Chapter 453: The Heavens Move with Vigor; the Gentleman Strengthens Himself Without Ceasing!

The Xie family's ancestral home was Rongyang, and after rising to prominence, they became known as the Rongyang Xie clan.

The household rules were numerous, every corner radiating the dignity and solemnity of a great clan.

In such a prestigious family, each young lady and young master had their own kitchen, with three meals and nightly snacks served round the clock, the stoves never going cold.

Yet your small courtyard with your mother had not even a single stove to light a fire.

Ever since you were given the surname, every monthly festival and birthday in the household brought a portion of vegetarian delicacies to you.

By the time these fine dishes reached your mother and you, they were often mere scraps or leftovers from the previous day.

In that vast Xie Fu, you and your mother received only six taels of silver each month—already barely enough, and after Cengcengkekou by the household stewards, what finally reached your hands was often just four taels in broken silver.

You were at the age of rapid growth, and your mother spent nearly every bit of the meager silver on you.

Yet your mother grew steadily thinner!

That year, you had just turned three; the other young ladies and young masters in the courtyard had already begun their studies under the guidance of family tutors—this was called "early education."

In the Great Qi, children began their early education at age six, first learning numbers and the names of the four directions, then from six to eight, they studied classics such as the Xiaoxue Jiejie, Longwen Bianying, Youxue Qionglin, Qianziwen, and Baijiaxing to build a solid scholarly foundation.

Your mother went to the clan to inquire about your education and received only one cold reply: "Not yet the time!"

That year, you were four, already growing into a sturdy child, your height matching that of the other young masters and ladies in the courtyard, and your mother cared for you well.

Yet despite being a scion of the Xie family, your clothing and fabric quality were worse than those of even the favored maids in the main courtyard.

Your mother owned only one decent outfit, locked deep in the wardrobe, rarely shown to anyone.

You often asked your mother curiously: "Why do the children in other courtyards wear new clothes?"

"My brothers get new clothes every day—they have wooden horses, kites, tiger-skin hats, and so many toys I've never seen."

Your body grew quickly at four, so your clothes needed replacing often; your mother remade last year's autumn garments for you.

Her hands were skilled, always skillfully hiding the seams and patches.

But because the fabric was different, the repairs were still visible, and the children from other courtyards mocked you for it.

You angrily threw the clothes on the ground; your mother did not scold you, but silently washed them clean.

Your tone carried a hint of envy, mixed with quiet sorrow, as you slightly lowered your head.

"They don't like to play with me."

After hearing this, your mother gently taught you: "A gentleman does not grieve because his food and clothing are inferior to others'; thus, a gentleman wears coarse robes but carries jade within."

A gentleman does not sorrow over having worse food or clothing than others. A true gentleman, even in humble garments, harbors talent and virtue like jade.

"The heavens move with vigor; the gentleman strengthens himself without ceasing."

You were still young and did not fully understand your mother's words, but you nodded.

Your mother kept your modest courtyard tidy and orderly, the green vegetable patch thriving, the melon trellises arranged neatly; though small, the courtyard brimmed with warmth.

She even built a stove in the courtyard.

Two more years passed; you were six, and the children of your generation in the Xie Fu had begun reading, writing, and training in martial arts.

Yet you remained confined to your small courtyard, and your mother rarely took you outside.

Because every time you and your mother ventured out, you were met with ridicule and mockery.

"The Xie family's shame, the lowborn brat."

"The seductive fox who lured the master, a woman ignorant of propriety."

These whispered slanders followed you like shadows whenever your mother pulled you past.

The servants and stewards of the Xie Fu dared not speak so boldly, but behind them all stood the mistress's orders and tacit approval.

Your mother was gentle by nature, rarely quarreling with anyone; she simply pulled you away.

That same spring, your mother went to the Xie clan to inquire about your education—you were six, old enough to begin your studies.

In the Great Qi, the state was governed by Confucian thought; every high official was a scholar.

The imperial court selected officials through the imperial examination, testing mastery of Confucian classics.

Even the Tongshengshi was established: any child seven years old could sit for it, requiring not only mastery of Confucian texts but also proficiency in horsemanship, archery, and swordplay.

At the clan meeting, the mistress met your mother and declared: "A bastard child—first observe his moral character, lest he corrupt the family's rites."

The Xie family was traditionally a scholarly lineage, but your father, the Dingyuan Marquis, had elevated the household through military merit.

The Xie family's mistress, citing your birth, denied you the right to education.

Your mother argued fiercely but was driven out of the ancestral hall.

When your mother returned to the courtyard, she found you waiting at the door, well-behaved and patient; her heart softened.

After years of suffering, she rarely cried, but now, holding you, she wept softly, heartbroken that her child had been denied justice.

That year, your mother's health deteriorated further; her figure grew ever thinner, as if a breeze could knock her down.

That winter, heavy snow fell, and her illness worsened drastically; she became bedridden.

In this desperate time, your only maid chose to leave.

Almost all the medicine-making and cooking fell to you alone; you stayed awake every night beside her.

Your mother watched you standing before the stove taller than you, a mere six-year-old child, and wept uncontrollably, soaking her pillow.

Fortunately, the next spring, you were overjoyed—your mother's illness had miraculously improved.

But your mother told you: "If I cannot secure a title for Guan'er, I will die with my eyes open."

You replied solemnly: "Mother, don't speak such ill-omened words."

Your education remained unresolved, so your mother decided to teach you to read first.

The Xie Fu assigned you a new maid named Wutong; she was two years older than you and newly arrived.

Though Wutong was a maid of low status, your mother never scolded her; instead, she treated her as her own, nurturing you both, teaching you both to read.

Wutong called you Young Master, but you saw her as a sister.

This year you were seven, beginning to understand that your status as a "bastard" made you despised and neglected in the household.

Worse still, your father grew to despise you.

You had seen your father only once, from afar, at the birthday of Grandmother Xie.

He was mighty and imposing, with broad shoulders that seemed capable of shouldering your entire small courtyard.

Yet he never once looked at you or your mother; instead, surrounded by others, he laughed as he held your younger brother, Xie Yu, who was one year younger than you.

Your cousins had all begun school; the Xie family maintained a academy for its descendants.

The classroom was noisy, and most Xie descendants skipped class, arrived late, or ran away.

Only a handful truly applied themselves.

You, however, often lingered outside the classroom door, listening intently.

Whenever a household steward spotted you, he immediately drove you away, not allowing you to stay even a moment.

Another year passed; you heard that Xie Yu, the younger son of the Xie family's mistress and one year younger than you, had been granted special permission to pass the Tongshengshi at age seven.

Xie Yu had been brilliant since childhood: reading at four, composing poetry at five, writing essays at six, hailed as a prodigy.

The family threw a grand banquet; prominent figures from Bianjing, the Nine Great Clans, with their families, young masters and ladies, all came.

It was a riot of celebration!

At last, the household seemed to remember your existence and invited you and your mother.

Your mother, rarely wearing the locked-away garment, came with you to the banquet.

The banquet hall was packed; guests exchanged cups, laughter and merriment filled the air.

You saw the young ladies and young masters from every courtyard of the Xie family and other clans.

Each was dazzlingly adorned, wearing silk robes, jeweled caps with red tassels, jade belts at their waists, swords on the left, fragrant sachets on the right, glowing like divine beings.

You, in plain clothes, stood among them.

You remembered your mother's words: "A gentleman wears coarse robes but carries jade within; the heavens move with vigor; the gentleman strengthens himself without ceasing."

Your heart felt no envy.

You and your mother sat in the most distant corner of the hall.

This time, your father remained on the frontier and did not return.

As the banquet reached its peak, families began offering congratulations to "Xie Yu"; even the various branches of the Xie family joined in.

In an instant, congratulations rose like waves; the child at the center, wearing a red jade crown, with pale lips and bright teeth, shone with radiant pride.

Someone cried out loudly: "Young Master Yu, when you grow up, you will surely inherit your father's legacy and win the Xie family another Battalion Commander title!"

The Xie family's mistress smiled even more broadly.

Hearing this, you pulled your mother's hand and declared firmly: "I, Guan'er, will also win a Battalion Commander title one day."

"Not for the Xie family—only for Mother!"

Your mother smiled and stroked your head.

The banquet grew even livelier, lanterns hung everywhere, joy radiating from every corner.

Grandmother Xie, seated at the head table, beamed with warmth, gazing at the Xie descendants with deep satisfaction.

The Xie family was thriving more than ever!

Cups clinked, wine flowed, guests laughed and chatted merrily.

At that moment, your mother rose and walked straight into the center of the hall.

All eyes turned to her, curious and puzzled, as a frail woman slowly knelt.

The hall was noisy; few heard her first words, only the last.

Her voice was soft, yet each word rang clear.

"I am a lowly woman, born like a weed, my life thinner than paper; my death means nothing. But my son, Xie Guan, carries the blood of the Rongyang Xie clan—the blood of the Dingyuan Marquis."

"He is now eight, yet still confined to the courtyard; I have pleaded with the academy and private tutors, but the clan has never acknowledged him."

【"The Xie family upholds propriety as its foundation; my second uncle is a renowned scholar of this age. Now that you raise an adopted son without educating him, and your private conduct violates moral norms and ritual propriety—how can you inherit the marquisate?"】

【The banquet gradually fell silent.】

【As the crowd recalled the "old case" from eight years ago, the atmosphere of the banquet once again grew tense.】

【"A bastard of the Xie family?" someone whispered. "Could it be the mother and child who once begged for a name at Xie Yu's hundred-day feast?"】

【Among aristocratic families, affairs of the heart, illegitimate offspring, or keeping concubines outside the home were commonplace.】

【But few ever brought such matters into the open—especially among the Nine Great Clans of Da Qi.】

【Confucianism advocates governing the state, cultivating oneself, and bringing peace to the world, insisting one must first clean one's own room before sweeping the world.】

【Yet if one cannot properly manage family affairs, how can one command respect? How can one shoulder the burden of governing the state and bringing peace to the world?】

【Upon hearing this, the Lady of the Xie household grew even darker-faced. Her husband, the Marquis of Dingyuan, was stationed at the border; as his lawful wife, she oversaw the Xie family's inner quarters and could not tolerate such family shame. Her gaze turned sharp and piercing toward the mother.】

【It would also tarnish her own reputation!】

【The Confucian Way places utmost importance on moral education; to raise a child without teaching him is the father's fault—this truth is plain for all to see.】

【If this matter is mishandled even slightly, tomorrow the Marquis of Dingyuan of Da Qi will become the subject of idle gossip and mockery in Bianjing's teahouses!】

【At the banquet, guests either sipped their wine lightly or whispered among themselves, yet their eyes unconsciously drifted toward this scene, waiting for the storm to subside.】

【The Lady of the Xie household summoned the chief steward and the clan elders.】

【Lifted high, landed lightly.】

【"Xie Guan, you may begin your studies this autumn; all expenses shall be covered by the main branch of the Xie household."】

【The matter was resolved effortlessly; the banquet resumed its merriment.】

【The mother kowtowed in apology; the Lady of the Xie household smiled, as if it were a trivial matter.】

【Yet the three stewards in charge were beaten to death right before your mother and you.】

【Beating a household servant to death to uphold family discipline was commonplace in Da Qi—no one paid it any mind.】

【Your mother took you by the hand and withdrew, returning home.】

【From then on, your monthly allowance dwindled to barely one tael of silver, and guards frequently patrolled outside your small courtyard, making your life increasingly oppressive and uneasy.】

【That autumn, you did not get to attend school as you had hoped, for your mother fell gravely ill again.】

【The atmosphere in the small courtyard grew unbearably heavy; for some reason, this year's courtyard was colder than it had been in years past.】

【The Xie household's official physician prescribed medicine for your mother, but it seemed to have no effect. Her condition worsened daily, her body growing ever thinner.】

【By late autumn, your mother was confined to bed, unable to rise.】

【You and the maid Wutong carried the herbal decoction to her bedside and carefully fed it to her.】

【That day, your mother seemed to regain some strength, her face glowing as she spoke with you at length: "Pity—I never got to see what Guan'er would grow up to look like. He must be exceptionally handsome."】

【"I wonder which family's daughter will be lucky enough to marry him."】

【"Study hard—not for your mother, but for yourself!"】

【You stared at your mother's emaciated face, and for some reason, your heart ached with unbearable sorrow.】

【"Guan'er, do you still remember the saying I often told you?"】

【You softly replied: "The heavens move with vigor; the noble person strives unceasingly."】

【Your mother smiled and took Wutong's hand: "Wutong, Guan'er is still young. I entrust him to you from now on."】

【Wutong was at a loss.】

【Your mother gently said: "Guan'er, go outside. Close the door. Let your mother rest well."】

【You stepped out of the room. A light rain fell from the sky. You looked down at the large water vat in the courtyard.】

【Its reflection showed your face—round, blurred circles—but you could no longer make out your own features.】

【The next day, your mother passed away.】

【You wept until you went blind.】

【You were nine years old. Your mother was gone. Though you had a father, you were as alone as if you had none, walking solitary through the world.】

【Prompt: Destiny Talent Awakened—《Rare Innate Wisdom》, 《Calm Within》, 《Divine Brush》】

【Claim now?】

The inscriptions on the great tripod slowly stabilized.

Yu Ke fell silent, without hesitation.

【Claim!】

(End of Chapter)