Farewell at the Long Pavilion
The mundane and tedious affairs of court politics and dealing with various officials were endless. Although the immense power was tempting, Shangguan Jin did not like to use or order people around, so it held no allure for him.
His willingness to help Sima Jinyuan was something that even Sima Jinyuan himself found unexpected.
Perhaps it's because, in his limited experience of recognizing people, Sima Jinyuan was the most foolish and the most unexpected one?
But it doesn't matter. After helping him out, once his term of service is over, he's certain he'll never see this prince again.
One is the tomb keeper of the forbidden area of the Shangguan family, a prominent family in the capital, and the other is a foolish prince who is destined to never rise in the world and can only spend his life in a remote place. After three years of fleeting encounters, they would never cross paths again.
Therefore, Shangguan Jin very tactfully and politely declined Sima Jinyuan's request to become sworn brothers.
His reasoning was that after today's battle, the prince had a bright future ahead of him, while Shangguan Shisan was just a lowly martial arts practitioner who would not be able to keep up with the prince's progress. It would be better not to drag the prince down.
To everyone's surprise, Sima Jinyuan's eyes widened even more upon hearing this, and he stammered excitedly, "Sir, you are the thirteenth child in your family, and also a martial arts master?"
This was something far beyond his comprehension. An ordinary person would never encounter a martial arts master in their entire life.
Shangguan Jin felt like she had said something wrong again...
He never had the habit of talking about family matters to outsiders, nor did he want others to know more about him.
While he was still in a daze, Sima Jinyuan patted his chest and said, "I understand! With your great talent, you must be afraid that you won't amount to anything if you follow me! It doesn't matter if you refuse to become sworn brothers with me. You have done great favors for Jinyuan and my mother. Whether you agree or not, Jinyuan has already regarded you as his benefactor and brother."
Sima Jinyuan continued his impassioned speech: "I will only say one thing: in the future, whether I have a voice or not, I will do my best to introduce you to my elder brother, the Crown Prince, and to any important person I know. You have the great talent to save the world and help the country, and you must not be buried here."
Shangguan Jin stared at Sima Jinyuan in disbelief, his face flushed and his neck thick as he uttered what was probably the longest, most complete, and most logically clear statement he had ever made in his life. With his quick wit, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Given the deep-rooted influence of the Shangguan family in the Southern Dynasty's politics, it would be a hundred times easier for him to gain entry into officialdom by getting acquainted with some important figure than for this powerless and insignificant prince from a remote area.
However, after the feeling of utter absurdity subsided, he returned to his usual gentle, respectful, frugal, and modest demeanor.
He glanced at Sima Jinyuan for a moment, then whispered, "Thank you."
Shangguan Jin had no idea that what followed would all be triggered by that one "thank you".
But that was two or three decades later.
After completing his three-year term as a tutor, the prince was to leave the capital for his fief. Shangguan Jin endured Sima Jinyuan's earnest attempts to persuade him to stay before leaving the capital, and bid farewell at the thirty-mile-long pavilion with tears streaming down his face. As a polite man, and adhering to his professional ethics of seeing things through to the end, he dutifully played along in the suburbs of the capital, staging a poignant farewell between master and subject, expressing the deep gratitude he had received.
Only when Sima Jinyuan's boat finally sailed away with the wind, and the prince who was eagerly waiting on the boat could no longer be seen from the shore, did Shangguan Jin finally breathe a long sigh of relief. He immediately untied the horse tied to the willow branch and rode back to the Shangguan family's forbidden area in the south of the city as fast as he could.
God knows how long he had waited for this day. God knows how much he had been suffering just now.
As they parted, Sima Jinyuan remembered the help he had given him over the past three years, and his eyes reddened. He bowed deeply to him, and he immediately returned the bow. Sima Jinyuan returned the bow again, this time even deeper, almost touching the ground, and he had no choice but to bow deeply once more. This went on and on, with neither of them able to leave first. Shangguan Jin guessed that this scene was probably more time-consuming and laborious than the wedding ceremony of an ordinary family.
The key issue is that the Prince of Guangling is deeply in love and reluctant to leave. As his attendant, he can't simply refuse to cooperate. Could he just wave his hand and say, "Your Highness, please do as you please. I have some things to attend to," and then ride off on his own?
Although Shangguan Jin was aloof, he was not an impolite person. He thought that since this was the last time in his life, he would play along with the prince if he wanted to. An actor should finish the whole performance; that was professional ethics.
Seeing Sima Jinyuan finally board the boat and leave, he finally felt relieved and thought he could finally leave. Suddenly, he saw the boat turn around and Sima Jinyuan was clinging to the bow, shouting something to him excitedly.
He could hardly believe his eyes.
Is this going to be another farewell scene after we land?
Fortunately, the boatman and attendants seemed to be trying their best to persuade Sima Jinyuan not to turn back and go ashore again—after all this trouble, they must be scared. What if the prince changed his mind and didn't want to go back?
So the boat stopped halfway to shore.
Seeing that neither the boatman nor the boatmen were making any effort, Sima Jinyuan grew increasingly anxious and even grabbed an oar himself, intending to row the boat to the shore.
However, although he was poorly groomed, he was still a prince and had never learned how to row a boat, let alone control the direction.
What's even more deadly is that when the boatmen and barge owners saw him actually rowing the boat himself, although they didn't dare to grab the oars from his hands because of the difference in status, they all chose to immediately grab their own oars and rudders and row desperately in the opposite direction.
As a result, the boat ended up spinning in circles in the middle of the river, gradually drifting backward with the current.
Shangguan Jin stared in disbelief at the scene, unsure how to react.
After much deliberation, he finally turned towards the center of the river and shouted with his inner strength, "Your Highness, go back! I wish you a safe journey and a peaceful reunion with Consort Zhaorong."
Sure enough, upon hearing his mother's name, Sima Jinyuan paused, finally throwing the oar aside, standing up, and shouting at Shangguan Jin with all his might.
The river wind was fierce, but fortunately, Shangguan Jin was a martial artist and could concentrate his hearing to listen to Sima Jinyuan's words, which seemed to be something he had to say to him no matter what.
Even with his composure, he couldn't help but pause in surprise when he heard Sima Jinyuan's spirited shout.
"Shangguan Shisan, you will definitely make something of yourself!"
The voice was powerful and resounding, the most confident and forceful shout that Shangguan Jin had ever heard from Sima Jinyuan, as if declaring his conviction to the land and rivers of the Great Huan Dynasty.
A helpless, bitter smile reappeared on Shangguan Jin's lips.
For the first time, a thousand emotions surged through his heart, all because of the unwavering faith that someone outside his family, whom he would never see again, had in him.
He suddenly wanted to explain to him that there is more than one path in life than just becoming successful.
But Sima Jinyuan would never understand that the lifelong pursuit of a down-on-his-luck prince is probably to be respected. Therefore, he assumed that Shangguan Jin, like him, was a talented but unappreciated individual who was not valued by his clan, which was why he had ended up by his side.
In the end, he could only manage a bitter laugh, and then, facing the boat still spinning in circles in the middle of the river, he shouted heavily:
Thank you!
Throughout his life, Shangguan Jin thanked Sima Jinyuan three times.
This third event, however, occurred many years later, after the "Rebellion of the Seven Princes," which had caused widespread burning, killing, and looting in the capital.
Having entered middle age, Shangguan Jin spent nearly twenty years practicing swordsmanship in the forbidden area of his family, facing the desolate mountains. His mind was no longer turbulent, and the past had become a light and distant shadow. He would occasionally glance at it, but it no longer had a deep impact or memory.
Every dynasty has its own destiny and fate. This is a principle he came to after years of observing the stars at night, quietly studying the Book of Changes, and pondering deeply.
Years have their cycles of prosperity and decline, and the seasons are ever-changing. It does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie.
As a human being, life is as insignificant and fleeting as grass and trees. He never intended to throw himself into the great tide of the times, rising and falling with the changing of power, like drifting catkins in the wind or duckweed on the water. Nor did he ever think of using his own strength to reverse the fate of the world.
Hermits from the Shangguan family have always had this privilege: they can remain detached from worldly affairs and maintain a peaceful life of solitary seclusion.
No matter which prince declares himself emperor outside, who kills whom, or who dethrones whom, none of them will disturb this forbidden area. This is the tacit respect that all emperors hold for the reclusive lineage of the most prestigious family in Chinese culture.
But in recent years, this situation seems to have changed somewhat.
First, people started mentioning his name within the family. During the ancestral hall sacrificial ceremonies—the only time he was to appear in public throughout the year—he noticed that many of his younger relatives were secretly observing him, the chief officiant.
This is unreasonable. The presence of the chief worshipper in the family is practically nonexistent. His role is no different from the wooden shrines in the ancestral hall, covered in dust all year round, only to be wiped clean at the end of the year, because they are symbols of the family and carry spiritual significance.
But this significance shouldn't be directed at him as a person, but rather at the position itself.
After that, guests from outside came to visit, specifically requesting to see the Thirteenth Prince, Shangguan Jin. Of course, these requests were all politely turned away by the family, on the grounds that Shangguan Jin was in seclusion in the forbidden area and had not seen outsiders for a long time—not to mention outsiders, even family members couldn't easily see him. And this was the truth.
I thought that after refusing a few times, the matter would settle down. After all, nobody likes to be turned down. Even if someone is curious, they shouldn't be able to come up with a reason since they've never even seen the real person.
Unexpectedly, after several rejections, Shangguan Jin's reputation soared and became increasingly prominent. The word spread far and wide, and he was described as a sage like Boyi and Shuqi, who would never show his face unless the world had a wise and benevolent ruler.
It was only then that the Shangguan family's tradition of being tomb keepers gradually became known to the world. Before that, even members of the family rarely talked about it, because the first principle of a hermit is, of course, to remain unknown rather than to become famous.
However, due to the overwhelming number of inquiries, including from prominent figures, the Shangguan family had to go to great lengths to explain, ultimately revealing some of the inside story. This further amplified Shangguan Jin's mystique and prestige as a recluse.
Because of his repeated refusals, people became increasingly convinced that he was a rare sage in the Southern Dynasty, indifferent to power and influence, and that only he possessed the ability to defy fate and change the destiny of the Great Huan. Soon after, even children in the countryside began to sing the folk song, "If he doesn't come out at thirteen, what will become of the world?"
While Shangguan Jin was in a state of utter confusion, the clan head of the Shangguan family asked him if he knew where these rumors came from.
Shangguan Jin remained silent for a long time, but a feeling arose in his heart, and the name of a person who was long gone flashed through his mind uncertainly.
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