Chapter 17 It's not good that they were crippled in March; it's so unfair to Uncle He…

The gentle-looking young man introduced, "This is Xue Ziyu, who is also a candidate for this year's imperial examination. Ziyu's talent as the top scholar is something I cannot match."

There can only be one top scholar with the surname Xue this year. Fu Sui kept looking at this simply dressed but handsome man: Is he Xue Guangting? Judging from his appearance and talent, he is indeed worthy of Wang Lingshu, the most talented woman in the capital, to fall for him.

The two men were standing directly facing Fu Sui. Xue Guangting had already noticed when Fu Sui lifted the curtain, and seeing half of a woman's face peeking out from behind the curtain, he looked away and pretended not to see it.

After exchanging pleasantries with Tian Ganyou, Shen Siming noticed someone peeking from inside the tent. However, before he could see clearly, the fair face and bright eyes disappeared behind the curtains, leaving only the tent swaying gently.

Xue Guangting and Qiao Zhuo discussed a few classic texts and articles. Qiao Zhuo secretly felt that Xue Guangting was eloquent and insightful, and they got along quite well. He said with embarrassment, "I should invite you two into the tent for a seat, but today I have female relatives with me, so it is really inconvenient. I hope you two gentlemen will not take offense."

Upon hearing Qiao Zhuo's words and seeing the Prince of the County beside him, Chen Siming asked, "Is the Grand Princess here? I apologize for my abruptness and for disturbing the Grand Princess."

Tian Ganyou waved his hand: "No, no, my sisters are just out having fun." Thinking of Qiao Zhuo and Xue Guangting's discussion of classics earlier, he asked Shen Siming: "The results will be released in a few days, is Ze Rui confident?"

Fu Sui, Qiao Zhenzhen, and Yan Shan were quietly discussing the identities of the people outside when they suddenly heard what sounded like an argument outside. Tian Ganyou's voice was filled with suppressed anger, and he mentioned "Shuhe" several times.

Fu Sui pricked up her ears to listen carefully when the fishing rod beside her feet suddenly jerked up, tugging at half of Fu Sui's skirt, startling her into a soft gasp.

Those outside the tent also heard the exclamations from inside. Without a second thought, the Prince of Xiping turned and rushed into the tent. The others also fell silent. Seeing this, Xue Guangting quickly took the opportunity to leave, pulling Chen Siming away.

When Tian Ganyou and Qiao Zhuo entered the tent, the Prince of Xiping had already helped Fu Sui lift the fishing rod. It turned out that a small fish had taken the bait and pulled the rod.

Catching fish and removing the hooks were left to others. Fu Sui put down his fishing rod and looked curiously at Tian Ganyou: "Who's outside?"

"It was Shen Siming and a tribute student surnamed Xue." Tian Ganyou's tone still held a hint of impatience.

"Are you very familiar with that man named Shen Siming?" Fu Sui pressed.

"We weren't that close, but nominally he was Shuhe's younger brother, which is why we knew each other."

No wonder Tian Ganyou mentioned Yue Shanling several times. Fu Sui pondered to himself, but upon further reflection, he found it strange: "His surname is Shen, how come he is brothers with General Yue?"

Tian Ganyou was unwilling to publicize his friend's family affairs, but since there were no outsiders present and the Yue family's past was not a secret, he said, "The current Madam Zhou of the Yue family is the second wife of the old Marquis of Yue. Madam Zhou had a previous marriage, but her first husband died early, leaving behind a son, Shen Siming. After Madam Zhou remarried, Shen Siming moved into the Yue family and addressed the Yue family's sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters as such."

Although Qiao Zhenzhen knew that Madam Zhou had remarried, this was the first time she knew the names of the sons she had with her previous husband's family. Thinking of how Tian Ganyou had taken the initiative to greet Shen Siming earlier, she smiled and said, "It seems that this young master Shen gets along very well with the young masters of the Yue family."

Tian Ganyou pursed his lips, looking indignant, and grumbled, "They're not good or bad, they're so unfair to Shuhe."

Since it concerned crossing mountains and ridges, Fu Sui insisted on asking questions incessantly.

Unable to withstand the pleading, Tian Ganyou finally revealed the truth: "Do you think Shuhe and I became such close friends? It's all because of Shen Siming."

Qiao Zhenzhen and Yanshan put away their fishing rods and sat down together to brew tea. Fu Sui then pulled Tian Ganyou away from the others and walked along the direction of the water flow.

"You may not know this, but Uncle He lived in my house for several years before."

Previously, Tian Ganyou said that Yue Shanling slept in the same bed with him, and Fu Sui thought it meant that the two had a good relationship, but it turned out that they really had slept in the same bed.

"My home wasn't far from the Yue family's. My uncle and I were about the same age and often played together, but no matter how good our relationship was, there was no reason for me to stay at someone else's house for no reason. One night, my uncle came knocking on the door alone. My mother and father were about to go to bed when they heard him come and thought something had happened to the Yue family, so they hurriedly asked him what was wrong. But my uncle only said that he had nowhere to go and wouldn't say anything else. My mother assumed that he had run away from home because he was having a fight with the family, so she told them to prepare a guest room for my uncle to sleep in first, and sent someone to the Yue family to tell them not to worry. It was my father who felt that my uncle's expression was not right. He took one of my nightgowns that I hadn't worn and went back to find my uncle. With a bit of coaxing and deception, he finally saw that my uncle had been beaten and was covered in bruises and swellings."

"When Father told Mother, Mother was shocked. Father told Mother not to send Uncle He back to the Yue Mansion yet, and found the best medicine for Uncle He to use. After patiently asking him for several days, he found out that it was actually the old Marquis of Yue who had beaten him."

Tian Ganyou gritted his teeth in anger as he spoke, becoming increasingly disrespectful when mentioning the old Marquis Yue: "When Shuhe's mother passed away, Shuhe was only three or four years old. The eldest brother of the Yue family was much older than Shuhe, and was first busy with the funeral rites, and then busy with his official career, so he couldn't take care of Shuhe all the time. The old Marquis Yue had always been indifferent to the inner quarters; the other children had their own mothers to take care of them, but Shuhe was left unattended. Later, Madam Zhou brought Shensiming into the mansion, and Shuhe was then taught by Madam Zhou."

"Shuhe was used to being alone, while Shen Siming had remarried after her mother's death. The two were not acquainted before, so it was inevitable that they would have some disagreements when they first got together. However, the old Marquis of Yue felt that Shen Siming was living under someone else's roof and had a hard time, so he would favor him more. Whenever there was a dispute, he would beat Shuhe without distinguishing right from wrong. Madam Zhou could not stop the old Marquis of Yue and could only scold Shen Siming more. As a result, the two of them harbored resentment towards each other."

"I don't know what happened that day, but the old Marquis of Yue beat Shuhe severely, breaking even the thick bamboo cane. He wouldn't let Shuhe go back to the house, but made him kneel in the courtyard until he admitted his mistake. Shuhe refused to admit his mistake and ran out of the house in a fit of anger. He had nowhere to go in the middle of the night, so he came to my house."

"Everyone in the capital knows that my mother dotes on Shuhe, and even asked the Yue family for him back. It's become a celebrated story of how well the Yue family raises their son. What a load of rubbish! My mother was furious. She pointed at the old Marquis Yue's nose and said, 'Your Yue family has so many children, don't you know how much I love my child? From now on, Sanlang is my child, and you don't need to discipline him. If you want him back, you can take Axu instead, but don't even think about Sanlang.'"

"From that time on, Shuhe lived in my house and never returned to Yue Mansion."

Fu Sui asked, "How old was he then?"

"Probably six or seven years old," Tian Ganyou replied. "Even the old Marquis Yue could do such a thing. How could he make things difficult for his own flesh and blood for the sake of others?"

"You probably don't know, but Uncle Jin used to come to the Princess's residence for meals quite often. My mother even reserved a courtyard for him at the residence, with clothes for all four seasons. Uncle Jin taught both me and Shuhe how to ride and shoot horses, as well as seal carving and polo. We didn't even need to make a sound when we played polo; we could tell what the other was going to do just by looking at their movements. Back then, when Shuhe and I teamed up to play polo, we weren't exactly invincible in the capital, but we were certainly renowned among our peers."

As he spoke, Tian Ganyou lowered his head, leaned close to Fu Sui, and whispered, "Later, when Uncle Jin went to his fiefdom, Shuhe even thought about going to Bingzhou, but Uncle Jin forbade it, so he gave up."

Fu Sui was somewhat surprised that Yue Shanling and his father had a master-disciple relationship. No wonder he felt much more relaxed after learning about his identity.

Fu Sui didn't want to get involved in the Yue family's affairs, but he was very interested in his father's past and kept pestering Tian Ganyou to ask him a lot about the Prince of Jin's past.

When it was lunchtime, Kouyun instructed people to light the fire. The largest fish was gutted and roasted, while the other two were steamed.

Fu Sui and the others played with the fire for a while, then went to the upwind side to eat fruit, waiting for dinner later.

Fu Sui then realized that he had been so focused on asking the Prince of Jin that he had forgotten to ask Tian Ganyou how he had gotten into a fight with someone.

Tian Ganyou lifted his robe and sat down on the ground. He took a walnut from Fu Sui's hand and angrily cracked it open with his small pliers: "I told Shen Siming that passing the imperial examination is not easy. If you find it hard, you don't necessarily have to bury yourself in studying. Before, neither my elder brother Yue nor Shuhe were in the capital. Now that Shuhe is back, he can take the exam even if he doesn't want to. If he doesn't want to, he can take the exam. But he said that taking the exam is just relying on family connections to climb the social ladder. A gentleman should cherish himself, not grovel and beg for favors, which is despicable."

Tian Ganyou casually tossed aside the crushed walnuts and said indignantly, "There were only a few officials appointed by special means, and they were appointed back then. Since the emperor ascended the throne, there has never been an official appointed by special means. Anyone who dares to ask the emperor for an official position is asking for trouble."

The late emperor did indeed grant a few official titles through irregular means, and even though Tian Ganyou was angry, he knew his limits and dared not directly criticize the late emperor.

"It's one thing for him to look down on those officials who are granted official positions through patronage, but what does it matter to him if someone enters officialdom through hereditary privilege? What's so distasteful about it? If the emperor's personal guards don't choose relatives and clansmen they know well, are they going to select from the tribute students from all over the country? Besides, we are granted military positions through hereditary privilege, we're not taking away their jobs as scribes and lecturers. When war breaks out, none of the brothers in my Sixteen Guards are cowards."

Tian Ganyou is Men Yin, and even if Shen Siming's words didn't mean anything by it, he was still cursing Tian Ganyou as well.

Fu Sui found it amusing, never expecting the argument to be about something like this. This Chen Siming also seemed to be a straightforward and inflexible person; it seemed that the old Marquis of Yue really didn't know how to teach his children, as they were all stubborn brats.

The Prince of Xiping offered a few words of reassurance, and Tian Ganyou gradually calmed down. Qiao Zhuo, seeing that the fish was almost cooked, ordered the meal to be served. Tian Ganyou, who had just been furious, immediately beamed with joy upon hearing about the meal. He jumped up from the ground, dusted off his clothes, and went to divide the grilled fish.

This was Qiao Zhenzhen's first time fishing and grilling fish in the wild. She felt that the fish she caught tasted exceptionally fresh and tender, and kept praising Tian Ganyou for choosing such a good spot and for the plump fish.

Tian Ganyou knew that Qiao Zhenzhen, a young lady from a prominent family, rarely had the opportunity to have a picnic, so he said, "When it gets warmer, I'll ask Uncle He to take you hunting. Although spring isn't the best time for hunting, we can still catch some pheasants and rabbits. We can roast rabbit together then; I have a secret recipe that makes the rabbit taste different from other places. The best time for hunting is in the fall, but Uncle He might not be available then."

Both Qiao Zhuo and the Prince of Xiping were skilled hunters, but their archery skills were somewhat lacking when it came to hunting birds and beasts. Tian Ganyou knew many people with exceptional strength, but he couldn't bring them to Fu Sui and the others. After much thought, he could only trust Yue Shanling.

"Is there anything important to do after autumn?" Fu Suiqi asked.

Upon hearing this, Tian Ganyou immediately realized that Fu Sui had misunderstood that war was about to break out in the autumn. He explained, "It's not those things. It's about Shuhe taking on a substantive post. Last year, the Imperial Guard issued several transfer orders, the Ministry of Rites had to review the examination papers and release the results, and the Court of State Ceremonies had to arrange for Kule to come to court. The Emperor is very busy. A few days ago, the Emperor talked to me about his childhood and mentioned Shuhe several times. I estimate that once this busy period is over, Shuhe's appointment will be issued, and then Shuhe won't have so many leisurely days."

Remembering Madam Zhou's return gift last time, Fu Sui asked, "Is General Yue still living in the Princess's residence?"

“No way,” Tian Ganyou denied. “He only lived there for a few years in total.”

"So he moved back to the Yue residence?"

Tian Ganyou shook his head: "No, he has a small courtyard in Xinghuafang."

It seems the bamboo shoots sent to the Yue residence last time were delivered to the wrong person. No wonder Madam Zhou wrote a formal letter and sent it over. Fu Sui tentatively asked, "Does he not get along with Madam Zhou?"

“How could that be? Madam Zhou is very kind, and Shuhe has always respected her. If it weren’t for Madam Zhou, I’m afraid Shuhe would have no chance to visit the Yue family again.” Tian Ganyou’s tone softened considerably when he mentioned Madam Zhou, a stark contrast to when he mentioned the old Marquis of Yue.

Qiao Zhenzhen was in high spirits about the picnic and quietly asked her brother if she could go hunting with her cousin. Qiao Zhuo didn't want to disappoint his sister, and he also felt that Yue Shanling was of decent character. He and Tian Ganyou would be there to watch over him, so he nodded.

Princess Yanshan watched the Qiao siblings whispering, a hint of longing in her eyes. Princess Xiping noticed this and offered, "If you wish to go, just tell the princess, and we can go together."

Suppressing his excitement, Yan Shan hesitated and said, "I don't know General Yue, so it would be impolite for us to travel together. Besides, hunting involves a lot of people and is too ostentatious."

The Prince of Xiping lowered his voice and spoke quietly to Yanshan: "It's alright, it's just a trip, not a faction. With the princess here, even if we make a big fuss, the emperor won't be too harsh. If you don't want to travel with other men, we can go for a ride and hunt some small animals on our own."

Yanshan, with his elder brother's calming presence, ate his meal with demure bowed head, but the smile on his face was impossible to suppress.

Seeing his sister happy, the Prince of Xiping was also in a good mood and secretly resolved to find a way to take her to visit Yanshan more often.

The group played until evening and returned to the city before sunset. Yanshan was still a little uneasy. Not only had she missed Consort Feng's Qujiang banquet today, but her brother had also been unable to attend because he was accompanying her on an outing. She had really offended Consort Feng.

After learning of Yanshan's concerns, Fu Sui comforted her, telling her not to worry. As far as she knew, very few people would be attending the banquet today, and if the emperor had any intention of supporting Consort Feng, it would have been Xu Zhiyi, not the eunuchs from Consort Feng's palace, who delivered the invitations to the princess's residence.

There was something Fu Sui didn't say: if the emperor were easily swayed by his favorite concubine, Qin An would have already urged him to recruit soldiers and horses.

When they parted, Qiao Zhenzhen invited them to go on a trip to Yanshan for the Qingming Festival, and Tian Ganyou agreed to take them to see cockfighting. The group tacitly refrained from inviting Fu Sui.

After the coffin of the Prince of Jin was brought to the capital, it was buried in Jiuzong Mountain. Every year during the Qingming Festival and the Lunar New Year, he would go to Jiuzong Mountain.