In the officialdom, when a father and son come face to face on the narrow path, my relationship with him was still as incompatible as fire and water.
One day, I watched him tangle with Wei Zheng in the great hall; to my surprise, what surged in my heart was not mockery or disdain, but emotion and heartache.
My father was demoted and had to leave Chang'an, and I personally went to see him off. But I knew he was a man who cared a great deal about face, so I didn't want him to feel dignified in front of his son, thus I only watched him from the city gate tower.
After that, my career inexplicably went smoother. Undeniably, my rapid rise to Assistant Minister of Ministry of Criminal Justice was greatly related to my father's demotion. The Emperor felt guilty toward my father and still held him in respect.
The Emperor once remarked about him, "Strong winds reveal the strength of grass, and troubled times show the faithfulness of a minister."
