Given Old Master Yi's standing, there was naturally no problem with his taking a brief leave. He departed with the two household servants who had hurried over and a helpless-looking Wu Ziqun, while Wu Ziqun's classmates and friends gloated behind them.
Yi A Bao had no time to worry about Wu Ziqun's feelings. Had he asked the young man's opinion, Ziqun would most likely have refused to go, given his temperament.
But A Bao could not head straight to Yuanjiang County just yet. After leaving Moon Province Academy, he took the servants and Wu Ziqun directly to his home in Moon Province.
Indeed, Yi A Bao had taught at Moon Province Academy for years. To make it easier to look after him, his wife, Lu, also lived in Moon Province, so they had purchased a home near the academy.
Their eldest son, Yi Han, served as an official elsewhere. Whenever he was reassigned to a region, his wife and children generally followed him there. Only Yi Xuan and his family lived year-round at the Yi Household's ancestral home, tending the family fields and the workshops in the county.
When Yi A Bao hurried home with the others, Lu Junling, who had been doing needlework, heard the commotion. She set down her work and came out of the room, only to find Yi A Bao returning with a group.
"Husband? A Ming, A You? And Ziqun? Has something happened to Father?"
Lu Junling had always been a perceptive woman. At the sight of this group, she immediately feared something was wrong, but A Bao promptly dispelled her doubts.
"Nothing has happened to Father. There's no time to explain now. Just pack a few things quickly and come back to Yuanjiang County with me at once!"
"All right!"
The gray-haired Lu Junling