"Your older sister and I both lived in Lujiang City when we were young. Your older sister doesn't know me, but I know her, I know her."
My parents died early, and I lived in Lujiang City with my great-grandfather Lu Kang.
Others may think we are a wealthy and aloof family, but in fact, the Lu family has very strict family education. Our children study and practice diligently, and they also need to know about farming and sericulture.
It was around that time that I learned about that special woman.
Other girls either got married at a young age or stayed at home cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. But she was like a boy, spending her days tending to the mulberry grove and raising chickens and ducks.
She was really that capable; she managed a garden of mulberry trees, several fish ponds, and raised thousands of chickens and ducks all by herself, along with a few servants.
At first, I thought she must be a peasant woman, ugly or rough in appearance.
Unexpectedly, she turned out to be a stunning beauty, quick-witted, with incredibly lively eyes and a brisk pace.
Later, her father actually came to me through my grandfather and said he wanted to arrange a marriage.
She will choose one of us brothers or one of my young uncles to be her husband.
Because I was living in my grandfather's house, I was always very careful in everything I did, and I dared not fight for anything.
At that time, if I had dared to fight for myself and express my intentions to my grandfather, I would have been willing to marry that girl.
What happened next...
Liu Ji listened to the story for a long time.
Finally, he naturally learned that the girl was his sworn sister, now the high and mighty Lady Qiao.
Liu Ji couldn't help but laugh.
He stayed at home all year round and heard his adoptive mother constantly cursing his elder sister, Madam Qiao, saying that his elder sister was a troublemaker and not like a girl.
Liu Ji was always puzzled. Every time his elder sister appeared in front of him, she had such a graceful and noble demeanor, like a noblewoman. How could there be such a chaotic scene?
After hearing Lu Xun's story, Liu Ji burst into laughter.
Lu Xun said, "It was because of my momentary lapse of judgment! Of course, it was also the year Sun Ce besieged Lujiang City, and my grandfather was no match for Sun Ce's attack, and we were defeated."
Things were so chaotic and complicated that even our Lu family could hardly protect itself.
To save my life and that of my uncle Lu Ji, my grandfather even resorted to despicable means, kidnapping Jingjing to threaten Sun Ce.
It was only then that I realized what I had missed!
I was really cowardly back then.
Ever since my grandfather told me to save my life, all I've thought about is saving my own.
My uncle Lu Ji and I fled back to Huating County, leaving your elder sister in Lujiang City.
In Lu Xun's story.
That part was really sad.
Liu Ji was also affected by the sad atmosphere.
Liu Ji looked at Lu Xun pitifully. In the candlelight, Lu Xun's face, which was clearly young and handsome, also had a sense of vicissitude.
"Those are things from back then, they can't be recalled, and they can't be brought back!"
I learned a lesson from what happened back then! Regardless of what others think or believe, I only care about the present; I only want to protect what I can protect right now.
Lu Xun had already turned his attention to the lost youth in front of him.
Liu Ji, however, continued to stare at Lu Xun.
"Everyone has seen your affection for the princess along the way, and I know what you're worried about!"
You and I are the same.
We share the same fate. Even though we refuse to succumb to fate, we must admit the loneliness and helplessness of losing our fathers and mothers at a young age.
But a man must stand tall and upright!
I admire Sun Ce for this.
Losing to him is not a cowardly defeat for me, Lu Xun.
Like Sun Ce, he was a helpless teenager, about your age, who shouldered a spear and went alone to seek a living from Yuan Shu.
Perhaps that's why your older sister, after all these years of searching, still chose him.
As Lu Xun spoke, the topic veered off course again.
Liu Ji seemed to understand but not quite, and seemed confused but not quite.
Liu Ji's face was flushed under the lamplight.
Like Lu Xun, he admired Sun Ce, but his feelings for Sun Ce were more complex.
The past relationship between Sun Ce and Liu Ji's father, Liu Yao.
It's hard to tell right from wrong, black from white.
But Sun Ce eventually agreed to take his father Liu Yao's coffin back to his hometown for burial and to raise his several orphaned and helpless brothers.
This is an immense favor.
So it's hard to say.
Liu Ji sometimes asked himself if it was a shameful thing for him to fall in love with Sun Shangxiang.
Sun Shangxiang is Sun Ce's younger sister!
But tonight I listened to Lu Xun's words.
Lu Xun told Liu Ji:
"A true man has things he should do and things he shouldn't do. Loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, and the greater good of family and country are things he will always uphold. But in other matters, he can be flexible and adaptable."
Liu Ji did not fully understand Lu Xun's admonition, as he did not have that much experience.
Liu Ji then brought up the feud between Lu Xun's family and Sun Ce, which involved the deaths of dozens of people.
Even Lu Xun was able to continue assisting Sun Ce's younger brother, Sun Quan, with such magnanimity.
Was Lu Xun simply a man of high moral character, prioritizing the greater good of the nation and putting personal hatred aside, or was he merely trying to make a living under Sun Quan's rule?
Liu Ji didn't understand.
If it's about making a living, that's quite similar to his current situation.
Liu Ji then thought of Qiao Jingjing. Ever since he recognized Qiao Jingjing as his sworn sister, she had truly treated him like a real brother and sister, without any distinction between them.
Liu Ji was a young boy.
A secret feeling is this difficult to bear.
At that time, Sun Yi, the governor of Danyang, had just taken office and was betrayed by his subordinates within a few months, and was murdered.
After Wu Jing stepped down as governor of Danyang, there was an official named Gui Lan, who was two-faced. He was dissatisfied with Sun Yi's arrival, but outwardly he was afraid of Sun Quan's authority and ruthless methods, so he dared not openly confront him.
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