Igniting the Spark - Chapter 29

His gaze was clear, laying all his thoughts bare beneath the daylight, allowing me to discern them at will.

I looked at his face, and it seemed just the same as when I first saw him in the academy.

A graceful young man.

For a moment, I almost felt my heart stir.

I let out a long sigh in my heart.

I took a step back.

“I am but a humble woman, skilled only in teaching. I am willing to do my utmost to help Your Majesty seek out talent.”

I lowered my head in salute, but caught a glimpse of his hand trembling slightly.

He was silent for a long time.

But in the end, he calmed himself.

“Very well.”

I left the palace with the Palace Attendants. When I reached the outer wall, I couldn’t help but look back.

Pei Yi was still standing atop the city wall.

He stood above all others.

A little desolate, and a little out of reach.

I looked away and left the palace.

There were a few words I hadn’t said to him just now.

To achieve the flourishing era we dream of, one cannot rely on imperial power, nor on a few lofty imperial edicts.

Nor can it be accomplished simply by enlightening the people or emphasizing science.

It will require a thorough, bottom-up transformation.

There was no further news about the case concerning my mother and me, and the two of us returned to the Cheng Residence.

But the way people around us looked at my mother and me had changed.

Until an imperial edict arrived at our residence, affirming my father’s merits in supporting the emperor, and promoting him to Cavalry General.

In the edict, my mother and I were praised for our loyalty, courage, and discernment.

With those four words, no one in the world dared to bring up the matter of our detention ever again.