"Eat your duck leg!" Master Zeng shot a glare at Sun Zhongxuan.
Sun ignored him, refilling Zeng's cup. "Even Prince Xiao didn't mind when the Princess Consort told him. Who else would be shy about it? The Princess reportedly told the Prince that you were a 'peerless gentleman'!"
Xiao Shaojin couldn't stop laughing. "My mother is so beautiful; surely many people liked her. Master Zeng wasn't the only secret admirer, right?"
Zeng nodded, admitting it. Su Dai was indeed more than just a prodigy.
"I entered Jishan Academy at ten and the Lunar Academy at sixteen," Zeng reminisced. "I was considered the best talent of my generation... until I met Su Dai. That was when I realized that all my efforts only allowed me to see her back."
Xiao Shaojin listened intently. He realized he didn't know his mother—not before she was the Princess Consort.
"What happened next?" Xiao poured more wine. "What was she like?"
"The first time I saw her," Zeng's eyes drifted to the past, "she was in the peach blossom grove of the Lunar Academy. Others played zithers or recited poems, but she danced in the center, wearing a red dress. I had read countless poems describing beautiful women, but at that moment, my mind went blank."
"Show him the painting!" Sun Zhongxuan urged. "Xiao Jin, wait till you see it. Your mother was magnificent."
"I left the painting in the South," Zeng shook his head. "I came to Youzhou in a hurry nine years ago."
Zeng continued. "We became classmates. She was sixteen and already famous. Four years later, she realized the Dao at Jade Mountain. She received the First Sage's Inheritance and obtained the character 'Zheng' (Upright) from the Noble Spirit. Because of that character, all scholars revered her."
"Why is 'Zheng' so special?" Xiao asked. It had the fewest strokes.
"In Confucianism, the Middle Way is key. 'Zheng' means holding one's original heart. It is the root of the Noble Spirit. At twenty, she integrated it completely into her Literary Heart. She was the leader of all scholars."
"If she was so powerful," Xiao frowned, "how could Grandfather... I mean, Grand Secretary Su, force her back to Jiangnan and lock her up?"
"Do you think power allows you to do whatever you want?" Zeng asked softly.
"No," Xiao replied seriously. "But scholars respect the Sages. Locking her up seems against the Heavenly Dao."
"Because Su Dai fell in love with the wrong person and eloped with him," Sun Zhongxuan downed a swig of wine. "Xiao Jin, I teach you Ghost Valley Arts to see if the so-called Heavenly Dao is truly irreversible!"
"Don't be angry, Zhongxuan," Zeng calmed him. He turned to Xiao. "Your mother did nothing wrong. But her identity cost her freedom. Every cause has an effect."
Xiao understood. The world believed that the union of Su Dai and Xiao Hong violated the natural order. To change the hearts of the people was to change the Heavenly Dao.
"Is it forbidden for Inheritors to love outsiders?" Xiao asked.
"No," Zeng shook his head. "Sage Kong's wife was an ordinary woman. It was because of your father's identity. Thirty-five years ago, the empire was in chaos. Your father was the brightest star."
"Thirty-five years ago," Sun explained, gnawing on a lamb chop, "Xiao Hong was just a soldier. He rose through the ranks by fighting the Ghost Tribe. When he met Su Dai, he was a General of the Fifth Rank, but he commanded 100,000 troops. He was a warlord."
"The female was the Leader of Scholars," Zeng said slowly. "The male was a Warlord with an army. How could they be allowed to love?"
Xiao fell silent.
"The Zhou Army only had 300,000 men," Sun continued. "If they married, would they be subjects or rulers? Su Dai held a quarter of the Orthodox Inheritance. Xiao Hong held half the military power. If you were the Emperor, could you ignore that?"
"I see," Xiao murmured. "Everyone—scholars, nobles, the Royal Family—conspired to stop them."
"Exactly," Zeng nodded. "They didn't see love. They saw a threat. So they attacked with the banner of 'Justice'."
"Even after your mother gave up her cultivation and the 'Zheng' character to become Princess Consort, she was still the daughter of the Su Clan," Sun patted Xiao's back. "They can never live ordinary lives."
"I understand," Xiao nodded. "My enemy isn't just the Su Clan. It's the prejudice of the world."
"You have mastered strategy, but you lack political craft," Sun said, picking up a sheep's trotter. "I wish I could take you to the Yin-Yang School, but no one knows where it is. Remember: Accumulate strength, strike once."
"Since it's so hard, I'll take my time," Xiao lay back, eating bamboo shoots. "Even Master Sun doesn't know where the Yin-Yang School is. I'll just wait."
"Xiao Jin," Sun asked excitedly. "You are the 37th Ghost Valley Successor. Do you want to be the First Successor of my Military School?"
"You're still writing that book?" Xiao looked up. "I thought you'd never finish."
"Almost done! Just one chapter left! It combines all the military tactics I've read and my own experiences. It's amazing!"
"Mmhmm," Xiao mumbled.
"Promise me!" Sun urged. "Just find someone with talent to pass it on to later. Man or woman, doesn't matter!"
"Is it long?"
"Short! Five or six thousand words. Much shorter than those Sage books."
"Fine. Have you named it?"
"I plan to call it 'The Dongqi Art of War', since I wrote it here."
"No," Xiao shook his head. "What if my dad or I write one later? Bad name."
"Hahaha! I'll think of another one," Sun drank happily.
"Zhongxuan," Master Zeng smiled slyly. "Since you are recognized as a Grandmaster of Strategy, why not call it 'Sunzi's Art of War' (Sun Tzu's Art of War)?"
(Translator's Note: "Sunzi" means Master Sun, but literally translates to "Grandson" in Chinese. Zeng is making a pun.)
"Not bad!" Sun Zhongxuan, too drunk to catch the joke, nodded. "Future generations will call me 'Sunzi' (Master Sun), and I can accept that!"
"Hahahaha! Sunzi, accept my bow!" Zeng stood up and bowed deeply.
"Fourth Sage Zeng, I accept!" Sun bowed back.
Xiao Shaojin watched the two drunk geniuses in shock. Men are definitely not Sages when drunk.
"Master Zeng," Xiao asked suddenly. "What are your feelings for my mother?"
" 'The fair lady is a fitting match for the gentleman,' " Zeng replied frankly. "But we were always just friends. After you awakened your Literary Heart at three, she wrote to me. Because of our prior agreement, I came to teach you."
"What agreement kept you here for nine years?"
"We made a bet at the Lunar Academy. Whoever realized the Dao first could ask the other for a favor."
"She realized it first on Jade Mountain. I realized it three years later in the South Sea. I lost. Later, she gave up her cultivation and couldn't teach you. So she asked me. We agreed to meet at the Lunar Academy ten years later."
"Master," Xiao asked. "Can you take a letter to my mother's family?"
"A letter? Even a cartload!" Zeng laughed. "The Su Clan can stop royal couriers, but they cannot stop the Fourth Sage of the Nine Realms! Let me see who dares block me!"
"Good! I'll send 1,000 Iron Pagoda riders with you!"
"No!" Zeng waved his hands. "It's a scholar's gathering. No armies."
"Are you sure? They are very obedient."
Pfft! Zeng spat out his wine. "Xiao Jin, the Iron Pagoda only listens to you and your father. Even the Emperor fears them. He limited their number to 10,000 years ago."
"But the journey to Jiangnan is far. What if something happens?"
"Don't worry. During my enlightenment in the South Sea, I made some friends in the Jianghu (Martial World). They have some skill with their ancestral blade techniques. I wrote to them two months ago. They should be arriving in Jicheng soon."
"Are they reliable?"
"Their blade skills are decent. I trust them."
"Oh, right," Zeng added. "Xiao Jin, you have my teachings, but to fully realize the Dao, you need more practice."
"I have no material possessions. But when I realized the Dao in the South Sea, I luckily obtained the second character of the Noble Spirit: 'Ran' (Correct/Nature). Over the last nine years, I have planted it in your Literary Heart. You will find it when you awaken."
"WHAT?!"
"Shiyan, you obtained the 'Ran' character?!"
Xiao Shaojin and Sun Zhongxuan shouted in unison.
"A gentleman is like a gong," Zeng smiled mysteriously. "He does not sound until struck."