CH 47

It could be said that Zhao Su’s education of the little princely heir was truly meritorious. This was evidenced in Zhu Yijun’s preparations before and also during the process of running away from home. First, he had surveyed the entire manor, using his status as the master of the manor, the little kid, Zhu Yijun had already figured out the shortest distance from his courtyard to the exit. Because using the main entrance was too conspicuous, he even chose the side entrance which was mainly used by the servants.

Then, his next task was to get rid of the pertinent people. Taking advantage of Feng Bao needing to run an errand elsewhere, he ran into the courtyard by himself to play, and then he deliberately ran here and there so the maid was unable to follow, and then slipped out through the other door.

Zhao Su often took him out of the Manor, so Zhu Yijun was already familiar with the Capital. After running out, he asked for directions whilst walking, and he finally arrived at his destination. However, he was blocked at the door and refused entry. Zhu Yijun suddenly had a bright idea when he saw Pan Yunduan, who was about to go inside. He tugged at the latter’s sleeves, looked up at him and said that he wanted to see his uncle —— He even remembered Zhao Su’s teachings, don’t easily reveal your identity outside, otherwise it’s easy to run into bad guys, and he also remembered the fact that he had run away secretly, so he mustn’t let anyone know.

Zhao Su finished listening and didn’t say a word for a long time.

He didn’t know whether to touch his head and praise him for being smart, or be annoyed that his education had been too effective. 

The child did not know either, but he looked up and blinked while waiting for Zhao Su to praise him.

It was more important to encourage, as discouragement would lead to frustration and setbacks. Zhao Su thought, whilst squatting to his level.

“Everything was fine at home, so how come you ran away from home?”

If he hadn’t mentioned it, everything did seem fine, but when he said this, the child’s face suddenly darkened, and he put his arms around Zhao Su’s neck.

“Is Susu getting married?”

Zhao Su was taken aback: “Who said that?” 

“Father1 and Tutor Chen were talking about it, and I also asked Feng da-ban.”

Zhu Yijun was very happy when he heard that Zhao Su was about to get married, because Feng Bao told him that getting married was a good thing. But when he found out what marriage actually was, he couldn’t be happy at all.

“Da-ban said that after one gets married, one must have children, raise them, and teach them to read and about etiquette. If that’s the case, Susu, doesn’t that mean you won’t be able to spend time with me anymore?” Zhu Yijun looked at him. His face was serious: “I don’t want you to be snatched away.”

Zhao Su couldn’t laugh or cry, and didn’t know what to say for a while.

Seeing that he didn’t answer, Zhu Yijun took the matter more seriously. His eyes were covered with a layer of tears, but he remembered that Zhao Su said that real men do not easily cry2, so he just wiggled his nose, looked at him with teary eyes, and said: “Father has his beauties, mother3 has didi. I only have you.”

Zhao Su caught the middle sentence and was slightly surprised: “Is Consort Li pregnant?”

Zhu Yijun nodded: “Everyone is very happy. Father even said that it must be a younger brother, and da-ban said that mother needs to rest4 so I’m not to disturb her.”

Zhao Su once thought that someone like Zhu Yijun, although he was born into the household of a prince, but as the only son of the Prince of Yu and the prince’s most favoured concubine, he must receive the love and devotion of everyone. In reality, the Prince of Yu really did love this son very much, he had never been lacking in terms of food and clothing. However, the Prince of Yu also liked to enjoy himself and it was common for him to disappear for two or three days on end, so it would be rare for him to spend any one on one time to teach Zhu Yijun.

And as for Consort Li, as she had come from a lowly background, although she had managed to claw her way up to being the Prince of Yu’s secondary Consort, she was extremely strict with Zhu Yijun and her expectations were high. Perhaps she was afraid that others would say that due to her lowly background she did not know how to educate her son.

In this case, in terms of parental love, the reality was quite pitiful, so Zhu Yijun was very dependent on Zhao Su and valued the person he spent all of his time with. For him, Zhao Su was not only a teacher, but in some respects also played the role of a father and a friend.

His tone of voice was so sad, which made Zhao Su feel sad but also wanted to laugh at the same time. “I will not be snatched away by anyone, I will always be by your side, as long as you still need me.” He gently stroked the child’s back, with imperceptible tenderness in his eyes.

Although Zhao Su and Chen Zhu were now Officials, they still lived with Zhao Nuan as before. They liked this lively atmosphere. In their spare time, the three men gathered together with a pot of wine and a few dishes, chatting nonsense, it was a pleasant pastime. Unfortunately, since Zhao Su and Chen Zhu entered the Hanlin Academy, and after Zhao Nuan got out of prison and was busy with his business, such occasions became less and less frequent.

Zhao Su went to Chen Zhu’s room first, knocked on the door a few times but no one responded, so he pushed the door open and walked in. Under the moonlight, he vaguely saw the shape of a person under the quilt bed, as if there was a person lying down.

He lit a candle and walked up to see that Chen Zhu was really asleep, but his face was not looking too good.

He reached out to touch the other’s forehead, it was very hot.

Where was his pageboy, how could he just leave his master here like this? Zhao Su frowned, twisted a damp cloth and put it on his head, and went to light the stove in the kitchen to prepare some food.

Chen Zhu was awakened by the scent of rice. He felt groggy and his throat dry and bitter.

Still in a daze he tried to get up to drink water, but he discovered that his body was weak and he even coughed a few times.

Suddenly, his neck was firmly supported and lifted up, and warm water was poured into the slightly opened mouth, the water was neither too hot nor too cold, it was just right.

Chen Zhu couldn’t help but drink a lot, feeling more comfortable all over his body, he slowly opened his eyes.

When Zhao Su saw this, he couldn’t help but mock him: “I fed you some water, and you blush like this. What are you going to do when you take a wife? Would you remain dumbfounded every night?”

Chen Zhu has long been accustomed to his occasional mocking: “You’re laughing at me right now, but I think you have bigger issues than me, Chen xiaojie and Lu xiaojie, you must be fretting over this, right?”

There are some things that he wouldn’t say in front of Shen Shixing and the others, but he did not have much scruples in front of Chen Zhu. Zhao Su sighed: “Bo Xun, you understand me well. Between these two marriage proposals, honestly speaking, Lu da-ren’s family is slightly better, but in terms of his identity, I really don’t want others to think that I’m climbing up on that old tree8, Secretary Xu.”

Chen Zhu didn’t understand why he was afraid of Xu Jie. In fact, at this time, Xu Jie’s reputation was very good, both in the Imperial Court and the Hanlin Academy. First of all, he had been tolerant for many years in order to deal with Yan Song, but now the Yan faction had gradually begun to lose power and posed no major threat, he was no longer as cautious. Instead, he would often confront the Yan faction in public, and gradually won over the favour of others. Plus, he had done a lot of practical things in recent years, and he had also saved many people. Yielding the fruits of his labour, these good deeds were beginning to show and the people he had protected were also incredibly grateful.

The members of the Hanlin Academy, including Chen Zhu, naturally also had a favourable impression of Xu Jie. In their eyes, this kind Secretary Xu was much better than Yan Song and his son.

In contrast, it was impossible for Zhao Su to explain his reasoning. He couldn’t tell Chen Zhu that if he really married Lu xiaojie, he would become a sandwich cookie9, encountering issues left and right in the future, right?

Now he had found a solution, he was feeling a lot better. Zhao Su looked at Chen Zhu and said with a smile: “It’s a pity that Bo Xun-xiong is so considerate, but you are not Zhu Yingtai11, otherwise I would marry you.”

Chen Zhu was stunned at first, and then slowly reacted, his face gradually flushed red, before it became so red, blood nearly poured out from his cheeks.

Zhao Su burst into laughter again.

In the forty-second year of Jiajing, the tenth month of the lunar year, thanks to a major victory in Xinghua, Qi Jiguang defeated the Wukou pacifying the regions of Fujian and Zhejiang. The Inspector-General Tan offered a memorial praising his merits, and he was promoted to Chief General of Fujian defending the entire region.

In the same year, in the twelfth month of the lunar year, the imperial court announced a seaban on Liaodong. Everyone had long been accustomed to the imperial court ordering a Seaban from time to time. Compared with the Emperor’s health, this edict did not attract much attention. There was only Zhao Su who used all possible means to obtain more records and relevant data to investigate further.

In the forty-third year of Jiajing, in the second month of the lunar year, Qi Jiguang defeated the Wukou again in the county of Xianyou, Fujian. He captured hundreds of people, it was a complete victory. The remaining Wukou gradually retreated down to Guangdong.

At this time, the spring flowers were blossoming and the weather gradually warmed up. Emperor Jiajing’s health seemed to have improved. After a long absence of more than half a year, he summoned the Grand Secretariat’s officials for the first time, and then appeared in front of the hundred officials, and held an unprecedented morning court.

Xu Jie knew his opportunity had arrived.