Blossom

Ji Yong swaggered through the covered corridors to the front courtyard.

A large crowd of people came into view, escorting an elderly man.

The old man was of medium height, with completely white hair and beard, yet his complexion was ruddy. He wore a somewhat worn sapphire-blue silk robe, with a small red agate bottle hanging at his waist. His eyes were bright and lively, carrying a hint of youthful curiosity.

The moment he saw Ji Yong, he chuckled and said, "Jianming, how did you know I was coming? I specifically told them not to inform you. I heard you’ve been doing well at the Imperial Academy? Come, let me see if you’ve improved at all."

"Great-grandfather!" Ji Yong widened his eyes and shot a fierce glare at Zi Xi, his expression clearly saying, "Why didn’t you tell me?"

Zi Xi shrank back and hurriedly explained, "It was the two masters’ orders. They said it was Old Master Ji’s wish to surprise you, so we kept quiet."

"I’d say there’s plenty of surprise, but I don’t know where the joy is!" Ji Yong muttered, then walked over with a stern face and bowed to Old Master Ji, addressing him respectfully as "Great-grandfather."

Old Master Ji instinctively reached out to pat Ji Yong’s head, only to realize that Ji Yong was no longer the childish boy he once knew—he had grown a full head taller than the old man. Raising his hand, Old Master Ji barely managed to touch Ji Yong’s head and praised him with a smile, "Good boy," making the scene somewhat comical.

Ji Song and Ji Qi lowered their eyelids, pretending not to see.

The others also averted their gazes.

Ji Yong’s lips twitched.

Old Master Ji had already taken Ji Yong’s hand and, while walking inside, asked him, "Where were you headed? It’s rare for everyone to gather like this today—don’t go out to play. Keep me, an old man, company. I’ve brought a few inkstones from Jiangnan, gifts from your uncle. Among them is a Yishui inkstone and a Longwei inkstone. Help me take a look at them." He then glanced at the grandsons and great-grandsons following behind and added with a smile, "Later, each of you can take one to use."

Several of Ji Yong’s cousins stepped forward eagerly to thank Old Master Ji, teasing him about favoritism. "What’s the use of an inkstone without ink? Since you’re being so generous, why not go all the way and give us some pine-soot inksticks too?"

"See, I knew I shouldn’t have said anything," Old Master Ji lamented with exaggerated distress. "The moment I open my mouth, I’m bound to lose out. You can have the inkstones, but no ink. Take it or leave it!"

Everyone adored Old Master Ji’s playful nature and joined in the banter, laughing, "Of course we want both the inkstones and the ink!"

Amid the cheerful clamor, the group entered the hall.

Ji Yong followed Old Master Ji with a pained expression, as if suffering from a toothache.

If it had been anyone else, he would have walked away without a second thought. But facing Old Master Ji, whom he had never managed to outwit since childhood, Ji Yong felt not only the deference due to seniority but also a deep respect for the old man’s strength. Though reluctant, he still accompanied Old Master Ji into the hall and took a seat.

Leaning toward Ji Yong, Old Master Ji said, "Your mentor, Master Yang, speaks highly of you, praising your understanding of agriculture—something uncommon among scholars. Since he holds you in such high regard, and I’m here now, I ought to meet him. Tomorrow, accompany me to pay him a visit. We’re both from the Southern Metropolitan Region—close neighbors are better than distant relatives. You should seek his guidance often in your free time."

What’s the point of going?Every time he went, he claimed it was about agricultural matters. This forced him to seek out stewards knowledgeable in farming to avoid being exposed...

Ji Yong responded gloomily with a "Yes."

Old Master Ji beamed with joy, no longer paying attention to Ji Yong, and instead chatted with Ji Song and Ji Qi.

The plan to find Chen Qushui naturally fell through.

Not only that, but Old Master Ji also dragged Ji Yong to visit one person today and another tomorrow, under the pretext of introducing old friends to Ji Yong. Ji Song and Ji Qi naturally supported this wholeheartedly, so much so that Ji Yong had no time for anything other than attending the Imperial Academy and accompanying Old Master Ji.

Before they knew it, midsummer arrived, yet Old Master Ji showed no intention of returning home. Instead, his enthusiasm grew stronger—he wanted to revisit all the places he had been to in his youth and make up for the ones he had missed.

To make matters worse, his men reported that Chen Qushui would be leaving for Zhen Ding in a few days.

Ji Yong was utterly exasperated. With a flick of his sleeve, he decided he’d had enough.

Ji Qi’s veins bulged as he scolded him: "The old man has only a few good years left. While he can still eat and drink well, shouldn’t we, his descendants, show filial piety? Or should we wait until he’s buried? If you dare act up in front of him, you’ll kneel in the ancestral hall!"

The Ji family’s ancestral hall was in Yixing.

Ji Yong simply knelt in the family shrine where the portraits of the Ji ancestors were enshrined.

Ji Qi was so furious he nearly fainted, searching everywhere for a feather duster to beat Ji Yong.

Han Shi also felt Ji Yong had gone too far and stopped Ji Song from intervening: "Filial piety comes first. If he doesn’t understand even that, he might as well be beaten to death."

Ji Song sighed.

Ji Qi gave Ji Yong a thrashing.

Ji Yong said, "Then I don’t have to accompany Great-Grandfather everywhere every day, do I?"

Ji Qi was speechless for a long while.

After leaving his official duties, Ji Yong went to find Chen Qushui.

Chen Qushui wasn’t at the shop.

Tian Fugui eagerly spoke to Ji Yong: "...Seventh Master invited Mr. Chen for a talk, so he might return late. May I ask what business you have with him, Lord Ji? Should I pass on a message? Or perhaps I can inform him you came by and have him visit you tomorrow?"

Should he go see his aunt?

Lost in thought, Ji Yong absentmindedly left the shop.

A carriage stopped beside him, and someone lifted the curtain to call out: "Ji Jianming, what are you doing here?"

Ji Yong looked up and saw He Yu, dressed in fine brocade, sitting inside the carriage.

Ever since their fight at the Drunken Immortal Tower, He Yu had come to admire Ji Yong’s forthright nature, while Ji Yong felt He Yu was a man of responsibility. The two had since maintained a cordial but not overly close relationship—when Ji Yong was named on the Golden List, He Yu sent congratulations; when He Yu got married, Ji Yong attended the wedding banquet.

"Nothing much, just wandering around," Ji Yong replied, instinctively reluctant to let He Yu know this was Dou Zhao’s stationery shop.

He Yu didn’t press further. Nodding, he said, "I’m heading to the Drunken Immortal Tower for drinks. Want to join? Chen Zexi is hosting—Xu Zhiji, Yang Yunxiao, and Cai Guyuan will all be there."

Chen Zexi was the Chief Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, only thirty-two this year. The grandson of former Grand Academician Chen Yan, he was a renowned young talent in the court. He Yu had married Chen Zexi’s cousin.

Xu Zhiji and Yang Yunxiao were Ji Yong’s colleagues at the Imperial Academy, both also quite young.Ji Yong was feeling rather displeased, but upon hearing that Cai Guyuan—who often gave him sidelong glances—was also present, he immediately perked up. Without ceremony, he boarded the carriage: "Then I’ll trouble you."

He Yu most admired Ji Yong’s unyielding, scholarly demeanor and laughed heartily as he made room inside, accompanying Ji Yong to the Drunken Immortal Tower.

When Ji Yong unleashed his sharp tongue, few could withstand it.

Before the wine was even finished, Cai Guyuan’s face had already turned ashen.

Xu Zhiji and Yang Yunxiao barely managed to suppress their laughter.

Chen Zexi saw that things were getting out of hand and signaled to He Yu with his eyes, suggesting that He Yu and Ji Yong leave first.

Finding Cai Guyuan utterly dull, He Yu had no intention of continuing this charade of harmony. After whispering a few words to Ji Yong, the two finished their wine, stood up, and took their leave.

As they walked through the corridor, Ji Yong couldn’t help but complain, "Wasn’t he said to be a man of great talent? I don’t see it..."

Before he could finish his sentence, someone suddenly emerged from a private room nearby, nearly colliding with He Yu.

He Yu instinctively shoved the man aside.

The man, heavily intoxicated, staggered and almost fell, instantly flushing with anger. He shouted, "Are you fucking blind?"

He Yu was not one to tolerate such words. He immediately grabbed the man’s collar and snapped back, "Who the hell are you talking to? Say that again if you dare! If I don’t beat you until your teeth scatter, my surname isn’t ‘He’!"

The man suddenly let out an "Oh?" and his drunken face broke into an ingratiating smile. "Lord Ji, I didn’t expect to meet you here!"

Ji Yong, having just vented his frustrations, was in high spirits and enjoying the spectacle when the man unexpectedly addressed him. He paused slightly. "And you are?"

The man straightened up swiftly and replied with a smile, "I am Zheng Zhaokun, a secretary in the Waterworks Bureau of the Ministry of Works. When Lord Ji achieved the rank of Tanhua in the imperial examinations, I visited your residence to offer congratulations and had the honor of meeting you once."

Ji Yong had no recollection of him.

Considering that his uncle was the Vice Minister of Works, this man had likely gone to flatter his uncle under the pretense of congratulating Ji Yong’s success.

He gave an indifferent "Hmm."

He Yu, too, found it hard to press the matter further and said irritably, "Forget it. Just apologize, and we’ll let this go."

Zheng Zhaokun hastily bowed and scraped in apology, then enthusiastically invited them, "Young Master He, Lord Ji, since we’ve met by chance, why not allow me the honor of toasting you both?"

He Yu couldn’t help but laugh at this. Eyeing Zheng Zhaokun, he remarked, "Didn’t expect you to be quite the smooth talker."

No sooner had he spoken than the sliding door of the private room behind Zheng Zhaokun swung open, revealing the sounds of music and women’s flirtatious laughter.

Someone stepped out and bellowed, "Zheng Zhaokun!" Spotting him nearby, the man slapped him heavily on the shoulder and slurred, "Did you fucking fall into a latrine?"

Ji Yong and He Yu instinctively glanced into the private room.

There, seated in the place of honor, was a youth more delicate and pretty than a young girl.

Beside him sat two alluring women—one pouring wine for the youth, the other flirting with a strikingly handsome man in his early twenties who sat next to him.

The man seemed uncomfortable in such a setting, his expression tinged with awkward reluctance.

Sensing their gaze, the youth looked up and cast them a smirk, his demeanor laced with a roguish air.He Yu frowned and whispered to Ji Yong, "It's Gu Yu."

The Little Tyrant of the Capital, Empress Wan's nephew and the eldest grandson of Yunyang Count Gu Quanfang.

Ji Yong had heard of him as well.

But his gaze fell on the handsome man beside Gu Yu, his eyes suddenly flashing with a blade-like chill.

"Since Lord Zheng has extended such a warm invitation, it would be impolite not to share a drink with him," Ji Yong said indifferently as he stepped into the private room.

He Yu was stunned.

With no choice, he followed inside.