Xiao Wu, who had instigated Xiao Ya to go ask Yang Fei for the results, breathed a long sigh of relief after receiving the news. Excellent! Master’s grand ambition could finally be realized. A marquis going to the Northern Court could only assume the position of Grand Protector of the Northern Court Protectorate—there was no second possibility.
Master’s study now belonged to her, and naturally, Yun Shou always stayed here too. He wasn’t with her because he liked Xiao Wu, but rather because he truly had nowhere else to go.
Ever since Li Yanrong entered the Yun household, Li Chengqian seemed to have forgotten he even had a daughter. It was agreed she would only stay at the Yun household for one month, but who knew that three months later, Li Yanrong still hadn’t left.
When he saw his mother beginning to give Li Yanrong regular allowances, Yun Shou was completely devastated. This was clearly the momentum of someone planning to stay long-term. An eleven-year-old boy detested having someone tell him he must wash his face and brush his teeth every day, and he hated even more having a woman sit beside him constantly telling him to work hard—this was even more unbearable than killing him.
For a man, washing one’s face was a matter of two splashes. In the past, when washing faces together with Father, the father and son’s movements were identical. Why should washing one’s face require washing the neck as well? Who told her that poking teeth with willow twigs required poking even the back molars? And when she saw you couldn’t poke them clean, she would even use her hands to help you!
When Xinyue saw this scene, her eyes would bend with laughter, and then she would find something pretty from her jewelry box to insert in Li Yanrong’s hair, encouraging Li Yanrong to help her keep an eye on Yun Shou. Regarding this point, Yun Shou was utterly disgusted.
Fortunately, Li Yanrong seemed particularly afraid of Xiao Wu. Wherever Xiao Wu was, she absolutely would not stay a moment longer. Thus, Father’s study became Yun Shou’s refuge.
After Xiao Wu carefully calculated the straight-line distance from Chang’an to the Northern Court Protectorate, she tossed down the brush in her hand and unceremoniously plopped her bottom down on the table where Yun Shou was lying. She flicked Yun Shou’s round, rolling head with her hand and said, “What’s wrong? Got hit by frost? A real man being driven to hide here and there by a little girl—I’d say that’s about all the promise you’ve got.”
Yun Shou rolled his eyes and replied, “I didn’t understand before why Brother Di wouldn’t stay in his perfectly good home and ran off to the desert. Now I understand—he just didn’t want to see you. You drove him away. And my father too, he was also driven away by Mother. When I grow up, I’m also going to run outside and not come back.”
Xiao Wu bit into the fruit in her hand, then smeared the fruit juice on Yun Shou’s face. Seeing Yun Shou angrily wipe it with his sleeve, only then did she laugh and say, “What does a little brat understand? Master went to Lingnan because someone was coveting our family’s Lingnan naval forces. After this ordeal, probably no one will covet them anymore. Your Brother Di went to the desert to see what strange things are actually in the desert. What would you run out for? To avoid little girls? You’re killing me with laughter.”
“Confucius said: ‘Only petty men and women are difficult to raise’—he truly did not deceive me!” Yun Shou suddenly pulled out a classical quote. This statement immediately enraged Xiao Wu. For those weaker than herself, one must subdue them with force, so she grabbed Yun Shou’s ear in one motion and twisted it through gritted teeth. Yun Shou spun two circles following Xiao Wu’s force, then suddenly reached out and scratched under Xiao Wu’s ribs. This was Xiao Wu’s weak spot, which Aunt Xiao Ya had told Yun Shou about. Xiao Wu’s body went soft and she immediately released her grip.
Yun Shou roared and charged out of the study, swearing to have nothing more to do with Xiao Wu until death. Before he could even exit the moon gate, he was caught red-handed by Li Yanrong. Seeing Yun Shou’s bright red ear, tears immediately began swirling in her eye sockets. No need to ask—this must be bullying by Sister Xiao Wu.
Yun Shou had no choice but to suppress the anger in his heart and instead comfort Li Yanrong. What he could least tolerate was a girl’s tears. Just as he was comforting Li Yanrong, Xinyue walked over. Seeing Li Yanrong crying, without a word, she slapped her son twice on the neck to help Li Yanrong vent her anger. Before Yun Shou could even explain, Xiao Wu angrily chased out and tattled to Xinyue, saying Yun Shou had tickled her.
Xinyue’s face immediately darkened. She broke off a bamboo branch and fiercely whipped her son’s bottom, her mouth continuously lecturing him: “You’re already eleven years old this year—how dare you still tickle Sister Xiao Wu? Do you disregard all propriety between men and women?”
Seeing Yun Shou getting beaten, Li Yanrong cried even louder. Thus, Xinyue beat her son even more vigorously. Yun Shou looked at Xiao Wu’s gloating expression, and rage immediately shot out from his nostrils. With a great shout, he pushed Li Yanrong, who was walking over to explain, causing her to fall on her bottom. He himself shot out of the house like smoke, with Mother’s voice shouting for the household guards to chase after him following behind…
“Father, why aren’t you back yet!” Yun Shou stood on a small hillside, cupping both hands around his mouth and loudly calling toward the south.
Yun Ye was also shouting, but he was shouting at his subordinates. What the Lingnan naval forces needed to rebuild was not just formation, but also to restore their original morale and spirit. If ships were lost, they could be rebuilt, but if morale was lost, this force would collapse. An army was considered severely damaged if it sustained thirty percent casualties—the Lingnan naval forces’ casualties this time had long exceeded this number.
Quanzhou Port was crowded with military forces. Countless troops swept through the surrounding mountains and forests, continuously searching out pirates from the forests and escorting them to the streets for public display. After one trip through the streets, the pirates were already dead beyond any possibility of revival. The angry people of Quanzhou wished they could tear these pirates into shreds alive.
How to pacify these emotionally volatile Quanzhou people was Feng Ang’s business. Yun Ye never interfered, nor could he interfere. If the Commanding General of Nanhai Circuit interfered in civilian affairs and pacified the common people, what exactly would you be trying to do? This was the crime of buying people’s hearts. Yun Ye was extremely mindful of this point and never overstepped boundaries.
Once the rudder of the Great Emperor was installed and those warships whose sails had been burned had their sails replaced, Yun Ye led the fleet, towing the damaged warships, and returned directly to Yongzhou. The military order he sent to the strait garrison forces early on stipulated that for one year, the strait would permit entry but not exit.
Li Rong was now already a refined young gentleman. Unlike Yun Shou, this child had grown into a handsome youth with rosy lips and white teeth, a fine appearance. Upon seeing his father, he was excited for a moment, but then forcibly restrained his emotions and ceremoniously knelt to pay his respects to his father.
Yun Ye glared at Li Anlan, who stood to the side with a proud expression on her face, pulled Li Rong up, and looked him up and down. Seeing that the child’s health was good, he patted his shoulder twice to indicate he could go.
Seeing that Yun Ye was about to get angry, Li Anlan hurriedly said, “This can’t be blamed on this concubine. It was the Empress Dowager who sent a disciplinary governess and a eunuch specifically to teach etiquette to your son from Chang’an. It has nothing to do with me.”
“Are all the manners in your Li family so good? Your several aunts all received this kind of education—why did they live their lives like cesspits? Good children of the Yun family can’t withstand this kind of torment from you all.”
Li Anlan pressed Yun Ye down into a chair to sit, nodding her head and saying, “You are the master—whatever you say is right. This concubine cannot argue with you. The Li family is too large; inevitably there are good and bad mixed together. In the future, the Yun family will also become very large. At that time, it won’t be a matter of your one or two sentences making everyone obediently listen. Having more rules now is always good, to avoid chaos in the future.”
“Go prepare two palatable dishes for me. The three of us will eat a meal together, and father and son will also have a couple of drinks. Xinyue has nearly driven Shou’er crazy. That child is naturally broad-minded yet can’t stand it—let alone Rong’er. When all is said and done, I’ve wronged this child. Is he still bothered about his surname?”
Yun Ye wiped his hands with a towel and turned to ask Li Anlan.
“Yes. When he was younger, the child didn’t know to ask about these things. These past two years, he’s always asking me why Father’s surname is Yun but his is Li. For a period of time, he even forced people in the residence to call him Yun Rong. Fortunately, no outsiders heard. If this had spread to Chang’an, a charge of great disrespect would have come down.”
Li Anlan had become very timid these days, which was related to the Emperor taking action against the imperial clan these past few years. Li Er seemed extremely dissatisfied with the enormous imperial clan and meritorious noble groups, always thinking of various ways to reduce the swelling. Li Dayin was the only person formally enfeoffed in recent years. As for Korean King Gao Jianwu and Yeon Gaesomun, everyone in the world knew what kind of title that was.
“It won’t come to that. If Rong’er is unwilling to inherit your title, then let Lu’er take it instead. The Yun family doesn’t care about a small title. My children will all have great prospects in the future and won’t need to rely on their parents’ old capital.”
Regarding Yun Ye’s words, Li Anlan still had some objections. This woman attached unusual importance to her son. Yun Lu, having grown this big, had only drunk a few mouthfuls of her milk. That child drank more of Xinyue’s milk than hers, causing that child to now consider Xinyue her real mother and have little impression of Li Anlan. However, this also had much to do with Xinyue’s intentional or unintentional downplaying of Li Anlan.
The food was brought up. Yun Ye habitually ruffled Li Rong’s hair, and the family was about to take their seats when an old palace lady suddenly appeared from somewhere and hurried to arrange Li Rong’s hair.
This scene was very familiar. Neither Li Chengqian nor Yun Ye had received less of this treatment. Yun Ye didn’t get angry either. Everyone had their duties, and that old palace lady made her living from this—there was no need to blame her. Yun Ye pointed at the door and said to the old palace lady, “In the future, when we father and son are together, you stay far away. No matter what we do, you are not permitted to interfere. When the child needs you to teach him these things, he will naturally come find you. Now, out!”
The old palace lady had also been someone by Empress Zhangsun’s side in the past and knew Yun Ye’s temperament. She curtsied and walked out. Li Rong’s nerves seemed to relax all at once. Smiling, he said to Yun Ye, “Father, today your son would like to drink some grape wine, without honey.”
“Can grape wine with honey added still be called grape wine? When Father was little, I drank quite a bit of wine—it’s just that your Grand Master didn’t know. For a boy to drink a little doesn’t matter.”
Li Rong happily picked up the ladle and filled Father’s and Mother’s wine cups with grape wine, also filling his own cup, and even knew to use bamboo tongs to pick up two ice fish and put them in. Yun Ye chuckled and said to Li Anlan, “This child hasn’t been sneaking drinks infrequently!”