Jinting Han people

Chapter 59 A Gift for the Princess (4k)

The ambition of the young Hu people is indeed touching, but the real problems will not disappear because of this.

Regardless, Afule was still a teenager barely fourteen, while his opponent was a force capable of setting up an ambush in Mangshan. Furthermore, Liu Xian judged that they likely had official connections, and the individuals involved were likely high-ranking. To be able to maintain dozens of crossbow-wielding retainers, their family must be at least a county marquis. In the entire city of Luoyang, there were only thirty or forty such families.

The disparity in strength between the two sides is so great that it cannot be resolved by willpower alone.

Liu Xian shared his analysis with Afule, then asked, "Your desire for revenge is commendable, but courage alone is not enough. Do you have a practical plan?"

Actually, this was quite presumptuous. The two had only just met and had never met before. Even if A Fule had a plan, why would he tell him about it? But A Fule didn't seem to be bothered at all. He took up Liu Xian's question very naturally and replied, "I have already thought of the plan. The most important thing right now is to find out the background of the bandits. Otherwise, I won't even know who my enemies are, and revenge would be a joke!"

Having said that, Afule gulped down a mouthful of bean porridge and then teased the three people: "Guess why I've been waiting here for three days?"

"Isn't it to sell horses to raise money?" asked Zhang Gu on the side.

"Of course not! I told you, Fanyu is my brother. I was just joking before. If you want to buy him, no way!"

A Fule turned around and smiled at Liu Xian again, "You're so smart, you should be able to guess it, right?"

He was showing off his cleverness like this, which was really disrespectful. Even Zhang Gu, with his good temper, couldn't help but blush at this moment, but Liu Xian's eyes stopped him immediately. He pondered for a moment, probably guessing what the Hu boy was thinking, and said with a smile: "You want to start from the horse market?"

"Right!" Afule clapped his hands. "Since the robbers robbed the horses, they only have two purposes: one is to use them themselves, and the other is to sell them for money. And this batch of horses we're transporting has a total of 319 horses, some good and some bad. The robbers can't use them all themselves, so what should they do with the rest? They can only sell them at the horse market! So I'm just waiting here!"

Xi An asked, "But there are tens of thousands of horses in the horse market. Even if they really come, can you recognize them?"

"Of course! When we set out, we marked the horses' bellies to prevent them from getting lost. As long as I'm not blind or stupid, I'll be able to recognize them!"

As he spoke, his eyes swept towards the horse market across the street and he was suddenly stunned. At that moment, a horse merchant was driving a group of horses into the market. He looked no different from an ordinary merchant, but the face of this young Hu man showed all kinds of sorrow, joy, anger and happiness. It made people wonder how people could have such rich emotions.

Afule first shouted, "It's them!" Then he picked up his sword and rushed out.

But he turned back halfway, picked up the uneaten steamed lamb, and stuffed it into his mouth desperately, while speaking vaguely to Liu Xian. Zhang Tong and Xi An were both confused.

Liu Xian guessed what he meant and replied with a smile, "No need to thank me. If you have nowhere to stay at night, you can come to Anle Mansion. My family always welcomes guests."

A Fule's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands together and nodded vigorously. After finishing the lamb, he brought out the Hu Pao meat and scurried out the door, leaving the waiter beside him stunned. After a moment, the waiter turned his gaze to Liu Xian again. It seemed that Liu Xian, influenced by this Hu boy, also looked like a strange person.

Liu Xian shrugged at his companion, then smiled at the waiter and said, "How much is it? I'll put the lacquer tray on the bill."

It was already dusk when Liu Xian left Hanxiuluo, so he hurried back home along the same route. After returning home, Ah Luo asked him if he had met any friends, but he smiled and didn't answer, but instead asked the mansion to clear out a wing room.

But Afule did not come that night.

This is conceivable. If Afule really wanted to take revenge as he said, he would be tracking down dozens of horse thieves alone. The journey must be extremely dangerous and he must be extremely cautious. It is impossible for him to withdraw or fall asleep as he pleases.

And thinking of the worse case scenario, he might have been discovered halfway. The result would naturally be cruel. Not only would he die in a foreign land, but he might not even have a complete body left.

But Liu Xian still insisted on keeping this room.

This was not just because he wanted to think positively, but he had a feeling that there must be an unspoken wonderful fate between him and this passionate Jiehu young man, and that there would be a wonderful collision in the near future or the very distant future.

The next morning, Liu Xian went to the Prince of Shiping's mansion to accompany his studies as usual.

Today, the royal tutor Liu Song was talking about "Book of Han - Records of Food and Goods", which was a chapter that Liu Xian was relatively good at, but Liu Xian was still thinking about Afule and was quite absent-minded.

This caused Master Liu to sigh deeply in his heart and feel very sad.

Of the two companions in the palace, Wang Cui had mediocre literary talent, was dull, and was not very popular, while Liu Xian was well versed in classics and history, and was not fond of discussing abstruse matters, which was exactly what the old court judge wanted.

Now seeing him in a daze, Liu Song thought that such a promising student had been led astray by King Shiping. He pointed out Liu Xian several times in the hall with a look of disappointment, which made Sima Wei and Wang Cui laugh secretly.

At noon, Liu Song finally finished the lecture and left alone in a depressed mood.

Liu Xian and Wang Cui were about to leave together, but King Shiping waved his hand and stopped them. He said, "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Stay for lunch. I have a small matter that I would like to discuss with you."

A trivial matter? Liu Xian did not dare to take it lightly. In his opinion, there is no such thing as a trivial matter in the royal family. If he is not careful, it may cause a turmoil in the court.

Although it was a small matter, Sima Wei was very cautious in his attitude. Not only did he ask Liu Xian and Wang Cui to stay and have dinner together, but he also asked Sheren Qi Sheng and Chief Secretary Gongsun Hong to sit beside him, with serious expressions as if they were going to discuss some military secrets.

After the food and wine were served, Sima Wei said solemnly, "In ten days, my little sister will have her birthday. What gift should I give her?"

After all this time, it turned out to be a gift for the princess? Liu Xian was suddenly amused and confused.

The little sister Sima Wei mentioned was the ninth daughter of the current emperor, Princess Yingchuan Sima Xiuhua, who was only eleven years old.

Although she was still young, she was very famous in the capital. The reason was that she was Sima Yan's most beloved youngest daughter.

It is said that this princess was very cute since she was a child. When she was seven or eight years old, she looked like a jade beauty. Even when compared with the pure white Hetian jade from the Western Regions, she was indistinguishable.

Moreover, she was naturally charming and innocent, often accompanied by strange visions. Legend has it that she once stumbled into the Xiyou Garden and encountered a captive tiger, but the tiger, soundly asleep, escaped harm, much to the emperor's amazement. Furthermore, the emperor's subsequent loss of two sons and two daughters further favored her. Even when she mistakenly intruded into a court meeting in the East Hall, Sima Yan was not reprimanded.

However, for Liu Xian, these were just legends passed down orally by court officials, and no one in the folk had ever seen them.

Moreover, if we really talk about beauty, Princess Yingchuan is probably not as good as Miss Lu Zhu from Jingu Garden, so Liu Xian didn't take it to heart.

But I didn’t expect that today in the Shiping Palace, the legend would become within reach.

Wang Cui, standing by, didn't think much about it. He said, "What's the problem? Women are vain, and that's an irrefutable truth. Your Highness just gave the princess some precious jewelry. How could she not like it?"

When these words were spoken, everyone, including Sima Wei, looked at each other in silence.

Liu Xian couldn't help but sigh: his colleague was too naive and didn't even understand the nature of giving gifts.

As expected, Chief Clerk Gongsun Hong immediately stepped forward to criticize, "Hongyuan (Wang Cui's courtesy name) is extremely rude. The princess is a wealthy woman, so why would you treat the gold, silver, and jewelry she receives on a daily basis as nothing? Even if it were estimated to be in the thousands, it would be nothing more than an ordinary amount for the princess, let alone something that would impress her."

"On any other day, a gift of jewels would be fine, but on this day, all the princes will present gifts. Your Highness, as the fifth prince and the future leader of the royal family, will inevitably be compared to his brothers. If the gift isn't unique and eye-catching, how can it truly reflect Your Highness's individuality and deep regard for our family?"

"If we do it poorly, it might even affect His Majesty's impression of you, so we must be very careful..."

Wang Cui opened his eyes wide in surprise. He had never expected that such a seemingly ordinary gift-giving act could hold so many mysteries.

"It would be best if this gift could be seen frequently by everyone, so that they would immediately think of Your Highness. The image of the gift actually becomes the image of Your Highness in the eyes of others. Hongyuan, we must carefully plan and make this gift perfect."

Gongsun Hong spoke seriously, but Liu Xian sneered inwardly. He had long seen through the true nature of these staff members and felt extremely disgusted:
In the final analysis, even if you say a lot of things, it is actually just a gift. It is useless in governing the country and is useless in people's livelihood.

These people would rather rack their brains to please the princess than do some practical work. What can they achieve in the future? Moreover, if they are so stingy, how can they have the courage to take responsibility when the critical moment of seizing power comes?

So when this group of people were arguing fiercely about the gifts, Liu Xian stood aside calmly, not saying a word, waiting for the discussion to end before saying goodbye and returning home.

As a result, after discussing for nearly half an hour, no consensus was reached.

Sima Wei had been listening for so long that his head was spinning. He rubbed his temples, his eyes unconsciously flicking to Liu Xian. He then remembered that he hadn't expressed his opinion yet, so he simply waved his hand, silencing everyone present. He then turned and asked, "Huai Chong, why don't you speak? What do you think about this?"

I still couldn't escape! Seeing everyone's eyes looking at him, Liu Xian sighed in his heart.

Although he disdained Qi Sheng and others, he still had a good impression of Sima Wei. Since he was asked about it, he didn't mind giving some advice on the right path.

Liu Xian said calmly, "Your Highness, we've been talking for so long, and the key point is nothing more than the word 'strange'. But I was just wondering, does a gift really have to be strange?"

Sima Wei asked, "Oh? What do you think, Huai Chong?"

Liu Xian leaned forward slightly and sighed, "I thought Your Highness should focus on the word 'honesty'."

"The word 'honesty'? Huai Chong, why not elaborate?"

Liu Xian explained, "Your Highness, have you heard the story of the dispute between Emperor Wen of Wei (Cao Pi) and Prince Chen Si (Cao Zhi) over the succession?"

"When Hebei was first settled, the position of Crown Prince Wen of Wei was unstable, so he appointed Wu Zhi as his advisor and sought a way to defeat Cao Zhi."

"One day, Wei Wu left for an expedition, and Wei Wen and Chen Si came to see him off. Prince Chen Si spoke eloquently, his literary talent dignified, and everyone looked at him from side to side. Wei Wu was delighted, while Wei Wen felt embarrassed. Wu Zhi whispered to him, 'It's okay to shed tears.' When it was time to say goodbye, Wei Wen wept and bowed. The whole court sighed, thinking that while Emperor Wen of Wei might not be as talented as Prince Chen Si in literature, his filial piety was far superior. Thus, he gave up the idea of changing the crown prince."

"The princes must have racked their brains to come up with a gift for the princess this time. Your Highness, while it's not impossible to achieve excellence with a touch of originality, the chances are slim. Why not follow the example of Emperor Wen of Wei and start with sincerity? The gift doesn't have to be expensive, but it must be personally earned by Your Highness, and preferably, painstakingly crafted so everyone can see it."

"This way, Your Highness won't have to say anything, and the princess will be able to feel the blood kinship. It will save money, and it will also highlight Your Highness's virtue of frugality. His Majesty and the ministers will see it and praise Your Highness's hard work and dedication."

After Liu Xian's analysis, the whole audience fell silent.

While Qi Sheng and other staff members, due to their humble backgrounds, were still focused on trivial matters, Liu Xian's ideas were far more far-sighted, directly considering the overall situation and emphasizing the principle of "not fighting is fighting." Even a three-year-old could see that Liu Xian's plan was the true kingly way.

Sima Wei was the first to react. He clapped his hands and laughed, "Brilliant, brilliant! I'm like a fish in water with Huai Chong!"

These were the words Liu Bei used to praise Zhuge Liang. He never expected that they would be used on himself today. Liu Xian responded with a wry smile.

Qi Sheng agreed in a gloomy tone, "Your Highness is right, but you might as well be more specific about what the gift is." It was obvious that he was reluctant to say this, and his vigilance against Liu Xian only deepened.

Fortunately, there was no need for Liu Xian to continue to be in the spotlight. Sima Wei had made up his mind. He said, "It's come to this, there's no need to dwell on it. How about this, Qi Sheng, you arrange a group of ten or so guards for me. I'm going hunting in Wan'an Mountain tomorrow. My little sister likes pets, so I'll catch a couple of foxes myself and find a tiger. I'll skin it and make a cloak. I don't worry she won't be happy."

The matter was thus settled, and everyone realized that after discussing it for so long, no one had eaten much, and the dishes had grown cold. Sima Wei smiled and asked the maid to replace the food with hot wine and new dishes, and the guests were all very happy.

But Liu Xian clearly felt that after this incident, Gongsun Hong, Qi Sheng and others became more distant from him.

But it’s okay, Liu Xian thought, being a lone minister in the palace is better than getting involved in some inexplicable power struggle.

With this in mind, he kept his distance from these people. Returning home, he missed the interesting Afule even more. He wondered if the missing Jiehu boy had found his enemy.

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(End of this chapter)