Chapter 468: Chapter 468
An Ning lightly twirled the warm teacup between her fingers, her voice as calm as ever, but with a hint of seriousness now:
“Your Majesty, you should already know, as I said before, this was merely a coincidental opportunity, a simple insight into the natural order of things.
When it comes to calculating fate or making grand schemes, I am not skilled. At best I can only offer a rough estimate of the timing of events.
As for the ways of refining elixirs and composing talismans, I still have no clue at all.
Only my painting skills are something I can claim to be passably good at.”
In short, the woman in the green robe across from him slowly lifted her head, her expression serious and earnest:
“Your Majesty, please withdraw the imperial decree. The post of Imperial Mentor is certainly not something I can shoulder.”
Seeing that she was not putting on an act but was utterly sincere, Emperor Xuanwu’s face betrayed no emotion, but inside he was already thrilled.
What did she mean by a rough estimate of timing? She could accurately predict when the wind would pick up, when it would rain, even the exact moment the sky would clear.
And she claimed to have insights into the natural order? A glance outside showed the forest still lush and green.
When he looked into the woman’s nearly pristine amber eyes, after a brief pause, Emperor Xuanwu quickly put down his teacup in a deliberate gesture.
Ha. If this counts as "unworthy," then tell me, what about the past great Imperial Mentors? Were they all frauds who deceived the court?
Hmm... actually, some of them were.
Recalling the Grand Princess who died after taking elixirs, and the way his father had been almost convinced to become a monk, Emperor Xuanwu felt once more that he was truly lucky, then swiftly offered an olive branch again:
“You speak jestingly, Master. As for the post of Imperial Mentor, I ask the whole realm, if you are unfit, then who else could fill the role in my eyes?”
Unfortunately, the person before him showed no signs of moving, and the emperor did not lose heart; he pressed on:
“Cough... setting the post aside for now, I have heard that Master has been deeply distressed these past years over your family's earlier troubles.”
Indeed, mentioning her teacher finally drew An Ning’s attention. Seeing this, the emperor visibly relaxed:
“As for the matter with Grand Academician Xie, I already investigated. It was indeed your father who took excessive offense from the previous emperor. In my view, Grand Academician Xie was loyal and upright, dared to remonstrate, and did not deserve such an end!”
Loyal and upright, daring to remonstrate.
Though these words might sound like flattery to the extraordinary person before him, the emperor felt no guilt saying them now.
Put together, those two compliments smacked of being the sort of praise that doom-prone cannon fodder usually attracts.
No surprise there. Earlier, An Ning had asked the system to help investigate. The real reason Xie Shuyu’s father, once a grand academical scholar, had come to such an end was simple—he was practically undone by his own words.
At the time, the Late Emperor had been obsessed with Buddhism and Daoist thought, neglecting court sessions for many days; being young, he had even begun to slack in governance.
With the emperor so lax, countless censors who disapproved flooded the imperial desk with admonitions.
If that had been all, it would have been one thing; but Grand Academician Xie was different.
He was a talented scholar, a celebrated poet, someone who loved to speak plainly through verse.
Under the prompting of some with agendas, one of his poems, which criticized a so-called “demonic monk” and urged the emperor to heed advice, became widely known among the populace.
In no time, the reputations of both the Late Emperor and that “high monk” were dragged through the mud among the common people and the literary circles.
This finally pushed the Late Emperor’s temper to a breaking point, despite his usual Buddhist aversion to killing. Thankfully, his reluctance to take life spared the Xie family from execution, but they were all exiled.
How did Lady Yang evade the worst of it?
Thinking of the occasional sighs her master had let slip, An Ning understood:
It was Tutor Yang, who came begging and almost emptied his household to help—claiming ties to the case and asserting the engagement to Third Young Lady—that risked everything to pull the family through.
Under the laws of the realm, a married woman ordinarily would rarely be implicated in such cases unless it was a major crime.
Even so, the couple dared only to hide in that remote place for so long, never daring to show their faces.
Reflecting on this, An Ning felt it hard to judge Old Man Xie absolutely.
Was he troublesome? Certainly; one rash tongue almost destroyed a whole family—how could that not be distressing?
But at the same time, he was genuinely a rare good man.
Think about it: how many Hanlin Academy scholars would patiently guide a visiting impoverished xiucai with such care, never showing impatience?
Unsurprisingly, he truly cherished talent and could be called a man of loyalty and righteousness.
It was because of such a man that, in the moment of peril, a grateful person like Tutor Yang would risk his wealth and life to rescue his master’s female relatives.
No matter how one judges Old Man Xie, the younger generation and the women of the family were innocent.
And yet, the emperor before her now, eager to curry favor, was once again trampling on the reputation of her father’s era. That was truly something...
Anyone with sense could guess how exposing that old scandal would further damage the Late Emperor’s already shattered name...
Since his own son, who inherited the throne, did not mind, An Ning—an outsider—was equally unapologetic about taking advantage of the situation.
Fingering the teacup, she watched the woman in the cyan robe across from her soon show a clearly visible look of delight:
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gracious favor...”
She really was easy to read!
Her eyes caught the faint light in the emperor’s, and with her worry released, His Majesty’s mood only brightened further.
What about her father’s reputation?
Please—does her father even have such a thing left?
Thinking of all the patching and scrambling he had done since taking the throne, and the countless messes he’d had to clean up, Emperor Xuanwu felt fully justified in his actions.
If it harms a reputation, I am clearly restoring proper order!
But this episode had made the emperor understand the woman before him more clearly.
She possessed extraordinary talent and power, yet was pure of thought, lacking in personal desire, and extremely loyal.
He silently praised his good fortune and waved his hand, ordering his attendants not to neglect her, instructing that all manner of good things be given to her first.
What? The Master appears to want nothing, doesn’t care for worldly goods?
Sima Yu sneered inwardly. He thought only the cleverly foolish would say such a thing.
If she truly did not care for things, did he expect he couldn’t see her sincerity?
The purer the heart, the more sensitive they are to such matters. Those who seem unconcerned, who treat you the same every day and don’t make a fuss when slighted—those are actually the most dangerous in Sima Yu’s view.
The ones who do not quarrel often are the ones who leave with the most finality when they decide to go.
Just look at the Xiao family, who have not even set foot in the mountain gate—blood relatives, and yet they vanished like that. Thinking of how light his burdens had suddenly felt lately, Emperor Xuanwu, who did not believe in sentiment, did not dare to gamble.
Seeing through the emperor’s thoughts, An Ning’s eyes remained as clear as before, but she could not help but let out a soft sigh:
Sure enough, she still preferred dealing with intelligent people!
As the saying goes, speak of Cao, and Cao appears. Just when Emperor Xuanwu, after many earnest invitations, finally convinced An Ning to enter the capital and she was preparing to depart, a message came from the foot of the mountain that someone requested an audience.
Hearing the familiar name from the palace attendants, unexpectedly, An Ning did not completely refuse...