Chapter 173
Seeing this, Lu Hanzhi was shocked. Why was Ah Meng able to perform something that ordinary humans simply couldn’t?
He was practically like a little fish baby!
After blowing the bubble, the little fish baby lifted his head to look at Lu Xuzhi and even grinned widely at him.
The little fellow had already passed his hundredth day. He looked extremely sturdy and, like Ah Chan, had grown into a little chubby baby.
As Ah Meng grew, he finally no longer looked like a little black egg. Instead, he had grown increasingly fair-skinned.
Lu Hanzhi guessed that it had been neonatal jaundice.
Jaundice could make babies look darker, but mild jaundice would gradually fade away as the months passed.
Looking at the fair and handsome little Ah Meng, Lu Xuzhi liked him immensely as well.
He studied his son’s facial features and said: “His mouth looks like Ah Jue’s, his nose and eyes resemble mine, and this part of his forehead looks like Ah Jue again.”
Lu Hanzhi leaned over and saida: “Our Ah Meng really knows how to grow. He picked the best-looking parts from both of you. He perfectly inherited his parents’ strengths—when he grows up, he’ll definitely be a super handsome bastard.”
Everyone: ???
Handsome was handsome—why did it suddenly sound like he was insulting someone?
Lu Hanzhi explained: “It means handsome to the extreme. There’s no other way to describe it—it’s just super handsome bastard.”
Everyone nodded in understanding. They had already grown accustomed to Lu Hanzhi’s unique expressions.
Yuwen Min added: “Next time, Hanzhi, you can just explain it right after you say it.”
After all, not everyone could understand the strange language he invented on the fly.
Lu Hanzhi slung an arm over his shoulder like brothers and said: “Slowly, you’ll all learn another foreign language—Hanzhi Language.”
Everyone felt helpless. With his temperament, ordinary people really couldn’t endure him.
Yuwen Jue asked: “Was Hanzhi like this since childhood?”
Lu Xuzhi thought for a moment and said: “I forgot… strange. How did I forget what Han’er was like when he was little?”
While everyone was chatting, Luan Feng rushed over with joy in her eyes and said: “Young Master, Wang Ye! Fourth Young Master has had a baby boy! Ru Yi just came to report the good news and wants to ask Young Master to bestow a name!”
Lu Hanzhi was delighted when he heard this and said, “Oh? He was born already? Uh… you want me to name him? What about the Crown Prince?”
No matter what, Lu Haozhi’s child was the Crown Prince’s son. How could it be his turn to name him?
Luan Feng sighed and said: “The Crown Prince… didn’t even name Prince Qimian—His Majesty did that. Let alone an unfavored concubine-born son. Fourth Young Master said he’d trouble Third Uncle to bestow a proper name.”
Lu Hanzhi thought about it. With his half-baked skills, he had somehow ended up naming three children in a row.
With a flourish of his hand, he wrote a few crooked characters: “Yuwen Qingxiao.”
Yuwen Min asked: “What does it mean?”
Lu Hanzhi smiled and answered: “There’s no meaning. It just sounds good.”
Just like Lingxi, Lingyu, and Xiyao—none of them had explanations; they simply sounded pleasant.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Hanzhi added: “If you insist on an explanation, then… when the drizzling rain stops, the sky clears.”
Caught up in the moment, Lu Hanzhi even recited a verse by Yue Fei:
“Rage bristling beneath my helm, I lean on the railing— The drizzling rain has ceased. I lift my gaze, howl toward the heavens, My heroic passion surging. Thirty years of merit turned to dust and dirt, Eight thousand miles traveled beneath clouds and moon. Do not idle away, Lest your young head turn white, Leaving only hollow regret.”
Everyone stared at him in stunned silence. Lu Xuzhi repeated: “Thirty years of merit turned to dust and dirt, eight thousand miles of roads beneath clouds and moon… Hanzhi, why don’t I just hand my top scholar title over to you?”
Lu Hanzhi covered his face and said: “Don’t, Second Brother. I didn’t write that poem—please don’t embarrass me. Besides, the title of top scholar is awarded to someone well-rounded. It’s not something you can earn just by memorizing a few poems.”
Great Zhao’s requirements for the top scholar were extremely high. Not only did one need outstanding literary talent, but one also had to be well-versed in military strategy.
Looking at the formal given names of the children, only Yuwen Qingxiao’s sounded truly dignified.
The others seemed as if Lu Hanzhi had simply picked them up at random.
Yet everyone present had absolutely no objections to those randomly chosen names—and even used them with great satisfaction.
These people were truly something else.
Luan Feng took the crooked, collapsed-on-the-ground handwriting that the young master had written and went to reply to Ru Yi, who had come to deliver the message. She even managed to get a generous red envelope from the young master, and Ru Yi received one as well.
At this moment, Lu Haozhi was living with Zhaoyun at the imperial villa in the outskirts of the capital. The imperial villa was not far from Lu Hanzhi’s estate, and he could occasionally return to visit his mother.
Zhaoyun had wanted him to bring his mother to live at the villa together, but Lu Haozhi had gently declined.
Aunt Du’s condition had recently improved, and attendants had been arranged to care for her.
Clearly, she did not resent living at the estate and could even bask in the sun in the courtyard every day.
If she were moved to the imperial villa—with its high gates and deep courtyards—it would clearly not suit a woman whose mental state was unstable.
Zhaoyun did not want Lu Haozhi to leave. From childhood to adulthood, she had had very few friends, and even fewer with whom she could speak from the heart.
When Su Wan’ning had approached her before, it had been to incite her to get close to Brother Ah Min.
Now, Lu Haozhi and she could be said to be companions through hardship.
The two of them could truly be considered good sisters—at least she finally had someone to share private thoughts with.
Now that Lu Haozhi had also given birth to a child, he could keep Yuwen Dongliu company. The two children were brothers in the truest sense.
Lu Haozhi was currently studying literature under a teacher and even wanted to enroll at Hanzhi Academy for a period of study.
Zhaoyun said she could help teach moral cultivation classes to the female students, but after thinking it over—and recalling how those moral teachings had left her helplessly married into the Crown Prince’s residence—she felt it would be better not to harm others.
However, she could still help raise young children; teaching basic literacy would not be a problem.
Lu Haozhi had many thoughts of his own. Great Zhao did not restrict Xiao Langjun from participating in the imperial examinations.
However, there were very few official posts available to Xiao Langjun, largely because their monthly menstrual cycles were extremely troublesome.
Thus, even though Great Zhao granted Xiao Langjun certain rights equal to men, they rarely had the opportunity to truly enjoy them.
Lu Haozhi wanted to take the imperial examinations through study. Even if the number of positions available to him was limited, he would be satisfied as long as he could support Qingxiao through his own ability.
The Crown Prince’s attitude had always puzzled him. Not only had he ignored both Lu Haozhi and Zhaoyun, he had even ignored their two children.
Lu Haozhi had once asked Zhaoyun why the Crown Prince was so heartless.
Zhaoyun had merely replied: “Is he really heartless? Toward his Wan’er little sister, his affection runs deep.”
Even so, Lu Haozhi still could not understand.
He had personally witnessed Su Wan’ning secretly consorting with another man behind the Crown Prince’s back. He did not believe the Crown Prince was unaware of it.
Moreover, the Crown Prince’s indulgence toward her was far too strange.
Households often favored wives or concubines, but never to such an extent.
It was as if whatever Su Wan’ning said went. It was as though she—not the Crown Prince—was the true master of the residence.
Zhaoyun simply held his arm and said: “Hanzhi said that the Crown Prince’s residence is a place of endless trouble. Since we’ve already escaped it, we shouldn’t dwell on it anymore.”
From then on, Lu Haozhi never brought it up again and focused on living his own life well.
Now that Qingxiao had been born, his life felt even more hopeful.
That day, the weather was clear. Lu Hanzhi prepared generous gifts and went to the imperial villa to visit Lu Haozhi.
Lu Haozhi had put on some weight—likely because his mood had improved and he had been eating better.
When Lu Hanzhi arrived, Lu Haozhi and Zhaoyun were studying the Qingming Shanghe Map.
Yuwen Min had gone to pay his respects to the Eldest Princess, whose complexion had been fairly good recently.
By coincidence, Prince Zhenbei had returned from the northern frontier to visit her. The couple rarely had the chance to sit together and receive guests.
Prince Zhenbei was from a branch family of the Rong clan. He was rather ordinary, with an unremarkable appearance.
The only standout feature was his height—he was tall enough to be noticeable.
When the Eldest Princess had married down to Prince Zhenbei, no one had failed to sigh with regret. After hearing those sighs too often, the Eldest Princess had grown even more distressed.
Fortunately, Prince Zhenbei had a good temper and could endure anything. They had barely managed to maintain a semblance of marital harmony.
Yuwen Min felt guilty toward Zhaoyun.
Back then, in order to prevent his elder brother from marrying Zhaoyun, they had orchestrated her marriage to the Crown Prince.
Although it had indeed been the best possible path at the time, it had still caused harm to Zhaoyun.
Yuwen Min wanted to compensate her in the future—either directly, or by making it up through Dongliu.
The Eldest Princess, however, did not take this matter too seriously, and Yuwen Min discerned a hint of her thoughts from her words.
It seemed that, in her view, Zhaoyun being able to stay by her side now—without being sent off in a political marriage, without marrying down, and without wasting her life away in the deep palace—was already the best possible outcome.
Since the Eldest Princess no longer clung to the matter, Yuwen Min did not bring it up again.
He simply kept it in his heart, resolved to make amends one day.
Lu Hanzhi went to the back courtyard to chat with Lu Haozhi and Zhaoyun. Not only had he brought generous gifts, he had also sent over all the clothes Ah Chan had worn as a child.
Lu Haozhi was deeply moved and held his hand while speaking at length.
Qingxiao slept soundly in the small bed, his tiny face resembling Lu Haozhi’s.
Lu Hanzhi said: “I heard you want to attend an academy. That’s a good thing. With your situation, you can attend as a day student. Hanzhi Academy isn’t far from here—study hard, and who knows, you might actually make something of it.”
Lu Haozhi said, “Third Brother, it’s not that I want to make a great name for myself through studying. I just want to secure a position—something like what you have, Third Brother, where I can support myself through my own efforts.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Isn’t supporting yourself easy enough? If you want a position, just say the word to Eldest Brother. With so many posts in the Lu family, is it possible that you and your child would be left without food?”
Lu Haozhi shook his head and said, “No, Third Brother. What I mean is… I want to rely on my own abilities and accomplish something myself. Just like you, Third Brother—without depending on anyone, carving out my own path.”
Only then did Lu Hanzhi begin to feel a trace of admiration for Lu Haozhi. He said, “It’s excellent that you can think this way. And you’re still young—you’ll have plenty of opportunities.”
At nineteen years old, in his era, that age would have been just right for attending university.
Lu Haozhi was very happy. It was rare for so many people to support his choice.
After finishing this topic, Lu Haozhi still asked Lu Hanzhi with some concern, “Recently, are all those rumors circulating in the capital true? Why do I feel like… they’re so unbelievable?”
Zhaoyun was embroidering cross-stitch as she lifted her head and said, “Even I don’t believe them. Do you think they could be true?”
Lu Hanzhi smiled and said, “Whether they’re true or false—you’ll know in a few days.”
As the rumors and gossip continued to spread, those words finally reached the emperor’s ears.
At first, the emperor did not take them seriously. It was only when he received a memorial from the Rong clan expressing loyalty that he finally realized the gravity of the situation. Could it be that these brothers had truly fallen out?
Just as the emperor began to harbor doubts, Imperial Noble Concubine Rong Sa arrived to see him, bringing Concubine Shu along with her.
Imperial Concubine Rong appeared to have suffered countless grievances. She knelt there, tears falling continuously.
The emperor looked at her, then glanced at the memorial in his hand from the Rong family, which on the surface appeared to show loyalty but in reality was meant to distance themselves from the Fourth Prince Yuwen Min. He stepped forward and asked, “My beloved concubine, what is the reason for this? Why are you crying like this?”
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