YBTGX 05

Chapter 05

Celadon from a Broken Kiln

As soon as Lu An saw Lu Lin and Lu Guan enter one after the other, he rose from his chair, his face wreathed in smiles, and waved for Lu Lin to come over.

“Quick, Lin-er, come here and let the steward have a good look.”

The steward had already observed them closely the moment they walked in. Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the pageboy candidate in his heart, he thought that, at the very least, he was a decent boy from a local family, which was barely acceptable, so he nodded.

“No need to look further,” he said, picking up his teacup. His gaze, however, involuntarily landed back on the clean, handsome child. “Becoming a pageboy isn’t like casting an actor for a play; as long as he’s a decent local boy and trustworthy, that’s enough. Unless he was as well-proportioned as your son, he’s good enough.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on Lu An’s face froze. He had just been boasting to the steward about how handsome and sharp his own son was. He never expected to make such an embarrassing mistake, with the steward mistaking his nephew for his own son.

He looked at his nephew Lu Lin, who stood straight and radiating intelligence, then glanced at his own son, Lu Guan, who was still sniffling snot. He couldn’t even bear to look at his own child. It had only been a few days, yet his nephew seemed to have been completely reborn.

Suppressing the heat and embarrassment on his face, Lu An forced a smile that looked uglier than a cry and pulled Lu Lin in front of him. “Steward, you’re joking. This… this one is my nephew.”

Hearing this, the steward’s hand holding the teacup faltered slightly, and he looked up at Lu An. Looking at Lu Lin’s delicate, pretty little face standing right before him, then glancing at the snot-nosed Lu Guan beside him, the steward was immediately amused and nearly cursed out loud.

This is your nephew? And you just had the nerve to brag that your son looked better than your nephew?

Lu An smiled awkwardly and hurriedly pushed Lu Lin’s back. “Lin-er, hurry, say hello to the steward.”

Lu Lin stepped forward, bowed his small body slightly, and spoke in a clear, crisp voice, neither humble nor pushy: “Hello, Steward.”

It was this clear, childish voice that truly snapped the steward out of his thoughts. It turned out that this incredibly handsome child was the one to be selected as the pageboy. Any lingering unhappiness in his heart instantly vanished.

The steward put down his teacup, stood up, and walked closer to observe Lu Lin carefully. Although young, his bone structure was excellent; his eyebrows and eyes were well-defined, his lips red, his teeth white, and his skin possessed a fairness rarely seen in the children of ordinary farming families. He stood there so straight that his tattered, patched clothes didn’t look shabby at all; rather, they made his natural aura of intelligence shine even brighter.

This isn’t a child raised by people clawing food from the mud. This is clearly a fine piece of celadon fired from a broken kiln!

The more the steward looked, the more satisfied he became, and he couldn’t help but nod repeatedly. His facial features softened, and his voice turned gentle, as if he were afraid of startling Lu Lin.

“Good child, don’t be afraid. Just call me Steward Wang.” The steward habitually introduced himself, then thought for a moment and added, “I am a steward of the Liu estate’s outer courtyard, responsible for vetting the backgrounds of pageboys.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Lin lifted his large, clear, black-and-white eyes, looked directly into the steward’s gaze, and opened his small mouth naturally: “Hello, Uncle Wang.”

This “Uncle Wang” was far more intimate than “Steward Wang,” yet it didn’t lack the sense of propriety that wild village children usually lacked.

“Hey, good, good child!” Steward Wang’s smile deepened, and he couldn’t help but respond repeatedly.

Old Man Lu, sitting at the head of the table, watched this scene with mixed feelings. He took a puff of his pipe and looked at his grandson. Seeing how obedient, clever, and innocent he was, a wave of reluctance and guilt surged within him. Such a good grandson—if not for the times forcing our hands, who could bear to send him to someone else’s house to be a servant? Old Man Lu sighed heavily and shook his head silently.

Li Shi, standing to the side, felt her heart being torn to shreds seeing her son behave so sensibly. It was as if a piece of her own flesh and blood was being appraised, praised, and then about to be ripped away. She couldn’t bear it any longer; she turned sharply, back to the crowd, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

Eldest Uncle Lu An, who had been silent, took in all of Steward Wang’s reactions. He understood perfectly. Before Lu Lin arrived, Steward Wang had been stingy with his words, as if speaking was too much effort, not to mention introducing his own identity. But now, he had not only taken the initiative to speak, but his attitude was also unbelievably kind. It was clear that he was satisfied with Lu Lin to the extreme.

A gleam of greed flashed in Lu An’s eyes, and he immediately thought of raising the price.

After greeting him, Lu Lin keenly sensed his mother’s abnormal emotional state. Without a moment’s hesitation, he moved his short legs, walked straight to Li Shi’s side, and gently tugged at the hem of her clothes with his small hand.

“Mom, don’t cry. I will come back to visit you every holiday. Maybe I won’t even have to wait ten years; I might pass the Xiucai examination and earn you the title of a Noble Lady.”

There was no crying or fussing in his childish voice. Li Shi could no longer hold it back, and tears poured out. Lu Hou, standing aside watching this scene, clenched his calloused hands tightly until his knuckles turned white, but he could only let out a heavy sigh.

Lu An seized this moment. He wore an expression of well-timed distress and bowed to Steward Wang. “Steward Wang, you’ve seen it for yourself. My nephew is truly a good, obedient, and sensible child; he is the perfect candidate to be the young master’s pageboy.”

He changed his tone and sighed deeply. “I’m just afraid my second brother and his wife… they are truly heartbroken. Otherwise… could you perhaps consider raising the price? Consider it… consider it a little consolation for my poor brother and sister-in-law.”

Steward Wang was shrewd. The moment he heard this, he saw right through it. He immediately understood that Lu An wanted to hike the price on the spot. A flash of annoyance crossed his heart, but when his eyes landed on Lu Lin’s intelligent, spiritual face, that annoyance was suppressed.

He had vetted seven or eight candidates on this trip; they were either dull-witted or overly slippery—none were worth looking at. Only this Lu Lin before him was a top-tier choice in appearance, temperament, and eloquence. Spending a little more silver for such a good seedling was worth it.

Steward Wang did some quick mental calculations, then waved his sleeve and made his decision.

“Very well. This child is indeed a good one. For the sake of your family’s hardships, I will make the call—add another two taels. A total of five taels of silver, a living contract, redeemable after ten years.”

Five taels of silver!

As soon as these words were spoken, the irrepressible wild joy on Lu An’s face flashed by. Although he quickly covered it with an expression of deep gratitude, that momentary look was captured clearly by Lu Lin, who was standing to the side.

A strange feeling flickered in Lu Lin’s heart. Wasn’t this money supposed to be used to cover the bandit suppression tax for the third branch? It was supposed to be the life-saving money for the entire Lu family to get through this crisis. Why is my Eldest Uncle so happy about this?