Chapter 507: His Descendants are Doing Terribly
Although the old man was old, he had a face of good fortune.
He had long eyebrows that stretched to his temples. His earlobes were long, and his eyes were like rings. His flesh and bones were strong, and his features were extremely supple. He should be a broad-minded and talented person. He would definitely be able to become a supreme official and be respected at the temples.
If he was a supreme official, he would definitely be one of the three chancellors.
However, the three chancellors did not seem to be that old, so…
The person in front of her was probably the imperial tutor Li Mi, who had long retired.
Li Mi had some relations with the Empress’ family. The two families were considered in-laws, but the Empress’ family had declined, and there were not many people in the imperial court who were respected. As for the Li family…
Logically speaking, Imperial Tutor Li should be a great minister, and his children and grandchildren should also be living a prosperous life. However, in reality, the Li family was about to be driven out of the center of power.
“Imperial Tutor Li, may I know why you are here?” Xie Qiao asked directly.
The old man looked at her in surprise, “My door has been closed to visitors all these years. I heard that you’ve just entered the capital not long ago. How could you recognize me?”
“I only guessed.” Xie Qiao was simple and straightforward.
The Imperial Tutor Li smiled, “It’s a skill that you can predict things. This way, this old man will feel more at ease.
“The reason I look for Master is…”
“Your descendants,” before the imperial tutor could finish, Xie Qiao added on.
The imperial tutor was stunned. He forced a smile and nodded, “That’s right.”
“There’s white qi on your laugh lines. It should be that your descendants have suffered a lot, right?” Xie Qiao asked again.
The imperial tutor’s expression changed significantly, “That’s right. To tell you the truth, Master, this old man’s family had a series of funerals earlier. Most of my descendants are dead. Now… I can finally catch my breath. However, everything is still not going well!
“In my life, I have a total of six sons. They were initially very healthy, but almost 20 years ago, these children left me one after another. Firstly, my Eldest Son died of an illness when he was an official. Then my Second Son was killed by a triggered horse out there! My Third Son was drunk for a day and couldn’t wake up. My Fourth and Fifth Sons are fine now, but they are my illegitimate children… The Youngest Son of my first wife has been doing nothing all this time. He has only been a minor official, and has always lived a careful life. However, his health is lacking, and he often gets sick.”
The youngest son was not no longer young.
“If that’s all, I can bear with it. However, in these years, other than my sons, even my grandsons have not been living very well.
“The Eldest Son’s orphan is already 30 this year. He was originally talented, but his luck was not good enough. Now, he’s working as a minor county magistrate in another city. My Second Son’s orphan is not young either. However, after taking the examinations for so many years, he’s still a graduate under the guidance of a master. Now that the imperial examination is coming up, he should be taking the examination too. Who knew that before he entered the examination hall, his hand was injured, so he can only wait for another three years!
“My Third Son has already lost all of his children, and the two b*stards are doing well. However, the children in the family are a little profligate. My Youngest Grandson… is the child of my Sixth Son, and is considered the most promising one. He’s only 17. A few days ago, for some unknown reason, he suddenly became obsessed with strange things. He even wanted to visit famous mountains and great rivers to look for traces of immortals!”
Imperial Tutor Li was so angry that his entire body was trembling.
Even Xie Qiao could feel the sorrow in the old man’s heart.
He had worked hard all his life to make the family prosper, but who would have thought that before he died of old age, his children and grandchildren would already be dying.
His children were supposed to be flourishing, but half of his sons had died, and only one son remained.
He could be expecting the achievements of his grandsons, but one of them was only a minor official, and the other had failed many times. The last one had hopes of revitalizing the family, but he was deviating from the path.
The old man must be open-minded. That was why he was still alive.