A Clash of Gods - Chapter 190
Chapter 190 White Clothes with Red Collar
Jiang Suiyun, surrounded by several young girls, talking and laughing, suddenly saw Zhuo Qingyang was inside the hexagonal pavilion, said something to Su Zixuan and others, and then quickly stepped over.
Entering the pavilion, Jiang Suiyun first smiled and nodded at Yang Ning and a curious look showed on his face, as if he was wondering why these two were talking in the pavilion.
“Master, forgive my shallow insights today.” Jiang Suiyun gave a deep bow to Zhuo Qingyang.
Zhuo Qingyang sat down again, stroking his beard and said, remaining clam, “There is no shallow opinion. As I said, any doctrine can be let out in Qionglin Academy. I encourage diverse thinking.”
“I would like to receive your teachings, sir.”
“Suiyun, you have been nominated virtuous, and may be summoned by His Majesty at any time these days. Don’t move around in the Virtue Hall and just wait for His Majesty’s decree,” Zhuo Qingyang slowly said, “I’m not sure if it’s right or wrong to have recommended you. No matter how the court appoints, you shall do your best to serve the country.”
Jiang Suiyun answered, “I know, I will not let you and His Majesty down.” Turning to Yang Ning, he asked with a smile, “Are you also going back to your mansion? I came by carriage. Why don’t you join me?”
Zhuo Qingyang shook his head and said, “If you have something to do, you can go back first. I have already hired the Marquis of Honor as the teacher of Qionglin Academy. The Marquis of Honor doesn’t care about his status and is willing to teach in the academy in his free time, so I still have something to say to him.”
Jiang Suiyun’s body shook, looking unusually surprised. Naturally, he wouldn’t expect Zhuo Qingyang to make such a decision.
Yang Ning, however, had already put his hands behind his back and stared at Jiang Suiyun and smiled, “Mr. Jiang, you have outstanding talents, and were taught by Mr. Zhuo. Have you ever thought of repaying him for his kindness?”
“I will never forget the kindness of my master. Of course I want to repay him at all times.” Jiang Suiyun had confronted Yang Ning twice. Others might not sense anything, but he already knew that easy-going as this Marquis of Honor seemed, he could be hard to handle. He had to be careful with this person.
“That’s good.” Yang Ning smiled, “Since you are such an intellectual, why don’t you also join in the academy and come over to lecture when you have time? I believe you won’t refuse.”
Jiang Suiyun was first stunned, then looked at Zhuo Qingyang, only to see that Zhuo Qingyang was calm and relaxed, stroking his long beard, just looking at himself and didn’t say anything.
Jiang Suiyun reacted quickly and said with a smile, “If my master allows me, I shall serve you, sir.”
“Mr. Jiang, this is not the right thing to say,” Yang Ning immediately said, “Mr. Zhuo is not the court, you can serve the court, but Mr. Zhuo will never ask you to serve him. Teaching is not about serving someone but to impart wisdom to students. If you sincerely want to teach the students in the academy something, Mr. Zhuo will definitely ask for it, but if you just want to serve Mr. Zhuo, I don’t think Mr. Zhuo will take you in.”
Jiang Suiyun was annoyed. He didn’t expect Yang Ning to make a big deal out of his simple words, but he still remained smiling and said, “That’s right, I was wrong.”
Zhuo Qingyang said, “If you have free time, it’s good to occasionally come over to lecture, as long as it doesn’t stand in the way of your official business.”
“I see,” Jiang Suiyun said, “Sir, don’t worry, I will definitely take a few days out of every month to come here, so I won’t let you down.”
Zhuo Qingyang nodded slightly and raised his hand, “You go first!”
Jiang Suiyun hesitated, finally bowed, turned around and left the pavilion. He seemed still doubtful after walking out a few steps and looked back to see Yang Ning standing in the pavilion with his hands behind his back smiling at himself. He frowned and speeded up his steps.
When Jiang Suiyun left, Zhuo Qingyang laughed and said, “Qi Ning, do you know that you’re not alike your father in temperament, but are quite alike your mother.”
Yang Ning’s body trembled, immediately turned around, stared at Zhuo Qingyang and asked, “Sir, do you know my mother?” Suddenly, it occurred to him that Gu Qinghan had mentioned that after the Qionglin Academy was founded, no one enrolled in the academy at first, and Qi Ning’s mother was the first student here.
In fact, Yang Ning had always had some doubts in his heart about that woman.
That was the official wife of the Marquis of Honor, Qi Jing. Of course she possessed a high status in the Mansion of Marquis of Honor, but not only did he never see the lady, but no one in the mansion ever mentioned her, as if that person never existed. Only Gu Qinghan occasionally brought her up, but she never went in detail.
That lady seemed to have been a taboo in the Mansion of Marquis of Honor.
Although Yang Ning had no direct relationship with that lady, he had always wanted to know why this would happen. He would like to find out, why the titular Lady of Marquis of Honor had become a taboo for the Mansion of Marquis that no one dared to talk about. What was the story behind this?
The news about the lady popped out unexpectedly from Zhuo Qingyang’s mouth at this moment. While Yang Ning was surprised, he sat down on the stone pier beside Zhuo Qingyang.
Zhuo Qingyang became emotional, seemingly thinking of many past events, looking at a bamboo forest outside the pavilion, thoughtful, and only asked after a moment, “There should be two… um, it should be three months before you turn seventeen years old, right? Seventeen years old…” He made a sigh of relief, full of sorrow.
“Sir, I… What kind of a person is my mother?” Yang Ning stared at Zhuo Qingyang, “I… I’ve never seen her.”
Zhuo Qingyang sighed, “Do you know that Qionglin Academy will have been founded exactly nineteen years in a few days, and your mother was the first child to enroll in Qionglin Academy nineteen years ago.”
Yang Ning thought to himself that what Gu Qinghan said was true.
“Nineteen years…” Zhuo Qingyang let out a bitter laugh, “The words and actions of those children in this courtyard seem to linger.”
“Sir, who do you mean by those children?”
Zhuo Qingyang shook his head, kept silent for a moment, before saying, “Your father met your mother in Qionglin Academy back then, and then…” After a cough, he quickly pulled out a piece of cloth towel from his sleeve to cover his mouth. Yang Ning hurriedly got up to hold Zhuo Qingyang, patting him on the back, worried, “Sir, are you okay?”
Zhuo Qingyang coughed for a while, wiped his mouth, then quickly put away the cloth towel. The cloth towel was light yellow. The moment he put it away, Yang Ning clearly saw the crimson color on it and instantly realized, this old man was actually coughing blood.
He was astonished, but Zhuo Qingyang seemed to be fine, waved his hand and laughed, “It’s okay, it’s an old problem, don’t worry.” He again laughed, “I didn’t show much hospitality to you today. Are you complaining about me in your heart?”
“Of course not,” Yang Ning said, “You’re not only my father’s teacher, but also my mother’s. My parents are only students in front of you. I shouldn’t even call you ‘Sir’. I’m supposed to address you as grandmaster. You weren’t being polite to me. That’s because you treated me as your own child.”
Zhuo Qingyang twisted his head to look at Yang Ning behind him, excited, nodded his head and said, “Young heroes do exist. You’re at a young age, yet not only you’re good at knowledge, but able to see the truth of many things. Hahaha, your father wasn’t as clever as you. You inherited the wisdom from your mother.” After a pause, he asked, “Do you know your mother’s name?”
Yang Ning shook his head and said with a bitter smile, “No one in the mansion has ever mentioned my mother.”
Zhuo Qingyang shook his head and laughed bitterly before he said, “Have you ever read ‘The Book of Songs’?”
Yang Ning thought that if he said he hadn’t read it, the old man would have thrown him out of the academy immediately, and the appointment letter he had just awarded would have to be withdrawn. But if he said he had read it, it would be a bit troublesome once the old man discussed “The Book of Songs” with him.
The good thing was that Zhuo Qingyang had slowly said, “It’s written in ‘The Book of Songs: Tang Feng. Yang’s Water’ that soldiers in white clothes and red collar are ready to go. Follow them from Qu Wo to the battlefield. What’s to be upset about to see Heng? Soldiers in white clothes and red collar are ready to go. Follow them from Hu Yi to the battlefield. What’s to be worried about to see Heng?” Gazing at Yang Ning, he said, “Your mother is called Liu Suyi (Means white clothes)!”
“Liu Suyi?” Yang Ning couldn’t help but silently recite it in his mind.
“Suyi was smart and clever, naughty but not spiteful.” Zhuo Qingyang put on a smile, “The first time I saw her, I decided that I must take her as my disciple, and she really didn’t let me down. In my life, I have countless disciples, but not many of them have really made it. There are only two female disciples that I like.”
“My mother is surely one of them,” Yang Ning said with a smile, “I can tell by the look on your face.”
Zhuo Qingyang nodded and said, “No one who has seen her will dislike her. I like her intelligence and frankness. The two female disciples I like have opposite personalities. Your mother is tough on the outside and soft on the inside, while the other is soft on the outside and tough on the inside. I thought about the scene of them appearing at the same time and couldn’t tell who will be better.” Saying these, he once again put on a heartfelt smile then.
Yang Ning suddenly found that Zhuo Qingyang actually didn’t smile many times today, but it was obviously a smile from heart when mentioning Liu Suyi,
“Who is the other person you were talking about?” Yang Ning asked.
Zhuo Qingyang laughed, “You won’t know her, and you don’t have the chance to know her. I like to travel around the world. I used to walk through the mountains and waters from time to time. Even after I founded the Qionglin Academy, I would still take some time to go out every year. But now that I’m aging, I’m not as energetic as I used to be, so I’m going out less.” After a pause, he sighed, “I met the other female disciple in Ba Shu, who, like your mother, was not only beautiful, but also extremely intelligent.” He waved his hand and said, “That’s all, no more past. I know what you want to ask, but there are some things that I can’t tell you here. That’s your family business. Since people in Mansion of Marquis didn’t tell you, I’m sure there is a reason for it, maybe when it’s time to let you know, you’ll have to know.”
Yang Ning knew that since Zhuo Qingyang didn’t intend to confess, nothing would come out even if he asked. He became even more puzzled, thinking why everyone was so mysterious when mentioning Liu Suyi. What was the hidden truth in this?
After saying goodbye to Zhuo Qingyang, Yang Ning meant to leave the academy along the original route. When he reached the pool where he had met Xiaoyao, he couldn’t help but glance at the pool, and saw several girls laughing and joking at the pool, but Xiaoyao was not there. Disappointed, he sighed. That was when a clear voice sounded behind his back, “Why did you sign?”