Chapter 7: Soft Jiangnan Accents, Very Intimate.

Someone else spoke up in opposition.

Yan Zhi’an picked up the white jade wine cup before her, a playful look in her eyes. The other person pressed forward. “Even if she is your daughter, what ability does she have to sit on the position of Young Heir? The Yan clan has always been ruled by the capable, regardless of age or virtue. What ability does she have?”

Beside her, Xunqi was so nervous her face turned pale. They were outnumbered. She felt the pressure.

But Yan Zhi’an didn’t care about this bit of dirt at all. Her hand holding the white jade wine cup tightened slightly, so much so that veins stood out on her fair hand. She smiled. “Because her mother is me, Yan Zhi’an.”

The other person was impatient. “I said, even if you are her mother, it’s not allowed.”

“If she’s not allowed, who is?” Yan Zhi’an put down her wine cup, looked up, her gaze deep and unfathomable. “Who do you think you are?”

“I… I am your elder, your Third Uncle. Yan Zhi’an, what kind of attitude is this?” Third Master Yan was furious. He slammed the table and stood up. “Yan Zhi’an, you bring back a bastard and want her to inherit the Yan family business? What nonsense is this!”

The bamboo branch lamps on the floor illuminated the room brightly. The family was always extravagant and didn’t begrudge the lamp oil.

Yan Zhi’an’s expression was indifferent, her brows half-lowered. She raised her hand and threw the wine cup at Third Master Yan’s feet. “Third Uncle, what merit do you have for the Yan family? Besides being born of the legitimate wife, what do you have over anyone else? You go out to do business, and every shop you open loses tens of thousands of taels. You have the nerve to call others incompetent. All these years, you’ve lived like a useless glutton.”

Third Master Yan’s face turned red with anger. He gritted his teeth. “Yan Zhi’an, I am your Third Uncle!”

“Grandfather, I suggest removing the Third Branch from the Yan family. We shouldn’t keep such a degenerate.” Yan Zhi’an stood up, facing her grandfather. “I am the Head of the Family. Do I have this authority?”

“Third Master!” Third Madam quickly pulled her husband down. “Why are you provoking Ninth Miss?”

Third Master Yan had lost all face. Third Madam was so ashamed she wished she could crawl into a hole, but she still had to apologize to Yan Zhi’an. “Ninth Miss, your Third Uncle has had too much to drink. He’s talking nonsense. Don’t mind him, don’t mind him.”

In the room, besides Third Madam’s apology, no one else dared to make a sound. The younger generation didn’t even dare to raise their heads. Who could overshadow Yan Zhi’an’s brilliance?

Even the Old Master in the room had shut his mouth. The Old Madam came out to smooth things over. “Third, drink less. Ninth Miss, you decide this matter.”

No one else dared to speak. The Old Master’s gaze fell on the girl, his eyes deep.

Soon, the matter was dropped. Everyone asked about Yan Zhi’an’s plans, how many days she would stay.

“We’ll leave after the Lantern Festival tomorrow,” Yan Zhi’an answered.

Everyone chatted and laughed for a while. After the banquet dispersed, the Old Master kept Yan Zhi’an behind. Yan Zhi’an reached out to straighten Xunqi’s collar and instructed her, “There are girls your age outside. Get to know a few. It’ll be good to have companions to go out and play with in the future. You go back first.”

Xunqi looked worried. She looked up at her mother. “Will Great-Grandfather make things difficult for you?”

“It’s fine. I don’t care.” Yan Zhi’an finished straightening her daughter’s collar. Her usual gentleness vanished, replaced by a solemn expression. “The Yan clan is under my control now. In the future, it will serve you.”

She didn’t say, ‘in the future, you will be in charge.’ Because Xunqi would only ever be the Young Heir. In the future, when she returned to the palace, the Young Heir would have to be chosen again. But Yan Zhi’an didn’t care. She could only manage her own generation.

She was paving the way for the Yan clan, ensuring they remained at the top of the great families for at least the next thirty years.

In this way, she wouldn’t have failed the Yan family.

After Xunqi left, Yan Zhi’an supported her grandfather as they walked towards the study. The old man walked slowly, so she slowed her pace.

The old man said, “I don’t care if she’s the Young Heir of the Yan clan, but in the future, I hope you will be cautious about the position of Head of the Family.” Because he wouldn’t live to see the future, and he couldn’t stop it. It was also his fault that his sons were useless. The Fourth had died young, but his daughter was gifted.

“Grandfather, I understand your meaning. I will teach her well. I won’t let her disgrace the Yan family’s name.” Yan Zhi’an softened her tone. “Grandfather, I’m doing this for the future of the Yan family.”

“I’m old. Your father is gone, and your uncles have limited abilities. I had thought of having you bring in a son-in-law, but I didn’t expect you to add a daughter yourself.” The Old Master’s tone was full of helplessness. “If you say you’re doing this for the Yan family, I’ll accept it. Teach her slowly. If it doesn’t work out… well, we’ll talk about it later.”

The Yan family needed not only talent but also descendants who could inherit the skill of prospecting for mines.

Over the years, only Yan Zhi’an had managed both. That year, he had stepped down.

Each generation produces its own talents. He was old. It was time to enjoy his remaining years.

After parting with her mother, Xunqi picked up her lamp and headed back to Yunbo Pavilion. As she walked out the door, she saw three or five girls standing there, all around ten years old. At the very back stood a little girl of five or six.

The little girl walked up to Xunqi and tugged at her cuff. “My wet nurse says you are Ninth Sister’s daughter. I am your little aunt.”

Xunqi looked at her. “Are you the Twentieth Miss?”

The little girl nodded, then said, “How rude. Is ‘Twentieth Miss’ what you should call me?”

Xunqi laughed. She patted the little girl’s head. The other girls gathered around.

“I am the Seventeenth Miss, Shiqi.” The bold one spoke first. She was two years older than Xunqi, but a generation above her in seniority.

Seventeenth Miss was a girl from the Sixth Branch, born of a concubine, but Sixth Master doted on her. There was a hint of heroism in her brows, without any of the coquettishness of piled-up hair.

She took Xunqi’s hand, holding her little sister with the other. “Come on, let’s walk together.”

Xunqi felt a sense of carefree ease from her. The girl had no ulterior motives. She smiled at Xunqi. “You’re new here. Let me take you out to play. There’s a poetry competition tomorrow.”

“Poetry competition?” Xunqi was surprised. Seventeenth Miss joked, “It’s a poetry-writing contest. I’m not very good at those, but you know, it’s hosted by the Yan family, so we have to go. Let me tell you, the family is boring, always doing this kind of thing. If someone shows real talent, they might even be recommended for an official position. So, a lot of people will come tomorrow. You came at just the wrong time.”

Seventeenth Miss thought Xunqi was like her, hating literary things.

Xunqi looked at the Twentieth Miss in her arms and reached out to touch her cheek. Unexpectedly, Twentieth Miss slapped her hand away. “Little Xunqi, I’m your aunt. Don’t be so rude.”

She puffed out her cheeks, looking very cute. Xunqi laughed. The people of the Yan family were all different.

The old were cunning, the adults were clueless, and the young were very cute. The same rice raised a hundred different people.

“Are you going tomorrow?” Seventeenth Miss pressed. “Your mother will definitely go.”

Xunqi nodded. “I’ll go. If my mother goes, I’ll go.”

“Mother? Why are you so formal? Are you two not close?” Seventeenth Miss sensed something. Maybe since they had just been reunited, the mother-daughter relationship was still distant. She said, “We call her ‘A-Niang’ here.”

“A-Niang?” Xunqi savored the term. It had a soft Jiangnan accent, with a hint of intimacy.

She beamed. “I see. If my A-Niang goes tomorrow, I’ll go.”

The two walked to an intersection, and Seventeenth Miss carried her little sister away. Xunqi watched them leave. The Yan mansion was brightly lit, with lights reflected on the lake, flickering and indistinct. It showed the family’s deep heritage.

In this world, the rich lived in luxury, and the poor struggled to survive.

From poverty to wealth, she felt like she was in a dream, extremely unreal.

Xunqi carried her lamp back to Yunbo Pavilion. In the deep night, mist rose from the lake. Looking at it now, the fog was hazy, even more like a fairyland.

She pushed open the window to gaze at the lake. Suddenly, a pair of hands pressed the window shut. “Don’t want to live?”

Yan Zhi’an’s voice carried a hint of softness. Listening closely, it suited the term ‘A-Niang’.

Xunqi withdrew her hand. Yan Zhi’an, closing the window, couldn’t help but smile. “You came back with Seventeenth Miss?”

“She invited me to the poetry competition?” Xunqi told the truth, remembering Seventeenth Miss’s heroic features and cute demeanor.

“Poetry competition?” Yan Zhi’an’s beautiful brows furrowed. “When did Jinling have a poetry competition? I only remember tomorrow is a talent recruitment banquet.”

Jinling was originally a golden city in the south. Of the world’s ten thousand scholars, eight thousand were from Jinling. Thus, the Yan family recruited the wise and held an annual talent recruitment banquet. If someone truly had first-rate talent, they would be recommended for an official position and become a person of the Jinling Yan clan.

Xunqi was puzzled, her small face scrunching up. “Is it a poetry competition?”

“Seventeenth told you it was a poetry competition?” Yan Zhi’an didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She reached out and pinched her chubby cheek. “I’ll take you to see it tomorrow.”

Xunqi didn’t dodge, letting her pinch. She looked at her seriously, then lowered her head, deep in thought.

Yan Zhi’an said, “Go rest. No need to get up early tomorrow. I don’t like getting up early. I have no choice for court, but here, there’s no need.”

Yan Zhi’an wasn’t a diligent person. She was used to a life of comfort and preferred ease.

Xunqi went back, looking back every few steps at the jade-like woman under the lamp. Her voice was clear and crisp like jade. She saw beauty in those watery, rippling eyes.

With the last step, Xunqi’s figure disappeared into the night. The gentleness on Yan Zhi’an’s face vanished with it. She sat down on the daybed.

Wushuang took the opportunity to enter and handed a stack of intelligence reports to the Left Prime Minister. “These are the people attending tomorrow’s banquet. Please take a look.”

“Have you looked? What about later?” Yan Zhi’an took them and casually flipped through. “These people are already famous. Why are they coming to join the fun?”

“That’s because the Old Master spread the word that you were back and would be attending the talent recruitment banquet,” Wushuang explained.

Yan Zhi’an wanted Xunqi to make a name for herself at the poetry gathering. She could write a few poems to bluff her way through. Becoming famous at a young age would be the first step.

But with so many talented scholars attending tomorrow, it would be a miracle if Xunqi could stand out.

Yan Zhi’an was furious. She held her forehead, racking her brains.

When she was angry, she couldn’t sleep. She didn’t fall asleep until the middle of the night. She slept poorly, but Xunqi slept very well. She came over early in the morning. The maidservants didn’t dare stop her, and she quietly entered the room.

Still asleep. She took a look, crept over, and without much thought, lifted the brocade curtain.