Chapter 51

Three months passed in a blink, and winter snow fell thick and swirling.

During this time, Xu You came by once to complain, but the three of them sent him packing with the excuse that they had received orders from Lu Zhi and had no choice but to return here and study bitterly.

During this time, Liu Bei once again joined forces with Gongsun Zan, throwing Gou County into utter chaos.

During this time, Lady Gongsun sent a letter from home, specifically commending her son’s contributions to advancing human civilization, such as the promotion of papermaking.

During this time, Lu Fan returned to his hometown to marry, and the group inevitably went to impose on his hospitality once more.

During this time, under the pretext of making copies, Gongsun Xun sent Gongsun Yue to Cai Yong’s residence to stealthily copy all of Cai Yong’s manuscripts of the Seven Confucian Classics and the Sutra of Forty-Two Sections, intending to keep them as family heirlooms.

During this time, that litter of leopard cats, which had been too inconvenient to send home, unexpectedly produced another litter of kittens, turning the Gou County courtyard into a place overrun by feline ancestors everywhere. Gongsun Xun even had to give two to Cai Yong, claiming that the cats raised by Gongsun Yue had eaten all the manuscripts, and therefore he was handing the culprit over to the victim for personal judgment—to kill or flay as the other party saw fit...

However, three months of waiting had also allowed the three Gongsun brothers to lower their guard somewhat; Gongsun Xun even faintly wondered if he had overreacted a bit... The so-called "outwardly lenient, inwardly jealous" was probably just a vague generalization, right?

Besides, if Yuan Shao truly felt jealousy this time, it would likely be directed at Han Sui, who was soaring high and free as a bird, wouldn’t it?

And so, after the New Year festivities, the Gongsun brothers finally decided to make a trip into Luoyang City... Partly to test the waters, but also because Liu Kuan and Lu Zhi were both in the city, and they had to pay New Year’s respects, didn’t they?

Liu Kuan’s place was naturally bustling with excitement. The old man was lenient to everyone to an absurd degree, and with his high status, advanced age, and broad experience, the visitors encompassed all walks of life from every corner of the land. Not to mention the large crowd of subordinate officials and clerks from his position as Superintendent of the Imperial Household, or the throngs of disciples and protégés—the Gongsun brothers even saw a peasant who claimed to have come from Hongnong, driving an ox and carrying two bundles of firewood to offer New Year’s greetings... Liu Kuan’s household treated everyone exactly the same, which was truly admirable.

However, after leaving Liu Kuan’s and going to Lu Zhi’s residence, the atmosphere seemed considerably more desolate.

One must understand that Lu Zhi was compiling history at the Eastern Pavilion, and the Eastern Pavilion was located within the Southern Palace. Due to strict palace prohibitions, entering it was like being cut off from the world. His living quarters were in the public offices at the Southern Palace’s east gate; although this place was not technically inside the palace, the inspections were still suffocating. Thus, for the past half year, Lu Zhi had little social interaction, and even his disciples in Gou County found it difficult to see him. Add to that his cold, stern personality... In truth, if the Gongsun brothers had not been entrusted by the Gou County group with the duty of paying respects on their behalf, even Gongsun Zan might not have been willing to come.

Arriving at Lu Zhi’s residence, though it could not be called desolate, it was hardly a place of warm cheer. The three performed the grand ceremony of obeisance, sat stiffly for a while, and then found themselves with nothing to say. Lu Zhi thus simply suggested that the other two go pay respects to other Luoyang elders like Cai Yong, keeping only Gongsun Xun behind to attend him.

The day passed without much event. Gongsun Xun spent most of his time leading a few servants in receiving the petty clerks from the Eastern Pavilion who came to offer New Year’s greetings. It wasn’t until the afternoon, when he met Yang Biao, exchanged names, and conversed with mutual delight, that the trip felt truly worthwhile.

However, when evening came, Gongsun Xun still did not return. It was only when Yang Biao took his leave that he noticed Lu Zhi’s feet were visibly swollen, likely from sitting cross-legged for too long. He hurriedly sent a servant to Liu Kuan’s place to request some anti-inflammatory and warming medicinal herbs, and also dispatched someone back to Gou County to fetch the ginseng stored there... In short, it was quite a flurry of activity.

Another day passed. Just after Liu Kuan’s household had sent over warming, blood-nourishing medicines like danggui early in the morning, and Aunt Jin had dispatched a special messenger to deliver the ginseng, this series of actions triggered a chain reaction—the ever-unconventional Liu Kuan, upon hearing that Lu Zhi was ill, actually came in person, driving his ox cart to visit the sick.

Of course, Liu Kuan wasn’t really there to visit the sick. He was simply accustomed to doing as he pleased, and his home was far too chaotic, so he came here to find some peace and quiet. After all, who visits a sick person during the New Year bringing nothing but a jar of wine?

But he had indeed come to the right place, especially when Cai Yong also arrived at noon... As Lu Zhi’s deputy in compiling history at the Eastern Pavilion, the latter was supposed to come pay a visit anyway.

And so, the three of them gathered around a small square table in the inner room, warming themselves by the fire, drinking and chatting, while Gongsun Xun watched over the brewing medicine outside... For a while, all was peaceful, and Gongsun Xun was even thinking that if Lu Zhi was not seriously ill, he would take his leave this very afternoon. But suddenly, Cai Bojie seemed to recall something and called out to him as he brought the medicine in.

"Speaking of which, now that the New Year has passed, this student of Lord Lu’s called Gongsun Xun can barely be considered twenty, can’t he?" Cai Yong asked, steadying the wine flagon.

"Depends on how you count it," Liu Kuan said with a laugh, stroking his beard. "Customs vary from place to place. If one insists, it’s not impossible, but generally one still waits until after the birthday to say so..."

Gongsun Xun was also taken aback. He tilted his head back and thought for a moment—it really did seem to be the case... He was born in the second year of Yongshou, and now it was the fifth year of Xiping. Although his birthday had not yet passed, he could indeed barely be counted as twenty years old. He recalled the day he first heard that his clansman Gongsun Zan was coming to seek Lu Zhi as a teacher, and how he had been so impatient to hitch a ride that he ended up trapped in Lulong Fortress. He had been only eighteen then, and although just over a year had passed, two New Year festivals had come and gone in between, which inevitably stirred a sense of wistfulness.

"That being the case..." Lu Zhi also seemed to understand something. "Gongsun Xun."

"Your disciple is here," Gongsun Xun snapped back to attention and hastily responded. "What instructions does Teacher Lu have?"

"Come forward."

"Yes..."

"Since you are now fully twenty, let me ask you—do you have any aspirations?" Lu Zhi asked seriously, pressing his hands on the table.

At this, Gongsun Xun was struck right at the heart of his thoughts. He bowed low and said, "To be honest with Teacher Lu, I lost my father as a child and was raised entirely by my mother, to whom I am utterly obedient... She often tells me that if one day I could become the Grand Administrator of Liaoxi and safeguard the peace of that region, it would be enough to comfort her."

The three men seated at the head, drinking, all burst into laughter.

"Aiming for the two-thousand-dan rank, is it?" Lu Zhi asked with a smile. "That is indeed no small ambition."

"You are one of the most outstanding young men I’ve seen in many years," Liu Kuan also laughed. "Why do you always fixate on that remote, backwater place of your hometown?"

"In any case, it is an extremely difficult thing," Cai Yong could not help but interject with a mocking laugh. "Are you unaware of the Law of Mutual Avoidance?"

The Law of Mutual Avoidance refers to the rules requiring officials of a certain rank to avoid specific administrative regions. Broadly speaking, it meant that if a person from Commandery A served as the Grand Administrator of Commandery B, then a person from Commandery B could not serve as the Grand Administrator of Commandery A, and so on. Of course, the actual situation was far more complex and stringent, involving equivalency of official rank, marriage ties, and so on...

Regardless, it was an ironclad rule that starting from the six-hundred-dan rank of court-appointed officials, one could not serve as an official in one’s own commandery.

Hence, Cai Yong’s mocking laugh—how could a man from Liaoxi ever become the Grand Administrator of Liaoxi?

Gongsun Xun laughed at this as well. He naturally could not be bothered to explain his mother’s true meaning to them—first attain high rank, befriend heroes, and then, when the realm fell into chaos, immediately return home, hold Liaoxi, and defend it. That was the true prerequisite for "striving to be known among the feudal lords, in order to barely preserve one’s life through the chaotic times." Only by gripping this critical border commandery of Liaoxi, suppressing the Wuhuan and Xianbei, and safeguarding the vital region of Hebei, would one be qualified to keep switching patrons to cling to!

And according to his mother, there was later a certain family surnamed Chen in Guangling, Xu Province, who did exactly that, and indeed they lived in ease and comfort until the very end of the chaos.

"I have made myself a laughingstock before my teachers and elders," Gongsun Xun thought, and simply offered this perfunctory reply.

"It’s no matter..." Lu Zhi shook his head. "I have already made a decision. Go to the side room outside, open the topmost willow-wood chest, and bring me the object inside."

Gongsun Xun was puzzled but could only comply. However, when he opened the chest, he suddenly understood—it was an ordinary jinxian cap.

The so-called jinxian cap was a very common type of headwear among Confucians, worn by everyone from ordinary scholars to supernumerary officials of the Three Excellencies level, and could even be used when meeting the sovereign. The ceremonial specifications were also very simple... The cap had detachable beams on top: three beams were for dukes and marquises; two beams were common for officials of the full two-thousand-dan rank (the Nine Ministers level) down to Erudites; and a single beam was for all Confucian students below the Erudite rank, including disciples of private academies.

Thus, Gongsun Xun immediately understood—Lu Zhi was actually going to use this opportunity to perform his capping ceremony right here!

"Isn’t this a bit hasty?" After Gongsun Xun came out holding the jinxian cap, Liu Kuan said nothing, but Cai Yong looked somewhat embarrassed. "What I meant earlier was that we might take this chance to give him a courtesy name. As for the capping ceremony, shouldn’t he wait until he returns home and let the elders of his clan perform it? And it should be accompanied by a broad invitation of guests to serve as witnesses..."

"Why so many formalities?" Lu Zhi said dismissively. "He lost his father as a child and has never seen his birth father since he was born. His mother is also one who disregards ritual. If we are truly speaking of venerable elders, the ones he would find upon returning home may not be more suitable than Lord Liu and myself."

"That is true," Liu Kuan also shook his head. "All rituals are empty. I recall back during the Qiang rebellion in Xiliang, when the court was conscripting troops from the Three Adjuncts, I was riding my ox cart back to Hongnong. On the road, I saw a fifteen-year-old boy who had just bound his hair being conscripted. His family elder simply took a piece of cloth and wrapped his hair into a topknot, which counted as his capping... Today, with me sitting here presiding, Zigan supporting his cap, and Bojie chanting the rites... it is more than sufficient!"

Since it was not his place to decide anyway, Gongsun Xun remained expressionless throughout. Now, hearing this arrangement, he simply knelt directly before the three men’s small table, ready and prepared.

"Hold on," Cai Bojie once again called for a halt. "After all, he is a scholar of a distinguished lineage; we must first choose his courtesy name."

"That is true," Lu Zhi nodded. "Both of you are great scholars—have you any suggestions?"

"Xun... the term comes from the Huainanzi, which says: 'Among the beauties of the East, there is the xunyuqi jade of Mount Wulu.'" Cai Bojie stroked his beard and sighed. "This Mount Wulu is in Liaoxi, the burial place of the ancient sage-emperor Zhuanxu. The one who named him was certainly learned."

"We are discussing his courtesy name; why bring this up?" Lu Zhi shook his head with a smile.

"Not so," Cai Bojie refuted seriously. "Lord Lu must understand that a courtesy name often connects to the given name. Since this Liaoxi lad’s given name is 'Xun,' his courtesy name should contain 'Yu' or 'Qi.' Otherwise, would it not be a waste of this fine given name? In my opinion, we should use the character 'Qi.'"

"Then 'Qi' it is," Liu Kuan tapped the table with some impatience, effectively making the decision. "And then what?"

"Then... how about 'Ziqi'?" Cai Yong said after a light glance at Gongsun Xun. "The character 'Zi' is commonly used in courtesy names to signify humility and retreat."

"I, on the other hand, think 'Wenqi' would be better," Lu Zhi also looked at Gongsun Xun and smiled. "What does Lord Liu think?"

"How about 'Gongqi'?" Liu Kuan actually proposed a third option.

The three men at the head argued incessantly, while Gongsun Xun, kneeling below, listened with an ever-shifting expression, but ultimately could do nothing... Truly, there was no helping it. That was just how things were in this era—when it came to one’s own name, one had the least say of all, even if after today one was considered an adult.

"No need to argue any further," after an unknown length of time, Liu Kuan, seated in the host’s position, suddenly raised his grimy hand—who knew how many days it had been since it was washed—and slapped it onto the small table, declaring loftily, "I am the eldest, and my rank is the highest. In such matters, my opinion must prevail... It shall be 'Gongqi'!"

At least it wasn’t Gongji! Still, the name Xun, styled Gongqi, was quite similar to the name Yu, styled Gongjin. He wondered just how old that peerless, brilliant talent, the beautiful Zhou Lang his mother had spoken of, actually was... Of course, while grumbling inwardly, Gongsun Xun could only hastily bow and offer his thanks.

However, just as Gongsun Xun was bowing down, Teacher Lu suddenly delivered a finishing blow: "That won’t do! The character 'Gong' clashes with his surname; it cannot be used!"

Liu Kuan was stunned by these words, but could only shake his head helplessly… A compound surname of Gongsun, and a courtesy name of Gongqi — it truly was poorly thought out.

"As for what Cai Bojie said, there is even less need to dwell on it." Having repelled his greatest adversary, Lu Zhi pressed his victory and vetoed Cai Yong's suggestion. "This is a capping ceremony — how can we abandon the courtesy name bestowed by the teacher and use someone else's?"

Cai Yong shook his head repeatedly: "Clearly it was Lord Lu who asked me first… Very well, Lord Lu is the tallest, so we shall do as you say!"

Gongsun Xun bowed once more in thanks, and this time, finally, no further mishaps occurred… Liu Kuan, as the elder, sat upright in the center; Cai Yong rose to intone the rites; Lu Zhi placed the jinxian cap, stripped down to a single beam, upon his disciple's head.

In other words, from this day forward, he was Gongsun Xun, courtesy name Wenqi, a man of Lingzhi in Liaoxi — and that was that.

"Very well!" As Gongsun Xun rose, Lu Zhi stepped back two paces and smiled. "Wenqi has now come of age. By rights you should step forward and share a cup of wine with us at the same table. But during the New Year season, you have already lingered here with me for two or three days, and even personally decocted medicine for me… I hear it is something called Danggui Blood-Nourishing Decoction? Since the Danggui decoction is ready, you too should danggui — I shall not keep you any longer!"

Gongsun Xun was stunned by these words, and for a moment could not tell whether they carried some further layered meaning… But since the matter had been raised, and with Liu Kuan and Cai Yong present, he could hardly press further. He could only bow once more and take his leave, saying that he would return to attend upon his teacher in a few days' time, and so forth.

However, when he returned to Goushi, he discovered that Jia Chao had once again come back from Liaoxi, and had moreover been waiting here for a full two days.

Gongsun Xun grew even more alarmed and suspicious. Yet this alarm and suspicion finally vanished when he opened the brocade pouch sent by his own mother — for, aside from a letter written on plain paper, the pouch actually contained a single ingredient of Chinese medicine.

"Toying with me like a child again!" Gongsun Xun stared at the danggui in his hand, so angry that he shook his head repeatedly, nearly flinging off the jinxian cap that had been on his head for less than a single day.

"When the Grand Ancestor underwent his capping ceremony, the honored elders Liu Kuan, Lu Zhi, and Cai Yong were in attendance. As for his courtesy name, one proposed Gongqi, one Wenqi, and one Ziqi. They debated at length before settling on Wenqi. Years later, someone nearby praised him, saying: 'All three names are fine; the young lord must surely be heroic and surpassing to have earned such favor.' The Grand Ancestor laughed and said: 'You do not understand. In my youth at Luoyang, my conduct was cunning, selfish, and recklessly audacious. Lord Cai proposed Zi to admonish my lack of virtue and urge me toward humility; Teacher Liu proposed Gong because he truly found me narrow and stubborn, hoping I would not be selfish; Teacher Lu proposed Wen because he detested my foolish obstinacy and hoped I could uphold virtue… Though it was deep affection, how does that speak of heroism?' The Grand Ancestor's words and deeds were candid to this degree." — New Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Martial Emperor, Grand Ancestor

PS: Where there is old, there is new; where there is false, there is true. The New Book of Yan you asked for has arrived… Also, during the new book period, I'm asking for recommendations, collections, and ratings!

(End of Chapter)