Chapter 38: Three Men Make A Tiger
“There are plenty who throw melon rinds. How did Father know it was me?” Lu Yun did not deny it.
“Yes, there were quite a few melon rinds on the ground, but the only one that could make a Yellow Rank expert slip was probably the one you threw…” Lu Xin laughed heartily: “Moreover, when people step on melon rinds, they lean backward, but he fell forward, so he was naturally pranked by an expert!”
“Nothing can be hidden from Father.” Lu Yun nodded, set down the tea whisk, and served Lu Xin fragrant tea.
Lu Xin took the tea cup and smiled slightly smugly: “Of course. If I as your father couldn’t even see this, then all these years as Commandery Lieutenant would have been wasted?” The Commandery Lieutenant was in charge of security, capturing thieves, and prisons in a commandery, which aligned perfectly with his current assignment.
“I didn’t originally want to stir up trouble, but I got angry for a moment and couldn’t control myself.” Lu Yun gave a self-mocking smile: “I thought no one would notice.”
“Don’t worry, they won’t notice. Even if they do, no one will speak up!” Lu Xin waved his hand: “I am now a favorite of the Xiahou Clan, and our clan’s old sect master thinks highly of me too. If it really blows over the river, they won’t get off easy!”
“What is the sect master and the clan’s attitude toward Father relying on the Xiahou Clan to return to the capital city?” Lu Yun asked with concern.
“The sect master has always thought highly of me as your father and was very happy to see me return.” Lu Xin took a sip of tea: “Moreover, the sect master can understand my difficulties and knows I was just caught up in the moment and used by the Xiahou Clan.” He set down the tea cup and sighed: “As for the other clan members, heh heh, no need to mention them…”
Lu Yun knew at once that his judgment was correct; the Lu Clan people had always been biased against Lu Xin. This time, since he returned to the capital city without relying on the family’s power, there were surely all sorts of comments.
“Ignore them!” Lu Xin waved his hand: “Reputation is something that can be bought. Come with me across the river to pay visits for a while, and you’ll know what winning hearts is called.”
Lu Yun looked at Lu Xin in some astonishment; these were not words he would expect him to say.
“This time, that time.” Lu Xin saw Lu Yun’s confusion and said indifferently: “Now that I’m back, some useless ideas should be discarded…” He gave Lu Yun a warm smile: “Don’t forget, your father is already a lackey of the Xiahou Clan. What is there left to worry about?”
“Father…” Lu Yun looked at Lu Xin with heartache. He knew that with Lu Xin’s wisdom, he was fully aware of all the ins and outs; he just hadn’t been willing to do them before. Now that he was willing to go against his own heart and do those things, it was all for his sake…
“Don’t overthink it.” Knowing his son best, Lu Xin comforted him gently: “Your father doesn’t want to waste away his life like this either. Since I’m back, of course I want to improve my situation.” He chuckled: “The old sect master will turn eighty next year and step down. There will surely be changes in the clan then. Your father wants to fight for an elder position for your grandfather, so we can move to North of the Luo River, and in the future, you can aim for a high rank appraisal.”
“Why does Father want Grandfather to fight for it while hiding behind the scenes himself?” Lu Yun disagreed and said in a deep voice: “In my view, Father should be aiming for the clan leader position!”
“Your grandfather is too old; it’s impossible…” Lu Xin shook his head instinctively.
“I’m talking about Father! You should compete for clan leader!” Lu Yun said firmly.
“Me?” Lu Xin was stunned for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly: “Impossible. The patriarch can only come from North of the Luo River; clan members from South of the Luo River have no hope.” He gave a bitter smile: “Besides, whether in reputation or qualifications, your father could never be considered.”
“Man makes the way.” Lu Yun said in a deep voice: “As long as Father has confidence, anything is possible!”
“I have no confidence…” Lu Xin still shook his head and sighed. For every scion of noble clans, becoming the head of a clan was their ultimate dream. But one must know oneself.
“Anything is possible. If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it to you!” Lu Yun repeated, then said heaven-shakingly: “I will participate in next year’s spring Nine Rank Official Appraisal, and I will definitely be rated First Rank!”
“How is that possible?” Lu Xin had just taken a sip of tea and nearly sprayed it in Lu Yun’s face. He hurriedly wiped his mouth and shook his head repeatedly: “That’s even more impossible than me becoming patriarch.”
“What if I get rated?” Lu Yun said indifferently.
“Then I’ll believe I can become patriarch too.” Lu Xin laughed.
“Then let’s strive together.” Lu Yun sat upright before Lu Xin and said solemnly.
Lu Xin examined Lu Yun and confirmed he was serious. He couldn’t bear to discourage him, but he was afraid he would invest too much and suffer greater setbacks later. After a moment’s thought, Lu Xin decided to tell the truth: “But it’s impossible. Not to mention that First Rank is the sage rank, a nominal rank not easily granted. Just the fact that one must first stand out from the Eight Great Clans to even qualify for a high rank appraisal.”
Pausing, Lu Xin told Lu Yun in a low voice: “Our Lu Clan has four quotas, all already internally decided, all for people from North of the Luo River…”
Lu Yun remained unmoved and said calmly: “Father, just watch.”
The next day, Lu Yun began following Lu Xin as usual to visit households North of the Luo River. He hadn’t returned to the capital city for ten years, so he naturally had to observe full etiquette with the clan’s elders. The elders were all very courteous to him, without exception praising Lu Yun as gentle and polite, mature beyond his years, sure to soar to high officialdom in the future.
Although Lu Yun was indeed presentable and composed in his manners, he was very clear that the elders praised him and his father so highly mostly because of the generous gifts they brought.
When Lu Xin had written asking to prepare gifts, Lu Yun hadn’t quite understood it at first. Prominent figures were one thing, but why prepare generous gifts for those elders with little power and distant relations? Was it worth using up ten years of savings for those people?
“Worth it.” Coming out of Lu Yun’s ninth uncle’s house and getting into the carriage, Lu Xin answered Lu Yun’s question. “So-called reputation is public opinion. But in fact, not everyone has the leisure to talk about you.” He glanced at Lu Yun: “In fact, only a small portion of people will speak out; most are just listeners. So as long as some people are willing to speak well of you, your reputation will naturally improve in the listeners’ minds.”
“Three men make a tiger!” Lu Yun was so intelligent that he immediately had enlightenment: “As long as three people say there is a tiger here, everyone will believe a tiger really exists!”
“Exactly.” Lu Xin smiled and nodded: “The child can be taught.” Pausing, he continued: “Of course, these three people can’t be random nobodies. Those with real right to speak are still a minority, but they too are influenced by public opinion. Once we build up public opinion, tackling them will be twice the result with half the effort.”
Lu Yun nodded. Indeed, only those big figures whose words become law had the ability to turn black into white with a single sentence. But to get most people saying good things about him and his father was already impressive.
He couldn’t help but reevaluate his father. In the past years, how much ability had this frustrated collateral lineage of the Lu Clan hidden?
The father and son went out early and returned late, taking a full ten-plus days to deliver all the gifts. In this process, Lu Yun could already clearly feel that the clan members’ attitudes toward him and his father had obviously improved. This change was especially evident North of the Luo River, because they had been so cold at first.
But as Lu Xin’s reputation for generosity gradually spread among the clan members, more and more elders received gifts. When the father and son appeared North of the Luo River again, more and more clan members took the initiative to greet them. Those who had taken favors naturally had to say a few good words.
Lu Yun kept statistics: On the first day, only three people greeted him North of the Luo River, with no praise.
On the third day, fifteen people greeted him North of the Luo River, with praise three times.
On the fifth day, over fifty people greeted him North of the Luo River, with praise twelve times.
On the tenth day, over three hundred people greeted him North of the Luo River, with praise twenty times.
In ten days, Lu Xin and his son went from being ignored by everyone to being warmly welcomed wherever they went.
Moreover, this number would absolutely not drop easily. The reason was simple: once people started greeting each other, it would continue. The situation of talking with you this time and pretending not to know you next time was extremely rare, especially among fellow clan members.
What’s more, with Lu Xin poised to soar to high officialdom, plenty of people were naturally willing to maintain good relations with him.
