Chapter 31: Mother Pei's Wish

Although Pei Min did not wander the pugilist world, he knew the temperament of Jianghu people like the back of his hand. Jianghu folk valued fame and fortune above all else and were exceptionally unruly. They despised royal laws and the powerful, utterly intolerant of anyone riding above their heads. Human nature was reflected most vividly in them.

Take the two young men currently sparring, for instance. One practiced the fast-blade technique and refused to accept that another held the title of the First Fast Blade. Even though they were complete strangers, he still sought the other out to challenge him.

Was it for fame? For fortune? To prove oneself? Or perhaps all of the above? It is lonely at the top—that was precisely what this meant.

In the pugilist world, unless your martial arts reached the universally acknowledged Grandmaster realm of figures like Zhang Sanfeng, the possibility of being challenged always loomed. The greater your reputation, the more challenges you would face.

Since he no longer roamed the Jianghu and could not go around challenging people like ordinary martial artists, as long as he raised the banner of "Matchless Under Heaven," would he fear a lack of opponents coming to his door?

Watching the two youths locked in a fierce, entangled struggle, Pei Min's eyes flashed with excitement.

Wu Yuan's family-tradition Wu Family Fast Blade was indeed exquisite, but the challenger's willow-leaf saber captured the very essence of lightness and agility. In particular, his footwork was superb, merging his body and skills as one, clearly outperforming Wu Yuan. Wu Yuan's title of the Guanzhong Fast Blade was likely not going to survive.

Pei Min spurred his horse onward, no longer watching closely. He was invincible among his peers, and the standard of ordinary contemporaries rarely caught his eye—unless they were peerless prodigies like Gongsun You and Gongsun Xi, who could exchange a blow or two with him.

Thinking of the Gongsun sisters, Pei Min could not help but ponder: they had offended Princess Taiping and Jiang Bolu. Now, Princess Taiping had already passed away, while Jiang Bolu was merely a nobody who had relied solely on the princess's protection to reach where he was. He had offended plenty of people over the years; without the princess's shelter, what influence could he possibly amount to?

To avoid unnecessary trouble, the Gongsun sisters naturally kept a low profile in their ancestral home. Now that the one they feared was dead and the other was insignificant, there should be no need for them to hide so strictly. Before long, he might well hear the fame of the Gongsun Sword Dance once more. Li Longji was still striving to reform the corrupt practices of the Great Tang and had no spare time to establish the Pear Garden; he wondered when he would get the chance to witness it.

More than half a year had passed, and his swordsmanship had improved rapidly through countless battles. In particular, after befriending Zhang Xu, he had comprehended the Grass-Script Sword from the man's wild cursive calligraphy. Combined with his physical strength, agility, and explosive power cultivated through breathing techniques, alongside the fierce and tricky offensive maneuvers of the Yuenv Sword, his attack methods could be described as ever-changing. If he further supplemented this with the first three forms of the "Guard Center to Achieve Harmony" from the Great Dao Nine Mysteries Sword learned from He Yi—blending a ferocious, tricky, and versatile offense with the defensive stances of Tai Chi and the Great Dao Nine Mysteries Sword—his offense and defense complemented one another perfectly. He was completely incomparable to his former self. Even so, he could not underestimate the talent of the Gongsun sisters; their aptitude for swordsmanship was by no means inferior to his own. With just a little guidance from the younger sister, her swordsmanship had advanced by leaps and bounds, while every stance and posture of the elder sister was full of grandmaster bearing, her skill level deep and unfathomable.

With such thoughts, he could not help but look forward to meeting them again.

Riding eastward, as he was about to reach Tongguan, Pei Min caught sight of the Xue family's Crimson Cloud Carriage. The Crimson Cloud Carriage was a carriage bestowed by Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi to General Xue Rengui. In the first year of Yongchun, Xue Rengui, carrying illness, led a campaign and heavily defeated the Tujue army, leaving behind the heroic feat of removing his helmet to make ten thousand enemies retreat. However, due to the exhaustion of that battle, his illness worsened upon his triumphant return, making travel impossible. Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi bestowed the Crimson Cloud Carriage for Xue Rengui to use as transport. The following year, Xue Rengui passed away, and the Crimson Cloud Carriage had remained parked in their Hedong ancestral home ever since. Remembering that Pei's mother was getting older, had worked excessively hard in her youth, and was in poor health, Xue Na had sent the stable Crimson Cloud Carriage to escort and pick her up.

As an imperial carriage, the Crimson Cloud Carriage was adorned with extreme luxury, standing out like a crane among chickens on the wide imperial highway!

"Is that the Xue family ahead? Are you escorting the Pei family of Huaishou?" Pei Min asked loudly, feeling a surge of excitement yet wishing to avoid any embarrassing mistakes.

Before the guards could reply, a familiar exclamation rang out from inside the carriage: "That sounds like Min'er..." The curtain was lifted, and Mother Pei poked her head out. Her complexion was somewhat pale, and after half a year apart, many white hairs had appeared on her head.

At the sight, Pei Min's eyes turned red. He hurriedly dismounted, ran forward, and knelt down in the mud and dust without a second thought: "Greetings, Mother!"

Mother Pei got down from the carriage and rushed forward to help Pei Min up, saying, "Get up, get up. You are already an important official of the court and a Duke. On the open road, don't let people make a laughingstock of you." Shortly before, they had stopped to rest in Luoyang. As the Eastern Capital and a hub with convenient water routes flowing straight down, whatever wind or grass stirred in Chang'an generally spread to Luoyang within a day or two.

Naturally, news of Pei Min's achievements had reached Mother Pei's ears. Thinking how in a mere year her son had become both a civil and military top scholar, been enfeoffed as a Duke, and now headed the Censorate, Mother Pei felt as though she were living in a dream. Overjoyed at her beloved son's success, tears misted her eyes.

Pei Min rose and said, "A son paying respects to his mother is only natural; what is there to laugh at? Traveling all the way to the capital is a distance of over ten thousand li, Mother has suffered."

Recalling the journey along the way, Mother Pei still felt lingering fear. She was not used to riding in carriages, and the bumping of the carriage had caused a nauseating feeling of sickness. Had the Crimson Cloud Carriage not been so smooth, she would have preferred to walk the entire way on foot. Yet, looking at the beloved son she had been separated from for many days, the fatigue of the journey became completely insignificant.

"Mother, let's get into the carriage and talk in detail!" Pei Min supported Mother Pei as she climbed aboard.

Holding Pei Min's hand, Mother Pei talked incessantly about trivial matters, yet it filled Pei Min's heart with profound warmth.

"My son has truly grown up and become successful now. Not only do you have a bright future, but you also have true confidants and friends. Mother feels deeply gratified!" Mother Pei sighed with emotion.

Pei Min was momentarily puzzled.

Mother Pei continued, "During this southern trip, Mother passed through Weizhou. Somehow getting wind of Mother's whereabouts, those two dear friends of yours welcomed Mother into their homes and served her just like their own mother, inquiring after my health day and night. Mother could tell they are top-tier gentlemen. Being able to make such confidants is truly my son's fortune."

Pei Min naturally knew who the "two dear friends" in Mother Pei's mouth were: Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Lüqian. Ever since receiving reliable news about them, their correspondence had never ceased. Their bond as confidants had not faded with distance; instead, like aged wine, it only grew richer with time.

"Dammit!" Pei Min suddenly slapped himself across the face. Seeing Mother Pei's astonished expression, he hurriedly explained, "Your son was negligent. Having arrived in Chang'an for so many days, I actually failed to pay my respects to Brother Yan's parents. I am truly unworthy of Brother Yan's great righteousness."

Mother Pei's expression also changed slightly, her tone turning somewhat stern as she said, "This matter was indeed your oversight. Upon returning to Chang'an, you must properly prepare gifts and pay a visit. True confidants are hard to come by in life. Xin'er is far away serving as an official in Weizhou, so naturally his family must be looked after by you. You must not be negligent in the slightest."

"Mother's teaching is right!" Pei Min bowed his head in admission of his mistake. As a time traveler from the twenty-first century, it was indeed easy to overlook such detailed etiquette and fail to execute them properly.

Seeing Pei Min's sincere attitude, Mother Pei smiled and said, "Knowing one's errors and being able to correct them is the greatest virtue. Although you hold a high and powerful position as Palace Censor, you must not become complacent and arrogant because of it. Guarding against arrogance and impatience while steadfastly maintaining your original intent is the proper way to conduct oneself and handle matters."

Pei Min bowed his head to listen, then awkwardly rubbed his nose and said, "Mother, I've been promoted recently. I'm no longer a Palace Censor; I am now the Vice Censor-in-Chief."

Mother Pei looked surprised.

Briefly recounting recent events, Pei Min said, "Actually, the Emperor's original intention was for me to take charge of the Censorate, oversee the affairs of all three offices, and assist him in stabilizing the court and purging corrupt and derelict officials. The vacancy for the Vice Censor-in-Chief was left empty specifically for me. However, had I been promoted directly from a commoner to Vice Censor-in-Chief, it would have provoked criticism. That was why I had to wait until I produced results, leaving the other officials with nothing to say, before undergoing a routine promotion. Even the Emperor, however, could not have anticipated that I could achieve results in such a short time."

Mother Pei did not quite understand these intricate details, but hearing that her son was deeply valued by the current Emperor genuinely made her happy for him. Pausing for a moment, she thought of her own affairs and hesitated, wanting to speak yet holding back.

Surprised, Pei Min asked, "Mother, is there something on your mind?"

After hesitating for a moment, Mother Pei asked, "What do you think of the Pei family?"

Pei Min's expression immediately sank as he said, "Did they give you a hard time?" He harbored no ill feelings toward the Pei clan, but if they intended to pester and harass, they could not blame him for being impolite. The Pei family was indeed a prominent aristocratic clan; perhaps a fourth-rank official meant nothing in their eyes, but the Censorate was in a special position. If they really wanted to nail a specific official to clean house, none of them would escape. No one was perfect, and people inevitably made unintentional mistakes; even a casually spit word could be evaluated as a defect in character, enough to reduce years of achievements to smoke.

"No!" Sensing the displeasure in Pei Min's words, Mother Pei hurriedly shook her head and said, "It is Mother's own wish. Don't take your mother for an ignorant woman; I've seen plenty of scheming and backstabbing in grand households. My son is so outstanding, how could the Pei clan look down upon you? You wanted to spare Mother's filial piety and were unwilling to tell the real situation, but how could Mother not know? I could only play the fool along with it. Yet, Mother has only two hopes in this life: first, to see you safe and sound, and second, simply to become a daughter-in-law of the Pei family, to be able to burn a stick of incense for your father and grandfather in the ancestral hall, and then I would be completely content." She lowered her head with a sense of melancholy; people lived for dignity. And Mother Pei's dignity was precisely to be a wife of the Pei clan. Only by becoming a legitimate wife of the Pei clan could her marital relationship with Pei Min's father be accepted by the world, and Pei Min would not have parents who had united in an irregular union...

Pei Min pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, since this is Mother's wish, I will try my best." Though he said this outwardly, knowing this was his mother's lifelong desire, he had already decided in his heart that no matter what, he would help her fulfill this wish.

As the Crimson Cloud Carriage rolled into Chang'an, Mother Pei lifted the curtain and stared in jaw-dropping awe at the majestic sights on either side. Even after having witnessed the prosperity of Luoyang, she was still filled with overwhelming shock facing Chang'an.

"Mother, go back to the residence first and have a good rest. Once you've recovered from the fatigue of the long journey, your son will personally take you around Chang'an to experience the prosperity of the Eastern and Western Markets!" Pei Min said with a cheerful smile.