32. The Lantern Festival as Bright as Day (Part I)

The conversations between two scoundrelly men are, most of the time, sordid and unsightly. That is why people say the most wretched creatures on earth are high school boys—and college boys are much the same; they are just like that, though they improve slightly as they age.

However, such things are merely talk. Most people, including Xia Lin, have the desire but lack the nerve. Even Old Zhang is no exception. Despite his constant blathering and self-proclaimed title as the "Saint of Luoshui Courtesans," he actually blushes when speaking to a woman alone, let alone engaging in any real debauchery. Xia Lin knows all of his tall tales but cannot be bothered to expose him; there is no need to be that kind of friend.

But to say he is a virgin? That is not quite true either. He was once properly betrothed. At the time, the young lady of that family was quite forward. Back then, Old Zhang had passed the imperial examinations, was an peerless talent, and possessed a handsome face—like a fire meeting dry tinder, their union seemed inevitable.

"Then, once that young lady saw Old Zhang’s sorry state, she naturally cut off contact. But at the time of the engagement, Old Zhang had gone through all the proper rites and sent the betrothal gifts. He wanted his money back, but they refused, claiming it was merely a formal offer. They even said their daughter was to marry Zhang Shuo the scholar, not Zhang Shuo the commoner. At that time, Old Zhang’s parents had just passed away, and the money for their burial had been scraped together by selling off his family property. We talked about going to demand the money back, but that family was no longer someone we could afford to provoke; they threatened to lock us in dog cages."

At the New Year's Eve dinner table, Xia Lin had drunk a little and began to talk about their experiences back in Luoyang. They spoke of it as if it were trivial, but to the listeners—the little princess and Chun Tao—it felt like a rollercoaster of ups and downs.

"Those years were truly difficult."

Old Zhang, now slightly tipsy, leaned against the wall and said with a touch of drunkenness, "That’s why I told Daosheng: one of us must eventually make a name for ourselves. I’m not talking about grand achievements yet, but just to make those bastards taste their own medicine, we have to climb."

"Is that what you said when you met my royal brother?" The little princess blinked. "That doesn't sound very polite."

"How could it be?" Xia Lin laughed. "Meeting the young prince is one thing; if we ever get the chance to meet the Emperor, that will be another matter entirely."

Chun Tao looked at the little princess in astonishment, then asked curiously, "Then what do you intend to say when you meet my Imperial Uncle?"

"Ah?" Xia Lin gave a hiccup of intoxication. "Naturally, I would say: 'To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to secure a life for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of the sages, and to open up a path of peace for ten thousand generations.'"

Old Zhang suddenly turned his head to look at Xia Lin. Not just him, but the little princess and Chun Tao were also stunned, staring at this roguish fellow, momentarily frozen.

What kind of monster was this? For such words to come from anyone’s mouth would be a shock. To establish a heart, to set forth a doctrine, a grand ambition—regardless of whether it could be achieved, just having these words appear in the imperial court would crush the arrogance of countless people. This was a beacon of pure, towering brilliance, a truth of the Great Way that no one could refute.

"Impressive," Old Zhang clapped his hands. "Has your flattery reached such a realm?"

"Oh, just average, just average."

Old Zhang laughed it off, but the little princess felt deeply shaken. Because, observing him along the way, although this roguish youth seemed to do nothing seriously and spoke with a touch of flippancy, he was truly getting things done.

The little princess, though innocent, had traveled to many places. Sometimes she would go with her father and brother to visit the surrounding villages. In those places, the officials spent their days pondering how to please their superiors and line their pockets, yet their words were always high-sounding and pleasant to the ear.

But Xia Lin was different. He claimed he wanted to climb the social ladder, yet his actions were all focused on governance and benefiting the people. During the few days the little princess had been here, she had followed him across half of Xinping Township. The construction sites were still there, and the livelihoods of thousands, if not tens of thousands, were taking shape under his hands.

This was not something an ordinary person could achieve. Even across the whole country, few possessed such vigor, yet this youth, only three years her senior, had buried himself in this desolate, impoverished land.

He was Xia Lin, Xia Daosheng! The author of the *Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng*, the *Butterfly Loves Flowers*, the *Qingping Tune*, and the *Thirty-Two Poems After Drunkenness*! A top-tier talent of the world. Had it been anyone else, they would have long been swimming among the powerful and wealthy, using their poetry to swap for an official post with ease. Even the Emperor favored such young men of immense talent.

Yet he chose this place—a place where, even on the New Year's dinner table, the only meat dish was a local chicken given to him by a villager...

"Daosheng, Daosheng, why not stay in the city? With your talent, you would rise much faster than you are now."

"Fast is useless." Xia Lin’s eyelids were drooping now, and his tongue was thickening. "If you crave speed, you are merely a hunting dog raised by someone else. How many bushels of grain can your poetry buy? How much tax can it collect? The material foundation is the prerequisite for spiritual civilization."

He was back to his unintelligible rambling, but everyone seemed used to him saying things that made no sense—even harder to understand than classical jargon. But setting aside the incomprehensible parts, the core of his words held some truth.

Take the officials in court: both might be third-rank. A third-rank capital official was already considered a high minister, yet if they met a third-rank frontier official, they would have to bow first.

Why? Because a third-rank frontier official was a regional hegemon. With grain, troops, and people in hand, they were either the Emperor’s trusted confidants or a grave threat. A capital official could be replaced on a whim, but a frontier official required careful deliberation.

Chun Tao understood this best. She traveled with the young prince; when they encountered capital officials, the prince could refuse to see them, but when they encountered governors or provincial lords, he would not only visit them personally but also prepare gifts.

It was because these frontier officials held such immense power, enough to make the heir to the throne worry about winning them over.

Looking at the young man again, his ambition was likely not as simple as just being an official. He wanted to be a powerful minister—a minister of power who controlled life and death.

Realizing this, Chun Tao felt a secret tremor of shock, but the next moment, Xia Lin’s hand landed on her shoulder. He said, with a hint of drunkenness, "Sister Chun Tao, when you have the chance, tell the young prince: I, Xia Lin, Xia Daosheng, am not content to be a nameless nobody. I will either spend my life wandering or I will make a grand impact. I am aiming to have my name recorded in history, aiming to be the kind of person whose killers would be forever shackled to the pillar of shame."

"Alright, alright, alright..." Old Zhang quickly stepped forward and dragged Xia Lin away. "You all continue to watch the night through. He’s drunk... he’s just spouting nonsense. Don’t take it to heart. I’ll take him to sleep."

After the two left, Chun Tao pursed her lips, unable to speak for a long while. The little princess, however, laughed aloud: "Good, good! Once he becomes a high official, he can marry me!"

Xia Lin really wasn't faking it; that was his limit. Although there was no distillation technology yet, he would go down after half a pound of eight or nine-percent alcohol. And once drunk, he would start with his grand narratives—a peculiar hobby common to middle-aged men.

This flaw might be a sign of an "inferior man" in the modern world, but here, it was seen as having great ambition and a promising future. Fortunately, Old Zhang had stopped the idiot's rambling in time, or no one knew what else he might have said.

The little princess was one thing, but Chun Tao was, after all, the young prince's person. Until it was certain he was one of their own, one had to be cautious.

From then until the Lantern Festival, life was quite sparse. There were no lantern festivals or riddles, and the whole township was quiet, incomparable to the big cities outside.

Xia Lin, bored, used his phone to find a bunch of entertainment online, the most popular of which was Mahjong.

The Mahjong set was finalized on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. Xia Lin and Old Zhang went up the mountain to cut bamboo, then spent time turning the bamboo into tiles, polishing them, and carving characters. By the time they finished, it was the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

And so, they played Mahjong all the way to the Lantern Festival.

"I’m leaving tomorrow."

Looking at the full moon in the sky, the little princess was filled with emotion. She sat in the small courtyard, her heart overflowing with melancholy. Xia Lin stood nearby, setting off homemade sparklers. Hearing her words, he turned and smiled. "Once you go back, you will be taught a lesson by life."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll know when you get back. It is the price one must pay for their own willfulness." Xia Lin walked over and patted her head. "After this time, we won’t see each other for at least three years."

The little princess trembled, looking up at him in shock. "Why!?"

"You were too impatient." Xia Lin sighed. "I told you to wait for me to come and visit you, but you insisted on having your own way. Now you must know the price of that willfulness."