Chapter 002: The Eleventh Son of the Ye Family

At this moment, Xiang'er was still young, and although she was held by his hand, she could not help but feel shy. After he released her hand, she turned and ran away, taking small, quick steps as she dashed out.

"Xiang'er, I seem to have some impression of that." "Shiyi Lang" said, placing his hand on his forehead: "You say it again, perhaps I will remember it."

"Xiang'er is my person; it is not your place to teach her a lesson." Shijiro ignored the woman's question: "Now, you may leave."

Wu Zepu in Xiuwu County, I have never heard of this place name before, "Shiyi Lang" scratched his head and said: "If you could elaborate a bit more, perhaps I would remember it."

With a loud "bang," the broom struck a person, but it was not Xiang'er. Shiyi Lang stood between the woman and Xiang'er, extending his arm to block the broom.

The self in this world has not died, but the self in another world... I fear has died beyond any possibility of revival. There are no more relatives beside my daughter. I have struggled for a lifetime, fought for everything, yet in the end, I have left nothing for my daughter.

As she walked through the narrow corridor, the little girl paused for a moment when she reached the side door. With a hint of worry, she lifted her small face and sighed towards the grayish corner of the sky. Only then did she step through the small door.

The two individuals almost simultaneously shouted out

"Ichiro, do not speak such... ominous words!" She looked at the young man with a tense expression: "May the Infinite Heavenly Sovereign bless us, quickly spit on the ground!"

Is this ... still the usual timid Eleventh Master?

The young girls of this era have not yet been completely bound by constraints. Little ones like Xiang'er are even more lively. In the blink of an eye, she is busy in the small courtyard, and Shijiro can even hear her softly singing folk songs.

The girl's dark, shining eyes compelled him to comply with her request without hesitation

"Did you really encounter a fairy?" The girl widened her eyes in astonishment

The voices of the two people discussing gradually faded away. The little girl who was listening to them from behind spat and her small face displayed displeasure

As Shiyi Lang was pondering these thoughts, Xiang'er saw him in a daze and, thinking he had fallen ill again, tears immediately welled up once more.

Where could there be any falsehood? I witnessed it with my own eyes. When the comet fell, I was still pondering whether it was a harbinger of doom. Little did I expect it to land on that kid. Haha, it makes sense; even the heavens seem to disapprove of that kid in the illustrations. It's a pity that what fell was a star, not a thunderbolt; otherwise, that kid would have been obliterated completely.

His inner age is no longer that of an impulsive and passionate youth, and he has long since abandoned lofty ambitions. What he needs to do now is not to dwell on those matters, but to understand the real environment he is in, and then consider how to survive.

This action startled the little girl, but it also silenced her cries, and she began to speak again

Bang!

Not long after, a peculiar fragrance mixed with the scent of burning wood wafted in. Upon catching this aroma, Jūichirō felt an immense sense of relaxation as he leaned against the wall, slightly squinting his eyes

"What is the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Ruizong?" Xiang'er widened her eyes

"Demon?" Shijiro murmured, then chuckled silently, "There is no demon; I have encountered an immortal."

From Xiao Xiang'er’s words, Shiyi Lang could infer that his relationship with that father was likely not very harmonious. If they were close, how could a father and son not meet for three years

This woman is making a commotion; he can choose to ignore it, or even scold her a bit, or he can simply laugh it off. However, if she wants to strike his child, that is something he cannot tolerate. Not to mention that the child has done nothing wrong, even if there were mistakes, it should be the responsibility of the parent to criticize and discipline, and it is not for others to intervene.

Shijuro, how are you doing?

"What did you say?" The woman's sharp eyebrows instantly shot up, as she did not expect that this usually submissive young man would dare to speak to her in such a manner

Xiang'er spoke for quite a while, but seeing that Shiyi Lang still could not recall anything and was merely sitting there in a daze, she reached out and touched his forehead again, noticing that he did not feel warm. Xiang'er then said to herself: "He must be hungry; I will go prepare some corn porridge for my lord."

The woman's curses were silenced, for before her, a pickaxe nearly thrust itself into her mouth

My own daughter ... At this age, she certainly didn't cry this much.

The young girl, not suspecting anything, began to speak again: "The young master is the only son of the third branch of the Ye family, and the master is named Si ... ... "

At that moment, the sharp-tongued woman also showed a look of surprise, staring at Eleventh Master. After a long while, she finally said: "Oh, you... you actually woke up?"

Daughter

"Do not cry, I am fine. I was just thinking about what you said, trying to see if I can remember it." Shijiro noticed the little girl's concern and gently patted her head, as if in another time and space, he were caressing his daughter's forehead

Shijirō

I heard it has been changed to Tianbao, my lord, do you remember everything?

Thanks to those time-travel dramas that women love to watch, he has likely traveled to a certain period in history and has become the "Shiyi Lang" spoken of by the young girl. However, he has no recollection of the past of this "Shiyi Lang" at all, and the only impression he has of the girl before him, aside from feeling that she resembles his daughter, is nothing more than that.

Although Shiyi Lang currently appears to be a young man, his inner world is much richer. He originally worked as a teacher in a volunteer education program, teaching in a remote mountainous area for a full six years, covering subjects from elementary school language and mathematics to middle school physics and chemistry. Later, he ran a small workshop, hoping to help his fellow villagers achieve prosperity. After returning to the city, he worked as a white-collar employee in a company and even started his own business. This wealth of experience allows him to discern from the fleeting expression of the young girl that his relationship with his father is not very harmonious.

He is not the kind of reckless young man who panics in a crisis; he has now basically understood the situation he is facing

Eleven Lang gently tapped his own head; this is not a future with advanced information, but an ancient time with limited news. At such a young age, and in Wu Ze, a place that holds no significant historical prominence, how could she possibly know who the previous emperor was

It is also ... ... however, life has become increasingly difficult nowadays

What does it matter if the corpses are completely obliterated? The properties and family assets of the third branch have nothing to do with you.

This is the best of times, where the finest artists compose dances adorned with clouds and colorful garments in the royal palace, and the greatest poets roam the world, filled with ambition and aspirations as heroes flock to the imperial examination halls; yet, this is also the worst of times, as the seeds of decline have already been sown, and the sources of unrest have taken shape at the borders, with two failures in the northwest and north having planted the cage that confines Chinese civilization

Even without encountering human disasters, based on the situation at home, the ability to withstand natural calamities such as floods and droughts is also not strong

Oh? What does this mean?

"You told me to get lost, how dare you tell me to go away?" The woman immediately shouted, "I heard that you, the broom star, were hit by a broom star, and I came out of kindness to check on you. Is this how you treat me? You little creature born of a mother but without a father to care for you..."

This made Shiyi Lang feel a deep sense of familial affection; he is such a person that when others treat him well, he will undoubtedly repay them in kind.

Hehe, what is your name

If you were not possessed by a monster, how could you forget my name?

Ah!

Eleven Lang took a breath of cold air; indeed, it was during the Tianbao era, in the late period of the Tang Dynasty under the rule of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji. This was a critical moment when the Tang Dynasty transitioned from prosperity to decline, as well as a pivotal time when the Yanhuang civilization shifted from external expansion to internal contraction.

The child in the yard turned pale, watching the woman who was jumping up and down with her hands on her hips, cursing loudly.

This is somewhat misleading; isn't it said that after crossing over, one would have fragments of the previous owner's memories? Yet, why am I unable to find anything useful?

Is it really a comet that has struck that kid on the head

The young girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, indeed, what Ichirō said was reasonable. On that day, he was struck by a falling star from the sky, rendering him unconscious. The physician mentioned that even if he were to awaken, he might still suffer from soul loss. The physician's status is quite different; it is said that he is a disciple of the immortal Sun. What he said must surely be correct

A mist filled the little girl's eyes. Originally, she felt displeased when she heard others outside discussing her young lord. Now that she has returned to find her young lord in this state—could it be true, as some have said, that her young lord has been possessed by evil?

The room was dimly lit. As the little girl just entered from outside, her eyes took a moment to adjust. She fumbled to push the window open and secured it with a hook. Turning around, she then saw a figure.

Wait a moment, is she an ancient person

A sharp female voice rang out, and Jiu Yi Lang slightly furrowed his brows: this woman, judging by her voice, was certainly not a good person, and besides, Xiang Er was his own; what right did others have to insult her

"Don't cry, don't cry, I'm not dead yet. Why are you in such a hurry to cry?" The young man instinctively reached for the cigarettes in his pocket, only to realize that in this era, there probably weren't any imported luxuries like cigarettes. He sighed and said.

His mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts, and then the young boy heard the sound of soft weeping. The little girl was covering her face and crying, which made the boy's heart soften.

"Hehe, you can give it a try. I dare you to use this hoe to smash all your teeth out," said Shijiro with a laugh.

Lang Jun was born in the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan era and is now seventeen years old. As he has not yet reached the age of maturity, he does not yet have a courtesy name

As soon as he spoke, the young girl covered his mouth with her small hand

Ah!

Shiyi Lang's eyes were slightly narrowed, his gaze profound, so deep that it instilled a sense of fear in the sharp-tongued woman.

The young man threw the stick in his hand back to the bedside and stared blankly at the little girl for a while. She was not his daughter, not the daughter who was born during the most difficult time of his life and brought him countless joy and happiness. She was an ancient person.

If this ... ... were possessed by a monster, how could it not even know your name

This lazy and gluttonous little wretch will eventually be sold off to prevent any shameful deeds from occurring

Xiang'er looked at the back of Shiyi Lang, who was shielding her from the broom, and her expression shifted slightly

The Ye family is the largest family in Wuze, with nearly half of the more than eighty households in Wuze sharing the Ye surname. They originally descended from a common ancestor and are divided into four branches. The Eleventh Son belongs to the third branch, but the family is sparsely populated, consisting only of him and his father. His father, Ye Si, has been away for many years, reportedly working as a manager in Luoyang, the Eastern Capital, where he has been busy managing a shop and has not returned home for three consecutive years. Many people say he has become wealthy while away and is afraid of being remembered if he returns home, thus unwilling to come back.

The woman approached while speaking, casually grabbing a broom and raising it to strike Xiang'er on the head.

The young man stepped back two paces and weakly sat down on the bed: Ancient one

I recalled something... Are we not under the rule of the Great Tang?" he asked, "Is the current emperor not the son of Emperor Ruizong?"

At this point, she hesitated slightly and glanced at "Shijirō".

This small courtyard, with its two entrances, appears particularly desolate, with emptiness all around. The young girl turned back to lock the side door, hurried a few steps, placed the basket she was holding by the well, and then quietly entered the house

Clearly, her own "improvement" has brought her great joy.

This is not the later era, which, although riddled with wounds, can still be considered relatively stable and safe in a harmonious society. In this time, a moment's carelessness could cost the life of a clan leader, a local tyrant, a county clerk, or a high-ranking official.

Is he dead yet? Has the eleventh brother passed away? No one can survive being struck by a comet... Xiang'er, you little wretch, how dare you hide here and steal food!

The maid's name is Xiang'er, and she is a servant girl who is roughly used by the young master. Do you remember her, young master?

The young girl's voice was crisp, carrying a slight sweetness that was very pleasant to hear. Eleven Lang furrowed his brow for a moment; he had caught a key term: Kaiyuan

The young girl, being still quite young and inexperienced, did not perceive anything unusual from the behavior of the Eleventh Young Master. She chattered on without any coherence, yet the Eleventh Young Master was able to gather a general understanding of his situation from her words

Young Sir, your surname is Ye, and your given name is Chang. You are from Wu Zepu in Xiuwu County... Do you remember now, Young Sir?

"Ichiro, have you truly offended a monster? Otherwise, why would things be so strange?" The girl wiped her tears again and asked, sobbing.

The aroma of the corn porridge grew stronger, but just as Xiang'er was washing the dishes and preparing to serve it, the door was suddenly pushed open

You... how dare you treat me this way

Once again, they shouted in unison

He felt that her fingers were somewhat rough, not at all like the tender hands of a girl her age. Shijiro reached out and grabbed her hand, and upon seeing the scars and calluses on her fingers, he finally let go.

Eleven Lang said coldly

Seventeen years old, born in the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, this age of seventeen should be counted as a nominal age, which means it is the thirtieth year of Kaiyuan... However, there was no thirtieth year of Kaiyuan; this year should be... the first year of the Tianbao era?" The Eleventh Young Master, having some knowledge of the history of the Tang dynasty, pondered for a moment and then asked, "Is it now the first year of the Tianbao era?"

However, this thought only briefly crossed the mind of the Eleventh Young Master before it was deeply buried away.

Get lost

"Ichiro... are you... possessed by a monster?"

She stared with wide eyes, her small nose slightly wrinkled upwards; this expression was almost identical to that of her daughter. "Shijiro" gazed intently, a wave of tenderness rising within him