A special thank you to all my patrons.
The List of The "ANBU" Member:
-ar4ngel
-Lord_Clamiral
-Cain
-Kreios
-Sabo
-Goha21
-Cherudim
-Splendid
-Jacob Mooe
-Terrell Y
-HADES
-CanSerBero_1
-Nathan king
-Varun Madhu
-Sombra Rey
-Ruzzzy
-Notraa
-Sarabjeet Seehra
You can read 50 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - p@treon.com/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Qian was about to persuade Cai Yong further, but Cai Yong stopped him.
Cai Yong said, "You have not received the grain of Han, but I have enjoyed the salary of Han. As a subject, loyalty to the monarch is my duty. There is no need to persuade me further." Cai Yong meant that Fei Qian had not received any state salary, while he himself had been receiving state funds and grain. Therefore, as a subject, he must remain loyal to the monarch...
Indeed, as a reserve officer in the Han Dynasty, there was no salary. Fei Qian had never been assigned an official position, so he had never received any salary.
Cai Yong's thoughts were simple: if you take someone's money, you should help them in times of trouble. As a high-ranking official of the state, having received the salary of the Han Dynasty, one cannot only consider their own safety. When it is time to take responsibility, one must step up. Otherwise, it would betray the beliefs one has always held.
Cai Yong was not unaware of the risks of staying, but some things must be done. Otherwise, even if one temporarily preserves their life, they would live with lifelong unease, just like the examples of Su Wu and Li Ling he had mentioned earlier.
Both were attendants during Emperor Wu of Han's reign. Su Wu held onto his beliefs, while Li Ling gave up under difficult circumstances. It cannot be said definitively who was right or wrong, but judging from the sentiments expressed in Li Ling's later poems, although he survived after surrendering, he lived in great pain.
Cai Yong was unwilling to compromise his heart, even if it meant bearing risks.
Fei Qian wanted to speak several times but did not know where to start. How could he ask such an upright old man to betray the beliefs he had pursued all his life?
Cai Yong looked at Fei Qian, smiled kindly, picked up two letters from his desk, and handed them to Fei Qian.
"What are these?" Fei Qian was puzzled. Why was Cai Yong giving him these two letters?
"You still have a bright future ahead. There is no need to stay here with me. I have old ties with Pang Shangchang and Liu Jingsheng. If you go to Jingxiang, you can present these letters to them." Cai Yong spoke as if it were a trivial matter, casually saying, "In the north, there is the Luoyang Imperial Academy; in the south, there is the Lumen Academy in Jingxiang. You might as well go to Lumen and seek guidance from the virtuous elders there, and learn alongside talented peers. You must know that in the pursuit of knowledge, if you do not advance, you will fall behind. Although I cannot always supervise you, you must not slack off. Do you understand?"
Fei Qian left his seat and bowed, solemnly promising.
These were not just simple letters; they were talismans of protection. Just by presenting them, even a powerful figure like Liu Biao of Jingzhou would show some consideration for Cai Yong's sake. Cai Yong was using his own reputation to pave the way for Fei Qian!
Unexpectedly, Cai Yong not only considered Fei Qian's safety but also thought about how he could continue to advance in his studies after leaving Luoyang. As a teacher, Cai Yong had gone to such lengths, which deeply moved Fei Qian.
In later generations, not to mention teachers without blood relations, sometimes even relatives with blood ties might not help when needed...
Cai Yong continued, "You may go now. You can set off in the coming days. Do not worry about me here. I will not see you off." He then called for the steward and instructed him to take Fei Qian to bid farewell to Cai Yan.
Seeing that Cai Yong's attitude was indeed resolute and not giving him any further opportunity to speak, Fei Qian could only sigh inwardly. He kowtowed deeply to Cai Yong, performing a grand salute.
Regardless of anything else, the fact that Cai Yong, despite the risks to his own future, still considered his disciple Fei Qian and made the best arrangements for his next steps, was a kindness worthy of respect. Therefore, Fei Qian's grand salute was sincere and heartfelt.
Cai Yong did not avoid it. He sat there, accepting Fei Qian's grand salute, nodded slightly, and smiled, allowing Fei Qian to follow the steward to bid farewell to Cai Yan.
As they approached the study, Fei Qian saw from a distance that Cai Yan seemed to be preparing to play the qin (a traditional Chinese string instrument). He stopped in his tracks, not approaching further, and listened quietly.
Cai Yan was wearing a green dress with a yellow outer robe, without any makeup, yet her natural beauty shone through. The afternoon sunlight slanted in through the window, casting a soft glow around her. A few strands of her long black hair were gently lifted by the breeze, dancing like sprites in the sunlight.
Cai Yan's delicate, jade-like fingers lightly plucked the strings of the qin, and the dancing notes fluttered like butterflies at her fingertips...
Fei Qian closed his eyes, listening with all his heart.
The leaping notes of the qin were like birds singing to the sun in the early morning forest. A red sun slowly rose on the horizon, and the warm sunlight gradually dispersed the thick fog in the woods...
Before Fei Qian's eyes, a vivid scene unfolded—a small mountain village with a few scattered households. As the sun rose, each household began their day...
Many notes joined in, as if accompanied by the curling smoke from chimneys. Human voices gradually rose, with sounds of laughter, children playing, and the calls of cattle and sheep...
Suddenly, a lively and cheerful note emerged, like a lively little girl stepping out of a small courtyard, picking colorful wildflowers by the roadside...
The little girl, holding a bunch of wildflowers, skipped through the woods. Birds sang on the branches, and colorful butterflies fluttered around her. The little girl did not stop, climbing a small hill with the flowers in hand. Suddenly, a mountain breeze blew by, almost blowing the flowers from her hands...
The little girl carefully protected the flowers and arrived at a household on the hill. She knocked on the door and called out, but after waiting for a long time, there was no response...
The little girl panicked, walked around the house, and came to the back of the hill. Below, a small path wound into the distance. The little girl looked out and saw a figure walking further and further away at the end of the path...
The little girl shouted loudly, raising the wildflowers high and waving them vigorously, hoping the distant figure would hear her voice and notice her...
But the figure grew smaller and smaller, walking further away...
The qin's notes gradually weakened, as if the little girl had tired herself out, her voice hoarse, but no response came. The petals of the wildflowers in her hands scattered one by one, falling like snowflakes from the top of the hill...
The qin's notes became scattered, and Cai Yan plucked single notes with her delicate fingers, like the falling petals, blown by the wind, drifting in the air, not knowing where they would go...
As the song ended, Fei Qian opened his eyes and saw Cai Yan looking at him at the same moment. Their gazes intertwined...
Like childhood playmates, innocent, pure, and sincere, they had no secrets between them. But alas, they had just met and were about to part...
Fei Qian remained silent for a long time, speechless. He slowly straightened his attire, clasped his hands, and bowed deeply to Cai Yan.
Cai Yan also rose from her seat and bowed gracefully to Fei Qian.
Not a single word was spoken between them, yet it felt as if a thousand words had been conveyed in that bow and salute...
*****
A/N: With Cai Yong's integrity, he would never flee in disgrace... And with Cai Yan's character, she would never abandon her father to save herself... So it could only be this way.