fake gentry

"On June 15th, I saw Lao Wen off to Jiankang, and then chatted with Lao Guo until midnight."

"On June 16th, Song Yi played the xiao (a type of Chinese flute)."

"On June 17th, in the morning, we trained Old Wang's songstresses, and in the afternoon, Song Yi continued to play the xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute)."

"On June 18th, we sent Old Shen back to Wu County. Hopefully, he'll be more sensible; after all, he's not a bad person."

"On June 19th, Lao Guo came in the morning, and I chatted with him. In the afternoon, Song Yi played the flute."

It rained in Wuchang today, and the rain didn't stop until the afternoon.

This is the tenth day of Xie Hong's house arrest.

Wang Dun neither summoned him nor did he ever request an audience.

Wen Qiao and Shen Chong had both left, and Lu Wan avoided Xie Hong's place to avoid suspicion. Only Guo Pu would come over every few days. Occasionally, Xie Hong would also go to Guo Pu's place and stay until midnight before returning.

Xie Hong lay on the veranda, a copy of "The Book of Burial" borrowed from Guo Pu beside him, feeling the damp wind blowing through the corridor, and felt a little irritated.

"Ah Yi, come here and play the flute, or rather, the pipe."

Just as Song Yi, who was kneeling beside him, was about to get up, a beautiful maid rushed over, curtsied, and said, "My lord, someone is requesting an audience. They say they are an old friend of yours."

Xie Hong was taken aback.

An old friend?

I don't have a single old friend in Wuchang.

Xie Hong got up with suspicion and walked to the courtyard gate, where he saw a familiar figure standing at the door.

He was overjoyed and ran over immediately: "Mr. Chikawa? What brings you here?"

Ge Hong was wearing a worn-out black robe, the hem of which and his hemp shoes were soaked. Behind him, an old servant in brown clothes carried a bulging bundle on his back and a rattan box in his hand.

Ge Hong looked Xie Hong up and down and said with a smile, "I heard that you were taken away by Shen Shiju. That very night I set off for Yuzhang to see Xie Youyu, and then I went to Jiankang to visit Wang Maohong and ask for a letter from him. It should have arrived two days ago, but unfortunately there was no favorable wind on the river these past two days. It's good that you are alright, very good."

Ge Hong's voice was a little hoarse, but Xie Hong was so moved that he almost shed tears.

It only took ten days to travel from Lushan to Jiankang, and then from Jiankang to Wuchang, which shows that Ge Xianweng was traveling day and night along the way.

Even with the fastest waterways, it would take four or five days to travel from Lushan to Jiankang, and the journey from Jiankang to Wuchang is even longer, going upstream. I really don't know how Ge Xianweng managed to get here.

This affection is heavier than Mount Tai.

"What merit or ability do I have to cause Mr. Zhichuan such trouble?"

Xie Hong rushed over and gave Ge Hong a big hug.

Ge Hong froze on the spot, and Song Yi and the beautiful maid behind him also stared wide-eyed, looking extremely shocked.

Xie Hong invited Ge Hong into the courtyard, immediately ordered Song Yi to brew hot tea, and then ordered a maid to boil water. He also brought out Xie Kun's clothes and had Ge Hong change out of his soaking wet robe. The old servant was then led away by a maid to change his clothes and have his meal.

Ge Hong sat opposite Xie Hong, took a couple of sips of hot tea, then looked up at Xie Hong with undisguised concern in his eyes.

"Did the General give you any trouble?"

Xie Hong gave a wry smile and briefly recounted his experiences after being brought to Wuchang by Shen Chong.

After listening, Ge Hong remained silent for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Why doesn't Feng Zhi join the General?"

Xie Hong was baffled by his question: "Why does Mr. Zhichuan ask a question he already knows the answer to?"

"Wang Chuzhong has a penchant for collecting famous scholars, and he only needs to hold a position, like Yang Man, who is also the chief secretary of the shogunate, but he does not come to Jiankang."

Ge Hong said matter-of-factly, "Gaining a high position will only benefit Fengzhi's reputation."

He paused, as if discussing a trivial matter: "Even if Wang Chuzhong harbors rebellious intentions, it wouldn't implicate Fengzhi. If Fengzhi is worried, I will stay and keep you company."

Xie Hong felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this, but he was unwilling to let Ge Hong get involved in this mess.

To be fair, Wang Dun treated him quite well; although he wouldn't release him, he certainly treated him with great courtesy.

Even someone as exclusive as Song Yi was given away without hesitation.

As the two were talking, Song Yi walked over with a lacquer tray in her hand and gently placed it in front of Ge Hong.

Ge Hong looked up at her, then turned to Xie Hong with a smile and asked, "Is this lady Song Yi?"

Song Yi immediately knelt down to the side, lowering her eyes and looking down.

She followed Xie Hong for ten days, which were the most relaxed ten days of her life, and even made her feel like she was dreaming.

Xie Hong was always ready to order people around without any politeness, but Song Yi could clearly feel the respect her husband showed her.

It wasn't just superficial respect, but a genuine respect from the heart; he treated even maids and courtesans the same.

She had never met such a gentleman from a noble family. Even back in the Golden Valley Garden, where renowned scholars and sages from all over the world gathered, many prestigious gentlemen outwardly respected her, but in reality, they never regarded her as a human being.

Xie Langjun didn't even ask her to serve him in bed.

Sensing the mockery in Ge Hong's eyes, Xie Hong nodded somewhat awkwardly.

Ge Hong nodded slightly to Song Yi: "I've heard that Lady Yi is skilled at playing the flute; may I play it?"

Ge Hong spoke calmly, showing neither surprise at her beauty nor disrespect for her status.

Song Yi bowed, took out the Ke Ting flute, and began to play.

She was playing "Return to Dreamland," and Ge Hong immediately recognized it as Xie Hong's instruction. Surprised, he was immediately captivated by the flute music.

Ge Hong was a cultivator of immortality, so playing such ethereal music in front of him was clearly just torture.

Sure enough, after the song ended, Ge Hong's gaze towards Xie Hong changed.

"Feng Zhi, which star lord have you descended to earth from?"

Song Yi deeply agreed. In the past few days, she had often thought that her husband, a celestial being, could only be a star deity from heaven.

After eating, Ge Hong took a bath and changed his clothes. He then straightened his clothes and said he was going to see Wang Dun. Xie Hong could not stop him.

He was terrified that Ge Hong might offend Wang Dun and bring about his own death.

Ge Hong had no connection with Wang Dun, and the Ge family of Danyang was not a prominent family, but rather a southern gentry clan. Wang Dun might have killed him without the slightest hesitation.

If Ge Hong were to die at the hands of Wang Dun, his crime would be immense.

"Fengzhi, you don't need to worry about me. I have a letter that Wang Maohong wrote to Wang Chuzhong."

Xie Hong was deeply moved upon hearing this.

At present, the Langya Wang clan is almost split. The Langya Wang clan was almost wiped out because of Wang Dun. Wang Dao, the clan leader, hates Wang Dun to the bone. How could he possibly write a letter to Wang Dun?

Aside from the emperor, there was probably no one else in the world who could persuade Wang Dao to write a letter to Wang Dun.

This shows what Ge Hong actually sacrificed.

"Mr. Chikawa..."

Xie Hong choked up a little.

Even a biological father wouldn't be this bad.

How about we become godfathers?

Ge Hong smiled and comforted him, saying, "I have some acquaintance with Wang Maohong. Last year, he even invited me to take up an official post, but I declined, citing my love for the mountains and forests. Later, Wang Maohong sent me a lot of medicinal herbs."

Ge Hong spoke casually, but Xie Hong knew it couldn't be that simple; Ge Hong must have paid an unimaginable price.

He wanted to ask, but Ge Hong stopped him by raising his hand.

"Fengzhi need not say more, you may accompany me to see the Great General."