Chapter 237 Looking to the Boat to Become a Master
Meng Qing hesitated, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Du Min nodded excitedly, "Prime Minister Zheng said that if I went to apologize, he would make me lose face. But he is a gentleman and would not do anything to humiliate people. Today, he just wouldn't let me in. I will gladly lose face and sincerely apologize to him so that he can have his wish fulfilled."
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhou became excited. "Third Uncle, you are Lian Po reincarnated! I have only read about the story of Lian Po carrying thorns to apologize in the Records of the Grand Historian. I never thought I would be able to witness it in person."
Du Min's lips curled up, and he suppressed his excitement and said in a low voice, "If I become prime minister one day, this beautiful story of Du and Zheng apologies with thorns on their backs will be written into history books and praised by future generations."
Wang Zhou nodded repeatedly.
Meng Qing chuckled and shook her head, saying, "Don't let your future reputation cloud your judgment. Focus on the present. If you do that, you'll be putting Prime Minister Zheng on the hot seat, which will truly offend him. Before the situation is settled, he won't be grateful to you; he might even hate you."
Du Min frowned for a few moments. "It's impossible to say I don't care whether he hates me or not, but if I refuse to serve him as governor, my relationship with him and the aristocratic families will remain the same. I can refuse today because I've just been promoted to prefect of Huai Prefecture. If I don't ask the two emperors for permission, Prime Minister Zheng can't touch me. But things might be different in three to five years, unless he falls from power within three to five years and can't interfere with my career."
"That's true." Meng Qing nodded. Du Min had already become the prefect of Shangzhou. Within ten years, if he could properly manage the agriculture and water conservancy of the other four counties in Huaizhou, his next step would be to enter the imperial court as a minister. He was on the rise, while Prime Minister Zheng was already at the peak, and if he didn't hold on, he would fall. Prime Minister Zheng's current situation was already precarious. If he made a wrong move, Du Min might even become Prime Minister Zheng's superior. If Prime Minister Zheng made a mistake and became narrow-minded, he would turn on Du Min and drag him down with him.
Thinking of this, Meng Qing couldn't help but think of Prime Minister Zheng's actions today. Did he simply want Du Min to be his henchman to break the deadlock for him, or did he want to drag Du Min down with him?
"Second sister-in-law, do you think Prime Minister Zheng knows our intentions?" Du Min asked. "It's true that you offered him advice and strategies, but how could he not know the underlying motives? The Empress Dowager's conditions have put him in a dilemma. Do you think he has ever had the urge to take his anger out on you?"
Meng Qing remained silent.
“We’re better off without this kind of peace maintained by false affection. Let’s interact with him directly, based on mutual benefit. If we share the same interests, we’ll cooperate; if we don’t, we’ll set each other up,” Du Min suggested. “Second Sister-in-law, what do you think of this approach?”
“Okay.” Meng Qing nodded. “If this move can completely drag him down, no matter how much resentment he has towards us, in the end, he will definitely thank us.”
"Are you so sure? What kind of dream did you have this time?" Du Min asked inquiringly.
Meng Qing suppressed her smile and glanced at him.
"Are we almost at Anlefang?" Du Min hurriedly went to draw the curtains and immediately became obedient.
Meng Qing crossed his arms and remained silent.
Wang Zhou's gaze darted back and forth. What secret was this? He seemed to have never heard of it before.
The rest of the journey was quiet. When they finally arrived at the Li residence in Anlefang, Du Min was the first to get off the carriage as if he were fleeing.
Wang Zhou then turned his back to the carriage and gave Du Min a gloating smile, before taking his place to help his mother down from the carriage.
Du Min knocked on the door. "I am Du Min, the Prefect of Huai Prefecture. My wife and I have come to visit Lord Li at the behest of Prime Minister Zheng. I wonder if Lord Li is at home?"
The gatekeeper opened the door and welcomed the three in, after which a servant went to deliver a message.
Meng Qing and Du Min sat in the reception room with Wang Zhou for about half an incense stick's time when Old Master Li walked in with a middle-aged man.
"Sir, it's been five years since we last met. You're still as energetic as ever, almost exactly the same as when I first saw you. You haven't aged a bit." Meng Qing stood up to greet him. Although it was a compliment, he was genuinely surprised. This old man was in excellent health and looked like he could live for at least another ten years.
“Madam, you are becoming more and more elegant.” Lord Li replied, then looked at Du Min who came over to pay his respects and said, “I have long heard of Governor Du, and seeing you today, I can confirm that you are indeed a talented man.”
"You flatter me, sir." Du Min smiled modestly. "It is my good fortune that you have not treated me differently because of the rumors. Today, my sister-in-law and I have brought my nephew to visit you. I hope that my nephew will catch your eye and we can become master and disciple."
"Junior Wangzhou greets Your Excellency." Wangzhou stepped forward and bowed.
Old Master Li grasped Wang Zhou's right hand, rubbed it a couple of times, and then released it. He said to his eldest son beside him, "Your palms are calloused, and your hands are strong. You've done carpentry yourself. Take him away and examine him."
"Come with me."
"This is my eldest son, a junior craftsman in the Imperial Workshop," Old Master Li introduced. He then looked at Wangzhou and asked, "Child, do you know what the Imperial Workshop is?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, the Director of Works is in charge of large-scale projects such as palaces, city walls, and mausoleums." Wang Zhou looked at Li Shaojiang with shining eyes, "Young Master Li must be extremely capable."
Li Shaojiang remained expressionless. "Come with me."
Wang Zhou bowed to Elder Li again before leaving, filled with trepidation and excitement.
"Gentlemen, please take a seat and have some tea," Elder Li greeted. "I am getting old and my energy is failing. I no longer have the heart to teach, so I originally did not want to agree. But Prime Minister Zheng came twice to plead for you and asked me to repay a favor on your behalf, so I had no choice but to agree. If the young man truly has talent in this area, I can accept him as my student, but only as his teacher in name. My eldest son will mainly be responsible for his studies in the future."
“I understand. After we leave this room, I will remind Wangzhou that you are his only teacher.” Meng Qing understood the underlying meaning. Old Master Li had long since retired, and it was understandable that he would take on a talented young apprentice for amusement in his later years. However, Young Master Li was still an official in the court, and if he had a master-disciple relationship with Wangzhou, it might influence his political stance.
"Why would a young master be interested in house construction?" Master Li changed the subject.
“My family started out making paper funerary objects. He grew up in a paper horse shop and saw a lot of things there. He became interested in origami and weaving. When he was six or seven, he started figuring out how to build houses out of paper and straw,” Meng Qing explained. “Later, he was fortunate enough to come to your house and get a book list from you. With professional books to guide him, he became even more interested. You were his guide, and I think it might be fate. That’s why I asked Prime Minister Zheng to intercede for us.”
"What a coincidence!" Old Master Li hadn't expected it to be for this reason.
After chatting for another half hour, Li Shaojiang finally brought Wangzhou over, and he nodded to his father.
“The Imperial Academy has a ten-day break, with one day off after each break. You can come here to collect your lessons during the ten-day break each month. There is a one-month agricultural leave in May and a one-month clothing-granting leave in September. For each of these two long holidays, I will only give you ten days or even less to reunite with your family,” said Master Li. “If you have no objections, then go and prepare for the apprenticeship ceremony. There’s no better time than today, so kowtow today.”
Meng Qing frowned. This meant that Wang Zhou would have less time to spend with his family.
Wang Zhou restrained himself from looking at his mother. After a few moments of thought, he lifted his robe and knelt down, saying, "Disciple Wang Zhou greets Master."
"I'm going out for a bit." Du Min immediately went to prepare the apprenticeship ceremony.
Master Li helped Wang Zhou up, took off the jade thumb ring from his hand and handed it to him, saying, "From today onwards, you are my eighth disciple, Li Congdao."
Wang Zhou bowed again, then stood up, clutching the thumb ring.
“With your master taking you in, I don’t need to rent a house in Luoyang anymore, and you don’t have time to go home anyway,” Meng Qing said. “My lord, I entrust my son to your care from now on.”
Master Li was quite pleased with Wang Zhou's decision to become his apprentice, saying, "He can stay here when he's on vacation, and you can come to my house to see him."
"Thank you." Meng Qing couldn't quite describe her feelings; she was happy for Wang Zhou, but also very reluctant to part with him.
After a while, Du Min brought the apprenticeship gifts, and Wang Zhou served tea, thus concluding the hasty apprenticeship ceremony.
The three of them had lunch at the Li residence and then left. On the way back to the post station, all three of them were somewhat silent.
“Your father and I will take Wangchuan and Ximei to visit you at the Imperial College at least once a month,” Meng Qing said. “If it happens to be your vacation time, and you come here to collect your homework, then come with us to the post station to stay overnight.”
Wang Zhou grunted in response.
Du Min patted Wang Zhou on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Nephew, you've grown up. The way you knelt down to become my disciple back then was just like me back then. I thought you were going to be all coy and put on a sour face, waiting for your mother to make a decision for you."
“This opportunity today is hard-won. I was able to pass the test because my mother paved the way for me for five years. How can I let her down?” Wang Zhou looked ahead and stared at the swaying carriage curtain. He said, “Back then, from Wu County to Chang’an, it was more than a thousand miles. My parents never abandoned me. Now it’s just from Huaizhou to Luoyang. I know my parents will definitely find an opportunity to come and be with me.”
Meng Qing patted the back of his neck and said, "That's right, just keep running forward, your parents will always be behind you."
Du Min watched with envy and snorted.
Wang Zhou rolled his eyes.
The carriage returned to the Yin residence. As soon as it entered the gate, Wangchuan and Ximei came to greet them. Du Li followed behind, and seeing the three people in the carriage get off one by one, he asked, "How was it?"
“I failed to enter the Prime Minister’s residence, but Wangzhou entered the Li residence,” Du Min replied. “When we leave in a few days, Wangzhou will stay. We will come back in June when the teachers at the Imperial Academy finish their leave and then we will enroll Wangzhou.”
"Huh? My brother isn't coming back with us?" Wang Chuan asked with a bitter face.
"No one's watching you anymore, isn't that a good thing?" Wang Zhou asked.
“That’s true.” Wang Chuan nodded, and as soon as he finished speaking, he received a slap on the back.
“Big brother, I’ll watch over second brother for you,” Xi Mei volunteered.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Ximei." Wangzhou squatted down and picked up Ximei. "Come on, let's go talk to your uncle."
Wang Chuan moved closer to Meng Qing, who pointed to Wang Zhou's figure, gesturing for him to follow. "Your brother won't be able to go back until September."
Wang Chuan was shocked. "September?"
Meng Qing nodded.
Wang Chuan immediately gave chase.
There were only three adults left in the front yard. After chatting for a while, the three of them went out together to the market to look for brambles.
-----------------------
Author's note: See you tomorrow night.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com