Princess Guihe was raised in the palm of the hand of the late emperor. Later, when she was a little older, the late emperor made an exception and brought her to the study room to study with the princes. The lecturers at that time were the old tutor and the great scholar of the time, Mr. Zou.
Mr. Zou was a man of character, and his ancestors were also from aristocratic families. But in the previous dynasty, because of an article criticizing the prevailing trend by a scholar in the family, the whole family was forced to move to a barren land.
After the late emperor succeeded to the throne, he thoroughly investigated many unjust cases of the previous dynasty and overturned the case of Mr. Zou's family.
Although Mr. Zou was half a person of seclusion, he appreciated the late emperor's kindness and went to Beijing in person to thank him.
When the late emperor saw him, he was amazed by his style and talent and invited him to stay in the palace.
Mr. Zou was grateful and agreed.
However, at that time, there were only three children of the right age in the upper study room: the eldest prince, the second prince and Princess Guihe. So he only accepted the three of them as his disciples.
Although Mr. Zou only stayed in the palace for five years at first, he had always been very concerned about Princess Guihe for many years and had many correspondences with her.
Upon hearing that Princess Guihe had suffered such a disaster, the old man did not hesitate to come to the capital from thousands of miles away. And he did not notify anyone in advance. It was not until his carriage arrived at the gate of the Duke of Qing’s Mansion, the book boy handed his name card to the gatekeeper, and the gatekeeper forwarded it to Changfeng Garden that Princess Guihe knew that her teacher had arrived at the door.
She was not able to walk well, so she immediately asked the old nanny with the highest seniority in the room to go and greet her.
The old nanny and Mr. Zou were old acquaintances.
Mr. Zou had already gotten off the carriage and was waiting at the door.
The old nanny came to greet him with her maid, saying, "Thank you for waiting, Mr. Zou. The princess is waiting for you inside."
Mr. Zou was wearing a blue dress and wooden shoes, a wide robe, and his silver hair was tied into a bun with an ancient wooden hairpin. He looked energetic and had an immortal look.
"Madame Qin, I haven't seen you for many years. You look as healthy as ever."
Although the old nanny was older than her, she was a servant after all. She was very happy to hear his words. She smiled and said, "The old gentleman is worried about you, and your demeanor is still as good as ever."
As she spoke, she led Mr. Zou in.
Mr. Zou was as leisurely as if he was walking in his own backyard, but he couldn't help but sigh: "The last time I went to Beijing was when the princess gave birth to a little boy. It's been many years since we last met, and things and people have changed." Zheng Xiu was still on standby in Changfeng Garden that day. When she heard that Princess Guihe's mentor had come to see her specially, she also stood up and said goodbye very tactfully. She said a few words to Qiu Rui, and when she came out, she happened to meet Mr. Zou face to face.
The old nanny introduced their identities.
Zheng Xiu bowed to Mr. Zou and said, "I have heard of Mr. Zou's great name for a long time. Seeing you today, I can tell you that seeing you is better than hearing about you." This was not a compliment. Zheng Ren respected Mr. Zou very much, and Zheng Xiu had heard his father mention him many times. Mr. Zou was dressed simply, but his demeanor in every move was unforgettable.
Mr. Zou stepped aside, bowed slightly, and said, "Second Madam, you are so polite."
The two passed by each other without exchanging pleasantries.
Zheng Xiu took a few steps and couldn't help but look back. This is the great scholar of the time. The respect for literati in this era is equivalent to the attitude of modern fans towards celebrities. Mr. Zou is definitely a superstar.
That night, Xue Zhi came back from his duty outside.
Zheng Xiu pulled him aside and said, "I saw Mr. Zou today. You know Mr. Zou, right? He is a great scholar of the time, who lived in seclusion in ancient times. Ah, the style of this great scholar is different from that of ordinary people."
Xue Zhi laughed and said, "Although I have not read much, I still know the name of Mr. Zou. Although Mr. Zou is low-key, as soon as he came to Beijing, his whereabouts spread outside. I heard about it before I came back. You see, starting tomorrow our house will be crowded with guests."
"They are all here for Mr. Zou, right? But isn't he here to visit Princess Guihe's illness? Even if those people admire Mr. Zou, they won't come all at once, right?"
"You don't know that Mr. Zou will accept a disciple every few years and take good care of him. This is what they are looking for."
"No wonder." Zheng Xiu nodded, "But now the princess is ill, those people coming to the house will disturb her rest, what should we do?" Those who dare to take the initiative to come at this time must have some confidence in the family. If they are simply driven away, I am afraid that many people will be offended.
Xue Zhi said: "When the time comes, let the doorman receive the invitation and send it to Mr. Zou. We will open a flower hall or study for Mr. Zou to meet guests in our mansion. It is up to him whether he wants to see the guest or not."
Zheng Xiu nodded, thinking that it would be fine this way. Anyway, literati and scholars have some strange tempers, not to mention Mr. Zou. Even if they are all rejected, I think those people will not be surprised.
Xue Zhi frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "Have you ever thought that our children could also have a try?"
"Are you talking about A'shao and A'mian?"
"Not only them, if my father-in-law is willing, A'yu can also have a try."
Zheng Xiu thought that his father admired Mr. Zou so much, he must be willing too.
"You just said that Mr. Zou should take his disciples with him? Where should he take them?"
"It seems that half of the time he stays in Huishan Academy, and the rest of the time he travels around with Mr. Zou. After all, reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles."
"How often can you go home?"
"It's hard to say, maybe a year and a half, maybe three to five years."
Zheng Xiu stopped talking, and Xue Zhi continued, "I know you can't bear to part with your child, but you have to think about it. This is for the good of the child."
Zheng Xiu said, "That's the truth, but I just can't bear to part with him. Our children are not big yet. It's always worrying to see them alone at such a young age."
Xue Zhi laughed again and said, "Hey, why are we worrying about this? Even if we think of everything well, it's impossible if Mr. Zou doesn't want to."
Having said that, Zheng Xiu started to think about it seriously.
The next day, the front of the Duke of Qing's mansion was just as Xue Zhi expected - there was a constant stream of traffic.
Zheng Xiu also sent a letter to his father, telling him about Mr. Zou.
Not long after the letter was sent, Zheng Ren came to the door in person.
Well, this attitude is known without asking.
Zheng Ren wanted to meet Mr. Zou, so Zheng Xiu shamelessly sent someone to ask.
Mr. Zou was placed in the front yard, but he was served by the servants of Changfeng Garden. Those servants had changed their views on Zheng Xiu a lot during this period of time, so they naturally did their best to convey her words and spoke well of her.
Mr. Zou did not really listen to the servant's words, but he heard the name of Zheng Ren. In the early years, Zheng Ren was also quite famous in the capital, but unfortunately he encountered hardships later and resigned from office and retired. Mr. Zou cherished talents and naturally agreed to meet him.
Zheng Ren was very nervous before he left. He straightened his collar and sleeves and asked Zheng Xiu, "Ah Xiu, come and see Dad, is Dad dressed up rudely today?"
He was like a little fan who went to meet his idol. Zheng Xiu stepped forward to smooth out the wrinkles of his clothes and said, "Dad, this royal blue straight-collared dress today is very energetic and not rude."
Zheng Ren was led by the servant to the cross-courtyard of Changfengyuan.
Zheng Ren stayed there until it was almost dark before returning to Haoye Hall.
Zheng Xiu invited him to have dinner together, and Zheng Ren smiled and said, "No need, I'll go back today, A Yu is still waiting for me at home. I'll come again tomorrow."
He hadn't laughed so happily for many years. Zheng Xiu knew that he and Mr. Zou got along very well, and he said he would come again tomorrow, which was probably Mr. Zou's invitation.
It was getting late, so Zheng Xiu didn't say anything to his father and sent him out.
Zheng Ren came again the next day, but he didn't go to Hao Yetang that day, but went directly to Mr. Zou.
Zheng Xiu was still looking forward to his father's arrival, and discussed with him whether to let his younger brother try to become Mr. Zou's disciple. He waited for most of the morning but didn't see anyone, so he sent someone to Changfeng Garden to ask, and only then did he know that his father had gone there early in the morning.
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