I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 630 Sixteen Years (Ending, some extra chapters will be written later)
"I have heard that the small hermits hide in the wild, the middle hermits hide in the city, and the great hermits hide in the court, but I didn't expect that the historian has always been in Jingzhao."

Hearing what his imperial student said, Shi Zimiao smiled awkwardly: "I don't deserve the title of historian. I am used to the life of an idle wanderer. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

A few years ago, he had heard that the emperor had issued an imperial edict to look for him. At that time, he was already a guest of Jingzhao Yin Tao Qian. However, he never showed up in front of the emperor, and was eventually found by the Ministry of Education.

Although he had been the emperor for thirteen years, Liu Bian had been restraining himself so as not to become a willful tyrant. He certainly would not be angry at Shi Zimiao's behavior, but... since he had fallen into his hands, he could not escape!

"How long has it been since I last saw the historian? I guess it's been sixteen years. Time flies!"

Shi Zimiao was not surprised to hear this. He was well aware of the time and corrected her, "There is still half a month left until the sixteenth year... When we parted, the mountain man's hair and beard were still black, but now they are already gray."

"Yes, it's been sixteen years." Liu Bian suddenly felt emotional, thinking of when he first traveled through time, he was ignorant and bewildered... Looking back today, it seems like just a blink of an eye.

During these sixteen years, starting from Shi Zimiao's home, many people came into his life, and he also influenced more people.

Some have passed away, while others are still young and continue to struggle with hope and ideals...

Suddenly, Liu Bian, who was distracted for a rare time, came back to his senses and saw Shi Zimiao waiting for him to speak.

He didn't hesitate to ask directly, "The historian should know that the people of the world all think that the historian is a god, right?"

Shi Zimiao smiled awkwardly again and explained, "These are just nonsense from ignorant mortals. In fact, it is all because of your majesty's benevolence and grace to the people. They praise me only because they respect and love your majesty."

He had to admit that he was not as at ease in front of the emperor as he was in front of the Jingzhao officials, and was even more incomparable with the emperor who was still a child sixteen years ago.

Liu Bian chuckled: "Why should we be so distant from each other? It's just that the people know that I grew up among the people and my style of doing things is completely different from the emperors of the past generations. So they think that I must have received help from gods and people among the people, otherwise how could I save the Han Dynasty from decline?"

"Your Majesty is a genius." Shi Zimiao bowed.

Liu Bian did not dwell on Shi Zimiao's statement, but said: "Since the historian said that he became famous because of me, then I will accept it. I think thousands of years later, people may still say that the historian is a god who has descended to earth! But since the historian has accepted my favor, I have a small matter that I would like the historian to help me with. I wonder if the historian is willing to help me?"

"May I ask what's the matter?" Shi Zimiao couldn't help but complain in his heart. How could he refuse? However, if it was really a difficult matter, should he just get sick?

"It's not a difficult task. I know that the historian is eloquent and good at Taoist scriptures, but doesn't the historian think that there are too few Taoist stories circulating nowadays? In fact, I have heard of a few examples, and not all of them are about Taoism..."

After a long time, Shi Zimiao felt that his head was becoming dizzy. What about Erlang Shen splitting the mountain to save his mother, a monkey named Sun Wukong actually made trouble in the Heavenly Palace, but fortunately he didn't break into the Lingxiao Palace of the Emperor of Heaven... Wait, what on earth was he thankful for!

Finally, seeing that Liu Bian was tired of speaking, Shi Zimiao also breathed a sigh of relief.

However, not long after, Shi Zimiao saw that Liu Bian was interested again. Just as he was hesitating whether to tell the emperor that he was old and confused, he suddenly heard Liu Bian say: "Come to think of it, Shi Shi hasn't been to the old house for sixteen years, right?"

"Your Majesty, do you wish to return to your hometown?"

Liu Bian hesitated slightly...that was where he came from, and where he stayed for the first half month.

"Let's go for a walk. I haven't been there for many years."

After a while, many people appeared again in a courtyard that had been idle for many years. However, it seemed that someone was taking care of it, and the courtyard was not messy. However, when I opened the door, I found that there was a layer of dust inside.

Seeing this, Liu Bian no longer had the desire to revisit his old place. He cherished his current life anyway.

Just behind the courtyard, Liu Bian said to Shi Zimiao with his hands behind his back: "Master historian, you know that there are Hu and Yi people in the southeast, northwest and northeast of Luoyang... But when it comes to education, the classics are profound and are far less easy to spread than these stories."

"Master historian, tell me, if one day, these Hu Yi people all believe that Nuwa, Fuxi, and Dayu are their ancestors, can they still be called Hu Yi?"

After saying this, Liu Bian did not wait for Shi Zimiao to answer, and continued: "In fact, I originally thought of just borrowing the historian's name and having my own ghostwriter, but then I changed my mind and decided to inform the historian. If the historian is willing to do this, I thank you for your hard work. If you are not willing, I will not blame you. Of course, I still have to borrow the name."

After listening to this, Shi Zimiao smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty has said everything. What else can a country boy like me say? In fact, I have seen and heard a lot over the years that I can tell you about."

After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.

As for the past, who cares?

Just wait and see tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)