Chapter 654: The Flag Has Been Set [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
The funeral hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Even the children who were mourning were moved by the atmosphere and fell silent. Everyone's gaze shifted back and forth between him and Luan Xin, without uttering a sound. He was annoyed at his quick tongue, but words spoken are like water spilled—unrecoverable: "Was I wrong? Isn't Luan Gongyi just a cripple? If it weren't for Wenyan Gong's appreciation and promotion, what would he be?"
Even if Luan Xin's ancestors were once wealthy, by Luan Xin's generation, the once grand mansion had become a humble existence. Did Luan Xin still want to bring glory to his ancestors? People with mediocre appearances rarely entered officialdom, a typical example being Zhang He, not to mention Luan Xin's severe physical disability.
His leg disability was a taboo subject that he could not mention.
Although Luan Xin's face was gloomy, he did not clash with the man, silently scrutinizing him with emotionless eyes. After a while, he coldly reminded the man that even when he was acting crazy, he should be mindful of the occasion: "Do you really want to act recklessly in the mourning hall of Wen Yan Gong?"
"I—" He couldn't be presumptuous, but he had nowhere to vent his anger. As luck would have it, Luan Xin walked right into his trap, so he had no choice but to argue back, "If this is considered presumptuous, then wouldn't you be an eyesore at Wenyan Gong's funeral?"
He added, "No, it's not that it's an eyesore, it's bad luck!"
After listening to their conversation, the First Madam realized that her husband's most trusted confidant had backed down at the crucial moment. Even though she knew that a scholar like Wenxin could not influence the outcome of the war, and that even with Luan Xin's help, Xiaocheng would likely only fall later, she still felt a knot in her heart. She was not as warm towards Luan Xin as before, and her tone became a bit harsher: "You are all Wenyan's right-hand men. Even if there are disagreements, we should temporarily put an end to the fighting and let Wenyan leave in peace..." These words were spoken to Luan Xin.
Luan Xin, being sensible, made an excuse to leave.
Seeing him limp away, the eighth-class servant hurriedly chased after him, wanting to help Luan Xin who was struggling to walk, but his rough hands dared not touch him, and could only nervously rub him: "Sir, sir, please slow down, it's cold and the road is slippery."
He was tongue-tied and wanted to say something about the funeral arrangements, but after trying for a long time, he couldn't come up with anything. Just as he was about to speak, Luan Xin stopped and asked him, "Once you've earned enough money and are free, do you have any plans?"
The burly man scratched his head blankly: "I don't have any plans for now, but I still need to make a living. Maybe I'll find a lord in the future."
Warriors are born for the battlefield.
He had no other skills besides fighting.
Luan Xin asked him, "What do you think of our lord?"
The burly man almost didn't catch on, and only after a moment of stunned silence did he realize that the "lord" Luan Xin was referring to was no longer Qiu Cheng but Shen Tang. He decisively shook his head and waved his hand in refusal: "That won't do."
"Why not? Do you have a grudge against our lord?"
The burly man replied, "It's not because of any grudge."
He simply felt that siding with Shen Tang was like a young woman remarrying her husband's killer. Even if this "husband" wasn't so good, it was only natural for a widow to remarry for a living, but the fact that the other party was his enemy made him feel uneasy all the time.
Luan Xin: "..."
The burly man chuckled, "I'm not very cultured, please excuse my ignorance, sir. But, do you really admire Shen Tang that much, sir?"
Luan Xin didn't answer, so he continued on his own.
"He must really appreciate it." He had noticed Shen Tang and Luan Xin getting along quite well in the mourning hall earlier. Judging from Shen Tang's attitude, he didn't seem to discriminate against Luan Xin's physical disability. Such a lord was rare, and the burly man was genuinely happy for Luan Xin.
Luan Xin avoided the topic.
He was simply reminded that "the lord does not have many generals under his command."
Timing is sometimes just as important as ability.
If Shen Tang could secure Longwu County, Sibao County, and Minfeng County in one fell swoop, he wouldn't be considered weak among the various scattered forces. His strength as an eighth-rank official wasn't low, but it wasn't particularly high either; if he went elsewhere, it would be relatively difficult for him to rise to prominence. Shen Tang had many vacancies and many opportunities. Luan Xin sincerely advised him, "You might as well seriously consider this before making a decision."
The burly man nodded involuntarily: "Okay."
The two parted ways, and Luan Xin walked alone through the long alley.
After a few steps, his face turned deathly pale as he leaned against the wall, vomiting a mouthful of blood. He vomited until it formed a pool before slowly straightening up. Only after vomiting the blood did his complexion improve slightly. He dragged his crippled leg, limping back home. Not wanting to disturb his sleeping relatives, he sat on the porch, draped in his cloak. A short while later, he heard footsteps behind him; without turning around, he knew it was his wife.
He asked, "Did I disturb you?"
His wife sat down: "My lord seems to have something on his mind?"
He was perfectly fine before he left home, saying he was keeping vigil for his former master and seeing him off on his final journey. Why did he return looking so lost and bewildered? Luan Xin didn't answer, and his wife wasn't in a hurry either. She knew that the man beside her was a man of few words.
After a long pause, Luan Xin seemed to realize something and said softly, "The way of the scholars among the lord's subordinates is quite interesting."
His wife mistakenly thought that Luan Xin was insecure.
"No matter how powerful they are, my husband is no less capable than them!"
Luan Xin shook his head: "That's not what I meant."
The next sentence nearly made his wife jump.
Luan Xin lowered his eyelashes, concealing the myriad emotions surging in his eyes, and said, "She will die sooner or later from one of the ways of the literati!"
sooner or later!
"Are your colleagues, Lord, really that dangerous? Why does Lord Shen still use them?" Even after sharing a bed for many years, he was startled by the sinister look on the man beside him. "Should I warn him?"
Luan Xin fell silent this time and did not answer.
His wife pulled him into the house and applied a warm towel to his lame leg: "When will you be able to go to the government office to work, my lord?"
After five or six breaths, Luan Xin finally replied, "In two more days."
His wife sighed and muttered about him.
"Has the Lord once again employed the ways of the scholar today?"
She didn't know what Luan Xin's scholarly way was, after all, she was just an ordinary person, and knowing too many secrets would become a breakthrough for Luan Xin's enemies. But she did know what the side effects of Luan Xin's scholarly way were. That was that his reactions were extremely slow. Compared to him, even the elderly men and women were quick-witted and agile.
Luan Xin: "It's alright."
His wife looked at him with obvious worry.
Meanwhile, Gu Chi went to the government office that very night to find Qi Shan, and together they searched through Luan Xin's intelligence. Disturbing his sleep so late at night, Qi Shan gave him a cold shoulder. The two practically squatted together, sharing an oil lamp, and quickly skimmed through the notes left by Luan Xin during his interview. Qi Shan teased, "Luan Gongyi? It's rare to find someone who only harms himself and not his lord."
Gu Chi said, "Don't you think he's quite mysterious?"
Qi Shan countered, "What's so mysterious about it?"
Gu Chi: "It's somewhat like Han Zhang."
"Like Hanzhang?"
"The drawback of Hanzhang's scholarly way is money; the more money he spends, the stronger his abilities become. The drawback of his scholarly way is the slow reaction after it is applied. I think he is being vague here. Slow? How long is the slow reaction? Is the time fixed? Is it possible that the stronger the ability of the scholarly way is, the longer the slow reaction time? And where is the upper limit of the slow reaction?"
Qi Shan yawned wearily.
His injuries haven't fully healed yet.
Before the yawn was even finished, Gu Chi speculated, "If the delay lasts a lifetime, wouldn't the person just die?"
In the Lord's words, isn't this just risking your life?
The drawbacks involve fate, so the way of the scholar cannot be weakened.
Qi Shan sneered: "It won't even take a lifetime. With Wenxin's constitution, he might die after seven days without food or water..."
Gu Chi rolled his eyes: "You know?"
Qi Shan: "I almost died like this back then..."
_(:з」∠)_
Hehe, the foreshadowing for Luan Xin's storyline should be finished. The next few chapters will be a transition, starting the Zheng Qiao dragon-slaying arc.
P.S.: While writing about the slow response time as a side effect, I suddenly thought of the joke about 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G speeds, haha.
(End of this chapter)
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