Chapter 84: Obsession
Ruan Hui was stunned for a moment, then said, "I have been accompanying my master in the mountains and have not yet entered the officialdom."
"It's my family's affairs that have delayed you." Princess Wanshou sighed and said softly, "It's okay. You can come to the capital with me in a few days and stay at my house. I'll find someone to arrange a position for you later. You can serve in the capital, and it will also be convenient for you to visit the Grand Tutor from time to time."
"this……"
"It's settled." Princess Wanshou refused to question him and motioned him to come into the house. "Go see your master and talk to him."
Ruan Hui had no choice but to go in.
In the room, Zhou Chang was still awake.
He had obviously heard the conversation outside the door, so he asked, "You have followed me for many years, but I have never asked you, do you want to serve in the capital?"
"It doesn't matter where you work, what matters is who you work for," Ruan Hui said.
Zhou Chang asked again: "If you were to work in the capital, you would most likely work under Wang. Would you be willing to do that?"
"Then I won't serve in the capital." Ruan Hui raised his head, his eyes clear. "Master said the Wang family is a cancer. How can I associate with a cancer?"
Zhou Chang nodded with relief, "If I can't leave alive, remember to take my bones away from there."
Ruan Hui felt a pang of pain in his heart, then bowed deeply and said, "Disciple will keep this in mind."
——
The boat went upstream, getting farther and farther away from Xunyang City.
Watching the boats coming and going on the river, Sun Wei stood at the stern and breathed a long sigh of relief.
Fortunately, for the time being, I didn't have to see the bustling city, the busy water port, and the towering city walls. Seeing these would inevitably bring back painful memories of the past, which would be like a prisoner being tortured.
Turning around, I happened to meet Princess Wanshou who was out to relax.
Sun Wei calmed himself down and immediately bowed.
Princess Wanshou stepped forward slowly and said, "Speaking of which, I have to thank you. If you hadn't been so quick to catch the Grand Tutor, I would have missed him again."
Sun Weiqian said, "It's just a small favor, not worth mentioning. I wonder if the Grand Tutor is feeling better?"
Princess Wanshou snorted coldly, "It can still irritate people, so why not?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but complain, "That old man is always torturing me. Every time I saw him, I lost half my life. When you caught him just now, was he really that difficult to deal with?"
Sun Wei smiled and said, "I wouldn't say he's difficult, but he's certainly not easy to deal with. I used to think that a great scholar like the Grand Tutor would be serious, but that's not the case. Grand Tutor Zhou is quite humorous, like a mischievous old boy."
Princess Wanshou gazed at the river and smiled faintly, "He's just like that, a uniquely humorous person in Jiankang City. It's a pity that I haven't seen him for many years, and I don't know if he will still be like that in the future."
Sun Wei asked, "In that case, does the princess still want to bring the tutor back to the capital?"
Princess Wanshou withdrew her gaze and said, "He's already so ill. Is there any better place for him to go than returning to the capital? Do you feel sorry for him? There is no such thing as truly pitiful people in this world. He helped his former master fight for power, but ultimately lost. He was doomed to die anyway. If it weren't for my efforts, he wouldn't have survived until today."
As she spoke, she snorted coldly, "But he's never thanked me. Men always regard their ambitions as top priority, as if they were their only career. Once they fail, it's as if their life is over, as if they've never married or had children. His debt to me grows with each passing year. You're also a smart woman. If you were me, could you let him go?"
Sun Wei pondered her words and smiled.
This sounded reasonable at first, but she had lived two lives, and after experiencing love herself, her thoughts were different.
Why not let it go? Since the relationship is already broken, what's wrong with forgetting each other? At least you can still live in peace.
Being too persistent, just like in her previous life, she ended up in debt.
She said calmly, "The princess said that the Grand Tutor is obsessed with his ambition, while the princess is obsessed with staying together. Isn't that another kind of obsession? How can the two be distinguished by superiority?"
Princess Wanshou's expression froze, obviously she had not expected this reply.
"How can it be the same?" she struggled.
Sun Wei didn't argue with her.
She roughly understood that Princess Wanshou's sudden talk with her at this time was not to sincerely ask for her opinion; and her praise of Sun Wei's intelligence was just to give her face, and she was probably asking for something in return.
Sun Wei didn't comment, but said, "Princess, if you have something to say, please speak directly."
Princess Wanshou was truly surprised.
The woman looked young and could understand the hidden meaning behind the words.
"You are truly rude, woman." Her expression turned cold again. "Did you respond in the same way in front of the Queen Mother in the past?"
"Please forgive me, Princess." She bowed again and said, "I speak directly and don't like to beat around the bush. If you have anything to say, Princess, please speak frankly, and I will do my best to fulfill it."
Princess Wanshou didn't argue any further. She said, "What I want to say is about the Grand Tutor. I want him to stay and live a stable life with me. We are both over fifty years old, so we should cherish the remaining time."
Sun Wei was puzzled: "But the Grand Tutor is already in the Princess's hands. As long as the Princess keeps a close watch on him, he will never escape."
Princess Wanshou glanced at her and said, "I want him to stay here willingly and stop pretending to be a walking corpse. I can't figure him out anymore and don't know how to make him completely loyal. You seem like a man with many ideas. If you can do this, I promise you that Bo Ya won't touch a hair on your head."
It turns out that he wanted to propose a transaction.
Sun Wei said: "It's not easy to get a promise from the princess."
"It would be an honor for you if I were willing to trade with you."
"Your Highness is right," Sun Wei said. "Actually, it's not difficult to do what you said. All we have to do is let the Grand Tutor do what he wants. But if we do that, I'm afraid the Grand Tutor will become an enemy of the Wang family. Is your Highness willing to do that?"
"You are talking about..."
"Let the Grand Tutor investigate the true cause of Crown Prince Huaixian's death."
Princess Wanshou's gaze changed.
"It has long been established that Crown Prince Huaixian died of illness. What is there to investigate?"
"But the Grand Tutor doesn't believe it," Sun Wei said. "If Prince Huaixian really died of illness, why not let the Grand Tutor investigate so that he can give up?"
Princess Wanshou looked at Sun Wei coldly.
"It seems that you have no intention of trading with me," she said.
"My Lady, you are mistaken," Sun Wei replied. "I sincerely wish to make a deal with you, but I believe you and the Grand Tutor have reached a dead end. The Grand Tutor only wants to be a good tutor to the Crown Prince, while the Lady only wants him to be a good husband. Neither the Lady nor the Grand Tutor will yield, so how can this impasse be resolved?"
"He can be his own tutor to the crown prince, so why can't he be a good husband at the same time?"
"Because the princess's surname is Wang."
"Who says the Prince's tutor can't be attached to the Wang family?"
Sun Wei sighed deeply, "If that's the case, is the Grand Tutor still the one the Princess loves? There are many court officials attached to the Wang family, and there must be even more who want to curry favor with the Princess, but who has ever caught the Princess's eye? What the Princess loves is his unique sense of humor in Jiankang City, and his unruly nature, which is unmatched in the court and the public, isn't it?"
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