Jinting Han people

After eight years, Liu Xian returned to Luoyang again. He thought he would have many feelings, but when he really came back, he found himself unusually calm.

Because he had come back too many times in his dreams, he had imagined the scene of returning home countless times in his mind, and his passion and emotion were exhausted in these imaginations.

But it was precisely because of these visions that he was able to complete these eight years. When the visions were finally realized, Liu Xian could only think of four words: I did it.

The complexity and grandeur of nature are difficult for humans to fathom, because not only is it difficult to predict the changing nature of reality and the impermanence of others, but it's also difficult to anticipate one's own impermanence. The fixed self of yesterday can be a completely different person from the self of today. Someone willing to sacrifice their life for an ideal can be the same person as someone willing to betray their compatriots and their country; the distance between them may be merely a failure.

Therefore, for a person, the greatest thing he can do in this world is to stick to himself and not be changed by others.

At least now Liu Xian can calmly say to his past self, I did not become a part of impermanence, I did it.

He comforted his wife in his arms and smiled at the stunned Madam Guan. After his companions caught up with him, he bowed and said goodbye to Meng Guan, Meng Ping and others, then called Zhu Fu and Zhuge Yan and headed straight for Luoyang City.

Eight years had passed, and Luoyang City hadn't changed much. Liu Xian could still remember every street, even every tree. Chasing the light and shadows of the past, he passed through Guangyang Gate with familiarity, then detoured from Guangyang Gate to Jinyang Road, and then turned to Dongyang Street. Amid the hustle and bustle, the Luoyang Palace Gate passed by Liu Xian again, along with the bronze camels on Tongtuo Street and the Jiuzhang Temple rising from the palace walls. Everything was so familiar.

Liu Xian stopped here for a while, then left Dongyang Gate, crossed Yangqu from a stone bridge, walked a few hundred steps along the bustling avenue, and turned slightly left, and arrived at the familiar alley.

Passing through Zhang Hua's mansion, and standing between the Guiming Marquis's mansion and the Anle Duke's mansion, Liu Xian gently rocked his wife in his arms and said with a smile, "A'Luo, I'm back."

On the way back, he held Ah Luo in his arms, attracting the attention of passersby. After crying for a while, Ah Luo finally realized that this position was too embarrassing in public, and it was inconvenient to get down, so she had to bury her head in Liu Xian's arms, too embarrassed to face anyone. Only then did she break free from Liu Xian's arms with a blushing face and whispered, "You weren't like this before."

Liu Xian dismounted and carried his wife off the horse. He pointed at the tear stains on her chest and jokingly said, "You weren't like this before."

After laughing, he pulled his wife through the door and into the living room, where he finally saw his family after years of absence. The elders and the younger generations gathered around him to greet him, and Liu Xian smiled and answered each one. In the past, Liu Xian had been his family's hope; now, he had become their pillar.

Since Second Uncle Liu Yao had passed away, the oldest member of the family was Fourth Uncle Liu Zan. He kept everyone quiet and asked, "I heard that the Wannian Rebellion in Guanxi Qi was quelled, and Huai Chong played a great role. What exactly did he accomplish?"

Liu Xian unconsciously stroked the sword at his waist and slowly replied, "My son has not brought disgrace upon our family. He pacified five counties in Guanxi and won four battles. He has been appointed by the court as a fourth-rank general suppressing bandits and is stationed in the capital."

"Oh! Good, good!" Liu Zan's joy was beyond words.

You have to know that a fourth-rank general was practically the highest rank attainable by ordinary non-Jin people in the Jin Dynasty. Even a provincial governor was only a fourth-rank official. Above fourth rank were either the highest officials in the outer court, such as the Nine Ministers, or the highest officials in the inner court, such as the Shangshu and Jianling of the Three Provinces. Then there were the Four Directions Generals, the Central Commander of the Army, and above, the envoys, commanders, and generals. Despite his achievements, Meng Guan was only appointed the Right General, one rank higher than Liu Xian.

It can be said that regardless of whether he has power or not, Liu Xian is a prominent figure in the court.

The family was overjoyed and quickly prepared a banquet. Liu Xian's brothers, including Liu Xuan, Liu Ke, and Liu He, were very curious about his experiences in Guanxi and continued to ask him about the suppression of the rebellion. Liu Xian replied, "There's still a lot of time to go, but I have some urgent matters to attend to. I'll tell you all once I'm done."

What Liu Xian called urgent matters were actually three things.

The first thing, of course, was to visit his seriously ill teacher Chen Shou.

Chen Shou had been suffering from a respiratory disease since the end of the seventh year of the Yuankang reign, and his health had gradually deteriorated. In the eighth year of the Yuankang reign, he also developed a rheumatic disease. Upon learning of this, Ah Luo immediately took Chen Shou to the Anle Mansion. Then, through connections at the Juancheng Mansion, she found a direct disciple of Zhang Zhongjing to treat him. With this, Chen Shou was able to stabilize his condition and hold on until Liu Xian returned.

On the day Liu Xian returned, Chen Shou was sleeping in the backyard wing. As soon as he entered the room, he smelled a strong odor of medicine. He looked closer and saw his teacher lying on the bed, his hair almost gone and his body emaciated. He felt a pang of grief.

He waited for half an hour before Chen Shou slowly woke up.

Chen Shou was surprised and delighted to see Liu Xian beside him. After a cough, he held his student's hand. He had a lot to say but didn't have the strength to speak. Finally, he whispered:

"Huai Chong... now that you're back, I can see you... for the last time. Now I can... die with peace of mind."

After the trip to Qiuchi Mountain, Liu Xian had many things he wanted to ask his teacher, but seeing Chen Shou's expression, he couldn't bear to waste his energy, so he nodded and said with tears in his eyes:

"Teacher, I'm here. I'll always be with you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shou gave him an ugly and forced smile, and soon fell into coma again.

The second thing was to pay homage to my second uncle Liu Yao who passed away last year.

Among all his uncles, the one who treated Liu Xian the best was his second uncle, Liu Yao. Unfortunately, he was exiled and didn't even get to see his second uncle for the last time. Now that he's finally back, as his nephew, it's only right that he burns incense and pays homage to him.

Liu Yao's tomb is not far from his mother Zhang Ximiao's tomb, also on the edge of the mountain. However, Zhang Ximiao's tomb is on the mountain, while Liu Yao's tomb is beside a stream at the foot of the mountain.

Accompanying his second aunt Wang Zhi, Liu Xian went to his second uncle's tomb and wept bitterly. He poured wine at the tomb and knelt down repeatedly to kowtow. At the same time, he gave his second aunt the Congxue Sword and some gold and silver he had with him.

Wang Zhi repeatedly declined, but Liu Xian said, "I wasn't home when my third sister got married, and I wasn't home when my second uncle passed away. This is something I owe you, so please accept it."

After that, he went to visit his mother's grave again.

Eight years later, Zhang Ximiao's grave was still immaculately maintained. The grass around the headstone barely reached her feet, indicating it had been repaired earlier this year. Having sent Wang Zhi home, Liu Xian sat down alone before the tombstone. Leaving his forehead against it, he quietly recounted his experiences over the years to his mother, telling her of his desire to restore the country and hoping she would always be watching over him from the afterlife.

After he finished speaking, Liu Xian felt full of strength.

The third thing that is most urgent is to pay back the money.

During the Chu Rebellion, Liu Xian was imprisoned by Jia Mi. In order to rescue him, Zu Ti searched everywhere and finally found Sima Rong, the King of Liang. He borrowed money from all his friends and used up all his wife's dowry. Only then did he barely scrape together 20,000 gold and buy his life back.

This huge favor, of course, could not be repaid simply by paying it back, but it also did not mean that he would not pay it back. During his years in Guanxi, Liu Xian was also troubled by how to repay the debt. Fortunately, when he was the county magistrate of Xiayang, he first extorted 10,000 gold from Sun Xiu, and later was ordered to pacify the Li and Yang families, and successively accepted bribes of 8,000 gold. In addition, there were some scattered business incomes, which almost reached 20,000 gold.

But in fact, Liu Xian didn't bring back that much.

Firstly, during the Haosan Rebellion, Liu Xian had received news of Afule's rebellion in advance and, in order to avoid famine, he had secretly purchased a large amount of grain. Secondly, during the great famine of the seventh year of Yuankang, Liu Xian also secretly paid a lot of money himself, almost spending all the 10,000 gold given by Sun Xiu.

Fortunately, Xiayang had been spared from the war for the past four or five years, becoming the last remaining safe haven in Guanzhong. Furthermore, its location at the crucial Longmen Ferry crossing on the trade route allowed it to maintain continuous trade with Guandong and Shuofang. Through commercial taxes and land sales alone, it earned over five thousand gold. Xi'an withdrew this money and had Liu Xian take it back to Luoyang. While Liu Xian still couldn't afford his wife's dowry, he could at least repay the loans he had made to his friends.

But then again, when it came time to pay the money back, Liu Xian was shocked to find that he didn't even have a specific list of the money he had borrowed. After all, when the incident happened, Zu Ti had borrowed the money himself, and he hadn't even let A Luo handle it.

Liu Xian had no choice but to ask A Luo how Zu Ti was doing.

Ah Luo told him, "Zujun is now a servant in Prince Qi's palace, and he's doing very well!"

After helping Liu Xian escape prison, Zu Ti's reputation soared in the capital. Although his actions had offended many in the Hou Clan, and the court had no intention of appointing him, the imperial princes, impressed upon him their loyalty, wisdom, and courage, making him a truly rare talent. Consequently, thirteen imperial princes, including the King of Qi, the King of Hejian, the King of Qinghe, the King of Longxi, and the King of Huainan, all extended olive branches to Zu Ti, hoping that he would join their courts and serve them.

Among these princes, some were of high rank, some were renowned for their virtue, or some were close relatives of the emperor. After careful consideration, Zu Ti decided that Prince of Qi, Sima Jiong, held the greatest potential, and so he joined his court as a retainer. Over the years, he had used his association of knights in Luoyang to privately recruit prominent figures from the common people for Sima Jiong, and he also took the initiative in officialdom, engaging in heated debates with the empress's followers, which he found immensely enjoyable.

Jia Mi and others regarded him as a thorn in their side. Shi Chong had planned to assassinate him several times, but Zu Ti managed to escape every time. Now he is recognized as one of the capable generals under the King of Qi.

Zu Ti no longer lived in the West Market. To cultivate his reputation and expand his network, he had moved to the south of the city, near the Imperial College. When Liu Xian visited him, he was unsure of the elegant decor of his residence. The walls were covered in calligraphy, each a true masterpiece of famous figures from past dynasties. Examples included Zhong Hui's copy of "The Goddess of the Luo River," Ruan Ji's "Ode to the Macaque," and Ji Kang's "On the Courage to Wisdom."

What made Liu Xian laugh and cry the most was that he even saw Lu Ji's "Ode to a Hundred Years". It seemed that Zu Ti's pretentiousness did not distinguish between ancient and modern times.

When I saw Zu Ti again, he was wearing a blue Confucian robe, a feather fan and a scarf, a sword at his waist, and wooden clogs, looking out of place.

When Liu Xian met him, he teased him, saying, "Shizhi, I only heard that Zhongjun volunteered to give up his pen to join the army. Why did you come here the other way around? Don't you want to make any contribution?"

Zu Ti rolled his eyes and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm just dressing up, waiting for the day when I can rise to the top and become the concubine of a noble man!"

The two men then burst into laughter, hugged each other and exchanged greetings. After a brief exchange, Liu Xian told Zu Ti the purpose of his visit and asked for the list of loans made that year.

Zu Ti said: "Just give me the money directly. I have helped you pay off all your debts over the years."

Liu Xian was shocked when he heard this and immediately asked what was going on.

It turned out that in the past eight years, Zu Ti believed that he had borrowed the money himself and it had nothing to do with Liu Xian. Given his temperament, he was not used to owing others things, and Liu Xian was far away in Guanxi, so he simply raised some money himself and paid it back every year.

He used the name of the Prince of Qi's mansion to make money everywhere, cheating, accepting bribes, and robbing people. He did everything he could to get money. He was able to make two thousand gold coins every year. In this way, Zu Ti paid off all the debts for Liu Xian two years ago.

He said to Liu Xian, "I know you will pay it back. Don't worry about it. It's just a small amount of gold and silver. This is what friends do."

After hearing Zu Ti's words, Liu Xian was at a loss for words. How much is a friend worth? The standard answer should be priceless. People say it's immeasurable, but often it's worthless.

"If you become rich and powerful, don't forget your friends." I don't know how many people have uttered this phrase, but there's also a saying: "It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it's difficult to go from extravagance to frugality." People despise wealth and power primarily because they haven't truly enjoyed them. But once they've experienced them, things change. Thus, when poor, many people don't care about wealth, but when they become wealthy, they become stingy and unwilling to share. Therefore, those who truly understand what wealth and power are like and yet are able to forsake them are truly the minority.

Liu Xian now knew what an amazing friend he had made, and he couldn't help but sigh:

"It is my great honor to have met Shi Zhi."

Zu Ti jokingly said, "You mean you're going to pay me back in your next life?"

Joking aside, the two chatted for a while, and Zu Ti said, "You must have just returned recently, so you should stay home and spend more time with your family. When you have some free time in a few days, we will invite all our friends over and hold a welcome banquet for you."

Liu Xian smiled and nodded, then rode back to Anle Mansion. After a while, it was late at night, and his wife had fallen into a deep sleep beside him. Looking at Ah Luo's sleeping face and listening to her breathing, Liu Xian's heart felt as clear as the sky after rain.

He thought: Although things may not be going smoothly at home, and the future may not be smooth, here, I know who I am and why I exist. This is probably the feeling of peace of mind. (End of this chapter)