About Cao Cao's reincarnation as the emperor's uncle

Chapter 19: A Hidden Dog in the Depths of the Inner Palace (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

When Liu Fang set off for the Huangfu family residence, the morning mist had not yet dissipated.

Xu Shao boarded his carriage at 3:45 AM and headed straight for Yuan Shao's residence.

Xu Rong's figure appeared exceptionally agile in the morning light as he ran towards Zhang Huan's hometown.

Jian Shuo lingered briefly outside the palace, with Cao Cao following behind him, head bowed. Though he had doubts, he could only follow silently as their figures gradually disappeared into the depths of the palace gates.

Meanwhile, Feng Xu had quietly entered the Northern Palace.

……

The sky was tinged with a crab-shell blue hue, and the dewdrops clinging to the palace walls and green tiles shimmered like shattered jade.

The morning light slanted across the eaves, illuminating the patched-up blue cloth sleeves.

Deep within the inner palace, he slumped his back, his toes lightly touching the snow-covered blue brick path, the bamboo pendant at his waist swaying gently with each step, making a soft "tap-tap" sound.

Compared to the jeweled pendants of ordinary officials, it exudes a more austere, scholarly air.

After passing through three vermilion corridors, you will see a secluded side hall, where the morning light flows between the brackets.

Feng Xu stood in front of the palace gate, his sleeves bunching up as he clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Please inform him that Feng Xu, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, requests an audience."

The guard looked him up and down, his gaze lingering briefly on his patched sleeves before he nodded and turned away.

As the bronze door creaked open, the scent of pine soot and ink mingled with the aroma of a charcoal fire from a warm stove wafted out.

Feng Xu bowed slightly as usual, and when he looked up, he saw the person sitting in front of the six-panel landscape screen, with a cow-tail whisk in his hand that gleamed faintly in the candlelight.

This ox-tail whisk is considered a signature plaything of the person seated, and it is generally used by court servants to dust chairs and robes.

It was somewhat inappropriate for this person to hold it, but he just happened to like it and preferred to call it a "dust whisk".

There were no other attendants in the hall. The Boshan incense burner on the table emitted wisps of smoke, casting his face in a mixture of light and shadow, with only a few strands of white hair at his temples shining faintly in the morning light.

“The arrival of the eunuch was just in time; the register of the Left School Office had just been delivered to my desk.”

The man's voice was deep and frost-like, yet the ending tone carried a hint of familiarity.

"I have already made arrangements for Prefect Yin's matter."

Feng Xu's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he recalled Yin Duan, whom he had met a few days prior...

That fierce general who once followed Zhang Huan in defeating the Qiang people now had protruding shoulder bones under his prison clothes, and his body was covered with fresh wounds.

"Feng Huangmen always follows that old bastard..."

The person sitting there suddenly chuckled, and the ox's tail swept across the edge of the inkstone, splashing a few specks of ink.

"You should know that we are... fellow travelers."

As he trailed off, the bronze crane lamp on the corner of the table suddenly burst into flames.

In the dim light, one could see that the Xie Zhi pattern embroidered on the man's cuffs had faded somewhat; it was a pattern that only old ministers of Emperor Huan's reign possessed.

Feng Xu suddenly remembered what his teacher often said: "That old dog is very difficult to deal with, but he treats you differently. Don't fall into his trap."

His fingers, resting on his knees, tapped silently, but the man's tone suddenly changed:
"Is Lord Ma currently lacking capable men?"

"I almost forgot... I should call you Imperial Uncle now."

Feng Xu never looked up, only staring at the mud stains that hadn't faded from the other person's shoes.

Seeing Feng Xu's appearance, the person seated waved his hand and said:

"If you don't want to talk about it, then so be it. I'll change the documents in the Left School Office for you..."

As he spoke, he pushed over a box of silk scrolls annotated with vermilion ink. The top page had the two characters "Yin Duan" circled in bright red vermilion, with a note beside it that read, "To atone for one's crimes through meritorious service, awaiting orders."

When Feng Xu's fingertips touched the silk, he found that the ink was still wet, indicating that it had just been written.

He tucked the document into his sleeve and said, "Thank you, sir."

The person seated rose and walked to the window, his fingertips brushing against the icicles on the windowsill; the sound of shattering ice hitting the ground mingled with a cough.
"Duan Jiming always said, 'The war will not stop until the Qiang barbarians are destroyed...'"

“But this mad dog of his, once he’s fed, he’ll be peaceful; once he’s not fed…” He suddenly turned around, and the morning light filtered through the gaps in the icicles, slicing cold lines across his face:

"Then he was killed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man coughed twice, took out a celadon bottle from his sleeve, and placed it on the table:

"The people from the Left School Office said that Yin Duan has injured his lungs and internal organs. This bottle of 'Fu-Nourishing Ointment' was a gift from Emperor Huan back then. You should be able to use it."

The celadon vase on the desk gleamed with a warm luster... In the palace, only this person in front of me should still have such an old item.

"I'm sorry, sir."

The person seated raised an eyebrow at Feng Xu, his ox tail sweeping across the landscape depicted on the screen:

"Yuan Huo, Yuan Huo... you still treat me like an outsider in the end..."

Feng Xu did not respond; he knew it was time to take his leave.

The patched sleeves hung down, just enough to cover the engravings on the waist tag. This was an unwritten rule in the palace: the tokens of high-ranking eunuchs were always hidden in the most inconspicuous places.

Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly heard the sound of bamboo slips turning behind me, followed by a soft sigh:
"Ask that old bastard for me, should this 'Guanzi' be read as 'When the granaries are full, people know etiquette' or 'Orders are more important than treasures, and the state comes before relatives'?"

Feng Xu didn't turn around, but lowered his body slightly and said in a deep voice:
As the saying goes, "A nation is built on land that will not collapse... and its resources are stored in granaries that will never run dry..."
-
The Guanzi states: "Orders are more important than treasures, and the state takes precedence over relatives; laws are more important than the people, and authority is more valuable than rank and emolument."

The meaning is that government decrees are more valuable than precious jewels, and the survival of the nation is more important than personal gain. The dignity of the law surpasses the expectations of the people, and the weight of authority outweighs titles and honors.

The Guanzi states: "To place a state on land that will not fall is to entrust it to the virtuous; to store grain in granaries that will never run dry is to focus on the five grains."

This saying implies that to lay the foundation for a nation, power must first be entrusted to morally upright individuals. To build up granary reserves, one must first dedicate oneself to developing agriculture.
-
The hall fell silent suddenly. The person seated looked at his patched-up back, a hint of weariness in his laughter.
"What a fine 'virtuous, reasonable, reasonable' statement... No wonder he's the 'little eunuch' that old bastard taught..."

The bronze door clicked shut, and after Feng Xu left, the person seated blew out the candle on the table, plunging the hall back into darkness.

Only the snowlight outside the window made his white hair appear like frost. He then picked up a whisk and seemed to be sweeping something.
“This young man, Feng Xu, is so similar to me back then…”

He is now nothing more than an old plank on this leaky boat, and every day he can hold on is a day more.

Feng Xu walked slowly out of the Yeting Palace with his head down, the bamboo-shaped pendant at his waist colliding with the celadon bottle, making a soft clattering sound.

He touched the document from Yin Duan hidden in his sleeve, and recalled the whisk inscribed with the words "loyalty and prudence" in the hand of the person seated above him...

It was a gift personally bestowed by Emperor Huan; in the entire palace, only this old minister, who had served as the previous emperor's close attendant, possessed one.

The gentleman always said that this man was not a good person, but he was a good dog, guarding the last half of the door for the Han Dynasty in the shadows.

……

As the morning light grew brighter, the remaining snow on the palace walls began to melt, and water droplets dripped down the blue tiles, creating small craters on the brick floor.

As for that old minister who was flipping through the "Guanzi" in the palace...

Feng Xu knew that some things didn't need to be said out loud, just like the snow in front of him. It was white when it fell on the blue bricks, but when you stepped on it, it was full of mud.

At the entrance of Yeting Lane, a young eunuch was waiting for him with his neck hunched over. Upon seeing him emerge, he hurriedly handed him a hand warmer.

"My lord, is it appropriate for us to come and see this person?"

Feng Xu shook his head and stuffed the celadon bottle into the young eunuch's hand:
"Zuo Feng, you've gone too far..."

　Note:

　　① Substitute

　　Theoretically, the word "咱" did not exist during the Eastern Han Dynasty; instead, "吾等" should be used.

　　For ease of reading, this section differs slightly from historical facts.

　　② Dust whisk

　　The term "fuchen" only became widely used after the Jin Dynasty; it was rarely seen during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

　　③ Zuo Feng

　　He was the eunuch who framed Lu Zhi during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, nearly causing Lu Zhi to be sentenced to death.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)