The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 102 Human hearts are like water, and the world is ever-changing.

"The mighty Yangtze River flows eastward, its waves washing away the heroes of the past!"

The mighty Yangtze River, originating in the snowy plateau and ending at the East China Sea, flows ceaselessly day and night, year after year.

"White-haired fishermen and woodcutters on the riverbank are accustomed to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze."

Boats came and went in a continuous stream, some from north to south, some from south to north. Merchants, ascetic monks, travelers, and officials on their way to the capital mingled with boatmen who sang "Linjiang Xian" in their native Yingtian dialect at the stern, which often drew responses from passersby in their own local dialects.

"A pot of turbid wine brings joy to our meeting."

Li Xianmu and Wang Gen were on a large ship, drinking on the second floor. They were moved by the generous voices from the ship and exchanged respects with the rest of the crew.

"Young master, you are exceptionally talented and naturally noble. You must be the son of some noble family. It is truly an honor for me to receive your respect."

A loud voice suddenly rang out from among the passengers, “You are ignorant! This is Li Xianmu, the son of the late Li Zhongwen, the first scholar to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examination during the Yongle reign!”

The ship fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a cacophony of laughter as the old man burst into boisterous laughter, exclaiming, "What an honor!"

Li Xianmu greeted everyone again, then sat back on the boat and sighed, "In just three short years, so many people have already forgotten me."

It should be noted that three years ago, in Yingtian Prefecture, everyone knew Li Xianmu.

Wang Gen was silent for a moment, then smiled and comforted him, "Xianmu, there's no need to worry. Your appearance has changed a lot in three years, so it's understandable that the villagers don't recognize you. The fact that someone recognized you just now and then made a fuss shows that you still have a reputation here."

"This is all thanks to my senior brother and all the others."

In recent years, Xie Jin and Wang Gen were the main forces in promoting the philosophy of mind, influencing scholars from the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Academy to the general public, and playing an indispensable role in enhancing Li Qi's posthumous status.

Wang Gen laughed heartily and said, "I know that my teacher left behind seven great regrets for the descendants of the Li family before his death. I am not in a position to comment on the other matters, but this second regret is also what I wish for!"
Although the Cheng-Zhu school of thought is not a deception or a fraud, since teachers have already innovated upon it, allowing it to flourish unchecked would be tantamount to disregarding the world's interests. We scholars should be rousing ourselves to this cause, and Xianmu need not stand on ceremony with me.”

Li Xianmu knew that his senior brother was a sincere gentleman, always upright and honest, so he did not say anything more about these matters. However, he was a little stunned when Wang Gen mentioned the Seven Great Grievances again.

These seven regrets are less like his father's seven regrets and more like the seven goals his father left for the Li family descendants. These seven goals are almost progressive, each one more difficult than the last.

To achieve the first three goals would require Li to dedicate his entire life to the cause, and he might even fail along the way.

The fourth and fifth regrets can only be achieved in the most prosperous era of history, lasting for a little over ten years. But what Father said was clearly that he wanted it to be maintained indefinitely, which is almost impossible.

The sixth and seventh grievances, the path to eternal peace and the journey to the heavenly palace, were like delirious ramblings in a dream. Li Xianmu racked his brains but still couldn't figure out how to achieve them.

Is that vast celestial palace truly accessible to mortals?
If mortals could actually climb up there, would they be able to see Chang'e, who stole the elixir?

Wang Gen noticed that Li Xianmu was deep in thought, so he stopped talking and just drank quietly, also thinking about Li Xianmu's plan to relocate the capital after his return to Beijing, and what he was relying on.

After the boat docked and everyone had settled down, Li Xianmu and Wang Gen disembarked. The princess's carriage was already waiting at the dock. Li Xianmu was the only one who came to pick him up. It was his aunt Zijuan, the steward who had taken care of him when he was a child.

She had been with Li Shi since her most difficult time, and was a respectable person in the entire Li Shi and Princess's residence. Even the stewards had to respectfully call her Aunt Zijuan.

"Young master, the princess is eager to see you and has been hoping to see you many times throughout the day."

"Xianmu, you should go back to the manor first. Your teacher's wife has been thinking of you constantly these past three years. I'll go and run some errands for you regarding the Ministry of Personnel matter. I still have that much face to give you."

"Thank you very much, senior brother."

Since ancient times, loving mothers have always cherished their young children.

Since Li Xianmu's birth, Princess Lin'an had devoted most of her attention to him. Three years of separation had been almost unbearable for her, and she could no longer tolerate it. She actually ordered Zijuan to intercept him here.

Li Xianmu felt a pang of sadness. He only thought about how his mother had his eldest and second eldest brothers by her side, but he forgot that his mother loved him the most.

Without saying another word, Li Xianmu boarded the carriage back to the princess's residence and headed towards the capital. After entering the capital, he lifted the curtain and looked outside.

Moss still grows on the base of the wall, but more and more, filling the gaps between the bricks and tiles. As you walk through the streets and alleys, dust rises. When you pass through the bustling market, people haggle over prices at the vegetable stalls. The butcher shop is still the same, but the butcher has a few more barely noticeable white hairs at his temples. The girl from the noodle shop has grown up, a little darker and thinner. Three years have passed like a stalk of grass. Li Xianmu remembers that she was the same age as him, the age of coming of age. The next time he sees her, she will probably be a married woman, just like the millions of ordinary women in the Ming Dynasty.

Some families moved away, but the new people who moved in wore the same clothes and did roughly the same things, so everything seemed unchanged. The yamen runners of Yingtian Prefecture still swaggered around, and the playboys in the capital were still dissolute. There seemed to be more women going out to shop, probably because the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism was becoming increasingly unpopular in the capital.
The capital city seems to have changed somewhat, yet it also seems to have remained largely unchanged. It is still that majestic divine city, far surpassing all other places in the Ming Dynasty, and it is still inhabited by millions of ordinary people who maintain the operation of the city.

"Who is that important person from?"

"It seems to be the residence of Princess Lin'an. I once delivered vegetables to the residence, and that person was from the princess's residence."

The carriage rumbled through the city, naturally attracting much discussion among the people of the capital. Although the princess's residence was low-key, it was still a prominent family with some reputation in the capital.

"I haven't heard of the Lin'an Princess's Mansion for many years since Li Zhongwen passed away."

"In recent years, the three sons of the Li family of Princess Lin'an's residence have been observing mourning and have been relatively quiet in the capital. This has always been the case in the capital. No matter how illustrious a family may have been, once the head of the family who was able to shoulder the responsibility passes away, it immediately falls into silence."

"Brother, you have such foresight; you must come from an extraordinary background."

"Alas, it was with these thoughts in mind that I uttered these words. My eldest uncle once held the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and at that time, our family was a bustling place. However, he was convicted of a crime and demoted, and our family declined from then on. Today, he went to the capital to take the imperial examination in order to revive our family, but unfortunately, he failed and could not restore our family's prestige." "You are actually a scholar who passed the provincial examination. I am truly sorry for my disrespect!"

This is not a sarcastic remark. During the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang had almost killed off all the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). At present, the Ming Dynasty only had two batches of Jinshi from the second year of Jianwen and the third year of Yongle, plus the batch from the sixth year of Yongle. There were not many Jinshi left. If a Juren (successful candidate in the provincial imperial examinations) was willing to accept an external appointment, he could still serve as an assistant official in the county.

However, for this candidate, whose family had once held high-ranking positions such as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, if he wanted to revive that glory, becoming a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination) was far from enough; he would need to be at least among the top ten of the second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) to have a brighter future.

"The princess's grand procession today must be something important."

"I heard that the young master of the Li family, who was the top scholar in the imperial examination, has finished his three-year mourning period and is returning to Yingtian from the imperial court in Beijing."

"The top scholar of this year's imperial examination has just been selected. The previous top scholar was a man of extraordinary talent and had a bright future. However, three years have passed, and in the officialdom, people are always forgotten once they leave. It is uncertain how much of a future he still has. One step behind means one step behind."

The carriage hurried past, and these words gently reached the ears of the people inside. Li Xianmu remained expressionless, but Zijuan's face changed color.

"Young master, do not listen to such words. The Princess's family is far more powerful than such a humble family. Li still enjoys the Emperor's favor, and her reinstatement is only a matter of time."

Upon hearing Aunt Zijuan say that the Vice Minister's family was a humble household, Li Xianmu was momentarily dazed, as if he had returned to the time when the Li family was still the illustrious Duke's mansion.

In Dream of the Red Chamber, when Grandmother Jia said that the Ning and Rong mansions were only of average means, she was not being modest. Even though the mansions had declined by the third generation, they could no longer be called a prestigious and powerful family.

A family with the same status as this scholar who passed the imperial examination has only had one vice minister. If the vice minister were still in office, they could be considered a middle-class family. But now that they have been demoted and have no imperial favor to inherit their position, they can no longer even be considered a middle-class family.

For aristocratic families, the minimum standard is that three consecutive generations have officials of the third rank or above serving in government. In the Ming Dynasty, that meant three consecutive generations of officials of the rank of Vice Minister. According to the standard of officials in the capital being one rank higher, a Vice Minister of the third rank in the capital was more prestigious than a Provincial Administration Commissioner of the second rank in the provinces. At least three consecutive generations of Provincial Administration Commissioners were required.

This was almost impossible in the Ming Dynasty, so the saying that no civil officials in the Ming Dynasty came from aristocratic families was not an empty statement.

Li Xianmu then recalled that his father seemed to have a slight obsession with restoring the glory of the Duke's mansion. Could this be the reason?

"Although the words of this scholar were speculative, people like them who rely solely on the imperial examinations to gain prominence do not understand the true strength of people like us who are related to the imperial family through marriage."

However, what he said wasn't entirely without merit; since my father's death, the Li family's prestige has indeed declined.

Li Xianmu said seriously, "My eldest brother and second brother currently hold the positions of third and fourth rank, but this is already due to the favor of our fathers. If they rise any higher, they will only be awarded the title of Grand Prince by the Imperial Family, which will not be of much use in boosting the family's prestige."

Three years ago, Li's entire life depended on her father, who was prominent before the emperor and held the reins of the court, thus giving Li his prominence.

Three years later, my life was tied to my mother, who maintained a respectable relationship with the royal family. During these three years, my mother missed me but stayed in the capital all the time, all for the sake of the family's prestige and reputation.

My aunt, who served my mother and managed the household, must have witnessed firsthand the hardships and trials she endured.

Zijuan was no longer the ordinary maidservant who followed Miss Li San. She was the head steward of the princess's mansion, and had been managing the vast mansion for a long time. Every day she was exposed to the coldness and warmth of human relationships and saw all sorts of monsters and demons. How could she not know the extent to which the princess's mansion had declined in the past three years?

With the Emperor and Crown Prince's protection, the Princess's residence was naturally not deliberately harassed. However, the smooth sailing that had been when the Prince Consort was in power was long gone. It should be noted that when the Prince Consort was in power, Li's shops were never inspected by the Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, but now they had to be inspected along with others.

While this is to be expected, the convergence of various factors makes it no small matter, and the changes in the political landscape are already subtly evident.

"Young Master is exceptionally talented. When the Prince Consort was alive, he repeatedly said that the young master could surpass his ancestors. The current predicament in the manor is nothing more than the shortsightedness of those who are blind to talent. The day the young master ascends to the heavens, glory and honor will surely return."

Li Xianmu could detect an immense confidence in Zijuan's words, a confidence even greater than his own.

Before he could even ask, Zijuan had already explained the reason herself, her eyes filled with endless light, "Young master is too young to know what happened back then. When the Duke's mansion fell into ruin, the consort and the princess were exiled to Jiangpu. After the third young lady hanged herself, I went to Jiangpu to find the consort. I saw what the Duke's mansion looked like then. The consort was barely able to protect himself and could only give me some money to bury the third young lady."

However, in just a few months, the prince consort returned to the capital with his family and then gradually eliminated his enemies, which led to his later glory. Now, the princess's mansion has only experienced some coldness and warmth in human relationships, and even enjoys the emperor's favor. It is really not fair to say that it has fallen into decline.

Since the Prince Consort says the young master is destined for greatness, then he must be right. I have never seen anyone with a more far-sighted vision and more profound wisdom than the Prince Consort!

A look of realization dawned on Li Xianmu's eyes. It turned out that Aunt Zijuan hadn't truly seen through the ways of the world. She was simply like him, regarding her father as her heaven and completely believing in him. So when her father said that the Li family would surely rise to prominence in his hands, Aunt Zijuan believed it wholeheartedly. Therefore, she didn't care about the various interpersonal relationships and situations she had encountered over the past three years. Compared to the scene of the Duke's Mansion's downfall, it was far from worth mentioning.

A few sneers suddenly appeared in Li Xianmu's mind. Sometimes, a wise man like him might not be as good as a fool. Seeking a perfect solution for everything and trying to control the whole situation is simply like a madman's dream.

His only concern was that three years had passed, and the situation his father had created would inevitably change drastically, as evidenced by the fact that the proposal to move the capital had been delayed.

With his father gone, the literati of Jiangnan naturally began to stir again, and this was what worried him.

But wasn't this something they already knew back when they were in Beijing?

Before his death, his father must have thought about this matter. Otherwise, he would not have told him to go to Huang Huai if anything happened in the future, and he would not have kept the imperial edict left by the late emperor until now. You should know that the late emperor left the imperial edict to keep Jiangnan in check!
"My father was able to briefly suppress Jiangnan back then, and now I am to take over his position. What is there to fear?"

Upon realizing this, Li Xianmu felt his mind clear, and all his previous worries were instantly forgotten.

"Squeak."

With the creaking of wheels, the carriage came to a stop in the familiar alleyway, where the princess's residence, unchanged for three years, stood.

(End of this chapter)