Chapter 8

"Grandson greets the Ancestor and Madam."

Jia Huan was determined, kneeling on the red brick floor and banging his head three times with a resounding thud.

In his heart, he shouted: "Damn, that hurts."

"Enough, enough, poor child, why must you bang your head so hard? Get up quickly," the old woman sitting on the soft couch finally spoke after Jia Huan finished.

Jia Huan shook his head, feeling a bit dizzy. When he stood up, his body swayed, but he eventually managed to stand steady.

After steadying himself, Jia Huan smiled brightly, showing six teeth, and said to the fat old lady half-lying on the soft couch and the silent Madam below: "To greet the Ancestor and Madam, one must be sincere."

"Ha ha!"

Yuan Yang, who was sitting cross-legged by the old lady's side, massaging her legs, burst out laughing and said, "Old Lady, look, isn't he a different person? When Third Master got up, his eyes must have been full of stars."

The old lady, naturally, was Grandma Jia, Lady Shi. Hearing Yuan Yang's jest and recalling Jia Huan's wobbly appearance, she couldn't help but laugh.

Madam Wang, however, didn't laugh, maintaining her usual wooden expression. Her face wasn't cold, and objectively, she even looked kind and benevolent, but Jia Huan couldn't associate her with kindness or benevolence.

Because Madam Wang's eyes were too calm, so calm that no one could read her thoughts or emotions.

Madam Wang looked at Jia Huan quietly and suddenly asked, "Huan'er, do you really not remember anything from before?"

Jia Huan, feeling he wasn't lying, nodded heavily.

Madam Wang found a loophole, "Then how do you recognize the Old Lady and me?"

Jia Huan looked at her sincerely and answered, "After I woke up, Aunt... Aunt Concubine, knowing I couldn't remember anything, told me the first thing to remember was that the most respected person in the household is the Ancestor, and the second is Madam. When I came to greet the Ancestor and Madam, I saw that the Ancestor and Madam were the most noble, so..."

Madam Wang's eyes twitched slightly. In the past, Jia Huan could hardly speak a complete sentence in front of the Old Lady and her, let alone say such things.

But these words weren't something his rude and disrespectful mother could teach him...

Looking at the old lady, Lady Shi, who was now smiling, Madam Wang asked again, "What exactly happened to you the other day? You were fine, but suddenly fell into a coma. The doctor said it wasn't a physical issue. What did you feel, Huan'er?"

Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed. Lady Shi's face became stern, and her gaze towards Jia Huan became more scrutinizing.

Lady Shi had lived a life of health and wealth, loving festive and auspicious things. She liked Jia Baoyu, who was born with a jade, and the fair and beautiful girls.

What she disliked most were evil spirits and bad things.

Jia Huan's sudden coma without any illness, and his loss of memory upon waking, looked like he had been possessed by something unclean...

Yuan Yang looked at Jia Huan with concern.

Jia Huan's clear eyes glanced at Madam Wang, but he couldn't read anything. He thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid the Ancestor and Madam won't believe me, but it was... terrifying."

Hearing Jia Huan's words, Lady Shi and Yuan Yang's faces changed again. Lady Shi's expression became even more stern, and the concern in Yuan Yang's eyes deepened.

It wasn't that Yuan Yang had any special feelings for Jia Huan; he was just a seven-year-old child. She was simply kind-hearted and worried.

Because she knew Lady Shi and Madam Wang too well...

"Speak quickly!"

Lady Shi scolded, grabbing Yuan Yang's hand so hard it hurt.

Jia Huan said solemnly, "I don't remember anything before, only that one day I suddenly saw darkness and fainted. Then... I found myself in complete darkness, unable to see or touch anything. Just when I thought I was dead, two people appeared. One was black, the other white, and their tongues were so long..."

"Ah!"

Everyone gasped in unison, looking at Jia Huan with varying degrees of fear and disgust.

A black one, a white one, with long tongues—what else could they be but the Black and White Impermanents?

Jia Huan continued, "Those two people chained me with iron chains and dragged me, I don't know where. I was so scared that I cried for help. Suddenly!!"

Jia Huan's "suddenly" was a bit abrupt, startling the three people opposite him, but they didn't have time to be angry because Jia Huan continued.

"Suddenly, a general in golden armor appeared in the darkness. He held a sword and with two swift strokes, cut the chains that the two people were pulling. I vaguely heard him shout something about what kind of demon dared to harm the descendants of his lineage, but I didn't understand it clearly. In short, he saved me."

Jia Huan said this with great relief to Lady Shi and Madam Wang.

Madam Wang listened with a mix of belief and doubt, her eyes full of suspicion.

But Lady Shi's excited expression suggested she really believed it. She sat up, her tone serious, "Huan'er, did the general say anything to you?"

Jia Huan scratched his head, "Old Ancestor, now that you mention it, I do remember he said something. But it seemed a bit strange..."

Lady Shi urged, "Speak quickly, whether it's strange or not, I'll understand."

Jia Huan reluctantly said, "Yes, Old Ancestor. After the general chased away those two ghosts, he shook his head at me. He said he never expected his grandson to become such a good-for-nothing. Old Ancestor, listen, isn't he insulting me? If it weren't for him saving my life, I wouldn't have tolerated it. Who's his grandson?"

Lady Shi ignored his rambling, her hands trembling as she tightly held Yuan Yang's hand, looking at Jia Huan and urging, "Then what did he say next?"

Jia Huan looked aggrieved and continued, "I argued with the general, saying I was studying in the clan school, not a rough warrior. But the general got angry and hit me on the head with the back of his sword. Ah! That's right, that's why I can't remember anything. It must have been the general who hit me! This... this..."

"Shut up!"

Lady Shi's face was stern, scolding, "How dare you insult him? If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be here, you good-for-nothing!"

Jia Huan, timidly, said, "Yes, Old Ancestor, I was just confused and shouldn't have been disloyal."

Lady Shi huffed, "It's not just loyalty, but also filial piety. Enough, continue. I'll explain it to you after you finish, since you don't understand."

Jia Huan, looking confused and puzzled, but still obeying Lady Shi, continued, "The general said our family rose to wealth and nobility through martial prowess. How can you speak of being coarse? How can you forget your roots? Then... he insulted me, calling me a blockhead, saying I wouldn't pass the exams even after a hundred years of study. Studying just to recognize a few characters is enough."

I argued with him, telling him that some of our elders had passed the imperial exams, and my older brother is also a scholar. But the general said, 'In our family, only the next generation can achieve glory. As for you, if you study martial arts, there's still a glimmer of hope. At worst, you can guard the family and protect the ancestral temple. If you study, it's futile.'"

Lady Shi, upon hearing this, looked sad, staring at Jia Huan without speaking. Her eyes were on Jia Huan, but her mind was elsewhere.

Seeing Lady Shi, Madam Wang's eyes narrowed slightly and then said to Jia Huan, "Huan'er, are you making this up to skip school?"

Jia Huan mentally gave her a thousand negative reviews but, on the surface, he was respectful and fearful, "Madam, how could I dare to deceive the Ancestor and Madam? Even if I had the courage to lie, I wouldn't have the ability to deceive the Ancestor and Madam's keen eyes."

Madam Wang wasn't so easily convinced, "Describe the general in golden armor."

Jia Huan hesitated, unsure how to describe him. Just as he was thinking of how to continue, the curtain of a small door was lifted, and two young teenagers walked in.

The boy in front was slightly chubby, with a round, fair face, and a neat appearance.

The girl behind him had a delicate and frail demeanor, thin and weak, moving like Xi Shi holding her heart.

Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her eyes seemed to hold both joy and sorrow.

Her eyes were tearful, and her breath was faint.

She exuded a natural charm.

Jia Huan, even if he was slow, knew that the young couple appearing by Lady Shi's bed could only be the famous "Baoge" and "Lindie."

Before he could admire the suddenly appearing Lin Daiyu, Jia Huan had a sudden idea and pointed at Jia Baoyu, who was about to rush into Lady Shi's arms, "The general in golden armor looks just like him!"

This time, even Madam Wang stood up, looking at Jia Huan in shock.

Jia Baoyu, perhaps for the first time in his life, was roughly pushed away by Lady Shi, looking at her in confusion as she trembled like a sieve.

"You... say that again."

Lady Shi, supported by Yuan Yang, her old eyes filled with tears, looked at Jia Huan and commanded.

Jia Huan felt he could stand on the Oscar stage as Best Actor. His expression was timid, his voice fearful, "It's true, Old Ancestor. The general in golden armor really looks like him. He's just a bit taller, darker, and stronger."

Lady Shi suddenly burst into tears, grabbing the stunned Jia Baoyu and hugging him tightly, sobbing, "Among all my sons and grandsons, why do I love Baoyu the most? Because he looks the most like his grandfather! The general in golden armor who saved Huan'er must be your grandfather. But if he's still protecting the family, why hasn't he come to see me in all these years? Lord, how cruel you are!"

Madam Wang also looked at Jia Huan in shock. She had seen the old Rongguo Duke.

She knew her son didn't look like his father, half like her, and the other half like his grandfather, the old Rongguo Duke.

But only a few people in the Jia family who had seen the old Duke knew this.

Jia Huan had never seen the old Rongguo Duke. How did he know?

Could it be that he really saw the old Rongguo Duke, Jia Daishan, who had passed away decades ago?

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