Chapter 437 Parting Makes People Grow
Yuan Hongqu pulled her into her arms and gently patted her back as she had when they were children: "Don't cry. You're not the same as you were when you were little anymore. Now you're the headmistress of the Suzhou Women's Academy. Be careful that people don't see you crying and laugh at you."
But her own voice was choked with undisguised sobs.
"Granny, even though we're thousands of miles apart, will we still be able to meet there?" Daiyu suddenly remembered the space that only two people could enter.
Yuan Hongqu shook her head, but still gave Daiyu some hope.
"Maybe it's possible. The furthest distance we've ever tried is three hundred li. After we've gone over three hundred li, I'll go there every day if I have the chance to cook for you. When I go there again, if the food is still there, it means we can't meet there anymore. If you've moved the food, then there might not be any geographical restrictions there. Even if we're separated by thousands of miles, it won't matter to us."
Daiyu was eventually comforted. Although she couldn't be with her nanny every day, it was still quite nice to be able to meet her here.
But Daiyu still felt that if they were too far apart and she and her nanny could not see each other, wouldn't she be all alone again? So her sadness only lessened, not disappeared completely.
The next morning, the imperial procession prepared to depart. Daiyu and Yuan Hongqu stood silently beside the carriage.
"Remember to eat on time..." Yuan Hongqu repeated this most ordinary instruction in the end.
Daiyu nodded emphatically: "Granny, you should also take care of your health and not overwork yourself."
The Empress watched the master and apprentice from her carriage and couldn't help but sigh, "Master Yuan and Yu'er have a deep bond, and it is truly heartbreaking to see them separated like this."
The Emperor nodded: "Spring will arrive soon next year."
The time had come, and the carriage slowly started moving.
Daiyu stood there, watching Yuan Hongqu lean out of the carriage window and wave to her. Her figure grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared at the end of the official road.
Even after the carriage was completely out of sight, Daiyu remained standing in the same spot.
The weather in late autumn has completely lost the heat of early autumn, but it is cold enough to make people feel sad.
Autumn is the season of farewells.
Daiyu felt a pang of pain in her heart and almost shed tears again.
Suddenly she felt a warmth on her shoulder; Zijuan had draped a cloak over her shoulders.
"Lord Yuan is blessed with good fortune and will surely have a safe journey," Zijuan said softly. "Miss, please take care of yourself and don't worry Lord Yuan."
Daiyu then came to her senses and found that her face was already wet with tears.
She wiped away her tears and forced a smile: "Let's go back, we still have to go to the academy."
She turned and walked towards the academy, her steps firm.
Granny Yuan is right. She is now a princess and the headmistress of the Suzhou Academy. She has responsibilities and cannot wallow in sorrow over parting.
That night, however, Daiyu sat alone by the window, gazing at the bright moon in the sky, and finally couldn't help but shed tears.
Unlike their brief separation last time, where they both knew they would see each other again soon and therefore didn't feel any sadness about parting, this time...
In a carriage a thousand miles away, Yuan Hongqu also found it hard to sleep under the moon. In her hand, she held a handkerchief embroidered by Daiyu herself, the crooked hibiscus flowers on it being Daiyu's first embroidery when she was six years old.
"If Your Excellency is reluctant to part with it, why not ask the Emperor for permission to keep it for a little longer?" Yin Duo asked softly.
Yuan Hongqu shook her head: "Daiyu has grown up and must learn to be independent. I can protect her for the rest of my life, but what will she do if I pass away? She must learn to say goodbye."
After Yuan Hongqu left, Daiyu devoted all her energy to the construction of the academy.
Every day before dawn, Daiyu would rise to handle the affairs of the academy. First, she would check the previous day's accounts, then inspect the classrooms, and in the afternoon she would personally teach poetry lessons.
Following the model of women's academies in the capital, she added practical subjects such as mathematics and medicine to the Suzhou academy in addition to traditional subjects, and even invited several female doctors to teach.
To her greatest surprise, the Tenth Prince did not return to the capital with the emperor, but instead stayed in Suzhou under the pretext of "resting his health".
What's even more unexpected is that he actually started helping out in a very serious manner.
On this day, upon hearing that the academy was going to expand its grounds, the Tenth Prince arrived with a team of craftsmen.
"I heard that Prince Lin is going to expand the school buildings, so I specially invited the best craftsmen from Suzhou," the Tenth Prince said proudly. "These are all master craftsmen who have built imperial palaces for my brother. I guarantee that the academy will be built beautifully."
Just as Daiyu was about to express her gratitude, she saw Jia Baoyu also rushing over with a group of people.
“Sister Lin, I’ve invited some craftsmen who were frequently used by the Ministry of Works. They’re the most knowledgeable about architectural layouts.” Baoyu glanced at the Tenth Prince and added, “And they’ll only charge us the cost price.”
The Tenth Prince was immediately displeased: "The craftsmen I hired did not take a penny; they all came voluntarily to contribute to the academy!"
Baoyu smiled and said, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but these craftsmen also have families to support. The academy is not short of money, and it should not take advantage of the people for nothing."
The two started arguing back and forth in the courtyard.
Daiyu, feeling a headache coming on, coughed lightly and said, "I appreciate your kind offer, but how about this: the craftsmen hired by the Prince will be in charge of the main construction, and the craftsmen hired by Bao-er will be in charge of the interior layout? How does that sound?"
Only in this way was the storm calmed down.
From then on, it seemed that the Tenth Prince and Jia Baoyu were competing with each other. Today you donate a hundred books, tomorrow I will give you a thousand sheets of Xuan paper; you invite famous doctors to teach, I will find embroiderers to pass on my skills.
The teachers and students of the academy benefited greatly.
What made Daiyu both amused and exasperated was that the two of them would argue over even the smallest things.
That day, Daiyu casually mentioned that the students at the academy were physically weak and needed to strengthen their bodies.
The next morning, the Tenth Prince invited a female boxing instructor from the escort agency to teach the Five Elements Fist; in the afternoon, Baoyu brought a Tai Chi master to guide him in health preservation exercises.
So the girls in the academy practiced Five Elements Fist in the morning and Tai Chi in the afternoon, complaining endlessly about how difficult it was.
Daiyu had no choice but to step in and mediate, changing the classes to be held every other day, which finally put the students at ease.
"Have Bao-er-ye and the Tenth Prince been too attentive lately?" Xueyan asked quietly as she combed Daiyu's hair.
Daiyu looked at herself in the mirror and sighed softly, "It's a good thing that they're willing to help, but their competitive nature makes things difficult for them."
In truth, she understood their thoughts perfectly well.
Ever since that farcical incident of the Tenth Prince dressing up as a woman, he has always tried to salvage his image in front of her; while Baoyu seems to genuinely want to prove that he has reformed and is no longer the纨绔公子 (spoiled young master) he once was.
On this day, Daiyu was reviewing her students' poems when she suddenly saw the Tenth Prince and Baoyu requesting an audience, both of them looking rather grim.
“Princess Lin, please be the judge,” the Tenth Prince spoke first. “I said I wanted to hire a riding and archery instructor for my student, but Young Master Jia insisted that a young lady of a noble family shouldn’t learn riding and archery!”
Baoyu said calmly, “Sister, you are wise. Most of the girls in the academy are delicate and weak. They might get injured if they suddenly start practicing riding and archery. It would be better to start with health-preserving exercises and proceed step by step.”
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