Four Seasons Brocade – CH 097

Chapter 97 ☆、

Master Rong’s face darkened. “This is not up to you to decide. You have no right to speak. I am just informing you.”

Ah Wu blinked, deciding to take a roundabout approach. “Father, the princes are all grown up now. Why did the Emperor suddenly decide to appoint tutors for them?”

Even the quick-witted Master Rong took a moment to catch Ah Wu’s change of topic. After a long silence, he said, “During the autumn hunt, the Third Prince of Momobei called the Seventh Prince a fool. The Fifth Prince was present but did not defend his younger brother. When the Emperor found out, he was furious, scolding the Fifth Prince for not even understanding basic brotherly respect.”

His exact words were, “He’s read all those books, and it’s all gone to waste.” This showed the Longqing Emperor’s anger.

“The Emperor stated that he would re-appoint tutors for all the princes, encouraging them to learn until they die.” Unfortunately, the Longqing Emperor privately asked Master Rong if he would be willing to tutor the Fourth Prince.

Could Master Rong possibly have said “no” to the Longqing Emperor’s face?

“Father, who are the tutors the Emperor has chosen for the other princes?” Ah Wu asked. It seemed that the Longqing Emperor’s appointment of new tutors for the princes was accidental, but perhaps not.

Historically, regardless of their true feelings, the princes’ tutors were invariably branded as part of a faction, becoming loyal members of each prince’s camp, with no choice but to remain loyal. No wonder Master Rong looked like he’d lost his father when he learned that the Longqing Emperor intended to appoint him as the Fourth Prince’s tutor.

Those who became tutors to princes were unlikely to be unknown figures in court; someone like Master Rong was merely barely qualified. Typically, these individuals should be highly learned, having presided over several provincial examinations, with a large following of students and disciples. The lucky ones might even be appointed by the Emperor as examiners for the metropolitan examinations, becoming mentors to a host of successful candidates. Behind them would be a vast network of “followers.” Assigning such people to the various princes seemed to be a deliberate attempt to create chaos.

What kind of game was the Longqing Emperor playing?

Ah Wu and Master Rong had clearly used the division of the family property to probe the Longqing Emperor’s intentions. It seemed he intended to heavily rely on Master Rong, or perhaps to cultivate talent for the heir apparent. But why had he suddenly appointed Master Rong as the tutor of the fourth prince? Ah Wu and Master Rong could not understand it. Was hiring a new tutor for the prince a spur-of-the-moment decision, simply because the seventh prince, unloved by his parents, was called a “fool”?

Seeing Ah Wu looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes, Master Rong, for some reason, did not hide even matters of the court from her and blurted out, “For the Fifth Prince is Grand Supervisor of Instruction Yin Shaoyan of the Supervisorate of Imperial Instruction, for the Sixth Prince is Ye Weining, the Minister of Revenue, and for the Seventh Prince is Zhu Yuan, the Minister of Rites.”

These names were quite intriguing. Court officials had already used these names to speculate on the Longqing Emperor’s intentions in seven or eight different ways. Without exception, they all believed that the Longqing Emperor’s choice of heir apparent was hidden behind this selection of tutors.

Most people interpreted this imperial edict appointing new tutors for the princes in this way.

Of the four princes, two had tutors holding the rank of second-rank minister, figures of real power, while the other two had tutors of the third rank. The Seventh Prince was out of the running, so the Sixth Prince, with the support of the Minister of Revenue, was like a tiger with wings, having the best chance of ascending the throne.

However, the Fifth Prince’s tutor was also somewhat interesting. What kind of place was the Supervisorate of Imperial Instruction? Although it had become a sinecure and a place for Jinshi to advance their careers in the Great Xia Dynasty, all officials well-versed in classics and history knew that the Supervisorate of Imperial Instruction was an office assisting the Crown Prince.

Therefore, those who supported the Fifth Prince and cheered for him used this as self-encouragement and advice to others.

As for Rong Jichang, the Vice Minister of Rites who had just separated from his family and returned to the capital only half a year ago, barely having warmed his seat, everyone unanimously agreed that assigning him to the Fourth Prince, who had no father or mother, as his tutor was perfectly reasonable.

The only two people who thought it unreasonable were Ah Wu and Master Rong.

However, Ah Wu quickly accepted reality. The Emperor’s mind was always difficult to fathom, and according to Ah Wu’s recollection, her former uncle’s mind became increasingly confused with age; you could not possibly guess his intentions with normal reasoning.

“So it seems the Emperor values ​​the Sixth Prince the most,” Ah Wu said almost without thinking.

Master Rong remained silent.

“Then, Father, what are your plans for the future?”

Actually, Ah Wu had already roughly guessed what Master Rong meant; otherwise, he would not have been in such a hurry to marry her off to a distant place. This was indeed a thorny issue, disrupting Ah Wu’s plans. She had originally intended to stay at home and live the life of a mere sister-in-law.

“I eat the Emperor’s food, so I must be loyal to the Emperor. Since His Majesty has entrusted me with the task of instructing and guiding the Fourth Prince, I will naturally do my utmost.”

Ah Wu silently gave Master Rong a thumbs-up. In just a few days, her father had already figured things out. It was all about human effort. As long as one acted uprightly and served the Emperor loyally, even if one became part of the Fourth Prince’s faction, even if the Fourth Prince’s future ascension to the throne was hopeless and his life was in danger, as long as Master Rong established his own prestige, the new Emperor would have to think twice before taking action against him. If luck was on their side, and the new Emperor was magnanimous, it might even become a celebrated story, like Wei Zheng and Emperor Taizong. He was originally an advisor to Emperor Taizong’s elder brother, who was ultimately killed by Taizong himself, yet Taizong spared Wei Zheng and gave him an important position.

“But this is Father’s matter. What will happen in the future is uncertain. However, in any case, the blame should not fall on the married daughter. This marriage…” Master Rong, knowing Ah Wu’s intelligence, took the opportunity to explain to her.

“Father, it’s too early to talk about these things. Besides, the Emperor’s health will only last a few more years. There’s no need to make plans so soon. Can you really bear to let your daughter marry so far away? What if she’s bullied over there?” Ah Wu used her charm and feigned innocence.

“Do not give me that. Now that your marriage is settled, the two families are so far apart. It will take a year and a half to complete the formalities. At worst, your mother and I will keep you for another year or two. But if anything happens, you can marry immediately.” Master Rong’s mind was perfectly clear.

“You do not need to worry about being bullied. I plan to have Jie’er accompany you to the south, and he will not need to come back.” Master Rong was determined to succeed, having planned everything meticulously.

Ah Wu did not argue with Master Rong. For her, marriage was almost the same no matter who she married, and besides, this marriage did not seem bad to her. The only slight drawback was that the Xue family’s rules stipulated that a man could only take a concubine at forty if he had no sons. But that did not matter; Ah Wu was confident she could control the situation.

“Father, what about Second Brother’s marriage?” Ah Wu was aware of the Tang family’s ambiguous attitude. They had not explicitly refused, leaving themselves a way out, but the prospects were not optimistic.

Ah Wu did not have any emotional attachment to the Tang family’s choice. They were playing it safe; after all, it involved a large family of several hundred people, and they could not gamble recklessly. Everything was for the sake of stability. But even this cunning attitude of Tang Jinshan did not bring them any advantage under Emperor Zhengyuan; their once powerful family had vanished.

If it were not for her second brother’s genuine affection for Tang Yin and her sincere friendship with Tang Yin, Ah Wu might not have wanted her family to be associated with the Tang family.

“We can only wait a little longer. After all, it was your second brother’s inconsiderate decision that caused trouble for Young Lady Tang. If they arrange another marriage for Young Lady Tang, we will look for someone else for your second brother. Otherwise, we will just have to wait.” In Master Rong’s words, Rong Yin’s heroic rescue of the damsel in distress was now seen as inconsiderate. But they were the men; the Tang family’s attitude could be ambiguous, but theirs could not—it was a matter of duty and trust. Besides, the man might wait, but the girl might not; this was a worthwhile trade-off.

Ah Wu muttered, “What a fox.”

“What did you say?”

“I said that, Father, you taught me well; a person without integrity cannot stand. I will tell Second Brother right now and tell him to wait,” Ah Wu quickly said.

Master Rong smiled broadly at her words. “Alright, go ahead.”

Rong Yin understood Master Rong’s meaning from Ah Wu, and his heart was somewhat relieved. He thought he had to find an opportunity to see Tang Yin. Heaven had already helped him this far; there was no reason to give up so easily. So he also started to take the route through his brother-in-law, Tang Xiujin.

As for Ah Wu, she was bound to worry herself sick over these two troublemakers.

“Are you sure you delivered the message to Sister Yin?” Ah Wu slowly applied the perfume to her hands, while Zi-Shan squatted down and applied the perfume to Ah Wu’s feet, gently massaging it in, and finally helped her put on Songjiang cotton socks.

“Hmm, I just do not know if Young Lady Tang can get out,” Zi-Shan said.

Ah Wu smiled. “You underestimate her.” Although Tang Yin seemed carefree, straightforward, and impulsive, she’s actually quite clever. “Besides, even if Sister Yin cannot get out, we still have to go to Daci Temple. Years ago, when Father went on a diplomatic mission abroad, Madam went to Daci Temple and made a vow, but we have not had time to fulfill it all these years.”

The next morning, Lady Cui took Ah Wu to Daci Temple.

The abbot of Daci Temple, Zen Master Huitong, was well-versed in Buddhism, founding the “Southern School” of Buddhism in the Great Xia Dynasty. Every day, eminent monks traveled great distances to the temple to discuss scriptures and doctrines with him. However, Zen Master Huitong’s Buddhist teachings did not emphasize meditation and quiet contemplation; rather, he believed that enlightenment could be found in all actions, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. He spent most of his life traveling, and few people had the opportunity to meet him.

For example, in her previous life, even as a princess, Ah Wu had never met Huitong, who was later bestowed the title of “Great Master Huitong” by Emperor Zhengyuan.

However, today Ah Wu guessed that Master Huitong had probably returned to the temple. Although Daci Temple was bathed in sunlight, its ancient solemnity unchanged, the faces of the monks seemed more energetic and smiling, and they appeared even more respectful.

But Ah Wu was not clever enough to perceive such subtle differences. It was her sharp eyes that recognized someone: Li Yanguang, the eunuch serving the Fourth Prince Chu Mao.

Ah Wu suddenly remembered that the Fourth Prince Chu Mao seemed to be a Buddhist. In the early years of his reign, he always carried a string of sandalwood prayer beads, intricately carved with the Diamond Sutra—a remarkable treasure that kept the then-wandering Ah Wu from approaching him to commit evil.

Ah Wu scoffed at this. What kind of Buddhist could an Emperor who did not even flinch at rivers of blood have?

Seeing Li Yanguang here today, Ah Wu figured Chu Mao must be at the temple. Judging by the entourage, he must have come in plain clothes. Who in the temple could warrant the Fourth Prince’s personal visit? It could only be the Zen Master Huitong.

Ah Wu thought, Chu Mao was quite the actor. Discussing Zen with a high monk, he acted like he was detached from worldly affairs, indifferent to worldly matters. No wonder he had fooled so many eyes.

Although Master Rong was now Chu Mao’s teacher, Ah Wu wanted no contact or involvement with him. All her forbearance was only to spare her family from suffering.

Ah Wu followed Lady Cui to the main hall to offer incense, fulfill her vow, and write down a donation of one hundred taels of silver before heading to her guest room.

Shortly after, Tang Yin entered with her maid.