After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 644 - 638 Pei Xian

Ting He hadn’t heard of it either, and she said, "It seems he just returned to Luoyang. I heard the lady needed a treasure, so he specially came to deliver a gift."

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow slightly and went with Ting He to see Pei Xian.

Pei Xian was a handsome middle-aged man, quite good-looking, even slightly more handsome than Zhao Ming.

He was not seated on the high chair in the middle of the hall, but rather on a seat separated by a screen, sitting upright with downcast eyes, looking serious.

Upon hearing footsteps, he only lifted his head for a quick glance. He had never met Zhao Hanzhang, but seeing the approaching person with shining eyes and an extraordinary aura, he guessed her identity, and quickly got up to salute.

Zhao Hanzhang raised her hand with a smile, "General Pei, there’s no need for such formalities, please take a seat quickly."

She knelt down in the upper seat and asked curiously, "When did the General return to Luoyang?"

She could be sure that Pei Xian’s family was not among those forced to return at that time. The Pei family was a family on par with the Wang family at the moment; if they were, she would have known.

Look at Mrs. Wang and her sisters, who would dare to overlook them?

Pei Xian said with shame, "I only returned to Luoyang recently. Hearing that the chaos of war in Luoyang had subsided and peace was gradually being restored, I brought my family back."

Zhao Hanzhang looked heartbroken and quickly asked, "Where have you been wandering before, General? Did you suffer much?"

Pei Xian quickly indicated that they hadn’t suffered greatly. He said, "We followed Prince East Sea during the migration. Seeing Shi Le’s aggressive approach, we temporarily avoided him and went to Yu State."

At that time, Pei Xian, along with many officials, served in Prince East Sea’s army. When Prince East Sea passed away, Wang Yan withheld the news without announcing it, but he had already guessed.

He felt uneasy at the time; Prince East Sea’s Queen and Princely Heir were not in the army. In the event of an incident, a power transition was bound to cause chaos.

Just as he thought of this, Shi Le arrived right after.

Without a second thought, he took his family and two other relatively close families and fled.

They were some distance away from Zhao Hanzhang at the time, so they didn’t encounter the Zhao Family Army. They found a small path into a small county in Yu State, hiding in the mountains, thinking to endure the chaos first before coming out.

Then, when Pei Xian emerged, the outside world had changed.

Prince East Sea had died, and without the need for the Emperor or Gou Xi to take action, Shi Le had cleaned out Prince East Sea’s line, and even most of the court officials had died at Shi Le’s hands.

Another hero of the generation, Wang Mi, died at Zhao Hanzhang’s hands. She also defeated Liu Cong and saved the Emperor.

Just as he was hesitating whether to return to Luoyang to find the Emperor, news came again that the Emperor was moving the capital to Yun City with Gou Xi, leaving Luoyang to Zhao Hanzhang.

Pei Xian thought the current Zhao Hanzhang and Gou Xi were like Prince East Sea and Gou Xi a year ago; hence, he decided not to come out and continued to reside in the mountains.

But his two sons were of a certain age, fond of making friends with knights and indulging in alcohol. He felt this was not a solution and wanted to bring them out to study.

So, he had to choose between Luoyang and Yun City.

He was the Northern Middle Lang General, an official appointed by the court, so naturally, he should go to Yun City. Moreover, there was a bit of a conflict of interest with Zhao Hanzhang; when he was appointed as Yu State Governor, he initially intended to take office, but upon hearing she controlled the Yu State Army and that the Ruyin County Prefectural Governor was killed by her hand, he dared not go.

So, his first choice was Yun City.

As they almost reached Yan State, news from Yan State arrived saying Gou Xi was indulging in sensual pleasures and even killed the admonishing strategist Yan Heng.

Pei Xian knew Yan Heng, one of Gou Xi’s right-hand men, a very upright person. Because Gou Xi was also a righteous man, he always thought they got along well.

Pei Xian didn’t dare to proceed further, stayed in place for two days, and upon confirming Gou Xi indeed killed Yan Heng, he silently took his family and headed back to Luoyang.

Decided to consider Zhao Hanzhang after all.

Although she also killed people, those were enemies or people not familiar with her with whom she had conflicts of interest, never had he heard of her killing acquaintances for such reasons.

Yan Heng had been with Gou Xi for fifteen years. If he had no contributions, he certainly had endured hardships, not to mention his contributions were significant, and he hadn’t made major mistakes, how could he have been killed?

Even if Yan Heng was treated that way, what would happen to officials like him seeking refuge? Would the killing be at will?

So, even though the Emperor was in Yun City, going to Yun City would be more justified, he chose to return to Luoyang.

His home... was burned down, and his villa was occupied by Zhao Hanzhang.

Of course, if he went to the government to file a complaint, he could get it back, but Pei Xian thought it over, didn’t go directly to the county government, and instead spent money to buy a new house and settled down, patiently waiting for the right opportunity.

He thought he would have to wait for a long time, but unexpectedly, the opportunity arrived quickly.

Pei Xian picked up the box beside him and presented it, "Lord Zhao, this is the Jade Ruyi brought by me, Pei. Though said to be a treasure, it might be too much, but it is at least pleasing to the eye."

Ting He had already seen it, immediately stepped forward to take it, and knelt by Zhao Hanzhang’s side to present it.

Zhao Hanzhang curiously opened the box.

Inside was a jade ruyi about half a meter long, white with a tinge of green, shaped like a multi-pored fungus, with the handle carved into a sacred tree, and the branch tips in the shape of auspicious clouds.

Zhao Hanzhang gently touched it. It was smooth and warm to the touch. Although her face didn’t show much expression, she marveled in her heart, was this merely pleasing to the eye?

The jade ruyi, popular during the Wei Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, likely due to the chaotic era, was favored by emperors and ministers during this period, believing the firmness and smoothness of jade resembled a gentleman.

Such a jade ruyi was unusually rare; Gou Xi would certainly love it!

Zhao Hanzhang closed the box, looked at Pei Xian, and smiled, "Is General Pei planning to live in Luoyang permanently this time?"

"Yes," Pei Xian said, "the children have grown, and in the countryside, they only indulge in drinking and merrymaking. Continuing like this, I’m afraid they will forget the demeanor of a gentleman, so I want them to return to Luoyang to study."

Zhao Hanzhang pondered, then nodded and smiled, "Education for children is indeed a big issue, but currently, the Imperial College has only three scholars. Apart from my uncle, who has some knowledge, I’m afraid the others might not even compare to your two sons."

Zhao Hanzhang sincerely invited, "I wonder if General would humble himself to take on a scholar position at the Imperial College?"

Pei Xian didn’t hesitate, immediately accepting, stating he would do his best.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly, personally rising to send Pei Xian out. She asked where Pei Xian currently resided, then watched him board the ox cart and leave.

Watching him leave in the ox cart, Zhao Hanzhang finally felt a bit of the demeanor of a Wei Jin period scholar. How could she have forgotten that scholars of this era, due to the rarity of horses, highly valued them and usually traveled by ox cart unless going to war?

However, Zhao Hanzhang, being more of a coarse person, preferred to ride a horse in and out.

Zhao Hanzhang withdrew her gaze, turned to Ting He, and said, "Go find Wang Hufeng, and have her choose an appropriate house from the ones we hold to reward Pei Xian with."

Ting He agreed, following Zhao Hanzhang on the way back, having just learned that Pei Xian had once been the lady’s competitor. She felt a bit worried, "The lady only appointed him as a scholar; such a huge gap in status, won’t he harbor resentment?"

Zhao Hanzhang laughed, "He didn’t harbor resentment just now. Since he didn’t feel I was slighting him the moment I proposed it, and he doesn’t think the scholar’s status is low, he naturally won’t harbor resentment over this matter in the future either."