Chapter 2630 - 2563: Reunion

Mr. Zhuang was surprised, he didn’t expect Bai Shan to remember, as he had only mentioned it once.

Bai Shan pursed his lips and asked, "Sir, where did you see them?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "In a teahouse, he didn’t come looking for me, perhaps he doesn’t even know I’m in the capital. But since it involves old matters, it makes me uneasy, so I had someone go see."

Manbao: "Sir, why are you uneasy? Shouldn’t it be them who are uneasy?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "When your heart is tied to something, you naturally become anxious."

Not only Manbao but even Bai Shan was puzzled, "Sir, the reason is with us, what is there to be afraid of?"

Mr. Zhuang said, "That’s not what I’m worried about."

He sighed, "My heart is quite complicated, filled with both worry and anxiety, and the unease that arises from such worry..."

Bai Shan and Manbao were very confused.

Mr. Zhuang said, "In my life, I haven’t had many friends, and Yao Ge counts as one of them."

Mr. Zhuang met Yao Ge while studying, and they bumped into each other again when they came to the capital for the exam. They both had families, got along well, and immediately rented a courtyard to live together, one family in each half, and those times were quite joyous.

Mr. Zhuang looked at the two disciples and said, "It’s like when the three of you study together, going in and out together. At that time, both of us were aiming for the Imperial Academy exams."

"Later, when I met Chen Fulin in the capital, I realized my hopes of entering the Imperial Academy were slim. So, I thought of waiting for the jinshi exams in the autumn to give it a try, and if unsuccessful, I could take the Ming Classic the next year." He sighed, "At that time, I wasn’t entirely confident, but he kept encouraging me. Neither family was wealthy, but he would lend me the books he borrowed first before reading them himself."

Manbao and Bai Shan were surprised.

They only knew that Yao Ge had once stolen Mr. Zhuang’s poems for Chen Fulin but did not know their relationship was so good. So, the teacher must be even more heartbroken?

Manbao pursed his lips and asked, "I’ve never asked, sir, why did he do that?"

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze was distant as he softly said, "It was nothing but money. At that time, his child was severely ill..."

Mr. Zhuang sighed, not hiding anything from his two disciples, "So I resented him, yet not entirely."

In truth, Mr. Zhuang still had feelings for this former friend, which is why he felt uneasy.

Bai Shan and Manbao exchanged a glance. For now, their friends were just friends, enemies were just enemies, and they hadn’t experienced enemies being friends, so they couldn’t quite understand Mr. Zhuang’s feelings.

If you don’t understand, you should ask. So, Manbao asked, "Sir, what do you plan to do?"

Mr. Zhuang said, "I don’t plan to do anything; knowing why they’re in the capital is enough. Let everything take its course."

Mr. Zhuang thought that with the capital being so big, they might not meet again.

But unexpectedly, the next day the doorman received a letter addressed to Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang, seeing the familiar handwriting on the envelope, couldn’t help but pause.

Bai Shan and Manbao, in a hurry to go to court, saw it and thought Mr. Jiang and the others were inviting him for tea again, so they waved and said, "Sir, we’re leaving first."

Mr. Zhuang returned to his senses, waved at them, and didn’t hurry to leave. Today wasn’t a big court meeting, and there was only one class at Chongwen Pavilion, so he wasn’t in a rush.

Mr. Zhuang opened the letter by the carriage, read it once, and put it away.

He was somewhat preoccupied all day, even Yin Huo noticed and asked, "Did you encounter any troubles, sir?"

Seeing him, Mr. Zhuang suddenly felt enlightened and couldn’t help but laugh heartily.

Yin Huo looked at him, puzzled.

Mr. Zhuang laughed heartily for a while, and said, "I’ve been overthinking, others may fear returning home, what am I afraid of? Hahaha..."

Yin Huo still didn’t quite understand, but seeing Mr. Zhuang return to normal, he said, "Sir, His Majesty and the Crown Prince have agreed that I leave Chongwen Pavilion. In a few days, I won’t be returning to the palace."

Mr. Zhuang smiled and asked, "What are your plans after you stop studying?"

Yin Huo smiled and said, "I’ll just read books at home, and occasionally visit Master Zhi Ren at the Guardian of the Nation Temple; it’s quite leisurely."

Mr. Zhuang knew that Yin Huo didn’t have many people to speak with at Chongwen Pavilion. This year, a new batch of students was selected, making him feel even more distant. Staying in the palace didn’t make him happy, so he nodded.

Mr. Zhuang watched him leave and then calmly went to the banquet after court.

It was the same teahouse as yesterday. As soon as Mr. Zhuang walked in, a waiter came up to him, smiling, "Mr. Zhuang, do you want to sit on the second floor or in the main hall today?"

Mr. Zhuang said, "I have an appointment, in the Plum private room."

The waiter, upon hearing this, immediately smiled and invited Mr. Zhuang to the second floor, leading him to a private room labeled with Plum, opened the door, and invited him in.

Inside sat a person, who didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there, lifted his head upon hearing the door open, saw it was the waiter, and lowered his eyes, but lifted them again a moment later, looking straight at the person behind the waiter.

Mr. Zhuang walked in, nodded slightly to the waiter to signal him to leave.

The waiter closed the door for them, and only the two of them were left in the private room.

Mr. Zhuang looked at the person sitting there, the old man returned his gaze, slowly supporting himself on the table to stand up, wanting to stretch his lips into a smile but found he couldn’t. After a while, he sighed, "I thought you wouldn’t come."

Mr. Zhuang sat down at the table, and unlike the courteous distance he showed Chen Fulin, he couldn’t even manage politeness with the man before him.

So Mr. Zhuang chose to maintain a calm demeanor, pointing to the chair opposite and said, "Sit."

Yao Ge slowly sat down again with the aid of the table; for a while, neither of them spoke, just looking at each other.

Eventually, Yao Ge reacted, stood up to lift the teapot, hand slightly trembling as he poured tea for him, pushed the tea towards Mr. Zhuang, and said with a bitter smile, "People say one should never do things with a guilty conscience; indeed, it’s true."

Mr. Zhuang held the tea, looked at the man older than him, sighed slightly, and said, "Did you find me just to say this?"

Yao Ge shook his head, "I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime, separated by distance. Even if there were a chance, I would have no face to do so."

Mr. Zhuang slightly furrowed his brow.

"But someone came looking for me. I thought about it and felt that I should come to see you, partly to resolve a matter of the heart, partly as a small compensation for what happened back then."

Mr. Zhuang looked at him in surprise, "Someone found you? Could it be related to me?"

Yao Ge nodded, "Not long ago, someone came to inquire about the past. Hearing that you are not only an official now but also forced Chen Fulin into retirement, never to set foot in the capital again, I was shocked."

He tugged his mouth into a smile and said, "It seems fate is fair after all, retribution unyielding, those who do wrong will be punished."

Mr. Zhuang: ... He was unsure if it was from spending so much time with Manbao and the other children, but he couldn’t quite describe his feelings at this moment.