Thousand Verdant Mountains – Chapter 20 Part 1
Chapter 20 Part 1
The deadline in the appointment letter was approaching, but the master had not yet arrived. Qingtou was very anxious for a few days, and had followed Chengping to inquire about the news everywhere. Today, his master had appeared safely, and he was filled with endless joy. Just now, he heard that his master was going to Cui’s house, and immediately asked people to carry two red lacquer mother-of-pearl boxes wrapped in colorful silk.
This was what He shi had asked him to prepare before he set off. Worried that the things over there were not as good as those in Chang’an and fearing that the Cui family, whom they hadn’t seen in years, might look down on his master, He shi took out all the family savings and specifically instructed Qingtou to follow the gift list and prepare proper visiting gifts for his master upon arrival.
“Look, Master. I bought all these from the best shops in the West Market. We won’t lose face if we come to the door with this!”
Qingtou opened the lid of the box and pointed at the gifts one by one.
“This is a rat whisker brush made by Zhuge family of Xuanzhou, the same kind that used to write the Orchid Pavilion Preface. Do you know how much it costs? One brush cost ten gold coins! Even if you sold me ten times over, it wouldn’t cover the cost. Even so, it’s still hard to find one, and I had to wait a full month for it! This is Xi family’s ink from Shezhou. It’s easier to buy than Zhuge’s brush, but it’s still not cheap. This is the peacock silk and Wu silk that Amu prepared for Aunt Wang. She specifically wanted to buy the one from Hengzhou and Yuezhou. It took me quite a bit of searching to find them. The soles of my shoes are almost worn out from running…”
Qingtou was trying to take credit for himself, but suddenly he felt something was wrong and his eyes fell on his master.
Cui Mansion was right next to the East Market, and left and right were either high-ranking officials or noble families. Qingtou looked at his master’s clothes and found it too ordinary. It was just a dark blue round-necked spring shirt that anyone could wear, tied with an ordinary black rhino belt, no different from an ordinary commoner, and looked very undignified.
During the time when Qingtou arrived in advance, he often followed Prince Ashina as an attendant, traveling around the city. In addition to broadening his horizons, he also realized the importance of brocade clothes. He immediately urged him to change his clothes. He said that his luggage had been delivered, but because he had not come before, it was still with the prince, and there was something suitable inside. People in Chang’an were different from back home, and they must dress up brightly and beautifully so that people would not look down on them.
Pei Xiaoyuan just told him not to follow, and took out a gift box that He shi had prepared in the county governor’s mansion from the box tied with colorful silk, left Qingtou and the other box behind, and urged his horse to go. When he arrived at the Cui’s house, he dismounted outside the gate, tied the horse to the hitching post, and walked up with the box.
The gatekeeper at Cui Mansion had already checked him from head to toe.
“Who are you? What are you doing here? Have you handed in your visiting card?”
Pei Xiaoyuan made a salute, “Pei Xiaoyuan, I’m here to visit my uncle and aunt today, please let them know.”
When the gatekeeper heard the name, he was startled because he had been informed beforehand. He looked at the man again, then reacted. He quickly smiled, welcomed him, and opened the gate for the guest.
Pei Xiaoyuan entered the house under the watchful eyes of many servants of the Cui Mansion and waited calmly in the guest hall. Soon a steward came out, asked someone to serve tea, asked him to wait, and said that people had been sent to inform the master, and then stood aside to accompany the guest.
The steward introduced himself as Wang, with a smile on his face and a respectful tone. However, facing this young visitor who had not been around for many years, even though he knew that the master had been waiting for him for many days, his inherent reserve and arrogance were still evident.
The head of the family, Vice Minister of Ministry of Rites, had been keeping a low profile in recent years. Due to long-term internal strife, the talents of several branches of the family have withered and the children were mediocre. Apart from him, there have been no other high-ranking officials with influence in the court. But it didn’t matter. With this surname, the Cui family could still hold their heads high and look superior in front of outsiders.
The steward knew the identity of the visitor, he was the son of the master’s sister. However, the Pei family was no longer what it used to be. Although they once held high positions and were famous all over the world, Pei Gu had passed away and Pei Ji was still a demoted official in the border areas. It was unlikely that he would ever return to the court. The appointment letter as a member of the Jinwu Guard that the Pei family’s son had today might not enter Steward Wang’s eye.
After all, even a Jinwu General was still a Jinwu Guard, and those martial patrol and mounted troops who open and close the city gates, patrolling the streets and catching criminals were also Jinwu Guards.
Soon, accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, a man came from the back hall. The man was about fifty years old, wearing home clothes, and looked like he had just come out of the study. When he saw Pei Xiaoyuan sitting in the hall, he paused, stopped, and stared at him intently, as if he did not dare to recognize him for a moment.
When Pei Xiaoyuan was young, he had naturally seen his uncle. Now, many years later, aside from the added wrinkles on his face and his hair turning white, Cui Daosi hadn’t changed much.
He called out “Uncle”, stood up and saluted the other person.
“Nephew Xiaoyuan took the liberty to come to visit, I apologize for disturbing you.”
Cui Daosi came back to his senses, walked quickly to Pei Xiaoyuan, held his arms, looked at him for a moment. He nodded repeatedly, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.
“Xiaoyuan, it’s really you! You’ve grown so big! Just now, Uncle almost didn’t recognize you! I thought you should have arrived a long time ago. I heard that you were good friends with Prince Ashina, so I sent people to inquire about you several times. Why did you arrive so late?”
Pei Xiaoyuan said that he had something else to do on the way, which delayed his trip.
“It’s good that you’re here, it’s good that you’re here! Come with Uncle and let’s go in and talk!”
Cui Daosi personally led his nephew to his study, and after he sat down, he praised his military exploits three years ago and asked about Pei Ji’s recent situation. Pei Xiaoyuan said that his uncle was well, conveyed Pei Ji’s regards to Cui Daosi, and then asked about his aunt.
The mistress of the Cui family, Wang shi, was a distant relative of the current Empress Dowager. She had always thought highly of herself and harbored resentment over what happened to the Pei family in the past. She felt that the reason her own children were not prominent now was all because they were dragged down by the Pei family in the past. So, when hearing that the Pei family’s son had come, alone, without even an attendant, and that he had ridden his own horse, and that the gifts he brought with him seemed to be some local specialties from Ganliang, she was very unimpressed. Annoyed, she didn’t even want to meet him, using illness as an excuse.
Cui Daosi naturally covered up the matter in front of his nephew.
“Your aunt happens to be unwell and bedridden these days, so she couldn’t come out to see you today. However, she was very happy to learn that you were here, and specifically told me to tell you to visit more often in the future.”
Pei Xiaoyuan nodded with a smile: “Please send my gratitude to Aunt.”
Cui Daosi coughed slightly, thinking that the old house of the Pei family in Chang’an had long been owned by someone else, so he changed the subject and asked his nephew where he would stay. He said that his family had another vacant house in the capital, which was not big, but had three entrances and a garden, and asked him to live there. Pei Xiaoyuan said that the Jinwu Guard had a public residence for him to live in, which was more convenient.
The nephew’s attitude was very respectful, yet distant. After more than ten years of no contact, he came to visit as soon as he arrived in Chang’an, probably because of Pei Ji.
Cui Daosi knew it very well, but he didn’t know what to say for a moment. Looking at his face and thinking of the past, he was overwhelmed with emotions and sighed.
“Xiaoyuan, Uncle knows that my Cui family did something wrong back then, but we were forced to do so by the circumstances. I hope you won’t blame Uncle too much.”
The “back then” mentioned by Cui Daosi happened when the war suppressing the rebellion was about to end, when Pei Xiaoyuan was eight years old. At that time, Chang’an had been recaptured by the official army, and he returned to Chang’an with his mother Cui shi, eagerly waiting for his father Pei Gu to return triumphantly.
Pei Gu was the general of the Shenhu Army at that time, leading this elite army that he had led for many years to block the invasion of Xifan Army many times, firmly guarding the western border of Chang’an, eliminating the worries for the other imperial armies to put down the rebellion with all their strength.
When the situation was about to be settled, he received an order from the crown prince, ordering him to lead his troops back to Chang’an immediately and hand over his military affairs to others.
At that time, the Shenhu Army was stationed in the Beiyuan City area of Hezhou, northwest of Chang’an, with the aim of preventing any further movements from Xifan – The rebellion had previously been able to stir up a tremendous wave of chaos, and the support from Xifan was a significant factor.
Having been ambushed multiple times, Xifan Army had grown quite wary of them. Despite being forced to retreat, they had not given up and were still watching the situation covetously. Although the immediate threat had been mitigated, the conflict was far from resolved, and Beiyuan City had become a crucial western defensive line built by the Shenhu Army.
The old emperor was already ill at that time, and almost all government orders came from the crown prince. This transfer order was also an urgent order of the highest level, and he was ordered to execute it immediately after receiving it.
Pei Gu could not disobey the order and had to hand over the defense to the army that came to relieve him, leaving He Jin and his nephew Pei Huaiguang to assist in the defense. After arranging everything, he led his army to Chang’an quietly overnight.
Unexpectedly, not long after he set out on his journey, an urgent report from Beiyuan came following him.
It was very likely that the news of his withdrawal leaked out, and Xifan Army that had originally retreated actually made a comeback with a large number of troops, and it seemed they would not stop until Beiyuan was defeated.
The fighting power of the replacement army was not as good as that Shenhu Army. To make matters worse, their general had unexpectedly fallen in the first battle, leaving the defenders in a state of panic. If it were not for the small number of Shenhu Army soldiers left behind by Pei Gu before he left, they would probably have been unable to hold on. They could only send him an urgent report and ask for instructions on how to respond.