When Xiaosong followed Jiang Xiao'e to the Duke of Zhongyi's Mansion in the capital, he was already 15 years old and a Xiucai.
He Gu pulled her grandson, who she hadn't seen for a long time, and kept fussing over how thin he'd gotten.
She complained to her daughter that Xiaosong should have stayed in the capital for the study, as seeing him only once every few years was unbearable for her.
"Grandma, I'm perfectly healthy! When Uncle gets married, I can even help him fend off drinks!"
"Hahaha, good, good! You're fifteen, and is now old enough to drink."
He Gu brewed rice wine. That evening, while Mingting was still at the palace, the family reunited. Overjoyed to see his grandmother and sister, Xiaosong drank several cups.
By the time he stumbled back to his room, he collapsed onto the bed without washing up.
The next morning, Xiaosong jolted awake, sitting up in a cold sweat.
Flaying and tendon-ripping were too painful… just the memory made him shudder.
When he saw his surroundings, Xiao Song was stunned, and then frantically grabbed his crotch
'My treasure is still here! Whole and intact!'
Xiaosong hurriedly got up and looked in the mirror. He then saw a sturdy young man over 170 cm tall, no longer the scrawny boy he remembered.
"What year is it now?" Xiaosong grabbed the servant nearby and asked. When he heard the answer, he was confused.
'This era name belonged to Emperor Li? Hadn't Emperor Li long since passed away?'
'What was going on?!'
When he saw He Gu, Jiang Xiao'e and Daya, Xiaosong burst into tears and hugged his mother, "Mom, I missed you so much!"
After his mother drowned , his father was mauled by wolves, his sister was sold off, his grandmother went mad, and Jiang Meimei's family seized their property, he hadn't known a single good day.
"What's wrong with you, kid? You're already a grown man, how can you still cry while hugging your mother?"
Jiang Xiao'e looked at her son, who was half a head taller than her and cried loudly, and reached out to pat his back.
"Tsk tsk, brother, so embarrassing!"
Daya teased Xiaosong, just like when they were kids.
He Gu took a handkerchief to wipe Xiaosong's tears, and asked if someone had bullied him?
"No, I'm just… so happy to see you all!" Xiaosong's eyes were red, and he pinched himself.
'It hurt! This wasn't a dream!'
'Mom is still alive, Grandma is fine, and sister is also here!'
"Where's Dad? Where did Dad go?" Xiaosong asked anxiously.
"Child, have you been cursed? Why are you talking nonsense?"
He Gu touched Xiaosong's forehead worriedly, "Isn't your father working in Min County? Your uncle is getting married, and your father can't come back. You and your mother just arrived yesterday."
'Uncle?'
'Which uncle?'
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
"Big Sister, what's wrong with Xiaosong? He's already a Xiucai, but he's crying like a child? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Xiaosong trembled.
When he turned around and saw who it was, his knees went weak, and he immediately dropped to the ground.
"M-My Lord..."
The punishment of being skinned alive and having his tendons pulled out had been too agonizing… he had suffered for three full days before finally dying.
Now, seeing Mingting, Xiaosong's face turned deathly pale, his body shaking like a sieve, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
Back then, he had merely overheard Mingting muttering about increasing the dosage of the Emperor's medicine to ensure he wouldn't survive past autumn.
He was so startled that he let out a low cry, and for that, he had been dragged away and executed in the most brutal manner.
'Why was this man here? What did he want? Was he here to capture and slaughter my entire family?!'
[Boss, this kid has been reborn, and he thinks you're the same person from his past life!]
Fengtian giggled.
"Mom, I think Xiaosong is hallucinating, I'll take him to see Master Xuanyi for a check-up."
Mingting grabbed Xiaosong and dragged him away without another word.
Xiaosong wanted to cry for help, but the moment he remembered this man's temperament, he immediately clamped his mouth shut.
'If I had to die, so be it… but what if my family got dragged into this?'
Once they were in the carriage, Xiaosong immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed.
"My Lord, please don't harm my family. They are innocent! I beg you, spare them..."
"Xiaosong, you've been reborn too?"
Mingting's gentle voice changed, turning cold and laced with a sinister edge.
'Reborn?'
In an instant, the memories of this life flooded Xiaosong's mind, and he remembered everything now.
It turned out that in this life, from the moment Jiang Xiao'e had saved Mingting, everyone's fate had changed! Their family is no longer plagued by misfortune, and their lives are getting better and better!
"Right now, you're the only one who knows my true identity."
Mingting lowered his head and stared at Xiaosong's eyes. In those cold and fierce phoenix eyes, there was a strong murderous intent.
"If you dare to expose my identity, you already know the consequences, right?"
"Y-Yes, I won't say a word." Xiaosong shook his head frantically, even raising his hand as if to swear an oath.
"No need for oaths! Right now, I'm your uncle and you're my dear nephew. We are a family. And family doesn't speak in circles."
Mingting pulled Xiaosong up to sit properly. Seeing that the boy did not dare to sit all the way and only sat at edge of the seat, Mingting decided not to scare the poor kid any further.
"Your uncle here became the top scholar at fourteen. You're fifteen and only just passed the academy examination. It's really embarrassing for me. If you don't make it to the palace exams by twenty-five, well… you know my methods."
"Y-Yes! I'll study hard, I'll read diligently."
Xiaosong kept wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Being trapped in a confined space like this with the infamous Nine Thousand Years made it hard to breathe… the pressure was suffocating.
"Remember what I said today. And when you go back, don't act like some spineless coward! You're the nephew of the Count Zhongyi, so straighten your back and act like a man!"
"Yes, yes!"
By the time Xiaosong returned to his room, his legs were still weak.
After washing up and sitting down to eat with He Gu and the others, seeing the concern in his family's eyes, he finally accepted it… he had truly been reborn.
'Everyone was here, alive and well. That was wonderful!'
'…If only that sinister eunuch wasn't around, it'd be even better.'
Xiaosong lowered his head and shoveled rice into his mouth, stuffing his cheeks full.
At this moment, a voice sounded in Xiaosong's ears.
"Big Sister, I tested Xiaosong's knowledge today, and it's not satisfactory. The teachers in Min County just can't compare to those in the capital. Let Xiaosong stay in the capital, I'll tutor him myself!"
The person who spoke was Mingting. To Xiaosong, these words were simply a bolt from the blue. Before he could even react, Jiang Xiao'e had already agreed.
"Good idea! Your brother-in-law's always busy. He spends half of the month in the countryside and has no time to teach him. Leaving Xiaosong to you puts my mind at ease!"
'Mom, no! That's the devil incarnate!'
Xiaosong was crying in his heart, but his face could only twist into a stiff smile.
"Th-Thank you, Uncle!"
After being reborn, Xiaosong realized many things had changed.
The old Emperor was still alive and well. He slammed his desk during court sessions as he argued fiercely with his ministers, adamant about conquering Western Xia.
The young Crown Prince was no longer playful. Not only had he sworn brotherhood with Mingting, but he also frequently dropped by their house for meals, calling Jiang Xiao'e 'Sister Xiao'e' with cheerful familiarity.
But what shocked Xiaosong the most was discovering that his future aunt-in-law was actually the daughter of Su Hengzhong!
He distinctly remembered how Su Hengzhong had been the most vocal critic of the Lord Nine Thousand Years in court, and how he had died a gruesome death, with his corpse left to rot in the wilderness, his wife hanging herself, and his daughter thrown into the pleasure quarters to suffer a fate worse than death.
But now, this stern and righteous old minister had not only taken the villainous eunuch as his disciple, but had even betrothed his beloved daughter to him.
'What's wrong with this world?'
'You have all been deceived by him!'
'His good behavior now must be hiding some greater scheme!'
Whenever Xiaosong fell into these 'I alone am awake while the world is drunk' moments, Mingting would shoot him a cold, eerie glance.
"Didn't you want to protect them? Then study hard, pass the exams, become a high-ranking official, and enter the cabinet to be a prime minister. Otherwise, as a small Xiucai, I could crush you with a finger… what could you possibly do? Hmph!"
Mingting's words lit a fire under Xiaosong.
He couldn't let this treacherous eunuch deceive his family, the loyal ministers, or the Emperor.
'Since the heavens had granted me this second chance at life, it must have been so he could stop this villainous eunuch's schemes!'
Driven by this determination, Xiaosong—originally a mediocre student—pushed himself to become the second-place scholar in the imperial exams. Starting as a humble county magistrate, he worked diligently for the court and the people his entire life, eventually rising to become Minister of Revenue, the Emperor's money bag, and finally, at fifty, he became the prime minister.
"Uncle… just who are you?" At this age, Xiaosong certainly knew that Mingting and that man were different. They weren't the same person at all!
"Me? I'm here to repay a kindness."