Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 184 Extra: Yan Mingzhang (1)

Those who are self-righteous are not enlightened; those who are self-assured are not distinguished. — Tao Te Ching

In the early summer of the first year of Xiande (954 AD), when Yan Mingzhang was five years old, thunder roared in the night, and a torrential downpour began. At the Yan residence in the capital, the corridors were draped with white curtains and white lanterns—a sign of mourning in the family!
A graceful and kind-faced woman, accompanied by her servants, anxiously searched for something. Their hurried footsteps were irritating, and the floor was covered in wet, muddy footprints. Suddenly, the woman seemed to hear a faint sob. She put her finger to her lips, signaling silence to the crowd.

The servants, being well-trained, immediately quieted down. The noblewoman walked quietly to the wardrobe, pressed her ear to the door, and sure enough, the faint crying was coming from inside.

The noblewoman waved her hand, signaling everyone to leave, leaving only her personal maid beside her. She gently opened the cabinet door, and inside was indeed a trembling little figure—a boy of about five years old. The noblewoman breathed a sigh of relief; she had finally found him.

The noblewoman said softly, "Zhang'er, why are you hiding here? Come, come to your aunt."

Five-year-old Yan Mingzhang had a jade flute on his lap, his hands tightly covering his ears. A clap of thunder startled him, making him tremble like a little lamb.

Seeing that Zhang'er ignored her, the noblewoman sighed with heartache, her eyes reddening involuntarily. A maidservant was about to go in and take the child out when the noblewoman grabbed her arm and shook her head.

The noblewoman laboriously climbed into the cramped cupboard, sat down beside Zhang'er, gently picked up the child, and held him close, her voice soft: "Zhang'er, don't be afraid, it's thunder, it's the Thunder God beating his drum! Listen..."

The noblewoman, in sync with the rhythm of thunder, spoke while mimicking the action of playing a drum, demonstrating it to Zhang'er.

Zhang'er stared at her with wide eyes, slowly lowering her hands, but her body remained tense.

The lady held the child in her arms, gently patting his back while humming a tune.

The extremely exhausted child relaxed completely, leaned against the noblewoman, and slowly fell asleep. He slept very peacefully, still clutching the jade flute tightly in his hand.

A maidservant tried to take the child out, but the noblewoman stopped her, saying softly, "He's not asleep yet!"

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Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the room, and a tall figure pushed the door open and said loudly, "Madam, have you found the child?"

The child in the noblewoman's arms was startled awake in his sleep, his eyelashes fluttering. Fortunately, he curled up and went back to sleep, which made the noblewoman so angry that she quickly gave her maid a meaningful look.

The maid quickly put a finger to her lips, gestured for quiet to the figure, and whispered, "Master, please keep your voice down! The lady is soothing the child! She just fell asleep!"

The person who came was Yan Ze, the current head of the Yan family. Knowing that he had made a mistake, Master Yan immediately fell silent and even walked with light steps. He slowly walked to the wardrobe, like a child who had made a mistake, waiting for his wife's criticism. Sure enough, Madam Yan glared at him.

Master Yan quickly smiled apologetically, helped carry the child out, handed him to a maid, and then reached out to help his wife out of the cupboard: "Madam, you've had a hard time." The maid took the child, gently placed him on the bed, covered him with a quilt, tucked him in, closed the door, and left.

Madam Yan, supported by Master Yan's arm, struggled to climb out of the wardrobe. She rubbed her numb legs, frowned slightly, and smiled feigned anger, scolding, "Just don't cause me any trouble! Your voice is like thunder, it'll scare me to death!"

Master Yan readily accepted the situation and quickly massaged Madam Yan's shoulders: "I know I was wrong. I'll massage your shoulders now, and I hope you'll forgive me!"

Madam Yan smiled broadly, but then she sighed, her face full of worry: "This Zhang'er, this can't go on like this. He used to be such a clever and bright child... How could God be so blind?"

As Madam Yan spoke, her eyes reddened again as she thought about the events of the past few days. Yan Lizhe and his second brother, Yan Lizhuo, were born of the same mother and had a deep bond since childhood. The eldest branch of the family was already small in number, and Yan Lizhe had been married for many years without having any children. Now, this had happened.

Master Yan embraced his wife and sighed, "Yes, my second brother and sister-in-law are such good people, yet they encountered such a thing on their way back to the capital to report on their duties. Where can we even begin to reason with them? Fortunately, this child is lucky to have survived. He must have been quite frightened, but we should be grateful that he is alive. We will find other doctors later, and he will surely get better gradually."

Madam Yan walked to the bedside, sat down beside the child, and tucked a few stray hairs behind the child's ear with her fingers, looking at the child with heartache: "Zhang'er is very lucky, he will definitely get better! By the way, how did the adoption go? Isn't it going to be decided tomorrow?"

Master Yan shook his head and sighed, "The elders in the clan all disagree, but we can't blame them. You've seen Zhang'er's current situation. If he's adopted, he'll become the head of the family in the future. How can he become the head of the family like this? This matter needs to be handled slowly."

After hearing this, Madam Yan felt a lump in her throat, looked away, and sighed.

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The next day, under a bright sun, all the prominent figures of the Yan family gathered at the Yan Family Ancestral Hall. The hall was bustling with people. Yan Lizhe, the head of the Yan family, carried Yan Mingzhang and his wife, Madam Wang, into the ancestral hall side by side, and everyone stood up to pay their respects.

Inside the ancestral hall, arranged by seniority, are the descendants of the second branch: second uncle Yan Zuhui, second aunt Xu, fourth brother Yan Lirun, fourth sister-in-law Zhao, and their six-year-old child Yan Mingzhao; third uncle Yan Zuning, third aunt Li, third brother Yan Likai, third sister-in-law Sun, and their two children, five-year-old Yan Mingxuan and four-year-old Yan Mingyue; and fourth uncle Yan Zurui, fourth aunt Sun, and fifth brother Yan Lirun. Yan Lirun is young and unmarried, therefore he has no children.

Today, the main topic is the adoption of the family head, Yan Lize.

The second uncle, being the eldest among the senior members, spoke first: "Li Ze, you and Wang have been married for many years but have no children. This adoption matter must be decided today!"

Yan Lizhe nodded in agreement.

Third Aunt had been itching to act, and nudged Third Uncle with her elbow, signaling him to hurry up and make a good impression.

Uncle Lizhe, with a fawning expression, said, "Lizhe, Mingxuan, don't let his age fool you, he's only five. He's intelligent and composed. The other day, the teacher praised him, saying he's a pillar of society! And Mingyue, although he's only four, he already knows over five hundred characters! He learns them in no time!"