The sinecure Zhou Ye proposed had clearly taken Zhou Zhenghai somewhat by surprise.
But he did not ask Zhou Ye why.
Instead, he fixed his gaze on the black stone surrounded by white ones for a long time.
Only then did he say, "It might be worth a try."
Although Zhou Zhenghai agreed to Zhou Ye's request, he did not rush to submit a memorial seeking the post for him. Instead, he had Zhou Ye spend the next few days visiting the capital's learned scholars under the pretext of seeking their guidance.
Among them was the current grand tutor of the Imperial Academy, the venerable Liu Mingzhi.
Liu Mingzhi already admired Zhou Ye, so naturally, the two had a delightful conversation.
He also enthusiastically invited Zhou Ye to his residence several times, and even reviewed essays written by the princes with him.
That was precisely what Zhou Zhenghai and Zhou Ye wanted.
After all, people had a purpose in everything they did.
There were so many sinecures in the capital. Why did Zhou Ye insist on entering the Imperial Academy as Liu Zhiming's assistant?
If he made the request rashly, Wei Zhao would surely suspect that Zhou Ye had designs on the princes.
But now that Zhou Ye and the venerable Liu had gotten along so well, the request would no longer seem abrupt.
Sure enough, eight days later, Zhou Ye voluntarily surrendered his military tally at court. When Zhou Zhenghai took the opportunity to recommend Zhou Ye for a post at the Imperial Academy, Wei Zhao thought for only a moment before speaking.
"My sons have led sheltered, pampered lives. They do indeed need a military officer like you to train them, Minister Zhou. I grant your request."
"Starting tomorrow, you will be the princes' junior tutor, holding the second official rank. With the junior tutor's token, you may enter and leave the Imperial Academy at will."
Zhou Ye bowed. "Thank you for granting my request, Your Majesty."
The junior tutor might have been a second-rank official, but in truth, he had neither authority nor troops.
In Mingzheng Hall, Zhao Junze, commander of the imperial guards, could not help showing a smug smile as he watched.
His elder sister, Noble Consort Shu, had previously told him to be wary of the Zhou family, and of Zhou Ye stealing his thunder upon his return to the capital.
He too had thought that Zhou Ye would at least be given command of a patrol battalion when he returned, but now that he saw this-
His sister's worries had all been unnecessary.
His Majesty was clearly going to give the Zhou family the cold shoulder. From now on, the capital would surely belong to the Zhao family.
After morning court ended, Zhao Junze walked over to Zhou Ye and said with a smile, "Congratulations on your promotion to the second rank, General Zhou. It's a tremendous honor to serve at the young princes' side-far better than being commander of the imperial guards, by I don't know how much."
Although the commander of the imperial guards was only a third-rank official, he had both troops and authority.
His words were clearly meant to mock Zhou Ye.
"Oh, that's not right. I shouldn't call you General Zhou anymore. It should be Junior Tutor Zhou."
According to Zhou Ye's memories, the original owner and Zhao Junze had attended the same academy in the capital, where the original owner had thoroughly outshone Zhao Junze in both scholarship and martial arts.
And Zhao Junze was a highly jealous man.
It was only natural that he would make sarcastic remarks now.
But Zhou Ye now possessed the script and knew that Zhao Junze would one day be slain by Wei Mingxiu beneath the imperial city walls.
Seeing him act up like this, Zhou Ye found it somewhat amusing.
"You make a fair point, Commander Zhao." Zhou Ye's expression was calm, but his phoenix eyes were razor-sharp as he said, "I will do my duty as junior tutor and teach the princes martial arts well, so that they will one day learn to cut down those who deserve it and kill treacherous, cunning men."
There was nothing wrong with the intended meaning of his words, nor could anyone find fault with them.
Yet for some reason, Zhao Junze felt a chill run down his neck.
Long after Zhou Ye had walked past him, he slapped his forehead and said, "Damn it, how could I let a single look from him cow me?!"
In the corridors of the inner palace, Xiao Wu raced along, practically running into the Southern Spring Courtyard.
In the courtyard, Wei Mingxiu stood before a stone table beneath a peach tree, practicing calligraphy.
His thin hand gripped the brush, yet when he brought it down, it seemed to carry immense force.
His brush moved like a dragon and a snake, its sharpness on full display.
It was truly rare for someone so young to write so well.
Though Xiao Wu had run in, he dared not speak loudly while Wei Mingxiu was writing. Only when Wei Mingxiu stopped and looked at him did he lean close to his ear and say excitedly, "Your Highness, this servant heard the palace servants say that His Majesty gave General Zhou the post of junior tutor and has allowed him to enter and leave the Imperial Academy freely from now on, to teach the princes martial arts and military strategy!"
"If nothing goes wrong, you'll see him in class tomorrow!"
Wei Mingxiu's peach-blossom eyes widened slightly. He stared blankly for quite a while before the corners of his mouth lifted beyond his control.
A smile reached his eyes and brows.
With peach blossoms drifting around him, he looked exceptionally beautiful.
Even Xiao Wu was transfixed.
Wei Mingxiu had inherited his looks from his mother: delicate and gentle, with red lips and white teeth. Even among the strikingly handsome imperial children, he stood out.
When his mother had been with him, he had loved to smile.
But he had suffered no shortage of curses and humiliation for it.
After his mother died, he hardly smiled anymore.
So this was the first time Xiao Wu had seen him so happy.
"General Zhou is amazing," Xiao Wu said. "He said he'd see Your Highness again within ten days, and he really did become the Imperial Academy's junior tutor! Now you won't have to worry about not seeing him anymore!"
As Wei Mingxiu listened to Xiao Wu, the corners of his mouth, which had still been turned up, gradually flattened as something occurred to him.
He realized that although the junior tutor's post looked like a promotion for Zhou Ye, it was in fact a demotion that stripped him of power.
That meant Zhou Ye's earlier concerns had not been wrong.
Wei Zhao was going to make a move against the Zhou family.
In that case, when they met, he needed to ask Zhou Ye what he could do for him.
He could not simply keep waiting for Zhou Ye to help him.
With these thoughts on his mind, Wei Mingxiu tossed and turned until the latter half of the night before falling asleep.
He slept lightly too, waking before daybreak without waiting for Xiao Wu to call him.
He washed and dressed, ate a few mouthfuls of congee, and headed to the Imperial Academy.
He had thought he would be the first to arrive, but as soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw someone lying in the enormous scholar tree at the Imperial Academy, its trunk so thick it would have taken two people to encircle it.
The man wore a purple official robe and lay with one leg crossed over the other. His black gauze hat covered the upper half of his face to shield it from the sun, leaving only his sharply defined jaw and thin lips visible.
He appeared to be asleep.
"Huh? Who's that?" Xiao Wu exclaimed softly. "He's even wearing a purple robe. Only high officials of the first through third ranks can wear those. Why is he sleeping here at the Imperial Academy?"
"Shh, that should be General Zhou." Wei Mingxiu had already guessed the man's identity.
He motioned for Xiao Wu to be quiet, so as not to disturb Zhou Ye's peaceful sleep.
He sat down beneath the tree and, by the brightening light of dawn, reviewed the lessons the grand tutor had taught the day before.
Xiao Wu covered his mouth and chuckled. "Goodness, I didn't know General Zhou had such a carefree side. He can even sleep up in a tree like that."
"The general must be tired from getting up early for morning court, so he's taking a short nap."
"It's still early. Third Brother usually dawdles until the fifth quarter of the shen hour before coming, so let the general sleep. We'll wake him when the others are about to arrive."
Having said that, Wei Mingxiu himself grew sleepy while reviewing his lessons and inadvertently fell asleep leaning against the tree.
When he woke again and opened his eyes, he saw the man's handsome face right in front of him.
The man's phoenix eyes curved as he said,
"Good morning, Sixth Highness."