Chapter 1109
Chapter 1109
Sanqingshan belongs to the Zhengyi sect, where marriage and having children are permitted. Even though Pan Yun was a Taoist priest, Chinese people still like to encourage unmarried people to get married and married people to have children.
Although people dared not openly urge Pan Yun, they would gossip about her in private, their eyes scanning those who were closely associated with her like laser beams.
Would the Imperial Advisor like the Emperor? Would he want to enter the harem?
Seeing that Pan Yun treated the emperor like a son, everyone silently swallowed their question.
Could it be that the Imperial Advisor has taken a liking to Yu Qian? Although Yu Qian already has a wife and children and is quite old, he is talented, powerful, and authoritative, and the two can be considered close friends.
Intellectual love can transcend age and money.
At least most of the old men in the court believed that their young concubine, who was only sixteen years old, genuinely loved them and was not subservient to their power.
Until one day, Pan Yun, with a look of disgust, advised Yu Qian to be hygienic and to take frequent showers...
That look of disgust on their faces immediately dispelled any thoughts they had.
After reviewing all the people around Pan Yun, they discovered that Xue Shao was the one most likely to develop feelings for the Imperial Advisor, given his closest relationship with her.
The two are recognized as good friends, having collaborated as early as when they exonerated Pan Hong and Xue Xuan;
The two collaborated more than once, and their presence was even felt during their trip to Japan.
Xue Shao was about the same age as her, and what was most interesting was that he practiced Taoism and claimed that he would never marry in his life in order to cultivate Taoism.
Therefore, they are both truly unmarried.
How could this not make people suspicious and overthink?
Zhu Jianji secretly knelt before the two, but unfortunately, after becoming Pan Yun's apprentice, he only met Xue Shao twice before he was transferred to Heilongjiang as the provincial governor.
Knowing that this civilian training trip would take place in Heilongjiang, Zhu Jianji had made preparations in advance.
He forgot all about Guobule Wuyun and followed Pan Yun excitedly.
Pan Yun glanced at him lightly, as if she could see his soul through his eyes: "Do you know why the court became quiet after Xue Shao was implicated?"
"Huh? Quiet? What quiet? Sir, I don't know what you're talking about."
Pan Yun snorted lightly: "I have three titles for you: Imperial Advisor, Teacher, and Sir. You only call me Sir when you feel guilty."
Zhu Jianji lowered his head, shrank his neck, and stammered, "Then, why is that?"
“Because Xue Shao is not satisfied with the interests of any faction,” Pan Yun said. “Look at the people they randomly assigned to me. Even Yu Qian has a bunch of people with vested interests standing behind him, but Xue Shao has no one behind him.”
Zhu Jianji regained his composure and began to think seriously: "Lord Xue comes from the Xue clan of Hedong. Although his branch is a collateral branch, in officialdom, even people with the same surname but different clans can unite for interests. Why doesn't the Xue clan of Hedong stand behind him?"
“Because his great-uncle, the Instructor of Hedong, even his son Xue Xuan was taught by him not to form cliques or engage in private affairs, let alone Xue Shao?” Pan Yun said, “Back then, when Xue Xuan was pushed to the execution ground, they only tried to plead for him to not let the late emperor behead him. Over the years, Xue Shao has been upright and incorruptible, and he has offended no fewer people than Xue Xuan.”
Zhu Jianji's eyes brightened slightly: "I understand. Xue Shao is a loyal minister, trustworthy and capable of great responsibility."
“He is now, but people change,” Pan Yun glanced at him and said, “No one can predict the future. The Crown Prince should remember not to make assumptions based on past memories, otherwise you will become blind and deaf, and you won’t even know how the Ming Dynasty fell in the end.”
Zhu Jianji nodded with a serious expression.
"I understand. So Xue Shao is all alone. If he were to marry the teacher, they would not only gain nothing, but they might also lose a lot. So since this speculation, although rumors have been rampant, no one has mentioned the teacher getting married again. Everyone is afraid that if they are pressured, you will really marry Xue Shao."
"So you see, people who urge you to marry aren't just doing it for your own good. If marriage doesn't align with their interests, they'll sever the connection and do everything in their power to dissuade you from getting married." Zhu Jianji murmured, "Interests..."
He raised his head, his eyes shining: "Teacher, putting aside personal interests, would you be willing to marry Lord Xue?"
Pan Yun glanced at him indifferently and said, "My ambition is immortality, so that all living beings can be placed alongside immortality. What do you say?"
Zhu Jianji muttered, "Everyone has their own selfish motives..."
Pan Yun raised her chin and said proudly, "This humble Taoist is destined to become an immortal. Only when immortals are ruthless can they treat everyone equally. If immortals are moved by emotions, the Three Realms will be in turmoil. You want me to be moved by emotions before I have become an immortal? Do you want to hinder my path to immortality?"
Zhu Jianji opened his mouth wide, and seeing the increasingly dissatisfied expression on his teacher's face, he quickly shook his head and waved his hands, "No, no, no, I didn't mean that."
Pan Yun snorted and quickened her pace: "Stop focusing on these trivial things. I think you just don't have enough homework. Double the homework tonight, and I'll have your other seven teachers increase the amount of homework too."
For a moment, Zhu Jianji's eyes became clear, and he froze on the spot, wishing he could turn back time to a quarter of an hour earlier and sew his mouth shut.
Before they even reached the Provincial Administration Office, the master and apprentice met Xue Shao on the way—or rather, they met him unilaterally.
The problem was that Xue Shao was too conspicuous. He was surrounded by people. Pan Yun always loved to join in the fun, and Zhu Jianji was at an age where he was extremely averse to anything. As soon as he saw that a circle had formed in front of him, he immediately jumped up to try to see the center of the circle clearly.
After jumping three times and still not seeing clearly, Zhu Jianji was about to call out his bodyguards and climb onto their necks to get a better look.
He complained, "The people here are so tall, even if the students jump up, they still can't see them."
Pan Yun grabbed him by the collar and flew to the rooftop by the roadside in a few swift movements. Looking down from there, they immediately spotted Xue Shao surrounded in the middle.
Xue Shao was being verbally abused in an unknown language.
Although they couldn't understand it, Pan Yun and Zhu Jianji could tell that the words contained a lot of profanity.
Pan Yun has exceptional hearing and an even more exceptional memory. By observing facial expressions, body language, and a few frequently used words, she quickly learned the insults people used.
To test Zhu Jianji, she turned to him and asked, "Did you remember the insults he used?"
Zhu Jianji was stunned, straining his ears to listen, only able to repeat a few words, and asked uncertainly, "I wonder if it's an insult, and if so, what is it?"
Pan Yun translated for him, and her translation was very messy.
Zhu Jianji swallowed hard and whispered, "Teacher, if the other tutors knew that you taught me these things, they would definitely impeach you and me."
Pan Yun slapped him on the head: "Idiot, am I teaching you to swear? I'm teaching you customs and language skills. As the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, you'll be the emperor in the future. Do you plan to only speak Mandarin? The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and many ethnic groups. I don't expect you to know every language, but at least you should have a basic ability to distinguish them and be able to quickly learn dialects."
Zhu Jianji opened his mouth wide. "Is that so?"
Of course that's how it is. In order to help Zhu Jianji better understand the local customs, she even gave the Imperial Guards below a secret signal, asking them to pick a clever local and send him up to translate on the spot.
"Of course, our purpose is not to listen to the translation, but to learn the language by comparing it with the meaning of the translation."
Zhu Jianji: ...Teacher, are you really not just here to hear gossip? You have such sharp eyes. (End of Chapter)