Chapter 111: I am willing to bestow my surname upon you and use your names

"Princess Consort, I only have one question: can girls do it?" Lao Er's eyes were filled with hope; she only waited for an affirmative answer.

Jiang Yun Chu laughed heartily; that hearty laugh differed from yesterday's aloofness and lacked this morning's gentleness.

On the contrary, it was filled with cheerfulness, with abandon, with a feeling of confident self-assurance.

"Who said women are inferior to men?"

"How could it not be possible? If it's impossible elsewhere, it must be possible in our Regent Prince's Manor!"

This is the confidence given by the master of the Regent Prince's Manor, and it is what Jiang Yun Chu has decided.

As long as they are under her Regent Prince's Manor, who would dare say no?

"I'll go!" Before anyone else could speak, Lao Er had already decided; her eyes were firm.

Because she had a father who was a soldier; when her father encountered trouble in the south, he saved her life and saved many others, yet he remained forever in that disaster.

She survived; she is a girl, but she wishes to continue on her father's path, on the battlefield he loved, in the place he longed for.

Her father once held her and said, "Lass, that is a place to display one's ambitions; there, merit is rewarded, fault is punished, and the Regent Prince commands the troops well."

Her father was the Wang Fu army.

From now on, she will be too!

She looked at Jiang Yun Chu with an expectant face, her firm gaze, her body standing straight like a sword waiting to be drawn, waiting to be honed.

Her sharpness was fully revealed.

"I also want to go to the battlefield."

"I also want to."

Some of the younger ones still didn't understand what going to the battlefield meant, but several of the older ones did.

But they would never forget the person who saved their lives.

Those warriors, one by one!

Jiang Yun Chu nodded, then looked toward Lao Da.

That boy, twelve years old, looked at Jiang Yun Chu and said firmly, "I want to go to the battlefield."

Upon hearing his answer, Jiang Yun Chu felt no surprise; when she mentioned the second option, his and Lao Er's eyes had already lit up.

"The battlefield?"

"At your age and physique, going there would be nothing more than a death sentence."

"I want to cultivate elites, not go to the battlefield and become the vengeful spirits of two children cut down by a single blade."

"Since you have chosen……"

She laughed lightly, then looked at the few people and said, "For others, entering Chun Hua Xue Yuan requires signing a life‑death contract."

"But…… you are different."

"I need your indenture contracts!"

Her words rang out like metal striking stone.

Since they are to be trained for Ning Hanmo, absolute safety and absolute trust are required.

Even though they are only children, only by holding their indenture contracts can she fully trust them and train them.

The people of this world can differ from those of modern times.

In modern times, eleven‑ or twelve‑year‑old children are still in elementary school, standing beneath the red flag, growing up in the spring breeze.

But in this era, eleven‑ or twelve‑year‑old children are capable of having their own ideas.

"I'll sign." The first person to step forward was Lao Er.

Then, one after another, they stepped forward; even the youngest, Xiao Shiyi, seeing his older siblings move ahead, also took a step forward.

Wang Han simply watched, listening to Jiang Yun Chu's words sentence by sentence, without speaking or intervening.

He had merely rescued these children, but he did not wish to restrict them.

"Good!" Jiang Yun Chu nodded, scanning them one by one.

"I suppose I ought to know your names, right?" She chuckled lightly, not knowing what to call them; in her heart she simply thought of them as Lao Da and Lao Er.

The boy stepped forward and said, "My name is Jiang Yi."

Lao Er stepped forward and said, "My name is Jiang Er."

One by one, the children spoke, forming a line.

From now on, they belong to the Regent Prince's Manor, but they will never forget the person who gave them the opportunity—Jiang Yun Chu.

They take Jiang as their surname, constantly reminding themselves to remember their benefactor and to know who is their master.

Jiang Yun Chu looked at these children; their sensibility gave her a new understanding.

"Good, I wish to bestow my surname upon you and use your names, hoping you will not disgrace the Jiang clan nor my heart." Jiang Yun Chu said firmly.

Henceforth, there are no longer twelve pitiful orphans in the world.

Instead, there are twelve more rising stars.

"Go back, pack up, and depart early the day after tomorrow to return to Jingdu." Jiang Yun Chu said.

When Lao Da and Lao Er withdrew, they bowed deeply.

Then, without waiting for her to speak, they walked straight out of the courtyard; watching their receding backs, a sense of responsibility welled up in her heart.

"Is there anything you command, Princess Consort?" Wang Han had always stood to the side, but the sunlight made his presence seem faint.

Jiang Yun Chu gently rubbed her wrist and said, "I have a manor that needs managing; what do you think?"

She asked lightly; over the past two days she had come to know Wang Han a little better—he is truly capable of managing a manor, and this manor's system is exceptionally complete, its management methods unlike those of any other manor.

She even wanted to promote this method.

Wang Han stared for a moment, then smiled and said, "My abilities are modest; just being able to guard this small place is enough."

Jiang Yun Chu raised her head and looked toward Wang Han; his expression showed nothing unusual, everything seemed perfectly reasonable, but…

Is there anyone who doesn't like a promotion?

I always feel that something's not quite right.

"That manor, I need someone I can trust." Jiang Yun Chu said, while also thinking in her mind about a suitable person.

Old Man Li won't do: one, he's already old; two, he's farmed all his life, and suddenly putting him in charge of people makes him hesitant and clumsy.

With Su Xin around it's fine, but if Su Xin leaves, that manor will likely run into trouble—the steward can't keep the workers under control, and sooner or later they'll rebel.

"I actually have someone in mind, I don't know if the Princess Consort will take a liking to them." Wang Han smiled and spoke.

Jiang Yun Chu came to, then looked at Wang Han and asked, "Who?"

"Fang Yun Dong, the person who blocked the Princess Consort's carriage that day—he's always been managing the tenants; he has a good grasp of both farming and tenant management."

"Moreover, he used to be part of the Wang Fu army."

…

Jiang Yun Chu narrowed her eyes; this Wang Han wasn't as simple as he seemed, but he didn't want to leave this manor. After walking around it today, she saw that the manor was just an ordinary farm, with nothing else out of the ordinary.

Just content with the status quo? I always feel that something's off!

"Good, let him come see me tomorrow." Jiang Yun Chu nodded.

She is in urgent need of manpower now; since he's from the Wang Fu army, as long as he's not a traitor, she can accept him.

Moreover, she trusts Ning Chengyan's troop‑leading methods—if a soldier's character is lacking, he couldn't possibly still be allowed into the Wang Fu manor.

"Yes!" Wang Han bowed and accepted directly.

He also let out a sigh of relief…

Does this mean he's escaped a disaster?