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In Chang’an City, the Lu Residence
“Ah-choo—Ah-choo—” Lu Desheng sneezed twice while reading a book.
Madam Jiang paused her needlework and looked at him with suspicion. “Aren’t you catching a cold?”
Lu Desheng waved his hand. “I’m not cold. I dress warmly! The room isn’t even cold.”
He thought to himself that it must be some old fool or brat who was thinking of him, prompting him to scratch his head and figure out who might be paying attention to him.
Madam Jiang touched the back of his hand and found it warm. Once she confirmed he wasn’t catching a cold, her thoughts shifted elsewhere. “I wonder how our daughter and son-in-law are doing?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Desheng lost interest in reading. “Let me see.”
He brought out a map, calculated for a moment, and pointed to Luoyang on the map. “By now, they should have reached Luoyang if they’re moving slowly.”
Madam Jiang leaned over to look at the map. From Chang’an to Pingzhou, Lu Desheng had marked the route with a somewhat crooked red line. Her gaze fell on the point he indicated. “They’ve traveled about a third of the way?”
“About that,” Lu Desheng replied.
This year’s New Year was the least lively for the Lu family, with only their eldest son’s family present. It was the most deserted year they had experienced in many years. Although their eldest daughter Lu Songyun and her family had returned for one night on the second day of the New Year, the elderly couple still worried about their younger son and daughter.
“You need to be discreet for a while,” Madam Jiang advised. “The new emperor has promoted a capable minister who is now vying with the four regents. The court is quite lively. We must avoid getting involved.”
Lu Desheng felt wronged. Hadn’t he been discreet enough? Besides attending court, he had kept a low profile and barely spoken, becoming a mere figurehead.
“Just keep a low profile for now,” Madam Jiang insisted. With their daughter absent, if Lu Desheng accidentally drew attention and was targeted, it would be troublesome. They needed to bide their time until they could leave Chang’an.
“If you’re idle, help our eldest son. He’s been working so hard he’s lost weight,” Madam Jiang said.
When they planned to move to the northeast, they had already begun to sell off their properties, mainly land, shops, and estates around Chang’an, leaving these matters to their eldest son to handle.
Recently, their daughter-in-law had been rather silent about their plan to move. Madam Jiang understood that it was difficult for her to part with her family, especially since Pingzhou was over three thousand miles away. She hoped her husband would help their eldest son so he could have some time to comfort his wife.
People’s thoughts vary.
When their eldest daughter visited for the New Year, she had secretly told Madam Jiang that her in-laws were also considering leaving Chang’an with them. They were waiting for their uncle Xu Zheng to return and assess the situation in Pingzhou before making a decision, though they were already quietly gathering their assets. Chang’an had been very unstable lately, which explained their reluctance to stay.
“Don’t help! Don’t worry too much about him. It’s normal for men to struggle and be tired outside. It’s the same in the court—exhausting and stressful, both physically and mentally.”
Lu Desheng was unsparing with his eldest son. After driving his youngest son out, he focused all his attention on Lu Zhiyuan.
At first glance, Lu Zhiyuan had no major issues, only some minor flaws: not very clever, stubborn, and easily influenced. Considering the poor conditions during Lu Zhiyuan’s and Lu Songyun’s births, he had not been well-nourished in the womb. This might explain why the elder children were not very bright. Understanding this background made Lu Desheng more tolerant of his eldest son’s minor flaws.
If Lu Zhiyuan’s wife had strong opinions and he listened to her, it would be fine. But the problem was, she wasn’t decisive either.
Realizing this, Lu Desheng had been pondering over several matters recently.
He knew that one day he would grow old and die. The thought of leaving this world without properly training his eldest son troubled him deeply. After his death, with no elders around, his eldest son would become the most senior family member. If he were to mismanage things and cause trouble for his grandson Lu Xiao or his daughter and younger son, what would become of them?
Such thoughts made him restless and unwilling to die in peace.
Therefore, he decided that things couldn’t continue this way. Since he had the time, he would focus on improving his eldest son, putting him through trials and training.
In reality, both he and Lu Xiao were willing to rely on the couple, provided they were self-aware and didn’t cause too much trouble.
Hence, recently he had been pushing his eldest son to experience hardships. He didn’t expect much from him, just hoped he would understand the difficulties of life and recognize his own limited abilities.
Lu Zhiyuan: …… Father, you really are a great father!
In Gunzhou, Tonghua County, the County Office
Zhang Xian looked at his reflection in the mirror, his hair showing signs of graying. He felt a deep sense of melancholy.
He was just over thirty years old, but already had white hairs. Despite more than ten years in officialdom, he was still only a county official with a meager salary of five hundred bushels. His career had not progressed as hoped.
He recalled a time when a blind man had passed through their village. His parents, compassionate, had given the man a bowl of plain rice.
After eating, the blind man had gazed at him intently and predicted that he was talented and would make a career in the civil service.
Zhang Xian had smiled modestly at the time.
The blind man had added that it was a pity he was destined to face obstacles and setbacks in his career due to encounters with scheming people. It was only after many years and an encounter with a benefactor in a year marked by Jiazi (a cyclic year) that his fortunes would improve and his career would flourish.
The man had introduced himself as Wu Daozi and left immediately after.
At that time, Zhang Xian had dismissed the words as mere superstition, but his career had indeed unfolded as the blind man had predicted. When he tried to find the man later, he was nowhere to be found.
He reached up and pulled out a white hair from his temple.
Just then, his wife Zhang Shi entered, holding a bowl and speaking gently, “You’ve been coughing these past few days. I’ve made some pear water for you. Please drink a bowl.”
Zhang Xian took the bowl from her and drank it in one go. “Thank you for your trouble.”
His wife was kind and supportive. Even while he served in the most remote areas of the Da Li dynasty, she had always been with him, never complaining. He deeply valued her.
At this moment, his trusted aide, Yan Liang, knocked on the door.
He glanced at the darkening sky, knowing that Yan Liang’s arrival at this hour meant there was important business.
Since this was not the place to discuss matters, he planned to move the conversation to his study.
As his wife handed him the pear water, he drank it quickly and told her to rest early, not to wait up for him.
On the way, Zhang Xian learned that Yan Liang had brought a letter from Lu Mingzhi, the younger son of Lu Desheng, a censor at the court.
Zhang Xian was somewhat surprised upon hearing this and inquired further to find out that Lu Mingzhi had already arrived in Gunzhou, Tonghua County, and was currently staying in Qingxi Village. This meant that the person had arrived in his territory. Zhang Xian thought about it and wondered what the other party might need. If the matter wasn’t too difficult, he would take care of it.