Union

Chapter 209 Chapter 208 Extra (3)

Chen Yanzhou served two consecutive terms in Jinzhou.

Just as he was pondering whether to continue his posting in another location or return to the capital to serve in one of the Six Ministries, his mentor, Grand Secretary Tong, was on his deathbed and soon passed away.

This old man, who had served three emperors, ultimately did not outlive the current emperor and passed away before him.

The passing of Grand Secretary Tong seems to imply that in this unspoken contest between him and the emperor, the emperor ultimately prevailed.

It goes without saying how pleased His Majesty was; he has reigned for nearly thirty years, and the current emperor is truly a master of acting.

He had clearly fallen out with Grand Secretary Tong earlier, demoting him and avoiding mentioning him to court officials and eunuchs for nearly ten years. But when Grand Secretary Tong actually passed away, His Majesty displayed an expression of deep regret at the loss of a pillar of the state, even fainting from grief in front of the court.

This made it difficult for the officials in the court to discuss the matter further.

One can only sigh and say that Grand Secretary Tong was unlucky. If he had endured another year or two, His Majesty might have regretted it and reinstated him to his original position.

—Even though they themselves didn't believe these words. But His Majesty had set the stage, and they couldn't very well go against His Majesty's wishes; they had to keep the show going.

The ministers have shared the burdens of their lord, and their performance today is even more remarkable.

He not only bestowed upon Grand Secretary Tong a coffin, burial clothes, and other funeral supplies, but also rewarded his family with a large amount of money and cloth as a form of appeasement.

In addition, the emperor posthumously conferred upon Grand Secretary Tong the title of Marquis Wenzhong, bestowed upon him the honors due to a marquis, and had his memorial tablet enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple after his death. Furthermore, the emperor arranged for five high-ranking officials, including the Vice Minister of Rites and the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, to escort the funeral procession with imperial insignia.

The arrangements were made one by one, expressing His Majesty's regret to the fullest extent.

Under these circumstances, Chen Yanzhou was attending his mentor's funeral, so naturally no one could say anything inappropriate.

The funeral of Grand Secretary Tong was extremely grand; it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as "a posthumous honor."

But this is not what Grand Secretary Tong wanted.

After death, all that remains are bones; no matter how much later generations venerate them, it's all in vain. Only while alive can one make great contributions to the country and its people.

Unfortunately, Grand Secretary Tong never had that opportunity again.

After Chen Yanzhou returned to Jinzhou after handling his mentor's funeral, he had lost about seven or eight pounds.

In less than a month, he had become so thin that even the lines of his face had become sharper, as if cut by a knife. The shock he had suffered must have been too great.

Yunying, heavily pregnant, walked up to him and embraced the travel-worn and exhausted man.

It was only early September, and the air still held a lingering summer heat. Both of them were dressed in thin clothing, and Chen Yanzhou could easily notice the round belly protruding from his chest.

He quickly stepped back, creating some distance between them. "Your belly is already this big? I drove all the way back and I smell bad. Don't let the stench bother you."

He did smell.

It smelled not only of sweat, but also of dust and the smell of horses.

Yunying is now five months pregnant and is no longer as delicate as before, but she will still feel nauseous and vomit if she smells a strong odor.

To avoid causing herself discomfort, Yunying didn't insist on staying close to him. But thinking of Chen Yanzhou's problem, she couldn't help but look down at her bulging belly. Smiling, she pulled Chen Yanzhou into the house, saying, "It's been five months already, it's normal for your belly to be a little bigger."

Chen Yanzhou, however, still frowned. "This is far too big."

Yunying was four months pregnant when he left.

This pregnancy was not as easy as the first.

When Yunying was pregnant with Xu Ge'er, she only experienced slight bleeding in the early stages of pregnancy, but her condition improved significantly later on. She didn't experience the nausea and vomiting that others had, and with Chen Yanzhou's attentive care, she didn't suffer from leg cramps or swelling, and she didn't even develop a single stretch mark.

Even her childbirth went smoothly.

In just one hour, Xu Ge'er, weighing six pounds and eight ounces, was born.

However, with her second pregnancy, Yunying experienced severe morning sickness starting from the first month of her pregnancy.

She couldn't stand any smells, couldn't eat anything, and most often she would lie listlessly in bed, wishing she could vomit up her gallbladder.

This situation continued until more than three months into the pregnancy.

Just before Chen Yanzhou left, Yunying had just managed to eat without spitting it out.

Given her condition, Chen Yanzhou was originally hesitant to leave her behind on her own.

But Yunying knew how important he was to Grand Secretary Tong, so she insisted on having her aunt stay at the mansion to keep watch and urge Chen Yanzhou to leave quickly.

His aunt was indeed good at taking care of people. When he left, Yunying was so thin that she didn't show any signs of pregnancy, but when he came back, Yunying's cheeks were rosy and her belly was protruding.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yanzhou was naturally delighted. The piercing pain in his heart caused by his mentor's passing finally lessened considerably.

However, Yunying's belly was still quite large.

Her belly was much bigger than when she was five months pregnant with Xu Ge'er.

Chen Yanzhou said, "I'll have a doctor come over later. I need to hear the doctor's diagnosis before I can feel at ease."

Yunying laughed upon hearing this, "Then we'll invite them over in a bit. Now you should go take a bath. Xu-ge'er will be finishing his get out of class soon, and he'll be overjoyed to see you when he comes back. Xu-ge'er talks about you every day, and he tells me he misses his father every day..."

Chen Yanzhou's face softened, but he said, "He's almost four years old. How can he act like a little girl, always looking for his father..."

Yunying was impatient to listen to him say this, so she urged him to go into the inner room and watched him take off his clothes and get into the bathtub.

If she were staring at him like that on any other day, Chen Yanzhou would have already been unable to resist and pulled her into the water to fool around with him, but now he had no such intention at all.

Yunying washed his hair while casually asking about the funeral.

Chen Yanzhou replied to each one.

The funeral was grand, and all the fellow disciples returned.

He also said that his mentor did not rest after returning to his hometown; he continued to write books and teach many impoverished students.

After their mentor's death, all of them arrived, each performing the rites of a disciple, and personally escorted their mentor to his burial.

Chen Yanzhou briefly mentioned His Majesty's great favor, but did not elaborate.

His emotions were complex. He knew that his mentor had only lost to the limits of his lifespan in this game, not truly to His Majesty. But then he thought of how his mentor, until his death, had been concerned with implementing new policies and achieving genuine national prosperity and military strength.

Unfortunately, his ambitions remained unfulfilled.

It wasn't because those in power disagreed with his ideas; it was simply because they were wary of him becoming too powerful.

For this reason, my mentor was unsuccessful in his later years, wasting ten years of his life.

I felt very sorry when my mentor passed away.

Chen Yanzhou said that after his mentor died, his eyes remained open. His mentor's wife and fellow students tried everything, but still couldn't close them. It was he who whispered something in his mentor's ear, and only then did his mentor finally close his eyes.

Chen Yanzhou pulled Yunying in front of him and said, "Yingying, if I cannot keep my promise to my master, I will have no face to see him in the afterlife."

His face was filled with sorrow, and his fragile expression revealed a strange persistence.

He seemed obsessed, as if he would stop at nothing to fulfill a certain promise.

Yun Ying panicked a little, "Before you do those things, you should think about me and our two children..." Chen Yanzhou paused for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his face.

“Yingying, what nonsense are you talking about? Of course I will persevere for my master’s ambition, after all, that is also my ambition. But you and the child are also the treasures I will protect in this life. I will not neglect one for the other, nor will I implicate you and the child, or cause my master to be ashamed in the afterlife.”

"I'm glad you understand..."

……

Since that conversation, Chen Yanzhou has gradually recovered.

Besides still paying close attention to Yunying's belly—

Yunying's belly was fine, but she had a good appetite this month and ate a lot, which caused the fetus to grow quite fast.

The doctor advised Yunying to control her appetite somewhat. Otherwise, her appetite would increase, and the fetus might become overweight, which could be fatal during childbirth.

Because of the doctor's words, Chen Yanzhou became even more strict with Yunying.

He was already busy with official duties, and in addition to his busy schedule, he had to take care of his eldest son Xu'er's studies, and also devote even more energy to Yunying. He was so busy every day that he seemed to have finally forgotten the pain of his mentor's passing.

But that's only on the surface.

In fact, Yun Ying, Chen Yanzhou's bedmate, knew better than anyone else about his mental state.

He would still think of Grand Secretary Tong from time to time, and often in the middle of the night, he would get up alone and stand by the dimly lit window to think about things.

Yunying started getting up frequently at night during the later stages of her pregnancy, to the point that she had witnessed this scene several times.

She didn't say much, just silently stayed by his side.

Gradually, whether it was to avoid causing her too much worry, or because the knot in his heart was gradually smoothed out with the passage of time, Chen Yanzhou never stood by the window in the middle of the night again.

Unlike before, he didn't make any new considerations regarding his career path. He didn't discuss with her whether to go to the capital or take up a post elsewhere.

Yunying held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking him, "Do you still want to stay in Jinzhou?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanzhou pulled Yunying into his arms and whispered in her ear, "No. I'm waiting for an opportunity. This opportunity may come soon, or it may take three to five months."

Yunying instinctively felt this was a secret that couldn't be told, so she lowered her voice and asked, "What kind of opportunity is it?"

"The opportunity for a new emperor to ascend the throne."

Yunying quickly covered Chen Yanzhou's mouth with her hand and hurriedly looked around.

Fortunately, it was late at night, and the maids and servants had all been sent back to rest, so no one should have heard their conversation.

Yun Ying breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to glare at Chen Yanzhou, "Don't talk nonsense. If this gets back to His Majesty, he might say you're cursing him..."

Chen Yanzhou whispered, "If you don't tell and I don't tell, no outsiders will know about this."

Chen Yanzhou brought up the matter of his mentor's burial with Yunying again.

At that time, His Majesty dispatched five senior officials to handle the funeral arrangements for his mentor. One of them had been a protégé of the Duke of Rong in his early years, but after taking the imperial examinations to enter officialdom, the two sides had lost contact in recent years.

This is only on the surface; behind the scenes, the relationship between the two sides is becoming increasingly close.

This student was truly lucky. Although the Duke of Rongguo was secretly manipulating things, he also had some ability of his own. In just twenty years, he went from being a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and an official stationed in the provinces to being transferred to the capital and entering the Hanlin Academy. Now, he has become a Hanlin Academy Academician of the third rank.

This person was responsible for writing the eulogy and epitaph at this funeral.

This same man had privately told him that one day His Majesty summoned him to give a lecture, during which he briefly left his seat. When His Majesty returned, he noticed a trace of blood on His Majesty's sleeve.

That's the gist of the matter. How you interpret it is up to you.

Chen Yanzhou received a letter from his father some time ago, confirming the matter. Only then did he dare to openly tell Yun Ying that he was waiting for the opportunity of the new emperor's ascension to the throne.

When a new emperor ascends the throne, he will surely promote those who were previously deliberately suppressed.

He barely qualifies as one of them.

If he seizes this opportunity, it's not impossible for him to become a key minister in one of the Six Ministries.

Yunying leaned against Chen Yanzhou's chest, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat.

A gentle night breeze blew, and the moonlight shone brightly. The chirping of cicadas and insects sounded so peaceful at this moment, and the whole earth was enveloped in a serene atmosphere.

Yunying's heart was at peace at this moment.

She thought that he must have thought about this matter for a long time, otherwise he wouldn't be able to remain so calm when talking about such a taboo subject.

Since he had already considered and prepared for this, she didn't need to worry about it.

Yunying settled down to rest and recover during her pregnancy.

They say they want to focus on their pregnancy, but if they have other things on their minds, how can they truly feel at ease?
Yunying was eight and a half months pregnant when her legs and feet began to swell, and she also started having trouble sleeping at night.

Chen Yanzhou asked a doctor to examine her pulse again, but the doctor said that it was not an illness, but just excessive worry.

It was at this moment that Chen Yanzhou realized that Yunying had been thinking about him all along and was worried about him.

Chen Yanzhou said regretfully, "I should have known better than to tell you."

"I'd rather you tell me. The more you hide it from me, the more I'll overthink things, and that will only make things worse."

"You're not much better now either."

"Then try to persuade me more, maybe I'll see the light..."

After that day, even those in Jinzhou heard the news from the capital. It was said that His Majesty had fallen seriously ill and had coughed up blood and fainted during the morning court session.

Some people say that His Majesty was also in a coma when Grand Secretary Tong passed away. At the time, it was thought that His Majesty had suffered a great shock. Could it be that His Majesty's condition was already very serious at that time? It's just that the palace kept it well hidden, so they didn't know?

People followed the crowd, and the story quickly became distorted and unbelievable.

On the third day after the news spread, a messenger on horseback arrived on the post road with the latest news: the mountain had collapsed!
When Yunying heard about this, she was strolling with Chen Yanzhou under the moonlight.

The two were talking about their youngest daughter's name—this pregnancy was completely different from their first, so it must be a girl.

That's what Yunying thought, and that's what Chen Yanzhou thought too.

With the due date just a month away, the couple still hadn't decided on a name for their child, and they brought it up again.

Just as the couple decided to name their child "Zhao", this earth-shattering news reached the prefectural government.

-

Zhao, Mingye!

The opportunity that Chen Yanzhou had been waiting for had finally arrived!
His era has finally arrived!
Is this the finale?! I can't say for sure. I originally planned to write two more chapters: one about Chen Yanzhou becoming a Grand Secretary, and another an "what if" chapter about Yun Ying not being taken away and growing up in the Duke of Xuan's mansion. Whether I'll write those or not, I don't know. My darlings, check back tomorrow at the usual time. If there's an update, then I've written something; if not, then this book is completely finished. My new book is in preparation, please come and support it! Mwah!

By the way, please add my new book "The Phoenix's Marriage" to your favorites. Those who like classical fantasy novels can check it out!

(End of this chapter)