Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 159: Chapter 155 Jiang Miao, Little Miao’er

About half an hour later, the midwife came out of the delivery room, carrying a swaddled baby in her arms.

Yang Zhenshan carefully held the baby.

The little one was very alert, a pair of jet-black eyes surprisingly taking in Yang Zhenshan.

”This little girl didn’t even cry!”

Yang Zhenshan was somewhat amazed.

Previously, whenever he held babies, they would cry.

They would start crying as soon as he held them, making him afraid to even hold them.

He had been prepared for this little girl to cry, but unexpectedly, not only did she not cry, but she also stared at him with her big eyes.

”Dad, this little girl is close to you!” Yang Mingcheng said.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled and cautiously played with the little one.

However, the little one wasn’t interested in playing; she just glanced at him for a while, then began to look around at everyone else, turning her head and eyes together, seemingly curious about everything.

The little one’s spiritedness quickly faded, and she fell asleep in Yang Zhenshan’s embrace, snoring softly.

Looking at the wrinkled little girl, Yang Zhenshan’s heart was filled with tenderness.

He had held all of the Yang family’s children, but the one that made him feel the closest was this little one.

Perhaps because she wasn’t afraid of him or maybe it was fate; anyway, Yang Zhenshan felt a closeness to this little one.

”Grandpa shall give you a name, okay?” Yang Zhenshan said softly.

His gentle voice surprised everyone in the room.

In their eyes, Yang Zhenshan had always been a stern father, and even when he seemed cheerful, they could still sense the strictness from him as a father.

When it came to his grandchildren, Yang Zhenshan was relatively more affectionate, but it was just slightly more so.

They had never heard such gentle words from him.

”Jiang He, you don’t mind if I name her, do you?” Yang Zhenshan looked up at Jiang He.

After all, Jiang He is the biological father, and it should be either Jiang He or Jiang Cheng’s duty to name the child. Being the maternal grandfather, there is still a separation.

However, Jiang He said with a face full of joy, ”For dad to name her, that’s her good fortune.”

As a son-in-law in the Yang family, he actually found it somewhat awkward.

It was quite embarrassing for a man to live in his wife’s parental home, aside from being a live-in son-in-law who else would live there long-term?

Yet living in the Yang family offered him many benefits, such as stable work and income, and even opportunities for self-improvement.

Now, he not only became a Martial Artist but also learned to read, write, and do accounting.

Yang Zhenshan was always generous to his kin. Jiang He received three taels of Silver monthly, and last year, he managed to save more than ten taels to send back to the Jiang family.

Also because of him, the Jiang family’s days were getting better and better.

So even though he felt somewhat embarrassed, he still preferred to stay in the Yang family and was willing to work with Yang Mingcheng.

Furthermore, Yang Yunyan wasn’t the kind of unreasonable character; she was always gentle and considerate to him as the head of the household, and their family life was very comfortable.

Still, he hoped to gain Yang Zhenshan’s recognition, and for Yang Zhenshan to be willing to name his daughter was indeed a great fortune for both him and the little girl.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then said, ”Let’s call her Jiang Miao!”

The Jiang family, unlike the Yang family, did not have generational names; they were just ordinary farmers and hunters, so Yang Zhenshan didn’t give the little girl a very complicated name. The single character ’Miao’ was enough.

”Thank you, dad!” exclaimed Jiang He with a big smile, his eyes filled with tender love as he looked at little Miao’er.

Seeing him this way, Yang Zhenshan inwardly nodded his approval.

In this world, the belief in favoring boys over girls was very strong, especially in the countryside where most common folk held such thoughts, and some even raised their girls as maids. By six or seven years old, they had to learn to wash clothes, cook, and work in the fields.

Jiang He’s generation in the Jiang family didn’t have any girls, so Yang Zhenshan didn’t know if they practiced gender discrimination.

But as long as Jiang He knew to cherish his daughter, that was enough.

”Alright, you should go inside and see how Yunyan is holding up; she must be exhausted,” Yang Zhenshan said.

Jiang He snapped out of it, ”Yes, yes, dad, I’ll go in now.”

Actually, he had wanted to go in to see his wife for a while, but with Yang Zhenshan there, he felt it wasn’t appropriate to just rush into the delivery room.

Yang Zhenshan watched him hurry away and smiled, then handed little Miao’er to a midwife standing next to Yang Yunyan, asking, ”Have you found a wet nurse?”

”Dad, don’t worry, your daughter-in-law has already taken care of it,” Ms. Wang beamed with a smile.

Yang Zhenshan nodded in satisfaction, Ms. Wang was becoming more and more thorough in her work, he really didn’t need to worry about household matters.

”Well then, you all go and get busy!”

After saying that, Yang Zhenshan got up and left.

When he returned to the main courtyard, Yu Qingyi was standing at the entrance looking around.

Upon seeing Yang Zhenshan return, she eagerly asked, ”Did the young mistress give birth?”

Obviously, she had heard that Yang Yunyan was going to give birth.

Such news couldn’t be kept within the manor; even if Yu Qingyi didn’t leave the main courtyard, the little maids and the older maids would tell her.

”She did, she had a little girl. I named her Jiang Miao!”

Yang Zhenshan naturally took her hand and walked into the house.

After several months of cultivating their feelings, although they hadn’t taken the final step, their relationship had become unspoken.

Now the two of them were considered boyfriend and girlfriend, despite this world not having the concept of boyfriend and girlfriend.

Yu Qingyi was still somewhat shy about holding hands, looking down like a little wife.

”Tell Wu Hai that today each room will have their meals in their own courtyard, no need to come over here!”

Yang Zhenshan instructed the old maid standing beside him.

This old maid, surnamed Li, was a servant purchased by the Yang family upon their arrival in An Yuan City. Her husband served as Wu Hai’s housekeeper and was his assistant.

Madam Li bowed and then withdrew.

In the inner room, Yang Zhenshan took Qingyi’s hand and sat down with her on the arhat bed. Gazing at the beautiful Qingyi, he couldn’t help but feel his heart stir restlessly.

Especially now that their relationship was growing increasingly ambiguous, his heart was even more uncontrollable.

But Yang Zhenshan never dared to overstep the boundary, as Qingyi was after all a woman from this world, her thoughts excessively conservative. Holding hands was barely acceptable, but regarding everything else, it was truly impossible for Yang Zhenshan without giving her a proper status.

Thinking of status, Yang Zhenshan felt a slight movement in his heart.

”When you return, I will send someone to propose to the Sky Blue Sword Sect!”

Yang Zhenshan spoke softly.

Qingyi was stunned and looked at Yang Zhenshan with disbelief, as if doubting whether she had misheard.

”What’s wrong, you don’t want to?” Seeing her dazed look, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help teasing her.

”No, it’s not that!” Qingyi hurriedly waved her hand and then seemed to feel somewhat unreserved by speaking so rashly, ”I, I—”

She stuttered for a long time without managing to say a whole sentence.

Yang Zhenshan held her hand and comforted her softly, ”You should be able to feel what’s in my heart!”

He was not someone who was adept at creating romance, and when it came to relationships, he was either passive or just let things take their natural course.

In his previous life, he had had a girlfriend, and they naturally came together. Even before he was sure of his own feelings, they had already confirmed their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Well, to put it simply, in his past life, he was the kind of person who followed his passions before his heart.

But here, he couldn’t lead with passion!

She wasn’t willing to let him.

To say that he had deep feelings for Qingyi, to be honest, he did have feelings for her, but they were not profound.

Qingyi met his criteria for a wife, soft on the outside but tough on the inside. Apart from their intimacy, she still possessed the unrestrained and tenacious spirit of a worldly society.

That she could assume the position of Sect Leader of the Sky Blue Sword Sect and support it showed she was not a weak person.

After months of interaction, Yang Zhenshan felt a great fondness for her.

And the reason Yang Zhenshan wanted to marry her was due to the dual needs of passion and heart.

Passion doesn’t need further elaboration; for a man, there’s always that kind of need.

As for the heart, it’s not just about affection between a man and a woman, but also that Yang Zhenshan needed solace and someone to care for to fill the loneliness of this world.

Although he now had a large family, he was from another world.

Even though he had already well-integrated into this world and into the Yang family, he was still his original self.

The Yang family was his family, but it was not his true home.

He needed someone to build a new home with him, so his heart could truly find peace.

Qingyi lifted her head, her eyes slightly red, as she looked at Yang Zhenshan.

Affection!

Proposing marriage!

This was all too distant for her.

It was something she hadn’t thought about for a long time.

She wasn’t a widow, yet she lived more solitarily than one.

Since her junior brother died, she had given up the idea of marrying.

It wasn’t that she had a deep affection for her junior brother, but she couldn’t leave the Sky Blue Sword Sect.

”No!” she blurted out.

”Why!” Yang Zhenshan hadn’t expected her to refuse.

”I, my background is too humble!” Qingyi hesitated before speaking.

A worldly martial arts sect was a worldly martial arts sect, how could it compare to official status.

Although Jianghu Martial Artists could join the military and become officials, and with Qingyi’s cultivation, if she enlisted, she would at the very least be assigned the position of a commander over a thousand households, but right now she had not enlisted and had no official status.

”Background, my background was nothing more than that of a peasant!” Yang Zhenshan laughed and replied.

”But I can’t leave the Sky Blue Sword Sect!”

”Why?” Yang Zhenshan asked again.

Qingyi lowered her gaze, ”I am the Sect Leader!”

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard; this indeed posed a problem.

Jianghu sects valued lineage. Although most sects don’t prohibit their disciples from marrying, the marriage of a Sect Leader was a troublesome matter.

A sect is not a company, and the Sect Leader is not a boss. While the boss can marry and take the company with her, the Sect Leader can’t possibly bring the whole sect with her in marriage.

Unmarried, she follows her father; once married, she follows her husband.

If Qingyi were to marry, then who would have a say in the Sky Blue Sword Sect.

If Yang Zhenshan belonged to the Sky Blue Sword Sect, then everything would be easy to discuss, but it was impossible for Yang Zhenshan to join the sect.

This involved the unspoken rules of the officialdom. A sect disciple joining the bureaucracy was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, but an official joining a sect was seen as demeaning oneself, a source of ridicule.

But if Qingyi wanted to marry, she would have to sort out the Sky Blue Sword Sect, preferably finding a new Sect Leader for the sect.

”You can’t resign from being the Sect Leader!” Yang Zhenshan said, somewhat sheepishly.

It was similar to asking one’s wife to quit her job and stay home as a housewife.

Qingyi lowered her head in silence. Yang Zhenshan did not press her but simply waited quietly.

After a long while, Qingyi finally raised her head, her eyes filled with complex and determined emotions.