On the second day, Jiang Changtian stayed at home with his family.
Mianmian once again endured her father's loving education.
She also faced the added pressure of comparison with her academically gifted brother.
Originally, as a student, one could be either first or last in class without much pressure, as there was no comparison.
Everyone was the princess of their own world.
But now, with another student in the picture, she was always behind, caught in a competitive spiral.
Intelligence, for the most part, remains constant.
Though one's perspective might grow and expand over time.
Fortunately, many guests suddenly arrived at their home.
Jiang Changtian, who was typically shy and disliked socializing, had made a brief visit to the government office the other day, exchanging contact information with a group of people waiting for official positions.
Over the next couple of days, visitors started showing up at their door.
Some came bearing gifts after hearing about his appointment as Imperial Secretary.
Others, truly struggling to make ends meet and unable to pay rent, came seeking help from the reliable Jiang, hoping for a way out of their desperate situation.
There were also those with ulterior motives, coming to gather information.
The Jiang family received them all with courtesy.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wan suddenly noticed that her neighbor's neighbor's neighbor's house had become a hub of activity.
Only then did she learn the news.
To her utter surprise, Jiang Er (Second Jiang) had come to the capital.
And he had become an Imperial Secretary.
She remembered that in her previous life, her father had also become a secretary after arriving in the capital, though he was in the Ministry of Rites.
Now her father had renounced the world, and she had come to the capital alone with her grandmother.
The secretary position had gone to Jiang Er.
And he was now her neighbor.
For Jiang Wan, Jiang Er was like a nightmare.
With people coming and going at home, Mianmian's parents didn't let her go out.
Mianmian decided to find something to do on her own.
She chose to farm.
She dragged Brother Chong along to dig soil and plant in the courtyard.
Mianmian always involved Brother Chong in her activities.
Because if Brother Chong was truly depressed, staying busy and active would leave him little time for depression.
In the nice courtyard, Mianmian specifically requested a plot of land, and asked Hei Ta, Wei Biao, and Pangya to help with the digging.
They tilled the soil.
As they were digging, they unexpectedly unearthed a box of silver in the courtyard.
Mianmian hadn't expected to have such good fortune.
So before they even started planting, the whole family joined in the digging.
Mianmian brought Jiang Xiaoshu along, as it was time for it to prove its usefulness.
She let the little tree explore and save some time.
On one side, Mianmian led the group in digging holes all over the place.
On the other side, their neighbor Jiang Wan heard all sorts of strange noises coming from the adjacent courtyard and thought she was hallucinating.
Because Jiang Er was supposed to be next door to the next door neighbor.
But she kept hearing odd sounds coming from right next door.
Jiang Wan was so frightened that she developed a high fever that night in her bed.
On the third day.
Jiang Changtian stayed home with his family.
Yesterday, he couldn't accompany his little daughter because of receiving guests.
But in just one day, the house had nearly been dug into a graveyard, with piles of dirt everywhere.
Probably because Brother Chong was there, Mianmian avoided a beating.
Because she had dragged Brother Chong along to dig.
The harvest was bountiful.
Not only did they dig up two boxes of silver, but they also unearthed a skeleton, a box of books and ancient texts, and a box of various bottles and jars.
If her parents hadn't stopped her, Mianmian would have continued digging today.
The silver and books weren't much to speak of.
The skeleton was quite old.
It was the skeleton of a young person.
In the end, they properly collected it and found a place to bury it.
Zi Congheng wasn't scared, but he couldn't understand why Mianmian wasn't scared either.
The two were fearless about everything.
If the family hadn't stopped her, Mianmian would have wanted to keep the skeleton.
Medical students all know the value of body donors.
But Jiang Changtian absolutely forbade it.
He felt in his heart that it must be because of what Feng had said.
Causing his daughter to feel particularly attached to things dug up from the ground.
On this day, Jiang Changtian accompanied his daughter in digging and planting.
They focused solely on planting now, not treasure hunting.
Qin Luoxia, seeing her daughter digging everywhere, felt a bit guilty, thinking this trait of her daughter might have come from her.
She had escaped famine with her mother, so she always wanted to store food.
Whenever they arrived at a new place, she wanted to dig cellars to store grain.
These past few days she had been busy, still scouting locations, wondering where would be good to dig.
But her daughter's digging around had inadvertently helped her scout locations.
The whole family worked together, opened up a plot of land, and carefully planted the wild onions they had brought, along with some unknown seeds that Mianmian had people buy from the street.
They planted very carefully yet randomly.
Mianmian thought she needed to find something to do. She didn't have anything else, just a spring that hadn't changed in decades... no, in years. She hadn't lived for decades yet.
Just a thin spring of water.
She dripped a drop into a bucket to water the newly opened vegetable garden.
She watered it all very carefully.
Though unskilled at manual labor, they managed to open a plot, plant it, and a day had passed.
On the fourth day.
Jiang Changtian had to go to work today.
He had received his work uniform yesterday.
Perhaps because he was a close minister to the emperor, he received it quickly. If it were another position, it would probably still be going through procedures.
The robe was dark blue in color, with a patch of embroidery in the middle.
It had small deer.
And cranes.
And auspicious clouds and lingzhi mushrooms.
The hat was shiny black, made of silk.
It had a round jade ornament on top.
If one's face wasn't attractive, wearing this hat could make it look oily.
Jiang Changtian had a widow's peak, and when fully dressed, with his long hair flowing beneath the hat, neatly trimmed at the ends, his eyebrows handsome, and eyes naturally full of emotion.
The robe required a belt.
It showed off his figure well.
On his feet were official boots.
A complete set.
When he put it on, it added even more charm to his already handsome features.
Mianmian felt that her mother was very reluctant to let her father go to work, probably feeling that he looked too good and was worried.
Mianmian and Little Chong got up early to see their father off to work.
Their daily routine hadn't changed much.
Wherever her father went, he had to work.
After seeing her father off, Mianmian went to water the vegetables.
She decided to water them every morning.
The servants in the household felt that this young lady, who had never done a day's work in her life, actually wanted to grow vegetables in winter, diligently watering them every day. Planting at this time, no matter how much you water, it won't help.
But no one dared to tell the young mistress what to do.
Jiang Changtian went to work, first reporting to the government office. After normal reporting, he should have entered the palace to await his duties.
Probably because he hadn't given any bribes or shown his stance.
When Jiang Changtian arrived at the office, someone took him to familiarize himself with the business, then dumped a lot of tedious rules and regulations on him, telling him to memorize them first. It looked like he wouldn't be able to enter the palace without some training.
Perhaps after a while, the emperor would forget about this person.
Jiang Changtian sat in a room in the government office.
This room was much better than the small room in the Medicine Preparation Department in Ming County.
Through the window, he could see the trees in the courtyard, with leaves of golden yellow edged in red, along with green leaves, blending together beautifully like a painting.
The windowsill was also very clean, with no random carvings or writings on it.
He sat in this small room, watching the bustle outside, where people were lining up again today to pay respects to Minister Lu.
In front of him was just a desk, piled high with various rules and regulations.
Jiang Changtian wasn't in a hurry. He opened the first book, "Palace Rules," and started reading carefully.
He had a photographic memory, turning page after page quickly.
Over there, after Minister Lu had seen two officials, he asked his subordinate, "What is the new Imperial Secretary Jiang doing?"
"He's looking at the rules, but he's flipping through them very quickly. It doesn't seem like he's actually reading them," the subordinate answered.
Minister Lu nodded.
He has some depth, but not much.
No matter, we'll wear him down slowly. Young people's temperaments need to be tempered, otherwise they really think they can make a name for themselves in the capital with just a pretty face. The capital is particularly full of dead beauties.
