Chapter 643: A Peaceful New Year

Chapter 643: Peace and Prosperity in the New Year

By the time the academy dismissed its students, the setting sun hung perfectly balanced against the edge of the mountains.

Denzhu brought newly made butter tea, tsampa, and dried meat to the father and son as their dinner.

"These offerings cannot match the refinement of the Old Two Capitals and Thirteen Provinces, but they carry a unique flavor of their own. Please have a taste, Elder Master."

Zhang Siyuan introduced the food before them to his father.

The old man listened intently until his son finished, then slowly raised the tea bowl to his lips and took a sip.

"Mmh, it tastes just as it did when I drank it all those years ago—gentle, sweet, with a lingering aftertaste."

He nodded toward Denzhu and praised, "Your lady's culinary skills are quite commendable."

"You jest, Master, it is merely acceptable,"

Denzhu offered a simple, honest smile, though his rugged brow and eyes brimmed with an irrepressible pride.

"From the sound of it, you have tasted this before?" Zhang Siyuan asked in surprise.

"Back when I was still teaching at the New Donglin Academy, I visited the Fan region and stayed for nearly three years, traveling through most of the land."

Zhang Fengyue smiled faintly. "You were not even born at that time."

"How is it that I have never heard you mention these matters before?"

"To read ten thousand books, one must travel ten thousand miles. The rituals of the Confucian Order place high demands on personal experience, yet nowadays, far too few are willing to spend their time on rigorous scholarship. Most choose the swifter path of a political career. Thus, there is little point in speaking of these things now."

Zhang Siyuan remained silent for a moment, then said coldly, "That is because they fail to recognize true worth. Their hearts are blinded by grease, unable to distinguish between the noble and the base."

"You favor the clear breeze and the bright moon, while others favor silver coins lining their pockets. You alone regard teaching and nurturing the young as the highest pursuit in the world, whereas he happens to believe that officialdom is the absolute pinnacle of this existence. The reasoning within this cannot be argued clean."

"I, too, once fancied myself capable of inheriting the lost teachings of the past sages, establishing yet another sect for Confucianism. The wind and frost could not cheat my ambition, nor could the proud snow crush my frame. Wealth and honor were met with indifference, royal power left unsought; all things were derived from books and obtained within books, bowing to no one and yielding to no sovereign."

Zhang Fengyue said softly, "Yet in the end, did I not also have to depart from the academy and plunge headlong into the floating, sinking sea of officialdom? Even I was reduced to this, so what can be expected of them?"

"You were compelled by circumstances, forced to step forward and take command of the grand situation. You are different from them."

"In the eyes of others, there is no difference."

Zhang Siyuan raised his brows and glared. "The foolish look only at the painted skin, while the wise perceive the bone. Even if foulness runs rampant now, history will eventually vindicate your name."

"Affairs after death and fame posthumous—let us leave those to the future."

Zhang Fengyue's gaze softened, and he laughed gently. "We father and son have not seen each other for a long time. Let us not speak of such disappointing matters today, shall we?"

"Very well."

Zhang Siyuan ceased his clamor, forced a strained smile, and shifted the subject.

"By the way, Father, since you are supposed to be holding down the fort in the capital, what suddenly possessed you to travel to the Fan region alone?"

"Let me ask you first, do you remember what day it is today?"

Zhang Siyuan blurted out, "The twenty-ninth day of the first lunar month."

The old man set down the bowl in his hand. "Today is the New Year, and it is also your birthday, Siyuan. Since you stay here and do not return home, I had no choice but to come and find you."

Hearing this, Zhang Siyuan could not help but freeze, his eyes suddenly washing over with joy and guilt.

He rejoiced that his father remained unchanged, yet felt ashamed that he had unwittingly forgotten so much.

In the eyes of those within the Confucian Order, it had always been difficult for elite clans to produce affectionate fathers and filial sons; this was a necessity for survival, forced by the shifting tides of the world.

Even the party leader, Zhang Fengyue, was no exception, having sealed his only son's memories since childhood and cast him out to wander, enduring the coldness of human relations and the fickleness of the world.

Zhang Siyuan himself had once thought this way. When he first returned to the Zhang family, bearing an entire body of resentment and discontent, he had even publicly declared that he would never enter the New Donglin Party in this lifetime, committing many absurd acts that damaged Zhang Fengyue's prestige and reputation within the Confucian Order.

But as the time he spent interacting with the members of the Confucian elite grew longer, and after witnessing so many ugly faces that were arrogant at first and subservient later, he gradually came to understand his father's painstaking intentions.

What a human being requires is precisely what constitutes a Confucian.

His father had allowed him to first learn the hardest task of being a human; only then would learning to be a Confucian follow naturally like water flowing into a channel.

"Old Man, at your advanced age, how do you still have the mind to orchestrate such a display?"

Zhang Siyuan raised his hand to rub his face, feigning a complaint. "If you wished to see me, you needed only to have the subordinates send word, and I would have returned on my own. This journey is across high mountains and distant roads, yet you did not find it troublesome."

"It is no trouble. I also wished to take advantage of the fact that my legs and feet are still quite nimble to walk about and see the various places within this empire."

Zhang Fengyue smiled. "Furthermore, today is the grand occasion of your thirtieth year, the time to stand firm. Gathering a few more people here to share in the liveliness is much better than being in the capital."

"I never expected today to be a double blessing. I have made no preparations at all, which is truly embarrassing."

Suddenly, a hearty burst of laughter rang out.

Denzhu, who had been waiting outside the door, stood up abruptly. Looking at the newcomer, he cried out in pleasant surprise, "Master, you have returned as well?!"

"I came back to take a look."

Li Jun patted Denzhu on the shoulder and remarked with feeling, "I heard from Yuan Mingfei that you are about to become a father? Congratulations."

"It is all thanks to the blessings of Master and the Gentleman."

A shy smile appeared on Denzhu's dark face, exposing a mouthful of white teeth as he grinned.

"These are things you fought for with your own life; they have little to do with us. However, though you now have a family, your fist and footwork must not be neglected. This snowfield has improved, but no one can say for certain when tigers, leopards, jackals, or wolves might emerge again. Should you truly encounter such a situation, you must have the strength to draw your blade. Do you understand?"

Denzhu nodded heavily, responding repeatedly, "Yes, I have always kept Master's words in my heart."

"That is well."

Li Jun stepped into the academy building and cupped his hands in greeting toward Zhang Fengyue.

"Li Jun of Tianque greets Chief Grand Secretary Zhang."

Zhang Fengyue was currently rolling up his sleeves to contend with the tsampa before him. He waved his hand casually at Li Jun. "While traveling abroad, there is no need to speak of these flamboyant titles. Since you are on good terms with Siyuan, if you do not feel awkward in your heart, then just call this old man Uncle."

"Very well, greetings, Uncle Zhang." Li Jun did not stand on ceremony either, speaking with a smile.

Zhang Siyuan had originally shifted his steps quietly to shield Zhang Fengyue, his expression tense, but seeing the two behave as though they had met long ago, their tone exceptionally familiar, he could not help but freeze in place.

"Uncle Zhang and I have already met before."

Li Jun sat cross-legged beside the low table, picked up the thermos on the desk to pour himself a bowl of hot tea, and looked at Zhang Fengyue with a smile. "You did not tell him about this?"

Zhang Siyuan was utterly incapable of understanding the situation before him. "Old Li, how did you end up in the Fan region as well?"

Li Jun seemed to be hungry too. He grabbed a lump of tsampa for himself and paired it with the butter tea, eating with relish.

"I came to have a chat with Uncle Zhang."

"A chat?"

Zhang Siyuan's face was filled with suspicion as he leaned stealthily toward Zhang Fengyue's side. "Dad, let me tell you, this man Li Jun is quite uncanny. You must be careful being his uncle."

Zhang Fengyue did not even raise his eyelids. "The Master did not speak of extraordinary things, feats of strength, disorders, or spiritual beings. How can you still act as a teacher to others with such a demeanor?"

"You had better believe it. I heard that someone in the Mohist Order has already begun researching this matter, suspecting that fortune and destiny might be involved here."

Seeing him speak with increasing absurdity, Li Jun could not help but sneer, "I have only just come from the Eastern Branch. How is it that I have never heard of this? Not bad, Little Zhang. We have not seen each other for only so long, yet your courage has grown considerably; you even dare to make fun of me to my face."

Zhang Siyuan instantly felt a wave of sinister chill envelop his body. Shivering violently, he hastily forced a smile. "It was just a joke, why take it seriously? Is it not because I see the two of you looking so harmonious that I truly have no confidence in my heart?"

Zhang Siyuan shifted his buttocks to sit closer to Li Jun's side. "Old Li, tell me the honest truth. You really didn't come to cause trouble for my old man?"

"Get lost."

Li Jun said with ill grace, "How does Uncle Zhang have a son as cowardly as you?"

"What do you mean cowardly? This is called filial piety, get it? In the entire Confucian Sequence, there aren't many of the younger generation more filial than me."

Li Jun said with a faint smile, "I remember you used to love calling yourself a 'rebellious son' before, saying you looked down on every single thing Uncle Zhang did."

"Li Jun, if you slander me like that, be careful or we won't even be brothers anymore."

Zhang Siyuan let out a great sigh of relief in secret, completely settling his hanging heart back into his stomach, only now feeling that his back was thoroughly drenched in cold sweat.

"But speaking of which, you really came to visit empty-handed with two bare arms?"

Li Jun smiled, "Consider it my debt to you, I'll make it up to you later. A head of the Nine Sovereigns, how about that? If that's not enough, I can add more."

Zhang Siyuan was startled upon hearing this, "You clashed with the people of the Eastern Emperor Palace again?"

Li Jun did not answer him, but looked toward Zhang Fengyue, "Uncle Zhang, you asked me that day whether I wanted to be a man or a god."

"Have you figured it out now?"

"I still say the same thing, whether one is a man or a god isn't important. But now, some people I can't stand the sight of have begun calling themselves gods, so I have to drag them down from the heavens and teach them how to be human again."

Li Jun recounted what happened in Chongqing Prefecture, raising the bowl to drink the remaining soup in one gulp.

"My purpose in coming this time is specifically to notify you that I will handle the Eastern Emperor Palace side."

"You want to find the hiding place of the Eastern Emperor Palace through 'Siming' Zhao Yin?"

Zhang Fengyue hit the nail on the head, directly exposing Li Jun's intention.

"Exactly," Li Jun stated without concealment.

"It's useless. Those religious zealots act with extreme caution, and all their interactions go solely through Huangliang, rarely meeting in the waking world. At most, you can trace them to the permanent dreamscape they constructed within the Deep Sea of Huangliang, and entering it would only be walking into a trap."

Zhang Fengyue shook his head, "Within Huangliang, there is no place for you, a lone wanderer of the Martial Sequence, to ply your trade."

Not a single trace of discouragement showed on Li Jun's face as he continued, "What if we add that portion of the Huangliang authority in your hands? Would that give Zou Sijiu the ability to catch them alone in the Deep Sea of Huangliang?"

"So this is your true purpose for seeking out this old man, isn't it? If that is the case, this matter becomes somewhat interesting."

Zhang Fengyue smiled, but his tone suddenly shifted, "However, for you to come with nothing but an empty mouth and white teeth to borrow something so valuable from this old man seems a bit unreasonable, doesn't it?"

"We are more or less in the same boat now, there's no need to treat each other like strangers, is there?"

"One thing is one thing."

Zhang Fengyue said in a flat tone, "Furthermore, although Zou Sijiu now has two Dream Master rules to protect himself and his strength is not considered weak within the Yin-Yang Sequence, if he were to accidentally run into that Sequence Two of the Eastern Emperor Palace, he would still be no match."

"Leaving aside how great this old man's loss would be if this portion of authority were lost, Huangliang would henceforth become a place where Mount Longhu and the Eastern Emperor Palace do as they please. You should understand how dangerous that would be for the Confucian Sequence, Li Jun."

Li Jun said in a deep voice, "But if there are no means of retaliation, the people of the Eastern Emperor Palace can still fight whenever they want and leave whenever they want. We have absolutely no way to deal with them and can only take beatings passively. For the people under your command, Uncle Zhang, this is likewise no small threat."

"Father, what Brother Jun says makes sense. Although they dare not come looking for you, old man, it might not be possible to protect people like Liu Jinxun and the others. Although you have now sent people of the Legal Sequence to protect them in secret, those people's minds are too rigid, and they could easily be drowned in dreamscapes by the Yin-Yang Sequence if they aren't careful. To clean out these pervasive rats of Huangliang, we still need to let professionals do it."

Zhang Siyuan chipped in from the side, "I know Zou Sijiu too, his personality is a bit unreliable, but his bones are stiff. It's highly unlikely the Eastern Emperor Palace could snatch this portion of authority from him."

"The thing is in your hands, and since even you have said so, what opinion can this old man still have?"

Zhang Fengyue waved his hand, "This old man is merely explaining the pros and cons to you clearly. As for whether to lend it or not, Siyuan, make the decision yourself."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

Li Jun cupped his hands in respect, while Zhang Siyuan on the side was winking and grimacing, the expression on his face clearly asking Li Jun whether he had seen what the status of an only son looked like.

"Don't thank me too early. The authority is lent to you, but this old man also must trouble you, this Lord of Revolution, to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"Pei Xingjian should have already told you about Yang Baize's situation, right?"

Zhang Fengyue said, "This young man has courage and boldness, but in the end he is still too young, and his judgment of the situation is altogether too optimistic. Since the decision has been made to scrape the bone to cure the poison, then this first cut must be made clean and sharp, without the slightest hindrance."

Li Jun understood, "You feel someone is going to make a move against him, so you want me to take a trip to Songjiang Prefecture?"

"Although Yang Baize currently has a Sequence Three of the Legal Sequence by his side, if there are too many jackals, they will have the courage to bite a tiger to death. A phrase Siyuan just said was correct, professional matters still need to be handled by professional people. When it comes to killing, no one is more skilled than you."

"Aren't you worried that letting me, an outsider, interfere in the internal affairs of the Confucian Sequence will provoke an even stronger resistance?"

"It seems you still do not understand scholars."

A smile of inscrutable meaning appeared at the corner of Zhang Fengyue's mouth.

"When one head falls to the ground, they will be angry. When ten heads fall, they will be shocked. When a hundred heads fall, they will hate, and when a thousand heads fall, they will weep. But if you kill ten thousand or a hundred thousand of them, they will be neither angry nor shocked, neither hating nor weeping; they will only stand behind you submissively, helping you point the way to catch people, and waving flags to cheer for you."

These calm words echoing by his ears, however, sketched a vast sea of blood and mountains of corpses before Li Jun's eyes.

"He who steals a hook is executed, he who steals a state becomes a lord."

Zhang Fengyue lamented, "This is what the Daoists use to ridicule us and the Legal Sequence. Although it still feels uncomfortable to hear it in one's heart, one must admit that in dealing with scholars, sometimes speaking with reason only treats the symptoms, while speaking without reason treats the root."

A cold light swirled in Li Jun's eyes, "Very well, as long as you can accept it, this rotted, foul meat, I will surely scrape it completely clean for you."

"This old man is telling you to go protect Yang Baize, not asking you to go on a killing spree."

Zhang Fengyue scolded with a laugh, "If you squander this old man's entire household capital, you will have to deal with Mount Longhu and the Eastern Emperor Palace all by yourself."

Just as the words fell here, a burst of festive drum and music suddenly drifted from outside the door of the study.

"Beneath the eight-spoked wheel, upon the petals of the lotus earth, lies the peaceful village street of Heijiu, with the great mountain god of Ase behind. Last year we built the house walls, this year we erect the new house, raising golden pillars, setting up silver rafters, the deeply attached newlyweds shall move into their new home today."

Li Jun and Zhang Siyuan walked out of the study, only to see the villagers of Zhenbao Village had all put on clean clothes, their wooden trays holding somewhat shriveled fruits and vegetables they couldn't bear to eat themselves, as well as steaming, fragrant meat fresh from the pot.

At the very front of the procession were the young man Dondup and the maiden Geyang, adorned in red and draped in silk.

The two knelt on the ground, one holding fine wine in hand, the other holding a khata.

"May the long-lived have abundant food, may the blessed have brand new clothes, may the longing have clever children, may the wealthy have superior cattle and sheep."

The children sang in unison, the melodious singing resounding beneath the star-filled night.

"Above we respect the sun, moon, and stars, in the middle we respect the auspicious days of the stars, below we respect the barley wine. We beg the honored guests to bestow upon them happiness and health."

Dondup knelt and walked two steps forward, a glimmer of hope bursting forth in his eyes.

"Teacher, Master, please forgive my taking the initiative. I do not know if I will ever encounter such an opportunity in the future, to see you return to the Fan region together, so I hope this time you can witness Geyang and me."

Li Jun and Zhang Siyuan exchanged a glance, and turned their heads in unison, resting their gaze upon Zhang Fengyue.

"Old Master, this is something that probably requires you to come."

Perhaps because his heart was excited, the usually simple and honest Dondup appeared exceptionally clever tonight, raising his cup above his head and declaring loudly, "We beg the Master to witness our marriage."

"One's mouth is softened by eating another's food, one's hand is shortened by taking another's things. The host has invited me to eat and drink my fill, so it is indeed time to do something."

Zhang Fengyue slowly stood up, strolling outside the door with his hands clasped behind his back.

"What is the son's name?"

"Dondup."

"What is the daughter's name?"

"Geyang."

"Good."

Zhang Fengyue nodded with a smile, "The alliance of two families, a covenant bound in one hall, an eternal bond of a good marriage, matched and called equals. Behold this day the peach blossoms burning bright, fitting for the chamber and the home, auguring other years of continuous lines of descendants, may you prosper and flourish."

As the old man's resonant voice rang out, clusters of bright and beautiful Gaisang flowers actually bloomed from the un-melted snow and ice, surrounding the newlyweds.

"I hereby make a solemn vow, sealed in white parchment, and pledge an alliance of red leaves, inscribed in the annals of love. Let this serve as our eternal testament!"

Zhang Fengyue glanced at Zhang Sizhen, who understood the gesture and pointed upward with his hand.

Amidst the starry sky, a single star suddenly burst forth with radiant light, then exploded like a spectacular firework.

Circular ripples spread across the night, illuminating the surprised faces below.

Jiyuan presented a ceremonial scarf, draping it gently around the elder’s shoulders.

Dongzhu offered a cup of fine wine, pouring it into the elder’s lips.

"New year, new age, and new marriage!"

Zhang Fengyue laughed heartily. "What a fortunate omen!"

"A thousand acres of fertile land is my home, where flowers bloom in the lush forest. The scent of cooking rises over the tiled roofs as wandering children return home. With wine in hand and songs on their lips, good fortune and health descend upon the new dwelling. The harvest is bountiful, livestock thrives, and the joy of earth rivals that of heaven."

The villagers sang and danced, while Dongzhu held his new bride close.

Zhang Fengyue looked at the two young people beside him, raised his hands in greeting, and said, "Wishing you a healthy new year."

"Wishing you a healthy new year."

Li Jun and Zhang Sizhen chorused.