Jinting Han people

Chapter 169 Jingshi Tianshi (4k)

This is a Jing Room. The word Jing means both calm and peaceful, and also means tranquility. So as the name suggests, Jing Room should be a very quiet room.

The Five Pecks of Rice Sect, also known as the Celestial Master Sect, established the Jingshi (Jingshi) for the same purpose. They hoped that upon arriving at the Jingshi, their followers would pray to the Three Officials, recounting their sins in the human world, and ultimately receive their forgiveness, thereby achieving eternal peace of mind.

Unfortunately, this Jingshi is not like that, although it is filled with various Taoist items, such as the money tree, peach wood sword, Jiezhu bottle, Emperor Seal and other solemn things, there are even reliefs of Tai Chi Bagua on the four sides of the Jingshi.

But it couldn't hide the blushing sound in Jing's room, and then it made him daydream. It was like a violent storm, like a burst of lightning and thunder. In short, after this moment, the sound in the room finally stopped.

Sun Xiu stretched out his body, stretched out his limbs completely, and lay on the cold bed with his head tilted back.

The woman serving beside him saw him resting and immediately approached him attentively, gently pressing his neck and shoulders with her hands.

On the other side of Sun Xiu, a slender girl was wrapped in a blanket, curled up beside the stone bed, breathing up and down like a fallen leaf in the lake, and fell asleep tiredly.

Sun Xiu enjoyed the woman's massage, and then slowly commented on the girl:
"Well, Ah Jiang, her name is Ah Xue, right? She's quite good and very understanding. She should stay with you in the mansion from now on."

It turned out that the people serving him were a mother and daughter.

Although everyone knew that Sun Xiu was dissolute, no one would have thought that he had become so absurd and had no dignity as a scholar.

But the woman didn't feel the slightest bit ashamed. Instead, she asked Sun Xiu as if she was used to it, "Master, where should I let Ah Xue live? She's just joined the sect and her cultivation isn't deep yet. I'm afraid she'll cause criticism."

Sun Xiu said casually, "What's the big deal? I've already enlightened her personally and will report to the Three Officials. Ah Xue, you will definitely be accepted into the Immortal Hall. As long as you continue to serve me sincerely, I will send a dream to the Earth Official. Who knows, I can even have her name admitted to the Immortal Hall!"

Upon hearing this promise, Ah Jiang's face was filled with ecstasy, and he replied with a rosy face, "I see! Thank you so much, Master! I will follow Master's arrangements in everything!"

Despite Ah Jiang's flattery, Sun Xiu felt unsatisfied. Ever since taking command of the Western Expedition Army, he had indulged himself to the fullest, leading a life he had only dreamed of, or even imagined, a few years earlier. Yet, even in this life, he still felt empty.

"Although I have struggled to achieve all of this, the process of struggle is the happiest thing!"

After an hour of indulging in sensual pleasures, Sun Xiu had entered a tranquil and carefree state of enlightenment. He thought:
"A successful life should always be about striving for progress, and not becoming complacent simply because of a little achievement."

"My teacher once said, 'The highest good is like water; it flows endlessly.' Similarly, struggle is also endless. If I am only satisfied with staying on this side of the mountain, how can I see the scenery on the other side?"

"Just like the women I've played with, different women have different tastes. If you're only satisfied with conquering a stunning beauty, how can you know the true joy of life?"

"I should continue to work hard and be as indomitable and perseverant as Liu Bei, so that I can obtain all that I haven't obtained and kill all those who have humiliated me."

"I will also build a large square so that people can take turns to come here and kneel down to worship me, thus accumulating boundless merit for me."

Thinking of this, Sun Xiu felt his fighting spirit rekindled, and he gradually got rid of the feeling of emptiness and was ready to fight again.

The so-called battle is to fight against all the things in the world that you think are unreasonable, one by one, until the world becomes what you want it to be.

The thing that Sun Xiu currently finds most unreasonable is undoubtedly Liu Xian, the mayor of Xiayang.

So he turned to A Jiang and said, "Go get some grapes and add some ice to the ice jar. Remember to call Liu Ji over on the way. I have something to tell you."

When Liu Ji, the chief officer of the Zhengxi Army, and A Jiang arrived at Jingshi, Sun Xiu was still in the same state, only wearing a blanket on his lower body. A Xue, however, had already put on her clothes and was kneeling at the head of the stone bed. She then held Sun Xiu's head and gently cleaned his ears.

This scene was extremely unceremonious and a bit unbearable to watch. Liu Ji blushed, not knowing where to look, and could only lower his head and say:

"What are your instructions, Chief Secretary?"

Sun Xiu, however, remained calm and composed. While enjoying himself, he asked, "How many days has it been since Liu Xian left Xia Yang?"

"Twenty-eight days, almost a month already."

"Any news?"

"Everything is normal in Xiayang, nothing has changed."

"Nonsense! What could possibly have changed about Xia Yang? I'm asking if he's revealed his whereabouts elsewhere! I asked you to investigate Hu settlements like Huangyaji and Baishuiwan, but did you do that?"

"Since you have given the order, I have of course sent people to inquire, and they asked with the portrait, but no one has seen him."

"No one has seen it?"

"That's true! Absolutely true!" Liu Ji defended himself. "Chief Secretary, our men were lying in ambush on the mountain road that day. Six caravans passed by in those two days, all of them Hu people, but we didn't see any of Liu Huaichong's troops."

"After inquiring, we found out that he had taken his men out for a stroll, but didn't take the mountain trail. Then he went back and disappeared the next day."

"Is it possible that Liu Huaichong was pretending to advise us, but actually had already escaped secretly?"

"Ha, escaping secretly? That's impossible." Sun Xiu thought for a moment and quickly denied it. "He's a very family-oriented man. His entire family is in Duke Lu's hands. If he wanted to escape? He would have escaped long ago! He's just afraid of getting his family into trouble, so he lets Duke Lu do whatever he wants."

"And do you think he's a fool like you? Liu Huai Chong is a smart man, and he's someone Duke Lu hates with a vengeance, yet he can't kill him. If he thinks this won't work, he won't agree. If he agrees, he'll definitely do it."

At this point, Sun Xiu couldn't help but feel a little angry. He slapped Axue's hand away, finally sat up from the stone bed, and scolded Liu Ji: "You bunch of idiots, you are being played like dogs by others. Your thoughts have been seen through by others. Do you know?"

"So...how did he do it?"

"He mobilized the troops just to attract attention. In reality, he's either taking another route or recruiting another group of barbarians!"

"what?"

"He guessed you would be looking for people in those places, so he didn't show up at all. He just locked himself in the room and used his subordinates to investigate. You can only grope in the dark!"

"This..." Sun Xiu couldn't help but sigh after donning his Taoist robes. "This Liu Xian must have already headed north to Shuofang. But do you think he can succeed immediately?"

After being scolded, Liu Ji hardly dared to reply, but he could only bite the bullet and report: "This Hao Duyuan has been causing trouble on the border in Shuofang for several years. Both His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin and His Royal Highness the Prince of Liang have tried to deal with him, but to no avail. I heard from the Di people in Lueyang that he hates the Zhengxi Army Headquarters and is very elusive, making him difficult to find. Let's not talk about whether Liu Xian can find him, even if he does, it will probably be difficult to persuade him to surrender."

Sun Xiu agreed with this judgment and nodded. Feeling a little thirsty, he asked A Jiang beside him for a drink. A Jiang quickly fetched a glass of iced honey water, held the cup with both hands, and handed it to Sun Xiu as if he was holding a child. Then he fed Sun Xiu the water very gently and wiped the water stains on Sun Xiu's beard with a handkerchief.

Sun Xiu hummed in satisfaction, leaned back on Axue's chest, and said to Liu Ji, "I hope so too. This way, I can save myself a lot of trouble, and I can also give an explanation to Duke Lu."

He paused, then sighed, "But this kind of person, hey! I can tell by the look of his brow bone that he's incredibly lucky! I have a feeling he might actually succeed this time."

"Success isn't a bad thing. Isn't it that you, the Chief Secretary, have eliminated a major threat to the border and performed a great service to the country?"

"Hahaha... I hope so."

Sun Xiu had long seen through the question of merit. Was he able to take charge of the Western Expedition Army because he had made some contribution to the court? The answer was no merit at all, it was simply because he was able to please Lu Gong Jia Mi.

Therefore, in Sun Xiu's view, Liu Xian's desire to achieve merit and get promoted was actually a joke. The real secret to promotion was to satisfy and delight your superiors.

As long as the superior is happy, the crime of murder can be forgiven. If the superior is unhappy, what good will it do even if you have made great achievements?

However, being an official is indeed troublesome. Many things can be unseemly when kept secret, but once they are brought to light, they still have to be presented with dignity. Just like the scales and rulers in Liu Xian's hand, which contained evidence and testimony, if Liu Xian failed this time, it would be fine. If he did succeed, Sun Xiu would definitely take credit for him.

What should he do? Sun Xiu actually had another idea. He wanted to start with the people around Liu Xian and use this to defeat him.

He has already started working on it, and it's not a one-way street yet.

So he asked, "Have you checked the other thing I asked you to check?"

Liu Ji was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and said, "Are you talking about the concubine beside Liu Xian?"

"Yes! I have never seen such a beautiful woman. I asked you to check her background. Have you done so?"

"Chief Secretary, I checked. This Li is the third daughter of the Wuyang Li family. She is approximately 24 years old this year. She came here with Li Mi's sixth son, Li Sheng."

"Oh my, the Li family? They really aren't afraid of other people's gossip!"

Sun Xiu paused for a moment, as if muttering to himself, or perhaps questioning Liu Ji: "But this woman doesn't look like she's from Bashu."

"Ah? Why do you say that?"

"Because of her accent." Sun Xiu shook her head, as if recalling the brief encounters with Li, and said slowly, "Her accent is the most authentic Luoyang accent, without the slippery flavor of the Bashu people."

"Does this... matter?"

Liu Ji didn't quite understand. He had never seen Lu Zhu. He just thought that no matter how beautiful a woman was, she was just a woman. What difference did it make whether she was from Luoyang or Bashu?

"You don't understand." Sun Xiu felt a certain part of himself filled with strength again. He smiled and said, "This is a big difference."

"Do we need to go to Wuyang to verify it?"

"Going to Wuyang is definitely useless! You are a foreigner, and you have come all the way to someone's hometown to inquire about women. Will they tell you the truth?"

Having said this, Sun Xiu smiled and let Liu Ji go out, and then he lay back down on the stone bed.

"Oh my, oh my, I feel like I've discovered a huge secret!"

Ah Jiang was confused, so he took another grape from the fruit bowl and placed it seductively in Sun Xiu's mouth, asking, "Secret? What secret did Shibao discover?"

"A woman claiming to be from Wuyang, with a stunningly beautiful face and a genuine Luoyang accent. Her age is also just right. And what about our Prince Anle? He has connections, courage, and is also a famous swordsman. Hahahaha..."

Sun Xiu sighed, "Who would have thought? I've solved a case that's been unresolved for years."

Ah Jiang didn't understand at all, and Sun Xiu didn't need her to understand, he just needed to understand it himself. Before, Liu Xian had a handle on him, and now he had a handle on Liu Xian, the two of them were even.

What should he do next? For Sun Xiu, who loves women like his life, he now has a breakthrough, and he has a way to advance and retreat. So he has to think from the most greedy perspective, how can he make a lot of money?
While he was thinking, Liu Ji, who had gone out, came running back, shouting as he ran:

"Sun Changshi! Sun Changshi! Big news!"

"Hey, keep your voice down. What's the big deal?" Sun Xiu originally felt that his energy had recovered and was about to have another big fight in this Jing room, but this time, his interest was mostly dampened.

"Yes, yes." Liu Ji apologized repeatedly and quickly replied, "Sun Changshi, Liu Xian is back. He has sent someone to deliver a letter to the Zhengxi Army Headquarters, saying that he will be in Chang'an in about three days!"

"Hmm?" Sun Xiu shuddered, sat up again, and asked, "Did he succeed in appeasing him?"

"Yes! It is said that the recruitment has been very effective. I'm afraid there are thousands of people coming to the military headquarters to pay tribute this time!"

Sun Xiu covered his face with his hands, speechless for a long time. Liu Xian's success shocked him, and it also reminded him of the sudden flash of his sword during their conversation, which suddenly gave him a sense of fear.

This person is probably unable to communicate in a normal way.

This was the first thought that came to Sun Xiu's mind, so he adjusted his approach to dealing with it:

For such a person, direct pressure is unlikely to succeed.

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(End of this chapter)