Chapter 78: Lvliang

“By the way, I’ve always wanted to ask you, why did you kill Song Xian?”

Ning Yi had never brought this up before, only asking now that they were somewhat familiar. Lu Hongti’s eyes narrowed slightly. Outside, the sky was overcast, and in the room, oil dripped sizzling from a roasting chicken on the charcoal stove. Ning Liheng blinked innocently as he stood there. After what seemed like a moment of consideration, Lu Hongti’s gaze softened slightly, looking into the distance.

With a whoosh, rain began to fall outside, quickly enveloping the entire city of Jiangning.

“My family used to live west of Yanmen Pass, in the Lüliang Mountains,” Lu Hongti finally said after a long silence.

“After the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were lost, the barbarians would raid the area every year, killing and plundering. Life was never peaceful; nine out of ten households were empty. Those who remained for farming would move year after year among the surrounding mountain gullies, like wandering spirits. But the older generation always said it was hard to leave one’s homeland... You probably don’t understand what it’s like to be born there...”

Ning Yi was silent for a moment. “Joyful by the Fen River, making do in central and southern Jin, weeping in the Lüliang Mountains, dying no further than Yanmen Pass...”

“Heh.” She nodded and smiled. “Many years ago, we were already living in the mountains, constantly moving south, but never very far. The young men who went into the mountains became the Lüliang bandits, who have been continuous for centuries. We are all Han Chinese. The Wu Dynasty army wouldn’t come, and the barbarians descended south every year, never treating us as human. Every year, we would fight their troops. If we encountered a small group, we’d swarm them; if it was a large force, we’d quickly hide. We also robbed barbarian merchants; any merchant passing through there, we would rob. Han Chinese were mostly spared, but barbarians were all killed...”

“The Wu Dynasty also didn’t treat us as their own people. Sometimes an official would come, claiming they wanted to offer amnesty. They offered amnesty a few times, but ultimately it was still about fighting the barbarians, just wanting us to sacrifice our lives without giving us anything in return. Other times, they’d turn around and call us bandits, coming to suppress us...”

Lightning flashed outside, and the rain grew heavier. Ning Yi turned the roasting chicken, sprinkling something onto it.

“When I was six, my father was killed by barbarians. I studied martial arts with my master and traveled the jianghu. When I returned to Lüliang at thirteen, my mother had already died. I went into the mountains and fought alongside my master every year... A knight-errant is supposed to fight for the country and its people? I never thought about that. Everyone lived... inhuman lives...”

She paused slightly. “Later... a few years ago, Song Xian led troops into the Lüliang Mountains, claiming he would offer amnesty. He spoke very convincingly. He gathered people from several nearby villages, surrounded them, and then killed them all... The Liao Dynasty said the Lüliang bandits were within the Wu Dynasty’s borders and told the Wu Dynasty to deal with them. So Song Xian took these heads as military achievements, presenting them to his superiors to curry favor with the Liao. Not a single old person or child was spared, and then he declared they were all cold-blooded bandits... He was promoted because of this. Some people in the mountains had relatives who died there, and everyone from the village I knew was also killed. Some... tried to come out to seek revenge on him, but they were also killed, their blood shed in vain. Others wanted to come out. I wouldn’t allow it, so I had to come myself...”

“That’s why I had to kill him. During the Lantern Festival, my attempt failed, though I had been quite confident. A few days ago, I tried to set another trap to kill him, but he outsmarted me instead. At that moment, I thought, if this continues, I might never be able to kill him... A single person’s strength is, after all, limited...”

“You want to learn martial arts? I studied with my master for so many years, then fought on battlefields every year, killing countless people. Several times, I crawled out of piles of corpses, not knowing if I was dead or alive. Yet, to kill Song Xian, I still ended up injured like this. Scholars who are capable can be worth an army of ten thousand, which is better than anything. Why bother becoming some ‘Bloody Hand Butcher’...” She said, pursed her lips and smiled.

Ning Yi thought for a moment, then shook his head and smiled. “I’ll stick with my curiosity... We can talk about this later. The chicken’s ready.”

As he spoke, he took down the roasted chicken, cut it with a knife, and immediately a richer aroma filled the entire room. He then passed it over with some sauce.

“How is it?”

“It tastes very good...”

“It’s a new product I’m preparing to launch. My technique is still amateur, but the ingredients are well-matched.”

“Isn’t your family in the fabric business?”

“A friend’s... If one day you can eat roasted chicken with this flavor in the Lüliang Mountains, I’ll give you something...”

“Oh, what?”

“Just some unorthodox stuff... like summoning wind and rain, turning beans into soldiers, things like that...”

“Then it’s a promise?”

“Mhm.”

The casual conversation in the room was drowned out by the roaring thunder and rain. At a restaurant on the other side of Jiangning, Li Pin was also looking at the rain curtain outside, speaking with Shen Miao beside him.

“...Yan Zhen has been preparing these past few days. He’ll probably leave Jiangning for Raozhou within half a month.”

“Didn’t he say he would leave only in July?”

“There’s a distance to cover, so it’s probably better to leave earlier to avoid any delays or accidents on the way... Besides, once he arrives in Leping, he’ll likely need to make preparations beforehand to ensure a smooth transition into his duties.”

“That’s good too.” Li Pin smiled and nodded.

Shen Miao took a deep breath. “A while ago, I heard you and Yan Zhen had some disagreements, so I came to ask about it. After all, you’ve always been friends, and it’s nothing major. I just don’t want either of you to dwell on it.”

Li Pin thought for a moment. “This isn’t really a disagreement or a grievance. I understand Zishan’s good intentions completely. It’s not that I’m angry with him; rather, he has some unresolved matters on his mind.”

Shen Miao frowned, pondering. “I see... By the way, Dexin, what do you think of Yan Zhen as a person?”

“It’s not good to speak about someone behind their back.”

“Haha, it’s fine. He’s about to travel, and we might not see him for many years after this. If he had grudges with others, I wouldn’t worry, but I’ve always trusted your character, Dexin, and your judgment of people has always been exceptionally accurate. So I genuinely want to know a thing or two. This is just casual chat, it won’t go beyond the two of us.”

Li Pin thought for a moment, then shook his head. “It’s nothing major. You and I have known Yan Zhen for many years. He has knowledge, ability, and foresight. If we compare ourselves to him, we both fall short. It’s just that over these many years, have you ever seen him truly suffer a setback in anything?”

“Uh, setbacks... there have indeed been a few instances, but Yan Zhen is also a broad-minded person and didn’t take them to heart...”

“What if I were to say... he has never truly suffered a setback?”

“Hm?”

“Brother Zishan, Yan Zhen... he has an air of arrogance. Of course, he has the reasons and talent to warrant that arrogance. Over the years, his demands on himself have been extremely high, and many times he truly inspires admiration; the demeanor of a gentleman should indeed be like that. However, sometimes his views are a bit too extreme, pursuing his objectives excessively. But then again, it’s hard to say whether that’s good or bad.”

Shen Miao smiled and nodded. “Dexin, you truly are exceptionally accurate in judging people. Yan Zhen indeed has such a tendency. A while ago, he told me that one should confront their true self, and I actually found that reasonable. He also said that when he becomes a county magistrate in the future, what he’ll need is to solve immediate problems. In these matters, he’ll be impartial and resolute, solely pursuing his objectives. Compared to a virtuous official who is charitable at heart but constrained by many rules, he would rather be a competent official who doesn’t seek superficial good or evil, but only aims to get things done properly. His ideas are truly admirable...”

Li Pin looked at him, paused, then smiled. “Indeed, in this world today, there are too many pedantic scholars and too few who get things done. If Yan Zhen truly holds such beliefs, it would truly be a blessing for the common people...”

Regarding Gu Yan Zhen, he did, to some extent, still admire him. He had vaguely sensed some things, and he had simply refrained from acting on them; it would be too much to accuse him based on groundless suspicions. Shen Miao hadn’t actually come to discuss matters today; he was merely acting as a mediator. However, he didn’t understand that the current issue truly stemmed from a lingering resentment on Gu Yan Zhen’s part. This resentment might not have been due to Li Pin’s own concealment, but rather because of the phrase, “I know your character.” Although Gu Yan Zhen had been aggressive that day, Li Pin perhaps truly shouldn’t have said that.

Regarding the principle of “outwardly kingly, inwardly sage,” there has been a long-standing debate over whether “kingly” or “sage” is more important. Of course, the Doctrine of the Mean inherently avoids extremes, and the judgment of all things is quite complex. In recent years, competent officials have indeed been far more useful than pedantic scholars. If Gu Yan Zhen proves himself to be a truly competent official in the future, Li Pin ought to visit him and apologize for those words... He hoped that would be the case.

After that, the conversation naturally followed Shen Miao’s lead. At the same time the two were conversing in the restaurant, a few streets away, at the main branch of Zhuji Teahouse, Gu Yan Zhen sat quietly tasting various dishes, accompanied by a servant. The servant beside him was tall, with a fierce knife scar on his face. He was Gu Yan Zhen’s trusted aide, known as “Old Six,” and effectively his bodyguard. In nearly three months, this was Gu Yan Zhen’s first time actively approaching a place connected to Nie Yunzhu, and certainly not to bring people to smash the shop. At this moment, he was simply quietly waiting for her appearance.

Because of the rain outside, business in the shop wasn’t very good. The heavy rain also made the light dim, so oil lamps were lit, their small flames flickering within the establishment.

Nie Yunzhu was actually inside the shop at the moment, but as a woman, she didn’t feel the need to exhibit candid magnanimity in such matters. In this era, there wasn’t much genuine candor between men and women anyway — though, concerning Ning Yi, she admittedly applied a double standard. Remembering how he had forcefully held her hand last time, she didn’t want to go out again. His pulling her hand was wrong, but her resisting him would also be wrong. So she simply waited quietly for time to pass. However, as it approached evening, and the dishes in front of Gu Yan Zhen had grown completely cold, he remained steadily seated. Having no other choice, she finally walked out, stood across the table, and bowed. “Young Master Gu.”

Gu Yan Zhen looked up at her, revealing a smile. He was always gentle and refined, and his smile at that moment genuinely conveyed goodwill, appearing relaxed and open-minded.

“I’ll be leaving in a few days to take up my post in Leping, Raozhou. So I felt I should come and say goodbye to you.”

Nie Yunzhu thought for a moment. “Yun Zhu has nothing else to offer, but wishes Young Master smooth sailing and great success in your official career.”

“Your words remind me of three years ago...” He lowered his head and smiled casually, then stood up, looking at her and taking a deep breath. “If I... if I were to sincerely say it again, that I wish to marry you, Yun Zhu, and have you come with me to Leping, would you be willing to consider it carefully again, or perhaps nod?”