Song Chongjin, extending his hand: "And the letter?"
Song Chongjin took out the letter written by Gu Changqing from his bosom and respectfully presented it to Jian Huaifeng with both hands.
Jian Huaifeng took the letter, opened it, and scanned it briefly before reassessing Song Chongjin.
Song Chongjin stood straight, with a righteous gaze. Even as Jian Huaifeng scrutinized him for a long ti, he showed no sign of unease.
After quite a while, Jian Huaifeng sneered, tucked the letter casually into his sleeve, and drawled, "Alright, co in."
With that, he entered the study.
Song Chongjin signaled to Yao Da with a glance and followed inside.
The study was quite simple, with nothing but a desk near the window and bookshelves covering half of the wall, filled with books.
"Sit down!" Jian Huaifeng pointed to a chair beside the desk.
Song Chongjin thanked him and sat down.
Only then did Jian Huaifeng say, "You are this year’s Imperial ssenger? Quite promising at a young age!"
Song Chongjin stood up and modestly said, "I do not dare to accept such praise from Uncle Jian!"
Jian Huaifeng gave a short laugh with an indescribable aning, and then said, "I’ve read the letter. Lord Gu really thinks highly of , wanting to offer you so pointers. But what could a long-ti failed exam graduate possibly guide you about?"
Song Chongjin quickly got up, saying, "Uncle Jian’s abilities, my uncle has ntioned many tis to , holding them in high regard. I sincerely request Uncle Jian to offer so guidance."
"My abilities? What abilities do I have?" Jian Huaifeng scoffed self-deprecatingly.
Song Chongjin was silent for a mont before saying, "Uncle Jian previously served Lord Yu, the Magistrate of Luzhou. During your period of service, Lord Yu consistently received top ratings in assessnts. Four years ago, after Uncle Jian resigned and returned to Feng County, Lord Yu’s assessnts have been rely average—"
Jian Huaifeng glanced at Song Chongjin: "Is this sothing Lord Gu told you?"
Song Chongjin nodded.
"Now that you know, are you not afraid that I might do the sa to you in the future, marginalizing you?" Jian Huaifeng looked at Song Chongjin with amusent.
Song Chongjin smiled, "If I am so incapable, then I can only resign myself to fate. Uncle Jian, perhaps you should give it a try?"
Jian Huaifeng, upon hearing this, took another look at Song Chongjin, as if discovering sothing interesting.
Laughing, he said, "Are you not afraid that if I get tired and decide to quit, what would you do then?"
Song Chongjin said solemnly, "Uncle Jian is not such an irresponsible person. There must have been a reason for Uncle Jian to resign from Lord Yu. As I treat Uncle Jian sincerely, Uncle Jian will not disappoint !"
Jian Huaifeng was montarily stunned, his eyes becoming sowhat evasive, "How do you know I am not an irresponsible person? If I were responsible and grateful, how could I have betrayed a friend I’ve known for over ten years?"
Song Chongjin took a deep breath: "I fear that the falling out between Uncle Jian and Lord Yu might have other reasons? Could it be that Lord Yu did sothing to wrong Uncle Jian back then?"
Jian Huaifeng’s body trembled, his eyes fixed on Song Chongjin, his voice slightly trembling: "What do you an by that?"
Song Chongjin calmly said, "Given Uncle Jian’s character, having served Lord Yu for over a decade, how could you fall out over trivial matters? My uncle once said that Uncle Jian has qualities of a magnanimous and sincere gentleman; otherwise, Lord Yu would not have trusted you for so many years."
"For sothing to cause a rupture between Uncle Jian and Lord Yu, it must have been sothing extrely serious, a breach of Uncle Jian’s bottom line. May I boldly speculate, was it that every Imperial Spring Examination Uncle Jian attended turned unfortunate, not by fate, but by man’s hand?"
Upon hearing these words, Jian Huaifeng’s expression changed.
He looked at Song Chongjin with uncertainty, as if trying to discern sothing from his face.
Song Chongjin let Jian Huaifeng look at him quietly, his expression calm, as if he hadn’t just uttered such astonishing words.
After a while, Jian Huaifeng burst into loud laughter, "Indeed, the young are to be feared! The young are to be feared indeed! Brother Gu truly has a discerning eye! I am ashad, truly ashad!"
The laughter echoed around the room, and eventually carried a trace of lancholy.
In the courtyard, Yao Da and the little boy, sitting quietly, could not help but stand up, looking towards the study with uncertainty.
After a while, the laughter gradually subsided.
Yao Da and the little boy exchanged a glance.
Only then did Yao Da quietly ask, "Little brother, what is your na? How co I’ve only seen you and your master all day? Is there no one else in your house?"
The little boy mumbled with a candy in his mouth, "My na is Jian Jian. We also have a Mute Grandma and a La Uncle. La Uncle went out yesterday and hasn’t returned; Mute Grandma is cooking in the back."
Yao Da asked in surprise, "Doesn’t your master have any relatives?"
The little boy Jian Jian pouted, his eyes turning red, "Our old lady and old master passed away early. Madam and Brother Guan fell ill in Luzhou and died. Our master was heartbroken and ca back ho, with only us following him."
Upon hearing this, Yao Da’s heart stirred. He cautiously began to pry more information from Jian Jian.
Jian Jian was no match for soone like Yao Da. Soon, Yao Da extracted all the knowledge he had.
It turned out that Jian Huaifeng’s wife and child in Luzhou, for so unknown reason, fell ill and both mother and child passed away. Jian Huaifeng, having lost his wife and son in middle age, beca utterly depressed, locking himself at ho for days.
When he erged, half of his hair had turned white, and he resigned from his job, packed his bags, and returned.
The family’s servants were all dismissed, leaving only a La, a Mute Grandma, and him, an orphan picked up by La Uncle, originally intended to be Attendant Student for Brother Guan. Unexpectedly, with Brother Guan’s passing, and having nowhere else to go, he was taken back ho, now doing odd jobs around.
Since returning, they had been the only ones in the house. In the beginning, people sought etings, but their master saw no one, only saying he was disheartened and planned to live a secluded life for the rest of his days.
Gradually, fewer people ca, and in the past year or two, no one ca at all.
Just as Yao Da finished his inquiries, the study door creaked open, and Song Chongjin ca out first.
Upon exiting, he respectfully said towards the inside, "Uncle Jian, please stay, I shall return tomorrow!"
There was no reply from inside.
Song Chongjin was not bothered, leaving the gifts they had brought, he and Yao Da took their leave.
After Song Chongjin and Yao Da left, Jian Jian went near the study door, peeking inside.
Only to see his master with a smile that seed both amused and not, and noticing Jian Jian peeking, he raised his head: "Why aren’t you guarding the door, what are you peeking at here?"
Jian Jian cautiously asked, "Master, that person said he’d co again tomorrow, should I open the door for him?"
Jian Huaifeng sneered, "If he likes to co, let him!" He glanced at the candy at Jian Jian’s mouth, "Also, let you have a few more days to sweeten your mouth with candy!"
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