Insufficient balance

  Xue Chongxun and his entourage traveled east along the river, but before they even reached Luoyang, they were met by dozens of officials from Luoyang who had come out to greet them tens of miles outside the city. According to convention, local officials would welcome imperial officials only at the city gate, so this was a serious breach of protocol.

  But seeing that the leader was Liu An, Xue Chongxun felt at ease. Liu An had met Xue Chongxun once or twice in Chang'an before, and although he came from an official family background, he became a high-ranking central government official by relying on Princess Taiping. Now that Princess Taiping's son had arrived, he naturally couldn't be slow to react, and being overly courteous was not excessive at all.

  Xue Chongxun rode his horse to the front of the officials, and immediately, an official in uniform came up to personally hold the reins. The flattery began to buzz around, "The wise and brave deeds of the Duke of Wei in Shaanxi have been passed down to Dongdu, it's truly earth-shattering! From the government offices to the streets, everyone worships the Duke of Wei with all their might." "Your literary and military prowess is unmatched in the world. We have been waiting here for a long time, just to be able to catch a glimpse of the Duke's demeanor and bearing is a blessing that spans three lifetimes..."

  Xue Chongxun didn't get carried away, he thought to himself: At the current speed of information transmission, the Sanmen Dizhu incident would at most be reported to the local officials in Dongdu and some people in the official circles might know about it, but it's absolutely impossible for the news to spread so quickly to the streets.

  They rushed up and flattered excessively, with some people becoming more and more outrageous in their speech. They even said things like "the beautiful young ladies of the Eastern Capital only mention the Duke of Wei in their boudoirs", as if they had personally eavesdropped outside the bedrooms of other people's daughters-in-law.

  Xue Chongxun smiled and observed the officials around him, seeing that many of them had irregular facial features, sloppy manners, and even more so, vulgar language, probably not a few were "slanted officials".

  In comparison, Liu An looked like a crane standing out from the flock, with an air of elegance and refinement. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with a fair complexion and a relaxed demeanor, exuding a scholarly aura. When everyone else had finished their enthusiastic greetings, Liu An calmly and composedly exchanged bows with Xue Chongxun.

  Xue Chongxun bowed his fist and said, "I and Liu Shijun (Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and also the Transportation Commissioner) are of the same rank, such treatment is truly an honor."

  Liu An smiled and said, "Originally, I also told my local colleagues that it was too much to spread the news to the capital, but the envoy sent by the governor of Shan Prefecture described Xue Lang's deeds vividly, and my colleagues were eager to see Xue Lang's talent for themselves. They couldn't be dissuaded, so I gave up."

  At this time, Xue Chongxun's eyes noticed an old man with a kind face behind him. Who else could it be but Yao Chong? Because Yao Chong had been the prime minister before and often appeared in various official occasions, Xue Chongxun recognized him.

  Yao Chong was over sixty years old, with a very full forehead. According to physiognomy, this kind of face is born into a good family and will not suffer in the first half of life. Xue Chongxun thought for a moment, Yao Chong was born into an official family, young and idle, but later worked hard to make a career... It just so happened that Yao Chong's early life was indeed very comfortable, and this physiognomy really matched up. This kind of mysterious thing is really inexplicable.

  Xue Chongxun then clasped his fists in greeting and said: "Lord Yao, what a fortunate encounter!"

  Yao Chong looked very calm and smiled in response: "I dare not speak again, sir. Mr. Xue has been entrusted with the task of inspecting the local area, as is the case with Luoyang Prefecture, if there are any improper matters, I hope you will correct them."

  Xue Chongxun smiled warmly and carefully observed Yao Chong several times, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Yao Chong's calm demeanor was completely unremarkable, as if he were a man who had always been at peace with the world. This person reminded Xue Chongxun of Li Shouyi, the governor of Jingzhao: compared to Li Shouyi's uprightness and incorruptibility, Yao Chong seemed even more cunning; but they should have one thing in common - whenever they did something, they would always have a just and honorable reason, and once things were justified, it was truly difficult to find any flaws.

  A crowd of people welcomed Xue Chongxun to Luoyang, and in the evening, they immediately set up a grand banquet to entertain him, and many officials were sent to accompany him. It was truly a warm welcome. Xue Chongxun also followed local customs and got along with everyone very happily.

  After having enough food and wine, the local officials sent the entertainers who accompanied Xue Chongxun to drink to his residence to serve him in bed, only then did they fulfill their duties as hosts.

  When the music ended, the crowd dispersed one after another, but several important local officials did not leave. They asked Liu An: "By right, Xue Lang and we are on the same road, as he is also a transportation commissioner, grain transportation has its share... Do you want to redivide the benefits fairly so that everyone can live in peace?"

  "No rush." Liu An said decisively.

  The official next to him frowned and said, "If we exclude him now, he will think we are unrighteous when he finds out later. Liu Shijun, Xue Lang is the eldest son of Princess Taiping, offending him is not a good thing."

  Another shook his head: "I'm afraid that if we rashly give him benefits, he will suddenly and sternly scold us. Wouldn't we be slapping our own faces? What kind of person is Xue Lang anyway? Who knows? I agree with Liu Shijun's idea, let's not rush for now. This royal family doesn't lack money, it's better to be cautious before figuring out what kind of goods they are."

  "Now, the key is to figure out what Xue Lang came down for, was it to handle affairs or to seek wealth?"

  Liu An paced back and forth in front of the window, deep in thought, and suddenly sighed: "This being an official, being able to do practical things doesn't necessarily mean you'll be reused, but if you gain favor, you'll definitely be reused... Alas, it's helpless, there's no solution..."

  An official said, "Liu Shijun is a man with great vision, but he can't do anything about these few rivers. What can Xue Lang, a young whippersnapper who hasn't even grown out of his baby fat, accomplish? He's just messing around and making a big mess, waiting for us to clean up after him?"

  "Yao Chong, that old fellow, doesn't even know how to be an official in Chang'an. A good prime minister was somehow manipulated to come to Luoyang and cause us trouble... He is the prefect of Luoyang, it's his business what he does on his own turf; we don't necessarily have to take advantage of the benefits of Luoyang Prefecture, just worry that he will secretly stab us in the back. This really isn't a good solution."

  Liu An sneered, "You'd better not think about how to deal with him, what can you do to him? Of course, there's no need to be afraid, with Princess Taiping in the court, what can Yao Chong do? Let's just get along peacefully like this."

  "Xue Lang..."

  "Let's observe for a while, starting tomorrow, send someone to accompany him every day, whether it's hunting or inspecting, let him do whatever he wants. Once we understand what he's really here for, we can take targeted measures... To be honest, this money from the river is burning my hands, I truly hope that Xue Lang has some drive and came to accomplish something, in which case, even if he doesn't fully grasp the specific connections, I'll still be able to help him."

  The official next to Liu An said, "It's not like there's anything good to gain from this, the governance has always been in a mess, whoever comes will be the same, besides, isn't the big head being sent to Chang'an? Nothing to worry about."

  ……

  The next morning, Liu An led the officials to accompany Xue Chongxun again. Today was not a banquet, but a hunt outside Luoyang. Zhang Wulang saw this and couldn't help but take the opportunity to speak in front of Xue Chongxun: "Lang Jun, I see that Liu Shuaijun and others are either arranging banquets or playing games, they seem to be treating us like clay Buddhas."

  At this time, Liu An urged his horse to hurry up, and Xue Chongxun and Zhang Wulang also stopped talking. All they heard was Liu An saying: "This Ruzhou Guangcheng Ze is a victorious place since the Han Dynasty. After the Han court moved its capital to Luoyang, the palace soon discovered this good place and designated it as an imperial hunting ground for entertainment."

  Xue Chongxun saw that the surrounding mountains were clear and the water was beautiful, and various birds occasionally came out of the forest. He couldn't help but nod his head in praise: "It's indeed a good place."

  As soon as the words were spoken, someone suddenly shouted: "A deer is approaching, please show off your divine archery skills, Lord Wei!"

  Xue Chongxun followed the sound and looked over, and on the grassy slope next to a small forest on the east side, a deer was indeed driven out. The deer had nowhere to go with cavalrymen surrounding it from all sides, and it was wandering around in confusion, not knowing which direction to escape. Everyone else slowed down their movements, not daring to scare it too much, only letting Xue Chongxun shoot it with an arrow.

  "Wulang, I remember your archery skills were quite good, how's your horsemanship?" Xue Chongxun asked, turning his head.

  Zhang Wu Lang said: "Riding and shooting are no problem, it's just that everyone wants to see Lang Jun's divine shooting, I don't dare to show my ugliness."

  Xue Chongxun smiled and said, "Then I'll make a fool of myself."

  An official handed over the bow and arrow to Xue Chongxun in front of the horse, who took it on horseback, drew his bow and aimed at the deer, with everyone looking forward, full of expectation.

  "Thud!" The horse's hooves lightly scraped the ground, Xue Chongxun hesitated for a while before drawing his bow and releasing the arrow. "Snap" went the string, and everyone immediately exclaimed: "What great archery skills!" "It's really 'a hundred paces piercing the willow'..."

  The applause had just erupted, but a moment later everyone felt very embarrassed, because the deer was still there, unhurried and unharmed, not even a single hair damaged.

  "What arrow? The officials looked at each other in dismay, this arrow was a bit too far-fetched! Within dozens of steps around the deer, no one saw the arrow that was shot."

  Liu An also felt very embarrassed and hastily said, "The Duke of Wei suddenly had a pang of conscience and couldn't bear to shoot the deer, making us feel deeply moved."

  The only one who could still laugh was Xue Chongxun himself, and he laughed loudly: "This is not true, I am not pitying that deer, but suddenly seeing a small bird flying by the forest, I think the deer is too big to shoot, so I decided to shoot that bird on a whim. Don't believe me? Send someone to find that arrow and take a look."

  All the officials looked at each other in dismay, and soon echoed: "So that's how it is! Admirable, admirable!"

  "Go to the woods and retrieve the arrow." Liu An shouted to the guard beside him, while giving a wink to one of his trusted aides, who nodded in understanding.

  After a while, several riders who had entered the forest ran out, one of whom was holding an arrow with feathers, and on the arrow was indeed a bird. The man shouted as he ran: "The godly shot of the Duke for Guarding the Country has hit its mark! The arrow is stuck in a tree trunk, and it really has pierced a bird!"

  Xue Chongxun burst out laughing and turned to Liu An, saying: "Liu Shijun, this bird was indeed shot by me, not that guard who put it on at the last minute."

  When Xue Chongxun actually said that embarrassing technique, wasn't it "this place has no silver three hundred taels"? Liu An's face also had some embarrassment, and he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. Fortunately, the surrounding officials who accompanied him on the hunt were all his own people, and no one intentionally embarrassed Xue Chongxun, so they just followed along with the situation and continued to flatter him.

  Xue Chongxun was delighted with the excessive flattery, looking as if he had really hit something. Liu An on the side couldn't help but admire his shamelessness.

  That deer is still there, but no one calls Xue Chongxun to continue shooting...

  At this moment, Liu An's guard whispered to Xue Songnian, who was surrounded by a group of people flattering him: "Your Excellency, that bird is not the work of my humble hand. It has just been shot dead and its blood is still warm."

  Liu An's expression changed instantly, and when he looked at Xue Chongxun, he saw that he was pointing to the deer on the grass slope with his finger: "The deer is in the Central Plains, where heroes are competing."