"Fishing? Can fish really be fished? I've only ever seen or heard of catching fish, netting fish..."
Outside Guangling Prefecture city, by a nameless river, Zhou Fugui had actually fashioned a fishing rod and was sitting by the river, fishing with a semblance of proper technique.
Murong Dagu, a dignified figure from the Blazing Fire Camp, daughter of the Left Virtuous King of Great Yan, Princess Ziyue Murong Huiying, had her hands pressed on her knees, bending forward with curiosity as she watched Zhou Fugui fish.
"Shush, keep your voice down. Fish are sentient, they can hear us talking. If you scare the fish away, you'll pay me back, won't you?" Zhou Fugui whispered to Murong Huiying.
"Oh..." Murong Huiying was half-believing, half-doubting.
His sword-like eyebrows were neatly tied, his nose bridge was high, and his eyes were like brilliant stars. How come she had never noticed before that he was quite handsome? Murong Huiying looked shyly at Zhou Fugui's self-praise. The only flaw was that Zhou Fugui's thin lips would occasionally reveal a hint of a mischievous smile.
Hmph, cunning and changeable! Murong Huiying snorted coldly in her heart.
"A thousand mountains' birds fly no more, ten thousand paths show no trace of man. A lone boat, a straw-hatted fisherman, alone fishes the snow-bound river." Zhou Fugui then recited a poem, shaking his head.
"You can also write poetry?" Murong Huiying asked curiously.
Murong Huiying had loved reading Han Dynasty books since she was young, but she couldn't possibly have read all of them. The Han books were profound and vast, and Murong Huiying had read at most one ten-thousandth of them.
"Heh heh, this poem is not by this humble Zhou," Zhou Fugui said, shaking his head. "It was written by Tang... uh... the great poet Liu Zongyuan of history, titled 'River Snow'."
Zhou Fugui didn't know how history had taken a turn for his mother, so he had to speak vaguely.
"The great poet Liu Zongyuan of history? How come I've never heard of him? But these verses are concise, and their meaning is quite rich, isn't it?" Murong Huiying savored "River Snow" carefully.
Mm, good, very good. Zhou Fugui praised her highly after glancing at Murong Huiying.
Someone who only knew how to gallop horses on the prairie and shoot eagles with a bow could actually discern the meaning of this "River Snow"? However, Zhou Fugui had already experienced Murong Huiying's abilities when he was in Youzhou.
"Liu Zongyuan was a high official and important minister of the court. He lost in the struggle for power and was dismissed and demoted..." Zhou Fugui slowly explained, "Being confined was actually a life of detention. In this situation, Liu Zongyuan did not yield to the harsh circumstances. He remained noble and aloof, just like a fisherman fishing alone by the river, and fantasized about re-emerging into the world and reaching the pinnacle of power! This is probably what it means by 'poor, cultivate yourself; successful, help the world'."
"'Poor, cultivate yourself; successful, help the world'? I've seen this sentence in books, but is this its meaning?" Murong Huiying sat down beside Zhou Fugui, hugged her knees, rested her face on her knees, and listened to Zhou Fugui's explanation, turning her head to ask him.
"Roughly correct," Zhou Fugui replied.
Murong Huiying nodded upon hearing this.
Murong Huiying had read Mencius. At that time, she had only a superficial understanding of this sentence and had never fully grasped it. So, whatever Zhou Fugui said now, she took it as it was...
"I understand, he wasn't fishing for fish..." Murong Huiying said afterward.
"The country!" Zhou Fugui and Murong Huiying said in unison. The two then looked at each other and smiled.
"It's like Jiang Taigong fishing..." Zhou Fugui laughed. "Jiang Taigong was even more direct, or rather, more shameless... Jiang Taigong fished, and the willing would take the bait! His fishing hook was straight. How could a straight hook catch anything? So, what was he fishing for? He was fishing for King Wu of Zhou, Ji Chang. By catching King Wu of Zhou, he caught the world!"
"Pfft!" Murong Huiying couldn't help but laugh, and said, looking at Zhou Fugui, "Jiang Taigong is the ancestor of your military strategists, a military sage. You speak of him like this. I think you are the one who is most shameless!"
"Yes, if the princess says so, then it is so. This young general is just a shameless little sheep..." Zhou Fugui smiled.
"What happened to him later?" Murong Huiying asked, blushing and lightly scolding Zhou Fugui in her heart.
"Who is 'he'?" Zhou Fugui asked.
"The one fishing by the river," Murong Huiying replied.
"Liu Zongyuan. Afterward, he just kept fishing by the river until he died of illness," Zhou Fugui said.
"Oh, how pitiful!" Murong Huiying smiled upon hearing this and then asked Zhou Fugui, "They were fishing for the country. What are you fishing for?"
"I'm naturally fishing for... Ouch, the fish is biting!" As Zhou Fugui was speaking, he felt the fishing rod in his hand sink, and the float also dipped under the water.
"Go!" Zhou Fugui was overjoyed. With a loud shout, he slackened the line for a moment, then forcefully yanked the fishing rod out of the water.
"Here you go, Princess. Take it back and stew some fish soup!" Zhou Fugui then proudly swung the fishing rod in front of Murong Huiying, wanting to show her his "catch."
As the fishing rod emerged from the water, splashing river water and ice shards, Zhou Fugui's movements were extremely dashing. It was just that the fishing line was completely empty, and even the hook was nowhere to be found...
"Haha, where's the fish? I don't know how to fish, but I still know what a fish is," Murong Huiying said, bursting into laughter at the sight, pointing at the fishing rod and laughing uncontrollably.
"It's all your fault. You kept chattering, scaring the fish away..." Zhou Fugui said angrily when he saw this.
"Hee hee, you're incompetent yourself, and you're blaming me?" Murong Huiying laughed even harder, almost falling over.
Zhou Fugui recited poems and told anecdotes, and now he was blaming her for chattering? Murong Huiying found it hilarious.
"Let's try again. I don't believe it. I must catch a fish today and stew fish soup for the princess..." Zhou Fugui glared at Murong Huiying, then squatted on the ground again to prepare the fishing gear, showing a determination not to give up until he succeeded.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but I don't think it's necessary?" Murong Huiying said with a smile, watching the busy Zhou Fugui.
...
"From reaching the ground to Chang'an, for three years, the cold has gradually receded. Last year, spring had not yet arrived at its peak. Do not leave the remnants of netted fishing."
As dusk fell, Zhou Fugui and Murong Huiying rode side by side. Zhou Fugui, with a surge of "bestial nature," recited another seven-character quatrain.
"Whose masterpiece is this from history again?" Murong Huiying asked.
"This great poet is famous throughout antiquity, unprecedented and unrivaled, the foremost great poet! He..." Zhou Fugui said with great solemnity and shamelessness, boasting, "His surname is Zhou, his given name is Fugui!" httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Plop!"
Over a hundred warriors from the Blazing Fire Camp behind them fell to the ground.
"Hee hee..." Murong Huiying giggled again. "You? You wrote this poem? What's its name?"
Murong Huiying's laughter today surpassed the sum of her laughter before she was seventeen.
"Ode to Returning Laden with Spoils!" Zhou Fugui replied with a smile.
Heavens, let us die. Over a hundred warriors from the Blazing Fire Camp lamented together.
"You... you only caught two small fish in total, and you call it 'laden with spoils'?" Murong Huiying was speechless, finding it both funny and exasperating.
"One for you, one for me. Isn't that 'laden with spoils'?" Zhou Fugui laughed.
"What about them?" Murong Huiying asked.
"Drinking soup!" Zhou Fugui laughed again.
Over a hundred warriors from the Blazing Fire Camp clenched the hilts of their swords.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves was heard. Several hundred Yan army cavalrymen, carrying torches high, approached Murong Huiying and her party.
At the forefront, a young general in shining armor galloped towards Murong Huiying.
Upon seeing the approaching figure, Murong Huiying's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, showing a hint of disgust.
The young general was Xuanwei General Murong Kang.
"Princess Ziyue, this humble general takes his leave!" Zhou Fugui said, cupping his hands in farewell as he saw someone approaching.
Murong Huiying opened her mouth, wanting to ask Zhou Fugui to stay, but she couldn't think of a reason.
Zhou Fugui nodded at Murong Huiying, smiled, then spurred his horse away. As he passed Murong Kang, Zhou Fugui performed the禮 of a subordinate to a superior, bowed, and galloped away alone.
Murong Kang slightly raised his horse whip in response, his face expressionless and silent, appearing somewhat stern and arrogant.
"Little sister Ying... " Murong Kang rode up to Murong Huiying and asked, "You've been out all day, where have you been?"
"Do I need to report my whereabouts to you, General Xuanwei?" Murong Huiying retorted coldly, looking at Murong Kang.
"Hmm, little sister Ying, please don't misunderstand your elder brother." Murong Kang's facial muscles twitched slightly, and he said with a touch of awkwardness, "Yan and Xia are in fierce conflict. It's too unsafe amidst the chaos. You were too careless. Your elder brother was worried about you and came to find you. Besides, your uncle and the others are also worried about you."
"Oh, thank you for your concern." Murong Huiying replied coldly again.
Murong Kang's constant reprimands of Murong Huiying in a brotherly tone was one of the reasons she increasingly detested him. Unlike Zhou Fugui, when Murong Huiying was with Zhou Fugui, she felt relaxed, at ease, and joyful; in short, incredibly comfortable.
When she was younger, it was different. Murong Kang was ten years older than Murong Huiying and had obtained official titles and ranks early on. He was also a brave general in the army, and Murong Huiying and others had admired him like a great hero. However, as Murong Huiying grew older, this feeling completely vanished, leaving only dislike.
Who was Murong Kang to her, Murong Huiying wondered to herself? At most, he was a clan cousin. Even her three own brothers wouldn't dare to speak to her like that.
"Little sister Ying, you shouldn't be spending time with this person." Murong Kang began to drone on again.
"Who are you referring to? Are you talking about Deputy General Zhou? What's wrong with him?" Murong Huiying asked.
"He's a Han person," Murong Kang replied.
"What's wrong with being Han? Doesn't the court employ Han people? My father also has many Han people under his command," Murong Huiying said angrily.
"Han people are cunning, untrustworthy, and fickle. They are not fit for great tasks," Murong Kang snorted coldly.
"Nonsense!" Murong Huiying retorted angrily. "Are there no cunning and changeable people among our own clan? Aren't there also upright and loyal individuals among the Han people? Why must you generalize them all?"
After saying this, Murong Huiying spurred her horse and rode away.
For some reason, Murong Huiying herself thought Zhou Fugui was cunning and changeable, but she wouldn't allow others to say so about him.