Chapter 871: Won't Fade Into Obscurity

They learned of this from an old man by the roadside.

According to the old man, a lot of people died that year, especially up on the mountain. By the next morning, the water flowing down its slopes had turned red. It was a horrifying sight, and hardly anyone dared to go up and look.

"There were a few bold ones, though."

Smacking his lips, the old man said, "From what they told us when they came back, the mountain was covered in severed limbs. Heads were hanging from the branches, eyes staring wide open—none of them died in peace."

Yu Hongjin's eyes widened as she listened. "T-that's so scary..." she said, a little frightened.

The old man nodded. "Yep, it's all true."

Yunxiang asked, "What about commoners like you, sir?"

"We were mostly fine," the old man said. "After Prince Jin arrived, his men just scraped up whatever wealth they could and left. Sigh. It still wasn't a good thing. Some folks had half a lifetime's worth of savings swept away, and quite a few died, too. But isn't war always like this? If Prince Xiao had won back then, the commoners of Jindi would have suffered the exact same fate."

Yu Hongjin muttered, "War is always like this..."

It had been this way since ancient times.

Cities were not conquered for free; naturally, some interest had to be collected. Otherwise, where would the settlement allowances for fallen soldiers come from? Where would the military pay come from? It wasn't as if The Prince could pay for it all out of his own pocket.

Yunxiang said, "I heard that after Qingshan City was occupied by the Rebel Army back then, it went through something similar."

Chen Changsheng nodded. "There was indeed such an incident. Aqing's father passed away around that time as well."

Yunxiang sighed. "When the world descends into chaos, it is ultimately the commoners who suffer. They simply have no choice in the matter."

The old man chuckled. "Heh, us ordinary folks are nothing but cheap lives to those nobles. Just staying alive is good enough; who has the luxury to worry about so much else?"

Chen Changsheng thought for a moment before asking, "Then, compared to Prince Xiao, how is Prince Jin?"

The old man considered it, but shook his head. "Actually, there's not much difference. The officials still collect just as many exorbitant taxes, and those soldiers are just as shameless as the last batch. It's just a change of faces. Hah, all those rules and regulations are just for show; they can't control what happens in the shadows. Isn't that how it always is nowadays?"

This was all too common.

Mao'er meowed and blinked at the old man.

The old man smiled back and reached out to pet Mao'er's head, but the cat dodged his hand. The old man didn't mind; he found the little creature quite amusing.

Giving up on teasing the cat, he turned his head and said, "You get used to everything eventually. I feel like my early life went a bit too smoothly, so my later years were stained with misfortune. As the saying goes, after crying comes laughter. For me, the laughter finished, so all that was left was crying. By now, I've run out of tears. When you think about it, you just get used to it."

Chen Changsheng looked at the old man and said, "I imagine you must have been a figure of some prestige in your youth."

The old man chuckled and said, "Why keep calling me 'old man'? Aren't you an old man yourself?"

Only then did Chen Changsheng realize it. He stroked his beard and nodded.

The old man continued, "But let me tell you, back in my youth, everyone across the neighboring villages knew me. I really was a figure of prestige."

"I haven't asked for your esteemed name yet," Chen Changsheng said.

The old man replied, "My surname is Gao. Back in the day, the village teacher gave me the name 'Jujie'. I was a bit withdrawn back then, so the teacher chose that name at my father's request. In the years that followed, I did indeed make quite a few good friends."

Upon hearing the name, Yunxiang realized who he was. "You are that presented scholar of two dynasties?"

Gao Jujie was momentarily taken aback. "I didn't expect a young lady like you to have heard of me."

Yunxiang said, "My family was in trade during my early years, so we picked up a thing or two about matters in various places."

Gao Jujie nodded. "Good, good. A broad horizon. I missed out on seeing a lot of things in my life; it's quite a pity when I think about it."

"A presented scholar of two dynasties..."

The old man said, "My youth coincided with the final years of Jing. I studied incredibly hard back then, advancing all the way from the provincial exams to claim the title of presented scholar. Unfortunately, before I could even take office, Great Jing fell. The world changed, and no one cared about a presented scholar from the previous dynasty. Furthermore, I was young and headstrong at the time. With my country destroyed right before my eyes, my heart was filled with hatred. Refusing to act as a pawn for the enemy, I stopped there, returned to my village, and became a schoolteacher."

"The new magistrate in the county actually thought highly of me and treated me as an honored guest. I didn't like the man at first, but I was later moved by his sincerity and began chatting with him often. If not for the enmity of a fallen nation standing between us, he and I could have become good friends..."

At this point, the old man's tone faltered. A dazed expression crossed his face, and he opened his mouth, but he didn't continue.

"Forget it. I won't talk about it anymore. It's all in the past."

He smiled and said, "As the saying goes, of all the myriad hardships in the world, the past hurts the most."

Tactfully, Chen Changsheng and the others didn't press the matter.

The old man shouldered his hoe and said, "We'll meet again if fate allows."

He walked toward the fields; it seemed he still had land to till.

Yunxiang watched him from afar and said, "Later on, when His Majesty took the throne through a palace coup, he re-entered the imperial examinations to offer His Majesty his assistance. He was already over fifty by then, far past his prime, but his diligence was beyond that of ordinary men. After His Majesty broke the backdoor policies that prevented Jing people from holding office, he earned the title of presented scholar once again that very same year. To pass it once is an achievement, but to pass it again after so many years shows just how extraordinary his talents truly are."

"His Majesty once said of him, 'I have a worthy talent who crossed over thirty years to meet Us; it is a blessing from the heavens.' His Majesty held him in incredibly high regard and later entrusted him with great responsibilities. Unexpectedly, the very next year, His Majesty passed away, and the Imperial Court fell into chaos. Under the edict left behind, the officials divided into factions. Lord Gao refused to associate with those corrupt individuals, so he simply took off his official hat, resigned from his post, and returned to his home village, washing his hands of the Imperial Court's affairs."

Chen Changsheng paused before saying, "His life can certainly be called legendary."

Yunxiang said, "It's a pity that legends never last long. To say too much is just to admit that fate plays tricks on people."

They looked off into the distance.

The once-revered presented scholar was now turning the soil in the fields. His exceptionally withered and frail frame seemed to bear witness to the countless hardships he had endured throughout the years.

He should have shone with boundless glory, yet now he stood with his feet deep in the mud.

Chen Changsheng fell into a brief daze, as if he had caught sight of something. "He still has fortune left in his destiny," he said. "He won't fade into obscurity like this."

Yunxiang froze for a moment upon hearing this, then offered a slight smile.