Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 774 The Past

In the evening, Xia Lin sat alone on the steps in front of a steamed bun shop on the old street. It was here that he and Lao Zhang had tricked and coaxed each other for a few steamed buns years ago.

He was holding a steamed bun in his hand, the same kind that someone had given him as charity years ago—a bun with cabbage and pork scraps. What was once a luxury item has now become the most common food for ordinary people.

He sat there slowly eating, carrying a bag in his hand, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if the two boys who depended on each other for survival were in his eyes.

"Speaking of which, I feel that it's really remarkable that I didn't become Dong Zhuo," Xia Lin suddenly turned to Si Wei beside him and said.

"The commander-in-chief's character is evident to all."

Xia Lin just smiled and waved his hand without saying anything more. After all, Siwei's childhood was tough, but compared to the days Xia Lin and Lao Zhang had, it was nothing. Being treated like a dog was really unbearable.

After finishing his steamed buns, he got up and went alone to the graves of Mr. and Mrs. Zhang. Their graves were now quite magnificent. Although the location hadn't been changed, it was clear that someone had been cleaning the area. The tombstones were also exquisite and luxurious. This was thanks to Mr. Zhang, whose son had become a prime minister. Naturally, his parents' graves couldn't be as shabby as before.

Xia Lin offered sacrifices to the two elders, knelt on the grave, burned incense, and kowtowed three times: "Master, Madam, Daosheng has come to see you."

After speaking, he leaned against the tombstone and recounted what everyone had been busy with over the years. He concluded with a smile, "Young Master is now the Prime Minister. If you two hadn't been so hot-tempered back then, you might have witnessed this scene. Well, I must go now. I'll come to visit you both again next year."

Xia Lin got up, picked a sprig of mugwort, symbolically swept it a few times in front of the grave, and then turned and left.

Instead of going back, he went to Chunhua's grave. Compared to the graves of the Zhang family patriarch and patriarch, Chunhua's grave was much more desolate. She had no relatives left, and her lonely little grave was like a wildflower blooming alone on a hillside.

When Xia Lin arrived at the small grave, he glanced back at the officials who insisted on accompanying him, and a smile appeared on his lips.

This time, he's going to use his position for personal gain.

However, he didn't say anything, but silently picked a large handful of mugwort and began to earnestly perform the ritual of offering sacrifices.

Seeing him working, the officials beside him immediately got busy and quickly cleaned up the small grave, making it neat and tidy.

Then Xia Lin personally offered sacrifices to Sister Chunhua, including a beautiful silk dress. After everything was done, he stood there looking tenderly at Sister Chunhua's tombstone and said softly, "Sister Chunhua, I've come to see you. You always longed for a silk dress back then, but I always forgot. Now I've brought it for you."

After saying that, he turned to the officials and said, "This is my dear sister. She was bullied and died back then. She was a pitiful person."

After saying that, he left on his own, leaving the remaining officials looking at each other with trepidation. Some even privately blamed each other.

"What's wrong with you all! You didn't even bother to find out the details? You treated the Marshal's sister's grave so carelessly? You deserve to die!"

"It's all my fault, oh dear... How could I not have thought of that? This is the General's hometown, how could we not have any relatives here?"

"That's not right, I've never heard of the General having any siblings."

"What? Were you deaf just now? The commander-in-chief said it himself, yes and no! And you're questioning it now? You've got some nerve."

They were pounding their chests and beating their feet behind them. Xia Lin, though unable to hear what they were saying, had a smile on his face. He was all too familiar with the taste of power. Sometimes, he didn't even need to say a word; a single glance was enough.

He had almost never abused his power for personal gain in his life, but this time he was going to do it for his poor sister who had a sharp tongue but a kind heart. She hadn't had a good life in her life, so it was time for her to have a grand funeral.

There wasn't much left to do in Luoyang. He didn't feel attached to the place because he didn't have many fond memories of it. While he wouldn't say he hated it, he certainly didn't like it much.

So on the third day after the memorial service, he set off for Chang'an. As soon as he left, all the noble families and officials in Luoyang breathed a sigh of relief. If he had really cornered them here and killed them, they might have had no way out.

Since they retreated to Luoyang, they no longer dared to be as arrogant as before. Many people even gave away most of their wealth to repair bridges and roads and establish schools.

Does that mean they've become good people? How could that be? How could they possibly be good people? They're just afraid. There are countless brothers, sisters, and elders among the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in Jinling. They hate Xia Lin more than anyone else, yet they also fear him more than anyone else.

They will seek revenge, but definitely not now, because they still want to live.

Of course, Xia Lin knew this, but he wasn't afraid. Even if he killed all of them, it wouldn't make a difference. If he couldn't plant the seeds of resistance and struggle in his lifetime, they would rise again soon.

Sitting in the carriage, Xia Lin glanced back at Luoyang's silhouette in the morning light, chuckled softly, and then closed her eyes to rest. The road from Luoyang to Chang'an was easy to travel; one could depart in the morning and arrive in the evening. When she arrived in Chang'an, a magnificent procession was already waiting at the gate, but to her surprise, the carriage was empty when it stopped.

"Where is he?" The general in charge of welcoming them was visibly pale, and he said fiercely, "You lost him?"

The coachman cupped his hands and said, "General, Commander Xia said he wanted to get off and walk around first. He wants to look around Chang'an City first, so you don't need to look for him."

When this news was reported to the Queen, Her Majesty, who was playing mahjong with the little princess, Tang Bao'er, and Dou Yazi, immediately became furious.

"What's wrong with him? Does he think this place is Nanjing? This area is very dangerous, how can he run around like this?"

"Don't worry, sister," Tang Bao'er said with a smile. "He's incredibly difficult to kill. He'll be fine."

Just as Tang Bao'er said, Xia Lin is now sitting in a restaurant listening to a tune. Some people say that everywhere is in a state of moral decay, and only Chang'an can truly recapture the flavors of the past.

But Xia Lin knew this was no praise; it was simply the remnants of aristocratic families reminiscing about their past, carefree lives.

Because of the large-scale massacres of various aristocratic families in the south, the area from Chang'an and Luoyang all the way to Shandong became their main area of ​​activity.

Here they can still feel the glory of the past, and still trample on the dignity of those lowly people who are worse than pigs and dogs without restraint.

The most enjoyable thing in the world is to trample on someone else's dignity. Although there are many prohibitions in Chang'an, it is still difficult for the southern wind to blow over there at the moment.

Otherwise, Her Majesty the Empress would be so desperate to bring Xia Lin over, and even offered Emperor Jingtai a 30% discount in future trade between the two countries in order to bring him over. This is because if this mess isn't dealt with, the Li Tang dynasty will really be finished.

Xia Lin sat in the tavern drinking a little wine. A young girl was singing a song in front of him. Every now and then, a few frivolous young men would go up and throw some money at her. Then, when the girl bent down to pick it up, they would slip their hands under her collar and give her a hard squeeze. The girl's frightened dodge would only cause the crowd to burst into laughter.

Right? If the same thing happened in Fuliang, these people would be locked up and fined. If it happened in Jinling, they would be beaten bloody by the furious scholars. But in Chang'an, their merriment would only cause a commotion.

Yes, it's all back now, the ultimate in nostalgia and retro style.

So what Xia Lin could never understand was why people online kept reminiscing about the Wei and Jin dynasties and the Republic of China. Did they really have the confidence that they could be born into powerful families? To put it bluntly, aren't 99% of the people in the world just objects to be manipulated at will? Maybe just by looking at the dog of a rich family, they could have their legs broken and become a cripple.

"That's about enough." Seeing that those arrogant young men were about to do something even more outrageous and despicable, Xia Lin slammed his wine glass on the table: "Don't go too far."

The group turned to look in his direction, and the leader chuckled and said, "Who said that? Stand up!"

Xia Lin slowly stood up: "I said it."

They quickly abandoned the boring woman beside them and turned to Xia Lin. One of them came to his side, pinched the hem of his clothes with his fingers and shook it: "I wonder what advice you have for me, brother?"

Xia Lin gently took his hand off and whispered in his ear, "Go tell your parents that Xia Daosheng is here."

Upon hearing those three words, the man reacted with a knee-jerk reaction, leaping backward. His thigh hit the edge of the table, causing him to lose his balance and fall over. However, after getting up, he didn't stop at all and scrambled out.

Seeing their elder brother in such a state, the remaining members were at a loss for what to do and could only silently retreat.

Xia Lin sat back down and started eating his food. A little while later, the girl who had been singing for money walked up to Xia Lin with tears streaming down her face, held her pipa, bowed to him, and left without saying a word.

What surprised many people present was how those usually unruly little devils suddenly became so obedient today, running away as fast as they could with just one sentence.

Immediately, many people in the room began to speculate about Xia Lin's identity.

But these onlookers probably don't know that for these scions of powerful families, the threat of killing their entire family might just elicit a laugh, followed by a beating of the speaker. But if Xia Daosheng were to arrive, they would be terrified.

Because Xia Daosheng really killed their entire family...

(End of this chapter)