Top Scholar

Chapter 265 A Pretend-to-Be Act: Prefect Jia

The Zhu siblings also returned to the Zhu family mansion.

As soon as Miss Zhu stepped off the carriage, Zhu Ziming said angrily, "Why are you in such a hurry to come back? I haven't even had a chance to tell Brother Qiji how much I admire him!"

"Because I cried and ruined my makeup," Athena Chu said in a muffled voice, her eyes red and swollen. "How could I let Senior Brother Yingzhi see me like this?"

"Pfft..." The Zhu brothers couldn't help but laugh when they saw this.

"Don't laugh!" Zhu Yin glared at them, but the guys just laughed even harder.

Miss Zhu pretended to hit them, and they scattered. She then hurried back to her boudoir.

"The beauty is here! The beauty is here!" Peony shouted as soon as she entered the door.

"Shut up, you blind bird," Miss Zhu said, glaring at it.

"Miss is back." Haitang Jasmine came downstairs to greet her. When she saw Miss's face, she almost couldn't hold back her emotions. Fortunately, they were professionally trained.

"Laugh if you want, it doesn't matter if there are two of you," Miss Zhu said irritably.

"It's alright, it's alright. Miss, what happened? Who made you cry?" The two maids quickly helped their young lady wash her face and remove her makeup.

Jasmine couldn't help but gossip, "Could it be that Young Master Su?"

“Young Master Su is correct, but not the eldest Su, it’s the youngest Su.” Miss Zhu sat down in front of the dressing table, glanced at herself in the bronze mirror, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Huh? How did he offend my sister again?" Haitang exclaimed in surprise. "Young Master Su is so gentle. I wish the eldest young master Su was half as gentle as him."

"He didn't offend me, and you wouldn't understand even if I told you," Miss Zhu said in a muffled voice, carefully wiping her face with a warm cotton cloth.
"I just want to ask, what kind of son-in-law does Uncle Huang want? A talented and devoted young man like Xiao Su is hard to find anywhere in Sichuan."

"Yes." The maids, who were chatting with their young mistress, immediately changed the subject, saying, "We thought that as time went on, Huang Bingxian would stop watching Miss Huang so closely. Who knew that the following year, he would become even more strict and wouldn't even let her out on the third day of the third lunar month."

"See? If it's still like this after a while, there's definitely something fishy going on." Zhu Yin, being used to being the older sister, still had time to worry about another couple even though she herself was dealing with her own problems.

~~
After tidying herself up, Athena Chu went to the back room to greet her parents.

Although 'suing the other side' is the most basic thing, Zhu Jie and Madam Zhang still felt that the children were acting strangely when they came back today.

Normally, they would just give a perfunctory "Mom, I'm home" or "Dad, I'm off to school" and leave, but today they were all incredibly filial, sitting there asking about each other's well-being with meticulous care...

"Dad, has your stomach problem flared up again?" Zhu Zijing asked.

"It's alright." Zhu Jie asked warily, "What's wrong? Are you short on money?"

"No, no." Zhu Zijing quickly shook his head. "Son, you'll change your extravagant habits and not make your father angry anymore."

"I don't believe you for a second," Zhu Jie sneered.

"Mother, has your rheumatism flared up again lately?" Zhu Ziming squatted down beside Madam Zhang, massaging her legs.

"What month is it now?" Madam Zhang said speechlessly, "You didn't ask last winter, but you're asking now."

"Didn't I just realize how unfilial my son was before?" Zhu Ziming promised, "I'll massage your legs every day from now on."

"Have you gotten into some trouble?" Madam Zhang asked suspiciously.

"No, no, son has learned a lot today." Zhu Ziming then told his parents what he had seen during the day, and even recited Su Lu's article word for word.

He didn't have a photographic memory, but miraculously, he could remember everything Su Lu wrote after just one glance.

"..." Zhu Jie and Madam Zhang's eyes also turned red after hearing this, as they thought of their long-deceased parents.

Madam Zhang took out her handkerchief to wipe away her tears and said, "How old is this child? How can he have such profound and desolate insights?"

Zhu Jie sighed, "This is really not something a sixteen-year-old child should say. No wonder the third brother, the ninth brother, and the old mountain chief all treat him like a treasure."

"That's why I say, my brother Qiji is invincible!" Zhu Ziming said with pride.

As they were talking, Miss Zhu entered, bowed deeply to her parents, and said respectfully, "Father, Mother, I know I was wrong. I won't be so willful anymore, and I will leave my marriage to you..."

"Here we go again..." Madam Zhang was finding it hard to keep her composure.

"She only said that because she's met her Mr. Right," Zhu Ziming whispered.

“No, that’s what I really think.” Miss Zhu shook her head, her finger slipping through her handkerchief and subtly pointing at Zhu Ziming.

Zhu Ziming dared not undermine her anymore.

Madam Zhang couldn't help but sigh, "They're all like completely different people. I think Hongzhi's article should be included in the Classic of Filial Piety."

“That’s true. The previous preaching was too heavy-handed and not as effective as this one.” Zhu Jie actually agreed.

"Don't even mention it," Zhu Zigong laughed, "My grandfather also said that he wanted to send this article to Chengdu for the Grand Secretary, the Provincial Governor, and the Grand Master to review, and even suggested that the court add it to the Classic of Filial Piety."

"You guys didn't see what happened! It was unbelievable!" Zhu Zihe joined in enthusiastically, the two brothers recounting, in detail, the scene of Prefect Jia's madness to their family. "Really?" Madam Zhang asked incredulously.

“It must be true. They couldn’t have made up something so absurd.” Zhu Jie said in a deep voice, “Alright, we’ve finished fulfilling our filial duties for today. Go and rest.”

"Yes, Father and Mother, goodnight." The children in the room stood up, bowed, and took their leave.

After the children left, Madam Zhang asked Zhu Jie, "What's wrong?"

They've been married for a long time, so she could naturally tell that her husband was acting strangely.

"I feel something's fishy about this. I'll go talk to the third brother about it. You go to sleep first." Zhu Jie then put on his six-combination hat and left the back room.

~~
In Mr. Gangshan's courtyard, in his study.

“I have already had someone inquire about what happened and obtained a copy of Hongzhi’s article. It’s exactly the same as what the children said.” Zhu Jie handed a piece of paper to Zhu Zhang.

Zhu Zhang put on his reading glasses and, by candlelight, began to appreciate his disciple's writing, naturally sighing with admiration. "Whose disciple is this? How can he be so outstanding?"

"Don't rush to boast. I don't think this might be a good thing for Hongzhi," Zhu Jie said in a deep voice.

“Indeed, what is Grandfather doing? There’s no need to go to such lengths to promote Su Hongzhi.” Zhu Zhang nodded and said, “Such a good article, even if you were a little late, the top spot wouldn’t have gone to anyone else. Why the rush? Isn’t this a bit over the top?”

"Was he doing that to promote Su Hongzhi?" Zhu Jie scoffed. "It was all for his own benefit!"

“Of course, he’s not Su Yunwen. He’s putting on such a show for himself.” Zhu Zhang asked, puzzled, “Then what’s his motive?”

"What else could they be after? Nothing more than fame and fortune," Zhu Jie sneered.

“That’s his reputation,” Zhu Zhang said. “Since he has twice declared that he wants to resign, he must not be just saying it.”

“Definitely not.” Zhu Jie said with deep agreement, “Didn’t you attend that remote birthday banquet last month? Remember? The prefect also mentioned resigning at that time…”

“I remember, I thought it was just a casual remark because the atmosphere was right.” Zhu Zhang poured his brother a cup of tea and said, “Things don’t happen more than three times. It seems that our grandfather really wanted to leave, and this was just an excuse to make a scene.”

Zhu Jie couldn't help but exclaim, "Well done! With this resignation, my ancestor will surely be remembered in history, not letting the Jiangdong infantry be the only ones to shine!"

“Then he could be called the ‘Shandong Cavalry’,” Zhu Zhang said with a mischievous smile.

"Hehehe..." They both laughed.

After laughing, Zhu Jie said seriously, "Moreover, he resigned because of an article on filial piety, which is much more noble than the longing for perch and water shield! In the future, whenever people mention filial sons of the Ming Dynasty, the first person they will think of will probably not be Su Hongzhi, but Jia Yidan."

"Hiss...it really is!" Zhu Zhang gasped. Filial piety, indeed, must be put into practice. Su Lu only wrote an article, yet he actually resigned from his official post...

He couldn't help but exclaim angrily, "Shameless! They're trying to steal the spotlight by riding on my fame!"

"That's normal. Once a person becomes an official, they lose all sense of shame," Zhu Jie laughed.

"I'm afraid even your conscience has been fed to the dogs," Zhu Zhang snorted.

"It's hard to say." Zhu Jie knew far more about Prefect Jia's underhanded dealings than Zhu Zhang did. But that didn't stop him from being optimistic about Prefect Jia's bright future.

"He's only thirty-seven or thirty-eight. Once he's finished serving his elderly mother, plenty of people will recommend him. When the court summons this filial son, do you think a low-ranking official position would be appropriate?"

“Then he must be at least a prefectural governor,” Zhu Zhang said.

“Too low,” Zhu Jie asserted. “He has already served as a fifth-rank official for three years. As long as Grand Secretary Li is still in office, he will definitely be summoned as Vice Censor-in-Chief, and after a short transition, he will be appointed as a governor.”

"That's so exaggerated?" Zhu Zhang exclaimed in astonishment.

"Just wait and see," Zhu Jie said calmly.

"I don't care if he's the governor or the prefect," Zhu Zhang said, pursing his lips. "I just want to know what impact this will have on Hongzhi."

“Hongzhi will definitely face a severe investigation from the province next, but as long as he can withstand it, both the previous ‘Wen Yun Waits for Su’ and this ‘The Difficulty of Coloring the Letter’ will become a good story to help him become famous in Sichuan.” Zhu Jie said, “Don’t worry, with the old Hanlin scholar here, he won’t capsize.”

"Second Brother, you should also write a letter to the Grandmaster. At least let the Grandmaster know that Hongzhi is the disciple of the Old Master and the Ninth Master. We can't let the Old Master handle this kind of thing," Zhu Zhang sighed. Only at times like this did he regret not having taken the imperial examinations.

“I can’t write directly to the Grandmaster. How about this, I’ll send some tea to Governor Ye and ask him to put in a good word for me,” Zhu Jie said after thinking for a moment.

“Yes, you understand these things better than I do,” Zhu Zhang agreed.

"Why did Prefect Jia suddenly decide to resign when everything was going well?" After chatting about all sorts of trivial matters, the two old friends finally got to the more serious topics.

"I was also taken aback. I've been thinking about it all the way here." Zhu Jie took a sip of tea and said, "I've thought of a few possibilities. Can you help me consider them?"

"Go ahead and speak," Zhu Zhang nodded.

P.S. Chapter 3 will be a little later.

(End of this chapter)