Chapter 32: Aftermath

Page 1 of 3

That night, Ding Yuan’s camp descended into chaos.

Lu Bu beheaded Ding Yuan and defected to Dong Zhuo under cover of darkness. Most of Ding Yuan’s original forces dispersed, while only a small portion, together with the soldiers from Lu Bu’s camp, joined Dong Zhuo’s army.

The following day, Lu Bu was appointed Cavalry Commandant and Palace General, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Duting. One could truly say that he had risen to the heavens in a single step! He had genuinely transformed from a nobody so poor that he had once worried about where his next meal would come from into a true, wealthy, handsome aristocrat clad in golden armor and mounted on the Red Hare…

When Fei Qian heard the news, he felt the urgency of time more keenly than ever. The day when Luoyang would fall into chaos was drawing nearer with every passing day…

Whenever Fei Qian walked through the streets of Luoyang, whenever he saw the shopkeepers carrying out their trade banners, the vendors setting up stalls along the roadside, the children laughing and chasing one another, or the old men basking in the sun with their eyes closed, he would feel an overwhelming urge to rush into the middle of the street and shout out everything that would happen in the future—to save these people from the misery they would soon encounter, and to ensure that the flourishing beauty before him would not become a shattered wasteland…

That feeling tormented Fei Qian. Sometimes, deep in the stillness of the night, he would recall that strange dream. The question asked in it—“A true man is born beneath Heaven and Earth; when he looks up or lowers his gaze, his conscience must be clear. How could he cherish his life and live on in disgrace? Tell me, what is your ambition?”—continued to echo in his heart.

The Three Kingdoms… the Three Kingdoms.

For a time, his later self had always believed that even if he arrived in the final years of the Eastern Han, it would be no more than a game he had once played: click the mouse, study the statistics, and if all else failed, flee while he still possessed some knowledge of history…

But Fei Qian now felt that if he truly did that, he would suffer terribly. At the very least, he would never be able to get past it in his own heart. He did not consider himself some kind of saint, but if the living people around him were to die one after another in pain and agony while he did absolutely nothing, he simply could not bring himself to be so cold-blooded.

Those I do not know are one thing. But if there is anything within my power to do, I must at least do something. Otherwise, I shall never find peace of mind!

Fei Qian was walking along when he suddenly heard someone calling from behind, “Young Master Fei, please wait!”

He turned his head and saw a middle-aged servant in a coarse blue hemp robe hurrying toward him, panting heavily. When the man drew near, Fei Qian noticed the character “Cai” embroidered on his chest and felt that he vaguely recognized it.

“My master, Palace Attendant Cai, wishes to invite you to his residence. This is the calling card he sent you.”

True to the standards of a servant from the Cai household, the man first steadied his breathing after reaching Fei Qian. Only once he had recovered somewhat did he make his report.

Fei Qian accepted the card and asked, “Must I leave at once? I should inform my family first.”

“I have already been to your residence, Young Master. I met your old steward there and learned that you were here.”

“In that case, let us go.”

Unable to understand why Cai Yong had suddenly summoned him, Fei Qian walked a few steps before turning back to ask the Cai family servant, “Why does the Palace Attendant wish to see me?”

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

“I am only a gatekeeper. How could I know such things?”

Fei Qian gave a quiet “Oh,” then suddenly remembered something. He reached into his robe, took out a string of five-zhu coins, and handed it to the Cai family gatekeeper.

“You have gone to some trouble. Take this and buy yourself a new pair of shoes.”

The gatekeeper accepted the money with delight and stuffed it into his robe.

“Thank you for your generosity, Young Master… Well, this morning, Physician Liu Yuanzhuo came…”

Fei Qian nodded, accepting the information as thanks to the gatekeeper. But his thoughts had already begun to turn.

Who was Liu Yuanzhuo? And he held the rank of Physician, no less? This “Physician” was not a doctor. In the Han Dynasty, it was an official position, second only to that of Imperial Secretary.

Fei Qian remembered that there were many notable figures surnamed Liu in the annals of the Three Kingdoms, but who among them was called Yuanzhuo? From the sound of it, he seemed to be someone famous. Who could it be? Liu Ye, perhaps? Liu Ye was also a renowned scholar, but if he remembered correctly, Liu Ye’s courtesy name was not Yuanzhuo…

In this era, anyone surnamed Liu was more or less connected to the imperial family. For all he knew, they might be descendants of some obscure son of Liu Bang, passed down through countless generations…

Fei Qian thought about it again and again, but still could not determine who Liu Yuanzhuo was. In the end, he simply stopped puzzling over it. Although he did not understand the situation, surely the man had not come to cause him trouble.

Never mind. I will find out once I get there.

************

While Fei Qian was making his way to the Cai residence, Sima Wang Yun and Yuan Wei sat facing each other over tea in Wang Yun’s home.

The maidservants had been sent far away. Wang Yun personally prepared the tea, rolling up his sleeves as he boiled the leaves and used a ladle to fill a cup for Yuan Wei.

By the Han Dynasty, tea had become a beverage that stood somewhere between medicine and luxury. It had become a social necessity among the upper classes, particularly the great aristocratic families. Its medicinal uses were also well known and widely practiced. For instance, in the Western Han, the gifted scholar Sima Xiangru recorded twenty medicinal substances in his Rhapsody on All Things; among them, the term “chuancha” referred to tea. The Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica stated: “The Divine Farmer tasted a hundred herbs and encountered seventy-two poisons in a single day; tea relieved him of them all.”

Many people of the Han Dynasty believed that tea could purge toxins, aid digestion, and prevent or treat various illnesses. Some even said, “Drink tea for a long time, and it will give you strength and gladden your spirit.”

Wang Yun invited Yuan Wei to sample the tea.

“This is tea from the Tiantai Tea House. Grand Tutor, you should give it a try.”

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Yuan Wei’s eyebrows shifted slightly, and he asked in surprise, “Is this tea from Celestial Master Ge?”

Wang Yun allowed a trace of pride to show as he nodded.

“Precisely.”

It was no wonder that Yuan Wei had been moved. Tea itself was divided into many grades. Rough tea bricks made from stems and coarse leaves were not worth mentioning. Even among fine teas, the place of origin imposed many restrictions: because of geography and ecological conditions, only certain regions were suitable for cultivation.

At that time, the most famous tea came from the renowned Eastern Han scholar Ge Xuan, who grew it on Mount Tiantai in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region. Its quality was excellent, but its production was extraordinarily limited.

The rarity of Celestial Master Ge’s tea in that era was comparable to tea produced from the parent plant of the famous Big Red Robe in later Fujian. Only the very highest echelons of society could afford to drink it. It would not have been an exaggeration to say that every leaf was worth its weight in gold.

Wang Yun had brought out such tea to entertain Yuan Wei not merely to show the importance he placed on him. More importantly, he was subtly displaying the strength of the Wang family.

So what if the Yuan family was larger? Did that mean it could do everything better? My Wang family can obtain something like this. Can yours?

Yuan Wei slowly lifted the tea, closed his eyes, and took a measured sip. He savored it for a long while before saying, “Excellent tea!”

For a wealthy and powerful man of his stature, a single word of praise meant that the tea was truly of the highest quality.

But tea was not the real subject of their meeting.

It was Dong Zhuo.

The speed of Dong Zhuo’s rise had left both men deeply unsettled. They always felt that they were only one step away from catching up with him, yet no matter how hard they tried, they remained just a fraction behind. The sensation irritated them immensely.

When Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo had fallen out, they had immediately sought to win Ding Yuan over. Unfortunately, before they could even establish contact with him, Ding Yuan had been cut down by his own subordinate, the general Lu Bu—and Lu Bu had then gone over to Dong Zhuo.

Only a few days earlier, the two sides had been shouting threats of violence against each other. Now they were sitting together, eating from the same pot. The sudden reversal had caught Wang Yun and Yuan Wei completely off guard.

Today, the two men had found an opportunity to meet, of course, to deal with Dong Zhuo, who had transformed from a minor local warlord into their greatest enemy.