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When Fan Quan left Chang’an City, he was in a daze. After returning to his ancestral home in Longquan Town, he fell seriously ill. The Fan family was quite influential in the local area, with his grandfather, Fan Xun, being the head of the family. Fan Xun was indignant when he heard that his most promising grandson had been blocked from entering official service. He took advantage of a gathering of relatives and friends to publicly disclose everything that had happened at the Hongsheng Restaurant that day. The gentry families who were close to the Fan family were shocked by the domineering behavior of Lu Desheng, the Censor Lu.
Small towns rarely had fresh news, and soon, the scholars learned about it. Later, even the common people knew. Fan Quan’s excellence was well-known in Longquan Town, and he was often praised and served as a role model for all his peers. The way he was humiliated and belittled angered his fellow townspeople.
After the incident spread, scholars in Longquan Town had new worries. If someone as talented as Fan Quan couldn’t enter official service, what hope was there for them? As the Fan family said, with someone like Lu Desheng by the emperor’s side, it would be difficult for them, the scholars, to get ahead.
Scholars, when worried, either seek comfort from friends or, if they don’t have like-minded companions, they write letters to their close friends to express their anxieties. Such discussions spread like ripples, constantly expanding outwards.
This viewpoint, just as it was beginning to stir, before it could gain momentum, was caught off guard by the astounding four-sentence maxim, dissolving into nothingness.
In the absence of Zhang Zai, the author, Lu Desheng, who was being criticized, became the one who benefited the most, even though he was just a relay.
“Is Censor Lu really that bad?” This was a tone of doubt.
“His reputation in the court is indeed not good.”
“Lu Desheng’s influence on the court is debatable, but he brought out the four-sentence maxim, he should be a person of similar character to the great scholars Zhang Yong, Chen Dinghuai, and Jiang Jiuqing.”
“Zhang Yong, the great scholar, said that these four sentences were written by Zhang Zai, and Lu Desheng merely relayed them.”
“Even if Lu Desheng was just relaying them, he can be considered a man of integrity, right?”
“Yes, I only see Lu Desheng relaying the four-sentence maxim, and the whole world benefits from it. This shows that Lu Desheng is definitely not the kind of person who can’t tolerate talent.”
“Then what about the Fan Quan incident?”
“How can you say anything when the great scholar Zhang Yong held such a wonderful competition at the Hongsheng Restaurant, and no one got a position?”
“It must be that Fan Quan did something wrong, something that offended Censor Lu, and that’s why he was suppressed. Besides, is Fan Quan really that talented? Is he worthy of the emperor’s grace and promotion?”
“As for the others, they must have been implicated by Fan Quan.”
For a time, there was a lot of criticism of Fan Quan among the scholars. The storm, before it could brew into a full-blown hurricane, was dissipated without a trace. Almost all the scholars refused to believe that Lu Desheng, the Censor Lu, who could relay the four-sentence maxim, was such a narrow-minded person who couldn’t tolerate newcomers entering official service.
What followed was questioning of the Fan family and Fan Quan.
Fan Quan felt absurd. How could someone like Lu Desheng have such a good reputation? People actually compared him to the great scholars Zhang Yong, Chen Dinghuai, and Jiang Jiuqing just because of these four sentences? But these four sentences were not even created by him, he merely repeated them!
Fan Xun was also furious. After one incident, the reputation of their Fan family went from being pitied by the public to being questioned, all in just a few short days.
The public opinion they created was like a boomerang, not harming Lu Desheng but instead causing themselves to be heavily criticized.
Lu Desheng was indeed as mysterious as the rumors said, bringing bad luck to whoever crossed his path. When he wanted to take action before, his friends who returned from Chang’an City advised him, but he didn’t believe them and couldn’t swallow his pride. Now, he had truly learned his lesson.
At this moment, the heads of other famous academies in the Great Li Dynasty were beating their chests in regret. They regretted not accepting the invitation to participate in the debate hosted by Zhang Yong. If they had attended, their academies could have also gained fame through these four sentences and become known throughout the land.
Furthermore, the Emperor was too biased, only granting steles to the three major academies, making them stand out while their own academies seemed neglected.
No, they had to pack their bags. They couldn’t dwell on this matter, as it only brought bitterness to their hearts.
They decided that once the academies had their spring break, they would all head to Chang’an City together to seek an audience with the Emperor. Don’t ask them what they planned to do, their goal was to seek the Emperor’s decision.
Since ancient times, it was not about being few in number, but about being evenly distributed.
In order to attract high-quality students, they were willing to go all out.
And those cunning ones decided to secretly visit Lu Desheng to see if he had ever encountered the great sage Zai, but had not mentioned it. If these great sages had left some enlightening words for Lu Desheng, and if Lu Desheng shared a few of those words with them, wouldn’t that change their fate?
An Yuan Gate was located in the northwest of the outer city of Chang’an, and in winter, it was not as lively as Mingde Gate.
On this winter day in Chang’an City, the snow fell gently like goose feathers. Looking out from the city wall, everything appeared white and deserted, with almost no traces of human activity.
On this clear morning, An Yuan Gate was unusually knocked on by a group of people from outside. After the gate guards checked their entry permits and the visitors presented them, they were allowed to enter the city.
Under the respectful gaze of the gate guards, Qin Silang led a group of five or six men with about ten horses into Chang’an City.
Each person had two horses, either carrying a person or goods on their backs.
Upon returning to the Qin family gate, the gatekeeper immediately opened the gate upon seeing Qin Silang. Leading the way, Qin Silang and his entourage entered the courtyard with their horses in tow.
“Fourth Brother!”
Upon hearing the call, Qin Silang quickly turned around to see his younger brother running towards him, a big smile lighting up his face, his teeth shining white. He handed the reins to his subordinate and went to greet him.
“Young Sixth Master—”
“Young Sixth Master—”
The people brought back by Qin Silang also greeted Qin Sheng one by one.
“Fourth Brother, Mother, Big Brother, Third Brother, and Sister-in-law all know you’ve returned and are waiting for you in the main hall.”
“No rush.” Qin Silang’s large hand patting his younger brother’s shoulder firmly.
Qin Sheng’s lower hand was very stable, unmoving.
“You’ve grown taller again! And stronger too! It seems that staying in Chang’an hasn’t hindered your skills.” Qin Sirong could feel the muscles under his palm, thin yet powerful. Indeed, it had been another year, and Ah Sheng was now sixteen.
Qin Sheng rolled his eyes secretly. Every time his fourth brother saw him, he had to assess him, and he didn’t know what was wrong with him.
Qin Sirong laughed heartily, not minding Qin Sheng’s eye-rolling at all.
All the brothers had facial features and body shapes resembling their father’s, sharp and masculine, indicating a high level of martial prowess. The eldest brother had a refined temperament, a scholarly general. Only the youngest brother, inheriting the best qualities of both his parents, looked exceptionally good. He wasn’t short but not muscular either. In his eyes, being slender and tall made people always mistake him for a delicate white-faced scholar who couldn’t fight. No one could tell that his martial prowess was actually the strongest among all his brothers.
This sixth brother of theirs was a natural talent in military strategy, and now he had gained some reputation among the soldiers in the northern border. This was quite remarkable, considering he had only been on three campaigns with his brothers. His older brothers intended to nurture him, giving him a small unit to serve as a special force to assist in battles, rather than being part of the main force. But he fought with skill and precision. Especially in one battle he participated in, he outshone the main force he led, leading them to victory.
He was the kind of commander that soldiers loved, capable of winning battles with minimal casualties.
Having gone on three campaigns and achieving victory in all, even his father had privately remarked that this sixth brother of his was a promising military talent.
Therefore, despite having been on only three campaigns, many soldiers in the army were looking forward to the day when he would officially lead a battalion and a guard in the Imperial Northern Army after his marriage.
Upon returning this time, he had learned through well-informed sources that Ah Sheng was getting married. Surprisingly, they had pooled some money together to buy gifts and entrusted him to bring them back.
These people had followed his family and Ah Sheng on campaigns before. Now, they hoped that when his younger brother joined the Imperial Northern Army, they could become his subordinates. It was truly a situation that left him somewhat amused and exasperated.
“Fourth Brother, are you injured?” Qin Sheng asked, frowning.
Qin Sirong glanced at his left shoulder and casually replied, “Just a minor injury, nothing serious.” Ah Sheng’s nose was too sensitive; he probably smelled a bit of blood seeping from the wound.
Ignoring him, Qin Sheng directly ordered, “Steward Liu, have someone fetch a doctor.”
However, Qin Sirong interjected, “No rush, Steward Liu, first take Lieutenant Xu and the other soldiers to settle down.”
Steward Liu called someone to fetch the doctor and then prepared to arrange accommodations for the soldiers brought back by the Fourth Young Master, ensuring they had hot food, hot water, and clean rooms to rest in. Horses would be taken care of by others, providing them with fodder.
“Let’s go, let’s not keep Mother and the others waiting for too long.”