Liu Cheng had forgotten which county he was from.
After stepping outside, he carefully searched his memory before confirming that his grandfather had settled north of the Wo River, between Zhi County and Chengfu. That meant this family had to be from either Zhi County or Chengfu, right? In any case, they would not have misremembered their own ancestral home.
So Liu Cheng took Xie Xuan to the Xie Family, making a show of offering Xie Ahu-the one who had scattered salt-another appointment as Chief Clerk of his General of the Vanguard Army's Office.
Unsurprisingly, he was refused.
Even the Langya Wang Clan was unwilling to sell itself cheap. The Xie Clan was a newly risen family, and although it currently stood a rung lower, it had even fewer sons in the next generation. They could not possibly let him take Xie Xuan down the "Elite Soldier" path and then take the other comparable boy along too.
This time, however, Xie Ju's widow, Lady Wang of the Langya Wang Clan, took an entirely different attitude. She personally received Liu Cheng from behind a curtain, tearfully saying that she knew General Liu of the Vanguard Army meant well, but the boy's father had died early, and the boy himself had always been sickly. She would rather he spent his whole life at home, dull and simple, than expect him to go out and serve in office for the sake of prospects or reputation.
Her words were truly heartfelt. Naturally, Liu Cheng expressed considerable sympathy, then turned away and went to another courtyard to ask Xie An, "Who's this fellow townsman of mine?"
Xie An was momentarily baffled too, but they were neighbors, after all. After thinking it over, he understood. "Could you mean Huan White Deer's son? Has Huan Yuanzi actually