Chapter 284: A Fabrication, A Non-existent Thing [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
"A complete fabrication? This 'Way of the Scholar' sounds rather strange. Could it be that the Yan An we saw was not the real Yan An but an avatar?" Shen Tang suddenly felt a headache coming on. This world really has all sorts of strange and bizarre abilities.
Is there still a way out for science here?
They're probably nailed to their coffins.
Gong Shuwu nodded first, then shook his head, leaving Shen Tang completely bewildered and not understanding what he meant.
Fortunately, Gong Shuwu didn't deliberately keep him in suspense.
"If Yan An didn't lie back then, my lord's guess should be pretty close to the truth. But if he lied, then it's hard to say." Gongshu Wu paused, then asked, "Does my lord think that Yan An, as a scholar with a literary mind, would completely reveal his true nature?"
It wasn't that he intentionally made a sweeping generalization, but rather that the average person in this group of literati owns three properties, because "a cunning rabbit has three burrows."
Especially when it comes to private matters like the way of the literati, it is even more important not to let outsiders easily find out; one must always keep something in reserve.
Gong Shuwu was inclined to be cautious and reserved.
Shen Tang: "What is the relationship between Banbu and Yan Xingning?"
"We've said a few words, but if I had to put it in perspective, it would be 'half-baked'." Gong Shuwu rarely made a joke. "Yan An's father was a famous scholar and a court official in Xin State. Although it was just a sinecure with little real power, he was highly regarded and famous among scholars. People who wanted to become his apprentices would wear down his doorstep. And Yan An became famous at a young age, so it would be hard not to know him."
Gong Shuwu, as the younger brother of the head of the Gong family and a highly valued military officer, was naturally a sought-after eligible bachelor in the capital. However, he was a bit older than Yan An, and the two were not from the same generation; one was a scholar and the other a warrior, so there was a generation gap in their communication.
"Yan An once said in public that his way of the literati was 'pure fiction,' with an effect similar to the 'three hearts and two minds' of the literary scholar. However, the latter can only exist for a short time and only has a vague human form, while the former actually conjures up a literary aura that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing, and the aura can even walk outside. Apart from that, there is nothing special about it."
This scholar's way seems magical, but it is actually quite useless. Even Yan An himself said that it was of little use except for being lazy.
Chu Yao grasped the key points.
"Said in public?"
What is the way of the scholar?
The trump card of the literary scholar.
Yan An casually revealed his trump card, which might turn the tide in a critical moment and even save his life, in public. It's one thing to be frank in public, but to go and explain his abilities in detail is just not normal.
Gong Shuwu carefully recalled the scene from that time.
He explained, "I remember it was at a palace banquet, where the old king wanted to show off to envoys from other countries."
In short, the neighboring country boasted about a young man in their country who, before the age of eighteen, possessed extraordinary literary abilities, which embarrassed the host country of Xin, causing the old king to look extremely displeased. In the end, Yan An stepped forward and turned the tide.
Yan An was even younger.
At sixteen, one acquires knowledge; at eighteen, one becomes proficient; at twenty, one achieves mastery.
The way of the scholar is not so easy to control.
Yan An's words aroused the envoy's doubts.
So Yan An openly revealed his abilities as a scholar. Gong Shu Wu was also present at the time and remembered it very clearly—if this ability were used to commit suicide, who could withstand it?
Furthermore, his name regarding the way of the scholar is also unique.
[Complete fabrication]
It perfectly aligns with Gong Shuwu's aesthetic preferences.
Shen Tang asked curiously, "'Three Minds and Two Intentions' is a literary spirit that can create two literary avatars, allowing one person to do three things at once, but the duration is short. Yan Xingning's literary avatar can run around freely... So how many literary avatars can he create at most?"
I'm truly envious.
Gong Shuwu said, "He himself said there are two paths."
But what was written in his eyes was—
Even a dog wouldn't believe the words of that literary scholar.
Shen Tang: "There were two paths back then, and now that so many years have passed, let's conservatively estimate it to be six paths, plus the original body, making a total of seven. Goodness, he can do the work of seven people by himself."
What great 996 and 007 workers...
The King of the Modern Era!
Gong Shuwu: "..."
Chu Yao: "..."
Is this all the lord is concerned about?
Even if someone can do the work of seven people, they are still serving others, and it's useless to be envious.
Opening up new perspectives
Gong Shuwu: "Whether there are two or six incarnations of literary energy is not important. What is important is that the main body will know when an incarnation dies. Now is not the time to alert the enemy. We should avoid Yan An as much as possible..."
Don't be fooled by his name, Yan'an, and courtesy name, Xingning, into thinking he's a refined and gentle scholar who lives a peaceful and idyllic life. No famous literary figure has ever gained fame based on looks or a good temper; the bigger the reputation, the more ruthless the person.
Shen Tang naturally understood this principle.
When Gong Shuwu said that the envoy Yan Xingning was not the real person, she gave up the idea of causing him to "have an accident".
One of the principles of killing to silence witnesses is to eliminate the root of the problem, killing a literary incarnation without endangering the original.
Why would she go through all that trouble?
Shen Tang was more concerned about Yan An's purpose in coming.
For whom have we come?
Why did you come?
Could it be that they had been exposed? Yan An guessed that the Xin State Seal in Gong Shuwu's possession was now in his own hands?
This concerns her life and fortune.
"Do you think Yan'an has discovered anything?"
“There’s definitely suspicion, otherwise they wouldn’t have tested us so much.” Speaking of this, Chu Yao was secretly relieved. He had prepared in advance by having Qi Shan disguise everyone, and he didn’t expect it to come in handy. “But he has no evidence, so we have to stay calm.”
Shen Tang nodded. Given that Yan An's scholarly ways were difficult to guard against, she suggested that people should just go about their business for the next few days, take a break, and make full preparations before taking office as the River Governor.
Major operations will be suspended for a day or two.
By the way—
"Should we use a secret code?"
Chu Yao wasn't that nervous, and even joked with a hint of ease, "Hmm, that works too. The password is up to Goro?"
Shen Tang exclaimed excitedly, "Okay!"
When Gu Chi received the several copies of "Essential Techniques for the Common People" transcribed by Chu Yaomo, he noticed an extra sentence at the beginning—
How old is Goro?
How tall is Goro?
Gu Chi: "???"
Is the style of "Qimin Yaoshu" incorrect?
Upon further inquiry, it was revealed to be a code.
From now on, when the bluebird delivers messages or we meet, we will use this as our signal.
If you answer incorrectly, then it's Yan An in disguise!
Gu Chi: "..."
What kind of code is this?
The correct answer is also thoughtfully included at the end.
[Secret], [Secret]
Gu Chi: [...What's the answer to the code?]
Chu Yao: [...It's a 'secret'.]
Gu Chi: "..."
He has something to say, but he's unsure whether he should.
The three heroes of Chu back then probably ate too many pancakes from Shen Tang, and they were just as gluttonous as her!
Kang Shi only learned of Yan An's visit after receiving a message from Qingniao. He frowned slightly, thankful he wasn't present at the time. Otherwise, if Yan An had run into him, it might have caused trouble for his lord, since Yan An was no pushover.
Fortunately, Shen Tang was able to remain calm.
Otherwise, this matter wouldn't be so easily forgotten.
Commandant Yang took a sip of the warm yellow wine and, seeing Kang Shi's serious expression, asked, "Is this Yan'an situation really that troublesome?"
"Yan Xingning's way of the scholar is not as simple as Gongshu Banbu described. The so-called 'embodiment of literary spirit' is nothing more than a fabrication he made up to hide his true abilities. 'Completely fictitious' is a fiction. Since it is fiction, it naturally does not exist..."
Commander Yang was a little confused.
"What exactly?"
Kang Shi said, "I don't know either."
He had few friends, and because of his scholarly ways, he had few close confidants. He became friends with Yan An and often visited each other in his youth because Yan An's scholarly ways could restrain him.
However, Kang Shi did not become close to him.
Commandant Yang asked in surprise, "You don't know either?"
How can you say that Gong Shuwu is wrong?
Kang Shi said, "It's just a guess and intuition."
Commandant Yang insisted on getting to the bottom of things.
Tell me about it.
"It's just a guess, take it with a grain of salt and don't take it seriously—" Kang Shi chuckled as he poured himself a bowl of wine, took a sip, savored it, and didn't forget to give Yang Duwei a heads-up beforehand, "Yan An's father once revealed to a friend while drunk that Yan An's way of the scholar can overturn the truth and the falsehood of cause and effect. As for the extent to which it can be done, it is still unknown."
Commandant Yang still didn't understand.
"Illusory and real, cause and effect?"
"To turn falsehood into truth or truth into falsehood," Kang Shi said. "I've only heard about it; whether it's true or false is hard to say."
Commander Yang wore a "I don't believe you're lying" expression—such secrets, are they so easy to "hear"? And who spread them? And it was even revealed by Yan An's father in a drunken slip of the tongue…
Having spent time with him, I can tell that Kang Shi isn't as careless as he seems. His words are half true and half false.
Commander Yang savored it carefully.
Reality and illusion...
cause and effect……
It's not simple just from the literal meaning.
Commander Yang couldn't help but roll his eyes and mutter, "These young men nowadays are all so difficult to deal with."
In his youth, while there were many talented scholars, their conduct was mostly conventional, unlike now—
It's truly a chaotic mess.
For a moment, Commander Yang didn't know whether to be happy or regretful. He was born more than ten years too early and wasn't from the same generation as them. He was happy that he wouldn't have to face them, but regretful that he couldn't fight them.
Kang Shi gave an awkward laugh.
But I had a vague worry in my heart.
at the same time--
Contrary to Shen Tang's fears, the envoys did not arrive as they had anticipated.
After finishing their business, they left without stopping, taking their time, showing no sign of the urgency of having traveled day and night. Yan An asked, "Is there any movement?"
The other person replied, "No."
A night passed, and still nothing happened.
Yan Anxin was suspicious, but he could only give up. He had seen Shen Youli in person and there was nothing unusual about her. At most, she was a little smaller, a little more immature, and had a little more innocent eyes. She was not like those carefully cultivated by wealthy families. She was more like a wild reed growing on the riverbank, with vigorous vitality and an infectious energy.
He said, "Go back and report."
Yan An waved his hand, spurred his horse and disappeared into the distance. Strangely, the remaining people seemed not to see him or follow him.
The group of fourteen people only stopped briefly before continuing their journey, occasionally whispering conversations could be heard.
It seems they completed this mission too quickly?
At the same time—
Yan An, far away in the capital, paused slightly as he picked up his pen.
He paused for a moment, then continued writing.
There's a mountain of things on my desk waiting to be dealt with.
Most of them are trivial matters, such as auspicious signs of birth in a certain place, or a child born who can speak, which must be a blessing from heaven to protect the ruler for a long time; or an official in a certain place paying respects and inquiring about his situation while complaining about being poor; or flattering and fawning.
The rest are all about reporting good news and not bad.
but--
How could Yan An not know the situation in various places?
He was furious, even wanting to pick up his pen and rebuke them, but he couldn't, because Yan An wasn't the ruler; Zheng Qiao was. As for how things that should have been handled by Zheng Qiao ended up on his desk?
That's a question for his good junior brother, Zheng Qiao.
Those who are capable should do more work.
Since Senior Brother Yan'an has this intention, Zheng Qiao doesn't need to create things for herself and has delegated the political affairs.
He spent his days playing and having fun at the palace, either feasting with court officials or racing horses, hunting, playing football, and playing polo...
Just the other day, a stable boy was granted a noble title on the spot because of his skill in playing polo, though it was only the lowest rank, it was still quite absurd. Other courtiers, like sharks smelling blood, flocked to him, sending people everywhere to scour for young beauties and offering up entertainers skilled in singing and dancing from their own households—of course, there were also those who used this as an excuse to line their own pockets.
Yan An often thought of taking up his sword to kill someone.
Zheng Qiao came over and saw that he was full of murderous intent. He said, "Who has offended Senior Brother and is so murderous?"
He remained silent during the banquet.
Zheng Qiao felt rather bored.
Just before leaving, he asked, "That Shen Youli, did Senior Brother have 'Zixu' go check on her? How was it?"
Upon hearing this, Yan An's eyelids twitched.
He said, "There's nothing wrong with this person."
Zheng Qiao scoffed, "Even if there are problems, I'm not afraid."
Looking at his junior brother's drastically changed appearance, Yan An couldn't help but say, "If this continues, aren't you afraid of dying without a burial place?"
Zheng Qiao sneered and waved her hand dismissively.
"I would not hesitate to sacrifice myself, for I am not afraid."
Yan An's face showed a hint of anger.
Zheng Qiao ignored him, and even laughed with a hint of smugness: "Even if I die, I will make all the court officials die for me, especially—the former officials of Xin Kingdom. Senior brother, you don't need to worry, you will not be lonely on the road to the Yellow Springs."
Yan An pursed her lips and watched Zheng Qiao stride away.
"etc!"
"What is it, Senior Brother?"
"Regarding the matter discussed in the previous court meeting..."
Zheng Qiao thought for a moment and said, "Which one are you talking about? If you can persuade them to take out their wallets, I won't stop them."
Previously, it was agreed to check the grain depot accounts and open the warehouse to release the grain.
However, there have been voices of opposition.
Zheng Qiao deliberately indulged them in order to maintain stability.
The court officials didn't completely deny it, but they dragged their feet, employing all sorts of delaying tactics. They tacitly passed the buck, deliberately stalling the banquet. With the weather growing colder and the first snowfalls in various places, if this wasn't addressed soon, countless commoners would die this winter.
Yan An then asked, "What if I were to kill someone..."
Zheng Qiao: "Senior brother, do as you please, but if they catch you doing something wrong, they will make you suffer in order to secure your position."
He didn't put it too bluntly.
But Yan An could hear the subtext.
If this "suffering" means killing Yan An, then to quell the "public anger," he too must die.
After Zheng Qiao left, Yan An spent a quarter of an hour alone before he could suppress the turmoil of negative emotions churning within him. He looked towards the door and murmured to the void, "Nothingness, how much longer?"
After a while.
He added, "Two years is enough."
——————
Two days later.
When Shen Tang woke up, she found that the air temperature had dropped considerably.
Pushing open the door, I saw fine, soft snowflakes drifting in the wind.
It felt icy cold on my face.
(End of this chapter)
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