Chapter 114

"In the past, Emperor Wu of Han once said: 'The Han shall suffer the calamity of six-seven, and the mandate must be renewed; which descendant of the imperial clan shall answer this? The one who shall replace the six-seven, forty-two generations of Han, is Dang Tu Gao.' Thus all under Heaven know: the one who replaces Han is Dang Tu Gao!"

Yuan Benchu, hastily summoned from the outskirts of Luoyang, picked up a sheet of Gongsun paper from the desk and read it carefully. After reading, he felt his father and uncle were making far too much of a fuss — who didn't know this already? A stale, worn-out origin of a prophetic verse — was such a rumor really worth calling him in from outside the city?

"Don't read it aloud, just look at it yourself!" Yuan Kui, his face flushed red beside him, could not help but rebuke him. "There's more below."

"Yes!" Yuan Shao, still wearing mourning attire, hastily agreed and then, in order, picked up another wooden slip. Holding it up to the light to examine it carefully, he saw written upon it in bold strokes:

"However, 'six-seven forty-two' need not refer to the number of emperors, but may also refer to the number of years. And since the Han Gaozu slew the white serpent and rose, nearly three hundred and ninety years have passed. Some say that the repeated emergence of monstrous omens is the natural course of heavenly signs, showing that the Han's mandate has but thirty years remaining!"

Reading this far, Yuan Shao's heart was already thumping wildly in his chest... These words were no longer some stale, worn-out nonsense like 'the one who replaces Han is Dang Tu Gao.'

And this novel interpretation was rather intriguing... The phrase 'the Han shall suffer the calamity of six-seven' in 'the one who replaces Han is Dang Tu Gao' was universally understood to mean the Great Han dynasty would fall after six-seven forty-two emperors, but here it was interpreted as the dynasty falling after four hundred and twenty years. Moreover, it argued that the starting point should be calculated from when Han Gaozu slew the white serpent and received the Heavenly Mandate, and that by this year, three hundred and ninety years had already passed.

Did this not mean that the Great Han had only thirty years of fate left?!

And after finishing the second part, Yuan Shao hurriedly took the third item in order — a piece of silk cloth. Upon fixing his gaze on it, his mind instantly fell into utter turmoil, his spirit scattered, speechless!

It turned out that this third passage was written thus:

"The Han's mandate lies in Fire; the one who replaces Han shall be of the Earth virtue. The Yuan clan, originating from Chen, corresponds to this! Moreover, for four generations they have held the Three Ducal offices, leading all the great clans, and are by nature the Second Surname under Heaven, precisely answering the Heavenly Mandate! Let Colonel of the Chang River Encampment Yuan Feng be permitted to ascend the hall with sword and shoes, to have his name unannounced when paying homage, to be granted the Nine Bestowments, and to be enfeoffed as the Son of Heaven of the Second Surname. After thirty years are fulfilled, Yuan and Liu may emulate the deeds of Yao and Shun, and all under Heaven may enter an age of peace without the calamity of war!"

Uh, what exactly did this passage mean?

In truth, it was very simple:

First, it argued that whether from the perspective of the Five Phases or from the perspective of actual power, the Yuan clan was the family most suited to replace the Han. After all, the Yuan clan was already the second surname under Heaven, second only to the Liu clan.

Bo, Zhong, Shu, Ji — the Zhong surname means the second surname.

Then, the author of this short text creatively proposed a solution: why not have the Han Son of Heaven immediately enfeoff Yuan Shao's own father, Yuan Feng, as a 'Son of Heaven of the Second Surname' — meaning the 'Second Son of Heaven' — and gradually transfer power, so that after thirty years the two clans could peacefully abdicate in favor of one another, avoiding the rivers of blood that usually accompany dynastic change.

Hmm, such a creative method... how to put it? It was no wonder Yuan Kui blushed upon reading it, and Yuan Shao fell silent.

"What does Benchu think?" Yuan Feng, unconcerned whether his son wished to speak or not, asked directly.

"Father." Yuan Shao hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping, yet finally he opened his mouth helplessly. "Forgive my dullness, but I truly do not know how I ought to 'think,' nor do I truly know what to say!"

"You must say something nonetheless." Yuan Feng pointed to Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu, who were kneeling outside the threshold, their faces bruised and swollen for some unknown reason. "From your uncle down to them, everyone who should speak has spoken..."

Yuan Shao had no choice but to sit cross-legged and carefully address Yuan Feng and Yuan Kui: "Forgive your nephew for speaking bluntly. At first glance, it seems as though someone wishes to harm our Yuan clan. But upon careful thought, it may well be the sincere intention of some pedantic disciple of the Yuan clan. Previously, when Uncle was Grand Commandant, did he not recommend a famous scholar from Henei? What was his name — Xiang, Xiang..."

"Xiang Xu." Yuan Kui answered rather helplessly. "He has gone to serve as Chancellor of Zhao."

"Right, Xiang Xu! I have heard that during a solar eclipse, this man once faced the heavens and recited the Classic of Filial Piety, praying for the celestial sign to retreat. If such people exist, is it not entirely possible that there is someone madly obsessed with becoming a meritorious retainer who follows the dragon?"

"And then?"

"And then... if we further consider the current instability of the political situation and the repeated emergence of chaos, I rather think that nine times out of ten, certain people deliberately threw these things out to keep us, the leaders of the scholar-gentry with four generations of Three Ducal offices, utterly harassed and distracted, leaving us no time to obstruct or worry about some scheme of theirs!"

Yuan Feng nodded slightly. This was very well said. But precisely because it was so apt, there was no way to guess who had done it... After all, the current situation was far too chaotic.

"Of course, stepping back, it may also be that someone truly wishes to harm our Yuan family!" Yuan Shao finally sighed. "The key is that the interpretation of this prophetic verse is far too bizarre — half true, half false, seemingly there yet not there. The 'momentum' it discusses is faintly persuasive, yet the method it finally proposes is utterly laughable and infuriating. And the most powerless thing of all is that we have absolutely no way to judge how the people of the world will view this muddled rumor!"

"At last, someone with clear understanding!" Yuan Feng let out a rare long sigh. "Benchu, do you realize... when your uncle saw these, he was terrified beyond measure; when your elder brother saw them, he could only think of how Gongsun Xun and Yang Wenxian humiliated him that night, and insisted on telling me it was the doing of those two families; and your younger brother was the most remarkable of all — he actually asked me whether I had done it in secret, and whether I truly wished to sit as that Son of Heaven of the Second Surname?!"

Even though Yuan Shao's mind was in turmoil, he could not help but glance back with considerable interest at Yuan Gonglu, drawing a furious glare from the latter. However, Yuan Shu's little expression was immediately met with a wooden clog flying straight at his face from his own father!

"After all this talk, will the Son of Heaven actually believe this thing or not?" Yuan Kui could not help but interject amidst the intimate family interaction of his elder brother's household.

"I do not know!" Yuan Feng lowered his head, looking at his bare feet and shaking his head repeatedly.

"And the ministers?" Yuan Kui turned to Yuan Shao like a string of firecrackers.

Yuan Shao shook his head repeatedly: "I do not know!"

"And the people of the world?" Yuan Kui continued to press sharply.

This time, father and son spoke in unison: "Still, we do not know."

"Then what is to be done?" Yuan Kui was nearly on the verge of collapse.

"Naturally, we must collect and confiscate these rumor-spreading objects, then submit a memorial proclaiming our innocence, and at the same time request the court to thoroughly investigate this matter!" Yuan Shao, his head wrapped in hemp cloth, spread his hands and spoke as if reciting from memory. "What else does Uncle think can be done?"

Yuan Kui fell silent.

Yuan Feng nodded slightly: "It has all already been done."

"I wonder how much of this stuff there is?" Yuan Shao only now thought to ask about other matters.

"Enough for all of Luoyang to know." Yuan Feng looked up and gazed outside. "This is hardly some particularly difficult method. As long as these prophetic verses were prepared in advance, then a few trusted confidants, several carts, making a round through the city under cover of darkness before the curfew, scattering them here and there — how could anyone stop it?"

"Indeed." Yuan Shao could not help but sigh. "This is actually no different from the prophetic sayings and children's rhymes of the past. It is merely that after the appearance of Gongsun paper, it has become convenient to write lengthy passages. We have done such things ourselves!"

Yuan Feng nodded slightly.

"And it may not necessarily be a bad thing." Yuan Shao continued to rally, doing his best to boost morale. "Now that the matter of deposing the Empress has already begun, how could the Son of Heaven and the ministers truly care about such an absurd 'prophetic saying'? And if the Son of Heaven and the ministers do not suspect us because of this, perhaps the people of the world will instead regard us with even greater esteem, and our Yuan clan will naturally solidify its name as the Second Surname under Heaven!"

Yuan Feng cast a light glance at this son of his who had been adopted out to another branch, and said nothing more.

And so, with that light glance from Yuan Feng, in early February, the situation in Luoyang spiraled completely out of control.

Cai Yong's memorial had yet to yield any result, and the matter of the Hongdu Gate Academy was still being pursued single-mindedly by the Son of Heaven.

Yet on the other side, Wang Fu could not wait and openly denounced Empress Song for practicing sorcery, provoking the Son of Heaven's thunderous wrath and causing the unresolved matter of deposing the Empress in the rear palace to formally commence in an exceedingly brutal manner. And at the same time, the Yuan clan, as the leader of the ducal families, was inexplicably entangled by the prophetic saying of the so-called 'Son of Heaven of the Second Surname'!

Ministers and high officials, commoners in the marketplace — everyone was at a loss, and everyone harbored their own private thoughts.

Of course, matters have their urgency and gravity. Among these affairs, the most intense and most alarming was still the matter of deposing the Empress.

In less than three days, that scoundrel Wang Fu claimed that 'the evidence was conclusive,' and then the Son of Heaven, in a towering rage, formally decreed that Empress Song be cast into the Cold Palace, and that the entire Song clan be imprisoned and tortured. Not only that, all nobles and officials connected to the Song clan were stripped of their titles, dismissed from office, and removed from their posts!

The most representative case among these was the family of the former Grand Prolonger of Autumn, Cao Teng. Because this family had marriage ties with the Song clan, they lost all their official positions almost in an instant.

To speak frankly, the current Son of Heaven's posture and manner — this complete tearing away of all pretense, this determination to carry out a great purge — naturally provoked two kinds of reactions. Those who were cowards naturally fell silent as winter cicadas, while those with some backbone naturally responded with even greater vehemence!

And if one added to this the Hongdu Gate Academy, which the scholar-officials truly found unbearable, the confrontation between the Son of Heaven and the old powers in the court became ever more unmistakably clear.

In summary, the Son of Heaven and the court officials; the scholars and the eunuchs; the old guard and the new favorites... the struggles among the various factions in the court threw the situation into utter chaos, and the lines dividing the camps were extremely muddled. Often, each person embodied multiple roles. Two men who were irreconcilable on one matter would be mutual allies on another, and then turn around and be innocently implicated together in a third matter...

Relatively speaking, the matter of Cai Yong seemed utterly insignificant. When the Regular Palace Attendant Cheng Huang even wrote to an enemy of Cai Bojie, inviting him to join forces, the other party openly refused the invitation on the grounds that the matter of the Hongdu Gate Academy far outweighed personal enmity, and instead submitted a memorial endorsing Cai Yong's attack on the Hongdu Gate Academy.

As for the Yuan clan's 'prophetic saying,' or 'rumor,' or perhaps something more aptly called a kind of 'big-character poster' — just as Yuan Benchu had thought, because it was far too absurd... although it caused a great uproar among the common people at the bottom, among the ministers it was mostly treated as a joke.

Of course, it was not that there were no fools who ran to the Yuan residence to pledge their loyalty, only to be dragged by enthusiastic bystanders to the office of the Colonel Director of Retainers. Nor was it that there were no pedantic individuals who actually submitted memorials demanding severe punishment for the Yuan clan, only for the matter to be left unresolved.

But no matter what, the truly great figures of Luoyang really did not take this matter to heart... until mid-February, when someone suddenly pasted another essay onto the brand-new gate of the Southern Palace.

The essay was written very simply, even somewhat crude and unrefined. It first enumerated the numerous vile deeds of the Son of Heaven since he had come of age... from deepening the Proscription of Partisans to the groundless deposing of the Empress, from the warnings of celestial signs to the indulgence of eunuchs, from the dismissal of worthy men to the appointment of the Hongdu Gate scholars... in any case, it was all phrasing copied from those recent famous memorials.

Then, it enumerated the various virtuous deeds of the Yuan clan in recommending worthies over the years, as well as the degree of support for the Yuan clan among the scholar-officials of Runan, Yingchuan, Wan, and Luoyang…

However, the most shocking part was the passage that followed. The article declared that previously, Yuan Feng, Lord Yuan, had relinquished the post of Grand Coachman and instead taken the position of Colonel of the Chang River Encampment in order to seize military authority; that within the Tiger Guard and the Feathered Forest Guard, many hearts inclined toward the Yuan clan; and that even the Grand Prolonger of Autumn, Cao Jie, Lord Cao, was on friendly terms with Lord Yuan!

Therefore, if the Son of Heaven understood the exigencies of the times, he ought to acknowledge his own lack of virtue and allow the "Zhongjia Son of Heaven" to take charge of the court! And if he failed to understand the exigencies of the times, then there would be no avoiding a repeat of the deeds of Yi Yin and Huo Guang!

As soon as this standard "big-character poster" appeared, the court and commonalty alike were struck with terror… One must understand that throughout the Latter Han dynasty, apocryphal prophecy was all the rage — who hadn't studied the saying "The one who shall replace the Han is Dang Tu Gao"? Yet such an outrageous affair as posting a big-character poster before the gates of the Southern Palace demanding the Emperor hand over power was truly too shocking for the ears!

The last time someone wrote on the gates of the Southern Palace, it was a few Imperial Academy students. And what was the result? Duan Jiong arrested several thousand Imperial Academy students in one sweep and threw them into prison for interrogation under torture!

Of course, unlike last time, any clear-sighted person now knew that the border armies and the Northern Army would ultimately still obey the Son of Heaven. As for the Tiger Guard and the Feathered Forest Guard, though they obeyed Cao Jie, Cao Jie had at most formed a political alliance with Yuan Feng — had he gone mad, at his age, to serve Yuan Feng as the "Zhongjia Son of Heaven"?

So, this matter was ultimately baseless!

But baseless as it was, it nonetheless had to be treated with the utmost seriousness.

In fact, when everyone heard that Cao Jie had gone straight to the palace to request resignation from the post of Grand Prolonger of Autumn, and that the Son of Heaven had granted it on the spot, all understood that the Yuan clan was in serious trouble this time.

"The two Lords Yuan! Brother Benchu, Brother Gonglu… I never thought I would meet you both under such circumstances! Especially you, Brother Benchu — still in mourning, and yet you had to be specially summoned back to the city for questioning. It is truly presumptuous of me!" In the main hall of the Yuan residence, Gongsun Xun, the Capital Province Attendant Clerk dispatched by the Imperial Secretariat to investigate this matter, earnestly saluted each of the core direct-line members of the Yuan clan before him.

Of course, while he said he saluted each one, he unceremoniously skipped over Yuan Ji, who had previously given him a cold reception, and showed Yuan Shao markedly greater regard.

But given the circumstances, and the young man's age, Yuan Feng and Yuan Kui could hardly be bothered to take issue with such things.

"I must apologize for making you witness this, Wenqi." Yuan Shao, his face full of grief, shook his head repeatedly. "I too never imagined I would meet you, Wenqi, under such conditions… Our family has been struck by slander from petty men; it truly is hard to put into words."

"This matter is so utterly absurd that everyone knows the Yuan clan is innocent. It is merely a brief inquiry; please set your mind at ease, Brother Benchu." Gongsun Xun immediately leaned forward, grasped the other man's hands, and repeatedly offered words of comfort. "Besides, the court did not send men from the Colonel Director of the Retainers to conduct the questioning, but instead sent me, a mere Capital Province Attendant Clerk from the Imperial Secretariat. That in itself shows the court has no intention of suspecting Lord Yuan."

"I must trouble you greatly in this matter, Wenqi." Yuan Shao also repeatedly made a show of gratitude.

"Enough." A tall, young eunuch attendant standing nearby could not help but frown. "Gentleman Gongsun is the Capital Province Attendant Clerk, here by imperial decree to inquire into the particulars of this affair, not here as a guest. I ask that the questioning proceed swiftly, so that I may return to the palace and report back promptly."

At these words, everyone's gaze was immediately drawn to him. Even Yuan Ji, who harbored considerable hostility toward Gongsun Xun, turned a somewhat indignant look upon this man… But it was merely a look, for this person's surname was Jian, given name Shuo. He was a trusted eunuch who had grown up alongside the Son of Heaven. Although his seniority had not yet earned him promotion to Regular Palace Attendant, and he was merely a so-called Gentleman Attendant of the Yellow Gates, he was, after all, the Emperor's confidant.

"Lord Yuan!" Gongsun Xun could not help but sigh at this. "Since the Emperor's personal attendant is here, let us speak frankly… Matters such as collusion with the Grand Prolonger of Autumn, Cao Jie, or designs upon the Tiger Guard — there is no need to discuss these; they are truly too absurd. There is only one matter… I venture to ask, Lord Yuan: your family is illustrious, producing generations of ministers, so why did you request for yourself the military post of Colonel of the Chang River Encampment?"

"I was merely moved by celestial portents and felt myself unworthy of a minister's post, so I submitted a memorial pleading guilty and requesting demotion." Yuan Feng fixed his gaze on Gongsun Xun and answered seriously. "As for what happened after the memorial was submitted, that was a matter for the Son of Heaven, the Imperial Secretariat, and the Yellow Gates Supervisors to handle. I never imagined I would be appointed Colonel of the Chang River Encampment in the Northern Army."

"By principle, that is indeed the case." Gongsun Xun frowned. "However, on the day Lord Yuan submitted his memorial pleading guilt, among the two-thousand-bushel posts below the Nine Ministers in the central administration, only the post of Colonel of the Chang River Encampment happened to be vacant. In other words, when you pleaded guilt and resigned your post at that time, the odds were nine out of ten that you would end up as this Colonel of the Chang River Encampment. Was Lord Yuan aware of this?"

Jian Shuo also fixed his eyes intently on Yuan Feng.

Yuan Feng immediately shook his head: "I ask the Attendant Clerk to report to the gentlemen of the Imperial Secretariat: Feng was not aware!"

"I understand." Gongsun Xun nodded slightly.

Thereupon, the two proceeded with a question-and-answer session, occasionally having administrative documents presented, and it was conducted in exhaustive detail.

As noon approached, Gongsun Xun glanced at the sun outside the hall, then took the final piece of evidence from the wooden box beside him — it was precisely several sheets of "Gongsun paper."

"Lord Yuan," Gongsun Xun shook the sheets of paper, "do you know the origin of these apocryphal prophecies, rumors, and seditious writings?"

"This is someone seeking to harm my Yuan clan, nothing more!" Having been questioned for half the day, Yuan Feng was somewhat vexed, and answered decisively and categorically. "I know nothing of them whatsoever."

"But there is one more matter of concern." Gongsun Xun pointed at the paper and continued. "These so-called 'Gongsun papers' are nominally produced by my Gongsun clan's Anli Trading House, but in reality, Anli Trading House is limited to Hebei, and all the so-called 'Gongsun paper' in Luoyang is produced by various local workshops in Henan. Upon careful inspection, we found that these papers are remarkably similar to those produced in the workshop on the Yuan clan's estate…"

"The villains must have deliberately gone and purchased it themselves." Yuan Feng remained composed. "What is there to discuss?"

"That settles it!" Gongsun Xun could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, then laughed involuntarily. "In the end, it is all things without solid evidence. Lord Yuan need not worry…"

"It is nothing." Yuan Feng, probably realizing that this humiliating interrogation was finally over, also could not help but smile.

"Attendant Jian of the Yellow Gates." Gongsun Xun turned his head to look at Jian Shuo. "In truth, this matter is just as it appears — everywhere there are unsubstantiated words and unsubstantiated deeds, insufficient to convince the realm, and insufficient to satisfy the law. Do you have anything further to ask?"

"No." Jian Shuo also could not help but frown. "It is only that I will certainly report today's exchange truthfully to the Son of Heaven."

"That is only natural." Gongsun Xun, as well as Yuan Feng and his entire family, immediately bowed.

And after the inquiry concluded, men of Yuan Feng and Yuan Kui's stature naturally would not personally see off a mere Gentleman and a Yellow Gates Attendant — it was the three brothers of the Yuan clan's younger generation who, for once together, escorted the two men out the gate, while the two family elders remained seated where they were.

"Well?" As soon as the three brothers returned, Yuan Kui could not help but rise and ask.

Yuan Benchu, the Paragon of the Realm, wrapped in hempen mourning cloth, was the first to answer: "I told Gongsun Xun that, given his performance in the Imperial Secretariat, he should have long since been sent out to govern a major county, to advance further in his official career. He only smiled and said nothing."

"That is a polite refusal, then." Yuan Feng answered bluntly. "But his teacher is the Minister of the Civil Office Section, so he has no shortage of fine posts; that is only to be expected. What of Gonglu's side?"

"Refused as well." Yuan Shu bowed and answered honestly. "In all my life, this is the first time I have seen a Yellow Gates attendant who would not take money… He would not even take fifty gold. What does this Jian Shuo want?"

"He dares not take it," Yuan Feng immediately sighed. "He is the Emperor's personal attendant and must clearly know the Emperor's attitude toward this matter… It seems this Son of Heaven has become so red-eyed in his purge of the old powerful families that he truly harbors some suspicion toward me, Yuan Zhouyang!"

"This… what is to be done?" Yuan Kui could not help but ask nervously.

"What can be done?" Yuan Feng could not help but sneer. "We still do not know to what degree the Son of Heaven suspects me, Yuan Feng. If it is only a minor suspicion, then he will naturally ignore me, and according to court protocol, after I idle away half a year in this post of Colonel of the Chang River Encampment, I will be transferred back among the Nine Ministers. But if it is a major suspicion, then I fear he will disregard all established rules and conventions and directly issue an edict transferring me back to a post among the Nine Ministers."

"Is that all? Will it not endanger the safety of our Yuan clan?" Yuan Kui could not help but press further. "The Song clan was also a century-old great house, yet overnight the entire clan was thrown into prison…"

"A century-old great house, my foot!" At this point, Yuan Feng suddenly rose to his feet, walked to the front of the hall, clasped his hands behind his back, gazed at the sky, and declared: "My Yuan clan has produced Three Excellencies in four generations; our disciples and former officials are spread across the realm. How can a faded consort clan possibly compare?! If the Song clan is the light of a firefly, then our Yuan clan is the blazing sun at high noon! Amid all the absurdities in those rumors, there was one point exceedingly well made… my Yuan clan is the Secondary Surname of the realm! The Son of Heaven may, for a moment's pleasure, arrest us, but if he does, I would like to see how many men remain to shepherd the people for him, and how many men will sell their lives for him?!"

Yuan Feng's three sons, hearing this, each fell into deep thought.

"Enough, all three of you may leave. I have words to speak with your uncle." Yuan Feng waved his hand slightly, dismissing his three sons.

The three men hastily cupped their hands and took their leave.

"Elder brother." Seeing that only his elder brother and himself remained in the hall, Yuan Kui hastily cupped his hands.

"I know who did this!" Yuan Feng turned back around, hands still clasped behind his back, and declared. "It was precisely the White Horse Gentleman who just came to conduct the inquiry — Gongsun Xun! Or rather, it was Gongsun Xun and those comrades of his who are sworn to exterminate the eunuchs!"

Yuan Kui was utterly astonished: "Why would he want to harm us?"

"He is not trying to harm us; he merely wants to bind the hands and feet of our Yuan clan, to keep us from getting in his way." Yuan Feng could not help but sigh with emotion. "This man, along with men like Wang Yun and Tian Feng of the Censorate, is single-mindedly and unwaveringly set on dealing with the eunuchs. Yet at the grand court assembly on the first day of the month, their efforts were jointly neutralized by Cao Jie and myself, and for that, that fellow Tian Feng even resigned his post in public to vent his fury… And now, after this episode, Cao Jie is bound and stripped of office, and our entire Yuan clan is trapped at home. They can naturally make their arrangements at leisure and plot anew to exterminate the eunuchs!"

Yuan Kui was dumbstruck.

"I should have realized it long ago. It is only that the status of these few men was too lowly, so I never dared to think along those lines. Had I not seen him in person today, and seen him deliberately let slide the matter of my dealings with Cao Jie, we would truly have been deceived by this group… The young men of today are each more audacious than the last, and each more brilliant in intellect than the last!"

"That being the case, what is to be done?" Yuan Kui could not help but ask again.

"Nothing need be done. And do not tell those three unfilial sons of mine, lest we alert the enemy and hand them leverage." Yuan Feng answered easily. "Let them be arrogant for a time. Once this period has passed, I will crush them with a single finger!"

"Aye!"

"In the final analysis," Yuan Feng, his back to the main gate, suddenly pointed to the sky again and said to his younger brother with a smile, "the power of my Yuan clan is vast, just like the sun overhead — awe-inspiring, dwelling on high, unassailable. Even now, with the court situation crumbling, it has not diminished the majesty of my Yuan clan. As for the other side, though they have petty schemes, they are not worth mentioning!"

"Elder brother!" Yuan Kui's expression suddenly changed drastically. "A solar eclipse! Another solar eclipse!"

Yuan Feng, panic-stricken, hastily lowered his hand and turned his head to look. Then, in an instant, he was dumbstruck, at a loss for words.

—————————I am the dividing line of collapse—————————

"In the Later Han, the Yuan clan held the Three Excellencies for four generations, their disciples and former officials spread throughout the realm. When Yuan Feng and Yuan Kui brothers took charge of the Yuan clan, their influence grew daily, while the House of Han declined daily, and again there arose the saying, 'He who replaces the Han is Dang Tu Gao, and it shall be fulfilled in the Yuan clan.' Feng took pride in this; Kui feared it. One day, after drinking, Feng leaned against the door, pointed to the heavens, and laughingly said to his younger brother: 'Brother, why so worried? The Yuan clan's might is like the great sun. For the Yuan clan to collapse, it would take the sun being devoured again this very day!' It was the early Guanghe era, the day of Xinhai in the second month. The year before, at the end of the Xiping era, on the first day of the tenth month, a solar eclipse had passed over Luoyang. For a moment, Yuan Kui also laughed. But the laughter did not cease before indeed a heavenly hound devoured the sun. Feng's countenance changed drastically, and he fell into a melancholic illness." — A New Account of the Tales of the World, Apocryphal Prophecies Chapter

PS: After the great master Te Bie Bai, I hear Boss Wang has also flipped my placard... The pressure is immense!

Also, the book friend group is 684558115, everyone can join.

(End of Chapter)