Chapter 250 Sun Qiao (Part 2)
"Really? What do you mean?" Sima Jun asked.
"Your Highness, you don't know this, but my sister really admires Master Yu," Sun Qiao said. "When Master Yu visited Grandpa, my sister secretly watched him for a long time, and then she kept pestering Grandpa about him. Grandpa even joked at the time, suggesting I marry him. Upon hearing this, my sister blushed and ran away."
"Is that so?" Sima Jun asked calmly, "Why didn't your grandfather simply promise your sister to Master Yu?"
"He once said that Jiankang was a place of trouble and that even a man as outstanding as Master Yu was unsuitable for marriage. Although this was just a joke, my grandfather never mentioned it again after that. But I have a vague feeling that my sister has never forgotten Master Yu in her heart."
Sima Jun looked at him and said, "Master Yu is from a distinguished family, so he will marry a woman of equal status. Mr. Sun's concerns are not without reason."
Sun Qiao then realized that he talked too much when he was happy, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"I made a slip of the tongue." His face flushed again. "Don't blame me, my lord."
Sima Jun looked at his embarrassed look, found it amusing, and just smiled.
"Your father has decided to stay in Jiankang. I wonder what your plans are for the future?"
"Me?" Sun Qiao scratched his head again and said, "I wanted to become Master Yu's disciple some time ago, but Master Yu said I would have to leave Jiankang sooner or later, so I declined. Now that I'm staying with my father, I thought I'd ask Master Yu about it when I go to apologize. If he's willing to take me in as his disciple, I'll follow him around and learn from him."
Sima Jun paused and put down his teacup. "I remember you asked me earlier if you wanted to become my disciple. How come you want to become Master Yu's disciple now?"
"But the prince told me to practice martial arts first. I think this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. It will take time. Why not study with Master Yu while finding a martial arts master to learn from me..."
Sima Jun interrupted sternly, "Master Yu is a rigorous scholar. How could he tolerate your indecision? You must understand clearly that if you want to be a military commander in the future, you should learn from a military commander. Otherwise, Master Yu's efforts will be wasted, and you will learn nothing, which will ultimately be a waste of time. Furthermore, if Master Yu teaches a disciple who achieves nothing, he will eventually despise you."
After hearing this, Sun Qiao suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Then what should I do?"
Sima Jun said, "Since Master Yu has already declined, there is no need to bring it up again. Just go and ask the martial arts master for instruction."
Sun Qiao hesitated, "But I don't know who to choose as my master..."
"Since I want to help Master Yu, I can help you with this matter."
Sun Qiao's face lit up with joy, his eyes sparkling. "Are you serious? Prince, do you want to be my master?"
It was Sima Jun's turn to be stunned.
"When did I ever say I wanted to be your master?"
"The prince just said he wanted to find a master for me," Sun Qiao said. "I believe there is no more powerful general in the world than the prince."
Sima Jun sneered.
He suddenly thought of someone who seemed kind and harmless, but was actually full of ulterior motives.
"Forget it. It's not a bad idea for you to be my disciple," he said.
Sun Qiao was delighted and was about to salute when Sima Jun stopped him.
"What are you good at?" Sima Jun asked.
Sun Qiao hurriedly said, "I can shoot arrows!"
As soon as he said that, he seemed to feel a little guilty and added, "I only know how to shoot arrows."
Sima Jun said, "On the winter solstice, there will be an archery competition in Taishe. Both scholars and commoners can participate. Then, you can participate in the archery competition. If you place in the top three, I will accept you as my disciple. How do you do it?"
After hearing this, Sun Qiao smiled happily and said, "I will definitely not let the prince down!"
After talking for a while, Sima Jun let Sun Qiao go back.
Before parting, he warned, "Master Yu is a man of noble character. If he knew I was helping him, he would be very upset. So, you don't need to tell him about your visit. Besides this, don't tell anyone else. Just keep this a secret between you and me. What do you think?"
Sun Qiao patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will keep my mouth shut. But if I need to see you in the future, can I go to the palace?"
"I'm not often at the palace, so you'd be hard-pressed to see me even if you were there," Sima Jun said. "Since we've made a promise for the winter solstice, we can't break it. When you make it into the top three, I'll come looking for you."
Sun Qiao scratched his head and agreed with a smile.
After Sun Qiao left, Sima Jun called Deng Lian over.
When Deng Lian entered the pavilion, he saw Sima Jun feeding the fish in the pond with a plate of fish food.
This was quite unusual. Normally, he had little interest in these leisurely pursuits.
After a while, he turned around and looked at Deng Lian.
"Do you remember that the lady said she was afraid of water?" he asked.
Deng Lian was stunned for a moment as he didn't expect Sima Jun to ask such a question out of the blue.
"Yes," he said. "I remember the princess said it was because she was frightened when she fell into the water in Cangwu."
Sima Jun said nothing, but handed a letter to Deng Lian.
“I remember when Madam first entered the mansion, I asked Shen Ping to find a master who was good at imitating handwriting and copied a hundred scriptures for Madam.” Sima Jun said.
Deng Lian thought for a moment and said, "That's true. Moreover, the princess later read the scripture and said it was an exact imitation, about eighty percent similar."
"Have Chen Ping find the main text again and copy this letter, and then have Yin Wen personally go south to deliver the letter."
"Where are you going?"
"Go to Panyu. Go to Yongfu Pavilion and find the manager, Chen Mao. Give him this letter. I've already written down what I want him to do. Yin Wen only needs to tell him that Madam has asked him to find the person mentioned in the letter."
Deng Lian agreed.
"This matter must not be disclosed to anyone except Yin Wen," Sima Jun said, "including Madam."
Deng Lian looked at Sima Jun's expression and knew that this matter was of great importance, so he quickly agreed.
"Go ahead." Sima Jun said, and then continued to look at the fish pond.
The fish swam in the water, appearing and disappearing, unpredictable. He sprinkled a handful of fish food, and they immediately surfaced, vying to reveal themselves.
But that woman would not be as stupid as Yu'er.
She treated him very well, and he no longer considered her an outsider.
Sometimes, Sima Jun felt that if she just wanted him to take care of her in her old age, she didn't have to do so wholeheartedly.
But at the same time, Sima Jun felt that she still held many secrets. She was like a fish, seemingly within his control, yet always mysterious and elusive.
What is it about her that she can't let herself know?
Or in other words, who is she?
This doubt has been dispelled for a long time.
Although Sima Jun still called her Madam, he was certain that she was Consort Lu herself.
But now, doubts arise again.
He knew these assumptions were absurd, but he was alert by nature, and when he encountered something unclear, he would get to the bottom of it. This was his way of dealing with things.
If she is not the real Lu, then where is the real Lu, and is she dead or alive?
And why did she pretend to be Lu and come to Prince Yuzhang's Mansion and be by his side?
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