Chapter 120 He naturally had to call me father.
study.
Mo Yanyun rushed in, and as soon as he entered the study, he said, "My lord, something terrible has happened."
Besides Qin Shaozong and Nalan Zhi, there were two other men in the study.
They were both dressed as scholars in square caps and wide robes. One was just over thirty, with delicate features and a handsome appearance; the other was older than Nalan Zhi, thin as a crane, with a long beard reaching his chest, and bright, piercing eyes.
The eldest son came from the prominent Cui clan of Hedong. His name was Cui Shengping, and his courtesy name was Haiqing. It is said that he was born at a time when the Han emperor was indulging in extravagant and absurd acts. His father, worried about the country and its people, angrily gave his son the last two characters of "Gewu Shengping" (歌舞升平), which was meant to be sarcastic.
The young man was not from a prominent family. His name was Sheng Ran, and his courtesy name was Chong Liang. He joined the Northern Army by chance.
"...My lord, during the interrogation just now, those two survivors suddenly coughed up black blood, their necks lolled to the side, and they died. I specifically checked their teeth after capturing them, and I kept a close watch on them afterwards." Mo Yanyun was extremely upset.
They finally caught them, and they were all Bai Xiang's trusted confidants. The other party must have known a lot, but in less than a day, they all disappeared.
The man sitting behind his desk didn't even flinch when his subordinate reported it; he simply turned his head to look out the window.
The sunlight outside the window was perfect, casting dappled patterns of light under the trees. It was afternoon, and more than three hours had passed since the curfew was lifted and the city gates were opened.
Assuming the real white elephant wasn't found last night, he could now leave the city or move to another post station in the prefecture. If this lead is cut off in the afternoon, even if they become aware of it by then, the opportunity will be lost, and they won't be able to catch him.
Those people were expendable pawns from the very beginning.
"As expected, he's dead, so be it. Let's interrogate that fat shopkeeper; he might know a lot of things," Qin Shaozong said calmly.
As if remembering something, Qin Shaozong added, "A merchant surnamed Zhao from the east of the city has visited the ink shop a few times. Have someone investigate him as well."
Mo Yanyun bowed and accepted the order.
After he left, the group returned to their previous topic.
Cui Shengping continued, “My lord, the method of selecting talent through examinations is indeed very promising. However, I personally believe that this method is not suitable for implementation in the north. Now that Emperor Han is still alive, all new policies should be issued by the court, which is the only legitimate way.”
He stood up, bowed deeply to Qin Shaozong, and solemnly said, "If another banner is raised in the north, it will be easy for unscrupulous people to make a big fuss about it, and even gather other states to attack the disobedient. Therefore, I think this matter should be waited for."
What they were waiting for, Cui Shengping didn't say explicitly, but everyone present knew.
It is waiting for Qin Shaozong to ascend the throne and sit in that supreme position.
After a moment of contemplation, Sheng Ran, unable to bear giving up this novel selection method, said, "My lord, why don't we try a different approach? We can feign an effort to secretly advance our own strategy. Currently, all the powerful rulers are actively recruiting talented individuals, some even maintaining three thousand retainers. Many people have come to serve you before, but none of them met your requirements and all returned empty-handed. This time, we can spread the word that we are recruiting tutors for the Third Young Master Qin, attracting talented people from all over the world to the North."
Anyone who pays even a little attention to current affairs knows that the Marquis of Wu'an in the north is quite generous.
Whether they were military generals fighting alongside him or advisors strategizing from the rear, as long as they were recognized by him, they would receive many benefits for each meritorious service. These benefits included not only silver and treasures, houses and servants, but also fertile fields and fine horses.
Such high treatment naturally attracted many famous scholars. Unfortunately, the lord had high standards and was a very opinionated person, so only a few could catch his eye.
Therefore, compared to the military generals, the number of people in the think tank is pitifully small.
Nalan Zhi nodded, “Chong Liang’s method is worth a try. Tell the world that you are recruiting tutors for the Third Young Master, and say that you don’t require them to be knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, as long as they excel in a certain field. When they arrive, conduct a special assessment based on their claimed expertise. If they are deemed suitable in the end, they can be retained and made a pillar of that field in the future.”
My lord's footsteps will not be confined to the north. When a new era begins, with the people and resources so depleted, it will be a time when everything needs to be rebuilt.
Given the frequent flooding of the river at that time, it would be necessary to send people to control the floods.
But where will we find the talent to manage the floods? If we don't start collecting data now, we'll be in a panic when the problem arises later.
Qin Shaozong turned the jade thumb ring around. "It's definitely worth a try."
The group then engaged in a more detailed discussion on this matter. Once the matter was largely settled, the warm glow of the setting sun quietly seeped into the room through the window.
"...Let's change the reason we give to the outside world. Let's say that Qin Yunce, Qin Yanzhou, and Qin Qinian are recruiting teachers," Qin Shaozong concluded.
Nalan Zhi was slightly taken aback.
Unless there are special circumstances, a disciple will only call one person "Master" throughout his life. This is the so-called "a teacher for a day is a father for life".
The recruitment of teachers that Qin Shaozong just mentioned refers to group teaching, where one teacher teaches multiple students, which is the model within the academy.
These two are not contradictory.
However, once you have a master, it's not impossible to go to a school, but you must explain it clearly to your master.
After all, it's inappropriate to be eating at one restaurant and suddenly smell the aroma of food from another. It's unreasonable to take someone else's bowl and try to eat at another restaurant without saying a word.
"This is just a smokescreen. Will you mind if it's all for nothing?" Qin Shaozong looked at Nalan Zhi.
Sheng Ran was the youngest among them. Upon hearing Qin Shaozong's words, he quickly lowered his eyes to hide the astonishment in them.
Since the lord has spoken to this extent, how could Nalan Wugong possibly say "yes"?
Qin Yanzhou.
He had heard this boy's name many times, and each time it shocked him more than the last.
First, the lord acted as a go-between, arranging for him to become Nalan Wugong's apprentice. Then, he sent troops all over the country to collect medicinal herbs for him. Now, this boy's name has been added to this charade.
The news that the eldest son of Qin had recognized the lord as his father had spread throughout the land, not to mention the third son of Qin, who was the lord's own son. The addition of "Qin Yanzhou" in the middle was clearly a veiled announcement to the world that this suddenly appearing son of the Qin family was also his offspring.
Nalan Zhi shook his head and said no.
Seeing this, Qin Shaozong laughed and said, "I think so too. Wugong, you are the most magnanimous and won't fuss over such a small matter. Besides, it was Madam who first proposed the matter of selecting talents through examinations, so we cannot leave Qin Yanzhou out, both in terms of reason and human sentiment."
"It was Madam Dai who brought it up first?" Cui Shengping was taken aback.
Nalan Zhi immediately laughed, "She has always possessed extraordinary abilities; she is the only one like her south of the Big Dipper."
Qin Shaozong nodded with delight, “That’s true.”
Cui Shengping and Sheng Ran looked at each other, both seeing deep thought and solemnity in each other's eyes.
"My lord, I heard that you have ordered the repair of the Marquis's mansion. Please forgive my intrusion, but are you planning to get married?" Cui Shengping asked.
He mentioned "repair".
Anyone with eyes to see could tell that he had picked out the smallest point from Qin Shaozong's various affairs.
Qin Shaozong did not deny it, saying, "It is indeed in the planning stages."
Cui Shengping's gaze sharpened; without needing to ask, he knew who the other man wanted to marry. "My lord, if you marry Lady Dai, Qin Yanzhou..."
“He should naturally call me father,” Qin Shaozong interrupted him.
He spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which made Cui Shengping's heart skip a beat.
"My lord..." he wanted to say more.
But Qin Shaozong stood up from his seat, clearly indicating that the topic should be dropped. "It's getting late, everyone should go back and have dinner. If it gets any later, we might have to eat by lamplight."
After leaving those words, Qin Shaozong left the study.
The three people remained in the study. After Qin Shaozong left, Nalan Zhi also got up and left the study.
Only the two remained in the room. Sheng Ran whispered, "Judging from the lord's recent actions, that young master Qin will most likely become no different from the young master in the future. He is older than the third young master, and looks to be about the same age as the eldest young master, but I don't know the exact age difference. What if he is even older than the eldest young master..."
Before he could finish speaking, Cui Shengping understood: "Even if our lord and Lady Dai marry in the future, so what? Even if Lady Dai has extraordinary talent, she is not from a prominent family, and is weak and isolated; Young Master Qin is not of the Qin bloodline, and he does not have a powerful wife's family. Therefore, the right of the eldest son to succeed to the throne will not fall to him. No matter how much our lord plans for him now, his fate is limited."
Sheng Ran hesitated, "Are you sure that Young Master Qin is not of the Qin family bloodline?"
Young Master Qin was just coming of age; going back in time, that was nearly twenty years ago.
At that time, the lord did leave the northern lands, and the timing was barely right, but given the lord's cautious nature, he would never have a son born out of wedlock before the birth of his legitimate son.
Besides, Young Master Qin is not much like his lord.
He couldn't possibly be the lord's bloodline!
Cui Shengping shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be. If he were the lord's biological son, why would the lord have said that earlier? He can call him father now, why wait until then?"
Let's wait and see.
...
The two men chatted quietly for a few more minutes in the study before leaving one after the other. Neither of them noticed a burly figure standing just outside the wall.
The study was guarded by personal guards. If an ordinary person lingered there, they would surely be questioned or driven away by the guards. But if it was Qin Shaozong, the master of the entire northern land, who was standing there, the guards would naturally not come forward to disturb him.
The study has windows on the east, west, and north sides, but at this moment only the east and west windows are open.
If it were an ordinary person, with the person inside the room keeping their voice down and the windows tightly closed, they certainly wouldn't be able to hear any sounds coming from inside.
However, Qin Shaozong was not an ordinary person. Those vague but still discernible words drifted into his ears and were heard by him.
For as long as Sheng Ran and Cui Shengping talked inside, Qin Shaozong stood behind them for just as long.
After the two left, he waited a while longer before coming out from behind.
Qin Shaozong didn't intentionally turn back; he was walking along when he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten, so he went back to his study.
Hearing Cui Sheng and his companion's conversation was completely unexpected.
The man calmly walked into the study, took out a thick stack of papers from a cabinet, and then took out a brush, ink, and inkstone, put them in a small cloth bag, and then left.
*
Winter begins in two days, and the closer we get to winter, the earlier it gets dark.
Qin Yanzhou is still undergoing treatment and remains indoors, not coming to the main room for meals. Qin Yunce and Qin Qinian also did not come today, not because anything happened to the two brothers, but simply because they were ordered to eat by themselves.
At the dinner table tonight, only Dai Li and Qin Shaozong are present.
As the weather gets colder, we're having antique soup again tonight.
The two sat facing each other across a small table. A stove was set up on the table between them, with various meats and dishes neatly arranged on small plates. Qin Shaozong also had a pot of wine beside him.
The soup in the small stove had already boiled and was now bubbling away, perfectly matching the name of the antique soup.
With the younger generation no longer present, Qin Shaozong visibly became more relaxed. He picked up a round shrimp ball from the hot soup with his jade chopsticks, dipped it in the sauce, and placed it in Dai Li's bowl.
"Now that you've learned to ride a horse, how about I take you hunting another day?" Qin Shaozong knew she was from the south. "When winter comes and the snow falls, the trees and the ground will be covered in white, a beautiful sight. Moreover, all the birds and beasts will be fattening up for the winter, making them the most delicious."
"Hunting..." Dai Li's interest was piqued.
Modern times have modern pastimes, and ancient times had their own forms of entertainment.
The lines "Leading a yellow dog on the left, holding a falcon on the right" and "Personally shooting a tiger, watching Sun Lang" from Su Shi's poem "Going Hunting" are well-known to later generations.
However, in later generations, there were many restrictions on hunting in China, and one could easily commit the crime of illegal hunting if one was not careful.
Therefore, although Dai Li has tried scuba diving, skydiving, and surfing, she has never hunted.
Seeing her keen interest, Qin Shaozong immediately laughed and said, "There are large tigers roaming around the area east of Yuyang. After I finish dealing with a few matters at hand, I will hunt a large tiger to make a cloak for you, Madam."
Author's note: Actually, this chapter shouldn't end here, but there's no other way. Dengdeng's left thumb is in excruciating pain, and applying ointment doesn't help.
I feel like in a while, this hand of mine won't be usable anymore. When that happens, I might have to switch back to the most basic pen and paper and then use voice recordings to write. [crying emoji]
Continuing with the mini-event, the system will randomly distribute 100 small red envelopes. VIP members, please draw a card! Leave a comment to participate [Gold Ingot].
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Here it comes, please give me some nutrient solution! [Hands clasped in prayer]
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