Chapter 154: Better to Rely on Yourself Than Others

Half a month after his grand wedding, Luan Tao decided to set off for Jinan with his son and daughter-in-law. Luan Yi urged them to stay in the capital and live with him, but Luan Tao waved his hand and said, "The capital may look prosperous on the surface, but underneath there are turbulent undercurrents. It's not peaceful at all! We are not going to stay here and cause trouble for you, boy!"

Hearing these words, Luan Yi chuckled heartily. Old man Luan was not muddled at all!

The next day, Luan Tao, Luan Miao, and Madam Luan, escorted by Dian Wei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, set off for Jinan.

...

Life after marriage was, on the whole, quite sweet.

Holding the honorary title of Tutor to the Crown Prince, Luan Yi collected his salary every month without having to attend court. Every day, he only needed to report to the Mansion of the Minister of Ceremonies, sign in, and then he could return home to discuss poetry and prose with Cai Yan, or enjoy Diaochan's singing and dancing. Although he wielded no real power, his life was carefree and leisurely.

Until...

In the first year of the Zhongping era of the Han Dynasty, when Huangfu Song was campaigning against Zhang Jiao, he passed by Yecheng and discovered that the residence of Chief Regular Attendant Zhao Zhong exceeded regulatory limits, so he memorialized the Emperor to have it confiscated. Furthermore, Chief Regular Attendant Zhang Rang demanded fifty million coins from him, which Huangfu Song refused to pay. This deeply offended the two most powerful and influential eunuchs in the Han court.

Consequently, Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang joined forces and repeatedly slandered Huangfu Song, framing him with charges such as wasting funds and provisions and acting arrogantly on account of his achievements. Believing these slanders, Emperor Ling recalled Huangfu Song that very year and threw him into prison awaiting trial.

Upon hearing this news, Luan Yi was greatly shocked. During the campaign against the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he had forged a deep friendship with Huangfu Song. When he himself had been wrongfully imprisoned, he had received tremendous assistance from Huangfu Song, meaning he owed the man a massive favor. Now the roles were reversed, and with Huangfu Song trapped deep in a cage, both reason and emotion dictated that he should step in to rescue him. However, despite being the Tutor to the Crown Prince, he possessed not the slightest bit of actual authority. The memorial he submitted was intercepted by Zhang Rang before it even reached Emperor Ling's hands.

He also attempted to enter the palace to have an audience with the Emperor, but the minor eunuchs guarding the gates either said, "His Majesty is busy and has no time for an audience," or declared, "His Majesty is resting, come back another day!"

Luan Yi instantly understood that it was not that His Majesty lacked time; rather, Zhang Rang was actively blocking him from seeing the Emperor.

Left with no alternative, Luan Yi had no choice but to seek help everywhere, approaching Cai Yong, Wang Yun, and Yuan Wei one by one. The answers he received, however, were unexpectedly unanimous—the case was already ironclad, and Huangfu Song was beyond saving.

Luan Yi cried out in disbelief: "How can that be? Even I could be saved, why can't General Huangfu be saved!"

The reality behind the answer was unexpectedly harsh. Wang Yun told him: Back then, the charges brought by Wei Ning against Luan Yi were entirely fabricated, lacking true evidence and based purely on conjecture, which made it easy to clear his name. Huangfu Song's case, however, was vastly different. Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong had planted a large number of confidants within the military, all of whom had now stepped forward to jointly accuse Huangfu Song. With both human and physical evidence present, true or false, Huangfu Song had no way to defend himself.

Moreover, there was another crucial point. In the campaign against the Yellow Turban rebels, logically speaking, General-in-Chief He Jin was the commander-in-chief, while Huangfu Song was merely the commanding general of one regional force. Yet during the actual operations, Huangfu Song first achieved a great victory at Changshe and subsequently won consecutive battles. His achievements were so overwhelmingly brilliant that the common people even composed songs for him, singing: "Under heaven's great chaos the markets become ruins, mothers cannot protect their sons and wives lose their husbands, thanks to Huangfu we find peace and dwell in homes once more." Consequently, his reputation far surpassed that of He Jin.

Coupled with the fact that Huangfu Song was indeed somewhat arrogant, He Jin was deeply dissatisfied and harbored intentions of cutting Huangfu Song down to size. Now that Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong had taken the initiative to make a move, He Jin was naturally more than happy to fan the flames—doing a favor for the eunuch faction while eliminating a rival, killing two birds with one stone.

Wang Yun also bluntly told Luan Yi that the external relative faction headed by He Jin was the target they were currently trying all out to win over and befriend. Whether it was Yuan Wei or Wang Yun himself, none of them dared, nor could they afford, to fall out with He Jin, and they certainly could no longer butt heads with him. Therefore, no matter how much Luan Yi pleaded, they could not extend a helping hand. Of course, there was another very important point—even if Wang Yun wanted to help, he simply could not.

He warned Luan Yi, saying: "Ziqi! Father knows you are a righteous man who values relationships! But in officialdom, the ultimate taboo is trying to be a good person. Knowing how to preserve oneself is the only way to survive."

"I have received your instruction!"

Leaving the Wang residence, Luan Yi's expression of unruffled calm revealed a hint of dejection. He lamented his low status and lack of power, which left him utterly helpless to save his benefactor. At the same time, he cursed this era, where power struggles could relegate a renowned general and a good man like Huangfu Song to the ranks of mere sacrificial offerings.

He mounted his horse and slowly rode toward his home. The horse's hooves went *clop-clop*, beating out a mournful rhythm. Holding the reins and gazing at the opulent street scenes of Luoyang's main avenue, he suddenly heard a shrill scream: "Help!"

At the corner of the street, three figures flashed into view. One was running, while two were pursuing. The fleeing man accidentally tripped and fell to the ground, whereupon his pursuers pounced on him, subjecting the fallen man to a brutal beating. The fugitive shrieked continuously, calling out for help, "Help! Help!"

There were numerous onlookers all around, pointing and talking endlessly, yet not a single person stepped forward to help.

Luan Yi grew furious, intending to dismount and render assistance. Suddenly, the words Wang Yun had just spoken echoed in his mind: "The greatest taboo for an official is trying to be a good person... Preserve yourself! Preserve yourself?" The roots of the imperial city were teeming with high officials and nobles; what if the assailants were family members of some imperial relatives or high-ranking dignitaries? Wouldn't stepping in bring trouble upon himself?

Thinking of this, Luan Yi steadied himself in the saddle, pulled on the reins, and quickened his horse's pace.

Yet at that very moment, the beaten man, seeing that no one came to his rescue despite his bitter pleas, stopped shouting. He fumbled around on the ground and, from God knows where, picked up a large rock. Raising it high, he smashed it twice right into the forehead of one of the assailants, sending blood streaming as the man crashed to the ground. Then, turning on the second man, he smashed away wildly until he too was knocked flat. Afterward, bearing a bruised and swollen face, he stood up, glared angrily at the surrounding onlookers, and finally fixed his gaze on Luan Yi, who sat firmly astride his tall horse. With an angry snort, he said, "Humph! Relying on others is worse than relying on oneself!" Having said that, he tossed aside the blood-stained rock and strode away arrogantly.

"Relying on others is worse than relying on oneself?" Luan Yi froze instantly.

Relying on others? Relying on oneself? For quite a long time in the past, Luan Yi had constantly depended on others—it had been so when he was imprisoned, it was so when Huangfu Song was imprisoned, and even now, he was living under Yuan Wei's protection. But was this protection truly reliable?

That's right! Yuan Wei and the others had indeed saved him before, but the reason they rescued him was because Yuan Wei believed that saving him would yield generous benefits, leveraging Luan Yi's influence to gain a regional army. Now, facing Huangfu Song, they knew Huangfu Song was upright and unyielding, difficult to manipulate, and instead of having any exploitative value to them, he would cause them to simultaneously offend both the external relatives and the eunuch faction. Therefore, they held back and remained indifferent.

Clearly, Huangfu Song was a discarded chess piece no longer worth utilizing. But was he, Luan Yi, always going to be worth utilizing? What if one day Zhang Rang confronted Luan Yi head-on, severely damaging the interests of the scholars? Would Yuan Wei and the others help him again?

No, absolutely not. Based solely on the principle of self-preservation, they would take no action at all.

Luan Yi felt a chill in his heart, and at the same time, he increasingly understood the true meaning of "relying on others is worse than relying on oneself." He needed to accumulate power within this city of Luoyang, both to protect himself and to protect his family.

Yet, powerless and lacking influence as he was now, how could he secure a foothold? Without a doubt, developing the Holy Mother Cult was an excellent choice, as it would earn him a massive network of human connections. However, that was still not enough. In a Han Dynasty where fists were dictated by power, numbers did not necessarily represent strength; a single imperial decree from the Emperor was far more effective than a myriad of umbrellas of the people. Moreover, Emperor Ling still harbored misgivings toward the Holy Mother Cult at this time, so preaching on a grand scale would yield losses outweighing the gains.

"An imperial decree?" Thinking of this, Luan Yi suddenly had an epiphany and murmured softly, "The Emperor!"

He suddenly realized that the reason the Ten Attendants were so rampant was because their power was towering? Of course not. No matter how high their official ranks, they were merely inner courtiers and eunuchs; in terms of official authority, how could they compare to the Three Excellencies, the Nine Ministers, and the General-in-Chief? The reason they could cover the sky with one hand and swagger through the streets entirely depended on the Emperor's favor and trust.

Favor and trust? First came favor, then came trust.

How could he win Emperor Ling's favor? Catering to his preferences was the inevitable choice.

Thinking of this, the corners of Luan Yi's mouth curled up involuntarily. What did Emperor Ling like? Everyone on Earth knew it—he sold official posts and conferred titles as the first merchant emperor in Chinese history—he loved money. And money was the very thing Luan Yi lacked least.

Aside from loving money, Emperor Ling also enjoyed amusement and pleasure. When it came to amusement, Luan Yi, hailing from the 21st century, had never feared anyone.

With these two points, Luan Yi had every reason to believe that Emperor Ling would surely come to favor him. The only thing lacking now was the opportunity to come into contact with Emperor Ling.

In this regard, Zhang Rang had taken plenty of precautions against him, setting up barriers everywhere and leaving him no opportunity at all.

"What is to be done?"

A simple plan gradually formed in Luan Yi's mind, brewing and fermenting on horseback.

Upon returning home, Luan Yi greeted his two wives, then plunged straight into his study, instructing Luan Fu that no one was to disturb him on any account other than urgent reports from Jinan, not even the two mistresses.

With that, he closed the study doors and locked himself inside. Apart from spending half an hour every day stepping out into the courtyard to get some fresh air, the rest of the time he stayed cooped up in the study. He ate, drank, and slept entirely indoors, and did not tell anyone what he was busy with!

Cai Yan and Diaochan were extremely worried about this, assuming Luan Yi had suffered a mental breakdown due to Huangfu Song's imprisonment. Whenever they had leisure time, they would come to visit, only to be repeatedly turned away by the impartial Luan Fu. The two women were frantic with worry yet unable to vent their frustration.

Diaochan had no choice but to make pastries and porridges every day for Luan Fu to pass on to Luan Yi to nourish his health; Cai Yan, unversed in culinary arts, could only buy ready-made fruits and send them into the study, occasionally slipping delicate little poems amongst the fruits.

Time flowed on, days and nights passing. Having waited for more than two months without seeing Luan Yi step outside, Cai Yan and Diaochan were profoundly worried. Finally losing their composure, they once again stormed to the door of the study.

Facing Luan Fu who blocked the entrance, Cai Yan angrily demanded, "Today, I am determined to see Ziqi!"

"Young Mistress!" Luan Fu said with a troubled expression, "The Young Master gave strict orders beforehand not to allow anyone to enter the study, not even the two mistresses. Please do not make things difficult for this subordinate!"

Cai Yan rebuked angrily, "We clearly live in the same courtyard, how can he be unseeable! Move aside, or else don't blame me for being discourteous!"

Seeing that Cai Yan was about to force her way in, Luan Fu hurriedly blocked her, "Mistress..."

"Audacious!" Cai Yan was furious beyond measure. "Who do you think you are? Merely a little bookboy! Yet you dare to block even me. Do you still regard me as the mistress of this household? Step aside at once!"

Diaochan's sharp hearing instantly caught the sound of tables and chairs moving inside the room. With a quick turn of her eyes, she stepped forward to placate, "Sister Cai, let's speak calmly and keep our voices down. Do not disturb Luan Lang." She then turned to say to Luan Fu, "Luan Fu, we are truly worried about Luan Lang's recent condition, which is why we rushed over in such anxiety to take a look. Rest assured, once inside we will definitely not disturb Luan Lang; we only need to take a quick look from afar to know that he is doing well! Or even without entering the door, just leave a crack open so we can catch a glimpse of him from afar. How about that?"

Just as her voice trailed off, a creaking sound echoed as the study door swung open in response, revealing a disheveled and weary-looking Luan Yi.

Luan Yi smiled at Diaochan with eyes full of tenderness, then nodded toward Cai Yan. Laughing, he said, "Haha, the great task is finally accomplished!"