Jinting Han people

Chapter 96: The Intelligent Grandson (4k)

Liu Xian made the decision to transfer to become the attendant of Prince Guangling after careful consideration.

After receiving Chen Shou's advice, Liu Xian had already decided to join the factional struggle. However, as someone who had long been on the fringes of Sima Wei's group, Liu Xian, despite his good relationships, struggled to gain sufficient attention. To ensure Jia Mi would not dare to act rashly against him in the future, Liu Xian had to become an indispensable figure in Sima Wei's faction.

If Liu Xian continued to advise Sima Wei according to common sense, he would be in a difficult position and would have a hard time standing out among the palace staff. Furthermore, if he simply served as a counselor, he would easily be looked down upon by Sima Wei. Leaders often disregarded the advice of their counselors, a common occurrence throughout dynasties.

So Liu Xian decided to find another way out and find himself a position that was key but not envied by others, and a position that was not high but not despised by others.

He was quite worried during this period because he had no idea what to do.

But when he vaguely heard that the emperor was planning to distribute fiefs on a large scale, he had a flash of inspiration and realized that the position of Guangling Wang's attendant was the most suitable one.

Under the background of the world's order to divide the land into fiefdoms, the kings had to leave the capital and establish their own fiefdoms, and Sima Wei was no exception.

However, after leaving the capital, the vassal kings needed to maintain their influence in Luoyang. If Liu Xian could serve as the attendant of the Prince of Guangling, he could represent Sima Wei and directly contact the future crown prince, thus directly participating in the latest turmoil in the court. This was something Sima Wei could not refuse.

For Liu Xian, securing this position would not only secure him a clear position within Sima Wei's faction, but also allow him to close ranks with Sima Yi, Prince of Guangling, and use the future crown prince as his second supporter. This would allow him to have the best of both worlds, allowing him to attack or defend in the factional struggle.

Moreover, Liu Xian was now a Zuo Zuo Lang, a sixth-rank official, the same rank as Guangling Wang Sheren. It happened that his one-year internship had just ended, so his promotion was legitimate and others could not find any fault with him. People from Sima Wei's faction would also easily arouse suspicion.

Therefore, after Liu Xian recommended himself, he immediately obtained Sima Wei's consent.

After the meeting, Sima Wei left Liu Xian alone and said to him earnestly, "Huai Chong, throughout history, the most difficult matters to resolve are the family affairs of emperors. I feel deeply ashamed that someone like you, who is naturally suited to be a hermit, is forced to get involved!"

Liu Xian said, "No, no, Your Highness and I have trusted each other with life and death. We rise and fall together. Why should I feel guilty?"

"No need for such politeness!" Sima Wei looked around and whispered to Liu Xian, "I know you're doing this because you're wary of Jia Changyuan. Don't worry, I'll be honest with you. The crimes of Jia and the Crown Princess are beyond the reach of Heaven. Once I accomplish my great cause, I will destroy them!"

"You should work hard at Shamen Mansion. I'll have Meng Guan and the others stay with the Imperial Guards. If there's any news from the court, you two should discuss it among yourselves and send me a letter immediately."

Sima Wei's words were very clever. They not only encouraged and affirmed Liu Xian, but also contained a hidden warning to Liu Xian: he understood Liu Xian's concerns and valued Liu Xian very much, but Liu Xian also had to do his best for him. If Meng Guan and others discovered his disloyalty, the consequences would be even worse than Jia Mi's attack.

Liu Xian, of course, understood Sima Wei's implication. Having already stepped into this complex vortex, he had naturally prepared himself for the consequences. Therefore, he calmly replied, "I will definitely obey your orders!"

By October, all the procedures for enfeoffment had been completed. Sima Wei's operation was also very successful. On the second day after Sima Yi officially left the palace and moved into the Guangling Palace, Liu Xian received a notice from the court, asking him to go to the Shaofu to exchange his seal and transfer to the Guangling Palace.

Aside from the different inscriptions beneath the copper seal, the seal and ribbon of the Guangling Prince's Sheren were identical to those of the Zuozhulang (Zhuzulang), a common copper seal with an inked ribbon. However, as the Guangling Prince had just ascended to power, the copper seal was newly minted, possessing a golden sheen, with scant traces of rust and a jade-soft feel to the touch, all of which underscored the extraordinary nature of the new official position.

Liu Xian had been waiting for this day for too long. He received the seal and official certificate, said goodbye to his colleagues in the Secretariat one by one, and then rushed to the Guangling Palace while it was still early.

The Guangling Prince's Palace was located in the southeast corner of Luoyang, next to the Dongyang Gate. Two miles to the north was the East Palace, and two miles to the east was the Anle Palace. Geographically speaking, Liu Xian's commute to work would become even more convenient.

After riding for half a minute, Liu Xian arrived at the Guangling Palace. In front of the palace gate was a wide main road with people coming and going, which was very lively. However, inside the open palace gate, it was relatively quiet. Apart from a few guards at the door, one could only see a few tall hazel trees, and vaguely saw a few crows standing on the branches, croaking.

The guard at the door saw Liu Xian riding a fine horse with a black seal on his waist. He immediately guessed Liu Xian's identity and stepped forward to ask, "Excuse me, are you..."

Liu Xian took out his name card and handed it to the guard for examination. After reading it, the guard bowed and said with a smile, "You are here early, my lord. His Highness just moved out of the palace today, and you are here now."

"Your Highness is the lifeblood of the nation and the hope of the people. I dare not fail to come soon!"

This statement clearly hit the spot for the guard. Even though he was just a guard, it was hard not to feel proud of his master: "Yes, in the final analysis, this world belongs to His Highness. Gentlemen, please assist him carefully. Only in this way can the Great Jin prosper!"

Liu Xian smiled and nodded, then said goodbye to the guards and officially stepped into the palace.

Since it was a newly built mansion and hadn't been fully staffed, it seemed rather empty. However, when Liu Xian went to the stables to tie up his horses, he found several fine horses munching on beans in the trough.

It can be seen that the other servants and literary officials in the mansion have also arrived. It is time to meet the new colleagues and new master.

Sure enough, just as he left the stable, a tall man approached. He was dressed in a goose-yellow military uniform, with a sharp expression on his face. He had a sword at his waist and a neat white scarf wrapped around his head. He addressed Liu Xian directly, "You must be Liu Xian, right? I'm Wang Dun, courtesy name Chuzhong."

"You and I are both servants in the palace. His Highness heard that you have arrived and is calling you over."

"Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!" Liu Xian nodded. He was quite surprised when he saw Wang Dun dressed in a warrior's attire.

When he was studying with Mr. Ruan, he went out to participate in several discussions and met Wang Dun twice.

Wang Dun was born into the Wang family of Langya. It is said that in this generation, the Wang family of Langya produced eight geniuses, who were known as the "Eight Kings". Among them was Wang Rong, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, and Wang Yan, the current Shangshu Zuo Pushe. Wang Dun was also one of them.

However, he has not done anything extraordinary yet. He is praised mainly because he married Princess Xiangcheng and was a newly promoted imperial concubine in the court.

When Liu Xian met Wang Dun before, he was always dressed in Confucian robes. He looked ordinary and nothing special. But now, in his military uniform, he looked extraordinary and heroic, which gave Liu Xian a refreshing feeling.

"From today on, we are colleagues," Wang Dun said, but his eyes were not on Liu Xian. "I heard Boren mention you. Please take good care of me."

Zhou Xi and Wang Dun were good friends, and Liu Xian knew this. However, unlike the friendly Zhou Xi, Wang Dun seemed to do his own thing and didn't seem to care about other people's opinions.

Seeing that he didn't want to make close friends, Liu Xian was happy to keep his distance. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he didn't talk about anything else.

Wang Dun led the way, passing the main courtyard, then directly past an ancestral hall, and then to the side courtyard built in the style of a scholar's academy. It was planted with crabapple trees on both sides, and there were some chrysanthemums on the ground. Not far away, some guards could be seen and some faint singing could be heard.

Wang Dun pushed open the door, nodded to the guards on both sides, and then pushed the door open again. Then the singing came out. Liu Xian recognized it as "Thinking of You in the Past" written by Fu Xuanxin in recent years. The lyrics were:
"In the past, you and I were like shadows, but now we are like clouds and rain.

In the past, you and I had harmonious sounds, now you and I are like falling leaves from branches.

In the past, you and I were as close as gold and stone, but now we are as extinguished as stars and separated from each other."

The sound of singing drifted in, and the room's furnishings and decorations were newly renovated. Three landscape scrolls hung on each wall, and the room also contained incense and flower stands, both inlaid with intricate mother-of-pearl. Sunlight streamed in through the window of the study on the right, illuminating a folding screen depicting several maids.

In the front sat a boy of about eleven or twelve and two elegant scholars. At the top was an elderly scholar with white hair and beard, while the other one looked to be in his forties.

In the center of the hall were five beautiful girls, one singing, one playing the flute, and three dancing. When Liu Xian followed Wang Dun in, the girls didn't stop, continuing their performance as if no one was around.

After Liu Xian took his place at the side table, Wang Dun reported to the young man in front of him. He was clearly the current emperor's grandson, Sima Yi, Prince of Guangling. "Are you the Prince of Anle?" Sima Yi looked at Liu Xian unscrupulously.

After looking at her for a while, he waved to the maid beside him and said with a smile, "You are good-looking. Come, I will reward you with a glass of mead."

Unexpectedly, the elder scholar waved his hand, stopping the King of Guangling and admonishing him hoarsely, "Your Highness, please do not judge people by their appearance, and do not give rewards arbitrarily. The way to be a king is to be cautious. You should think carefully about everything and not just consider your personal likes and dislikes."

"Also, since you are meeting with the subjects, you must be respectful and sincere, and especially stop singing and dancing."

Having said this, he lowered his head and said to the beauties behind him: "Your Highness has official business to discuss, you can go down first."

"Ah... yes."

After the dancers left, the old man turned to Liu Xian and said, "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Liu Shi, the prince's tutor, and this is Yang Zhun, the literary scholar in the palace."

Liu Xian quickly saluted the two of them.

Liu Shi, he knew, was an old man who had been alive since the founding of the Cao Wei Empire. Now seventy years old, he had lived through the reigns of Emperor Ming of Wei, Sima Yi, Sima Shi, and Sima Zhao, having served under Sima Zhao as a military officer. He was considered a veteran of five dynasties and was highly respected.

Yang Zhun was a prominent scholar of the Mesozoic era, on par with Ji Shao and Shan Jian. He had served in both the Secretariat and the Chancellery, and was deeply trusted by the emperor. Everyone said he would become Chancellor, but he was unexpectedly transferred to the Guangling Palace.

But Sima Yi was not impressed by these rules. He said, "Teacher, no matter what, it's just a glass of honey wine."

Liu Shi refused to let him give it to Liu Xian, so Sima Yi simply raised the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

After finishing his drink, he suddenly stood up and took a step forward, startling everyone present. Then, Prince Guangling swung his fan and sang: "The great road is long and flat, the difficult road is narrow and short. No low place to rest, no place to walk. Unfold my wings, and stretch my feet a thousand miles..."

He began to sing in his young, manly voice.

"Well, Your Highness, how can you be considered a ruler if you are like this?" Although he raised his hand to criticize, Liu Shi had a smile on his face.

"Old man, you don't like this poem?" The young man stopped and said to Liu Xian, "Come to think of it, I heard you're a good writer. Are you here to write for me?"

"I am not very talented. I know a little about literature, but I am not a scholar of the mansion," Liu Xian replied. He had a strange feeling: this grandson of the emperor was very opinionated. Perhaps he would not be able to influence him, but would be influenced by him instead... "I am here to help His Highness with the affairs of state. If I have some free time after that, I know a little music and I would like to play it for His Highness."

"Humph! I am the King of Guangling!"

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"Didn't you hear what the old man said? If you like these, you don't have the qualities of a king!"

"Oh."

"As the Prince of Guangling, the future Crown Prince, you must first be well versed in classics and history, secondly, understand the law, thirdly, learn the art of war, and fourthly, understand human nature. Isn't that right, old man?"

"Yes."

"Those singing girls and dancing just now, I just played with them when I had nothing to do, but what I really like is not these, but something else..."

"So what do you like?"

"First, settle the account."

"what?"

"Second, weigh it with one hand."

"Weigh it?"

"Hmm. You haven't tried it, have you? I like to weigh the importance of things whenever I have nothing to do, and I won't make any mistakes. This way I can develop a keen eye for detail. When I become emperor, I'll know the weight of any matter as soon as it's submitted in a memorial."

Sima Yi was just saying this when Liu Shi picked up his fan and slapped the table.

"I can't say that, that's all."

He drank another glass of wine and said calmly, "Fifth Uncle sent you to me to gain my support in opposing Yang, right?"

Sima Yi's direct and simple statement of Liu Xian's purpose startled him. He wasn't sure if this was Sima Yi's own idea or someone else's, so he simply replied, "Your Highness the Prince of Chu is loyal only to the state and Your Highness."

"Loyalty, loyalty..." Sima Yi repeated it several times, and finally laughed: "Hehe, it is indeed loyal. I can promise you."

He sighed, "Yang Jun's popularity has become so bad, yet he still wants to assist in the administration. He must have drunk too much bear bile wine."

At this point, his eyebrows stood up, and a strange light emanated from his eyes. He continued: "But the current political situation cannot be solved by killing Yang Jun. The problem is not here..." At this time, he was blamed by Liu Shi again, and his face suddenly turned red.

"That's all." Sima Yi stood up and said, "Old man, I'll study for a while. If you have any plans, just tell him yourself!"

Liu Xian followed Liu Shi out of the room and into the corridor. Liu Shi didn't say anything to Liu Xian, but instead asked him, "What do you think of our prince?"

"Arrogant and extremely smart."

"Is that all?"

"The light in his eyes is extraordinary..." Liu Xian hadn't finished speaking when Liu Shi interrupted, "The Emperor once said that Your Highness's intelligence rivals that of Emperor Xuan... He is the hope of the entire Great Jin, isn't he?"

Liu Xian realized that Wang Fu was warning him, hoping that he would forget his origins in the Chu Palace and concentrate on being loyal to the King of Guangling, so that he would have a good future.

So he naturally said: "Of course, a minister should serve the emperor."

But Liu Xian was thinking in his heart: Can such a smart grandson of the emperor survive to succeed to the throne?
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(End of this chapter)