If it were in the past, the emperor would naturally not want Zhou Gu to enter the court so early. But today is different from the past. Today's DPRK is really short of people. Especially now that there are internal and external troubles and the situation is not good, he needs to rely on the prince. Naturally, people from the prince's faction must be used.
Zhou Gu has both civil and military skills. If he can enter the court after the scientific examination this year, he will be particularly useful.
But now Zhou Gu has to travel for three years.
The emperor didn't understand. He looked at Zhou Gu and said: "Even if you have never been out of the capital to practice, it will not affect your entry into the court as an official. At most, I will give you a place to go out and practice for three years. Why don't you even take part in the imperial examination?"
Zhou Gu held up his hand and said, "Your Majesty, a place for foreigners is just a place for people's livelihood. I want to travel around the world in three years to learn more about people's livelihood everywhere."
The emperor nodded, "It makes some sense."
He asked: "Have you made up your mind?"
Zhou Gu nodded.
The emperor asked again: "In addition to traveling and learning more about people's livelihood in various places, is there any other purpose?"
Zhou Gu knew what the emperor was referring to, and pursed his lips, "We will travel to Daliang first, and maybe also visit Wei and Nanchu."
The emperor said: "That's a good idea."
He looked at the old Duke Protector, "Since the old Duke and the Crown Prince agree, I don't have any objections. I might as well go out and experience more while I'm young. Let's do it this way!"
The old Duke held up his hands and thanked him, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zhou Gu also thanked him, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor waved his hand, looked at Zhou Gu and said: "In three years' time, when you return to Beijing, I will give you a test and see your achievements in the past three years, and then I will give you an official."
Zhou Gu responded with a yes.
After reporting to the emperor, the old protector and Zhou Gu came out of the palace. They shared a carriage. In the car, the old protector looked at Zhou Gu and said, "You brat, what are you planning in your mind? Don't think I’m old and don’t know, but I’m telling you, as long as your grandfather doesn’t die, you won’t be able to come back.”
Zhou Gu raised his eyebrows, "Grandpa, when did I stop thinking about it?"
The old Protector snorted coldly, "You haven't let go of that little girl Su Rong yet, have you? Don't think I don't know. Do you want to follow her to Nanchu under the guise of traveling? I can tell you You, the situation in Nanchu is in chaos, you run around and get involved, and take care of your life. If you lose your life, I don’t feel sorry for you little thing, but your grandmother and your mother, they can’t stand it. Come on, don't be unfilial."
Zhou Gu knew that even if he kept it a secret, the old Protector of the Kingdom would be able to guess a certain amount even if he had been exposed to it all his life. He simply admitted, "Don't worry."
The old Lord Protector said with a straight face, "If I stop you life and death and don't let you go, I'm afraid you won't be reconciled for the rest of your life, but if I let you go, you will know. In the face of all the big situations, children Love is such a small thing, it's a drop in the bucket and not worth mentioning."
Zhou Gu said nothing.
The old Protector said: "Don't look at it at home, you will feel that your origin in the Protector's Palace has imprisoned you, making you feel restrained and thinking that you can just go out. But as everyone knows, when you go out, you will know your origin. , is an existence that you can never erase for the rest of your life. Your upbringing, what you have learned, and your etiquette are all engraved in your bones and cannot be left behind for the rest of your life. Even if there is a crazy horse living in your heart, but only the surname One word Zhou is enough to tie you up and prevent you from letting go."
Zhou Gu was silent.
"Don't be unconvinced. You will know later." The old Lord Protector looked at him, "Do you know why I agreed so happily when that little girl came to our Lord Protector's house to cancel the engagement? Because I I see that the two of you are very different from each other in every aspect. Since they are not on the same road and have different paths, they naturally do not conspire with each other. But now that you do not believe in that evil and want to pursue her life and death, then you have to Be mentally prepared. You can ask for something, but you can't ruin her path. We men in the Protector's Palace are not like those who stalk around, have no scruples, harm others and themselves, and have no self-awareness."
Zhou Gu finally spoke: "Grandpa, I know."
The old Protector blew his beard and said, "As long as you know, don't rely on your youth and vigour to think that no one in the world is as good as you. You have to admit that there are people outside the world, and there are people outside the world, and some people just have advantages over you. If you can't reach it, you can't reach it. Only by learning to give up can you gain something. If you can't even learn to give up and want to hold on to everything, you won't get anything."
Zhou Gu listened and said in his heart, "My grandson, please remember this."
Although the old Protector was dissatisfied, he was pleased to see Zhou Gu being sincerely taught, "Your grandmother repeatedly told me not to interfere with you, so I left it to you. The last point, you must always remember , your surname is Zhou, and you are a descendant of the Duke Protector's Palace. No matter where you go, don't fall under the lintel of the Duke Protector's Palace. No matter what you do or how you behave, you must have a clear conscience."
Zhou Gu lowered his head and said, "My grandson will remember this, and my grandfather will rest assured."
The old Lord Protector cursed, "You stinky boy, you're making me heartbroken."
Zhou Gu raised his head, his eyes were a little red, and he felt reluctance in his heart. He clenched and unclenched the fists in his sleeves tightly. At this moment, facing the gray-haired old man, his grandfather who had spent countless efforts on him since childhood, he couldn't tell how he felt, but he felt a little uncomfortable.
He didn't know if the decision he made was right, but he only knew that because he had three older brothers to rely on and a younger nephew below, he would go to Nanchu without hesitation, a place so far away, to seek a life in this life. No regrets.
"Since His Majesty has agreed, you can set off tomorrow!" The old Protector was open-minded, "Take all your guards with you. I heard that your mother has seconded a group of people from Qinghe. If you go to Nanchu, these I'm afraid it's not enough, I will come from the house again..."
"Grandpa, there is no need." Zhou Gu intercepted his words, "His Royal Highness has handed over all the hidden stakes in Nanchu to me."
The old Protector was stunned, "Is it all handed over to you? All the hidden stakes in Nanchu?"
Zhou Gu nodded, "Yes."
The old Protector sighed with emotion, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince trusts you very much. In that case, that's it, I won't send any more people to you."
Zhou Gu also means the same thing. He has enough people now.
As the grandfather and grandson talked, they didn't feel that time passed so fast, and they had returned to the Duke Protector's Mansion.
The eldest princess of Sheng'an heard that His Majesty had happily agreed, and that Zhou Gu was leaving tomorrow. She was extremely reluctant to part with him, so she pulled Zhou Gu and explained a lot more.
After hearing that Zhou Gu was leaving today, the three brothers in the army also returned to the house. The whole family sat together and had a dinner to see Zhou Gu off.
Zhou Gu did not forget that Su Rong said he would go to see her before leaving Beijing, so after dinner, he changed into night clothes, imitated Su Rong, climbed the wall and entered the Xie Mansion in Dongsi Hutong.
(End of chapter)
