Chapter 125: Chapter 72: A Night with Secrets_2
The gold bracelet was forged with the salary Liu Zixian received after he took office; pure gold, her son’s thoughtful filial piety had kept her happy for half a year.
However, a few days ago, the bracelet was exchanged for silver and sent to the Ministry of Rites.
She lowered her head to look at her empty wrists for a while, then suddenly spoke up, "Husband, I dreamt about that young Lu lad last night."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a gust of wind from outside suddenly blew the half-closed window wide open with a "bang," startling her; she hurriedly looked over, flustered.
Liu Kun, sitting on the edge of the couch, was also startled but quickly regained his composure, scolding, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"It’s true!" As if fear had found a channel for release, Wang Chunchi couldn’t help but shrink back against the wall, "I dreamt he came to our house, just standing at the door, not saying a single word." She shivered, lowering her voice a bit, "Husband, my eyelids have been twitching nonstop lately, and I feel so uneasy in my heart. Do you think something is going to happen?"
Liu Kun with his sallow complexion shrugged it off, reprimanding, "All the prepared silver has been sent out; what could possibly happen! Women are just overly sensitive, always imagining nonsense for no reason."
Upon hearing this, Wang Chunchi fell silent, simply lying down against the wall, muttering under her breath to Liu Kun’s back, "Fine, I won’t talk about it."
Wang Chunchi went to sleep, while Liu Kun still sat cross-legged by the couch, his shadow casting a sinister silhouette on the ground, like a gigantic Kunpeng spreading its wings.
His late father had named him "Kun" in the hopes that he would soar high and far like a Kunpeng. Liu Kun too believed that one day he would stand out among his peers. However, his ambitions were sky-high while his fate was thin as paper; without family heritage or talent, after struggling for most of his life, he was still scraping a living in the households of Changwu County.
His cousin, Lu Qilin, was the exact opposite of him: good-looking, well-educated, even having a son who was more studious than his own two boys. Liu Kun always harbored a subtle jealousy towards this cousin. Fortunately, perhaps due to the pride of a scholar, Lu Qilin, despite his talents and ambitions, failed to grasp worldly wisdom, ending up only as an ordinary Teacher in Changwu County. Thus, Liu Kun’s subtle jealousy slowly dissipated.
Liu Kun stayed in Changwu County until the year he turned thirty-five when he could no longer bear such a hopeless life. Borrowing money, he took his family to the Capital City, vowing to make a name for himself.
Shengjing was beautiful, like a scenic painting, with splendid buildings and a land covered in riches and honor.
But such riches did not include them.
Liu Kun’s family arrived full of turbulent ambition, only to be repeatedly snubbed within this captivating affluence. In such a dazzling world, there was no place reserved for them; even with the wide wings of a Kunpeng, one couldn’t fly over those with ladders.
Without education or connections, he could only run a small stall in the alleys of Shengjing, selling the most ordinary snake-like noodles from Changwu County. He thought to himself that silver was easier to earn in Shengjing than in Changwu County; little by little, he believed he could save up for a future.
In easy times, joy quickly fades, but during tough times, the days are hard to endure. Liu Kun didn’t know how long he had been struggling, but he was hoping that his savings over the years might be enough to lease a small storefront on Que’er Street. He had visited that street—it was bustling with crowds, and he was sure that having a shop there would bring a good profit each month.
Just when everything was seeming to fall into place, the landlord suddenly raised the price by a hundred taels of silver. All his savings had been spent, and he had already borrowed from every available neighbor. His funds were like dry, ground-up wood that could not spare a single splinter of silver.
The shop was no longer an option. He returned home, dejected, and that was when he saw the travel-weary Lu Qian.
Lu Qian...
Outside the door, the night was desolate, and Liu Kun’s gaze flickered briefly.
Lu Qian was Lu Qilin’s son, his nephew.
This nephew was not as rigid and stern as his father, more like the warm sunshine of Changwu County’s March spring days, bright and easygoing. He was literate, good-looking, kind-hearted; it was difficult for anyone to dislike him.
Liu Kun liked him too.
His own two sons were good for nothing, and he couldn’t be bothered with them, whereas Lu Qian enjoyed following him around. Maybe it was because Lu Qilin was too stern while Liu Kun seemed much more amiable. Lu Qian liked to go fishing with him, catching loaches and trapping crabs by the creek in the evening. The neighbors used to say, compared to Lu Qilin, he looked more like Lu Qian’s real father.
But after Liu Kun moved to the Capital City, aside from an occasional letter every year or so, there had been no further contact with the Lu Family.