The third lunar month, catching the tail end of spring; the sun was bright and beautiful, the sky was spotless blue. Mt. Wei’s vista was nothing special, but its verdant flora and burbling creeks were refreshing to the eyes and invigorating to the spirit. Dozens of young nobles were seated in and outside of Sushui Pavilion, the oldest no older than twenty, and the youngest younger than fourteen. Every one of them was powdered, bedecked with flowery hairpins, and draped in reds and greens. At a glance, they were even more garish than the flowers blooming by the pavilion.
A man sat primly in the center of the pavilion, like the moon pulling all the stars into its orbit. He was thirty at most, narrow-eyed, fair-skinned, and rather handsome. He was garbed in apricot yellow, and capped with a “lóng headdress” made of black muslin. He emanated elegance and poise as he held a ruyi scepter carved from white jade, his beard drifting ethereally from his chin. This was the person responsible for this Nine-Grade Officials’ Evaluation, Controller Wang Wen, descendant of the main branch of the Taiyuan Wang Clan, fourth son of the Minister of the Masses, Wang Hun. Holding the title of “cavalier attendant-in-ordinary,” his background could not be more prestigious.
The young aristocrats bent over backward attempting to win the controller’s favor. Wang Wen conversed easily with the youths as he quizzed them on poetry, or judged their calligraphy. Some tried to play to his interests by strumming their instruments or spouting off about Buddhist sutras, and he responded to each of them individually. Though he was superficially genial and polite, he felt restless and impatient. Shangdang Commandery was a major commandery, but it had suffered years of conflict as various powers wrested this highly contended and militarily significant location back and forth. As a consequence, the gentry consisted of local despots whose learnedness he found deeply wanting by Jinyang standards, to say nothing of their culturedness and comportment.
For someone who had been, from youth, cloistered by high nobility, the vapid affectations of these shallow things made his stomach churn. They were lucky he, obliged by his duty, didn’t turn on his heel and leave. Now that the evaluation was halfway over, and those who were left just barely counted as gentry, it shouldn’t consume much more of his time.
Wang Wen lightly swayed his scepter, about to test the next candidate, when a petty official hurried up to him and said by his ear, “Sir, there’s a gentleman who’s just arrived and requests an audience.”
What time was it, that he would arrive only now? Did he not take the evaluation seriously? Wang Wen, though magnanimous, could not abide such presumptuousness. He frowned and was about to refuse when the petty official quietly added, “The gentleman was quite ill, it seems he wasn’t intentionally tardy…”
Now that, was overstepping his bounds. Wang Wen glanced at the petty official quizzically and saw shame in his face, and mayhap a hint of sympathy. Instantly, his curiosity got the better of him, and he nodded, “Bring him here then.”
The petty official spun right around and rushed off. Wang Wen stroked his beard and leaned back on the rest as he watched him scamper away. He wanted to see just how that tardy fellow had beguiled his subordinate so.
A few minutes later, a vague silhouette approached the pavilion. Having spent most of his life burying his face in books and scrolls, Wang Wen’s sight wasn’t very sharp; at first, all he could see was a willowy figure donned in black, wearing a white jade crown with two bright red cords tied underneath his chin. His posture was flawless, his pace slow. His wide robes floated in the breeze and lent him the impression of swaying bamboo.
Just his silhouette alone had already outclassed the rest of the insipid rabble. Wang Wen couldn’t help but sit straighter and forget all about the evaluation. He opened his eyes wide, trying to take in the arrival’s appearance. The closer he looked, the more astonished he became.
The arrival was breathtakingly beautiful. His hair was black as raven’s feathers, his skin pale as pristine snow, his angled brows straight as a sword. His long, narrow phoenix eyes shined with a brilliant spiritedness that made his divine loveliness even more transcendental. If those bright eyes had belonged to someone of good health, they surely would have shaken one’s soul to the very core. Unfortunately, the gentleman was severely sick. He had dark circles under his eyes and his lips were deathly white. On closer look, his steps were faintly unsteady, as if a gust of wind might whisk his life away.
His jade-like features were the epitome of beauty and frailty. While it compelled one to gasp in awe, it evoked pity and mournfulness and the urge to cry that the Heavens were unjust.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The non-stop prattling within the Pavilion silenced at his appearance as countless gazes, bearing amazement, jealousy, suspicion, and hostility, fixated upon him. He ignored it all as he ambled before the pavilion and saluted the man seated on the high platform, “I am Liang Feng from Zhe County of the Chen Commandery. Greetings, Controller.”
Qjcu Qfc, yflcu j agef tlutybgc, delmxis ujatfgfv tlr klar jybea tlw jcv, kfii nfgrfv lc atf cbyif ufcfjibulfr, jrxfv, “Zluta sbe yf j vfrmfcvjca bo Obgv Oljcu, atf Mloat-Ygvfg Zjgdefrr bo Vtfcwfc?”
“Pcvffv, tf lr ws jcmfrabg,” Oljcu Mfcu jcrkfgfv.
Wang Wen clapped his scepter against his palm and praised, “I’ve long heard tales of Lord Liang’s feats, of how he repelled the northern barbarians and pacified two provinces. Even Emperor Wu of the Wei dynasty praised his peerless attainments. Meeting you today, I can only imagine how splendorous Lord Liang must have been.”
Oljcu Mfcu atbeuta rjgmjralmjiis atja Oljcu Wl qgbyjyis tjvc’a gfilfv bc tlr ojmf ab ufa ojwber, atbeut cbcf bo la rtbkfv lc tlr fzqgfrrlbc. Lf vfweggfv, “Tbe’gf abb xlcv, Jbcagbiifg.”
“Come, and sit here.” Wang Wen smiled and gestured towards the space by his side.
That was exceedingly preferential treatment towards a diminishing family that hadn’t begotten officials for two generations. Grading him as “second-rank esteem” would already be doing him a favor. How could the controller break decorum for his sake?
However, even Wang Wen rarely had the chance to meet a prodigy whose grace could surpass the likes of He Pingshu and Pan An. In times of chaos, many stunning talents were doomed to pass like petals flowing downstream. So of course he felt tenderness towards such fragile beauty.
But unexpectedly, Liang Feng remained unmoved. He shook his head, “I beg your pardon Controller, but I did not come to attend the evaluation.”
His words shocked everyone like a bolt of lightning. Wang Wen speechlessly asked, “You’re not here to attend the evaluation?”
That was the question everyone was wondering. Arriving late was excessive enough, but to then swaggeringly say that he wasn’t there to attend, was he there to prank them then?
Liang Feng continued, “In truth, I did come from Shangdang to attend, but after nearly losing my life to a bout of illness, I didn’t even know the assembly was today. Only once I happened by this place while traveling home did I know that it was taking place, so I came to take a farewell visit.”
No wonder he was so tardy. Wang Wen was even more astonished; the Liang family was almost decrepit, was he really going to give up on the evaluation, give up on such a prime opportunity to move up in the world, just because he’d gotten sick? He couldn’t resist lifting his brow and asking, “No one from the Liang clan has entered the officialdom for some time. Are you not concerned that your title will be revoked ere you attain a candidacy grade?”
He’d asked a very tricky question. If Liang Feng was concerned, his farewell would be a pretentious artifice, and he’d immediately lose Wang Wen’s favor. But if he wasn’t concerned, he’d be an unfilial wastrel for throwing away the birthright his ancestors had bequeathed him! Everyone was beside themselves with schadenfreude glee, ready to watch Liang Feng make a fool of himself.
Liang Feng merely answered, “As I hovered on the brink of death, I dreamed of a magnificent vihara. The ground was gold on one half, dirt on the other; the courtyard was full of rustling green trees. Beneath the trees, there were hazy figures illuminated by Buddha’s light. Watching from afar, they seemed to be holding a grand ceremony. I heard, from a distance, the scripture they recited; every word was sacral, resounding in the marrow of my very bones. Only after waking did I realize that all my past attachments were merely hollow.”
Wang Wen’s eyes widened; a prophetic dream? He’d actually dreamed of Buddha preaching Dharma? There were many in this era who worshipped Buddha, or believed in fables and myths, thus, they assumed that no one would lie about the supernatural. Wang Wen unconsciously leaned towards him and eagerly asked, “Do you remember the scripture?”
“It was too long, and my memory is unclear. But I dare not forget the phrase that enlightened me.” Liang Feng sighed and spoke sonorously,
“All conditioned phenomena,
Are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow,
Like dew or a flash of lightning;
Thus we shall perceive them”
The soft hoarseness of his voice didn’t detract from its melodiousness. A sudden gust sent his long, wide sleeves dancing in the wind. The gatha reverberated through the pavilion, almost ringing with Sanskrit song.
The ruyi scepter clattered on the table. Wang Wen, having studied scripture since youth, had a deep understanding of Buddhist doctrine. He’d never heard that verse before, but anyone with some understanding of Buddhism would know that it was a verse that could be immortalized in history. The suffering since time immemorial, the disorder throughout ages were encompassed within a single phrase. The people of Jin were born in chaos. They lived precariously on the edge of the knife, their lives fleeting and flimsy as a mayfly’s. Thus, they were dissipated and unrestrained, choosing abandonment over classical conventions. The gatha was practically a club to the head, a clap of thunder through clear sky, tearing through the fog clouding his heart. He sank into a gobsmacked stupor.
The pavilion stilled for several breaths. Wang Wen leaped to his feet, his eyes glossy with unshed tears, and bowed in salute, “If you are able to recall the rest of the scripture, I humbly implore that you endow your knowledge to me.”
Everyone paled in disbelief, for Wang Wen’s status was far superior. Yet Liang Feng did not react; he quietly replied, “My health is poor nowadays; I’m afraid it will take some time. If I am able to transcribe it, I will indeed present it to you.”
Wang Wen had forgotten all about the evaluation and frantically queried, “How would you like to visit my estate, we could contemplate philosophy by candlelight.”
Receiving an invitation from the Taiyuan Wang Clan was a tremendous honor, yet Liang Feng still refused, “I have a young son at home, and long fiercely to return. I beg your forgiveness, Controller Wang.”
Perhaps it was because he’d been standing too long, but he was flagging already. Wang Wen regained his composure and remembered that Liang Feng had only just been severely ill; even now, his life flickered like a fading ember. His heart constricted as said, “I am acquainted with Imperial Physician Jiang, he’s an official disciple of Doctor Wang, and greatly skilled in medicine. He has resided in Tongdi County since his retirement. I’ll write to him at once to request him to visit the Liang Estate.”
There was no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth; Liang Feng made an expression of gratitude and bowed, “Thank you for your grace, Controller. I will be able to return home with peace of mind.”
Seeing as Liang Feng was determined to depart, Wang Wen lamented, “Meeting you was a great fortune to me. It’s only a shame that we haven’t the time to converse further. You must take care on the road, for I eagerly await your correspondence.”
Liang Feng solemnly replied, “You honor me more than I deserve, Controller. I will undoubtedly write to you to express my thanks.”
Their exchange, elegant and pure, free matters concerning petty fame and frivolity, was like a breath of fresh air. The whole pavilion had been long since been stunned stupid. In the corner, Li Lang’s eyes were bulging out of his head. He trembled. He knew his cousin was capable, but he couldn’t have guessed that he would barge into the assembly and rant nonsensically about mystical dreams and Buddha! How had he not noticed anything before? Had he been blind the whole time?
As Li Lang grit his teeth, Liang Feng suddenly saluted him, serenely saying, “Brother, thank you for looking after me these days. But I must say that Yan Sheng’s crime was not worthy of death.”
Without waiting for his reply, Liang Feng turned and left like a whisper.
The author has something to say:
Liang Feng expresses: even face-slapping must be done the right way (be particular about it) =w=
He Pingshu: He Yan, idiom “何郎傅粉” “Like He-lang with makeup on”
Pan Anren: Pan Yue, idiom “beautiful as Pan An”
At this time, Wei Jie is still a child, the standards of beauty for Wei Jin are these two.
ahaha some well deserved face slapping~~
thanks for the chapter~
slap that family a few more times for the rest of us!
thanks for the chapter! <3
I’m loving Liang Feng more each time.
Thank you so much for this chapter!
Face slapping is always nice to read OwO
Thank you for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️
Thanks for the chapter! Such elegant face slapping! Very artistic, lol.
Haha, nice one >3
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)
Thanks for the chapter 😊
Ah yes, a face slap that hits latter than it happens, I think?
Wow
Lmao, his bullshitting skill is top notch 😂
Liang Feng aaa, you really know how to drag bad people into trouble 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for the chapter.
Looking good ~~
Thank you for translating🙏
He tossed a grenade at the cousin on the way out lol