Chapter 84 – The Young Boy’s Initial Brilliance (Part 1)
Due to certain unspeakable reasons, Liu Zhi had an extraordinary trust and leniency towards his daughter. Outside of her studies, he hardly interfered in any other matters. However, he still felt it necessary to understand the details, fearing that she might suffer losses.
Clearly, Liu Zhi’s worries were excessive; how could Jiang Pengji suffer easily?
Xu Ke was indeed a busy person. After arranging the house servants at the farm, he returned to have a serious talk with Jiang Pengji. Yet, before he could have a bite of warm food, the head of the household, Liu Zhi, summoned him back to discuss matters. Due to previous fears, Xu Ke didn’t conceal the details.
His eloquence was impressive, recounting events in a clear and organized manner. Liu Zhi sat at the head, slightly lowering his gaze, appearing to enjoy the storytelling immensely.
Lady Die, who was separated by a screen, smiled with a hint of pride, “Er Lang has truly achieved something impressive now; with this, cousin can finally rest assured.”
Having his daughter praised, as the head of the family, he couldn’t appear too excited, although he couldn’t fully hide his smile and humbly replied with a few words.
However, when Xu Ke mentioned Jiang Pengji provoking several reserve house servants and boldly claimed she would lead them to hunt down bandits once trained, Lady Die was so shocked that she nearly tossed the pastry she was pinching back onto the platter. Liu Zhi’s eyes widened in astonishment as well, reflecting a mix of surprise.
Lady Die, forgetting her poised elegance, sternly admonished, “A gentleman should not stand beneath a dangerous wall; how could Er Lang act so rashly?”
To this, Liu Zhi said nothing, his expression holding a mystery that others couldn’t comprehend.
No one knew his current thoughts. Lady Die’s rebukes didn’t reach his ears; he seemed to drift off as if in a different realm altogether. After a long while, he regained his focus, his face pale.
“Well, Lan Ting is no longer a three-year-old child; he knows what he is doing,” Liu Zhi interrupted Lady Die as she was about to urge Xu Ke to dissuade Jiang Pengji. His brows showed a hint of weariness mixed with an undisclosed sharpness, “Perhaps this is fate.”
With that, he walked straight back to the main courtyard, the flickering candlelight in the corridor casting long shadows behind him.
Sitting before a small table, Liu Zhi unfolded a geographical map of Dongqing, on which a notable area was marked—Hujun, the region he once governed. He stared at Hujun for half an hour, his fists clenched slightly, leaving crescent-shaped imprints in his palms.
After a long pause, he addressed the maidservants waiting outside, “Go summon Lan Ting.”
As the sun in ancient times rose with labor and set with rest, Jiang Pengji was preparing for bed under the maidservants’ care at this hour.
“Let’s go, don’t keep father waiting.”
Receiving Liu Zhi’s message unexpectedly, she furrowed her brows, rose, and donned the thick, warm cloak handed to her by Ta Xue.
Whether it was Liu Zhi returning or the spring bringing life back, the previously desolate Liu Residence was now livelier than when she first arrived. However, under the sparse moonlight, shadows danced eerily, adding a peculiar atmosphere to the surroundings.
Upon reaching the main courtyard, she performed the customary greeting to Liu Zhi, who beckoned her with a gentle, “Lan Ting, come forward.”
She stepped forward a few paces and sat beside the table, noticing her father was engrossed in the geographical map of Dongqing.
Although it was a geographical map, it was quite crude; without detailing rivers and mountains, even the sizing was disorganized.
“Do you know where your father was assigned to govern back in the day?” Liu Zhi asked, pushing the lamp closer to Jiang Pengji, allowing her to see better. “During these years away from Hejian, I have also pondered whether you hold any grievances… But the situation was beyond my control; I had no choice but to leave my homeland, far from kin.”
Jiang Pengji looked up at him in suspicion, unsure why Liu Zhi had suddenly brought up this topic.
“Your father was assigned here, called Hujun, yet its land is as vast as a state.” Jiang Pengji answered the prior question while evading the latter, as she was not Liu Lanting and thus lacked the grounds to respond.
Liu Zhi’s slender fingers traced the outline of Hujun on the map, “Indeed, Hujun… Before your father took office, it was known as a desolate place in Dongqing. The Emperor repeatedly dispatched high-ranking officials, yet all met with misfortune on the way or during their tenure; it was a place where one could easily find death.”
Describing Hujun’s barrenness was already generous. From the late Summer Dynasty onward, it had been a tough nut to crack.
The fields were vast yet overgrown, and after enduring a decade-long drought with not a drop of rain, it became difficult for families to survive. To survive, the strong men in every household turned into bandits, robbing wherever they could. Selling sons and daughters became the norm.
Those with connections fled Hujun early on; even a miserable life elsewhere was better than enduring hellish suffering in Hujun.
Moreover, the famine relief silver and grain sent by the court, after several layers of exploitation and oppression by local gentry, left the common folks with “rice” mostly mixed with dirt. Year after year relief efforts were made, yet every year was the same—local gentry ran rampant while officials protected one another, and bandits thrived!
With the fall of the Summer Dynasty, Dongqing took control of this tough terrain.
Before Liu Zhi, many righteous officials had tried to govern it, but without exception, they all met death!
This led to Liu Zhi becoming the longest-serving governor of Hujun in over a hundred years, revered almost like a deity by the locals.
“What did father encounter back then that he was sent to such a dragon’s lair?”
Jiang Pengji frowned, acknowledging Hujun’s notorious reputation. Any young man with self-awareness wouldn’t go to such a place to work as an official; that was seeking death, wasn’t it? The Liu family, while not a top-tier lineage in Dongqing, certainly held some weight; there should have been connections.
Liu Zhi’s response surprised Jiang Pengji, “I willingly chose to risk my life.”
“Willingly?”
Willingly seeking death?
Or did Liu Zhi have complete confidence in surviving in Hujun?
No, risking life for survival?
So someone really wanted Liu Zhi dead back then?
“For others, Hujun is a place of certain demise, but for me, it was a land brimming with a glimmer of hope.”
Liu Zhi lamented, his mind drifting back to the days when he wore coarse clothing, grieving over lost children, hastily carrying the spirit tablet of his beloved Aming.
Back then, he had lost two sons and watched his wife grow increasingly frail. With dangers lurking around the small Liu Residence, clutching his only surviving child, he felt lost and helpless, even wishing to abandon it all during his lowest moments.
But Aming was right; Lan Ting was still alive, and the enemies remained; he couldn’t die yet.
Going to Hujun was the only chance at survival!
With his thoughts recalled, Liu Zhi reined in the painful memories on his face, pointing at Hujun, he asked, “Since you have some free time today, your father would like to test Lan Ting. If you were in my shoes back then and had to go to Hujun, how would you ensure your survival, how would you secure your position, and how would you govern Hujun?”
