Zuo Ci also noticed Liu Xie's gaze, but showed not the slightest restraint. He bowed and said, "Zuo Ci, a rustic of Lujiang, pays his respects to Your Majesty."
"Please rise, sir."
Liu Xie raised his hand slightly, then came straight to the point. "Duke Wen said you are an extraordinary man with exceptional abilities."
"The current Minister over the Masses, Guo Fengxiao, is my trusted confidant and a pillar of our Great Han. Yet overwork has made him gravely ill and bedridden. Even the master physicians Hua and Zhang are powerless to turn back heaven. I summoned you today to ask for a way to treat him."
"If you can cure Fengxiao, I will certainly not stint on rewards. Wealth, treasures, noble ranks, official posts-name whatever you wish."
Liu Xie's greatest concern remained Guo Jia's illness. He did not care what method Zuo Ci used, so long as he could cure Guo Jia.
In response to Liu Xie's question, Zuo Ci shook his head slightly. "Deep feeling shortens life; wisdom taken to its utmost brings harm. Minister over the Masses Guo's intellect surpasses others, and thus he has incurred heaven's envy."
"By his allotted fate, Minister over the Masses Guo should originally have lived only to thirty-eight. Meeting Your Majesty extended his life by several years."
"But now that the great undertaking of restoring the Han Dynasty is complete, Minister over the Masses Guo's appointed end is due as well. Why must Your Majesty act against heaven?"
"Some things, in the end, cannot be forced."
Although Liu Xie's expression remained unchanged after hearing Zuo Ci's words, towering waves surged through his heart.
Zuo Ci's words were simply too astonishing!
In history, Guo Jia had died at only thirty-eight, exactly as Zuo Ci had said.
Suppressing his shock, Liu Xie