All Under Heaven

I ran away from home!

Xu Jie declared that his intention to matchmake was not made upon a whim.

Half a month ago, his student Lu Guangzu was chatting with him and mentioned that his daughter was coming of age and ready to marry. Xu Jie hadn’t really thought about it at this point until he heard that Chen Yiqin thought of matchmaking Zhao Su with his granddaughter which reminded him of it.

Looking around the Hanlin Academy, almost everyone was smart, accomplished and elegant. But aside from Shen Shixing1 and Wang Xijue who were already married, all those who were unmarried, although were also talented and scholarly, in the eyes of Xu Jie, not one of them could compare to Zhao Su.

An ideal couple2 and both of an appropriate age, wasn’t it a match made in heaven? 

 

Liu Guangzu was Xu Jie’s other student aside from Zhang Juzheng. He achieved jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing, which was the same year as Zhao Su’s teacher, Dai Gongwang. Now he was a mid-ranking official holding the position of the Head of the Ministry of Rites, which was a fourth-rank official position, he had a clean background, and his family had a literary reputation. In reality, Zhao Su would actually be marrying above his status.

The Lu family’s daughter had received an education from her father from a young age, she was talented and virtuous. It was just that she had high expectations, having been spoiled by her parents, at the age of sixteen, she had still not found a suitable suitor. The family were beginning to worry and decided to ask Teacher Xu for his help.

Zhao Su was getting a headache listening to this and had no choice but to make some excuses: “I don’t want to conceal this from you, Secretary. Yesterday Chen da-ren had just proposed to matchmake me with his family’s granddaughter……”

Of course, Xu Jie was already aware of this but feigned astonishment: “Oh really? I3 guess I am too late, Shaoyong is so young but has already won the place of Tanhua, distinguished and talented with a moral character, so it’s no wonder that you have already been picked up, but,” He purposefully paused for a moment, seeing that Zhao Su was listening intently, he finally continued: “Your teacher and I were good friends, we often talked about you, I hope that you don’t think me as an outsider.” 

 

Zhao Su smiled slightly and said with a sincere tone: “Secretary flatters me, my teacher had also once said that you were the most virtuous official in the imperial court. To be able to have your guidance is my greatest honour.””

Everyone likes to hear flattery, and those in high-ranking positions were no exception, but when speaking with someone with a good sense of judgement then one must also do this seamlessly.

Xu Jie was extremely satisfied with his respectful attitude, although Zhao Su had been able to gain the favour of the Prince of Yu Manor, he was not arrogant. “Chen Yiqin is your Fangshi4 and works with you at the Prince of Yu Manor, so your relationship is anything but ordinary, this is widely known by everyone. If his Majesty decides to….. pass on the throne to the Prince of Yu, as a long-serving official of the Prince of Yu, Chen Yiqin will very likely enter the Grand Secretariat, and from then on, as his granddaughter’s husband you will need to tread lightly.”

The underlying meaning of this: If Zhao Su wanted to enter the Grand Secretariat, unless Chen Yiqin had already retired from the court, otherwise because of their relationship, Zhao Su would be criticised severely.

However, if he was to marry the Lu family’s daughter, there wouldn’t be any of these misgivings. Lu Guangzu was a righteous official, who had made a name for himself, if Zhao Su was to have such a good family5 behind him, it would be flowers to the brocade6.

Zhao Su’s head was buzzing, if it wasn’t for Xu Jie, he wouldn’t have actually thought of this point at all. Whether Xu Jie’s intentions were pure, or he had a hidden motive, Zhao Su still had to thank him for reminding him of this fact.

Zhao Su smiled bitterly: “If Secretary hadn’t said that, I7 would have still been ignorant.”

Xu Jie revealed a slight smile then sighed: “Your teacher’s sacrifice has affected me deeply, but it is because of this, I feel that I must take responsibility for you, I don’t want your future to have any obstacles.”

This was said with such sincerity and meaningfulness that even Zhao Su couldn’t help beginning to have a more favourable opinion of him. Both of them seemed to have grown closer to each other. For Secretary Xu to be able to navigate the twists and turns of life in the imperial court for several decades was not only merely because of his ability to endure silently and follow the crowd. He couldn’t have done it without knowing how to use his wisdom and sophistication to entice the good will of others.

Zhao Su was moved and said: “Thank you Secretary for your guidance, I am truly grateful, please accept my gratitude!” After he finished speaking, he cupped his hands together and bowed deeply.

“Come back up, you are too courteous!” Xu Jie seemed to be delighted, and even helped him up. “I’m already old, I will retire in a few years. But now there are so many youths like you, it’s really a blessing to my Great Ming!”

You will still be fighting to the death for another decade, until your favourite student, Zhang Juzheng, ousts you but you are still vibrant in your old age. Zhao Su couldn’t help cursing under his breath.

Xu Jie imparted a few more words of encouragement then asked him to stay for dinner and finally let him leave when night fell.

When Zhao Su left Xu Manor, he wasn’t in the slightest bit excited or emotionally moved but instead felt that he had been hit hard with some difficulty.

Xu Jie had decided that he wanted to matchmake him, which was clearly to do with some sort of political agenda as well.

If Zhao Su really did marry the Lu family’s daughter, to outsiders, that meant that he was aligned to Xu Jie. However in time, when Gao Gong would enter the Grand Secretariat, and the two of them came to blows, he’d become Zhu Bajie looking into the mirror —— neither human on the inside or on the outside 8.

But what Xu Jie said was also right, it would be taboo for his relationship to get too close to Chen Yiqin.

In this case, these two marriages which seemed blissful on the surface, had instead become a headache that Zhao Su could not avoid.

It was revolting to choose either one of them, but right now, he couldn’t afford to offend either of them.

Zhao Su massaged his forehead, he felt incredibly vexed.

In the end, it was because his foundations were too shallow, and he had no power. In the eyes of others, he was not even twenty years old but was already a sixth-rank official, and had the backing of Xu Jie and the Prince of Yu, so technically, if there were no mishaps, his career should rise meteorically. However, Zhao Su knew that he couldn’t really rely on either.

He and Xu Jie were not related in any way, they might have a few occasional light exchanges, and Xu Jie was quite happy to throw some favours his way, in order to increase his own reputation of giving guidance to the younger generation. But if something was to happen to Zhao Su, someone who could deliver their own granddaughter to marry into the family of their political enemy, would be perfectly happy to sacrifice a pawn to keep the chariot9.

The Prince of Yu was even more unreliable, because Jiajing Emperor had yet to name him as his heir, so the Prince of Yu was in an incredibly awkward position, he could hardly protect himself, so how could he have the power to protect someone else?

Zhao Su walked slowly, his thoughts began to become clearer and a bright idea came to mind regarding his current situation.

I mustn’t worry, I must take it step by step – Zhao Su told himself.

He now had a bunch of like-minded peers, in a few years, all of them would be reassigned to different posts outside of the Capital, in order to gain experience and more contacts. He also needed to take this opportunity to really develop himself. By the time they would meet again, would be when they all showcased their achievements. By then, even if he was in a high-ranking position, he wouldn’t be in the situation he was now, having to handle things with much prudence, and controlled by others.

He gave up the original intention after just arriving here, and gave up his original goal of gaining a small fortune and living peacefully. Instead, he embarked on a road perhaps full of thorns, even Zhao Su could not tell, whether it was he who wanted to change something in this era or was this era directly having an influence over him.

The next day, Zhao Su went to the Hanlin Academy with a preoccupied mind and discovered that everyone was looking at him weirdly.

Wang Xijue went over to him grinning and slapped him on the shoulder with all his might: “Shaoyong, the sage presents as an ordinary man10!”

“What?” Zhao Su understood but pretended to be confused. Even if he was relatively thick-skinned, however, he was still feeling a bit awkward being gawked at by the others with their mocking or jealous eyes.

Wang Xijue put his arm around Zhao Su’s shoulder and pulled him closer: “Come on, we all already know, Secretary Xu wants to matchmake you and Chen da-ren wants to betroth his granddaughter to you. It’s a double blessing11, whatever happens you still have to treat us to a few rounds at Zui Xian Pavilion!”

A dog doesn’t spit out ivory teeth12, how could he just randomly pluck out ‘double blessing’ like that? Between these two families, whichever one he chooses would still make him suffer.

Being given a cold stare by Zhao Su, Wang Xijue thought that he had perhaps overstepped with his words and quickly changed his tone: “Is this all true?”

“News travels around fast here, how did you hear about it so quickly?”

“Yesterday Zhang da-ren came over, and mentioned it in conversation.” Wang Xijue grinned: “Don’t put on such a depressed face, this is a great thing that many people can only dream about!”

Zhang Tingchen turned around and said: “Yuanyu is right, but Shaoyong, which family will you choose?”

Zhao Su smiled and said: “This kind of matter is not my decision, I need to write back to my mother and let her make the decision. Plus Secretary Xu was just asking, there are many people who want to marry into the Lu family, why would they look upon me, a poor Hanlin official?”

He glanced around and discovered that there were only two people sitting down – Yu Youding was sitting there writing with a straight face, and Qi Yuanzuo who was slightly frowning, blatantly displeased by the noise that they were making.

Chen Zhu wasn’t there.

“Where’s Bo Xun?” asked Zhao Su.

Zhang Tingchen said:“He’s not feeling well today, after he arrived he didn’t stop coughing so we asked him to take the day off to rest.”

Zhao Su felt a little ashamed, given that he lived with Chen Zhu but he had to learn about his sickness from others, he could only blame it on the fact that he had been leaving early and returning late in the evening these days, so he had not seen Chen Zhu at all.

A few people were chatting, when Shen Shixing pulled out a giant pile of documents from the cabinet, and said in a humph: “Aren’t you lot going to come and help!”

“Rumo, what is this for?” Zhao Su was just worrying about how to get rid of Wang Xijie so he quickly went over to help.

“These are some documents from the previous years – decrees, eulogies and other files that have not been sorted for a very long time. The order has been completely messed up, I thought that since we don’t have much to do today why not try and tidy it up a bit.”

The others also came over to help, Wang Xijue was still scolding quietly under his breath: “There’s only you who is so diligent, didn’t you see those two statues sitting over…..”

“Yuanyu!” Without waiting for Shen Shixing to say anything, Zhao Su had already cut him off.

Although, Zhao Su looked young in his appearance, but naturally he was wise beyond his appearance, plus he had a pair of peach blossom eyes13, which made people feel like they were bathing in a spring breeze14. When he wasn’t smiling, there was an indescribable air about him, Yuan Xijue got intimidated by him and was in a daze, and took a long while before coming back to his senses.

“Could you not change this habit of yours?” Zhao Su sighed.

Shen Shixing also quietly added: “A loose tongue can cause trouble! Not to mention we are all colleagues, if what you just said was overheard by one of the da-ren, we would all get in trouble.

Wang Xijue knew that he always spoke first without thinking, he couldn’t help being embarrassed and smiled: “Just this once, just this once!” But in his heart, he still didn’t think much of Qi Yuanzuo and Yu Youding, not because they have done anything in particular, perhaps it was just a question of personality.

Regarding these two, even though their personalities were both rigid and severe, they still had a handful of similar minded friends at the Hanlin Academy, and on an average day, everyone would usually mind their own business, so they could all work together in harmony.

Just as they were chatting, Pan Yunduan came in, and looked at Zhao Su weirdly: “Shaoyong, there’s a kid outside who says he’s your nephew…. When did you get a nephew?”

Zhao Su was baffled and he was about to say that it must be for someone else. Unexpectedly, a thought popped into his mind and his face completely changed.

To avoid them asking too much, he quickly went outside. Not long after he indeed saw a child standing there all alone, wearing embroidered jade-coloured robes, his face was soft and fair, but with a solemn expression on his face, he was indescribably cute.

Zhao Su was very surprised.

The words ‘little princely heir’ got to his lips but he choked it back and changed it to: “Jun’er!”

“Susu!” The little kid’s eyes sparkled, running over to him and throwing himself into Zhao Su’s arms.

“How did you get here, where are Feng Bao and the others!?” Zhao Su didn’t look pleased, and instead was frowning.

The little brat choked on his words, then said with much grievance: “I’ve run away from home.”