Chapter 163 Accompanying the Student in the Study
Meng Qing stopped what she was doing, glanced at him, and said, "Strictly speaking, you should let the news through, as a token of your loyalty, to let the female saint know that you have understood her meaning."
Seeing her approval, Du Min's face lit up with excitement. "I'll get started on the arrangements right away!"
"How should we arrange it? Above you, only Prefect Yin can help you with this. You have no one you trust by the Emperor's side. How can you pass on the message? Putting aside whether Prefect Yin will have a problem with your defection, once word gets out and Minister Zheng finds out, wouldn't you be making an enemy of him? Your relationship would be completely destroyed, and it might even jeopardize Prefect Yin's promotion," Meng Qing retorted.
Du Min hesitated. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then forget it, the risk is too great."
Meng Qing agreed, “Your official rank is too low. You are not qualified to compete with Minister Zheng, nor have you reached the point where you are trusted by the Empress. The benefits of submitting your pledge of allegiance are far less than the losses caused by offending Minister Zheng. It’s not worth it.”
Du Min dismissed the idea, "What a pity."
Meng Qing shook her head and reminded her, "Be low-key, down-to-earth, and dutiful. This is not a good time to show off in front of the female saint. We don't know the power dynamics in the court. Be careful not to get caught in the crossfire if you rush in."
Du Min glanced at her and said he was not clear about the power dynamics in the court, but he always felt that she seemed to have a plan in mind and knew when the right time was.
"What are you looking at?" Meng Qing asked, puzzled. "Do you have other ideas?"
"No." Du Min slowly shook his head. "Second sister-in-law is right. I'll wait and see."
“Observe your father-in-law and see what he chooses. If he chooses to pass on the message to the Emperor, you should follow the previous memorial, only explaining the cause and effect, and not offering any suggestions to trip up Minister Zheng,” Meng Qing said. “Your father-in-law is probably more conflicted than you; he’s also unsure whether to pass on the message. If the message gets through, almost everyone in the court will know, and the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel will become highly sought-after positions. He will lose his advantage, and whether he can be appointed as the Vice Minister of Personnel will depend entirely on whether the Emperor is willing to give him an important position.”
Du Min thought about it and realized that was indeed the case. However, his father-in-law had to report it. Otherwise, once the money was transported into Chang'an, the Empress Dowager would find out about it and might be angry with Prefect Yin for not reporting it.
“I’m going to talk to my father-in-law,” he said.
After reviewing the entire truckload of account books, Meng Qing readily let him leave. Before he departed, she instructed him, "Talk to your wife and see if you can leave in a couple of days. If she wants to stay at her parents' house a little longer, we'll go back first."
"Okay, I'll go ask her." Du Min walked out of the courtyard and ran into Du Li carrying Wang Chuan back from a walk. He snapped his fingers at Wang Chuan.
"Have you finished reviewing the accounts?" Du Li asked.
"I'm done reading it, finally done! I've been dreaming about using an abacus these past few days." Du Min let out a long sigh. "Let's go."
Du Li nodded, carrying the child inside. He saw Meng Qing tidying up account books in the pavilion and asked, "When are you going back to Heqing County?"
"Let's see how the third brother and his wife discuss it. I'm thinking of going back the day after tomorrow." Meng Qing opened her arms, and Wang Chuan, seeing this, also spread his hands and grinned as he came into his mother's arms.
Du Li handed the child over and took over the task of tidying up the account books, saying, "I will hire a carriage and bodyguards tomorrow, and go to the charity school to move the money box early the day after tomorrow."
Meng Qing nodded. She was going to take most of the profits from the charity school with her when she returned to Heqing County. It would be safer to keep the money in the Heqing County government office.
The next day, Yin Caiwei came to talk to Meng Qing, and the two reached an agreement to leave the following afternoon.
When Prefect Yin learned that they were transporting money back to Heqing County, he arranged for ten officials to escort them.
On the afternoon of August 14th, Meng Qing and others left Luoyang following seventeen money transport vehicles.
Four days later, the carriage arrived in Heqing County. The group had just sat down to eat and rest when a carrier pigeon landed in the courtyard.
Du Min was too lazy to get up. He scooped a mouthful of rice from his bowl and shook it into Wang Zhou's hand, telling him to feed the pigeons and retrieve the message.
Wang Zhou took the letter down, looked at the cloth ring on the pigeon's webbed feet, and said, "The pigeon belongs to Prefect Yin."
"Why can't we say things face to face? We've come back and we're being sent messages by carrier pigeon again," Yin Caiwei muttered.
Du Min had a guess in his mind. He put down his chopsticks, took the letter, unfolded it, and said to Meng Qing, "Second sister-in-law, my father has decided to send a message to the female saint."
"You didn't offer any advice or suggestions to your father-in-law, did you?" Meng Qing asked.
"How could that be?" Du Min shook his head. He wasn't stupid. His father-in-law wasn't his second sister-in-law. He still had to put on an act in front of his virtuous father-in-law.
"What is it? What plan do you want to offer?" Yin Caiwei inquired.
Du Min waved his hand at her, indicating that she should not ask any more questions. He held the note and thought for a moment, then said, "I also want to follow the previous memorial. The main purpose is to thank the Emperor for promoting me to the position of Prefect of Huaizhou, and to explain the matter of the free school. What happens next is none of my business."
Meng Qing thought for a moment and said, "Okay, just ask for instructions, don't offer any suggestions."
Du Min laughed heartily, "I don't have the guts."
He didn't even eat his meal; he immediately went to his study to write official documents.
"So urgent?" Yin Caiwei muttered.
Meng Qing witnessed the interaction between the two, but Du Min refused to tell Yin Caiwei, and she didn't say anything more.
"Caiwei, take your time eating, I'm done." Meng Qing was about to leave.
Yin Caiwei glanced at her bowl, which still had a little less than half a bowl of rice left. She shook her head and smiled, "Second sister-in-law, eat in peace. I won't keep bothering you with questions. My parents told me that if you want me to know about what you're planning, I'll listen, but if you don't want me to know, I won't ask."
Meng Qing was truly full, but after Yin Caiwei said that, she sat down again and said, "There are some things that you can't know, but since you weren't involved, you don't know the cause and process at all. If I were to explain, it would take a long time. If you're really curious, go ask Lao San when he's free."
Yin Caiwei smiled and said, "Okay, I understand."
After a while, Du Li finished eating, and Meng Qing went back to the room with him to rest. When they entered, they saw Wang Zhou lying on the bed, with Wang Chuan lying on top of him, the two brothers playing with each other's faces.
"Mom, my little brother's flesh is so soft," Wangzhou said. "Was I like that when I was little?"
“You were a bit fatter than him when you were little, and your flesh was softer.” Meng Qing was tired and said, “Take your little brother to your bedroom to play, I need to sleep for a while.”
Wang Zhou picked up Wang Chuan, turned over, put on his shoes, and carried the chubby little boy out the door.
Du Li lay down for a while, but he still felt uneasy. He sat up again and said, "I'll go check on Wang Zhou. He's still too young to take care of Wang Chuan."
"Don't worry about it. He won't take care of the younger ones, but he has his own plans. Wangchuan will be fine in his hands." Meng Qing was confident.
Du Li ignored him and walked out of the room to Wang Zhou's bedroom. He heard a maid's voice inside, pushed open the door and saw Wang Zhou sitting on the couch reading a book, with Wang Chuan lying beside him and another maid guarding the foot of the couch.
"What are you doing?" Wang Zhou asked, peeking out of the boat.
Du Li waved his hand, closed the door, and left.
Meng Qing heard footsteps coming in. She opened her eyes and saw that Du Li was empty-handed. She smiled and said, "Am I right? Now you feel relieved?"
"I feel relieved." Du Li took off his shoes and lay down, smiling as he said, "He called a maid to keep watch."
Meng Qing closed his eyes and said, "Let Wangzhou and Wangchuan spend more time together. When Wangchuan gets a little older, if he is naughty and has a conflict with Wangzhou, we should not interfere when Wangzhou disciplines him. Whoever puts in the effort to raise the child will love him more. The younger brother who has been taught by his elder brother since childhood will listen to his elder brother when he grows up."
"Okay, I've got it." Du Li agreed, closing his eyes as he pondered, gradually forming an idea in his mind.
The next day, as dawn was still breaking, Wang Chuan woke up hungry as usual. Meng Qing took him in her arms and breastfed him. Du Li opened the door to fetch hot water. Passing by Wang Zhou's bedroom, he saw candlelight inside and knocked. "Wang Zhou, are you awake?"
"Hmm." Wang Zhou was getting dressed.
Du Li told him to open the door, "Give me the basin, I'll get you some water."
Wang Zhou handed the washbasin out.
Du Li brought over two basins of hot water at a time. After washing and changing his youngest son into clean clothes, the sound of reading came from the study. He waited a while, and when Du Min also entered the study, he carried the little guy, who was full and sleepy, inside.
Du Min glanced at him twice, "You're here for morning reading too?"
Du Li spread the swaddled baby out on the desk and placed the child on it the next moment.
"I want to get a good night's sleep. Since you guys aren't sleeping, keep an eye on him for me."
"Nonsense! Take him away, take him away. We're reading, who's going to watch the child for you?" Du Min said with a look of disgust.
“You don’t need to keep an eye on him. Just continue doing what you’re doing. Wang Chuan is just like Wang Zhou; once he’s asleep, nothing can wake him. He’s eaten and is sleeping now. He won’t wake up until the sun comes out, so he won’t disturb you.” Du Li said and turned to leave.
"Hey!" Du Min stood up. "Since you won't wake up, what are you showing us? Take him back and keep him by your side."
“I can’t sleep soundly when he’s lying next to me; I’m always worried that I’ll roll over and crush him.” Du Li opened the door and ran away.
Du Min clicked his tongue and turned to look at Wang Zhou, "Look what your father has done!"
Wang Zhou looked at his chubby younger brother, who was sprawled out on the desk, and vaguely understood his father's intention. The family had no shortage of servants, and if it was just for a good night's sleep, his father wouldn't have gone to such lengths.
“If you wake him up, have a servant carry him away. If you can’t wake him up, let him sleep on the desk,” Wang Zhou compromised. He joked, “He’s been listening to me read to him in his dreams since he was little. I wonder if he’ll be even smarter when he grows up.”
"Is that what your father is planning?" Du Min scoffed.
Wang Zhou didn't respond. He picked up his book and continued reading, his gaze occasionally falling on the desk. Du Min watched from the side and found that the boy was completely unaffected.
"Did he go out to steal at night?" Du Min muttered.
Wang Zhou was relieved. He focused all his attention on his books and stopped paying attention to anything else, becoming more and more engrossed in his reading.
Du Min, on the other hand, after reading for a while, couldn't help but look away from the book and fall on Wang Chuan. He had to restrain himself several times before he managed not to write on Wang Chuan's hands and feet with the brush.
The candle burned shorter and shorter, and the morning light outside repeatedly illuminated the dimly lit study. When the candle burned out, the sky brightened and the sun came out.
Du Li had been waiting outside the study until the reading stopped. He went in, picked up the child, and asked, "How are you? Did I disturb you?"
"This kid must be a piglet reincarnated, he can sleep so much," Du Min said.
Du Li rolled her eyes at him, "What do you know? All kids are like this. Wang Zhou was like this when he was little. Even the sound of splitting bamboo couldn't wake him up."
Du Min recalled that Wang Zhou grew up in a paper horse shop. He wondered if Wang Zhou's love for weaving things with paper and wheat straw was influenced by his childhood.
“From now on, I’ll bring Wangchuan over every morning. You guys can watch over him for me while I go back to my room for a good night’s sleep,” Du Li said tentatively.
“Alright, I’ll start my little brother’s education as soon as possible,” Wang Zhou agreed.
Du Min had no objection, but he didn't want to agree readily. "Now that you're awake, why are you still sleeping? How can you sleep? Have you no shame? Come and read with us."
"I'm not taking the imperial examinations, so why should I get up early and stay up late to study?" Du Li said, displeased.
"Then take Wangchuan away." Du Min snorted, stretching out his long arm to pull Wangzhou into his arms, and said unhappily, "Isn't it just that you're worried I'll favor my eldest nephew and neglect my youngest? Du Lao Er, you're quite cunning!"
Du Li did not deny it, "Alright, I'll accompany the young masters to study."
From then on, every morning in the study, there was a sleeping child and a foolish old man struggling to practice calligraphy.
Days passed by, and Heqing County transitioned from summer to autumn. After September, the weather turned cold.
At the end of September, Ren Wenqiu came to Heqing County to resign from his post. He had passed the provincial examination this year and was going to the capital to take the imperial examination.
Du Min also needed to go to the capital to report on his duties, so he simply took Ren Wenqiu with him to Luoyang to board an official boat.
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Author's note: The next chapter is difficult to write, I haven't figured it out yet, I'll update it tomorrow night, this is the only chapter for today.
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