Once through this door, I am a man of the Wei Faction.
As the thought rose in his heart, Wang Kan himself felt a chill.
Yet it was not the words "Wei Faction" that startled him.
It was that he had felt not the slightest hesitation.
From working over the same documents at the Hanlin Academy to presenting the same memorial on grain reserves,
from standing in the same ranks at court to entering this door today,
their paths had overlapped, the years had accumulated.
Looking back along the road he had come, he found every step had led here.
Once, he had been "Wang Kan"; now, he was "Zhanzheng."
Once, a "colleague"; now, a "trusted confidant."
After a moment, Wang Kan steadied himself, lifted his tea, and drank.
A faint bitterness gave way to sweetness, much like his mood.
"Zi'an." He set down his teacup, composed his expression, and returned to the matter at hand.
"I've felt uneasy ever since I failed to welcome you yesterday.
Through Suzhou's misty March rains, you came and went alone.
And when you returned, I didn't even go stand at the docks..."
"Truly, I'm ashamed."
Wei Nisheng smiled at this, lifted the pot, and refilled Wang Kan's cup halfway before saying slowly,
"Zhanzheng, there's no need for such words between us.
Serving the sovereign is public duty.
Welcoming me is a private matter."
Here, Wei Nisheng's smile deepened.
"Besides, Zhanzheng, surely you know of Yuan An, the renowned minister of the Eastern Han?"
"Oh?"
Wei Nisheng continued with a smile.
"When Yuan An was Minister over the Masses, deep snow piled up outside his door. The magistrate of Luoyang came to his gate on his rounds.
Seeing no footprints outside, he thought Yuan An had died. He cleared the snow and