The pre-dawn bell tolled slowly from Ciyun Temple, and most of the crowds on the street had already dispersed.
Lin Wu led Lin Jing along as they walked towards Qingshui Lane.
Having stayed up most of the night and then run all over the streets with the two children, she was so sleepy at the moment that her eyelids felt heavy as lead. She kept yawning all the way, tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, her head felt groggy, and her steps even grew a little unsteady.
Shen Guanting and Tigerhead insisted on seeing them home.
As they walked, Shen Guanting's eyes drifted unconsciously to the person beside him.
Another yawn tugged at her face, and the corners of her eyes grew damp. She raised a hand to wipe the wetness away, completely unaware of how endearing the little gesture looked.
"A Wu," Shen Guanting called out suddenly.
"Mm?" Lin Wu responded absentmindedly, her eyes still half-lidded with sleep as she kept walking.
"The New Year's Eve has passed, so I suppose A Wu has grown a year older," his voice was calm, sounding like nothing more than casual small talk. "How old are you this year?"
Lin Wu's mind was still foggy, and upon hearing the question, she nearly answered without thinking.
Twenty... twenty something?
This ordinary question about her age was surprisingly far too complicated for her to work out right now. She furrowed her brows in thought, straining to get her sluggish mind to turn.
Shen Guanting watched her, the smile in his eyes growing softer and warmer, but he did not rush her. He just walked at a slower pace, even slowing his steps further to wait for her to take her time thinking.
Lin Wu turned her head to glance at the man who had posed this tricky question for her. Even in the dim light, she could see the unmistakable amusement lurking in his features, clearly enjoying the sight of her floundering.
She suddenly snapped a little more awake.
This man did that on purpose.
"Twenty-three," she replied in a steady, level tone.
"Mm, twenty-three," Shen Guanting nodded. "A Wu is more mature and steady than I expected for that age."
Lin Wu looked up at him. He spoke as if he had only just learned how old she was, when it was obvious he had set a little trap for her while she was still groggy.
Tigerhead suddenly skipped back two steps, looked up at them and called out, "I'm steady too! I'm eight years old!"
Lin Jing mumbled drowsily right after, "I'm five years old."
Shen Guanting raised an eyebrow slightly. If Lin Jing was five years old now, then the age of six that he had written on the household register earlier was false, meaning the boy was actually four back then. Which meant Lin Wu's stated age was most likely not the truth either.
Lin Wu did not care much about the "five years old" Lin Jing had just blurted out. After all, Shen Guanting already knew Lin Jing's real identity long ago, so a year more or less on his age made no difference at all.
As for her own age, well, neither seventeen nor twenty-three was the real number anyway, so naturally she would pick an age older than Shen Guanting's. That way, he might at least have the decency to treat her with the respect due to elders.
Though the man in front of her right now did not seem to have that kind of decency at all.
But then she thought, he had only seemed properly serious when they first met. After spending all this time together, she had seen the way he spoke to Old Master Shen, twisting his words to tease and needle the old man, how he took every chance to tease Tigerhead, and he even never went out of his way to be polite to the academy headmaster or Master Yun Jianshan.
He treated everyone the same, young or old, man or woman, never holding back his sharp, playful tongue and paying no mind to formalities of seniority.
The only difference in his manner was that he reined in his teasing a little more when he was around Lin Jing. This must be the pastime of a pampered young master, she thought.
Completely woken up by Shen Guanting's little trick, Lin Wu spent the rest of the walk silently complaining about him in her head, and before she knew it, they had reached the lane entrance.
"You two should head back soon too, it's very late," Lin Wu stopped in her tracks and turned to face the Shen brothers. Tigerhead still looked full of energy, pulling Lin Jing along and chattering nonstop about all the plans he had for the next day.
"Jing, I'll come find you to play tomorrow. We'll help Laifu paste peachwood charms, then head to the market street. It's going to be so lively, there are even stalls with throwing games..."
"Mm... pasting peachwood charms, going to the market street..." Lin Jing was already so sleepy that his little head bobbed up and down.
Seeing this, Lin Wu reached over to take the small lantern from his hand, then held his tiny hand tight to keep him from toppling over by accident.
"Little Jing looks like he can barely lift his feet," Shen Guanting said, looking at his eyelids that were struggling to stay open. "Tigerhead and I will walk you both to the courtyard gate."
Seeing the children safely home on New Year's Eve was the least he could do, after all.
With that, he bent down and lifted Lin Jing up, his movements light and practiced. Lin Jing's little head lolled over to rest on his shoulder, his eyes already fully closed.
Lin Wu watched how naturally he handled the child, and thought to herself that it was no wonder he was such a good older brother, he clearly had plenty of experience.
To her slight embarrassment, she had no experience looking after kids at all, and it was all thanks to Lin Jing that things went so smoothly, the little guy was so well-behaved, sensible, and eager to help.
"Thank you so much for the trouble, Guanting," Lin Wu said softly.
Tigerhead dashed ahead excitedly, holding up his small lantern. "I'll lead the way!"
The group soon reached the courtyard gate.
Lin Wu handed a lantern to Tigerhead, then took the sleeping Lin Jing from Shen Guanting's arms. The little boy was so deep in sleep that he didn't even stir when he was passed between them.
She glanced at the lantern in Tigerhead's hand, the very one Shen Guanting had given her earlier. "Thank you both for walking us back. Keep this lantern to light your way home, and be careful on the road."
To her, the lantern worked just about as well as a flashlight.
Shen Guanting took the lantern from Tigerhead, a faint, amused smile on his face. "This lantern lit your whole way here. Lighting my way back too would make its job perfectly done."
Lin Wu chuckled softly. "Master Shen has such a sharp eye for good things, every item you buy always serves its purpose. One lantern lighting two households, that's a deal well worth making."
At the sound of her calling him "Master Shen", Shen Guanting nodded slowly. "Then I'll take that as you praising me for being good at managing our household well."
"I'm praising you for being careful and thrifty with every penny."
Not wanting to be left out, Tigerhead held up his own small lantern and waved it between the two adults. "Jing and I are here too! Our lanterns lit the way as well!"
Shen Guanting glanced down at him. "Your lantern was bought by me."
Tigerhead huffed, completely unapologetic. "But I carried it! I carried it the whole way!"
Shen Guanting ignored him, stepping back a little to look at Lin Wu. "Go on inside, it's chilly out."
Lin Wu nodded, turned to step over the threshold while holding Lin Jing, and the courtyard gate closed gently behind her.
Shen Guanting looked up, and through the window lattice inside the wall, he spotted a soft glow seeping out, not unlike the lantern in his hand, spreading faintly across the silk screen. It was faint, but it felt so warm and gentle against the dark of the night.
The bamboo handle of the lantern was slightly warm, and he couldn't tell if it was the lingering warmth from where Lin Wu had been holding it, or the heat from the candle burning inside all the way.
A night wind blew down the alley, making the lantern sway gently. He didn't linger any longer, and turned to head home.
Tigerhead had already run far ahead, his voice drifting back from the front. "Brother — hurry up —"
Even though they were supposed to stay up all night for the New Year's vigil, Lin Wu still managed to doze off a little in the late hours. When she woke up, the sun was already bright outside the window, and Lin Jing was still fast asleep.
Lin Wu got out of bed as quietly as possible. After washing up, she went to the main room to set out the offerings: a plate of sweet tea fruits, a plate of pastries, then took out the incense sticks and candles. Those two candles were a luxury she only allowed herself to buy on New Year's Day. An ordinary candle cost a whole hundred and fifty coins, and burning them felt to her just like burning money.
When everything was arranged properly, she went back to the inner room and gently shook Lin Jing awake.
Lin Jing blinked blearily, his eyelids still heavy with sleep, and immediately scrambled out of bed with hands and feet flailing, mumbling drowsily, "Nailing the peach charms, pasting the peach charms..."
"We have to hold the ancestor worship first," Lin Wu reminded him, reaching out to steady his wobbly little body.
She then took out the new clothes she had bought a few days earlier and dressed him in them. Over the innermost layer, she slipped a mandarin-collar short coat in wormwood green dotted with pale moon-white little flowers, which made him look bright and lively. On New Year's Day, even common folks would don fresh fine clothes to pay New Year's calls to one another.
Lin Jing obediently stretched his arms out to let her dress him, and by the time the clothes were on, he was a little more awake. He started counting on his fingers, "Oh right, first ancestor worship, then eat longevity noodles, then go pay New Year's calls, then wander the market!"
"We already paid visits yesterday, so we don't need to go calling today," Lin Wu said as she combed his hair.
On this day, everyone was supposed to pay New Year's respects to their elder relatives, but the two of them barely had any family left. Lin Jing's relatives were all in the southern cliff region, and oh, there were also some in the imperial palace. Going to the palace for a New Year's visit wouldn't be a greeting at all—it would be courting death.
As for her own relatives, they didn't even exist in this world. If she wanted to pay New Year's calls, she would have an even harder time than Lin Jing.
So it wasn't that she was just being lazy.
Speaking of being lazy with New Year's visits, there were people who really cut corners on that. Wealthy households had so many elder relatives and kinsmen that it was impossible to run to every single one of their homes to pay respects. That was how the custom of "flying New Year's posts" came to be: people would write their names on plum-blossom patterned letter slips, then send their servants to deliver these slips from house to house. They would leave the name card at the gate, and the host didn't even have to come out to greet the messenger. It was more or less the same as greeting cards in later generations.
"Does Tigerhead's family have flying posts? Will they send us a flying post?" Lin Jing sat at the dining table, picking up the suobing, the long longevity noodles, from his bowl with chopsticks and dragging the noodles high up into the air.
Lin Wu was pouring tu su wine into a small wine cup, "I don't think they will. Sparrow and Tigerhead are coming over to play with you today, aren't they? If they come in person, there's no need for a flying post."
Lin Jing's eyes lit up with realization, he nodded, then lowered his head to focus on eating his noodles. Laifu squatted by his feet, staring up at him eagerly, so Lin Jing snuck him a small section of noodle.
The food on New Year's Day was abundant and full of special meanings. Take the suobing, those long noodles, for example—they symbolized long life.
Lin Wu lifted her wine cup and took a tiny sip, then her eyes narrowed and her nose wrinkled up at once.
"Is it tasty?" Lin Jing stretched a hand out, eager to have a try.
Lin Wu shook her head repeatedly and moved the cup further away from him, "It's not tasty at all."
Traditionally, the order of drinking New Year's wine started with the youngest child, and the elders drank last. This was because on this day, "the young gain a year, while the old lose a year"—in simple terms, a child growing one year older was a happy occasion, while an elderly person aging one more year was something to grieve over.
But Lin Wu thought she was nowhere near being an elderly person. As for Lin Jing, she had no intention of letting a child touch alcohol, she only took that tiny sip herself as a little ritual gesture.
"Why do you drink it if it's not tasty?" Lin Jing's little face was full of curiosity.
Lin Wu thought for a moment and started telling him a story. "Drinking Tusu wine is a New Year's Day custom. Tusu means a thatched hut. Legend has it that long ago, a man lived in a Tusu hut. Every New Year's Eve, he would give his neighbors a packet of medicine, and tell them to soak the medicine in a well. On New Year's Day, they would draw water from the well and pour it into a wine vessel. If the whole family drank from it, they would not catch any infectious diseases. This prescription was passed down through generations, and eventually became what we know as Tusu wine."
After hearing this, Lin Jing grew even more eager to have a taste, his eyes fixed intently on the wine cup. Lin Wu, feeling helpless, picked up his chopsticks, dipped the tip into the wine, and held it out to his mouth.
Lin Jing took the chopsticks into his mouth, and immediately made the exact same face Lin Wu had made earlier, his little face scrunched up into a ball. "It tastes bad!"
Lin Wu held back her laughter and poured him a bowl of water. Lin Jing drank a few big gulps, and only then managed to chase away that strange lingering taste in his mouth.
When they had almost finished their meal, Lin Wu brought over a plate of fruit from the table. On the plate lay a cypress branch, a persimmon, and a tangerine, arranged neatly in a row.
She peeled the tangerine and the persimmon, split each one in half to share between the two of them. "The cypress branch, persimmon, and tangerine together make up the auspicious phrase 'all things well and auspicious'. After eating this 'all things lucky' treat, our family will have good fortune in everything in the new year."
"Wow!" After hearing that explanation, Lin Jing felt that the tangerine and persimmon tasted far sweeter than they usually did.
After finishing their New Year's breakfast, Lin Wu took the newly bought pair of peachwood charms out of the house and walked to the courtyard gate.
She measured the height of the door frame with her hand, and was just about to nail the charms up, when Laifu suddenly started barking from inside the yard.
Laifu's short little legs were moving as fast as they could, and he darted right up to the threshold, barking nonstop down the alley.
Lin Jing quickly squatted down to hold him still, and looked up toward the alley. He saw Liang Peilan walking over, carrying a bamboo basket.
"Aunt Lin, Little Jing, may you have an auspicious new year," Liang Peilan said as he reached them, giving them a proper, respectful bow.
"Young Master Liang, a happy and auspicious new year to you too," Lin Wu replied with a smile, still holding the peachwood charm in her hand.
Liang Peilan held out the bamboo basket in his hands to her. "This is a New Year's gift for you two. I also wanted to thank you for the holiday gift you sent us on New Year's Eve - the crisp thin pastries and cured meat slices were absolutely delicious. Uncle Chen wanted to come with me too, but he said it's not convenient for him to go out right now, so he asked me to pass on his well wishes instead. He hopes Little Jing and you will have a lucky and prosperous new year."
"That's so thoughtful of you, making a special trip all the way here," Lin Wu said as she set the peachwood charm against the wall and took the basket from him.
"Not at all. We don't have much to offer that's worthwhile at the moment. These are the pepper blossom wine and roasted atractylodes soup my father made. He said they are perfect to drink on New Year's Day."
Lin Wu smiled. "We just happened to not have any pepper blossom wine or roasted atractylodes soup in the house."
Just like drinking Tusu wine, drinking pepper blossom wine and roasted atractylodes soup are also New Year's Day customs. She did not drink alcohol on a regular basis, so she only prepared a small amount of Tusu wine as a symbolic gesture. And roasted atractylodes soup was said to ward off pestilential and unhealthy qi, but she had completely forgotten to make it earlier.
She took the two earthen bottles to the kitchen to put them away, then came back to the courtyard gate to continue nailing up the peachwood charms. With Young Master Liang helping her hold them steady, they finished the job very quickly.
As for the peachwood charm for Laifu's little kennel, they would wait to put that up until Sparrow and Tigerhead came over.
Just as Liang Peilan was about to say goodbye and leave, he suddenly remembered something and added, "Oh right, Uncle Chen also asked me to tell you that he has moved out from the shop premises."
Lin Wu was taken aback. "That quickly?"
"Come in and sit for a while," she said, leading Liang Peilan to the main hall to take a seat. She then turned back to the kitchen to bring out a plate of pastries and set it down in front of him. "Try these, Young Master Liang. These are golden jade cakes and snow cloud cakes."
"Thank you, Auntie. these pastries are truly lovely."
He picked up a smaller Golden Jade Cake, took a bite, and then added, "Speaking of which, we have to thank your pastries too, they helped Uncle Chen land a job."
Lin Wu was now completely confused.
Liang Peilan explained, "Auntie, you all sent festival gifts to Uncle Chen on New Year's Eve, and Uncle Chen set aside some of those gifts..."
He paused, looking a little sheepish. "Uncle Chen said he has to apologize to you for this, it was truly disrespectful of him. He never should have passed on the gifts you gave him to someone else, but at the time, he simply didn't have any other decent items he could offer."
"Uncle Chen is far too polite, if it could help all of you, that would be the best thing possible." Lin Wu poured him another cup of water.
"Uncle Chen took those festival gifts and went with my father to visit Lord Han. Lord Han was very impressed by my father's medical skills, and hired him on the spot as the household physician for his manor. He also hired Uncle Chen as an extra, saying he would have Uncle Chen help sort out medical records and organize medicinal herbs."
Lin Wu had some vague impression of Lord Han. That Fifth Young Master Han, who had earned the rank of Jieyuan, had mentioned a Lord Han he planned to visit when he came to buy pastries the other day, and she had wondered if that visit had gone smoothly.
But... she suspected this Lord Han must know Chen Shugu, so the "extra" hire was most likely for Liang Jimin.
She didn't dwell on the thought any longer, just picked up her ceramic cup and took a small sip.
But Liang Peilan kept on talking, "Actually, my father went to so many wealthy households these past few days to offer his services, he even visited every pharmacy in the city, stopping by each one to ask if they needed a resident doctor, but none of them would take him."
He said this with a shrug, not seeming particularly dejected.
"I never expected Lord Han to have such a discerning eye. I think it must be because Lord Han just retired from his official post and returned to his hometown, and now he no longer holds an official position, and my father also no longer holds an official position, so they just hit it off perfectly."
Lin Wu fell silent for a moment.
To be honest, what was so happy about this "perfect match"? Two people who both lost their official positions getting together, what kind of a lucky coincidence was that?
"That's truly wonderful news, the Han Manor must be a great place to work." Lin Wu said, offering her genuine congratulations.
Liang Peilan nodded in agreement, "Yes, my father says the pay is quite generous. Our family has always been very lucky."
When he said that, even the young Lin Jing looked skeptical of his claim. After all, the first time Lin Jing had met Liang Peilan was at a porridge distribution shed on the outskirts of the city.
Going from a capital official to someone who could barely find a job, it was really hard to see where that "luck" was.
Liang Peilan didn't seem to notice anything odd about his own words. He glanced around the room, then suddenly lowered his voice, "I can tell you people are close with Uncle Chen, so that makes you our own folks. I'm going to tell you a secret."
Lin Wu's heart skipped a beat. A secret, and it had something to do with Chen Shugu, she was sure.
She had a bad feeling about it, and almost didn't want to hear it.
But Lin Jing was already brimming with curiosity, and leaned his little head over eagerly.
Liang Peilan dropped his voice to barely a whisper, "You all know about the Former Crown Prince, right?"
The moment he said that, Lin Wu froze, and Lin Jing was so stunned he couldn't move.
Liang Peilan wasn't surprised by their reaction at all, and went on, "The Former Crown Prince is no longer with us, but he was an incredibly kind and benevolent man. My life was saved by him."
Lin Wu felt her head start to buzz a little.
Liang Jimin had been dismissed from his post and exiled back to his hometown under the charge of "having too close ties with the Eastern Palace", and that charge was clearly not a false one. It turned out their family really did have connections with the Eastern Palace.
Liang Peilan lowered his head and sighed softly, "When I was little, I suffered from a severe illness that required a very rare medicinal herb. If we couldn't find it, I would have died within a month. Back then, my father was just an ordinary doctor with a modest family background and no connections to any influential figures. So he went from door to door, knocking on the gates of all the wealthy households and noble families in the capital."
"Did any of those families have that herb?" Lin Jing asked.
"I have no idea," Liang Peilan shook his head. "But my father said that we had to ask to find out. If we didn't even try, we would get nothing at all."
He spoke of it in a light, offhand tone, but Lin Wu could well imagine how difficult that journey had been. An ordinary doctor, showing up uninvited to beg for a favor at the gates of powerful households, would be lucky to be turned away politely. More often than not, he would get yelled at, and if he ran into particularly overbearing, tyrannical masters, it was not unthinkable that he might even get beaten.
Listening to him, Lin Wu could not help but feel a surge of emotion, and she finally understood where his straightforward, no-nonsense temperament came from. The way he had come straight to their stall to propose renting their shop was exactly the same as his father, back in the day, going door to door to beg for the medicine that could save his life.
Liang Peilan went on, "In the end, my father made his way to the Junior Tutor's residence. The Junior Tutor personally received him, said he did not have that particular herb in his household, but knew the Eastern Palace did. He then offered to plead for my father before His Highness the Crown Prince. In just two days, the Junior Tutor sent men to deliver the medicine to our home, along with a handwritten note penned by himself."
Lin Jing was listening completely engrossed, "What did the note say?"
"'Only wish you peace, no need for thanks, no need to worry,'" Liang Peilan's tone grew much more solemn as he spoke. "I saw that note with my own eyes. Later, my parents had it mounted and kept it carefully all these years."
"But then later, someone found that note during a search of our home. There were still people who remembered how my father had gone everywhere begging for medicine back then. They claimed our family had formed a secret alliance with the Junior Tutor and the Eastern Palace. Even after the investigation proved that all that had happened was the gift of the medicine, with no further contact between our families, the charges had already stuck. My father was stripped of his official title and struck from the medical rolls, and our whole family was sent back to Huzhou."
When he finished the story, he looked at the two of them with a bright, cheerful smile, "That's why my father always says I am alive today entirely because of the help of kind benefactors. Our family's path all these years has had its share of twists and turns, but we have always run into good people. Now we have met the two of you too. You are renting our shop, you sent us festival gifts, and you even helped my father and Uncle Chen find work. You are benefactors to our family as well."
"You are too polite, Young Master Liang," Lin Wu gently took Lin Jing's hand. "Your father traveled all over begging for that medicine to save you, that was the most natural instinct of any parent. The Junior Tutor and the Crown Prince chose to reach out and help, that was their own benevolence. As for what has happened now..."
She paused for a moment before continuing, "Your father was able to find work because his medical skills are outstanding, and Lord Han recognized his talent. The shop was able to get rented out because your property is in a prime location, and you took the initiative to come and talk to us. At the end of the day, all of this is something your family earned through your own efforts. We just happened to cross paths with you along the way."
Liang Peilan shook his head, his expression earnest, "But that still counts as fate. My mother says that the bond of fate between people is the rarest and most precious thing of all."
"That is certainly true. Every friendship and acquaintance between people is tied together by fate."
As she spoke, Lin Wu's peripheral vision fell on the ginkgo leaf bookmark on the offering table, and she suddenly felt a little dazed. She herself was someone who had received great kindness from His Highness and Her Highness, too.
Liang Peilan set down his emptied teacup and stood up, saying, "Aunt Lin, it's getting late. I should head back now. We have a lot of relatives over at our house today, and my father might not be able to hold my mother back on his own."
Lin Wu thought his words sounded a little odd, but she did not dwell on it. She smiled and said, "As it happens, the New Year's Eve ritual gifts were prepared in a rush, so there was not much Snow Cloud Cake made. But we made plenty more last night while staying up for the New Year vigil. Take a few back with you to try."
Liang Peilan shook his head repeatedly. "No, no way. My mother sent me here to return a courtesy gift. If I bring food back with me, she definitely will not let me step through the door."
"Then how about this? You finish eating them before you go home," Lin Wu offered him a suggestion. Tigerhead was a total pro at this sort of thing. Every time he got a snack from Lin Jing, he would always eat half and save the other half. That way he could show off the snack to Shen Guanting, and the other boy could not snatch it away anyway, since that half piece was too awkward to grab.
At Lin Wu's words, Liang Peilan's eyes widened a little. He nodded vigorously. "That's a great idea! Thank you so much for the tip, Aunt Lin."
Lin Wu wrapped a few cakes up in oiled paper. Liang Peilan took the package, tucked it carefully inside his robes, said goodbye to the two of them, then walked out of the yard at an unhurried pace.
The courtyard door closed, and the sound of his footsteps faded into the distance.
Lin Wu walked back into the room, only to find Lin Jing still sitting quietly on the chair, his little head hanging down.
She squatted down, and saw tears silently slipping from his eyes, blurring dark spots on the hem of his tunic. He swiped at his face over and over with the back of his hand, but the tears only flowed more. Finally he could not hold back and gave a tiny, soft sniffle.
A sharp, gentle ache of sorrow rose in Lin Wu's chest.
It had been quite a long time since they had left the palace. This was the very first time Lin Jing had heard someone else mention his royal father.
She did not say anything at first, just pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his tears for him.
"A Jing, even though your Father and Mother are no longer with us, it feels like they are always watching over you, protecting you," Lin Wu said as she pulled him into her embrace.
Lin Jing buried his face in her chest, and let out a muffled "mm-hmm".
"Think about it. A Wu, Tutor Uncle, the Liang family—all of us who are by your side, are here because of the ties left by His Highness and your Mother," Lin Wu patted his back softly. "All the bonds they forged have found their way to you in the end."
Lin Jing stayed quiet for a while, then rubbed his little face against the front of her robe.
He pulled himself out of her embrace, took the handkerchief, and dried his own tears.
He sniffled, the traces of tears still glistening on his cheeks, then walked over to the offering table. He stood on tiptoe and shifted the ginkgo leaf bookmark, positioning it perfectly right between the two candlesticks on either side.
"Father, Mother," his voice still carried the thick, stuffy nasal tone of someone who had just been crying. "I cried just now because... because I missed you. But I only cried for a little while, really, just a very little while."
As he spoke, he scratched his little head, looking a bit sheepish.
"Today is New Year's Day, and I am one year older now. I have grown up, and I can do so many things all by myself. Later I am going to help Laifu paste the peach wood charms on the doors, and go wander the market streets with Sparrow and Tigerhead. You don't have to worry about me at all, I am living really well."
When he finished speaking, he folded his hands together, and bowed to the offering table very solemnly.
When he straightened up, he seemed to think of something else. He tilted his head and pondered for a moment, then added, "Father, Mother, if you have any more good luck and blessings left to leave behind... could you... could you bring A Wu and me lots and lots of money?"
He had been attending school for some time now, and had started to understand what numbers meant.
He held up his little fingers, and counted very earnestly. "It's not that I want it all for myself. It's just that we have so many places we need to spend money. For example, these two candles I bought for you cost three hundred copper coins. A Wu has to sell so many cakes just to earn three hundred coins."
"And then there's Laifu, whom you've already met. He's a little greedy, can eat a whole lot in one meal, and we have to take care of him. When he grows up, he's definitely going to eat even more, and that'll cost even more money."
Innocent Laifu heard his name, and wagged his tail happily, completely unaware that his little young master was speaking ill of him right then.
Lin Jing was still counting on his fingers. "And then there's the ink, brush, paper and books I need for my schooling, all of that costs money too..."
The young boy had already deeply understood the old saying, "Earning money is like picking up soil with a needle, while spending money is like sand being pushed by flowing water." He was naturally too embarrassed to ask a stranger for money, but asking his own parents for it felt perfectly justified.
Lin Wu: "..."
She suddenly felt a little guilty towards His Highness and Her Highness. Had she somehow led this child astray?
Lin Wu gave a light cough, trying to make her tone sound confident. "Our family is fairly well off right now. We have more than enough to support the two of us and Laifu."
Of course, it could never compare to the days back in the palace.
Lin Jing turned his head around. "I know that. It's just that Father and Mother have money, right? We can just ask them to give us some."
As a former little imperial grandson, after living among common folks for these days, he had naturally realized how truly wealthy life in the palace used to be.
Lin Wu was so choked by his completely unapologetic attitude that she could not speak for a moment.
There was no way she could lie and claim she was richer than the former Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
She thought for a bit, then squatted down and said seriously, "His Highness and Her Highness are no longer in the palace. They have gone to a new place, and they have their own expenses to cover. We have our own earnings here, we can't keep relying on them."
Lin Jing tilted his head and thought it over for a while, and decided that made sense. Then he turned around to face the altar. "Father, Mother, you spend all your money on yourselves first, you don't have to send any to me and A Wu. We can earn it ourselves. When I make money later, I'll burn lots and lots of paper money for you, and buy lots and lots of candles."
Lin Wu: "..."
The change of heart was so quick. Not only did he fail to get money from his parents, he had just added a new expense for their household.
But well, burning paper money and lighting candles was far better than the scenario where His Highness and Her Highness might one day appear in her dream and ask her, "A Wu, are you short on money lately?" Just thinking about that scene felt like a total nightmare.
She glanced at the two old items placed on the altar, then looked at Lin Jing who had already run off to play with Laifu.
Your Highness, Her Highness, A Jing is doing really well now. He can eat well, sleep well, run and jump around, it's just that sometimes he says really unexpected things. But that definitely isn't my fault, right?
I've only looked after A Jing for a few short months. I didn't have time to teach him to be like this.
She thought back carefully. His Highness and Her Highness never had this kind of personality either.
Then who was to blame? There weren't many people close to Lin Jing. Counting them one by one, there was only his teacher Yun Jianshan, and his good friend Shen Tigerhead.
Oh, and recently there's also Shen Guanting.
The teacher is a scholar, he speaks with propriety, he wouldn't act like this. Tigerhead is a straightforward fellow, speaks without thinking, he doesn't have the knack for these roundabout ways of talking either.
...Then maybe we can put the blame on this Young Master Shen.
Even though Shen Guanting has spent far less time with Lin Jing than she has, as the saying goes, it takes three days to pick up bad habits, but three years to learn good ones.
Lin Jing is still young, he can't tell that that man is just teasing him, and takes everything he says seriously.
That's settled then. From now on, whenever Lin Jing says something completely out of the blue, the blame goes to Shen Guanting.
