fake gentry

Wen Qiao left Wuchang and traveled down the river to the territory of Xiyang Kingdom.

Xiyang was the fiefdom of Sima Yang, a member of the imperial clan and the grandson of Sima Yi. He was currently the Grand Chancellor and would become a regent in two years. Unfortunately, when Su Jun rebelled, Sima Yang chose to support Su Jun against Yu Liang.

After the rebellion of Su Jun was quelled, Sima Yang was convicted of a crime and sentenced to death and stripped of his fief. The court then changed Xiyang into a prefecture.

Wen Qiao and Wang Bin were only nodding acquaintances, but along the way, thanks to Xie Hong, the two unexpectedly became close friends.

It was nearly dusk, and the river was shrouded in twilight. Xiyang Ferry was just a small ferry crossing, and Wen Qiao, fearing pursuers behind him, dared not stop and had to travel through the night.

At the ferry crossing, a passenger boat was traveling upstream. The boatman was arguing with a boy, whose face was covered in tears. He pleaded in a sobbing voice, "My father will definitely give us money when he wakes up. Please don't kick us off the boat."

The boy had clear and bright eyes, wore thin clothes, and had a very slender figure, though he was quite thin.

The boatman was also helpless: "Young master, it's not that I'm unwilling to make an exception, but your father started drinking as soon as he boarded the boat. He drank five jars of wine in two days and vomited all over the boat. I'm just a boatman who needs to support my family."

Wen Qiao happened to miss it by boat, but vaguely heard the boy's voice. He was stunned for a moment, and upon closer inspection, his expression became strange.

He immediately ordered the boat to stop and approach, and Wang Bin also came out of the cabin.

But there was a drunkard lying on the passenger ship, completely unconscious, and his son was crying and trying to negotiate with the boatman to pay off his debt with his clothes.

Seeing that the young man also appeared to be from a noble family, Wang Bin felt displeased and frowned.

He was well-versed in Confucian classics from a young age and adhered to the teachings of propriety. However, with the current rise of metaphysical trends, rigid and conservative Confucian behavior is looked down upon.

Therefore, many lower-ranking nobles had to change their ways in order to climb up the social ladder and began to study metaphysics in a pretentious manner.

Alcoholism, outlandish clothing, and disheveled hair are fashion symbols, and even streaking is commonplace.

Wang Bin was born into a noble family, so he naturally couldn't understand the hardships of lower-class gentry climbing the social ladder. But it was really too much for a gentryman to go out with his child and get so drunk that he owed people money for drinks.

He was about to stop Wen Qiao when he saw Wen Qiao leap onto the passenger ship.

The crying boy rubbed his eyes, recognized the person, and immediately cried even louder, throwing himself into Wen Qiao's arms: "Uncle!"

Wang Bin couldn't help but be very curious. He climbed to the bow of the boat and found a middle-aged man lying across the bow, holding an empty wine jar in his arms.

This man was quite tall with broad shoulders and a thick back. He wore a faded cloth robe and hemp sandals. Although not exactly ragged, he was certainly in dire straits.

But his sleeping face was quite handsome, and although his long beard was messy, it could not hide his upright and unrestrained demeanor.

Wen Qiao, holding the thinly dressed boy, glanced at the drunkard and finally couldn't help but laugh: "A-Yuan, is your father so poor? What happened to the gold coins I gave you before I left?"

The boy lowered his head and sobbed, snot dripping from his nose, saying, "Father used it all to buy wine."

"Where did you come from? And where are you going?"

"I came from Yuzhang." The boy's voice was still trembling with tears, but he tried his best to sound calm: "Uncle Xie asked Father to go to Wuchang to see someone."

Wen Qiao raised an eyebrow: "To see Xie Fengzhi?"

The boy shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

Wen Qiao glanced down at the drunkard on the ground, a hint of hesitation flashing across his face. He then led the boy onto his boat and ordered his old servant to fetch money for the boatman.

The boatman's worried expression vanished instantly. He thanked him repeatedly and then diligently helped the drunkard inside before running off to boil water and make tea.

Wen Qiao brought the boy to Wang Bin and said with a smile, "Shiru, this boy is the son of my close friend, and he is named after my surname."

Wang Bin had already recognized the drunkard and jokingly asked the boy, "What's your name?"

The boy had already wiped away his tears and snot, and bowed respectfully to Wang Bin: "Huan Wen greets his father-in-law."

Seeing that he was quite tall but had a childlike face, Wang Bin asked curiously, "How old are you?"

"Ten years old."

"Ten years old and still that tall?"

Wen Qiao pointed to the passenger ship: "This son is like his father."

Wang Bin couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Everyone says that Huan Maolun possesses a spirit of moderation and an unyielding integrity. I think he really has integrity in holding onto the wine jar. Even in his drunken state, he can't bear to part with it."

The Longkang Huan clan of Qiao State was originally a prominent family, but during the Cao Wei period, they were reduced to a family of criminals and became virtually unknown during the Western Jin Dynasty.

Huan Yi was determined to restore his family's status. After crossing the Yangtze River to the south, he befriended famous scholars and eventually became one of the Eight Worthies of Jiangzuo.

Huan Wen was Huan Yi's eldest son. When he was born, Wen Qiao liked him very much and insisted on naming him, so he was named Huan Wen.

Huan Yi was not only famously arrogant, but also extremely generous and righteous. However, he was too fond of drinking and chivalrous, and often got drunk.

When Wang Dun raised his army at the beginning of the year, Huan Yi, like Xie Kun, was one of the few scholars who openly opposed him, and almost lost his life for it.

For this reason, Huan Yi took Huan Wen and left Wuchang to travel the world.

This is probably why he was able to save his life, while Xie Kun died next year.

It's called a travel trip, but it's really just budget travel.

The Huan family fell into decline, and Huan Yi was poor from a young age. If it weren't for the family's tradition of studying the classics, he probably would have had a hard time even studying.

Coupled with his unsuccessful career and his fondness for making friends and drinking, he had no money to his name.

Just like Xie Kun, they were both penniless.

But Xie Kun at least had a younger brother who often helped him out, and a son who was shrewd and calculating. Poor Huan Wen, he must have suffered countless hardships along the way.

"Ah Yuan, I can't stay too long. Here, take this and keep it close to your body."

Wen Qiao took out a palm-sized cloth bag and handed it to Huan Wen. Inside were more than ten gold beans, which was all the money he had on him.

"You must never let your father take it again."

Huan Wen hummed in agreement and accepted it with a blush.

Wang Bin smiled and instructed his servant to bring Huan Wen a gold ingot weighing one tael.

After the boat set sail, Wen Qiao asked Wang Bin with a smile, "Scholars are always upright and cannot tolerate eccentric scholars, so why are you showing such goodwill to this young boy?"

Wang Bin said solemnly, "This child has extraordinary talent; he is a true hero and will surely become a hero in the future."

Wen Qiao laughed heartily: "Aren't you worried about someone like Wang Chuzhong?"

Wang Bin immediately fell silent.

Wen Qiao seemed to have thought of something amusing and kept laughing, prompting Wang Bin to turn his head and ask, "Wen Taizhen, are you laughing at me?"

Wen Qiao then smiled and explained why he was laughing, to which Wang Bin immediately looked shocked: "You mean Huan Maolun is going to compete with Xie Youyu for the Phoenix Throne?"

He suddenly remembered Xie Hong's self-defense at the Huangshiyan gathering and burst into laughter.

"If we really talk about it, Xie Fengzhi is actually of the Huan family bloodline. The Huan family of Qiao State and Xie Hongcai are from the same family. With this Qilin, not to mention the Huan family, even the Wang family of Langya would not let go of her."