Chapter 10: The Compassionate Hearts of Parents

As soon as he lay down, he heard Mrs. Sun’s voice.
“What happened?”
“Madam, it was my fault—I tripped accidentally.”
“Your master and I are going to the main house. Stay by Yueer carefully and make sure not to wake him up!”
After some footsteps, Zhang Yue quietly opened his eyes and propped himself up slightly to look outside. Just then, Qiu Hen came over. Seeing this, she scolded, “My young master, it’s spring now, but it’s cold at night! If your master and madam saw me just now, it would be very embarrassing for me. It would be even worse if I caught a cold! Lie down quickly!”
Forced to lie down by Qiu Hen, Zhang Yue reluctantly complied. But not only could he not sleep at this hour, he was also uncomfortable with the pillow under his head, which felt awkward. Seeing her about to leave, he mustered some strength and instinctively grabbed one of her hands, pulling her back.
Caught off guard, Qiu Hen lost her balance and fell onto the bed. Seeing Zhang Yue staring at her, she felt a strange sensation and immediately said sternly, “Young master, if you keep this up, I’ll tell everyone about you eavesdropping on your master and madam earlier!”
Knowing Qiu Hen was just trying to scare him, Zhang Yue pleaded, “Qiu Hen, I can’t sleep. My parents aren’t here. Could you bring me the book I brought back today?”
Initially unwilling, Qiu Hen eventually brought the book, lit a lamp, and even covered him with a coat. Seeing him engrossed in the book, she curiously took a look and was surprised to see dense writing on the blank pages.
“Young master, where did you get this book?”
Although he had some knowledge of classical Chinese, Zhang Yue was unaccustomed to reading in such dim light and struggled to make out the characters, so he paid little attention to her question. “Mr. Du from the clan school lent it to me. He said I should return it after reading it.”
“Mr. Du?”
Qiu Hen, who rarely left home, didn’t know any teachers from the clan school. But realizing that what Zhang Yue was reading was serious material, she felt pleased. She quickly removed her hairpin and adjusted the wick in the lamp to make the light brighter. Staring at Zhang Yue’s intensely focused face, she became lost in thought and didn’t even notice someone enter the room.

“What’s going on here!”
Zhang Zhuo and Lady Sun had made a special trip to the main house, but they hardly got a chance to speak—completely serving as background figures. Naturally, their expressions were grim as they returned together. Lady Sun had intended to check on how her son was sleeping, but upon entering, she saw this scene and became furious. She snapped at him, ready to lose her temper, but Zhang Zhuo stopped her and stepped forward quickly.
Seeing his parents return at such a moment, Zhang Yue inwardly groaned in frustration, regretting having been so absorbed that he forgot to tell Qiu Hen to keep watch. Qiu Hen, even more nervous, stood up not knowing what to do with the lampstand and eventually knelt down in fear.
“Master, Madam…”
Without even glancing at Qiu Hen kneeling on the ground, Zhang Zhuo sat down by the bed and took the book from Zhang Yue’s dazed hands. Upon seeing the cover, he was slightly surprised. After flipping through a few pages, his expression changed further. Looking up at his son’s embarrassed face, he closed the book and asked calmly, “Where did you get this book?”
At this point, Zhang Yue could only admit honestly, “It was given to me by Mr. Du from the clan school. He told me to read it carefully before returning it.”
“Mr. Du?” Zhang Zhuo raised his eyebrows in surprise. After thinking carefully for a while, he reopened the book and studied the neat handwriting on the title page and the slightly faded red seal for a long time. Soon, his eyes lit up as he grabbed Zhang Yue’s wrist and asked anxiously, “Is this really a gift from that Mr. Du?”
Zhang Yue was completely confused by his father’s reaction and quickly corrected him, “Father, it’s not a gift—it’s a loan.”
Seeing her husband’s reaction, Lady Sun’s anger vanished instantly, replaced by curiosity. Noticing Qiu Hen kneeling there, at a loss, she gestured for her to leave, then stepped forward and asked, “Master, what book did Mr. Du give to Yue?”
“A copy of ‘The Corrected Analects,’ but the book seal on the title page is that of Xuanzhenzi.”
Zhang Zhuo smiled broadly. Seeing his wife and son both puzzled, he explained, “Xuanzhenzi is another name for Scholar Song Lian from the Hongwu era. If it weren’t for me having once collected some of Scholar Song’s books, I wouldn’t have recognized it. The annotations in this book seem to have been written by two people. If one of them is Scholar Song, then this Mr. Du is likely no ordinary teacher from a clan school.”

He didn’t care whether his wife understood or not; he firmly patted Zhang Yue’s head and then ordered in a stern tone, “Yue, opportunities don’t come easily. You must read Mr. Du’s book carefully. Hmm, it seems you can’t fall asleep even if you go to bed early. Well, from now on, go to bed one hour later every night and finish reading this book first.”
Receiving such special treatment suddenly left Zhang Yue feeling overwhelmed. When Zhang Zhuo led the bewildered Mrs. Sun away and he looked at the book in his hands, he finally realized he had accidentally stumbled upon a treasure. Of course, the greater treasure seemed to be Mr. Du himself.
But a scholar with profound knowledge—even if he refused to serve in government—wouldn’t just stay in the Zhang family’s study to deal with those mischievous kids, would he?
By then, Qiu Hen had taken away the lampstand. He didn’t know whether his father’s special treatment would start today or tomorrow, and he wasn’t sure whether to read or sleep. But soon, the curtain was lifted again—not by Qiu Hen, but by his father, Zhang Zhuo, who had returned.
“Yue, don’t you want a horse? As long as you study hard and manage to get Mr. Du to take you as his disciple, I’ll give you a fine horse!” Seeing Zhang Yue’s eyes almost pop out, Zhang Zhuo added, “There’s still one and a half months until the old lady’s birthday. You must find a way to become Mr. Du’s disciple during this time—it will be of great benefit to you in the future. Do you understand?”
Zhang Yue didn’t even know how he had agreed to this request in a daze, but he understood his father’s intentions very well. Judging from today’s situation, the weak position of the third branch of the Zhang family couldn’t change anytime soon, so Zhang Zhuo had placed all his hopes on him.
How pitiful the hearts of parents are… Zhang Yue couldn’t help but feel that with such parents in this life, he wouldn’t even be able to slack off. He wasn’t sure whether this was luck or misfortune.