mtl008 Chapter 957 Extra: A Young Man's Journey 10
Chapter 957 Extra: A Young Man's Journey 10
When Yan Chengyue learned that Zong Lin had already set off for the border, her mother was already seriously ill, and she had been taking care of her at her side for a long time without leaving the house.
Unfortunately, my mother ultimately did not survive the winter.
In mid-December, before the New Year, my mother passed away.
The entire Yan family mansion was draped in mourning. Yan Chengyue, as the eldest daughter of the family, was in poor health and not only had to keep vigil, but also had to work with the elders of the clan to prepare for the funeral.
By the time she finished all these tasks, it was already spring of the following year.
During her mourning period, Yan Chengyue declined all invitations to banquets and moved to Dafosi Temple to pray for her mother and prepare for the academy that she and Wenren Jing were about to open.
After Wenren Jing was conferred the title of Lady of Huaguo, the matter of setting up the academy became much simpler.
Compared to actually participating in court politics, the civil and military officials would rather see Wenren Jing messing around with the academy. So the academy, which was very difficult to set up last year, has been much smoother this year.
In the past few years, Wenren Jing had made a considerable fortune running restaurants and other businesses, but most of it was lost to the floods in Liangzhou. However, this misfortune turned into a blessing in disguise, as she successfully established a new business, Tiancheng Trading Company, which she co-founded with Yan Chengyue. After Tiancheng Trading Company became successful, Wenren Jing seized the opportunity to open a money exchange, and in less than a year, she recouped many times over her initial investment. This laid a solid foundation for them to open an academy in the capital.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, Taiming Academy was officially completed, and students were admitted through examinations.
Unlike ordinary academies, Taiming Academy only admits women, regardless of their social status. As long as they can pass two exams, they can be admitted smoothly. In addition, it has established scholarships to exempt outstanding students from tuition fees.
The examinations at Taiming Academy were not limited to contemporary poetry, songs, the Four Books and Five Classics, or policy essays; they also included subjects such as horsemanship, archery, arithmetic, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
As the princess of the Great Zhao Dynasty, Zhao Yang took the lead in enrolling in Tai Ming Academy, becoming one of the founders and the first student of Tai Ming Academy. After the news spread throughout the capital, eligible young ladies from noble families in the capital followed suit. The academy, which was not initially favored, actually recruited nearly a hundred students in the first month.
When this news spread, opinions on Taiming Academy were mixed. However, the students who had entered Taiming Academy talked about it with great interest. For a time, noble ladies from prominent families in the capital considered it an honor to be admitted to Taiming Academy. Anyone who failed the exam would be ridiculed at banquets.
Even occasionally, one could see girls dressed in the uniforms of Taiming Academy traveling together on the streets, which became a spectacular sight in the capital.
Since Yan Chengyue was inconvenient to show her face during her mourning period, she often worked with Wenren Jing to compile teaching materials for Taiming Academy. Yan Chengyue was very curious about where Wenren Jing got so many wonderful ideas from, but she always benefited greatly from their exchanges. She put these ideas into words and compiled them into books in a way that was easier for people to accept at the time, and she found great pleasure in it.
The marriage between Yan Chengyue and Zong Huai was also postponed due to Yan Chengyue's sudden mourning period. Among the noble ladies in the capital, Emperor Chengde was most satisfied with Yan Chengyue as the Crown Princess. Therefore, although the marriage was delayed, he did not have the idea of changing the Crown Princess. After Zong Huai came of age, he appointed two noble ladies to enter the Eastern Palace as Liangdi, which can be regarded as tacitly approving the postponement of the marriage.
Meanwhile, at the border, Zong Lin had just finished a small-scale war with the Northern Yan tribe and entered the camp with his soldiers.
Emperor Chengde sent him to the border for training, and it was a real training experience. There were no special treatments. Even as a prince, he had to start as a common soldier and live and eat with the soldiers.
The border region is bitterly cold, the imperial treasury is empty, and food supplies have always been untimely. With winter approaching, the soldiers have not had enough to eat for a long time, let alone cotton-padded clothes. They often have to go to the mountains to hunt wild animals to survive, but after winter, even game is scarce.
As a prince, Zong Lin had never suffered such hardship before, yet he couldn't do anything because of his status. If his identity were to become known, his father would certainly not let him off easily.
Zong Lin curled up on the straw mat in frustration. In the past few months, he had successfully risen to the rank of centurion by virtue of his literacy and knowledge of military strategy. However, when marching on the front lines, he still did not have his own tent. If he wanted to live a more comfortable life, he would have to continue to climb the ranks.
He thought of Yan Chengyue, who was far away in the capital. He was initially happy to hear that their wedding had not gone through, but he felt extremely restless because he didn't know when he could go back or when he could see her again.
In the midst of his frustration, the sound of horns rang out again outside.
The soldiers, who hadn't even had a chance to rest, immediately got up, grabbed their weapons, regrouped in the darkness, and charged out.
Zong Lin led his men to chase a small group of enemy troops into the mountains, but they got lost.
Seeing that he was alone, the enemy silently crept over and cornered him on the slope. Zong Lin glanced back at the slope behind him; if he fell down like that, he would be crippled if not killed.
But he didn't want to die.
By the moonlight, Zong Lin's sharp gaze fell on one of the enemy soldiers who looked somewhat nonchalant. In the midst of the struggle, he decisively took the man hostage and they rolled down the slope together.