Chapter 122
Luo Yan received word from his servants today that the Prefectural Judge prefect had arrived in Siyang. He hadn’t gone out to inquire about the trial’s outcome, but he already knew there wouldn’t be any mishaps.
However, Luo Yuxing, being young and anxious, couldn’t stay still in his room. He kept pacing in the garden, looking around, until the Zhang family sent someone in the afternoon. Seeing the relaxed expression from afar, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Luo Yan knew the Zhang couple would come to express their gratitude, so he had already prepared tea in advance.
“Thank you, Lord Luo, for your assistance. Without it, my fulang and I might still be trapped in false accusations.”
Hearing Zhang Fangyuan’s address, Luo Yan realized the Prefectural Judge must have revealed his identity. He didn’t comment further, having intervened, he had already prepared for his identity to be exposed. He simply gestured for the couple to sit.
“Over the years as neighbors, I’ve come to understand your character and integrity. This lawsuit was nothing but a false accusation from the start.”
At this point, Luo Yan couldn’t help but sigh. Merchants had always been of low status, often oppressed by officials. It was common for county magistrates to collude with local bullies who regularly paid them off to bully others. Having spent decades in officialdom, Luo Yan was well aware of these underhanded dealings. As the saying goes, water that’s too clear has no fish. He couldn’t oversee everything, especially since he no longer held office.
[水至清则无鱼 (shuǐ zhì qīng zé wú yú): lit. Water that’s too clear has no fish; fig. One must tolerate minor flaws to achieve harmony.]
But over the years, the Zhang family had done many good deeds in Siyang, he knew of several himself. For the county magistrate to protect local bullies while suppressing honest merchants was purely profit-driven and went too far. Luo Yan hadn’t intervened just for the Zhang family’s sake, but also to curb the county magistrate’s misconduct and rectify Siyang’s moral climate.
Luo Yan took a sip of tea and suddenly chuckled. “Though I also did it for my student, if I hadn’t stepped in, he really would’ve gone to another family.”
Though said in jest, it served as a reminder to Zhang Fangyuan. The couple stood up together and bowed deeply to Luo Yan. Coming from humble origins, it was truly a blessing from heaven for their children to receive personal instruction from the former Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.
Luo Yan waved his hand. “I’m old and had no intention of taking on more students to teach. But back then, little Xing'er and Ruijin and Ruili hit it off immediately. He came home and begged me to take them in as students. Thus, this teacher-student bond came about naturally, I find it all very fitting and excellent.”
It truly was fate. Returning to his hometown with simplicity, he encountered Zhang Fangyuan’s kindness and later took in his sons as students. To him, it was all destiny.
After decades in officialdom, having seen too much scheming and deceit, Luo Yan couldn’t stand calculated manipulations in his old age. That was why this straightforward teacher-student relationship brought him such comfort. Besides, Ruijin was indeed an excellent student.
Zhang Fangyuan said, “Back then, I didn’t know your identity and may have been disrespectful. I hope you won’t take it to heart.”
“I’ve already retired, what identity is there to speak of?”
Luo Yan had never mentioned his past, but since everyone was present today and he was intent on nurturing Ruijin, he began to reminisce. “I left my hometown young and spent decades in the capital. My wife passed early, and the son she bore me also met an unfortunate end…”
Luo Yan never remarried, raising his son alone. His son was exceptionally talented, passing the provincial exam in his youth and later becoming a metropolitan scholar. He married a beautiful woman, and the couple was deeply in love, living a blissful life.
Though the pair was inseparable, they had children late. Luo Yuxing was born only three years after their marriage, and Luo Yan doted on him like a treasure.
“I thought the hardships were finally over, but who could’ve guessed that when Xing'er was two, his father was appointed by the court to aid disaster relief in Yongning Prefecture? Newly minted scholars were usually sent to local posts for several years of tempering before being recalled to the capital. Out of consideration for me, His Majesty didn’t assign Xing'er's father to a distant post. Yet when Yongning suffered disasters that year, Xing'er's father volunteered to go, taking his wife along.”
Yongning Prefecture wasn’t too far from Siyang. Many commoners still remembered the famine and plague from that year, but Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He remembered it especially vividly.
“After the drought came pestilence, a plague broke out in Yongning. Xing'er's father worked day and night, traveling everywhere, and eventually contracted the disease. His mother ignored the risks and cared for him personally…” Though years had passed, Luo Yan’s eyes still grew moist recalling it. “In the end, only Xing'er was left to keep me company. That child… he was truly pitiful, so young.”
Xu He’s eyes reddened. Many had died in the Yongning disaster, and it was said that even the officials sent to aid relief had succumbed to the plague. Who would’ve thought they were Luo Yuxing’s parents? The child wasn’t the only one to be pitied. Luo Yan, in his old age, had lost his only son. No matter how one looked at it, it was a tragedy.
The blow left Luo Yan gravely ill. In his fevered state, he often dreamed of his late wife, blaming himself for failing to protect his son. The guilt prolonged his illness, and the capital’s familiar sights only deepened his grief. In the end, he used his poor health as an excuse to request early retirement from the emperor.
The emperor, mindful of the Luo family’s contributions, granted Luo Yan the rank of a third-grade official upon retirement. Having educated countless officials over the years, Luo Yan was widely respected in court. Though he had withdrawn from politics, many nobles and high-ranking officials still sought to send their descendants to him for tutoring. Unable to endure the disturbances, Luo Yan simply took Luo Yuxing and returned to Siyang.
Thank you for the chapter!
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