Hu Xiaotian asked, "Father, where are you planning to send me?"
"Western Sichuan!" Hu Buwei replied.
Hu Xiaotian had spent some time learning about Great Kang's geography and history recently. Western Sichuan lay in its remote southwest, bordering the Miao lands to the south and Shajia to the west. Its remoteness was only a secondary concern. The biggest problem was that Western Sichuan was his future father-in-law's territory. That future father-in-law was Li Tianheng, the Military Commissioner of Jiannan Xichuan, a mighty regional overlord. His father must have had that connection in mind when deciding to send him there to serve as an official.
Hu Xiaotian blinked and stared at his father for so long that Hu Buwei began to feel uncomfortable. I'm not pushing you into a pit of fire, his father thought. I'm doing this with the best of intentions, to keep you away from the political storm. I'm trying to preserve the Hu Family's sole surviving seedling.
After holding it in for some time, Hu Xiaotian finally said, "So you're planning to marry me into their family?"
Hu Buwei shook his head. "Xiaotian, you're my only son. Do you really think I would harm you?"
Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, That's hardly certain. You may be my father, but first and foremost, you're a politician. Politicians like you tend to care little for family or friendship and will sacrifice anything for political gain. If you'd truly had my interests at heart back then, you wouldn't have betrothed me to the Li Family's paralyzed daughter. But he only muttered these words inwardly and did not voice them.
"The betrothal is one matter, and serving as an official is another..." Hu Buwei paused and sighed. "The Li Family has already heard about you forcibly abducting Tang Wenzheng's daughter."
Hu Xiaotian felt a secret surge of delight. It was better that they knew. If the Li Family found his misconduct intolerable and canceled the engagement, nothing could be better.
"The Li Family proposed postponing your wedding by two years," Hu Buwei said. "After giving it some thought, I agreed."
"Two years?" Hu Xiaotian said. "They think they can postpone it whenever they please? Do they have any respect for the Hu Family? Father, I don't think they take you seriously at all. We might as well call off this marriage."
Hu Buwei's face immediately darkened, and he gave a cold snort. In truth, he had other plans. Ever since realizing that the old emperor was still wavering over his choice of successor, Hu Buwei had begun to waver deep down as well. The victor became king; the loser became a bandit. He had witnessed firsthand the brutality of princes fighting for the throne. If Crown Prince Long Yeqing succeeded smoothly, the marriage alliance between the Hu and Li families would be perfect. But if circumstances changed midway and Long Yeqing ultimately failed to ascend the throne, he would face exile at best and death at worst. As his staunch supporter, Li Tianheng could hardly be certain of escaping implication. If events truly took the worst possible turn, Hu Buwei himself might well be punished by association because of his marriage ties to Li Tianheng. The Li Family's proposal to delay the wedding by two years actually suited him perfectly. Within two years, the dust would surely have settled over the struggle for the throne. Even if the worst happened, Hu Buwei would still have ample opportunity to put righteousness above family ties and cancel the marriage agreement. He knew that his future in-law was no ordinary man either. His proposal to postpone the wedding probably stemmed from more than reports of his son's misconduct. Some political consideration must lie behind it.
In Hu Buwei's eyes, the marriage agreement was merely a document that added flowers to an already splendid brocade, without any genuinely binding force. Naturally, he could see his son's resistance and dissatisfaction with the marriage. He understood those feelings, but he considered his son insufficiently mature. What true man need fear a lack of wives? Even if you marry the Li Family's daughter, it doesn't mean you have to spend your whole life tied to that paralyzed woman. So long as my political position remains unchanged, the Hu Family will remain unchanged as well. Servants will attend to your paralyzed wife, and no one will stop you from taking concubines. You aren't marrying a wife-you're marrying political standing and family connections.
But Hu Buwei could not explain this reasoning plainly to his son. Though he held loyalty, brotherly duty, filial piety, and righteousness in contempt down to his bones, he still had to maintain a respectable image before him.
"Shi Buchui, the Minister of Personnel, is a close friend of mine," Hu Buwei said. "I'll ask him to arrange this for you."
Hu Xiaotian feigned disappointment. "Since you've already decided, Father, I have nothing more to say." In truth, he could hardly wait to get away from Hu Buwei. The mountains would be high and the emperor far away; even a minor post in some remote region would do.
"I have an idea," Hu Buwei said. "When you leave the capital to take office, we should let as few people as possible know. I don't want you subjected to too much interference."
"Father, do you mean you don't want outsiders to know we're related?"
Hu Buwei nodded. "I don't even want the Li Family to know. You've grown up at my side, pampered and comfortable, without ever weathering wind or waves. This trip will be a good opportunity to temper yourself."
Hu Xiaotian bowed deeply. "I understand your good intentions, Father."
Seeing how understanding his son was, Hu Buwei felt reluctant to part with him again. He sighed softly. "I haven't told your mother yet. If she finds out, she certainly won't agree."
Please don't change your mind, Hu Xiaotian thought. I've finally got a chance to fly solo. You must steel your heart and send me away. Aloud, however, he said with sham sorrow, "I can't bear to leave Mother either!" Hypocrisy-hypocrisy taken to its utmost limit.
"The matter is settled," Hu Buwei said. "I'll explain it to your mother myself."
Once Hu Buwei decided something, it was usually difficult to change his mind. In his eyes, although his son was clever and quick-witted, with a little damned luck to boot, he was not mature enough. He craved comfort, clung to his parents, and was accustomed to living under their protection, unwilling to leave the bustling capital. Yet Hu Buwei had never considered that he did not understand his son at all. Almost all of Hu Xiaotian's attachment and reluctance were an act. Everyone cherished comfort and pleasure, but they amounted to nothing beside freedom. As for these parents, Hu Xiaotian felt gratitude and respect toward them, but no attachment. He did not share the normal emotional bonds between a father and son or a mother and son. Spending every day with them even made him feel a little awkward.
Over the next few days, Hu An disappeared without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea. News of the stolen Iron Deed of Redemption did not leak out either, and everything seemed to have returned to calm. Hu Xiaotian behaved himself much more. What had happened at home had affected him to some degree. Perhaps disaster would descend upon the Hu Family one day without warning, and as one of its members, he might well end up punished by association.
Hu Buwei remained as composed as ever. On the second day after returning from the Eastern Capital, his life resumed its usual course. Every day, he either attended court or handled official business. He seemed no longer worried about the Iron Deed of Redemption, and he also seemed to have forgotten about arranging for Hu Xiaotian to leave the capital and take office.
Hu Xiaotian desperately wanted to leave, but he could not reveal that longing to his father. As the days passed, he grew increasingly irritable. Had his father suddenly changed his mind about sending him away to serve as an official?
Since the assassination attempt on Camel Street, Hu Buwei had strengthened his son's protection again. His former escort of six household guards had grown to eight, and Hu Buwei had instructed all eight not to leave his son's side whenever he went out-not even when he used the privy.
There was no freedom whatsoever in such a life. Hu Xiaotian was like a bird shut in a cage, and the tighter his confinement, the more fiercely he yearned to be free.
Seven days passed in a flash. Early that morning, Hu Xiaotian went to Easy Origin Hall. It was a rather special day: Murong Feiyan's wound had healed enough for her stitches to be removed.
When Hu Xiaotian arrived at Easy Origin Hall, he found its chief, Li Yifeng, and its second-in-command, Yuan Shiqing, already waiting there. These two gentlemen certainly are dedicated, he thought. The patient hasn't arrived yet, but they're already here.
Yuan Shiqing normally saw patients there, so his presence was nothing unusual. Li Yifeng, however, had come specifically for Hu Xiaotian that day. Ever since witnessing him treat Murong Feiyan's injury, Li Yifeng had been deeply astonished by his deft surgical technique. It was no exaggeration to say that Hu Xiaotian had suddenly opened his eyes to an entirely new field of medicine. Before that, he had only read accounts of operations in medical classics-scraping bone to treat injuries, opening the abdomen to remove objects-but he had never witnessed one in reality. Li Yifeng had initially assumed that Hu Xiaotian was the disciple of some master physician. When he later learned that the fellow was the only son of Hu Buwei, the Minister of Revenue, he was greatly surprised. As it happened, he and Hu Xiaotian already had a connection.
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