Chapter 562: Chapter 554: Kinship? Do You Think I Care?
After the departure of the just Teng Tianhan, Lord An returned to the main house. Seeing him back, Mrs. An stood up and dismissed the nanny by her side.
“Has Yunya gone?”
Lord An kicked off his wooden clogs and sat on the Arhat bed carved with the motif of “five blessings holding longevity,” saying, “Yes, he has left. That boy has really given me a tough problem.”
“How so?” Mrs. An handed him a cup of tea and also sat across from him at the kang table.
Lord An showed a helpless, bitter smile and talked about Qin Liuxi’s background.
Mrs. An exclaimed, “To think she’s the granddaughter of Qin Yuanshan, this is trouble. The Saint really despises Qin Yuanshan. Just recently when I went to greet the Empress, I heard quite a bit about it. The Saint still holds a grudge over last year’s sacrificial ceremony.”
“That’s why it’s problematic. The Saint values this sacrificial ritual, yet it was mishandled. It’d be surprising if Qin Yuanshan wasn’t banished. If it weren’t for Noble Princess Consort Meng giving birth to a little prince last year to accumulate blessings, probably all the family women would need to follow him into exile,” said Lord An. “And Teng Yunya wants to overturn this case to rescue Qin Yuanshan and the others.”
“Was he really framed during the sacrifice?” Mrs. An was somewhat curious.
Lord An snorted with laughter, “Whether it’s true or not, even if it is true, it means he was bested, it was fate. In officialdom, between political rivals, such things are common, aren’t they?”
There’s a saying that where there’s a Martial World, there are fights, and the same is true in officialdom. This deep sea, aspired to by thousands of scholars, contains countless disputes.
Qin Yuanshan was merely a victim of factional strife. He has never been the only one, nor will he be the last.
Falling into this predicament, it can only be said to be his destiny, his own stratagems not as clever as his opponent’s, diving headfirst into a trap, hence he was defeated.
And he is not the most wronged one. Consider the succession disputes; the defeated parties, those who backed the wrong side, have even lost their heads.
“What’s your view? Speaking of which, our An family really owes a huge favor to the Junior Temple Master,” Mrs. An said.
Lord An replied, “If he has the ability to turn it around, let him investigate. As long as it doesn’t wrong anyone, I don’t care what he does, and finding out the truth is indeed the duty of the Ministry of Justice.”
Mrs. An understood; this was giving him the green light.
Lord An continued, “How is Yi?”
“He’s sleeping deeply, drooling too,” Mrs. An replied irritably, “This naughty boy, he really scared us badly. Once he wakes up, he definitely needs a beating, to teach him a lesson.”
Lord An said with a stern face, “He was spoiled by you, mixing with those playboys every day, nearly brought disaster to our family. Fortunately, it turned out alright this time. His temperament needs to be curbed. Later, I’ll send him to the North Camp to toughen him up to prevent trouble next time. We can’t always be this lucky.”
Mrs. An felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this and said, “North Camp is too harsh; our family has a Family Guardian Immortal, we shouldn’t attract any evil entities, right?”
Lord An rebuked: “A doting mother often ruins her children. He’s already eighteen or nineteen and still doesn’t understand. Does he want to reach the heavens? Madam, don’t always rely on the Family Guardian Immortal. Have you forgotten what the Junior Temple Master said? If our family isn’t well, this Family Guardian Immortal won’t stay; it can leave.”
Mrs. An fell silent.
“Moreover, keep today’s incident under more control among the servants, don’t let them gossip,” Lord An said. “And don’t pass word of it to the palace either.”
“What does the master mean?”
Lord An sighed deeply and said, “The Saint is fifty years old now, the age of knowing destiny. Establishing the heir has been discussed for many years. Once the Longevity Festival is over, I reckon things will heat up even more. You also know how chaotic it is in the capital during the Imperial Examination.”
Mrs. An remained silent.
Every year during the Imperial Examination, powerful people vie to win over the scholars. Now that the Prince has grown up, these scholars are even more sought after, all wanting to gather more support for themselves.
“This person gets older and increasingly fears heaven taking him,” Lord An said solemnly in a low voice. “If there were a way to prolong one’s life, who wouldn’t want it? In the past, our great-grandfather sought longevity and… it’s perhaps best left unmentioned.”
Mrs. An felt a chill in her heart.
She understood Lord An’s meaning, worrying that the current Saint might overly pursue immortality, causing the people to suffer immensely, and might also bring trouble to Qin Liuxi.
Alas, even the transcendent Taoist people cannot escape worldly affairs.
Teng Mansion.
Teng Tianhan returned home, first paying respects to his own mother, mentioning that his eldest son had also returned to the capital, but was unable to visit home as he needed to serve and learn by his master’s side at the temple.
Old Madam Teng said indifferently, “Since you’ve also said that the child has shallow familial bonds, letting him follow his master for enlightenment is fine. Monks severing worldly ties is not uncommon.”
She seemed entirely unconcerned about whether Teng Zhao returned home or not.
Teng Tianhan felt a chill in his heart, managed to utter a yes, initially holding a wallet but then put it back down, did not bring out the Spirit Fruit, spoke a few words, and left.
Returning to his main chamber, Mrs. Wen was still reading. Seeing him return, she came forward to attend to him.
Teng Tianhan said, “You are with child, no need to strain yourself, let the maid attend, you should rest.”
Yet, Mrs. Wen still smilingly helped him out of his overcoat and said, “After coming back, I’ve been thinking, since Zhao’er is not at home, we shouldn’t cut his provisions. I’m considering sending him a monthly salary, so he doesn’t have to endure hardships at the Daoist Temple, and also to make several sets of clothes for him, what do you think?”
“There’s no need for that, once a year is enough. As for clothes, his master mentioned there will be a special shop for tailored clothing. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated, making two sets of undergarments is sufficient.” Teng Tianhan felt a bit warmer at heart.
“Alright.”
Teng Tianhan took out his wallet, retrieved a fruit, and said, “Open your mouth.”
Mrs. Wen was puzzled, but obediently opened her mouth, watching him insert a fragrant fruit into her mouth. Her face turned red, she instinctively bit down, the sweet taste overwhelming, having never eaten such a delicious fruit before.
“What fruit is this, it’s really tasty.”
Teng Tianhan said, “It’s a Spirit Fruit from deep mountains, given by Zhao’er, it’s very precious and beneficial for the body, but there are only a few, don’t mention it to anyone.” He paused, then added, “Don’t tell Mother either.”
Mrs. Wen hesitated briefly, then carefully asked, “Is Mother angry that Zhao’er isn’t coming home?”
Teng Tianhan’s eyes dimmed as he spoke, “Previously when Zhao’er came home, he cried day and night, it was very upsetting; probably then she felt he was not affectionate. It doesn’t matter, familial bonds can’t be forced, now that the child is doing well is enough, it’s best if he doesn’t come, to not endure such mistreatment.”
Teng Zhao: Do you see me caring?
Mrs. Wen reached out her hand and held his, softly saying, “Don’t be sad, you still have us as his parents, right?”
“Yes.”
At this moment, Teng Zhao lifted the carriage curtain to peek outside, asking, “Why has the route back to Jiuxuan Auction Hall detoured so far, it has taken so long?”
The driver hurriedly replied, “Replying to the little Taoist, because the results of tomorrow’s Imperial Examination will be announced, there will be a procession of scholars in the streets, all routes have been set, and the Five Cities Military Department is clearing the barriers, hence the detour.”
Hearing this, Teng Zhao no longer spoke, just as he was about to lower the curtain, he looked up, furrowing his brows, “Stop the carriage.”