Chapter 1: Robbing Sugar Sugar Sugar

Leave some candy for the road! Jiang Bai interjected in a soft, childlike voice from behind.

"Uncle Liu, the story isn't finished yet, don't go!" Jiang Xuan and the others hurriedly got up and followed closely behind Jiang Huahong to chase after Jiang Huagai

"Robbery!" Jiang Huahong heard Jiang Huagai recounting a story about a home invasion. Imitating the manner of the Mountain King, he leaped into the pavilion, blocking Jiang Huagai who was trying to escape, and extended his hand, saying: "Hand over that short sword you acquired yesterday, and I will let you go this time!"

As Lady Li gradually approached, Jiang Xuan stepped forward and shouted: "This mountain was opened by me, this tree was planted by me. If you wish to pass through this place, leave..."

Jiang Xuan and Jiang Bai were originally fraternal twins. When Jiang Bai was born, she was weak and nearly did not survive. Their great-grandmother, Madam Jiang, prayed overnight at the Mother and Child Temple and sought the expertise of a skilled master at the temple to calculate the fortunes of Jiang Xuan and Jiang Bai. The master examined their birth dates and, after a moment of contemplation, said: "In one hour, there are divisions: the beginning, middle, and end. The beginning is somewhat rigid, the middle is neither warm nor cold, and the end is somewhat soft. The boy was born in the middle of the hour, and since he is a male, he possesses ample Yang energy, which naturally makes him robust." After a pause, he continued, "In one hour, there are divisions: the beginning, middle, and end. The beginning is somewhat rigid, the middle is neither warm nor cold, and the end is somewhat soft. The boy was born in the middle of the hour, and since he is a male, he possesses ample Yang energy, which naturally makes him robust." After another pause, he added, "The girl was born at the end of the hour, and since she is a female, she is destined to be weak. The general's residence has an excess of Yang energy, which is more suitable for boys. If the girl were a boy, even if born at the end of the hour, it would not matter, but since she is a girl, I fear..."

"Xuan Ge'er, Bai Ge'er!" The wet nurse and the maid, seeing the three of them run off in different directions, had no choice but to split up and chase after them. However, being small and nimble, they quickly disappeared without a trace.

Madam Jiang was initially worried, but upon hearing this, her heart lifted, and she hurriedly asked, "Is there any way to resolve this?"

"Xuan, Bai, and Qing!" The wet nurse and the maid were momentarily taken aback, and upon seeing Jiang Xuan, Jiang Bai, and Jiang Qing running out of the pavilion, they were afraid they might fall, so they hurriedly shouted and chased after them.

Without hesitation, Jiang Huagai took a step back and quickly dashed out of the pavilion, leaving no trace of the few who had come and gone. Jiang Huahong, unwilling to accept this, chased after them.

"Treat the girl as if she were a boy, and naturally, she will draw upon the vitality of the general's residence." The old master looked down at the birth time and eight characters of the dragon and phoenix twins, then raised his head and said: "Apart from the people of the general's residence and those who have a close relationship with the girl, to others, we will only declare that she is a boy. When she reaches the age of thirteen, on the day of the Buddha's birthday at noon, we will change her back into women's clothing..."

Jiang Bai was deeply engrossed in listening, dressed similarly to her brother Jiang Xuan today. Her soft, shiny black hair was tied with a red velvet ribbon, adorned with two pearls, which accentuated her beautifully painted features, making her exceptionally handsome.

"Yes, yes, leave the toll candy!" Upon hearing Jiang Bai's words, Jiang Xuan and Jiang Qing repeated the phrase.

Jiang Xuan saw the wet nurse catching up from behind, clapped his hands, and pulled Jiang Bai and Jiang Qing to a stop, saying in a crisp voice: "Scatter, we will meet at the moon gate later!" With that, he ran off in another direction. Jiang Bai and Jiang Qing exchanged a glance and also laughed as they ran off in different directions.

Although Bai Ge'er has a handsome appearance, she has been raised as a boy since birth, and her speech and behavior are indistinguishable from Xuan Ge'er, so outsiders have no doubts. However, she is still young and does not understand the need for concealment, and once she attends the clan school, it will indeed be impossible to hide it. Shang Jie pondered for a moment and then said: "Very well, let us discuss this again in a couple of years! If necessary, we can invite another teacher to come back and teach them."

The embroideress quietly smiled and said: "The young mistress and the second young mistress are busy watching over the young master, leaving them with no time at all. It is indeed not easy for the madam to take care of these matters."

As for Xuan Ge'er, that is one matter; I am only concerned about Bai Ge'er. If we only send Xuan Ge'er to the clan school and leave Bai Ge'er to learn a few characters with the tutors at home, it does not seem appropriate. If we send Bai Ge'er to the clan school as well, I would still be worried. He Yuan listened to Shang Jie’s words and laughed, saying: "Aside from other matters, how can we conceal things like changing clothes and using the restroom from others?"

The master nodded and said: "There is indeed a method, which is to help the young lady borrow some yang energy."

Shang Jie and He Yuan were conversing in the room, while Jiang Xuan and Jiang Bai were with their younger cousin Jiang Qing, all seated together in the pavilion of the garden, intently listening to their sixth uncle Jiang Huagai telling stories. A group of wet nurses and maids waited outside the pavilion, busily serving tea and water.

Due to their poor appetites in recent days, the household invited a doctor to examine Jiang Xuan and the others. The doctor merely stated that they were experiencing stagnation and advised everyone in the household not to give them any sweets, suggesting a light porridge diet for a few days, after which their appetites would naturally improve. Following the doctor's advice, Jiang Xuan, Jiang Bai, and Jiang Qing went a full four days without tasting a single piece of candy. They were well aware that Granny Li often kept a few candies hidden, so who else would they rob if not her?

Jiang Bai's father, Jiang Hua'an, stated: "One must raise the girl as if she were a boy, and naturally declare to the outside world that the general's residence has been blessed with a pair of twins. However, when it comes to the girl's maternal family, the He family, and her godmother's residence, the Princess's mansion, they will likely have to speak the truth."

Jiang Hua'an is a military general who is not interested in these calculations. However, this time he indeed followed the advice of the master at the Zimu Temple, which helped save Jiang Bai. He believes it is better to trust in the possibility than to dismiss it entirely, and thus he naturally agreed to everything.

At a glance, the fabrics in peach pink and tender yellow are indeed beautiful. Shang Jie couldn't help but sigh, "If these two colors were worn by the young lady, how striking she would be! However, the only young lady in the residence is disguised as a boy. Now, we can only wait to see whether Qing Ge'er’s mother will give birth to a boy or a girl." While speaking, she picked out a piece of fabric with a rose purple lotus pattern and said, "This color will do; let's make a set of clothes for Xuan Ge'er and Bai Ge'er each. As for the stone blue, gray blue, and moon white colors, they are too plain for the little ones, so let's save them for Hua An and the others."

This mountain is mine, this tree is also mine. If you wish to pass through here, leave behind some toll money! Jiang Huagai stood with one hand on his waist and the other making a threatening gesture as if wielding a knife. At the tense moment, his tone was stern, as if he were the bandit king in the story who robs the rich to help the poor

He Yuan was quite puzzled by the theory of borrowing Yang energy. When Jiang Bai was one year old, he considered dressing her in female clothing again. Unexpectedly, shortly after the girl’s clothes were put on, Jiang Bai developed a fever that lasted for seven days before finally subsiding. He Yuan was nearly frightened out of his wits, and from that point on, he believed the words of the temple master, carefully raising Jiang Bai as a boy. Now, at over five years old, although slightly frail, he is still considered healthy, and the household finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

As summer approached, Madam Jiang, the general's wife, instructed her maid Suixiang to gather various fabrics from the storeroom. Soon, she invited a tailor to take measurements and had two sets of summer clothing made for each of the household servants. She also took some people to the silk shop to purchase new materials, and together with the embroiderers, she intended to personally make new clothes for her several grandsons

"Here they come, here they come, a fat sheep is coming!" Jiang Qing stood on the far right. From his perspective, he saw Granny Li approaching with a hunchback. He then reported to Jiang Xuan: "Boss, the one coming over is an easy target, an old lady."

Jiang Huagai was speaking passionately, when he suddenly noticed his third brother, Jiang Huahong, approaching from the other end. For a moment, he was distracted and, intending to avoid him, found it was already too late.

After a while, three small heads peeked out from another cluster of flowers, cautiously looking around. Once they confirmed that no one was present, they high-fived each other excitedly, saying, "We finally shook off the nursemaids. Let's go rob!" With that, they ran to the moon gate in the garden and lined up in a row.

Just now, they insisted on having the nurse take them to the garden to play, and I suppose they are picking flowers and breaking willows, ruining the things in the garden. I just don't understand why, although Xuan is a boy and can be so mischievous, Bai is also acting this way. He Yuan felt a headache coming on at the mention of Jiang Xuan and Jiang Bai, and he rubbed his arms, saying: "I am completely worn out from their antics."

Very good! Jiang Xuanxue and Jiang Huagai nodded just now and said seriously: "We only seek wealth, without harming lives"

The embroiderer worked quickly, and in a short while, she had already made two bibs for the babies. Shang Jie looked at the sky and took a bib to He Yuan's room. Upon arriving at He Yuan's room, noticing that Jiang Xuan and Jiang Bai were not around, she smiled and asked, "Where have the two little monkeys gone off to this time?"

Madam Jiang nodded and said: "We are merely borrowing the yang energy for the young lady; we do not intend to conceal her identity. The people from the He family and the Princess's residence will naturally speak the truth. Those in both households understand the gravity of the situation and will not make it common knowledge. As for the midwives and wet nurses we have invited to our residence, you should reward them generously and explain the importance of borrowing the young lady's and the books' yang energy, instructing them to keep their mouths shut. Also, remind the servants in our household to refer to the young lady as 'Young Master Bai' and not to mention her as 'the young lady' at all."

Due to Shang Jie’s eldest daughter-in-law, He Yuan, giving birth to a son, Jiang Zhuang, last year, who is now just over one year old, she naturally cannot spare the time to manage the household. The second daughter-in-law, Chen Zhu, after giving birth to two sons, Jiang Qing and Jiang Zong, is now pregnant again, making her even less able to help. The management of the household still falls to Shang Jie herself. At this moment, she can only smile and say, "More children, more blessings; if they have more, I will be willing to be busy."

Xuan and Bai are both over five years old now, and soon they will need to attend the clan school. The tutor we have invited to the residence can teach them a few characters, but in terms of knowledge, he is ultimately not as good as the teachers at the clan school. Although the young masters in our residence prioritize martial arts, they should also read a few lines of poetry and literature to better discern right from wrong. As Shang Jie spoke, she noticed the wet nurse bringing Jiang Zhuang in, and hurriedly tied a bib around his neck. After the wet nurse took him out again, she turned back and smiled at He Yuan, saying, "As a mother, you are spoiling Xuan and Bai too much, which is not appropriate."

"How can I borrow it?" Old Madam Jiang, upon hearing this, had an idea and earnestly requested, "I kindly ask the master to speak frankly and inform me!"

Seeing that only Jiang Xuan and a few others were present, and that none of the wet nurses or maids were around, Li Momo realized they had been dismissed again. She merely raised her eyes to look around, hoping to find a little maid to send a message, while smiling and saying: "Please spare me, my lords! I will hand over the toll candy!"

It is uncertain whether it is a coincidence or if the method of borrowing yang energy is truly effective, but Jiang Bai has indeed managed to preserve himself

Since last year, the three little ones have learned to squat in a horse stance and perform a simple set of martial arts from Jiang Huagai. Their calves have become quite strong, and now they can run around the flower beds, leaving the nurse and the maid unable to catch up with them.