Chapter 9: The World Beyond the Li Residence

Zheng Zuosheng was the first to take Yun'er from Li Fu’s hands, then did the same thing that everyone does the first time they hold Yun’er—he weighed the child carefully in his arms.

Li Fu smiled and said, “Don’t be fooled by how small Yun’er is; he’s actually quite solidly built. If you hold him for too long, our arms won’t be able to take it.”

They were all scholars, accustomed to light work, so holding such a sturdy little boy for long really did wear on their arms.

Zheng Zuosheng played with Yun’er for a while, then simply sat down, still cradling him.

Yun’er obediently clung to Zheng Zuosheng’s sleeve, peering eagerly at the wooden table before them, which was laden with crisp pastries and fresh fruits.

Since he had stopped nursing, Xin Niang had been preparing a light, bland baby menu for him. Naturally, Yun’er stretched out his hand, eager to reach for the cakes and fruit.

Noticing this, Zheng Zuosheng quietly shifted his chair back a little.

Compared to Li Fu, whose youngest grandson was already five or six years old, Zheng Zuosheng, though not usually involved in child-rearing matters, understood that children at this age shouldn’t be given just anything to eat. Those pastries and dried jujubes were not only hard for such a young child to chew, but also likely to upset his digestion.

However, seeing Yun’er’s strong desire, Zheng Zuosheng placed an unpeeled pomegranate in front of him.

Of course, this wasn’t meant to be eaten, just to give the child something to play with.

Yun’er’s eyes lit up at the sight of the bright red pomegranate before him, and he began to smile—only to realize it was unpeeled.

He didn’t have the strength to open it.

He immediately patted the pomegranate repeatedly, then looked back at Zheng Zuosheng with dark, shining eyes full of hopeful expectation.

Zheng Zuosheng realized Li Fu hadn’t been exaggerating; this child was probably a bit precocious. Even if not, Yun’er simply looked exceptionally clever.

“That won’t do. I’m holding you, so no peeling,” Zheng Zuosheng teased openly, making Yun’er quite annoyed.

Not only did Zheng Zuosheng refuse, but even Meng Fu and Li Fu would not help peel the pomegranate for the boy. They didn’t even offer him the pieces they had peeled, deliberately tempting the child.

Yun’er sulked, looking around unhappily, then made a determined effort to lean forward and lift the big pomegranate from the table.

His face flushed red, but he refused to let go.

This big pomegranate was his now. If no one peeled it, he would take it back to his mother.

Yun’er clutched the fruit protectively, much like a lucky child holding a carp, looking utterly endearing.

“Don’t be angry, Yun’er. Here, have some pastry,” Li Fu laughed at him, took the pomegranate from his arms, and handed him half a piece of crisp cake.

Still, the pomegranate had to remain by Yun’er’s side, or he wouldn’t be satisfied.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one with a pomegranate. Although sitting in a baby chair, Yi’er had also received a large pomegranate.

But Yi’er wasn’t tapping on the pomegranate to have Li Fu peel it; he bit directly into the tough skin.

The pomegranate rind was slightly bitter, and Yi’er’s face puckered up from the taste, his drool spreading all over the fruit.

Yet Yi’er was stubborn. Even though the bitterness was unbearable, he refused to let go of the pomegranate, continuing to gnaw at it while drooling everywhere. He even rejected the other half of the pastry Li Fu handed him, throwing it aside immediately.

That stubborn temper was much like his crying fits—once he started, no coaxing could stop him, unless he cried himself into unconsciousness or lost his voice.

Li Fu, understanding his eldest son well, didn’t stop Yi’er from gnawing the rind, only keeping an eye on him to ensure he wouldn’t hurt himself.

It wasn’t stinginess that kept him from giving the boys pomegranate seeds; it was that they were too young and the fruit might choke them.

While the eldest son stubbornly gnawed the rind, the younger happily munched on the pastries, allowing Li Fu to relax and enjoy a few drinks with friends.

Yun’er sat obediently in Zheng Zuosheng’s arms, carefully catching crumbs with one little hand, eating earnestly.

At the same time, he listened intently, his ears perked.

He still didn’t know where he was.

In fact, Yun’er had dreamed several times of university classes, but the dreams were always fragmented, and he often forgot them upon waking.

Yet he felt he understood many things.

For example, an old professor once spoke of the evolution of script alongside history, so he knew about the regular script style, though he didn’t know exactly which historical period he was in now. His father and mother seldom spoke of such matters.

Just now, his father’s two friends had introduced themselves, but Yun’er thought hard and realized he had no memory of them.

He muttered to himself, either his dreams had forgotten too much, or these two were insignificant people with no historical record.

At that moment, Zheng Zuosheng, still holding Yun’er, suddenly raised his voice with an angry tone.

“I traveled from the central government and saw many villages worshiping ghosts and spirits. When I reached Liangzhou, it was even worse. A few days ago, I passed through Jiaodao County, where the county magistrate still presides over indecent shrines, annually selecting a pair of boys and girls as sacrificial offerings to the spirits, costing many lives. When I take office in Chengji County, I will petition the central government to punish that magistrate and crack down on all such ghost worship in Liangzhou.”

Clearly upset by what he had witnessed on his journey, Zheng Zuosheng spoke with great anger.

Yun’er stopped eating and listened quietly, though he was still somewhat confused. After all, he hadn’t been born into luxury; Xin Niang and a maid took good care of him, ensuring he lacked nothing. He truly hadn’t realized the harshness of life beyond the Li household.

A county magistrate leading the ritual sacrifice of boys and girls to spirits—this was clearly not a good era.

Zheng Zuosheng had held office at the central government for years. Even though the Liang Kingdom’s power was waning, the central region remained relatively prosperous.

Li Fu, however, had served in remote regions and knew how terrible conditions were. Liangzhou was often raided and ravaged by foreign tribes, suffered frequent droughts, and grain harvests were difficult. Yet, the taxes imposed annually on each county in Hanyang Commandery never lessened—in fact, they increased year by year.

Li Fu was aware that some counties, desperate, resorted to indecent shrines just to exchange for a little more grain.

Hearing Zheng Zuosheng’s words, Li Fu said nothing.

Zheng Zuosheng still held hope for the Liang Kingdom and its newly enthroned young emperor. After serving a few years outside the central government, he understood why conditions beyond the capital were worsening.

Li Fu remained silent, but Meng Fu spoke up.

Meng Fu, who had long lived in the countryside and held a persistent disdain for most Liang emperors, was blunt.

“Zi Ming has truly been at the center too long—he’s lost touch with reality.

“The Jiaodao County magistrate’s sacrificing children at an indecent shrine is of course unacceptable, but replace him with someone else, and will Jiaodao County suddenly flourish, with every citizen rich and peaceful?

“If the people prosper, even if the magistrate wanted to hold those rites, no one would follow. But if the people suffer, even if he doesn’t, those desperate folk might perform the rites themselves.”

Meng Fu didn’t endorse the magistrate but despised the government’s failure to act. With the emperor’s waning authority and widespread doubts about the state, the realm was trending toward chaos.

Not just at the macro level—on a smaller scale, even if Zheng Zuosheng returned and wrote a direct reprimand to that magistrate to remove him, without addressing the root causes, the people would surely continue their sacrificial practices.

Meng Fu, familiar with rural life, knew commoners were often easily placated. Many times, giving them a bite to eat could make them as obedient as livestock in the fields, quietly working the land. Most of the grain produced didn’t belong to them, yet they were content. But sometimes, to survive, they could commit the most foolish and cruel acts.

Those common folk.

Meng Fu took a sip of wine.

They had no grand ambitions to stabilize the nation and care for the people; all they wanted was simply to survive.

Zheng Zuosheng, having witnessed the intrigues at the center, was unsettled to his core.

His face flushed red and pale under Meng Fu’s blunt words. Were he not holding Yun’er, he might have snapped back.

Fortunately then, Yi’er made a surprising breakthrough.

Remarkably, the large pomegranate he held had been bitten open, revealing clusters of bright red seeds inside.

Ignoring the bitter taste, Yi’er picked out a seed with his fingers and eagerly held it out toward Yun’er, making eager sounds.

Seeing this, Li Fu quickly said, “Yi’er, the elder brother, did well thinking of Yun’er.”

Yun’er listened with great interest but found Zheng Zuosheng and Meng Fu silent again, feeling a little disappointed. Looking at Yi’er, his hands were covered in the juice and drool from the pomegranate rind, with two broken seeds in his palm.

These were inedible.

Yun’er firmly refused to eat.

He turned away disdainfully.

Li Fu laughed, “Yun’er’s cleanliness habit really can’t be changed.”

As he spoke, Li Fu took the pomegranate and the two seeds from Yi’er’s hands.

Yi’er waved his hands in protest, trying to snatch them back, but seeing no success, he gave up. He didn’t like pomegranates much anyway—after all, all he’d tasted was bitterness.

Seeing Yi’er all messy and with nothing to do, and knowing he was about to cry, Li Fu had a maid take Yi’er away.

Yun’er remained in Zheng Zuosheng’s arms.

“Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Let’s stop talking politics. I have a small garden with a dozen pots of chrysanthemums blooming beautifully. Would you like to go see the flowers?”

Yun’er relaxed, tugging at Zheng Zuosheng’s sleeve, babbling excitedly.

Yes, yes, let’s go.

There were even two pots that he had cared for himself, and he had nurtured them well!

Having heard no praise from anyone but his parents, Yun’er was eager beyond measure.