Start to be a martial arts hero from the famous people of Hengshan

Chapter 459 Newcomers come, old ones go
The evening light began early, and a silence settled down.

This was dusk, and it reminded Ou Zanghua of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem:

It is like a window, a light, and a waiting behind the light.

The carriage stopped at the gate of the Ou Mansion. When Ou Zanghua got off, he happened to see Huai Wei bringing out Female Doctor Tan.

"Congratulations, Lord Ou, your mansion is going to have a new addition." After bowing, Dr. Tan congratulated with a smile.

Ou Zanghua was stunned and looked at Huai Wei beside him.

Huai Wei bowed and replied, "My Lord, the young mistress is pregnant."

Ou Zanghua was really surprised this time. In fact, he had never treated everyone equally. Eight out of ten times, he was on Liu Qing's side, but in the end, Yue Lingshan was the winner.

"Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Tan," but Ou Zanghua quickly adjusted himself and said to Hua An who was seeing the guests off, "Get a gift for Doctor Tan."

"Yes." Hua An agreed quickly, and Female Doctor Tan did not refuse. In this era, having more children means more blessings, and the Ou family has only one male child, Aokiji, so the situation is quite rare.

After entering the backyard, Ou Zanghua went to see Liu Qing first. Seeing that she looked calm, he felt relieved. Then he went to Taihua Garden to see Yue Lingshan.

This girl is already pregnant with her second child at such a young age. She seemed very familiar with the situation and even went out of her way to comfort Ou Zanghua, asking him to relax and spend more time with Liu Qing when he was free. The maids on her side were all experienced people who had taken care of her first child and knew all the needs of pregnant women.

Whether it's adjusting diet, arranging daily routines, or dealing with various minor situations that may arise during pregnancy, they do it with ease.

Hearing this, Ou Zanghua didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He could only pinch Yue Lingshan's silky smooth little face helplessly before letting her go.

Days pass by one by one, like flowing water, but they also take away many traces of the past inadvertently. Every day, the sun rises from the east and sets in the west, over and over again, in an endless cycle.

The sound of cicadas chirping from deep in the branches and leaves seems to remind everyone that the hot August has quietly arrived.

When Ou Zanghua and his first and second wives were enjoying the cool breeze at the cool spring in their home, Shu Yan walked over quickly and whispered, "Master, someone just sent a message that Mr. Xiya has passed away."

"What?!" Ou Zanghua's expression changed and he suddenly stood up from the rocking chair.

Yue Lingshan was still dozing off. When she heard this, she hesitated. Liu Qing beside her explained in a low voice, "Mr. Xiya is Elder Li. He is your husband's teacher and has helped you many times."

"Qingqing, I leave the mansion to you. I'm going to be out for a while. Lingshan, have a good rest and don't act naughty." Ou Zanghua came back to his senses, gave a few instructions, and then quickly left Liangquan.

After changing into official uniform, he took a carriage to the palace.

Many officials have arrived outside the Meridian Gate. This is the influence of Li Dongyang, even though he is no longer in the court.

Not long after, an imperial decree from His Majesty was conveyed from the palace, allowing Ou Zanghua and a few other third-rank officials to enter the palace.

It was not until he met Emperor Zhengde that Ou Zanghua learned that Li Dongyang died of illness on July 20, the eleventh year of Zhengde, at the age of 69.

Li Dongyang's life can be described as a thrilling story.

He was born in an official family in the 12th year of Zhengtong. In the first year of Jingtai, he was awarded the title of "child prodigy" and was summoned by Emperor Jingtai.

In the eighth year of Tianshun, he won the first place in the palace examination and was selected as a Shujishi. It should be noted that he was only seventeen years old at that time, two years younger than Ou Zang when he was the third place in the imperial examination.

During the Chenghua period that followed, he spent all his time editing books in the Hanlin Academy. If he had been given a chance during these 22 years, he would not have spent so much time editing.

In the seventh year of Hongzhi, he was promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and concurrently served as a lecturer. The next year, he and Xie Qian were ordered to join the cabinet to participate in state affairs. That year, Li Dongyang was 48 years old.

In the eleventh year of Hongzhi, he was granted the title of Prince's Guardian, Minister of Rites, and concurrently the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, and was responsible for educating the prince.

In the 18th year of the Hongzhi reign, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were both awarded the title of Guanglu Dafu and Xunzhuguo, and the emperor granted imperial edicts to himself, his great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and wives.

In the first year of Zhengde, he was granted the title of Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Minister of Personnel, and Grand Secretary of Huagai Palace.

Looking back over the whole process, except for the 22 years wasted during the Chenghua period, he skipped a grade almost every year during the rest of the time.

Ou Zanghua couldn't help but compare himself. He started out as an editor in the Hanlin Academy and relied on his military merits to become the Minister of Rites. In addition to the help of Emperor Zhengde, Li Dongyang's maneuvers were also indispensable.

So compared with Li Dongyang, he was undoubtedly lucky to have met a willful emperor.

After some discussion, Emperor Zhengde decided to posthumously award Li Dongyang the title of Grand Tutor and the posthumous name of Wenzheng.

Then, Emperor Zhengde looked at Ou Zanghua and said with a hint of sadness: "Mr. Ou, please escort Master Li on my behalf!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

On September 28th, Ou Zanghua and Li Zhaofan escorted Li Dongyang's coffin to the ancestral tomb in Weiwu Village outside Xizhimen in the west of Beijing.

When the heavy stone door of the tomb slowly closed, it marked the end of the glorious life of a famous official, and from then on he returned to dust.

Ou Zanghua stood in front of Li Dongyang's tomb for a while, until Li Zhaofan reminded him softly, and he seemed to wake up from his thoughts.

Gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, she turned to Li Zhaofan and said kindly, "If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you may come to the Ou Mansion to find me."

"Thank you, Brother Jingyu!" Li Zhaofan bowed to express his gratitude with a look of sadness and gratitude on his face.

The two followed the team down the mountain. Ou Zanghua declined the offer of accommodation and took a carriage back to the capital that day to report to Emperor Zhengde.

However, when he returned to the palace, he received another piece of news.

Emperor Zhengde handed a secret report to Ou Zanghua and said, "Dayan Khan wrote to us saying that he was getting thinner and thinner, and begged us to release his son and grandson to fulfill his filial duty."

Ou Zanghua opened it and saw that it was a message from a captain of the Jinyiwei in Datong. According to their observations over the past few days and their close surveillance in recent days, Dayan Khan had not appeared in public for nearly a month. Various signs showed that his physical condition was probably not as good as before, or even that there were serious problems.

"What do you think, Lord Ou?" Emperor Zhengde asked when he saw Ou Zanghua had finished reading the secret report.

Ou Zanghua thought for a moment before speaking: "Your Majesty, the court was compassionate and merciful in the past and has repatriated Dayan Khan's wives and concubines safely. We have captured two of Dayan Khan's sons, the third son Barsbolot and the fifth son Ozirbolot."

"I think we should consider releasing the third son, Barsborot, and sending him back to Mongolia to show the court's leniency. As for the fifth son, Ozirborot, who is brave and good at fighting, and his grandchildren, they can continue to stay in the capital to receive education and prepare for the future return of Mongolia to China."

"Also, if the northwest needs to mobilize troops against Turpan, you can order Mongolia to send troops to assist."

When Emperor Zhengde heard this, he immediately smiled and nodded in approval.
(End of this chapter)