My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 82

The three students were all sent by Yan Hongyin to Su Mengzhen’s bamboo building, where each studied different subjects under this teacher.

The little dumpling felt that what he was learning was similar to what he had studied in the palace, but this Mr. Su taught in a more interesting and comprehensible way than the palace tutors.

He seemed to have truly seen the mountains and waters of Great Ming with his own eyes, understanding the customs and official systems of each place. At the same time, Mr. Su knew many things the little dumpling had always been curious about regarding the jianghu and common people.

This quickly made Su Mengzhen surpass all of the little dumpling’s previous teachers, becoming his most respected mentor.

Though his request to learn martial arts was still refused by the teacher, the teacher taught him many jianghu slang terms and gossip. This gave the little dumpling an enthusiasm for daily lessons he had never felt before.

What Ye Gucheng learned was similar to what Su Mengzhen once taught at Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower. Su Mengzhen didn’t instill any ideas about loyalty to the emperor or patriotism in Ye Gucheng. He would occasionally give Ye Gucheng scenarios, asking what choices he would make.

Afterward, he would meticulously explain the advantages and disadvantages, never judging right or wrong, only discussing choices.

Of course, Ye Gucheng’s innate talent was exceptional, and Su Mengzhen naturally wouldn’t allow this student to waste his gifts.

Ye Gucheng’s previous problem was that while his internal energy was adequate, his swordsmanship was lacking.

Half of his sword techniques came from the Ye family’s collection of books, while the other half came from his daily practice by the sea with the tides. Though these sword techniques seemed immature to Su Mengzhen and the others, they undoubtedly displayed Ye Gucheng’s talent in swordsmanship.

Su Mengzhen reorganized Ye Gucheng’s sword techniques and integrated them coherently. He specially invited Yan Hongyin, who was knowledgeable about various weapons, to help. Through this, Ye Gucheng’s swordsmanship took complete form, and his internal energy cultivation technique, which had stagnated for a year, finally progressed.

As for Gong Jiu…

When he fell into Su Mengzhen’s library tower, he was like a little mouse tumbling into a rice bin. During those first few days, he didn’t respond to anyone who spoke to him, completely absorbed in those ancient texts.

When Su Mengzhen discovered that Gong Jiu had unconsciously begun practicing the martial arts techniques from his collected texts, he firmly pulled the young man out of the library.

That room contained books on many subjects, but Gong Jiu only favored martial arts manuals. Su Mengzhen recognized Gong Jiu’s craving for these, but also saw the young man’s weak self-control and suppressed desire.

He had Little Thorn secretly guard the library and told Gong Jiu that only after he thoroughly learned a book he specified and passed his test would Gong Jiu be allowed to read a martial arts manual of his choice. The first book was a Confucian classic, as heavy as eight scrolls of bamboo slips.

Gong Jiu glared at Su Mengzhen for a long time with a gloomy expression. Though he was extreme, he knew what was good for him, so he went off to memorize the book without a word.

The three students’ class times at the bamboo building were staggered. Su Mengzhen consistently had Little Thorn avoid the three students, as Little Thorn’s existence was too unusual.

But in the end, the observant Gong Jiu discovered it.

Little Thorn was naturally curious about humans. Additionally, several times when Gong Jiu tried to sneak into the library, he was caught by Little Thorn grabbing his clothes and making noise. Under Gong Jiu’s deliberate enticement, Little Thorn was finally caught red-handed.

Little Thorn hadn’t seen many humans, and this was his first time seeing an unfriendly one. Frightened, its thorns stood up, pricking Gong Jiu’s hands and drawing blood.

But Gong Jiu paid no attention to his blood dripping in a line on the ground. His movements didn’t relax at all as he sat cross-legged, stretching Little Thorn out with a flick and pinching him when coiled up.

Little Thorn initially didn’t want to respond, and Gong Jiu’s blood dripping on him created a kind of instinctual craving.

Little Thorn’s seed had been extremely difficult to germinate. During the process of raising this seed, Su Mengzhen had used his own blood as nourishment, but as its father, he strictly prohibited Little Thorn from consuming others’ blood.

The innocent Little Thorn was no match for Gong Jiu. Gong Jiu quickly observed Little Thorn’s restraint. Seeing Little Thorn’s blood-red crystalline color, he gently stroked the thorns with his bloody hand and softly said, “Drink, it’s all right. Just a little bit. I won’t tell the teacher.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the red thorns under his hand trembled as if startled, quickly darting into the shadows of the stairs and disappearing. Gong Jiu’s palm was slashed by the thorns, creating a wound deep enough to see bone. Fresh blood gushed out, dripping onto the ground.

Gong Jiu frowned and clenched his fist, but the corner of his lips curved upward.

He liked this little demon—what a creature after his own heart!

Something he liked…

Turning around, he saw Su Mengzhen’s wheelchair stopped not far behind him, his expression unreadable. It was unclear how long he had been watching.

After this, Gong Jiu could never find that little red demon again.

The original arrangement of memorizing one classic text to read one martial arts manual was clearly changed by the teacher as punishment—now he had to memorize five classics to read one manual.

….

For this year’s Lantern Festival, Yan Hongyin hadn’t paid much attention, but Yu Luocha had prepared many things early on: paper-cut window decorations, fireworks and firecrackers, and even floating lanterns that he had somehow learned to make.

Most importantly, Wang Lianhua, who had remained in Loulan City without returning to the Central Plains, also came to the Luocha Sect.

The time when Wang Lianhua had caused great disturbances wasn’t too long ago. Even though he had disguised himself with a different face, several elders still recognized his identity.

Since then, the Luocha Sect’s reverence and caution toward Yan Hongyin increased even more, leaving Yan Hongyin somewhat speechless.

She was a dignified Great Ming princess and Jinyiwei Commander, yet with those two standing beside her, she appeared anything but righteous.

The Crown Prince of the Zhu family had learned all sorts of things from Yu Luocha and Wang Lianhua. Some time ago, these two had even taken the little dumpling, dragged Ye Gucheng, and carried Gong Jiu to a brothel to broaden the three children’s horizons.

When Yan Hongyin went to catch them, all five were lined up in a second-floor private room cracking nuts, with female dancers performing in front of them, not missing a single one.

Because of this incident, Yan Hongyin mercilessly deprived all five, large and small, of their freedom to go out and play with firecrackers during the Lantern Festival. She tied Yu Luocha’s hands and made the only person who could cook stand aside to teach the other four how to make dumplings. The four who had never entered a kitchen made a complete mess of the stove, nearly burning down half of the main courtyard.

Yu Luocha was so anxious that he truly wanted to break the ropes and do it himself—if Yan Hongyin hadn’t been standing nearby, coughing indifferently.

In the end, for everyone to eat something edible and hot on Lantern Festival night, Yan Hongyin finally relented and allowed Yu Luocha to reclaim control of the kitchen.

But the others weren’t allowed to successfully escape from the kitchen either. Those skilled with knives and swords cut vegetables, those with dexterous hands wrapped dumplings, and the shortest one crouched by the stove trying hard to blow the fire.

However, there was one thing…

Yu Luocha had previously said he had nothing to teach Gong Jiu, but now it seemed that Gong Jiu was the only one who had learned Yu Luocha’s culinary skills.

The fastest and best at making dumplings and floating lanterns in the kitchen turned out not to be Wang Lianhua, who prided himself on his hand skills, but Gong Jiu, who had quickly mastered them after just watching once or twice.

By mealtime, Gong Jiu had already skillfully stir-fried a plate of candied sweet potatoes under Yu Luocha’s guidance.

…..

Winter passed and spring came, approaching late spring. News arrived from the capital.

The Second Prince had committed treason by forcing his way into the palace, only to be slain by the sword of the Grand Prince, who was intent on becoming emperor. The Second Prince’s maternal family, all scholars, were also massacred by the Grand Prince’s soldiers who stormed their manor. When the Noble Consort in the palace heard the tragic news, she fainted from anger and distress, and passed away a few days later.

The Grand Prince’s act of slaughtering unarmed scholars caused an uproar in the court. Literary figures’ verbal and written condemnations were like sharp blades aimed at the Grand Prince’s faction. Right at this moment, a court historian presented a petition before the emperor.

He claimed that the Second Prince’s treasonous act was actually born of desperation, that the Grand Prince’s faction controlled military power, secretly amassed troops, privately minted silver coins and weapons, and that for over ten years, officials under the Grand Prince had sold official positions, accepted bribes, and committed numerous cases of murder, yet these matters never reached the emperor’s ears. Their influence had grown rampant, and their wild ambitions were evident!

Amid this overwhelming condemnation, the Grand Prince’s maternal uncle stationed at Yumen Pass also began to stir.

Yan Hongyin closed the confidential memorial and asked Yu Luocha, “Are you ready to return to the capital?”

Yu Luocha tied the strings of his hood, his lips slightly curved. “Of course.”

What a coincidence that on the way back to the capital from the Luocha Sect, there was one city they must pass through—Yu-men-Pass.

What did the Grand Prince care about?

His status and power as a prince? Or was it his confident mother, the favored consort, and his uncle who controlled troops and was skilled in battle?

No matter. Soon, he would have nothing.

Yu Luocha looked out the window.

At this time of year, the Central Plains must already be lush green and vibrant, right?

The emperor of the Central Plains believed in fatherly kindness and filial piety. He wouldn’t easily kill his own son. Even for committing heinous crimes, the punishment would only be lifelong confinement.

How wonderful.

Yu Luocha felt that he would definitely have… a very enjoyable time with this Grand Prince whom he had never met.

****

The little dumpling, who was about to be named Crown Prince, was first escorted back to the capital by the emperor’s secret guards.

Ye Gucheng, who had been pushing himself to learn as quickly as possible, locked himself in his room for three full days after receiving a family letter from Baiyun City. When he emerged, his formerly expensive clothes were replaced by coarse hemp mourning garments. He no longer had the urgency to return to Baiyun City quickly and settled down to study by Su Mengzhen’s side.

Gong Jiu, using all his methods, had managed to read through Su Mengzhen’s collection of books and had been wandering around various parts of the Luocha Sect lately.

At Su Mengzhen’s reminder, Yan Hongyin realized Gong Jiu wanted to run away. She had no intention of forcing Gong Jiu to return to the capital, but she wanted him to stay a while longer so he wouldn’t cause trouble during this tense time in the Central Plains.

But when Gong Jiu heard that the little dumpling was leaving, he resolutely insisted on escorting the little dumpling back. Then, on the journey back to the capital, under the heavy guard of the emperor’s secret guards, he disappeared without a trace.

Yan Hongyin’s Jinyiwei last found his trail near the overseas dock in Yangzhou City, after which all traces of him vanished.

Wang Lianhua also left the Luocha Sect. According to him, he planned to take Xiao Feng, whom he had allowed to roam free for a long time, to see the evil wolves of the wilderness. There, he would force out some potential and talent that Lu Xiaofeng had not yet displayed.

On their way back to the capital, Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha first went to Yumen Pass, and then to Wanmei Mountain Villa.

On the hillside halfway up the mountain where Wanmei Mountain Villa was located, there was a slope covered with colorful wildflowers, making it look very lively, which contrasted with the cold and quiet appearance of the villa on the mountain.

Ximen Chuixue’s swordsmanship had already shown its edge. Soon, what he needed was no longer closed-door sword meditation, but to comprehend his sword path through actual combat.

However, at this time, neither Yan Hongyin nor Yu Luocha anticipated that the method Ximen Chuixue would eventually adopt would be to challenge others to death duels, repeatedly honing and improving his path on the edge of life and death.

This was indeed the fastest and most effective method, but also one that no elder would approve of their child taking.

Afterward, they changed to travel by water to Lin’an Prefecture.

Lin’an Prefecture remained as it was before, except for a small building in the bustling market adjacent to inns and hotels.

Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha sat on the second floor of a tavern, watching little dumpling Hua help a neighbor’s little girl bring down a raccoon from a tree. Although they had been separated for less than a year, they felt he had become much more steady and mature than before.

When the two passed by Hua Manlou, he stopped, his expression becoming somewhat hesitant. He blinked and instinctively reached out to grab Yu Luocha’s hem.

Yu Luocha immediately burst into laughter, carrying the little dumpling on his shoulder. The three of them—two adults and one child—returned to Hua Manlou’s small building. All along the way, the little dumpling gesticulated excitedly, describing his recent life, his face full of genuine, open-hearted smiles.

As the sun set in the west, the shadows of the three people stretched behind them, eventually connecting into one.

Year after year like this year, with ten thousand joys and all kinds of blessings.

~End~

TN: Next will be extras