Chapter 17: Eunuch 17 (When the Emperor Wants to Raise an Empress's Father)

Eunuch 17 (When the Emperor Wants to Raise an Empress's Father)

Jiang He is in a great mood; kids are so easy to fool.

Now he'll work a bit harder; once young Mingzhi is trained and placed on the throne, he can retire and become a salted fish. The cost of rebellion is high and the workload is astonishingly large; Mingzhi's existence perfectly solves many problems.

For fast‑travelers like them, the most important thing is how to complete the mission better and earn higher points.

"Your mother will also have her own work," Jiang He said gently, giving the child a preventive jab. "Your mother may remarry in the future, and then she should help the Jiang family continue its lineage."

Continuing the Jiang lineage has become Jiang Yuner's obsession; she once almost lost hope because the Jiang family had no descendants to worship. To ensure the Jiang line never ends, she swallows any bitter medicine in one gulp without complaint or hesitation.

She hopes to keep living, and the purpose of her life is to see the Jiang family continue anew.

This paragraph is an image; please visit the correct website, disable ad blockers, and exit browser reading mode.

He has been isolated from the world for years; his literacy was taught by his mother, a woman who could write the shocking article "Counterfeit Women's Ring", so she naturally wouldn't teach her son male supremacy.

So in young Mingzhi's mind, if his emperor father can have so many women, his own mother can naturally have many men.

This paragraph is an image; please visit the correct website, disable ad blockers, and exit browser reading mode.

Mingzhi suddenly feels he should be the emperor; an emperor doesn't worry about food and clothing and can certainly support many empress's fathers.

After completing the child's ideological work, Jiang He thinks there should be no problem.

This paragraph is an image; please visit the correct website, disable ad blockers, and exit browser reading mode.

Jiang Yuner, contrary to expectations, lacks confidence in continuing the Jiang line; earlier her brother had coaxed her into thinking she could manage, but after calming down she recalled that her periods have long ceased and a few gray hairs have appeared.

"Jiu Lang, my body is almost ruined; I might already be unable to bear children," she said shyly to her brother, unable to discuss women's matters, her tone inevitably tinged with despondency. "Look, I already have white hair; my body must be too old to be useful."

Jiang He: "…" Who's old? Aren't you only in your early twenties?

This paragraph is an image; please visit the correct website, disable ad blockers, and exit browser reading mode.

He discovered that ever since Jiang Yuner witnessed the Jiang family being eradicated and felt helpless, she developed a mental illness; although she always appears optimistic and cheerful in front of her son, deep inside she is extremely pessimistic.

Guilt and self‑reproach make her unable to eat and sleepless at night; Lenggong's conditions are indeed poor, but her body's deterioration is mostly due to the mental illness.

Earlier he deliberately suggested she find a man to continue the Jiang lineage; she agreed without hesitation, perhaps subconsciously feeling responsible for the Jiang family's continuation, obligated to bear a child with the Jiang surname to worship the dead relatives so they wouldn't become wandering spirits.

Now that she's a twenty‑something adult, Jiang He naturally has no intention of changing her mind.

One's worldview is already formed; saying more is useless, so it's better to go with her heart and let her live more comfortably.

Jiang He began to boast, "Seventh Sister, haven't you noticed your brother is a divine doctor?" He adopted the demeanor of Hua Tuo reborn. "Your cough today isn't as bad as yesterday, right? Have you heard of the young Bai? In recent years have you taken sesame or similar supplements? Actually, you're just suffering minor ailments caused by nutritional deficiency from not eating or drinking properly!"

He confidently assured her, "Seventh Sister, with me around, you'll live until your great‑grandchildren are born without issue! What you need to do now is nurture your health, and then I'll find you several concubines of outstanding character, talent, and appearance, so you can bear many children to inherit the Jiang family."

This paragraph is an image; please visit the correct website, disable ad blockers, and exit browser reading mode.

Seeing her brother speak so confidently, she seemed to gain a little confidence herself.

Jiu Lang's medical skill is indeed superb; she slept soundly last night, not knowing how long it had been since she slept so well.

"Jiu Lang, would a man with perfect character, talent, and looks be willing to be a concubine?" Jiang Yuner retorted, "Even a fresh top scholar could be an ugly freak! Besides, which man with such good qualities would want to be with an old woman?"

Jiang He said speechlessly, "Who says twenty is an old woman? You call yourself old at this age; what about those who can still bear children at fifty? Think of having two in three years—no, having children too frequently harms the body; better to have one every two years. By fifty, you could have at least ten children!"

Jiang Yuner twitched the corner of her mouth, "Ten? Do you think I'm a breeding sow?"

She suddenly felt the words were familiar, as if she and her son had said similar things before.

Jiang He chuckled, "You may have as many children as you wish, but everything depends on your health! Of course, you needn't worry that childbirth harms your body; I have a method of nurturing health, guaranteeing that even at fifty you will be as delicate as a maiden when bearing children."

As for the concubines, he thought it was no problem at all, "There are at least twenty million men in the Great Cold Region; picking a few perfect ones from twenty million is not difficult."

Wealth and power can solve ninety percent of the world's problems.

Jiang Yuner now feels immense pressure; giving birth at fifty? In her brother's words, she seems like an old hen that can keep laying forever.

Li Mingzhi, who was quietly listening to his mother and uncle speak, couldn't help but open his mouth wide.

The child reaffirmed his belief that he must become emperor, otherwise how could he support so many younger brothers and sisters?

Jiu Lang's fifteenth birthday is approaching; she makes a set of inner clothes for him, as the palace‑issued ones are surely ill‑fitting and uncomfortable.

The child giggled and boasted proudly, "Mother, don't worry; I've memorized everything. Uncle even praised me for being especially clever, just like him!"

The two people most important to her are both in the palace; how could she possibly enjoy life alone outside?

"Sleep now," she patted her son's back, coaxing him to sleep.

These past years, to survive she has been constantly busy; Jiang Yuner truly cannot afford to be treated like a pig, so she still finds work to do, such as making clothes for Jiu Lang and her son.

"Mother, Uncle is truly amazing; he's just like the 'Son of Destiny' you mentioned in the text..."

The blanket is very warm; this time the System Cat absolutely refuses to sleep with young Mingzhi, so the child can only reluctantly share a bed with his mother, while the plump, round System Cat sleeps on his small bed.

"Mother, you didn't cough tonight; Uncle's medicine is too powerful!" he said happily. Uncle said his mother could live to ninety‑nine and then accompany him for a very long time.

He propped his small face with both hands and thought, "If mother lives to fifty, will she have dozens of younger brothers and sisters?"

Jiang Yuner laughed helplessly; Mingzhi, isolated from the world and never exposed to worldly customs, doesn't realize how shocking his brother's words truly are...

The ruined roof remained ruined, but the hole that once let stars in has been patched, so when it rains she no longer has to search for buckets to collect the leaking water.

At night, Jiang Yuner slept together with her son, lying in the same blanket.

Jiang Yuner smiled faintly; she also discovered something that made her heart flutter.

Jiang Yuner said nothing; she now will not leave the palace.

"Mother didn't expect this!" Jiang Yuner lightly patted her son's back, "Did you remember the traps and mechanisms Uncle set up? And be careful with the places where poison is hidden..."

Jiang Yuner thought about tomorrow's tasks: over at the vegetable field, Jiu Lang said he'd come at night to water and fertilize, letting her rest; at noon the cat god will bring food for mother and child, so she might not even need to cook lunch.

Jiang Yuner slammed the quilt angrily, "The medicine is three parts poison; you think taking the antidote is a good thing?"

She sighed, then softly said, "Mingzhi, if you don't like the empress's father, it's fine if I don't find one." She patted her son's head, "Later you and your wife can have several children with the surname Jiang and that will be enough."

Then she heard her son ask, "Mother, how many empress's fathers do you want to find for me?"

This shows how meticulous Jiu Lang's thoughts are; even if someone comes to Lenggong, they won't notice anything amiss.

The child said, "Mother, Uncle gave us the antidote; even if poisoned we don't need to worry."

"No, your uncle was chubby as a child but indeed very clever." Jiang Yuner treated it as a bedtime story, recounting the Jiang family's past.

The child listened, his eyes shining bright, and then he discovered something.

He and his mother had lived in Lenggong for so many years without discovering the cellar, but as soon as his uncle arrived, he found it. With this cellar that could hold a lot of supplies, Xiao Mingzhi suddenly felt safe; even if something happened, he could hide in the cellar and live for three months without problem.

Mingzhi thought for a long time, with a bitter face, and said: "Mother, Mingzhi will still take a long time to grow up! Why don't you leave the palace? Inside the palace, apart from the emperor, there are only eunuchs; it's hard to find a stepfather."

She knows her own son well; Xiao Mingzhi is indeed smart, learns to read and recognize characters especially quickly; many pieces of knowledge, once explained, he can remember.

The only thing she can do is, as her younger brother said, lie down and sleep?

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad-blocking, and exit browser reading mode.

This house still looks somewhat as it used to be; only those who live here know how much it has changed.

Jiang family's Ninth Son is truly outstanding; if his grandmother in the afterlife knows, she would certainly be happy; Xiao Pangdun turned out to be so clever and capable.

It's been a while since he slept with his mother; Mingzhi happily rolled around on the bed, from time to time talking to the Three-Colored Cat on the opposite small bed.

He tugged at his own cheeks, but there wasn't much flesh there.

Jiang Yuner felt the worn-out quilt cover; the cotton inside was also old, but after being re-fluffed it became soft and warm.

Xiao Mingzhi curiously asked: "Mother, what was Uncle like when he was little? Is he really that similar to Mingzhi? Is he also this thin?"

After the child beside her fell asleep, Jiang Yuner listened to the child's soft breathing and the Three-Colored Cat's purring, eyes open as she gazed at the dark ceiling.

Mingzhi imagined a future where a bunch of little urchins would cling to his legs and call him brother; he would hug them one by one, and the scene was simply too beautiful.

Please move the original unaltered content to the vinegar. Slurp' er, literature#official! website. If already there, please turn off ad-blocking and exit browser reading mode.