CH 91

“Sima Ying has returned to Ye City.” Sitting in his study, Liu Xuan tapped his desk, his face clouded.

The political situation in the court had been in utter shambles these last two months. First was Zhang Fang’s returning to reinforce Chang’an, aiding Sima Yong in defeating the provincial governor of Yong Province, Liu Shen, and executing him at Chencang. After quashing the unrest in Yong Province, the office of regional governor of Yong Province had been conferred to Sima Yong by Sima Ying. And in repayment for receiving promotion upon promotion, Sima Yong had submitted an appeal to the court for Sima Ying to be created imperial brother-heir. 

It must be said that the emperor’s line was already ended; after the original crown prince was lost to the evil of Empress Jia, of the two grandsons, one had been poisoned to death by the Prince of Zhao, Sima Lun, and the other had passed away from illness. The latest crown prince had been Sima Tan, the son of Prince Kang of Qinghe, Sima Xia. Sima Xia was another of Emperor Wu’s sons, and therefore, this crown prince was the grandson of a late emperor, nephew to the current one. Abiding the principle that grandsons and brothers inherited when there were no sons, Sima Ying, who was the emperor’s brother of another mother, naturally had the right to succeed the throne.

Preparations were made for the day of Zhengdan, Sima Yong added fuel to the fire, Sima Ying, needless to say, did not humbly demur. He promptly deposed Sima Tan and created himself imperial-brother-heir, while at the same time retaining his position as counselor-in-chief. It was no lie to say that he’d seized supreme authority over the imperial court. After making arrangements for the major workings of the court, there was nothing in the ruined capital that could entice Sima Ying to stay, so he swaggered back to Ye City.

This was a good thing for all the civil and military bureaucrats of Luoyang, but disastrous to Liu Xuan. Sima Ying’s surveillance over Liu Xuan would only intensify once he returned, making it ever more difficult to escape the city.

“Prime minister, will we still rise in arms this summer?” his aide asked. 

After a moment of silence, Liu Xuan said, “Sima Ying’s advance on Luoyang, his unjust usurpation of the status of heir apparent to the throne, have made no secret of his ambitions. There must be many in the court who are dissatisfied. Especially Sima Yong and Sima Yue, who likewise hold power, are young and rash and of high nobility, will near certainly harbor treasonous desires in due time. The court will fall into chaos; let Yuanhai stilly await opportunity.”

All that was needed was a tumult to occur in either Luoyang or Ye City that Liu Yuan could use to slip back to Bing Province and take command of the five divisions. Now the most correct option was to counter motion with motionlessness.

The aide nodded and continued, “There has been some news recently that the Duke of Dongying appointed Liang Feng to assistant administrator of the general staff; which Liang Feng refused by reason of sickness. The Duke of Dongying then sent him medicines and imperial physicians to cure him, and invited him to observe the Shangsi celebrations at Jinyang. Apparently, he has the notion to use Liang Zixi with some degree of importance.”

“What?” Liu Xuan was shocked; how could a fellow as obstinate and self-willed as Sima Teng ever have positive sentiments towards Liang Feng? Merely absolving him of the blame for his months-long entrapment in Luoyang would be a mercy, yet he had appointed him and dispatched doctors to him? It wasn’t something that Sima Teng was ever capable of!

“Will Liang Feng go to Jinyang?” he asked.

“It’s said that he will!” the aide rushed to say, “There are already rumors in Jinyang of the Duke of Dongying’s forbearance and magnanimity, and flattering appraisals of Liang Zixi’s noble character. There are even many gentries hoping to witness their elegance upon Shangsi.”

“I expect that there dissuaders among them.” Liu Xuan said coldly, “It is no matter; so long as the two part unhappily on Shangsi, or if anyone outshines Liang Feng, then the matter of appointment will become a subject of ridicule. Let the underlings make preparations. On the day of Shangsi, I, too, will tread the green and dine at the shore beside the Waters of Jin!”

He could not stand to let the descendants of Liang Xi come to prominence. This was not merely the empty appellation of “bodhisattva,” but true recognition as a famous scholar. Adding to that, the oddness of the battle at Gaodu, and the exchanging of porcelain for skins and leathers, and the prospect that that invalid would further his fame induced great unease in Liu Xuan. On this occasion, he was determined to have him suffer defeat! 

※

“Captain Fu, d’you notice that the battalion commander’s been in a temper lately?” a corporal sidled up to him, who was grooming his horse, and whispered.

Meibcu tjggewqtfv jcv ugewyifv, “Tbe pera cbalmfv tf’r lc j afwqfg? Lf’r yffc ilxf atlr cfjgis afc vjsr jigfjvs. Qtb xcbkr ktja’r uba atja olfcv eq lc j aklra!”

C iba tjv yffc tjqqfclcu lc atf wlilalj. Mlgrais, j ofk bo atf mifnfgfg rbivlfgr tjv yffc mtbrfc ab ifjgc fwfgufcms mjgf ogbw Gbmabg Aljcu. Rbk atja kjr ilofrjnlcu yerlcfrr – ktb vlvc’a kjca atf mbwyja wfvlm bc atflg rdejv ab yf rwjga jcv mjqjyif? Vb, atbrf ktb kfgf rfifmafv kfgf atf nfgs yfra bo atf yfra, ktbiis mbwwlaafv ab ifjgclcu atf wfvlmji jgar. 

And that wasn’t the end of it, for afterwards, there was another selection amongst the militia for people to draw maps. As the battalion commander had arranged this all himself, he too attended the classes with them. But that still wasn’t the end of it – after the lecture, he’d actually said that all officers corporal and above were required to learn math, and that it would be a criterion by which they were judged for future promotion.

Fulong had puffed up like a cat when he’d heard him say so. It hadn’t even been that long since he’d learned how to speak the Han language, just where was he supposed to have learned math from, huh?! But that thing called the nines tables had already been passed out to him, he had no choice but to memorize it! Now, just the sight of that paper made his stomach churn. And to top it off, even his wife was getting worked up over nothing, he practically had another overseer or something. Oh, what a bother.

Their days were miserable enough already, and they had to look at the commander’s stony face every day; even their training had gotten more severe. The time they spent on the drill grounds was at least two hours more than before. By the time they got back to the barracks, they were so exhausted they were asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow. It wouldn’t be long at all until they’d be heading off to Jinyang, but there wasn’t the slightest sign of him letting up at all. Fulong was even starting to anticipate departure, cause even being on a march wasn’t this torturous.

He really couldn’t figure what’d gotten his hackles riled up. Ah, pent-up virgins like these were just plain difficult! With sarcastic gripes rambling through his mind, Fulong ordered, “You all had better shape up, don’t give the commander any reason to bust your ass. Lets just get through the next few days.” 

The rest of the soldiers were hoping to set off as soon as possible, too. But to Yiyan, the later they went to Jinyang, the better.

He’d been extremely conflicted as of late. At this point, Yiyan could no longer lie to himself about the nature of the longing he felt towards his lord. It was an uncontrollable desire, one that filled his heart with vexation and self-reproach. These were abnormal inclinations!

Fulong was far from the only one in the forces who’d taken a wife. Nine of ten of these military men clung to their women the moment they had any leisure to spare. Everyone talked of the matter, eyes alight, vulgar words abound. He alone seemed unable to find interest in women. The only one who could, in day, occupy his thoughts, and in night, dwell in his dreams, was his lord!

But how could he tolerate such blasphemy against his lord! 

He was at war with himself; the fiercer the struggle, the colder the countenance on Yiyan’s face became. He feared that one careless mistake might expose all the detestable things hidden in the bottom of his heart. Even so, he did not wish to see his lord enter Jinyang. The moment his lord left the estate, he would become another person, lofty and unreachable; a reminder of the vast distance between them.

This was a most trying time for Yiyan.

There were only a few days left. Gazing out at the sun setting in the west, Yiyan did not go to the manor, as was customary of him, turning towards the barracks instead.

※ 

“Dad, must you go to Jinyang?” Liang Rong asked softly.

“What? You simply can’t bear to part, Rong-er?” Liang Feng smiled.

“Shangsi and Hanshi are only several days apart, if you leave, Dad, I’ll have to spend two holidays alone at home,” Liang Rong said, a hint of reluctance on his little face.

Like Shangsi, Hanshi was another major holiday taking place at the beginning of spring, whereupon the one-hundred-fifth after the winter solstice, no fire would be lit for three consecutive days and everyone would consume cold food. It’s said that the practice was to memorialize Jie Zhitui, who had preferred to be burned alive than accept Chong’er’s conferments, and the customs he’d inspired. 

Liang Feng wasn’t much enthused for that holiday. Having to eat cold meals for three days in a row, at the beginning of spring when the weather had yet to warm, was rather harsh on elderly and children.

But, of course, now was not the time to discuss the sensibility, or lack thereof, of Hanshi. Liang Feng patted Liang Rong’s small head, “It’s an invitation from Controller Wang; I must go. Once I return, though, I can take you on an outing, Rong-er. We’ll go and fly kites together, alright?”

With a woodworks and paperworks in the estate, making kites was easy. It’d been some time already since Liang Feng had ordered them to craft a few for Liang Rong to play with. The child was rather talented. It hadn’t taken him long at all to figure out the trick to flying kites; they entertained him wonderfully every time. However, at the arrival of spring, the affairs of the estate had become multitudinous. Liang Feng wasn’t able to play with him very often.

Even then, Liang Rong’s expression didn’t brighten. He blinked his big black eyes, “Dad, that means you won’t be taking a position in the general staff?” 

So, that was his real concern. Liang Feng chuckled, “You’re afraid I’m going to stay in Jinyang from now on?”

Liang Rong chewed his lips, “I heard, the Duke of Dongying wants to appoint you…”

The Liang Estate was only so large, nothing stayed secret for long. Not to mention that he had such a dutiful nursemaid in Zhaoyu. If Liang Rong wanted to know, he would before long. To him, the Duke of Dongying was an unimaginably powerful official – what if, on this excursion to Jinyang, his father were to be kept there?

This child was such an overthinker, Liang Feng smiled, “Even the emperor cannot forcibly appoint someone to office. After all, doesn’t Hanshi commemorate Jie Zhitui, who refused to answer Chong’er’s summons?” 

Liang Rong nodded, only partially understanding, “Then, are you going to accept the emperor’s order of appointment? Go to Luoyang and become an official, like our ancestor?”

“I won’t.” The emperor sitting in Luoyang was only a puppet whose strings were in the hands of another. Going to Luoyang was even more dangerous than working for Sima Teng. How could Liang Feng possibly go willingly?

“Then, you’re not going to be an official ever?” The decisiveness of Liang Feng’s answer gave Liang Rong pause. Their family was noble – he knew, of course, the importance of becoming an official. The persistence of the Liang family would become uncertain, if it continued to not produce any high officials.

Knowing the child’s worries, Liang Feng smiled wryly, “Becoming an official, that depends on where, and for whom.” 

“Just like our ancestor and Emperor Wu of Wei?” Liang Rong, ever quick on the uptake, piped up.

“Just like our ancestor and Emperor Wu of Wei.” Liang Xi counted as someone who’d started from nothing, and had correctly boarded Cao Cao’s ship. But there was no one like Cao Cao now. Could he even, like a scholar-official of this era, devote himself to the service of a good lord? Trust and support the other with all his trust?

Liang Feng didn’t think he could become Liang Xi. And those official positions of no real authority held no meaning for him. Still, before law and order disintegrated completely, he had to find a way to bring even more land under his control, gain more strategic depth for the Liang Estate. Sima Teng was unworthy of his allegiance; Luoyang was a treacherous place. Just what must he do to expand his sphere of power? Gaodu alone was not enough, not by a long shot.

Ah, he’d just have to build up his reputation first. As for that which was beyond his ability to influence, he could only bide his time. 

After reassuring the child and seeing him off, Liang Feng said to Lüzhu, “Pass down my orders, that for this trip to Jinyang I will be using a horse-drawn carriage instead.”

Lüzhu knew that her master didn’t like ox-drawn carriages. She nodded, and asked, “What color clothing would it be best to bring?”

Her master habitually wore dark colors, but Shangsi was a spring holiday, so it was more preferable to wear reds and greens. Would it seem strange to keep bringing dark clothes?

Evidently, Liang Feng had had the same thought. His mouth quirked up, “I wore black previously, so I will wear white this time. Bring a few pale, simple garments, best if they are wide-sleeved.” 

He was just waiting to see what novel drama they could stir at the shores of the Waters of Jin.

The author has something to say:

Hehe, he can go grandstanding again XD

The translator has something to say: 

…… tempted to go back through all 91 chapters and fix the inconsistent/incorrect capitalization all over the place ……