The Grown Zi Rui

　　On the third night before the new year, Zi Rui returned to the capital from Xiao Zhou. The child that had not been seen for many months had grown a bit taller, which caused Feng Yu Heng to sigh: “If you continue to grow like this, you will be taller than elder sister.”

　　Feng Zi Rui heard this and stood up a little taller, loudly saying: “I am a boy. Teacher said that I will very quickly grow taller than elder sister. When that time comes, Zi Rui will take on the responsibility of protecting elder sister. I will no longer allow elder sister to be bullied.”

　　Feng Yu Heng laughed and held onto him: “How could elder sister be bullied? Zi Rui’s worrying for nothing.”

　　“How have you not!” The child became furious upon hearing this and immediately broke free from Feng Yu Heng. Crossing his arms across his chest, he furrowed his little eyebrows and loudly said to her: “Feng Yu Heng, don’t assume that I don’t know. Although I was in Xiao Zhou, I still have a bit of an understanding of the capital’s situation. Whether or not you have suffered is something I am very clear on. My heart is also clear! Just speak, is there anyone in this world that is closer than we are?” He loudly screamed these words. After saying them, however, he felt that there was a flaw and immediately revised his statement: “I was speaking in terms of blood relatives. The bond that is formed through blood. Brother-in-law doesn’t count.”

　　These words caused Wang Chuan and Huang Quan to both laugh, and even Feng Yu Heng could not hold back her laughter; however, the child then said: “Be a little more serious. I’m talking about something serious.”

　　Thus Feng Yu Heng had no choice but to properly reply: “There are none! In the entire world, there is only our Zi Rui that is closest. Everyone included, you are the closest.”

　　Zi Rui nodded his head in satisfaction then said: “That’s right! I am your younger brother, and we are the closest. So what is the need for you to hide things in front of me? If you’ve suffered a grievance, just say it. If you’re unhappy, just say it. Elder sister sending Zi Rui to attend class, could it be that it was just to have Zi Rui learn how to read and write? That could be taught by any teacher here in the capital! The reason that Zi Rui went to attend school in Xiao Zhou’s Yun Lu Academy was to learn more than just reading and writing. Elder sister, although Zi Rui was far away in Xiao Zhou, I could still hear about the happenings in the capital. Zi Rui knows that she ran away, and Feng Jin Yuan also ran away. There’s also that Fu Ya. They gathered together to form a family of three; however, they left elder sister alone in the capital. Before Zi Rui even set out, Zi Rui has been worried about how much grief elder sister must have suffered, and my heart could not be at ease, and I just hoped that I could quickly come back to your side. But you still pretend! You even put on a cheeky grin! You even say that there’s nobody that can bully you! Elder sister, do you think of me as your younger brother?”

　　These words left Feng Yu Heng stunned in place. The young child’s voice echoed inside her head, and each word pierced her heart. Along with that grief-filled little face, the child gritted his teeth to hold back the tears.

　　She suddenly choked up then suddenly pulled the child into her embrace. Without giving a thought about whether they were in the entrance, she began to cry. With her crying, Zi Rui also began to cry, which caused Wang Chuan and Huang Quan to wipe away some tears. This sight even caused the eyes of the imperial guards that were standing guard to turn slightly red.

　　While Zi Rui cried, he said: “You still dare to say that nobody dares to bully you. You’re already crying like this. Who knows just how much you’ve been bullied. Elder sister, Zi Rui has already grown up and can already share your burdens. Even if I cannot protect you completely, you can at least talk to me when you run into something troubling. Don’t just focus on doing things for my benefit without letting me know about anything and sending me away to Xiao Zhou whenever something happens. Xiao Zhou is not the safe haven that you think it is. I don’t want to run there and only focus on my studies. I want to know if elder sister is having a good time each day and know what sort of things are happening in the capital. Elder sister, I’m begging you. Don’t push me away, alright?”

　　The young child cried while speaking, and his little arms wrapped themselves tightly around Feng Yu Heng. He had grown taller, and his arms were able to completely wrap around Feng Yu Heng’s waist. Feng Yu Heng thought that with another two years, this child would definitely be taller than her and could easily pick her up. He would truly be like a young adult and be able to protect her back. After another few more years, when Zi Rui was older, he would be a proper young man. If she ran into any trouble, he would stand step in front of her and say: I’ll see who dares to bully my elder sister! That would definitely be especially prestigious.

　　As she thought about it, she let out a “pft” and began to laugh. There were tears glistening on her face, yet she was truly laughing.

　　Zi Rui was confused by her laughter and asked in confusion: “You’re crying and laughing. You haven’t become stupid, right?”

　　Feng Yu Heng did not reply. Grabbing his hands, she walked into the manor with large steps until they reached Zi Rui’s courtyard. After entering the room, she waited until a servant poured Zi Rui a cup of warm tea and watched Zi Rui finished drinking before she finally said: “Silly child, elder sister did not cry from having suffered any grief. Elder sister cried because elder sister is happy that my Zi Rui has grown up. Zi Rui is no longer the little child that could only follow behind elder sister. My Zi Rui is a grown up and is able to protect me. That’s why elder sister is happy.”

　　Zi Rui frowned: “You cried because of this? What is there to cry over with this? I grew up a long time ago. It was you that always thought of me as a child. You didn’t even think about it, I was able to get from the capital to the East. What sort of small child would be able to do this sort of thing?”

　　Feng Yu Heng nodded, “You’re not even embarrassed to bring up such a dark history. If it was not for the hidden guards of the palace protecting you, do you think that you could really make it to the East safely?” She waved her hand, “Forget it, forget it, let’s not speak about this. I will ask you. Yao… her matter, how did you hear about it?” She had wanted to say Yao shi, but after some thought, that person was still Zi Rui’s mother. To speak too distantly was not good.

　　But it was very clear that Feng Yu Heng had overthought the situation because when Zi Rui spoke, he directly called out the name. “About Yao shi? Of course, it was teacher that told me. Not only did teacher tell me that Yao shi left the capital, but he also told me that Feng Jin Yuan also left along with Fu Ya, who looks a lot like elder sister. Although they did not leave together, they left one after the other.”

　　“Teacher?” Feng Yu Heng was stunned, “Your teacher even tells you about these things?”

　　“Of course!” Zi Rui straightened himself out and spoke very seriously: “Teacher didn’t just talk about this. He even analyzed it with me. Those three left the capital and were definitely going South to have Fu Ya support the eighth prince with her appearance that is the same as yours. In the South, a false image of Imperial Daughter Ji An arriving and Imperial Daughter Ji An is with the eighth prince would be created. With this, it would create an even more advantageous situation for the eighth prince. He would obtain the hearts of the citizens and obtain even more help from the outside. Elder sister, is it like this?”

　　Feng Yu Heng was completely dumbfounded. The teacher in Xiao Zhou even told young children about this? But after her sudden shock, she very quickly understood. That was right, the children of the ancient era matured earlier. Girls got married at the age of 15, and boys were the same. All of the things that would usually be done later were pushed up, and their maturity would also be pushed up. As she saw it, Zi Rui was still a young child, but in truth, in a government official’s family, a child of this age was already the same as a young adult. In fact, there were many fathers that had already began to talk about the matters of the court in front of their children, and they would talk to their children about some matters pertaining to the country.

　　Very quickly, Zi Rui also gave her an explanation, as he said: “Teacher said that Yun Lu Academy cannot just teach us to read and write. While in the academy, what we need to learn more about is how to be a person and how to handle matters. Also, the young men that are able to enter Yun Lu Academy, whether they are from commoners’ families or government officials’ families, they are all people that stand out. In the future, they will either have a distinguished career on the battlefield or seek to join the government through the imperial examination. That’s why the teachers of the academy will not avoid the happenings in the capital and the struggle for the throne. They even speak about those things quite thoroughly. Last time, they spoke of an official from out of the province that had been demoted. That official’s son was in class, and the teacher had spoken about it in front of him, asking him for his analysis. Elder sister, what we learn is different from what you think.”

　　Feng Yu Heng was shocked and could not help but sigh over Yun Lu Academy’s teaching methods. This was clearly already developing in the same direction as modern education. It was no wonder everyone said that Yun Lu Academy was the best in the world. Hearing what he had said today, it turned out to be true.

　　She nodded to Zi Rui and sincerely said: “What your teacher did is right. Children should be taught like this. Only like this can pillars of the state be produced.” She settled herself then continued: “Since you already know, elder sister will not hide it from you. In regards to Yao shi…”

　　For the first time, Feng Yu Heng treated Zi Rui as an adult and carefully recounted the situation with Yao shi, Feng Jin Yuan along with the things that had happened over the months in the capital and in the imperial daughter’s manor. The child listened very seriously and had his own assessments of the situations. It had to be said that his views were objective and accurate. Even Feng Yu Heng no choice but to admire it.

　　By the end, Feng Zi Rui said to her: “Between people, relations depend on predetermined relationships. Our predetermined relationship is of brother and sister, and with Yao shi, it’s of mother and children. But our affinity with each other is a bit better, while our affinity with Yao shi is extremely thin. Elder sister, there’s no need to take it to heart. That’s just how it is, and there isn’t anything unfortunate about it. As long as you and I have a clear conscience, even if there comes a day when we arrive in King Yama’s palace and are facing the judges, there is no reason to feel as if you owe her.” While he spoke, he got out of his seat and walked over to Feng Yu Heng. Holding her hand, he said: “I wonder if elder still remembers back when we were first sent to the mountain village in the Northwest. She didn’t know how to wash clothes, didn’t know how to use a fire and didn’t know how to make food, nor did she have the slightest ability to do anything for money. It was elder sister that brought me into the mountains each day to find mushrooms and wild vegetables that allowed us to barely survive. There were times when we harvested less, and elder sister would lie and say that you ate in the mountains, leaving it for her and Zi Rui to eat. As for her, she didn’t know how to use a fire to boil vegetables. That fire ended up burning the straw house that protected us from the rain. We just spent three days sleeping on the ground, and it was elder sister that went into the mountains to harvest mushrooms for the people of the village to eat. Only then did some kind hearted person help us build a new small room. But that time, elder sister spent a full three months harvesting mushrooms for them. Elder sister, Zi Rui will say something extremely offensive. It should have been mother that took care of the young children, but in our family, it was the other way around. It was the young children that took care of the mother. Whether it was you or me, everything humanly possible was done, and now she has an even better choice. Zi Rui wishes for her to be able to live better from now on. But if there comes a day when she comes back, Zi Rui will not acknowledge that mother…”