Chapter 324: Chapter 210: Daddy Halo
During the morning court session, the Emperor specifically called Zheng Rang out and inquired with concern about Zheng Xilin’s condition.
Zheng Rang respectfully answered that Zheng Xilin’s health was alright and mentioned that Zheng Xilin was always grateful for the Emperor’s concern.
The Emperor praised Zheng Rang, saying he resembled Zheng Xilin, and encouraged him to work diligently alongside Prime Minister He, striving to surpass his predecessors.
Hearing the Emperor’s encouragement, Zheng Rang was naturally very excited and expressed that he would certainly work well.
There were no significant matters in today’s morning court, so the Emperor reminisced about his past with Zheng Xilin.
Although Zheng Rang was Zheng Xilin’s eldest son, he didn’t know much about his father’s past affairs. He only knew that his father used to be the Grand Commandant and retired to the countryside claiming illness after serving for only a few years. In fact, he never understood why his father returned to the village, as he was evidently not sick.
His father was not only not sick; on the contrary, he was very healthy. After returning to the village, his father became a farmer, cultivating the land year-round. During harvest, his father could easily carry a stone of grain, hardly resembling someone ill.
Regarding his past in the court, or assisting the Emperor, his father never mentioned it. He didn’t remember clearly the events of his childhood, nor did he know what position his father held in court. If it weren’t for the local officials telling them that his father was once the Grand Commandant and that the Emperor had always been waiting for his father’s return, they would never have known that his father was once a remarkable figure.
Honestly speaking, at the old family home, his father was like an ordinary farmer, always appearing unkempt and slovenly, showing no signs that he had once been a high-ranking official in the court.
Their family had always led a frugal life, no different from ordinary people. The only distinction might be their vast collection of books. Their home was filled with books of all sorts, occupying several rooms. The three brothers were deeply influenced by their father and often read books since childhood.
In the hometown, his father held great respect and status. Officials, scholars, wealthy merchants, and gentry often visited his father. Knowing that his father was unwilling to return to the capital to be the Grand Commandant, local officials invited him to hold a position locally, and many academies asked him to be the head, but his father declined all offers.
His father only wanted to be a farmer.
He once asked his father why he pretended to be ill to return home, why he didn’t continue being the Grand Commandant, assisting the Emperor and benefiting the people?
His father said he lacked the energy.
Initially, he thought his father feigned illness to return home because he was wronged or marginalized in the court, or perhaps because his father was too smart and outstanding, arousing the Emperor’s suspicion and doubt. But he later realized this wasn’t the case.
The Emperor had always respected his father and hoped he would return to continue assisting him. His father’s friends also wished for his return.
Before returning to his hometown, nothing unfortunate happened to his father. When he left the capital, the Emperor gave him many rewards.
He never understood what his father meant by lacking energy. Was it a lack of energy to handle the court’s intrigue? Or a lack of energy to advise and strategize for the Emperor?
Although his father had been farming in his hometown for years, he remained very knowledgeable about major court affairs. Remarkably, his father seemed to understand the world’s happenings without leaving home. The most puzzling thing was his father’s constant secret attention to court affairs.
Before coming to the capital this time, he asked his father again why he wouldn’t return to the capital.
This time, his father did not say he lacked energy but rather claimed that without him, the Emperor and Prime Minister He could still govern Great Zhou well. However, he felt this wasn’t the real reason.
He felt his father was indifferent to fame and fortune, yet somehow, it didn’t seem like that either.
His father was too mysterious, and as his sons, they couldn’t fathom his thoughts at all.
This time, coming to the capital, he initially thought his father would give him some instructions, but his father did not specifically tell him anything.
"Do what you want to do."
"Father, is that all your instruction to me, nothing else?" After all, this was his first time coming to the capital to be an official, and logically, his father should have given him much advice, such as what to be cautious of in the officialdom or to beware of certain people in the capital.
Zheng Xilin looked up at his eldest son, smiled kindly, and said, "Nothing else."
"Father, aren’t you worried that I might not do well or encounter trouble in the capital?" Sometimes, he felt his father seemed indifferent to everything, exhibiting an indifferent demeanor. Also, from childhood to adulthood, their father rarely disciplined the three brothers, only encouraging them to read from a young age and not binding them with worldly conventions. The three brothers were essentially raised in a free-spirited way from childhood.