Finally escaping from the doting of his biological parents, Cui Yanjin was able to return to his residence and change his clothes before heading off to the Ministry of Works.
Once he put on his sixth-rank official robes and went to the Ministry, Liao Yuying said to Cui Yuanbin: "Our son is truly handsome."
Cui Yuanbin nodded, "Mm, handsome."
Liao Yuying added, "He looks great in those official robes."
Cui Yuanbin agreed, "Mm, they look great indeed."
Liao Yuying gave him a look, "You are nowhere near your son."
Cui Yuanbin didn’t like the sound of that, "How am I lacking?"
"You’ve never dressed in official robes," Liao Yuying explained.
Cui Yuanbin stared at her, "Wasn’t it because you feared the Imperial Court’s reprisal against the Evil Ghost Sect that we had to stay hidden, and I refrained from becoming an official? Otherwise, when I first fell for you, I had every intention of earning an imperial decree for you."
Liao Yuying contemplated, held on to Cui Yuanbin hurriedly, "Who would have thought that our son looks so good in official robes? If only I encouraged you earlier, we’ve been spendthrifts all our lives, so leisurely... If it wasn’t for our son, I wouldn’t have known becoming an official and receiving such benefits could be so good." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Cui Yuanbin looked at her, "Shall I try for one for you this autumn?"
"Can you do it?" Liao Yuying looked at him skeptically, he has been fooling around these years.
"I can’t." Cui Yuanbin decisively admitted, "The books I read when I was younger got wasted away in those day-in-day-out shenanigans with you."
Liao Yuying laughed, "Then forget it, let’s place hopes on our son! You’re getting old, nowhere near as charming as he is."
Cui Yuanbin, irritated, dragged her into their chambers, "Let’s see if I’m old or not."
"Hey, hey, hey, it’s broad daylight, stop messing around," Liao Yuying barely contained her laughter.
Still holding onto her, Cui Yuanbin proposed, "I could conceive another son for you with Yanjin to become officials and impress you."
Liao Yuying didn’t resist anymore, "That works."
When Cui Yanjin returned from the Ministry of Works and went next door to see Mister Cui, he was surrounded by a crowd, admiring him.
Back in the Qinghe Cui Family, there were so many young members. The ones with talent and intellect were treasured by the family and surrounded by their siblings. Those without ambitions and unwilling to study were naturally overlooked by the family and avoided by their siblings.
As for Cui Yanjin, his parents were notorious for their lack of discipline in the Qinghe Cui Family. They brought up a child without proper guidance. However, unlike the others who avoided studies, Cui Yanjin chose to love martial arts instead. He spent his days wielding a sword, challenging his brothers to duels.
He was a delightful child, but his behavior resulted in everyone evading him to avoid being slashed by his sword.
Not even the wise Mister Cui could foresee that one decision to send his grandson, in aid of his external grandson in Nanchu, would, incidentally, create a path to great heights for Cui Yanjin, who came along with Cui Xingzhi. Moreover, nobody in the Cui Family expected such fortune for him.
When the news broke in Qinghe, it stirred uproar. While Cui Xingzhi’s achievements didn’t surprise much owing to his established talents in literature and martial arts, Cui Yanjin’s success took many by surprise. Many regretted not accompanying them, but then an elder of the family spoke sense into them, highlighting Yanjin’s martial arts skills practiced since childhood and his military exploits at Heiya Pass in Nanchu against Dawei with the Evil Ghost Sect. These accomplishments were indisputable and something they didn’t possess, so they better focus on their studies!
Upon hearing this, everyone came to their senses. After all, they used to avoid Yanjin, and only Xingzhi chose to contend with him.
The descendants of Mister Cui were all well-behaved. They admired Cui Yanjin, with no trace of envy. Admiring his official robe, feeling the fabric, they praised him out of genuine admiration: "How handsome you look in the official robe, dear cousin!"
Cui Yanjin was near bursting with pride, feeling that all those hard days of toil had finally paid off, as he saw a semblance of his boyish self once more. He said with a laugh, "Also yours, once you join the Imperial Court."
"But it’s not the same as yours." Someone replied, "Actually, I also wanted to come with Brother Xingzhi, but my mother would not let me, saying it was too dangerous. Now, I don’t regret it at least there is the imperial examination, but my mother regrets it to death. She said that she was acting out of womens’ kindness, and should not have stopped me."
"Yes, yes, yes, my father also said the same. He said that he had a myopic outlook, our grandfather actually brought everyone together, and the kids were excited about the adventure, but he, as the elder, became the obstacle, blocking my progress." Someone else agreed.
Another person chimed in, "Now I understand the advantage of having an uncle and aunt in the fourth family division, they don’t control Yanjin, Yanjin is indeed very lucky, he can do whatever he wants."
"Stop bragging, the aunt of the fourth family division is capable, the hundreds of members of Evil Ghost Sect, who were all defeated by her little cousin, can protect him. What do we have? Only gold and silver? That’s useless in a battle." Someone retorted.
"It does come in handy, the gold and silver we brought was used to buy provisions." Cui Yanjin replied, "Otherwise, the soldiers wouldn’t have any food. On the battlefield, it is not about individual heroism, the key lies in the army and the soldiers."
"Oh my, little Yanjin, you’ve grown up, you can even say such things now."
"Exactly, exactly, we shouldn’t neglect you for three days, but be amazed when we see you after three days."
"..."
Surrounded and admired by his cousins for an hour, Cui Yanjin finally escaped to the Xie Residence to see Mister Cui.
Mister Cui did not see his other Cui disciples who were preparing for the exam, but he was happy to see Cui Yanjin. Upon hearing of his arrival, he had him invited into the Xie Residence where he scrutinized him for quite some time. Looking at his young age and official attire, he was greatly amused and repeatedly said "good".
Xie Yuan, who was watching from the side, also laughed and said, "Indeed, the Cui family is thriving."
Although Cui Yanjin was pleased to be praised by his brothers he was somewhat embarrassed when praised by Mister Cui and Xie Yuan. Scratching his head, he said, "Elder Brother Feng says that there is still a lot for me to learn."
"Yes, there is a lot to learn, but you’re young, you can take your time." Mister Cui stroked his beard.
Cui Yanjin shook his head seriously, "Great-uncle, I can’t take my time. Although I’m young, I do get full pay and shouldn’t be doing less work. Otherwise, it would be an injustice to the salary Sister-in-law got me."
Mister Cui laughed heartily, "Ha, yes, yes."
He looked at Cui Yanjin, "Your current teacher is..."
"Cousin introduced him to me, but after I went to the Ministry of Works, the teacher’s mother fell ill and he has been busy. Now, I have no teacher to guide me and I’ve been studying alone everyday." Cui Yanjin sighed, "I don’t know when the teacher’s mother will recover."
"If that’s the case, from tomorrow, why don’t you stay in the Xie Residence? I’ll personally teach you every evening." Mister Cui said, looking at Xie Yuan for his opinion. It was after all the Xie Residence, and already housed one of his relatives. If they were to accommodate another, he would have to ask the owner.
He initially wanted to say it could start today, but he thought that Cui Yanjin just came back today and hadn’t stayed with his parents for even one night.
Xie Yuan nodded at Mister Cui with a smile, "Feel free to move in."
"Really? Great-uncle, are you going to teach me?" Cui Yanjin didn’t mind studying now, in fact, he wished to learn as quickly as possible, so he could work more and justify his salary.
"Indeed, I will teach you." Mister Cui assured.
"Then let it be today! I will move in today." Cui Yanjin turned to Xie Yuan and asked, "Master Xie, is today alright?"
"Yes, if I have free time, I could teach you a thing or two." Xie Yuan had no objections. He had been too busy in the past, but now with the arrival of Mister Cui, he finally had a chance to catch his breath and could help Mister Cui tutor the younger generation represented by Cui Yanjin.
"Thank you, Great-Uncle, Master Xie." Cui Yanjin was overjoyed. Given a choice, he would rather have someone teaching him than studying in isolation every day. Despite the hardship, he was willing to endure it in this way.
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