Chapter 520: Passing
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yan Du knelt in front of Grand Tutor Yanâs bed and kowtowed. He cried âFather, youâre making the Yan family bear the infamy for eternity.â Grand Tutor Yanâs chest heaved up and down rapidly before calming down. After finally calming down, he turned to look at Yan Du and said stubbornly, âGo get the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.â
Yan Du bit his lip and knelt on the ground. Grand Tutor Yan pointed at him angrily and shouted, âEven you donât listen to me?â
âFather, if you want the entire Yan family to be buried with you, even if I have grievances in my heart, I definitely wonât dare to refute you. Iâll be the first to drink the poisoned wine. But⊠but you mustnât submit this memorial. Even if you chop me, I canât let you write this memorial. Else, I wouldnât dare to go down and meet my ancestors or Emperor Shizong!â Yan Du lamented. His head hit the ground with a bang, and blood slid down his forehead and face.
Grand Tutor Yan spat out a mouthful of blood and pointed at his son, unable to say anything. After a while, he clutched his chest and panted. âDo you think that I am willing to bear such infamy? Do you think that I want to push the Yan Family into a bottomless abyss? I was the one who helped Emperor Jingyan ascend the throneâŠâ
âBut this kingdom belongs to the Guos, not the Yans.â Yan Du roared, âIf he had listened to Father earlier, the Great Zhou wouldnât have ended up like this. Itâs only now that he wants to take your advice and asks you to take responsibility. What had he been doing in the past 20 years?â
Grand Tutor Yanâs gaze was obscure. Yan Du returned his fatherâs gaze fearlessly and knelt on the ground firmly without flinching.
Grand Tutor Yan sighed. âIf the peace talks succeed, the Great Zhou Dynasty can continueâŠâ
Yan Du laughed mockingly. âItâd just be struggling on its last breath.â
âAs long as thereâs life, thereâs a possibility of rising again.â Grand Tutor Yanâs voice was almost inaudible. âThe Emperor is old, and the princes are also old. You must keep your eyes open and not follow my old pathâŠâ
Yan Dids tears flowed down immediately. âFather, if we lose half of the remaining half of the empire, how much of the Great Zhou will be left? If we canât protect the Great Zhou, the Yan family will really have to bear the infamy of betraying the country for generations. I donât dare to take the gamble Moreover, among the princes, who do you think can turn the tide? Might as well, might as wellâŠâ Might as well let the people rebel. Perhaps they could protect the Han familyâs empire and not let it fall into the hands of the Hus.
Yan Du swallowed his last sentence, but his meaning was obvious.
Grand Tutor Yan opened his eyes and stared at the tent without saying anything. That night, the father and son could not convince each other.
Lady Yan was pacing around anxiously outside. When she saw her son, Yan Fu, sitting on the steps in a daze and not moving, she said angrily, âWhatâs wrong with you guys? Tell me, donât make me anxious. Your father and grandfather are talking inside. Why are you sitting there without moving?â
Yan Fu lowered his eyes and laughed self-deprecatingly. When Mrs. Yan saw this, she slapped him angrily. âWhatâs wrong with the three of you?â
Yan Fu laughed out loud as tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at his mother steadily and said, âMother, in a few days, the Yan family will no longer be the role model of the scholars.â
âWhat nonsense are you talking about?â Lady Yan was shocked and shouted, âOur Yan family exercises very strict discipline and never does anything illegal If you dare to spout nonsense again, Iâll askyour father to punish you.â âWhatever.â Yan Fu stood up and walked out. âYou should also persuade Father to stop kneeling and kowtowing. Heâd just be wasting his efforts. No one can persuade Grandfather once he has made up his mind.â
Yan Fu staggered out, laughing heartily as he said, âMy Yan family is a great family of literary and cultural traditionâŠâ
Bad news came back to Linâan City one after another. Other than the northern side, where General Yuan and Qi Xiuyuan defended the defensive line with some winning and some losing, bad news came from other places. Territories were being lost every day, making the officialsâ expressions become more and more serious. They no longer smiled. Even the families of the officials fell silent as they waited for news from the front line in fear.
Qi Haoran had already led his troops out of the city to Longxing Prefecture. Yan Du applied for leave to attend to his fatherâs illness at home. Yan Fu simply skipped work without applying for leave, which surprised his superiors and colleagues.
That was because Yan Fu was a promising and hardworking young man who rarely took leave, let alone skip work like this. However, when they thought about how the Emperor had been sending imperial physicians to the Yan family for the past few days, everyone just assumed that Grand Tutor Yan was really not doing well.??????????????????????????????? y
As the saying went âIt never rains but it poursâ. Losing a statesman of the three dynasties at such a critical moment was, likewise, a huge blow to the Great Zhou.
At this moment, at the Yan residence. ÆreeÏebnovel.Æom
Grand Tutor Yan lay weakly on the bed. Looking seriously at his eldest son and eldest grandson kneeling below, he said after a while, âTake this as my last wish.â
Yan Du slumped to the ground and asked with red eyes, âFather, arenât you going to think about the Yan family?â
âSince ancient times, itâs been difficult to be both loyal and filial. Just treat me as an unfihal person. Bring me the brush and ink.â
Yan Fu looked up and said, âGrandpa, you are only being loyal to Emperor Jingyan, not to Great Zhou or this country.â
âShut up.â Grand Tutor Yanâs face flushed red. He said angrily, âBring me the brush and ink.â
Yan Du kowtowed to him deeply. In the end, filial piety overcame the family responsibilities in his heart. He got up, took the brush, ink, and paper, and set up a short table on the bed.
Yan Fu knelt from the beginning to the end and looked at his grandfather and father with red eyes.
Grand Tutor Yanâs hand trembled slightly, but he still picked up the pen and placed it on the paper. He wanted to write two memorials and a letter.
One letter advocated peace talks with the Jin Kingdom of West Xia, stating the pros and cons. The other letter wrote down the terms of the peace talks one by one. Although he agreed to the peace talks, he did not want to leave the conditions to Emperor Jingyan. He was afraid that the Great Zhou would really collapse after this.
What troubled Grand Tutor Yan the most was the letter to General Yuan.
He knew and understood General Yuanâs aspirations. This was because General Yuan was half a student of his. Recovering lost land was also his dream Even in his dreams, he wanted to take back his homeland. He had always thought that one day, General Yuan would realize this dream for him. Therefore, he had protected him in the Imperial Court and tried his best to support him.
But now, he had to convince General Yuan to agree to the peace talks. Grand Tutor Yan felt that this was much harder to pen than the first two memorials.
Just like how Grand Tutor Yan understood General Yuanâs aspirations, he also understood General Yuanâs stubbornness. In some aspects, he was as stubborn as an ox. Even if he was whipped until his skin and flesh were lacerated, he would never look back.
As Grand Tutor Yan had been thinking about these things for the past three days, he wrote very quickly and finished writing in less than two hours.
With the last stroke, he collapsed on the bed as if all the strength in his body had been drained. Yan Du was shocked. âFather!â
Yan Du climbed onto the bed in a panic to support his father. Yan Fu also rolled up and hugged Grand Tutor Yanâs arm. Even if Yan Du and Yan Fu were angry with him, this person was still their father/grandfather who had raised them since they were young. How could they only have resentment towards him?
Grand Tutor Yanâs breathing quickened. He grabbed Yan Duâs hand tightly and said, âFather has let you down, but, but I have no choice. Y-you help me hand it over. If you donât want to be an official anymore, you can resign and go back. Itâs also good to be a squire or somethingâŠâ
Grand Tutor Yan loosened his grip on Yan Duâs hand and slowly closed his eyes his chest no longer heavingâŠ
âFather!â
âGrandfather!â Yan Fu hugged his grandfatherâs body and shouted, âWhereâs the imperial doctor? Quickly call for the imperial doctor!â
Yan Du hugged his father and sobbed like a child, crying out in grief and indignation. The imperial physicians who came in touched Grand Tutor Yanâs pulse and shook their heads regretfully.
This content is taken from freŃnovelkiss.com.