But how could Zixi stop Ji Yong?
Ji Yong swaggered through the covered walkway into the front courtyard.
A large group of people was approaching, surrounding an elderly man.
The old man was of medium height, with white hair and beard but a rosy complexion. He wore a somewhat worn but elegant cobalt blue silk robe, and a small red agate bottle hung from his waist. His eyes sparkled with vitality, revealing a hint of youthful curiosity.
As soon as he saw Ji Yong, he broke into a hearty laugh, saying, “Jingming, how did you know I was coming? I specifically told them not to tell you. I heard you’ve been doing well at the Hanlin Academy. Come, let me see if you’ve made any progress!”
“Great-grandfather!” Ji Yong’s eyes widened, and he turned to glare at Zixi as if to say, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Zixi instinctively shrank back and hurriedly explained, “It was the two elders’ orders. They said it was the old man’s wish to surprise you, so we didn’t say anything.”
“I see the surprise, but I don’t know where the joy comes from!” Ji Yong pouted, maintaining a stern expression as he approached his great-grandfather and bowed, calling out, “Great-grandfather.”
Ji Laotai, accustomed to reaching out to pat Ji Yong’s head, was taken aback to find that Ji Yong was no longer the childish boy he once was; he had grown taller than the old man. Ji Laotai had to raise his hand to reach Ji Yong’s head and chuckled, saying, “Good boy,” creating a somewhat comical scene.
Ji Song and Ji Qi lowered their eyes, pretending not to see.
The others also turned their heads away.
Ji Yong’s mouth twitched slightly.
Ji Laotai had already taken Ji Yong’s hand and was walking inside while chatting with him. “Where are you off to? It’s rare for everyone to gather today; you shouldn’t go out to play. Stay and keep this old man company. I brought back a few inkstones from Jiangnan, a gift from your uncle. Among them are a Yishui inkstone and a Longwei inkstone. Help me take a look.” He glanced back at his grandchildren and great-grandchildren following behind and added with a smile, “Later, each of you can take one to use.”
Hearing this, Ji Yong’s cousins rushed forward to flatter Ji Laotai, exclaiming that he was biased. “What use is an inkstone without ink? You’d be better off being generous and giving us some Songyan ink to use!”
“I knew you’d open your mouths,” Ji Laotai feigned a pained expression. “As soon as you speak, it’s like bloodletting! Do you want the inkstones or not?”
Everyone enjoyed the playful antics of the old man, laughing and teasing, “Of course, we want both the inkstones and the ink!”
A group of people entered the hall, giggling and chattering.
Ji Yong grimaced, feeling as if he had a toothache, and followed Ji Laotai closely.
If it were anyone else, he could have simply walked away. But facing Ji Laotai, whom he had never bested since childhood, he felt a mix of respect for the elder and reluctance in his heart. Despite his unwillingness, he accompanied Ji Laotai to sit in the hall.
Leaning toward Ji Yong, Ji Laotai said, “Your teacher, Lord Yang, speaks highly of you and even wrote me a letter praising your understanding of agriculture, saying you are not an ordinary scholar. Since he values you so much, I must meet him—tomorrow, you will accompany me to visit Lord Yang. We are both from Southern Zhili; distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. You should often seek his guidance when you have free time.”
What’s there to go for? Every time he visited, it was all about farming, forcing him to seek out knowledgeable stewards for inquiries, which nearly exposed him…
Ji Yong gloomily replied, “Yes.”
Ji Laotai beamed with joy, no longer paying attention to Ji Yong, and continued chatting with Ji Song and Ji Qi.
Naturally, his plan to find Chen Qu Shui was dashed.
Not only that, but Ji Laotai also dragged Ji Yong to visit this person today and that person tomorrow, under the pretense of introducing old friends for Ji Yong to meet. Ji Song and Ji Qi fully supported this, leaving Ji Yong with little time for anything other than accompanying Ji Laotai, except for his visits to the Hanlin Academy.
Before he knew it, summer had arrived, yet Ji Laotai showed no signs of wanting to return. Instead, he grew more enthusiastic about revisiting places he had traveled to in his youth and making up for those he hadn’t visited.
Just then, Ji Yong’s attendant reported that Chen Qu Shui would be leaving for Zhen Ding in a few days.
Ji Yong was overwhelmed with annoyance and shrugged off his sleeves, declaring he wouldn’t accompany them any longer.
Ji Qi was furious, his veins bulging, and scolded him, “How many good days does the old man have left? While he can still eat and drink, we, as his descendants, should honor him properly. Are we supposed to wait until he’s buried to show our respect?! If you dare to act up in front of him, you’ll be kneeling in the ancestral hall!”
The Ji family’s ancestral hall was in Yixing.
Ji Yong simply knelt in the Buddhist hall where the portraits of the Ji family ancestors were enshrined.
Ji Qi was so furious he nearly lost his breath, searching for a feather duster to hit Ji Yong.
Mrs. Han also felt Ji Yong was going too far and stopped Ji Song, who was trying to mediate, saying, “In all matters, filial piety comes first. If he doesn’t understand this principle, it would be better to beat him to death!”
Ji Song sighed.
Ji Qi gave Ji Yong a beating.
Ji Yong said, “So I don’t have to accompany great-grandfather everywhere, right?”
Ji Qi was momentarily speechless.
After leaving the government office, Ji Yong went to find Chen Qu Shui.
Chen Qu Shui was not in the shop.
Tian Fugui was very attentive, chatting with Ji Yong. “… The Seventh Lord has invited Mr. Chen over for a discussion, so he might be a bit late. I wonder what business you have with Mr. Chen? Would you like me to send a message? Or should I tell him you came looking for him and ask him to visit you tomorrow?”
Should he go see his aunt?
Ji Yong pondered, absentmindedly leaving the shop.
A carriage stopped beside him, and someone lifted the curtain, calling out, “Jingming, what are you doing here?”
Ji Yong looked up to see He Yu, dressed in splendid attire, sitting in the carriage.
Since their fight at the Zui Xian Lou, He Yu had found Ji Yong’s bold personality appealing, and Ji Yong thought He Yu was also somewhat responsible. They had since maintained a casual relationship—Ji Yong had received congratulatory gifts from He Yu after his success, and Ji Yong had attended He Yu’s wedding.
“Nothing much, just wandering around.” He instinctively didn’t want He Yu to know this was Dou Zhao’s ink shop.
He Yu didn’t mind and nodded, saying, “I’m going to Zui Xian Lou for drinks. Would you like to join me? Chen Zexi, Xu Zhiji, Yang Yunxiao, and Cai Guyuan are all there.”
Chen Zexi was a prominent official in the Ministry of Rites, only thirty-two this year, and the grandson of the former Grand Secretary Chen Yan, known as a talented youth in court. He Yu had married Chen Zexi’s cousin.
Xu Zhiji and Yang Yunxiao were also Ji Yong’s colleagues at the Hanlin Academy, both relatively young.
Feeling uncomfortable, Ji Yong was immediately interested when he heard that Cai Guyuan, who often looked at him sideways, would be there. He unceremoniously climbed into the carriage, saying, “Then I’ll join you.”
He Yu admired Ji Yong’s rebellious demeanor and laughed heartily, making way for him as they headed to Zui Xian Lou together.
When Ji Yong got sharp-tongued, few could withstand it.
Before they finished their drinks, Cai Guyuan’s face had turned ashen.
Xu Zhiji and Yang Yunxiao struggled to hold back their laughter.
Seeing that this was not going well, Chen Zexi exchanged glances with He Yu, signaling him to leave with Ji Yong.
He Yu found Cai Guyuan quite dull and had no intention of continuing to pretend everything was fine. He quietly spoke a few words to Ji Yong, and after finishing their drinks, they stood to take their leave.
As they passed through the corridor, He Yu couldn’t help but complain, “Didn’t they say he was exceptionally talented? I don’t see it…”
Before he could finish his sentence, someone suddenly emerged from a private room nearby, nearly colliding with He Yu.
He Yu instinctively pushed the person away.
The person, slightly drunk, stumbled and nearly fell, immediately becoming angry and shouting, “Can’t you watch where you’re going?!”
He Yu was not one to take such insults lightly. He immediately grabbed the person’s collar and retorted, “Who the hell are you talking about? Say it again! If I don’t knock your teeth out, I won’t be called ‘He’!”
The person let out a surprised sound and a fawning smile spread across his drunken face. Ignoring He Yu, he greeted Ji Yong, “Ji Daren, I didn’t expect to run into you here!”
Ji Yong had just made a sarcastic remark about Cai Guyuan and was in a good mood, but he was taken aback when the greeting was directed at him. He paused slightly and asked, “Who are you?”
The man quickly straightened up and smiled, “I’m Zheng Zhaokun, the head of the Water and Irrigation Division in the Ministry of Works. Ji Daren, when you topped the examination, I came to your residence to congratulate you and met you once.”
Ji Yong didn’t recognize him.
Thinking that his uncle was the Deputy Minister of Works, this man was likely trying to curry favor with his uncle by using Ji Yong’s success as an excuse to send a gift.
“Oh,” Ji Yong replied.
He Yu didn’t want to argue with him either and said irritably, “Forget it, just apologize to me, and we’ll leave it at that!”
Zheng Zhaokun hurriedly nodded and bowed, apologizing profusely. “Young Master He, Ji Daren, since we’ve met by chance, please allow me the opportunity to toast you both with a drink.”
He Yu couldn’t help but laugh, sizing him up. “I didn’t expect you to be quite clever.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the door to the private room behind Zheng Zhaokun swing wide open, and a wave of music and laughter from women spilled out.
A voice called out, “Zheng Zhaokun!” The speaker looked up and saw Zheng Zhaokun nearby, slapping him on the shoulder with a drunken grin. “Did you fall into a latrine or something?”
Ji Yong and He Yu couldn’t help but glance into the private room.
They saw a youth sitting in the main seat, looking even more delicate than a young girl. Beside him were two alluring women, one pouring wine for the youth while the other flirted with a handsome man in his twenties sitting next to the youth, who had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, looking dashing and upright.
The man seemed somewhat out of place in such a setting, his expression awkward and forced.
Noticing someone looking over, the youth raised his head, casting a half-smiling glance at them, his demeanor slightly mischievous.
He Yu frowned and whispered to Ji Yong, “That’s Gu Yu.”
The little tyrant of the capital, the nephew of Empress Wan, and the legitimate grandson of Duke Gu Quanfang.
Ji Yong had heard of him.
But his gaze fell on the handsome man beside Gu Yu, his eyes flashing with a cold glint like a blade.
“Since Lord Zheng has kindly invited us, it would be too disrespectful not to drink a few cups with him,” Ji Yong said coolly, stepping into the private room.
He Yu was taken aback.
He had no choice but to follow him inside.