Chapter Forty: The Great Demolition at the End of the Sui Dynasty (Part II) – First Update

Turning back, Zheng Yanqing walked up to Li Ji.

“Teacher, your disciple has returned!”

Before Li Ji, Yanqing was as respectful as ever, just as he had always been. Yet for Li Ji, his feelings were now entirely different from before. The child standing before him might very well be his own flesh and blood!

Though both Dou Wei and Dou Xian could not say for certain, Li Ji was convinced: Yanqing was his son. Not knowing before was one thing, but now that he knew, how could Li Ji possibly remain calm?

Yet he also understood that if he revealed the truth now, there was no telling whether Yanqing would believe him. And even if he did, what could come of it? Would he have Yanqing wander with him, rootless and drifting? Would that not only bring harm to the boy?

With this in mind, Li Ji forcibly suppressed the impulse, gazing in silence at Zheng Yanqing.

“Teacher…”

Yanqing felt that Li Ji was acting rather strangely today. He had stepped forward, bowing in greeting, yet Li Ji had not responded for some time.

Clearly, his teacher was in a poor mood—who knew what had troubled him? Yanqing did not dwell on it, for Dou Fengjie had already cautioned him. So he stepped closer and called out softly. Only then did Li Ji come back to himself from his daze.

“Yanqing, you have returned!”

“Yes, your disciple is back… and owes you a debt of gratitude for saving my life.”

Were it not for Li Ji’s intervention that night, bringing Dou Wei to mediate, Yanqing feared he would have ended up a corpse. He was truly grateful to his teacher. A teacher for a day is a father for life. Yanqing did not know who his real father was, but in his heart, he had already come to regard Li Ji as a father figure.

Li Ji helped Yanqing up, carefully studying the boy.

No matter how long he looked, it never seemed enough. Unable to restrain his emotions, he suddenly pulled Yanqing into a tight embrace.

“Teacher…”

Yanqing exclaimed in surprise, not understanding the reason for Li Ji’s sudden action.

Li Ji quickly regained his composure and forced a smile. “I never imagined that after a lifetime of wandering, I, Li Ji, would take on a student as remarkable as you.”

Indeed, who would not feel joy at seeing a beloved pupil’s name spread far and wide? With this explanation, Yanqing’s suspicions faded, for he too could understand a teacher’s pride.

After letting Yanqing go, Li Ji led him back to his quarters.

Once seated, Li Ji looked at the upright, attentive Yanqing and asked softly, “Yanqing, now that you’re back, do you have any plans?”

“Yes!” Yanqing replied. “I wish to heed your teachings and strengthen my body through martial arts. That is all.”

“Do you not regret it?”

“Regret what?”

Seeing Yanqing’s innocent expression, Li Ji felt a wave of comfort.

---

“Yanqing, when you became my disciple, I told you: if you ever regret it, you need not recognize me as your teacher. At the time, I did not know you were that famed Young Lord Goose. Now that your identity is known and the Zheng family holds you in high regard, continuing to call an obscure man like me your teacher hardly seems fitting.”

Li Ji now thought only of Yanqing’s well-being.

But Yanqing grew anxious. This teacher, who could summon elders of the Dou clan, clearly had powerful connections. Yanqing believed Li Ji was testing him. The Zheng family valued him, but he knew well they sought to use him. He could not refuse them, yet he resented being treated as a pawn.

Thus, he needed to seize the opportunity the Zhengs offered to gain greater fame and attract broader attention.

Li Ji had no ulterior motives—he truly cared for Yanqing. Before achieving greater renown, Yanqing needed a protective umbrella.

Without doubt, Li Ji could offer that protection. To sever ties now would be madness!

He immediately knelt. “Teacher, do you not want your disciple anymore?”

Li Ji felt a surge of warmth and his nose tingled. “Yanqing, how could I not want you? I only have your best interests at heart.”

“A teacher for a day, a father for life. I wish only to remain your disciple, and not trouble myself with other matters…”

“Why?” Li Ji pressed.

Indeed, why?

Yanqing hesitated a moment, then replied softly, “When I was unknown, only you did not look down on me for my humble birth. You accepted me as your student and taught me with all your heart. Though I am young, I can tell good from bad. You have truly treated me well. If I were now to despise you for some meager fame, what would that make me?”

Li Ji was deeply moved. My son, you are my only flesh and blood in this world—how could I not worry for you?

He took a deep breath, striving to steady his voice. Yet if one listened closely, the tremor in his words was unmistakable.

“Yanqing, that you feel this way brings your… teacher great joy.” In his emotion, Li Ji nearly uttered “father,” but caught himself just in time. “Still, I lack both learning and a fixed abode. Who knows when I might have to leave? As long as you call me teacher, I will teach you all I can.

But you will grow. In time, I will find you another teacher. When that day comes, do not refuse.”

Yanqing was startled, glancing up at Li Ji in confusion.

Why was his teacher speaking so strangely today?

He hesitated. “I am willing to follow your arrangements, teacher, but please, do not send me away.”

“Hahaha, I will never send you away!”

Li Ji’s voice grew soft, his nose stinging and his eyes growing moist. He quickly lowered his head, dabbing at his eyes with his sleeve.

“But from today onward, I will be even stricter with you.”

---

It was early summer, and the afternoon was already growing hot.

Li Ji and Zheng Yanqing did not begin their lessons at once, but instead sat in the small courtyard, watching the green vines climbing the walls, exchanging idle conversation.

---

A breeze rustled through, making the orange blossoms on the vines sway.

Yanqing brought out a tea stove and kettle, sitting beside Li Ji and grinding the tea leaves into powder.

“Teacher, today I met someone new.”

“Oh? Who was it?”

Most of the time, it was Yanqing who spoke while Li Ji answered his questions. Though Yanqing had lived in this era for six years, his understanding was far outstripped by Li Ji’s. He recounted the events in Xingyang, and Li Ji immediately understood the Zheng patriarch’s intentions. A fourth-rank pedigree? That was hardly of any use.

Fourth rank, and a lowly sort at that.

If the Zheng patriarch truly had goodwill, he would at least have secured a third-rank pedigree for Yanqing. For the Zhengs, this was not difficult. With the nine-rank system in decline and local recorders largely under the sway of great families, a third-rank pedigree would not have been hard to arrange.

Though third-rank was still low, it was worlds apart from the fourth.

Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling, both sons of officials, were all of third-rank pedigree.

With it, Yanqing’s official career would at least have a smoother path. But a fourth-rank… it only sounded slightly better, nothing more.

No, if things continued like this, my son would remain nothing but a Zheng family dependent.

If the old fox Zheng patriarch ever sought to harm Yanqing, my son would have no choice but to endure it. Though I am down and out, that does not mean my son should be subject to humiliation… I must find him a truly formidable teacher.

As he pondered this, Yanqing suddenly spoke, interrupting Li Ji’s train of thought.

“Whom did you meet?”

“The son of Fang Yanqian, the county magistrate of Changge—Fang Xuanling.”

Li Ji paused. “You mean Fang Xuanling, the Jinshi of the sixteenth year of the Kaihuang era in Qizhou?”

“That’s the one.”

“Oh, he’s known to be a steady man of considerable talent. But I heard he’s only a low-ranking officer in the feathered cavalry now. What is he doing in Luoyang?”

To Yanqing’s surprise, Li Ji knew of Fang Xuanling as well. He was intrigued.

Li Ji smiled. “Though I have wandered these many years, I am neither blind nor deaf. Fang Xuanling passed the Jinshi exam at just eighteen, creating quite a stir at the time.”

To achieve Jinshi status at eighteen was truly remarkable, and it caused a sensation.

Fang Xuanling enjoyed quite a bit of glory then, until the second year of Renshou, when Emperor Wen of Sui initiated the imperial examinations and raised the status of the “xiucai” degree. The three Du brothers—Du Zhenglun, Du Zhengxuan, and Du Zhengzang—all passed at once, their triple success outshining Fang Xuanling’s fame.