Jinting Han people

Chapter 48: Legend of the Rich (4k, please order first)

Li Mi's illness broke out so suddenly that it caught people off guard.

Although Liu Xian knew he was ill from his complexion, he had observed Li Mi's erratic behavior and thought it was just a minor ailment common to the elderly, one that wouldn't affect their daily lives. Unexpectedly, the illness erupted at this moment, and he vomited blood and fell into a coma.

Fortunately, Liu Xian had suffered from heatstroke before, and the doctor he invited stayed at home and gave Li Mi emergency treatment, barely saving him.

"This gentleman's liver disease is already serious, affecting his lungs, but it's only flaring up now. I'm giving him some Yinchenhao decoction. He won't be seriously ill in the short term, but in the long run, he'll be dead within a year or two."

Liu Xian was extremely surprised to hear the doctor say such words.

He hadn't had a deep relationship with his new teacher, and even harbored some resentment. But he also had a vague sense that this mountain man, with his noble airs and profound knowledge, had been willing to spend time teaching him. He had no family by his side, and he lived in seclusion. He must have been a former official of Shu Han, with deep ties to his family. Now, learning that he had a terminal illness, Liu Xian was overcome with mixed emotions, at a loss for words, and could only instruct his servants to serve him well.

Once Li Mi fell ill, there were no evening classes, which made Liu Xian feel a little helpless. He saw the moonlight outside the window, so he walked alone to the canal to enjoy the breeze.

Because of the drought, the water level in the canal was low, thin, but still somewhat damp. Liu Xian stood beneath a willow tree and heard the croaking of frogs at the bottom of the canal. He was silent for a moment, pondering the words and intentions of his new teacher.

He had originally believed his teacher's words, thinking that the old man had been invited by Chen Shou to come and train the hermits of his homeland. But now it seemed that this was probably not the case.

"He was dying, but he left his family to stay with me. He must have had deep feelings for me, or he had great expectations of me."

Liu Xian's mind quickly touched upon the core of the problem, but no matter which one it was, he was somewhat bewildered, because after this period of time together, he had not formed any deep feelings for Li Mi, because neither side was sincere. And now thinking about it, the old man's arrangement was quite absurd. He had disappeared before, and now he was dying of illness, yet he came to find him. What was the point? He could not witness anything. There was only one possibility for doing this:
"He wants to make up for some regrets in his life or eliminate some guilt from the past."

This thought struck Liu Xian as somewhat cruel. When faced with regret, one is helpless and can only place hope in the hands of others. But that hope is doomed to be illusory, even irreversible. His own burdens are already heavy enough, and carrying the weight of his mother, family, clansmen, friends, and in-laws is often a source of uncertainty. How can he bear the pressure of even more people?
"I have done my best by helping him complete this final journey."

With this in mind, Liu Xian decided to return to his room to rest. However, even after making this decision, he found it difficult to fall asleep. Li Mi's face kept appearing in his mind. He kept vomiting blood and recounting the regrets of the fall of Shu Han, but he couldn't listen. Soon, the blood-vomiting Li Mi became his mother. Zhang Ximiao's uncontrollable sobbing deeply shocked Liu Xian, and he too became saddened and wanted to cry.

In the dream, his mother said she hated the world and resented everyone in it. After she said this, Liu Xian began to hate the world as well. In this state of hatred, he repeatedly imagined all sorts of unreasonable things in the world, and gradually became furious.

When he heard his mother talking about the chaos in Chengdu that night and how she was killed, a group of children's voices suddenly rang in his ears, calling him "Duke Anle, Duke Wangguo". He looked up, but there was nothing. He looked down again, but his mother was gone. Instead, there were many skinny little Mei crying. Liu Xian was shaking with anger and finally said angrily:

"Okay, stop crying! I'm going to change this!"

“How to change!”

"I want to restore my country!"

In his dream, he spoke with such heroic spirit that he had no warning. At that moment, he suddenly opened his eyes. It was already daybreak, and outside he could hear birdsong.

Liu Xian lifted the cold quilt and stroked his forehead with one hand. Everything in the dream was still vivid in his mind, and his mother's crying face in the dream still appeared clearly before his eyes.

"Restore the country..." He closed his eyes and called softly. An incredible and soft sadness swept over his body. He felt that the self in the dream was very ridiculous and what he said made no sense, but he wanted to cry for no reason.

Restoration of the country, this is a word I have never thought of, but I don’t know when, it has been contained in my dreams.

"It was just a dream..." he muttered, then went down to the attic for breakfast and his usual morning lessons: two quarters of an hour drawing the bow, a quarter of an hour practicing swordplay, and a quarter of an hour reciting his lessons. Then he picked up his hoe and shoulder pole and headed out to the fields.

When he habitually stopped in the field, it suddenly occurred to him that without Li Mi by his side today, he could actually slack off and stop doing these meaningless things. But looking at the lush crops that he had worked on for half a year, now waist-high, he still felt reluctant to leave. After thinking for a while, he took off his shirt as usual, went to the canal to scoop water, and then carried the bucket to the field to irrigate.

In silence, the whole morning passed. Xiaomei came to bring him food as usual. Seeing that only Liu Xian was there, she asked worriedly, "I heard that the old man vomited blood. Is he okay? Is there anything serious?"

Liu Xian sighed, "A Tian and the others are taking care of him! The doctor said there won't be any serious problems in the short term."

Xiaomei was very worried when she heard this and whispered, "Are you really alright? When I was six years old, my grandfather also vomited blood. After only three days, his whole body was stiff."

Liu Xian knew it was a very sad scene, so he consoled her by saying, "Good fortune will come naturally to those who are lucky. Many things are beyond our control." He then added, "You didn't eat enough today, did you? Hey, we prepared food for three people at home, and there are only two of us here. Eat more, and take any leftovers home."

His original intention was just general sympathy, but unexpectedly, Xiaomei burst into tears after hearing this, leaving Liu Xian at a loss. It took him a long time to soothe her tears. Then he heard her sobbing, "Young Master is so kind. It reminds me of my sister..."

Six years earlier, the He family's elder had fallen seriously ill, but the famine had ravaged the family, leaving them without even half a month's worth of food. How could they possibly afford a funeral? Xiaomei's father, He Cheng, had no other options. After discussing matters with his family, he went to the Luoyang market and sold his eleven-year-old daughter as a slave to a wealthy family. Only then did he have enough money to bury the elder and to secure food, helping him to weather the difficult times.

Although they never met again, Xiaomei still missed her sister terribly. She told Liu Xian, "Back then, there was no food at home and we could only have porridge. Seeing I was young, my sister took me out to dig for wild vegetables. She also went to the river and fished for a long time. She caught three small peach blossom fish and then made a bowl of soup for me..."

Listening to Xiaomei's description, Liu Xian nodded and praised: "She is indeed a good sister."

As they were talking, a sound came from the paths in the fields. Liu Xian was very familiar with it. It was the sound of horse hooves.

He looked up at the source of the sound and saw a young man in brocade clothes galloping towards him. The horse was as powerful as a tiger, and even the stones it passed by trembled slightly at its pace. When it stopped in front of Liu Xian, it was like a wall of air pressing down on him, causing Liu Xian to breathe. Xiaomei was so frightened that she hid behind him, not daring to look him in the eye.

But when Liu Xian saw the young man on the horse clearly, he smiled and took two steps forward and said with a smile: "Ha, Xi Nu, how can you get a good horse?"

The young man on the horse jumped off, revealing a magnificent and magnificent military uniform. It was Shi Chao. Over the years, he had grown taller, now a dashing young man over seven feet tall, with a long sword at his waist. He bumped chests with Liu Xian and proudly said, "This is the Xianbei Black Dragon Horse my sixth uncle brought from Daibei. I asked him for it. Look, Biji, isn't it majestic?" Liu Xian laughed and said, "More than majestic, the legendary Ferghana horse is no more than this!"

"I'm just ordinary. How dare I compare myself to a Ferghana horse!" Shi Chao laughed heartily upon hearing his friend's praise. Then he looked around and asked curiously, "Why are you the only one here? Where's your teacher?"

After his mourning period ended and before becoming Li Mi's apprentice, Liu Xian and Shi Chao often went hunting in Wan'an Mountain, never stopping day or night, enjoying themselves. But after becoming Li Mi's apprentice, Liu Xian devoted himself to farming, and those good times were gone. Shi Chao secretly resented this, believing that this mountain dweller was looking for trouble, and thus gradually came to Dongwu less and less, which was a major reason why Liu Xian disliked Li Mi. Now, after hunting, Shi Chao would usually take a detour to visit Liu Xian, and today was no exception.

When Shi Chao heard that Li Mi was seriously ill and bedridden, he laughed out loud and clapped his hands, saying, "I always say that evil will be punished. That old man has a miserable face all day long, as if everyone owes him a debt. He deserves to be punished by heaven."

This was a very rude remark. Xiaomei snorted coldly, and Liu Xian was also embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.

Fortunately, Shi Chao pretended Xiaomei didn't exist and simply passed over the topic. He then asked, "So, you have nothing to do now?"

Liu Xian didn't know what he meant, and for a moment he said hesitantly: "Probably..."

Shi Chao pulled him over and said dissatisfiedly, "What do you mean by 'probably'? Didn't the old man die? Who cares about you? If you have time, you have time."

Liu Xian asked him, "What are you doing? Didn't you just come back from hunting? Are you taking me with you again?"

Shi Chao said, "Hey, isn't this the horse I borrowed from Uncle Six? I have to return it to him, so I'm going to his private residence later. If you're free, I can take you there."

"What are you doing there?"

"I'll take you there to broaden your horizons." Shi Chao stroked the majestic Black Dragon Horse beside him and said with a proud smile, "Why, haven't you heard of Shi Chong's Golden Valley Garden?"

"Are you talking about Zize's Jingu Garden?" Liu Xian suddenly realized.

"Of course!"

If we talk about the two most famous people in Luoyang during this period, they were neither in the literary world, nor in the political world, nor in the military world. They were Wang Kai and Shi Chong.

One of these two men was the younger brother of the late Empress Wenming, Wang Yuanji, and the other was the illegitimate son of Shi Bao, Duke of Leling. Although they were of noble birth, they held little power. Logically, they should have stayed out of the public eye, content to live as idle and wealthy individuals. But what was unexpected was that these two men resorted to a savage competition over wealth and status.

Living a luxurious life is simple: simply spending more money. But how to spend it in a way that is pleasing, unique, and refreshing is a much deeper art. The most vulgar way is to replace everything with gold, creating a magnificent spectacle. However, this is not only unrefined, but also lacks practical use, and is difficult to acquire in large quantities, making it the most impractical approach.

It's unclear who started the wealth competition, but there's no doubt both parties enjoyed it. By the time everyone knew what was going on, Wang Kaigong was already using sugar water to rinse the pot, while Shi Liulang was cooking by candlelight.

Later, Wang Kai, through business, obtained a forty-li-long purple silk barrier from Qingzhou, large enough to encircle the entire city of Luoyang. Not to be outdone, Shi Chong urgently dispatched a fifty-li-long brocade barrier from Shu, large enough to encircle the entire Wan'an Mountain.

Wang Kai, ingeniously, bought thirty shi of red ochre in Bingzhou and painted the entire palace a vibrant red. Shi Chong followed suit, purchasing fifty shi of Sichuan peppercorn in southern Hunan, grinding it into powder and painting the walls with it, the fragrance permeating the area for three miles.

By now, the two of them were riding on the bullock cart again.

Logically speaking, the speed of an oxcart is far slower than that of a horsecart, but the more this is the case, the more one can see the essence of the competition for wealth.

Wang Kai's ox was called Babaili, claiming to be able to gallop eight hundred miles in a day and a night. Shi Chong's ox was simply called Baochitu, meaning, as the name suggests, even more precious than Lü Bu's former mount, Chitu. The two families often went on outings, and bystanders were unaware of their quests. Suddenly, they would see two carts, each whipping its oxen into a frenzy, each chasing the other down the highway at lightning speed. Often, as they accelerated around a corner, pedestrians would see only the fleeting shadows of the carts, leaving only dust in their wake.

The scale and bizarre nature of the two men's competition for wealth was so immense that even Liu Xian, who was working the land in Dongwu, had heard about it. He also heard that Shi Chong had recently acquired a thousand acres of land, twenty-seven miles northeast of the capital, near the Jingu Cave in Mangshan, and had converted it into a manor house. He had carved rocks to create waterways, dug lakes and ponds, and built pavilions and towers of varying heights, earning it the nickname "Zize." Rumors spread throughout the capital that the Jingu Garden rivaled the imperial family in splendor, surpassing even its elegance.

Liu Xian had initially thought it was a joke told by an ignorant person. After all, flaunting one's wealth to such an extent was illogical, both in conduct and conduct. Shi Chong, a descendant of a prominent family, wouldn't have done such a thing, so he had simply laughed it off. Unexpectedly, Shi Chao's words today didn't seem like empty talk.

Should he go or not? Liu Xian hesitated. In his heart, he was leaning towards not going. After all, Li Mi was seriously ill. Even if he didn't like his teacher, he had to consider the etiquette of a disciple. So he said, "Would it be too presumptuous for me to go without an invitation..."

Shi Chao said impatiently: "What's so presumptuous? I'm his nephew, you're my friend, I'm taking you there, you're not an outsider."

Liu Xian wanted to find another reason to decline, but unexpectedly, Xiaomei behind him suddenly tugged at his sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Is this young master from the Shi family?"

Liu Xian didn't understand, but he nodded in agreement. Xiaomei suddenly became excited and said, "Sir, can you take me there? I remember my sister was sold to the Shi family. I want to see her..."

Sold to the Shi family? Liu Xian was stunned for a moment, then understood. Shi Chong was so competitive in wealth that it was natural for him to buy more slaves. He just didn't expect that they would be sold to his own tenants by such a coincidence.

But Shi Chao obviously wouldn't let him take Xiaomei with him. Liu Xian thought for a moment and came up with a plan. He asked Xiaomei, "What's your sister's name?"

"He Qing."

"It's inconvenient for you to go." Liu Xian pinched Xiaomei's bitter face and comforted her, "But I will look for her. If she is not doing well, I will bring her back."

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(End of this chapter)