LFHYB -Chapter 63 Ask Dade for a Prophetic Interpretation

When Emperor Wen of Sui passed away, Xue Daoheng was serving as the Governor of Xiangzhou.

Xue Daoheng had been Emperor Wen’s secretary for many years. Although Emperor Wen had assigned him to a distant post due to his close ties with the powerful Yang Su, his favor for Xue Daoheng remained.

The bond between Emperor Wen and Xue Daoheng was deep; when he left the capital, the two cried as they parted.

They both knew that, at their ages, it would likely be difficult to meet again.

When Yang Guang ascended the throne, he reassigned Xue Daoheng to Panzhou as Prefect. Xue Daoheng was nearly seventy and requested retirement after serving only one year.

Yang Guang, having just quelled Wang Yangliang’s rebellion, urgently needed the support of veteran ministers and did not allow Xue Daoheng to retire, instead calling him back to the capital.

Under these circumstances, it was impossible for Xue Daoheng to return to the capital without composing a piece praising Emperor Wen.

First, his bond with Emperor Wen was profound. He had regretted not being at Emperor Wen’s side when he fell ill.

Second, Yang Guang had invited Xue Daoheng back, showing appreciation for him. By normal reasoning, Xue Daoheng had to write something to please Yang Guang.

Even if Xue Daoheng did not like Yang Guang’s character, Yang Guang was emperor now. Having spent years at court, Xue Daoheng had basic political sense.

When Xue Daoheng returned to the capital, Yang Guang had just changed the era name and was still mourning his father. Aside from quelling the rebellion, he hadn’t had time for anything else.

Scholars flattering the emperor also required skill—they couldn’t do it awkwardly.

When a father praises his son or a son praises his father, it is normal human behavior. Even a skilled imperial scribe like Xue Daoheng followed this practice; ordinary people did the same.

Yang Guang had always acted filial. Emperor Wen had only recently passed away, so it was normal for Xue Daoheng to submit an article praising Yang Guang’s father.

Fang Yanqian was Xue Daoheng’s close friend, and his character had earned Xue Daoheng’s deep trust.

Xue Daoheng, hiding the source of his information, poured out his grievances to Fang Yanqian: “The late emperor has just passed away. His Majesty should have ordered someone to write a eulogy for him, as has been done in every dynasty. When I saw that he hadn’t assigned anyone to write it, I even thought he was waiting for me to return and take up the pen myself!”

Having long navigated the intrigues of officialdom, Fang Yanqian considered himself calm and composed. Yet upon hearing Xue Daoheng’s complaints, he couldn’t maintain his composure—his lips twitched uncontrollably.

When Fang Yanqian had once appeared before the emperor, he sensed the emperor’s displeasure with Xue Daoheng, but he never would have imagined it could extend to something like this.

Who would harbor resentment toward someone writing a eulogy for a deceased father before the three-year mourning period had even passed?

No wonder Xue Daoheng hadn’t anticipated that the emperor disliked him. He had thought that by returning to the capital and showing humility, he could appease the emperor.

Previously, Xue Daoheng had had a minor clash with the emperor.

When he was exiled to Lingnan, Yang Guang had sent someone to deliver a letter, telling him to pass through Jiangdu, where the emperor would issue an order to retain him there.

Xue Daoheng, unwilling to serve as Yang Guang’s subordinate, took a detour instead, preferring to endure hardships in Lingnan.

But could such a minor friction justify murder?

Moreover, the first thing Xue Daoheng did upon returning was to write a eulogy for his father on behalf of the emperor, fully demonstrating the attitude of: “I am now His Majesty’s pen; without needing orders, I have taken the initiative to write.” The previous minor dispute should have been settled, shouldn’t it?

“Even if he still remembers that old matter, it shouldn’t make him want to kill me over it, right?!” If it weren’t for Gao Jiong telling Xue Daoheng that the emperor had murderous intent and that Su Wei’s distance was because of this, Xue Daoheng would never have believed it.

In history, he remained incredulous until Yang Guang ordered his death, even wanting to appear before the emperor to ask in person, only to be strangled by Yang Guang’s men.

Xue Daoheng could never understand where Yang Guang’s unwavering intent to kill him came from—intent so strong that Gao Jiong, long retired from court, risked telling him, and that even his old friend Su Wei avoided him. Even Fang Yanqian, meeting Yang Guang for the first time, could sense the murderous intent.

The more Xue Daoheng thought about it, the more aggrieved and angry he felt.

At sixty-eight, apart from his exile to Lingnan, he had never endured such injustice in his life.

He felt like smashing everything, confronting Yang Guang directly to ask why he was treated this way. If Yang Guang truly wanted him dead, he might as well let him die accompanying the late emperor, so he could cry to the late emperor about his grievances.

Fang Yanqian had to exhaust every effort to calm Xue Daoheng.

Now, Xue Daoheng’s tolerance for injustice was far weaker than when he was young, like a spoiled child. If Fang Yanqian hadn’t reminded him to consider his family, he might really have gone to Yang Guang and “confessed everything.”

The old, childish Xue Daoheng nearly wept to fainting in front of his friend. Fang Yanqian, truly worried, didn’t move into the residence Fang Qiao had chosen for him. Instead, he temporarily stayed at Xue Daoheng’s home to accompany him.

Fang Qiao had initially worried that his father would ask how he obtained the residence.

After meeting Li Xuanba, who noticed Fang Qiao’s modest living situation, Li Xuanba let him “invest” in a bookshop using his knowledge. He had no fame, and his anthologies didn’t sell well, but his anonymously written commentaries on the Five Classics sold very well. He also frequently provided editorial services for Li Xuanba’s soap business advertisements, which brought in a significant fee.

In a short time, Fang Qiao had saved a modest amount of wealth.

Although the Tang Duke’s estate had suffered a setback under Yang Guang, the aristocracy at large was on the rise. Li Xuanba also had a good relationship with Prince Qi, Yang Xuan. Upon hearing that Fang Qiao’s father had returned to the political center, Li Xuanba mentioned it to Yang Xuan, who generously transferred an unused property at a low price to Li Xuanba, allowing him to give it away.

Yang Xuan had originally intended to gift it directly, but Li Xuanba, citing that his elder brother was visiting Luoyang and it would be inappropriate to flaunt their friendship, asked to handle it as a sale.

Yang Xuan patted Li Xuanba’s shoulder, accepted the excuse, then turned to the imperial hunting grounds. Using the pretext that Li Jiancheng had stolen his prey, he scolded Li Jiancheng.

Yang Xuan said: “Dade, don’t worry, your cousin has your back!”

Li Xuanba thanked Yang Xuan and sighed inwardly at thoughts of Yang Xuan’s future.

His teachers could likely escape Yang Guang’s grasp once they left the political vortex—but Yang Xuan could not, for he was Yang Guang’s son.

Fortunately, Li Xuanba’s sense of morality was low; after sighing, he dismissed thoughts of Yang Xuan’s future.

Yang Xuan’s tragedy was caused by Yang Guang—it was his father’s responsibility. There was nothing he could do, he shrugged.

Fang Qiao did not refuse Li Xuanba’s low-price transfer of the residence. He had originally thought it belonged to the Tang Duke’s estate. Being on good terms with Li Xuanba and Li Shimin, mutual help between friends seemed natural and not something to make a fuss over. But learning that the residence had come from Prince Qi through Li Xuanba made him uneasy.

He had heard many troubling stories about the emperor from Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, and knew that the emperor was extremely suspicious. He didn’t want his family to be entangled with the imperial princes, to avoid raising the emperor’s suspicions.

But the residence was already in his hands, and returning it would risk offending Prince Qi, who might think he was dissatisfied.

His friends didn’t understand his excessive caution.

The residence had passed through Li Xuanba’s hands; Fang Qiao had never even met Prince Qi.

Yet Fang Qiao remained anxious, unsure how to explain the residence’s complex background to his father.

Unbeknownst to him, Fang Yanqian completely ignored his son and the residence, focusing entirely on comforting his friend. All of Fang Qiao’s previous anxiety had been pointless.

Du Ruhui led the teasing, joking that Fang Qiao had been “picked up” by Uncle Fang.

Xue Shou felt somewhat embarrassed. After all, the reason Fang Yanqian ignored his son was because of his own father.

Changsun Wuji and Li Shimin laughed loudly wherever there was a joke, laughing especially boisterously.

Li Xuanba shook his head, thinking that these men were all older than him but incredibly childish.

Fang Qiao recalled how, in a previous bout of anxiety, his face had broken out in rashes, and he could not help but flare up in shame and anger.

Privately, he said to Li Xuanba: “Dade, do you have anything that could make Du Keming uncomfortable without bringing you any danger from prophecy or divine omens? I’ll pretend I heard it from other Taoists and use it to scare Du Keming once.”

Li Xuanba said, “Let me think.”

It was rare for Fang Qiao to show his dark side—he actually asked Xuanba for a prophecy to scare someone.

Even now, Fang Qiao was still a young man with a bit of a wicked streak. He had to be indulged.

Li Xuanba asked, “Do you want the prophecy about his brother being killed, or about his son being killed?”

Fang Qiao: “……”

He clutched his chest and took two steps back, his ears ringing.

Although he had asked Li Xuanba for a prophecy that could frighten Duke Ming, he never expected it to be this terrifying!

How could Duke Ming’s future be so tragic!

Li Xuanba said, “Not tragic enough? Then how about the prophecy that he will die young?”

Fang Qiao: “……”

He trembled as he bowed repeatedly, “I was wrong, Li Sanlang, I was wrong! I will never ask you for a prophecy again!”

How could he have such a loose tongue!

Li Shimin comforted him, “If A-Xuan says it can be changed, then it can be changed. Don’t worry too much. Prophecies exist to avoid misfortune. If you worry too much because of them, it may actually bring disaster.”

Being lectured by a child, Fang Qiao found it surprisingly reasonable, and he listened with a deeply impressed heart.

“But A-Xuan, could you change that bad habit of casually revealing prophecies?” Li Shimin sighed heavily. “Even if it doesn’t harm your body, once people know you can see prophecies, many might become suspicious. And human nature is unpredictable—if you reveal a prophecy to help someone avoid misfortune and they fail to do so, they might resent you instead.”

Li Xuanba said, “Don’t worry. I only reveal prophecies to people who won’t tell anyone.”

Right now, the only person who could threaten his safety was Yang Guang. And those he told prophecies to all had bad relations with Yang Guang, some even on Yang Guang’s “assassination list.”

Though Li Xuanba liked to have fun, he was careful enough.

“As for resentment…” Li Xuanba gave a rare, clear smile. “Isn’t it fun to see someone resent you yet be powerless against you? Not only can they do nothing, they might even have to beg me when they see me—that’s even more entertaining.”

Without prophecies to amuse himself, Li Xuanba really couldn’t endure this perpetual sub-healthy state and the uncomfortable lifestyle of the Sui-Tang era from a modern perspective.

Even claiming to be a member of the lower social class, he still felt the life of Sui-Tang nobles wasn’t comfortable enough—not even electricity or the internet.

For now, he could just survive. Even if his older brother became emperor, or even if Li Yuan became emperor, as long as his prophetic abilities were known, Li Yuan would have to protect him.

He could freely spoil plots, freely “kill” people in prophecies, and those who cursed him behind his back would still have to thank him to his face.

However, he didn’t want to help Li Yuan, so he would wait until his second brother became emperor before causing trouble.

Li Shimin and Fang Qiao exchanged glances.

They knew Li Xuanba wasn’t careless, but still felt the need to give a few reminders.

They never expected that the reason Li Xuanba “predicted” things was simply for fun.

They had assumed it was for some lofty reason like “saving loyal ministers” or “hurrying into the Tang dynasty”!

Li Shimin groaned in frustration. “Xuan, please change your ways. If you really can’t resist, tell me… or tell Xuanling. I think he would take it well.”

Fang Qiao: “…I’ll take my leave.”

Li Shimin grabbed Fang Qiao’s sleeve, “You’re already caught by me, so you can’t run. I can’t be the only one poisoned by Xuan. Don’t you want to save Duke Ming?”

Fang Qiao: “……” conflicted.

Li Shimin asked, “Xuan, it’s too early to worry about Duke Ming’s son. Let’s wait until he grows up so we don’t add extra mental burden. What about his brother?”

Li Xuanba said, “After the world fell into chaos, Duke Ming’s uncle joined one of the warlords’ forces. He envied Duke Ming’s brother and spread slander, killing him.”

Li Shimin frowned, “Such a shameless person! Did I kill him?”

Fang Qiao glanced at Li Shimin.

Li Xuanba shrugged, “No. Originally, Duke Yan should have been executed, but Du Chuke said that even if Duke Yan hadn’t killed his brother, he still deserved death. But Duke Ming refused to save Duke Yan, leaving the Du family to destroy itself. Duke Ming was forced to realize this and was moved to ask my second brother to pardon Duke Yan.”

Li Shimin and Fang Qiao both looked disgusted.

Li Xuanba asked in confusion, “Why the disgust? Later, you’ll both like Duke Yan. Fang Qiao, you recommended him for government service, and second brother, you later let Duke Yan participate in political affairs.”

Li Shimin and Fang Qiao froze.

Li Shimin shook his head furiously. “What are you saying? No! Your prophecies are always inaccurate. The person you saw in your prophecy has nothing to do with me! I would never do that!”

Fang Qiao waved his hands repeatedly, “Impossible, impossible! A man of such low character, and having deep hatred with Duke Ming? I would never do such a thing.”

Li Xuanba shrugged again, “Do you think I would lie to you?”

Li Shimin and Fang Qiao: “……”

Li Shimin turned to Fang Qiao, “Xuanling, see? I was right. There’s really no need to worry too much about prophecies.”

Fang Qiao said solemnly, “Exactly, no need to worry.”

Li Shimin said, “What’s a prophecy? We are definitely stronger than anything in a prophecy.”

Fang Qiao said, “The future has many possibilities. A prophecy only shows the worst path; it shouldn’t be treated as the actual future.”

Li Xuanba smiled happily as he watched his second brother and Fang Xuanling busily fooling themselves to make up for their mistakes.