The Great Seminary

Chapter 245 Disregarding False Ethics, Directly Attaining True Freedom

Unaware of her son's changing mood, Tsuneo asked him a question when she saw him lost in thought.
"Guigui, what are you thinking about?"

"No, I was thinking that if you don't want to go overseas, then you don't have to go."

Zhang Gui snapped out of his daze and said with a smile:
"We'll talk about it when we've figured it out."

"Unless you get married immediately, take several wives and concubines, and have ten or eight children in one go."

Maybe I can come to terms with it and take my grandchildren overseas for a carefree life.

"I'm half-joking," said Takayoshi.

His mother was pressuring him to get married, and he couldn't escape it even if someone asked him to. So Zhang Gui pretended not to hear and changed the subject.
"Auntie, it's time for dinner."

How about we go to the "Sauce Shop" and have some pancakes rolled with shrimp paste and pumpkin sauce, paired with hot millet porridge?

"You pretend to be stupid whenever I mention this."

It wasn't a big deal when I was younger, but now I'm eighteen.

Even if you don't get married right away, you should at least find some close female friends to date.

"Auntie, you are so enlightened. One is not enough. Let me 'find some confidantes'."

Do you expect me to be as heartless and treacherous as Zhang Bashan?

Zhang Gui curled his lip.

Tsurugi was taken aback, then slapped her son on the head and fell silent.

Zhang Gui muttered under his breath,

"Even if you kill me, I will still say that Zhang Bashan has betrayed you for the rest of his life and is a heartless bastard!"
Even if he were to become a demon god, an ancestor, or a saint in the future, he would still say that his biological father was a heartless bastard.

In this life, I have a mother but no father!

Let all parents in the world know that a child is not born their child.

The kindness of being nurtured is difficult to repay even in three lifetimes; to give birth but not raise is to harbor hatred and show no gratitude!
Now you're holding me back, preventing me from moving forward.

But Zhang Bashan should pray that you can cultivate into the "Pine, Cypress, Tortoise, Earth Form" and live a long and prosperous life.

Or he might die young.

Otherwise, there will be retribution.

“You are truly a barbarian child.”

They are born with a nature that is 'disregarding false ethics, seeking true freedom, and acting on impulse'.

No wonder Zhang Bashan never dared to come to you for mercy after he gained power.

It seems that blood ties are strong; even if he has never raised a child, he understands you better than others.

Alright, let's not dwell on these old, trivial matters.

Am will take you out for dinner.

I'll make you some scallion pancakes with pork fat myself.

“Excellent, excellent. Since returning from Fresh Rong Island, I have been busy visiting friends everywhere because of an urgent matter.”

I really didn't eat well or sleep well.

I was just craving something oily and greasy to satisfy my craving.

Let's hurry up and go.

Zhang Gui clapped his hands and laughed, then helped his mother up by the arm and walked towards the door.

“Your mother is not even forty yet, you don’t need to be here to act filial.”

Let me tell you, kid, just in the last half month, I added a 500-ton cargo ship to the company, specifically for collecting grain and transporting rice and flour.

Everyone says he has guts.

You really think I'm some old lady who needs my help...?

Tsurugi grabbed her son's hand and held it just like she did when he was a child.

While chatting, he led Zhang Gui out of the back gate of the 'Dragon and Tiger Military Government Office'.

The mother and son arrived at the first shop on the commercial street next to the port of Zhihai Town, called "Dagui Grocery and Sauce Shop".

My mother personally makes pancakes in the back kitchen on the right side of the shop.

The son, meanwhile, ran to the middle and scooped out several large bowls of various kinds of sauces from the large vat containing fish and shrimp sauce, chili sauce, pumpkin sauce, and many other kinds of sauces.

He ladled out a bowl of ready-made thick porridge and began to eat and drink it with gusto, using a ladle.

At this time, the Southern Kingdom of Ming and Song had seemingly returned to a state of peace.

With the increasing number of civilians fleeing from northern Xinjiang, wharves in various places, including Zhihai Town, have all returned to a state of abnormal prosperity.

On the streets of Zhihai Wharf.

Who is this unassuming young man, dressed in a plain blue cotton-padded jacket, eating and drinking porridge and pickles?

They also considered themselves to be wealthy merchants and sages who, given their status and position, were entitled to greet and bow to them.

Whether by chance or by design, he passed by the 'Da Gui Grocery and Sauce Shop'.

They would all enter with smiles, bow, and greet Zhang Gui warmly.

The goal is at least to become a familiar face, so that if someone needs help in the future, they will leave a better impression.

Zhang Gui responded enthusiastically with a beaming smile.

After all, he is the sole owner of the 'capital element' in this world, so he naturally cannot treat merchants with indifference.

After a while.

Tsurugi finally finished making the lard pancakes.

Zhang Gui was about to grab it.

Suddenly, a handsome young man dressed in brocade robes, with an air of righteousness, strode into 'Da Gui Grocery and Sauce Shop'.

He went straight to Zhang Gui, knelt down, and kowtowed three times with a loud thud.

"Li Zhende of the Li family of Muxiangchuan pays his respects to the Crown Prince of Caiyang."

"Ah, Mr. Li, there's no need for such formality. Please, please rise."

The fact that the visitor greeted him so openly and formally in front of everyone, and introduced himself as a member of the "Li family of Muxiangchuan," gave Zhang Gui some idea of ​​what was going on.

He swallowed hard and reluctantly withdrew his hand from the delicious treat.

He got up and helped Li Zhende, who had been kneeling for a long time, to his feet.

As Li Zhende stood up, he explained:

"Your Highness, please allow me to speak."

I am the former prime minister of your 'Dragon and Tiger Secretariat', and the nephew of Uncle Yunbo.

After a public discussion within the clan, they have just inherited his family's property.

The main reason for the long delay is the controversy surrounding the remains of the 'blue elephant'.

In short, everything has now settled down.

I have actually inherited my uncle's clan property, and according to ancestral rites and laws, I should be his 'follower son'.

You personally carried his coffin into the forest and erected a tombstone for him.

They have shown me immense kindness.

I missed the opportunity to visit Zhihai Town on my two previous visits.

Unexpectedly, I happened to pass by and, feeling that it was getting late, decided to stop and rest.

But I ran into you by chance.

It's truly fate that allowed me to express even a fraction of my feelings!

He was about to kneel down again...

The term "祧子" refers to the son of a brother within five degrees of kinship who inherits the family lineage, continuing the bloodline of both his biological father and uncle without changing his title.

He married two wives to continue the family line of both families.

In terms of ethics, he is no different from a biological son.

Therefore, Zhang Gui sent Li Yunbo on behalf of the troubled 'Li family of Muxiangchuan'.

So now, as the heir, Li Zhende, to express his gratitude, should, according to old customs, perform three bows and nine kowtows until his head bleeds.

But truth is truth, and reality is reality.

Let alone actually bowing and kowtowing three times and kowtowing nine times, it is already extremely rare for someone to do things to the extent that Li Zhende did.

Perhaps they have some ulterior motives they're hiding.

Sensing that Li Zhende was about to kneel again, Zhang Gui hurriedly helped him to the table and forcefully pressed him onto the wooden stool.
"Yunbo Zaicheng was not only my right-hand man, but also my close friend despite the age difference."

He suffered a sudden accident, and I had no choice but to see him off on his final journey and bury him in peace.

That's only natural.

"Young Master Zhende, there's no need for further thanks."

(End of this chapter)