Jinting Han people

Chapter 123 Fool (4k)

When Sima Wei arrived at Anle Mansion, it was two quarters in the afternoon. The sky was still deep blue, and the warm sunlight shone all over the earth. The streets and alleys were filled with the noisy chirping of cicadas, but there were not many human voices. This scene made him feel uneasy for a moment.

If someone feels their worst, most miserable, and in a state of disarray, they certainly don't want others to see it. Otherwise, they'll burst into rants, yet feel powerless, all because failure has eroded their self-confidence. Sima Wei clearly sensed this in himself, so he didn't want to return home to see his wife and children. Instead, he wanted to sit with someone who could preserve his self-respect.

But even so, Sima Wei still struggled for a while before he knocked on the door. When he knocked on the door, his heart was filled with disgust towards himself, and he felt that the enemies and the world were so boring. Perhaps it was not boredom, but everything in this world stretched out its claws of rebellion towards him.

He didn't even know whether the friend he was going to meet would open the door for him.

Sima Wei thought about this and felt a little ridiculous. After knocking on the door, there was no immediate response from inside the mansion. He slowly turned around with his hands behind his back, looking up and counting the leaves on the apricot tree beside him. Only then did he realize that his life was like an insignificant leaf among the countless round leaves. One more or one less would not affect the vitality of the tree.

As he was thinking this, he heard a "creak" sound from behind, and the door of the mansion slowly opened a crack. This startled the King of Chu. He turned around and saw a young man with his arms dangling walking out. He turned around and said something to the person inside the door, but it ended quickly. Then the two of them looked at each other on the street and smiled at the same time.

"I thought you didn't dare to come out to see me." Sima Wei said.

"How could that be?" Liu Xian walked down the steps and stopped in front of Sima Wei. He then said with a smile, "You wouldn't eat anyone. On the contrary, I know that when you have nothing to do, you give alms to the poor. You are a famous virtuous king in Luoyang."

"But he's also a completely defeated fool."

"Everyone in this world is a fool..." Liu Xian said, "The Grand Protector is a fool. He actually willingly became a knife in Empress Jia's hand, trying to stop a chariot with his bare hands. Empress Jia is a fool. She actually dared to plot against the late emperor's legitimate son. The late emperor was also a fool. He actually dared to pass the throne to the current emperor. The current emperor is even more of a fool. He doesn't even realize that he killed his own brother..."

This was an extremely outrageous statement, but Sima Wei didn't find it displeasing at all. He simply said, "It sounds like you're not a fool."

"Of course I'm a fool too..." Liu Xian pointed at himself with his left hand and said with a wry smile, "I offended Jia Mi, and now I'm still here to see you. Maybe I'll die with you."

Sima Wei had a thousand things to say to Liu Xian, but after hearing these words, he was speechless for a moment. He had no choice but to sit back on the ox cart, patted the wooden board beside him, and said to Liu Xian, "Come with me to look around."

Liu Xian nodded and sat down next to Sima Wei without any hesitation. Although they had known each other for a long time, this was the first time they had acted so equally.

Chen Yu, who was driving, asked, "Your Highness, where are you going?"

Without waiting for Sima Wei to speak, Liu Xian said, "Let's go to the western suburbs. In half an hour, we should be able to hear the bells of the White Horse Temple."

Then he turned to Sima Wei and said, "I bet that even though you are twenty-one, you have never heard the bell of the White Horse Temple."

The fact is indeed so. Sima Wei, a native of Luoyang, who had lived for 21 years, had never been to the White Horse Temple. In his opinion, only weak people believed in Buddhism. Instead of spending time on religious beliefs, it is better to do more practical things.

But now he suddenly understood that no one is not weak, those people just think they are not weak, but there is always a big deviation between imagination and reality.

So they set out on the road to the White Horse Temple. The sun was shining brightly, and they made no attempt to hide their presence, openly displaying the banner of the King of Chu. Passersby along the road ducked out of the way, but no one tried to arrest him. Only two or three men followed him stealthily, evidently Empress Jia's spies on Sima Wei. But Sima Wei didn't care, and neither did Liu Xian.

On the way, Sima Wei brought up the topic again. He asked Liu Xian, "Huai Chong, do you think those famous generals and heroes throughout history were also fools?"

Liu Xian looked at the people walking on the street and replied, "Of course, they are all fools."

"What's the difference between a fool and a fool?"

"Of course there are smart fools and fools who are not smart enough."

"Is there a difference between a fool and a smart one?"

"Of course, a smart fool knows he is a fool, but a stupid fool doesn't know he is a fool. That's the only difference."

"Ha, you're mocking me, I can hear that."

Liu Xian smiled. Of course, that wasn't what he meant. Instead, he continued, "Your Highness, people always have things they can't do, they always encounter failure, and they always feel like they're all empty in the end. This is commonplace."

"No matter what kind of fool you are, no matter what kind of career you have, you will eventually disappear. Just like a stone, a leaf, or a fly, but what does it matter?"

"People can't hold on to things that are destined to pass away, but every moment of their lives, their emotions and hearts refuse to acknowledge this. Like fools, they cling to unattainable ideas, yearning to dominate and conquer this cruel world."

“Then do something that seems impossible to achieve. Many people fail, but some people succeed.”

"Wu Zixu crossed the river to seek revenge, Su Qin conquered the six kingdoms, Xiang Yu burned his boats, and Huo Qubing conquered the Wolf's Lair. Wasn't this how they all did it?"

“The miracles in the world are created by fools.”

At this point, Liu Xian sighed. He was such a fool to say these things to Sima Wei. For a person who had lost everything and was about to lose his life, talking about miracles and great deeds was undoubtedly painful. But he didn't say these things. Was he going to say that life was a sea of suffering and death was a kind of relief?

He felt that was disrespectful to his friends.

What's more, he himself can't escape now.

Sima Wei sat aside, but did not think too much. After he relaxed, he listened to Liu Xian's words beside him, but suddenly felt curious: Liu Xian had never said these words to him before, and he had never thought that people would look at the world in this way.

What were the thoughts of those who followed him, like Liu Xian? How did they view life? What were their obsessions? Sima Wei hadn't cared before, but now he found it a fascinating mystery. He wanted to know, to understand.

Before they knew it, the ox cart finally arrived at the White Horse Temple. In front of this temple that was built two hundred years ago, the two immediately felt the vicissitudes of time.

Due to the unrest today, the main gate of White Horse Temple was sealed. Only two stone horses stood before the three white stone arched gates. The area was deserted, though the faint chanting of monks could be heard from within. This gate symbolized the "Three Gates of Liberation"—the Gate of Emptiness, the Gate of No Form, and the Gate of No Wish. It was said that entering through them would lead to nirvana and freedom. But now, Sima Wei and Liu Xian could only see the lush, ancient trees that peeked over the temple walls. These were mostly sycamores, their broad leaves unable to block out the sunlight.

It was already dusk, the sun was setting over the western mountains, and the clouds were draped in the sunset like a cassock, gleaming with purple-gold light. The clouds scattered and swayed in the sky, half in shadow and half in light, like black smoke caused by a raging fire. The sycamore trees in the White Horse Temple also swayed in the wind, rustling for a moment, as if the Buddha's bell were vibrating.

After both of them calmed down, Sima Wei asked Liu Xian, "When will the bell be rung?"

"Once in the morning and once in the evening. It should be coming soon now."

As if agreed, as soon as Liu Xian finished speaking, the bell of White Horse Temple suddenly rang.

At first, the sound seemed to be floating from a very far away, but in a very short time, the sound of the bell was like sunlight, pouring into the ears, and the lingering Buddhist chanting seemed to drown out all the noise in the world.

Amid the ringing of bells and the sounds of chanting, Sima Wei felt as if he were sensing the heavens and the earth, sensing the veins of leaves, the dust in the corners, the fur of wild cats, the breath of the air. Amidst this peaceful and solemn sound, he suddenly felt a sense of joy and nostalgia. He discovered the world was truly beautiful. Previously, he had only thought about conquering it, but had never truly understood this land.

At some point, the bell stopped ringing and Sima Wei closed his eyes. A feeling of emotion suddenly surged in his calm heart, making it difficult for him to suppress it. He then bent down, covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders kept shaking.

He cried.

Crying is a shame for a man. Sima Wei wanted to restrain this shame and face death in a decent state, but once the dam of the heart began to collapse, the emotions could not be stopped and they could only be vented.

So the 21-year-old virtuous king of the Western Jin Dynasty lay on the shaft of the oxcart, crying like a child. He lowered his head to prevent Liu Xian from seeing his ugly face, but still wailed and poured out his words:
"I want to live, I still want to live!"

"I want to live another ten years. That way, I can rule the world and show you how talented I am. I will definitely bring peace and order to the country!"

"I will kill all those treacherous ministers without sparing a single one! I will change the world and leave my name in the annals of history."

"If ten years is too much, five will do. If five years is still too much, just one will do. If you give me one year, I will take good care of my wife and children, care for my subordinates, and see the famous mountains and rivers in this world..."

"If a year is too much, give me another month, ten days, five days, three days..."

“I still have a lot of things I want to do and a lot of places I want to go…”

Sima Wei was already sobbing when he said this. Liu Xian was also greatly shocked. He didn't know what to say. His heart was filled with sadness and sympathy. This was probably the unwillingness of everyone in this world before the end. They all thought they were the chosen ones of heaven, but in the end they had to face the dilemma of having accomplished nothing.

But it is precisely because of this that many people feel anxious, unwilling to be ordinary, and eager to touch greatness, but end up making the same mistakes.

Just as Sima Wei was crying, Liu Xian heard the sound of dense footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw that hundreds of soldiers had surrounded the place.

When they saw Liu Xian noticed, they immediately quickened their pace and rushed forward from both sides. There was a loud sound of armor and weapons colliding, like a flood overflowing a dam. Hundreds of people rushed forward and surrounded Sima Wei and Liu Xian in an instant.

Liu Xian remained calm, blocking the way in front of the soldiers and shouting, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu is here, he won't run away! Give him some time!"

But the soldiers did not listen to the advice. The leaders reached out and grabbed Liu Xian's shoulders, pulling him aside, and then they were about to grab Sima Wei. One of them even pulled Sima Wei's belt.

At this time, an old man shouted sternly, "Put it down! After all, the King of Chu is a descendant of the late emperor and a brother of your majesty. How can you be so presumptuous!"

The voice was very familiar. Liu Xian and Sima Wei both looked in the direction of the voice and were stunned. The person who spoke was Liu Song, the tutor of Prince Shiping and now one of the Three Dukes and the Shangshu.

After so many years, Liu Song's face had many wrinkles, but his every move was still the old-fashioned Master Liu from the Shiping Palace. He looked at Sima Wei with a look of helplessness mixed with heartache and pity. After speaking to the soldier, he stood there for a long time, finally making up his mind and slowly said, "Your Highness, Prince of Chu, come with me to the Supreme Court. The court will have a fair say on the outcome."

Sima Wei had stopped crying, but when he looked at Liu Song, his hands and feet were still shaking. This was inevitable. In life, there were only two types of people who didn't want to see their miserable side: their parents and their teachers. And now, he was facing the dilemma of being judged by his teacher.

Sima Wei forced himself to answer, "Teacher, I won't go."

He pulled out a piece of blue paper from his bosom, a secret imperial edict unique to the palace, and unfolded it. Like a stubborn child, he spoke to everyone, as if trying to prove something: "Teacher, I am innocent. All of this was the Empress's edict, and then they said it was a forgery, making me suffer such an injustice."

Sima Wei looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, leaving only a wisp of purple clouds in the sky. It was almost dark. Thinking of this, he burst into tears again: "Ah, teacher, my body was given to me by Emperor Wu. I cannot let it be insulted by villains. Therefore, I am willing to die to prove my will and wash away the injustice I have suffered."

Then, he said to Liu Xian beside him, "Huai Chong, I won't implicate you. Consider this head as a gift to you as a reward."

The implication was that Liu Xian should be reported as a hero for assassinating Sima Wei.

After saying that, he suddenly pulled out a dagger from his waist, and then with a flash of the knife, the tip of the knife stabbed directly into his heart. Blood gushed out along the blade, quickly soaking his clothes and dripping onto the ground.

Sima Wei raised his head and took one last look at this dark world, muttering, "Oh my God!"

Then he fell to the ground, and under the gaze of many people, the King of Chu gradually stopped breathing.

It was completely dark. The old man slowly knelt down and looked at Sima Wei.

He looked at the young man not as if he were looking at a dead person, but as if he were looking at a sleeping child. Then, he took the King of Chu into his arms, his movements gentle, as if he was afraid that someone would disturb the student's sweet dream.

But in the shadows where no one could see him, in front of the empty gate of Nirvana, he finally couldn't control his sadness and shed silent tears.

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(End of this chapter)