Master Lishi had very high expectations for Yun Shou, and this child didn’t disappoint his expectations. He was very strict with himself and lived an extremely regular life—sleeping at the appointed time, reading at the appointed time, eating at the appointed time. Since Master Lishi had demanded that he reduce his excess fat, for three consecutive months this child hadn’t touched a single bite of meat. Seeing the child staring at meat with longing eyes, Yun Ye felt very distressed. Are you trying to teach my son to become a deviant?
Shou’er had been fat since childhood—his constitution was just like that. After reducing weight for three months, he was still round and plump. This child’s daily exercise volume was sufficient. Yun Ye had watched his son’s martial arts training class once and felt it was extremely cruel. Lishi kicked Yun Shou’s arms foot after foot. Not only did he have to dissipate the force Lishi applied to his body, he also had to prepare a counterattack. This was somewhat too harsh for an eleven-year-old child.
A plump child when touched should be soft, but all the flesh on Yun Shou’s body was rock hard. To satisfy his mother’s requirement for both literary and martial accomplishments, this child not only had to practice martial arts but also study literature—every day was extremely arduous.
Yun Ye had seen Han Nu—he was in the Yun Family’s back courtyard. Yun Ye deliberately brought his son to the back courtyard to look at Han Nu. When Yun Shou saw Han Nu sitting in the sunny spot playing with his own toes, he was greatly terrified.
“Father, are you saying that if I continue practicing like this I’ll become like Han Nu? From now on, your child will just learn wisdom from books.”
“Of course not. Han Nu is a deformed child—my son is not. The reason Father is having you look at Han Nu is to let you see what the extreme of strength is. Each of them has enormous strength—they can grab a horse and tear it apart. But do you know? Such an expert was finished off by Grandpa Liu Fang with just two colored wooden balls. Of course, your Uncle-in-law Dan Ying also chopped him twice.”
“Uncle Han Zhe can’t beat Han Nu, but Han Nu will listen to Uncle Han Zhe’s commands. What’s the reason for this? This is actually explaining a principle—strength needs wisdom to propel it.”
“You’re very diligent, son. If Father had half your willpower back then, his achievements definitely wouldn’t be limited to just this. But Father doesn’t regret it—Father’s youth was spent very happily. Son, being a bit fat physically doesn’t matter. We just need to be a healthy and happy fat person.”
An eleven-year-old child could already consider some things. Yun Shou tilted his head to look at his father, then glanced at the drooling Han Nu, hugging his father’s waist and saying: “Your child also feels wisdom is more important.”
Yun Ye squatted down and looked his son in the eyes at eye level, saying: “According to Father’s knowledge, the source of wisdom isn’t books but comes from thinking and living. Since you see that martial force is insufficient to rely on and books are insufficient to fear, then you must discover wisdom from your own daily life. After a period of time, you’ll discover that martial force and books are merely stepping stones for you to obtain wisdom.”
The father and son talked as they passed through the back gate. Yun Shou was somewhat confused by what his father said—he seemed to understand a little, yet seemed even more confused, because what Father said was different from what his master said, but Father was the smartest person in Chang’an.
Yun Shou was lonely. Because of his status, he didn’t have many friends. Since Li Chengqian had returned, he didn’t go to the Crown Prince’s residence much, nor did he have time to go. Eleven-year-old children from noble families were at their busiest time—the optimal age for developing understanding, and no family would relax their education.
Passing a small stream with a fallen dead tree laid across it, Yun Shou nimbly stepped across the dead tree and then turned back to watch his father slowly walk over. The father and son rarely had time alone together, so Yun Shou appeared extremely excited.
Today he didn’t need to attend class, didn’t need to read, didn’t need to practice martial arts, and even more so didn’t need to study etiquette. This one day each month following his father was a day Yun Shou greatly longed for. He actually very much hoped his father could carry him on his back, just like Father often carried his younger brother and sister, but looking at his own round body, he gave up—even Wang Cai was unwilling to carry him.
Climbing black jujube trees wearing luxurious clothes—only Father would allow him to do this. In winter days, the wilderness couldn’t provide many joys for children. Yun Ye stood under the tree holding his robe like a basket, having his son throw down black jujubes from the tree. The black jujubes, which had already been evaporated of most of their moisture by the sunlight, tasted as sweet as persimmon cakes when eaten—they were just a bit small and had very large pits.
Yun Shou did a back flip and jumped down from the tree, making a thump sound that startled Yun Ye. Yun Shou lifted his face proudly and said: “Your child is practicing the art of scaling walls and roofs. Father need not be alarmed. Eunuch Wu She said that when practiced to the extreme, leaping over walls and vaulting ridges is like walking on flat ground. Your child has already glimpsed the doorway.”
Yun Ye knew about this. Wu She wanted to pass on the art of cock-crowing and dog-stealing to Yun Shou, but was sternly refused by Yun Ye as the father. He had seen with his own eyes what suffering Xiao Miao had endured. He didn’t think his son also needed to suffer. So what if he practiced to the extreme? The several things Xiao Miao did in Chang’an were still deciphered by academy students. Stealing the Yun Family’s stone lions was just a diversionary tactic. Stealing the Zhangsun Family’s treasured sword and making that sword kill by itself was just using lighting effects. The reason Li Pengcheng rolled down was just that someone lightly touched the bend of his leg when his old strength was exhausted and new strength not yet generated. As for crushing someone flat, it was because that person’s ribs had already been broken—the whole person was like a skin bag filled with water. The wheel of Wei Zheng’s carriage just had a gradually retreating device installed on it—afterwards it was removed and that was that.
In the academy now, students used these skills to play pranks. Several students used them as magic act gimmicks during end-of-term performances, and as a result were driven off the stage by a rain of shoes. At the time, Wu She’s face had turned black.
It was good enough for Yun Shou to have a strong and healthy body—he didn’t need to be proficient in all eighteen martial arts. Wielding a long spear and shooting arrows in a proper manner was fine. As for other matters, naturally there were people to do them. Women like Xiao Miao sooner or later would have to return to the Yun Family, because people accustomed to staying at the Yun Family would be out of place once outside. Not everyone could withstand the modern toxins Yun Ye spread.
Only the women at the Yun Family estate could run about everywhere, entering the main family’s back courtyard as if entering their own front gate. If they dared to do this at other people’s homes, they would most likely be raped by unscrupulous masters, because all female creatures in the back courtyard nominally belonged to the male master.
The Yun Family’s managers, no matter how large their business outside, immediately changed into farmer’s clothing upon returning to the estate, holding teapots and going from this household to that household. If you saw a group of old men leaning against a wall corner basking in the sun and drinking tea water, never look down on them—perhaps among them were more than one great merchant who dominated an area.
Seeing a young servant whispering flatteringly to a maid wasn’t strange either, and you shouldn’t think the master’s family would jump out and seize the two to be thrown into a pig cage. These two people might really be young lovers—as long as they fulfilled the Yun Family’s work contract, they would immediately get married.
Yun Ye brought his son to inspect the estate in a circuit. Yun Shou couldn’t wait and dragged his father to drill into that small house Dan Ying had left behind. When they went out in the morning, they had already simmered a large pot of braised pig trotters—by this time they should have been cooked.
This was the father and son’s secret. Xinyue didn’t know about it at all. The fact that his son’s round body showed no change was purely to be attributed to his husband’s monthly feast of crazy supplementation.
Wang Cai knew clearly. The soft-cooked beans with a light salty taste were prepared for him. He had already wandered around the gate of Dan Ying’s small courtyard two or three times. Smelling the fragrance but unable to eat made him extremely anxious.
Yun Ye only explained that set of disgusting principles to his son once. Whether he could comprehend it required life to teach him. Children who don’t suffer losses can’t develop memory—geniuses are the same.
This time he was telling his son that martial arts and book knowledge weren’t so important as to be viewed as life-or-death matters. What the Yun Family now needed was a qualified heir, not a martial arts expert or scholarly celebrity. Yun Huan’s education could follow that set, but Yun Shou’s education absolutely could not…
Seeing Yun Shou, Wang Cai happily ran over and even jumped like a dog. Seeing Yun Shou brace his two legs on the door frame reaching for the key hidden on the porch, he even used his big head to support Yun Shou’s bottom so he had leverage to borrow.
Liu Jinbao, who had been squatting in a wall corner chatting idly with others, looked at the sun and also got up. After turning around twice, he arrived at Dan Ying’s small courtyard. At this time, Yun Shou had just opened the large gate and was arranging Wang Cai’s food bowl.
Liu Jinbao pulled out from behind his bottom one large and one small wine gourds and placed them on the table—one contained good wine, one contained fermented rice wine. He himself retreated out again, latching the door from outside, then jumped over the wall to come back in.
Yellow-braised pig trotters were absolutely a delicacy. Yun Ye mixed a bit of pig trotter soup into Wang Cai’s beans—he loved this flavor. With a snort through his nose, he began eating heartily.
The master and two servants said not a word and began eating with their heads down. A large basin of yellow-braised pig trotters was enough for three people to eat. They didn’t plan to leave any for Xinyue and the others—they had to destroy all evidence of this basin of pig trotters.
Yun Shou ate with oil flowing from his mouth. His small mouth had astonishing power. Yun Ye had only eaten one, while Yun Shou’s hand was already grabbing the third. To eat more, Yun Shou hadn’t eaten much in the morning. Before eating their fill, the three didn’t plan to drink wine or fermented rice wine.
Yun Ye was already groaning from being stuffed, and Yun Shou also began pouring warmed fermented rice wine into his small bowl. Yun Ye looked regretfully at the two pig trotters remaining in the basin and pushed them toward Liu Jinbao: “Eat them all. This marquis’s appetite has decreased a lot. If it were according to my previous appetite, five front trotters would be nothing.” Having said this, he took a sip of wine from the spout. The life of small households most suited him—the petty bourgeois knowledge in his bones didn’t change just because he had become a marquis.
A group of people had returned from Longyou—very secretly, but Yun Ye knew about it. Perhaps this was something Li Er wanted Yun Ye to know. Although he wasn’t worried about his secret being discovered, the feeling of being completely accepted was still extremely wonderful.
Looking at his son who lowered his head and sipped fermented rice wine bit by bit, then looking at Liu Jinbao struggling with the pig trotters, Yun Ye smiled. Some secrets were still best known only by himself.