Chapter 261: Martial Arts Competition (Part 2)
Yu Yi was sitting in the hall. When he saw Sun Qiao come in, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
He first congratulated Sun Qiao, and exchanged greetings with Sun Nian and his wife. Then, he found an excuse to invite Sun Qiao to the yard to talk alone.
"Are you becoming my disciple today?" he asked.
Sun Qiao felt really embarrassed.
Previously, he had wanted to take Yu Yi as his teacher, but now he had chosen someone else. No matter what, he felt very guilty towards Yu Yi.
"That's right, sir." He lowered his head and answered in a low voice, not even daring to look at Yu Yi.
Yu Yi looked at him and smiled. "It's a good thing that you're taking the prince as your teacher, so why are you being so shy? If I were angry with you, I wouldn't be here today. Don't take it to heart."
After hearing this, Sun Qiao breathed a sigh of relief.
He finally raised his head, his face red, looked at Yu Yi, and smiled embarrassedly.
"I came here today not only to congratulate you, but also to ask you something." Yu Yi put away his gentle demeanor and asked seriously, "When was the first time you and the prince met?"
——
Sun Wei returned to the palace, changed his clothes and rested for a while, then heard that Sima Jun had returned.
"Is the prince the only one back?" she asked. "Have his disciples come yet?"
A'ru said, "I don't see the disciple. The Crown Prince is in the hall right now, talking with Attendant Cao."
Sun Wei thought about it and went up to the hall.
Sima Jun had finished talking to Cao Song and asked him to leave.
"Here comes the lady," he said.
"Your Highness has been busy all day, are you hungry?" Sun Wei asked, "I've asked A'ru to prepare some tea and soup, please enjoy some."
Sima Jun said, "Now that Madam has mentioned this, I am indeed a little hungry. Thank you, Madam."
Sun Wei immediately ordered someone to serve the food.
She sat aside and watched Sima Jun eat.
No one spoke. She didn't know if it was because she had something to hide, but she felt the silence in the hall was a little strange.
Sun Wei was the first to break the silence and said, "I didn't expect that the prince would actually accept a disciple today."
Sima Jun took a sip of tea and said calmly, "If it weren't for the Crown Prince's strong push, I wouldn't have accepted a disciple today."
"So," Sun Wei continued, "I heard that young man's surname is Sun?"
"Exactly."
"I don't know what kind of person he is? What is his background?"
"Madam, don't you know him?" Sima Jun asked, "Madam, haven't you heard that when Bo You returned to the capital, he didn't even visit his family, but went straight to the residence of Marquis Sun Kuo of Huaian County?"
Sun Wei showed a look of surprise: "Is this really true?"
"This Sun Qiao recently came to Jiankang with his parents from Anning, Guangzhou. They are the descendants of Sun Yu of Anning that Madam and Bo You discussed earlier. Mr. Sun's grandson is Sun Qiao."
Sun Wei thought that Sima Jun had indeed figured out Sun Qiao's background.
She looked as if she had suddenly understood something: "So that's how it is. I don't go out often, and I actually missed such an important event."
Sima Jun looked at her for a moment and smiled.
"Don't worry, Madam. Sun Qiao is very talented. If there is any shortcoming, it is that he talks too much. However, young people have a cheerful and lively temperament, which is a good thing."
Sun Wei laughed dryly.
She naturally knew Sun Qiao's character.
Sun Wei herself had a similar temperament to her grandfather, preferring quiet to activity. But she hadn't expected her younger brother, whom she had raised, to be a reincarnated sparrow, talkative from a young age. Even Sima Jun, who wasn't familiar with him, noticed.
At this point, Sun Wei's previous hope was finally shattered.
Sima Jun was determined to accept Sun Qiao as his disciple.
"Since the prince thinks so highly of him, why not bring him to the palace?" she tentatively asked.
"I'm just accepting him as my disciple. In the future, he'll have to go to the camp. It wouldn't be appropriate to place him in the palace," Sima Jun said. "Besides, there's no place for him to practice in the palace. From now on, I'll only teach him in Tang Garden."
Sun Wei breathed a sigh of relief.
In that case, she should be careful and not worry about being seen by Sun Qiao for the time being. However, from now on, she could no longer go to Tangyuan.
"That's right." Sun Wei said, "The prince is indeed thoughtful."
"Madam, did you come here just to ask about this?" Sima Jun suddenly asked.
Sun Wei hurriedly said, "Of course not. It's almost the end of the year, and there are many personal connections in the palace. I have drawn up a gift list and want to show it to the prince."
After that, she asked Aju to submit a document.
Sima Jun took a look and found that it was indeed a gift list.
"Madam, you will make the final decision on these matters," Sima Jun said. "There is indeed a lot going on at the end of the year. If you are too busy, don't force yourself and leave it to Cao Song. The palace has been without a mistress for many years, and Cao Song has been the one to handle it. He's used to it."
Sun Wei agreed and said, "This year, you will have to work hard again, Minister Cao. When the Crown Prince's marriage is decided next year and the bride comes home, we will have a mistress in the family."
Sima Jun was used to hearing this by now, so he said nothing and continued drinking his tea: "Madam is still so diligent and never forgets to remind you."
"I calculated and it has been several days since I mentioned it. I was afraid that the prince would forget, so I still mentioned it."
"Don't worry, ma'am. I won't forget it. But I still say the same thing. If I don't agree, then forget it."
"I understand. We'll discuss this next time."
"Thank you, Madam."
The two of them stopped talking and looked at each other with a smile.
After a while, Sun Wei did not stay any longer and stood up to say goodbye.
——
Early the next morning, Sima Jun went to his study and prepared a stack of military books.
Then he went to Tangyuan.
Sun Qiao had been waiting in the garden early.
Seeing Sima Jun coming, he politely bowed and said, "Disciple greets Master."
"No need to be so polite." Sima Jun said, "Come here."
Sun Qiao stepped forward and Sima Jun had the book handed to him.
"Take these books home and read them every day," he said. "I'll check with you from time to time."
Sun Qiao quickly agreed.
He looked at Sima Jun, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
Sima Jun asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
Sun Qiao scratched his head and said, "Master, I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."
"What is it?"
"Master previously instructed me not to tell anyone else about my meeting with Master."
Sima Jun looked at him: "Does anyone know?"
Sun Qiao said hurriedly, "My disciple didn't say a word. He guessed it."
Sima Jun stopped and asked, "Who guessed it?"
"It was Master Yu," Sun Qiao said. "Yesterday, when I returned home, I found Master Yu as my guest. He asked me how I knew about the winter solstice martial arts competition at Taishe and how I learned archery. I couldn't deceive Master Yu. Every lie I told in front of him was like being exposed to the sun, with no way to hide. So, I had no choice but to tell the truth."
He looked at Sima Jun pitifully.
Sima Jun also knew that his skills were not enough to deceive Yu Yi, but he did not expect that Yu Yi would guess it so quickly.
He looked calm: "Really? What did Master Yu say?"
"He didn't say anything," Sun Qiao said. "He just told me not to lie to him in the future, or he would never talk to me again. He also said he would come to visit and have a talk with Master."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
