Normally, when Duan Tingzhen scolded him, Meng Chifeng would rush over to protect him immediately. But now it's different. After his master finished scolding him, his uncle slowly strolled over and stabbed him hard in the tender heart.
"Why did Your Majesty get scolded again? You must remember this and not do it again next time."
It's that feeling of 'Your master must have been so tired from beating you, why are you so insensible?'
My heart is shattered.
Time always flies; spring blossoms turn into autumn moons in the blink of an eye. When Meng Chifeng set off to leave, neither the master nor the apprentice saw him off.
The young emperor was lost in thought about his uncle. When he came to his senses, he was startled, fearing that Duan Tingzhen would scold him. But when he looked at his master, he found him staring intently at the jade pendant, seemingly even more distracted.
Chapter 12
Two years later, in early summer, in May.
“This is a genuine gemstone from overseas. How could any stone from the Great Chu be so perfectly even?” The shopkeeper’s eyes widened, as if he had been insulted, and he argued, “I bought this from Manager Chen. Do you know who’s behind him? The Duan family! The Duan family that produced the Prime Minister. How could this be a lie?”
Another customer standing nearby laughed and said, "Nine out of ten items sold overseas on this street claim to have passed through the Duan family's hands, but who knows if that's true?"
The boss glared at him, about to get angry, but the man quickly left, muttering before he left, "That's just how it is, can't I say anything about it?" This infuriated the boss.
For ordinary people, overseas was a mysterious place. When they viewed it, the people of Great Chu always approached it with the novelty of watching a circus and a sense of superiority over their Celestial Empire—their mindset was still stuck in the previous dynasty. In fact, in Duan Tingzhen's view, the gap between Great Chu and other countries was gradually narrowing.
He has an obligation to change all of this.
The accumulation of the previous decade laid a solid foundation for him. After he and the late emperor paid off the debts owed by the late emperor's father, the country finally began to gradually awaken. He had reason to believe that in two years, when the young emperor took over the reins of government, he would be handed over a peaceful, harmonious, and prosperous nation.
These past two years have been busy for them, and they haven't had much time to think about Meng Chifeng. Only occasionally, at dusk, when the sun is about to set and they are watching people coming and going on the street, will he think of Meng Chifeng.
The wife held her husband's arm as their child begged their parents to buy a candied hawthorn. The vendor, about to close up shop, smiled contentedly as he carefully packed away his bag full of coins. He would then offer a few words of persuasion, and the mother would playfully scold her husband before taking out money to buy the child the snack.
When his family left, Duan Tingzhen wondered what Meng Chifeng was doing at that time.
I've been thinking about it for so long, and today it's finally over. I received the letter today, and in another two weeks, he will be back.
When Duan Tingzhen returned to the mansion, he saw Shi Mo stuffing a small mirror into his pocket. Upon seeing him, Shi Mo immediately became proper and respectfully bowed.
Shi Mo stopped being his page last year and instead started learning to be a steward under Uncle Zhong. He even got married. Uncle Zhong disliked his impetuousness and kept trying to temper him. Shi Mo knew that Duan Tingzhen and Uncle Zhong were in cahoots, so he always put on a serious face when facing Duan Tingzhen, which was quite amusing to watch.
"Sixth Miss sent a letter, asking if you have any news about your son-in-law," Shi Mo said.
Duan Tingzhen said, "I just found out today. They'll be back in about half a month. I'm going to my study to write a letter. You can come find me tonight to pick it up and send it out tomorrow."
"Yes," Shi Mo responded, then seemed to remember something and said, "Today the estate harvested a batch of crops brought back from overseas last year. If you'd like some, I'll have the kitchen prepare them."
"Hmm. Let them do as they please," Duan Tingzhen said absentmindedly.
Duan Zhirou eventually agreed to Xu Zhaoqi's request, perhaps because he was so insistent. Occasionally, when he sent things to the Duan residence, Feng Xi's share was also included.
Speaking of Feng Xi, Duan Zhirou had planned to take him with her when she was preparing for the divorce. However, things didn't go as planned. After Feng Yong's death, something went wrong when she left, and the child stayed in the Feng family for another two years. If it weren't for Feng's mother's unexpected death, it would have been extremely difficult for Duan Zhirou to bring the child over.
Duan Tingzhen was naturally comforted that his younger sister was doing well. He had never been kind to Xu Zhaoqi before, simply because he felt that the man was not good enough for his sister. Now that Duan Zhirou had agreed, it was only right that they shook hands and made peace.
He went into his study and took out Meng Chifeng's letter again to read it. He wanted to reply, but then he thought that it was only a half-month journey, and sending it there would be superfluous and seem pretentious. He shook his head, took out paper and pen to write a letter to his sister, but when he picked up the pen, he wrote down the three words "Meng Chifeng." He was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, and without hesitation, finished writing the letter.
I will personally hand the letter to him when he returns.
The next day, Duan Tingzhen went to the palace to see the young emperor.
The child is now almost eight years old and has been involved in politics for far more than two years, so Duan Tingzhen spends much more time with him than before. When the young emperor saw him today, he seemed hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. After a long pause, he asked, "Sir, are you with your uncle?"
Duan Tingzhen hadn't specifically told the young emperor about his relationship with Meng Chifeng, but he'd never hidden it either. The young emperor was only six years old when Meng Chifeng left, too young to understand anything. Two years had passed, and Duan Tingzhen had never specifically mentioned Meng Chifeng. Hearing him ask this, Duan Tingzhen paused, then asked, "Did someone else say something to His Majesty?"
The young emperor said, "It was said by the Lady of Cheng'en Marquis."
Lady Chengen was the young emperor's maternal grandmother. When the young emperor was still young, Lady Chengen's power was not great, and she couldn't influence him. Later, Duan Tingzhen did not forbid them from interacting with children, but the young emperor had already grown up and was not close to them.
Duan Tingzhen didn't argue, but asked him, "If that's the case, what do you plan to do?"
The young emperor feigned a sigh and said, "In Master's eyes, is Xun'er just that kind of person? If so, then naturally we should bestow a marriage upon Master and Imperial Uncle."
Duan Tingzhen was truly stunned.
The nearly eight-year-old boy's features were increasingly resembling his deceased father, and he also bore a slight resemblance to Meng Chifeng. However, Meng Chifeng always carried a hint of bitterness and deep-seated arrogance on his face, while the young emperor had a gentle temperament, giving people a completely different feeling from his uncle.
"Xun'er thought, if Master and Imperial Uncle were together, there wouldn't be any other children to share Xun'er's affection. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" He chuckled as he plotted, "Imperial Uncle is always running around outside, and we never see him all year round. Why not just give him to Master as his wife, so he can stay at home and take care of his husband and children? That would be great."
Duan Tingzhen said, "It would be better to wait until your royal uncle returns and say that to his face."
The young boy, with his neck stiffened, said confidently, "Fine, I'll say it. I'm all grown up now, how could my royal uncle possibly hit me again?"
Duan Tingzhen smiled but remained silent.
From the initial slight panic to the heartwarming feeling now, this child has truly given him many surprises. He raised him single-handedly, and although he didn't actually breastfeed or change his diapers, he's practically his own son. How could he not be proud to have raised such a wonderful child?
"Master, are you sure you don't need my bestowal of a marriage?" the young emperor added.
Duan Tingzhen was very pleased, and then gave him a hard tap on the head.
Two weeks later.
Inside Chongwen Pavilion, the early summer sunlight was dazzling and bright. The young emperor was doing his homework, and Duan Tingzhen was carefully correcting the papers he had completed earlier.
The young boys these days don't need anyone to watch over them; they're quite self-disciplined. Duan Tingzhen looked at the boy's writing, which, though still somewhat immature, already possessed a certain spirit. He picked up his pen and made a few revisions, or wrote comments. Duan Tingzhen could concentrate, but the young emperor couldn't. As he worked, his mind would drift away, and he would look outside every two or three minutes.
"Don't bother looking anymore, he'll come back when it's time." Duan Tingzhen stood up and tapped on the small emperor's table. The young emperor smiled sheepishly and asked Duan Tingzhen curiously:
“Master, don’t you miss your uncle? As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. After two years apart, you should miss him even more…” Then he got his wish and was lectured again, this time with a tap on the head.
Duan Tingzhen gave him a light, indifferent glare. The little emperor wasn't scared at all and started laughing to himself. Duan Tingzhen's hands itched to grab the ruler.
The kids have gotten older and more sensible these past few years, so he doesn't need to discipline them much anymore. Looking at it now, is it probably because their rebellious phase is approaching?
Seeing that his parents were truly embarrassed and angry, the little emperor quickly shut up.
Fortunately, Duan Tingzhen was no longer in the mood to urge him to study, and the two waited together for the expected news. A short while later, Jin Bao rushed in and said to the two, "Your Majesty, the Prince has arrived at the palace gate. Shall we summon him?"
The young emperor glanced at his parents slowly before saying, "Summon them."
The sun was shining brightly today, not too harsh, but with a gentle warmth. In this sunlight, Duan Tingzhen watched the person walk in step by step from a distance.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Meng Chifeng entered and knelt. After performing the ceremony, he looked at Duan Tingzhen, his eyes filled with an undisguised smile, as if there was no one else present.
The young emperor, being quite sensible, dismissed the palace servants and slipped away himself, leaving only the two of them there. Meng Chifeng felt a little awkward, looking at his lover whom he hadn't seen for two years, and coughed lightly: "I'm back."
Duan Tingzhen said, "Hmm. Are you still leaving?"
"It's hard to say," he said.
Then he asked, "Are you still willing to move?"
Duan Tingzhen didn't speak, just looked at him. Meng Chifeng swallowed hard, took the last few steps between them, and gave him a hug that was even warmer than the early summer weather.
After removing his battle robes, he spent the spring night in peace; from then on, the general no longer held court in the mornings.
Meng Chifeng had been living a very comfortable life these past few days. The young emperor seemed to think that if he gave his uncle a pair of wings, his uncle could fly. But when he saw his uncle looking worried this day, he couldn't help but feel amused. He asked with concern, "Uncle, what's wrong?"
"It's your master..." Meng Chifeng couldn't possibly talk about censored topics with a child who was not even ten years old, so he could only stammer, "He's angry with me. Perhaps Your Majesty could help me persuade him."
The child laughed inwardly three times, saying, "Do you still remember how you kicked me when I was down two years ago? A gentleman will not let this go unavenged, hahaha! I've finally got my chance!" He then readily agreed, turning to Duan Tingzhen and embellishing the story.
Duan Tingzhen knew what Meng Chifeng had said to the young emperor, but not how much. His face flushed red and then turned pale. That night, Meng Chifeng went to sleep in the study.
Meng Chifeng felt extremely wronged, and secretly returned to his room that night. As for what he did...
The intimate stories of this boudoir are not to be told to outsiders.
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Chapter 13
When the young emperor turned eighteen, Duan Tingzhen felt he had accomplished enough as a renowned prime minister of his generation and could retire gracefully, so he requested to resign. The now-grown Meng Jiaxun was immediately dumbfounded, almost repeating the tactic of crying and clinging to his master's leg like he did when he was a child. However, he couldn't persuade Duan Tingzhen to stay and had to reluctantly agree. The next day at court, seeing his uncle grinning foolishly, he found it extremely irritating.
"Master has always wanted to see the Great Chu Empire, surely Uncle knows that? Now that he has some free time, why would he waste it in the capital?" You're still laughing? You're laughing too soon. He looked at his uncle with a hint of mischievous malice.
Meng Chifeng coughed twice and said, "That is indeed the case. However, I intend to go with him." As he spoke, Meng Chifeng handed over a memorial.
The young emperor's eyes immediately reddened: "I won't allow it! I'm still a child! One after another, they say they treat me like their own son, but they only care about themselves and don't care about me at all. How can you be like this!"
Seeing him like this, Meng Chifeng couldn't help but sigh, stood up, walked to his side, and said, "How old are you? Still acting like a little kid."
He's almost forty this year. Over the years, although he's still in his prime, a hint of age has crept into his features. When he took this child from his wet nurse's arms, he was just twenty, still a child himself. His elder brother, whom he relied on, suddenly passed away. He was left with a mess and a crying baby nephew. The tension and exhaustion in his heart were indescribable. He never imagined things would turn out this way.
“If your uncle doesn’t leave soon, he won’t be able to walk anymore.” He touched his nephew’s temple, looked at the young man in his prime, and said in a low voice, “It’s not like we’re parting ways forever, why make such a fuss? Your uncle and your master will come back to see you when they have time. Besides, if the two of us old folks don’t leave, how will you realize your ambitions?”
The young emperor's lips twitched slightly, and he said, "You can all leave now. What excuse do you have? Who cares about you?"
Meng Chifeng knew the child was stuck in a rut and didn't know how to advise him. Thinking back, things were alright when his father passed away, since he respected that person more than he loved him. But when his elder brother died, it truly felt like the sky had fallen. At that moment, he felt a little cruel.
The young emperor sat there fuming for a while, then picked up a brush and wrote a mark on Meng Chifeng's memorial. The handwriting was so flamboyant and illegible that it was almost unrecognizable. After finishing, he shoved the memorial into Meng Chifeng's hand, ignored everyone else, and ran out.
Meng Chifeng glanced at Jin Bao, who was giving him a wry smile, said nothing, and slowly walked out alone.
When he returned to the mansion, Duan Tingzhen was sitting under the tree in the main courtyard, holding a book, with a cup of still-warm tea on the table. He walked over, and in a daze, picked up the cup of hot tea to drink, but Duan Tingzhen stopped him.
"I told you not to go and deliver it, but you insisted on going, making yourself miserable. Why bother?" Duan Tingzhen said calmly, without even putting down his book.
Meng Chifeng said, "You really have a heart of stone."