Fei Qian hesitated for a long time before bowing to Li Ru and saying, "I truly dare not speak against my teacher. Please forgive me, Imperial Secretary." At this time, Li Ru had already been appointed as the Imperial Secretary.
Li Ru said indifferently, "Is it that you dare not, or that you cannot?"
Fei Qian's choice was actually not wrong. After all, Cai Yong was his teacher, and regardless of the circumstances, discussing others behind their backs was not the behavior of a gentleman, especially when it involved one's own mentor. Therefore, Fei Qian's statement of "dare not speak against" actually carried three meanings: first, it indicated that he was not in a position to discuss his teacher; second, it suggested that Cai Yong, being a member of the Qingliu faction, naturally had his own opinions; and third, it subtly implied that Cai Yong would at most voice his opinions but would not take any drastic actions...
Unexpectedly, without even blinking, Li Ru immediately understood and retorted by asking whether it was "dare not" or "cannot." On the surface, he was questioning Fei Qian, but in reality, he was questioning Cai Yong.
This put Fei Qian in a tight spot. Both "dare not" and "cannot" had now taken on different connotations, and neither was a good answer. Yet, he couldn't avoid answering. Suddenly, Fei Qian had a flash of inspiration and remembered a saying. He cupped his hands toward Li Ru and said, "As it is said, 'What is acceptable may have its rejections, and its rejections may complete what is acceptable; what is rejected may have its acceptances, and its acceptances may remove what is rejected.'"
This was a quote from Yan Ying's discussion on harmony and uniformity in the *Zuo Zhuan*. The key part of Fei Qian's quote was the following line: "Thus, governance is balanced and not interfered with, and the people have no contentious hearts."
This passage was from a discussion between Yan Ying, a famous minister of the Spring and Autumn period, and his ruler about the concepts of "harmony" and "uniformity." In this record, Yan Ying explained that while "harmony" and "uniformity" might seem similar on the surface, they were fundamentally different.
Uniformity meant absolute consistency, lacking diversity. Therefore, it represented monotony and dullness, devoid of internal vitality or motivation. It was not something full of life.
Harmony, on the other hand, was relative consistency. It was the presence of one within many, and many within one. It was a state of balance achieved through the mutual adjustment of various contradictions. Thus, it preserved the characteristics of each element without canceling each other out, forming a whole full of internal vitality and life.
Fei Qian used this quote to explain the current situation, deliberately omitting the words "ruler and minister" from the original text to indicate that he was not discussing Emperor Shao of Han and Dong Zhuo, but rather using it to express that in any matter, there would always be those who agree and those who disagree. The key was how to make the choice.
In modern terms, it would be akin to the famous saying, "Unite all forces that can be united."
Or, more succinctly—harmony.
Fei Qian's implication was that both his teacher Cai Yong and himself were people Li Ru could unite with, that they could coexist harmoniously, and that they had no so-called "contentious hearts."
After hearing this, Li Ru suddenly smiled and said, "Well said! Your teacher taught you the *Zuo Zhuan* well, and it shows!"
Fei Qian didn't hesitate to accept the compliment: "Thank you for your praise, Imperial Secretary!"
Just then, a servant from Li Ru's residence came to report that the Marquis of Duting had arrived.
Fei Qian, who had already broken out in a cold sweat, didn't even notice who the servant was referring to and quickly seized the opportunity to take his leave.
Li Ru didn't stop him and allowed Fei Qian to leave, but as Fei Qian was about to go, Li Ru casually said, "If you have time, feel free to visit often."
Fei Qian verbally agreed, but in his heart, he thought, 'Just this one visit has already exhausted so many of my brain cells. If I come often, wouldn't I just be asking for trouble?'
While grumbling inwardly, Fei Qian quickly walked out, but he didn't notice someone at the corner and almost collided with them—
It was only "almost" because just as Fei Qian was about to crash into the person, he felt his body lift off the ground. The person coming toward him had actually grabbed him and lifted him up!
What a giant of a man!
That was Fei Qian's first impression, but soon he felt like a chick being held in the air, which was quite embarrassing...
Wait, am I really that light? Or have I lost weight since coming to the Three Kingdoms?
The servant leading the way was also startled and quickly explained and introduced the two. Only then did Lü Bu realize that the person he had grabbed was actually a disciple of Cai Yong and Liu Hong. He immediately set Fei Qian down and clasped his hands in apology, saying, "My apologies."
Once Fei Qian's feet touched the ground, he realized that he was at least two heads shorter than Lü Bu! Fei Qian wasn't particularly short; by his own estimate, he was around 1.7 meters tall. That would mean Lü Bu was at least 2.1 to 2.2 meters tall!
Why is there such a big difference between people of the same Eastern Han dynasty?
Perhaps it was the sudden lift, or maybe he had used up too much mental energy earlier, but Fei Qian was slow to react. It suddenly dawned on him—the man standing before him was none other than Lü Bu, the mightiest warrior of the Three Kingdoms!
Fei Qian instinctively patted himself down and then asked the servant beside him, "Do you have paper and ink?"
"Why does the young master need paper and ink?"
"For an autograph!" Fei Qian blurted out before realizing that he had brought his modern habit of asking celebrities for autographs into this era. But since he had already said it, why not get one? After all, this was Lü Bu, the man with the highest combat prowess in the Three Kingdoms. If this autograph were to survive to modern times, how much would it be worth?
He was probably the first person in the Eastern Han dynasty to do something like this. He hadn't thought of it before, but from now on, he would make sure to get autographs from all the famous figures he encountered. Just imagining it was amusing—Lü Bu versus Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang versus Sima Yi... hehe...
Fei Qian couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He took the paper and ink handed to him by the servant and passed them to Lü Bu, who was utterly confused. Fei Qian eagerly said, "Ziyuan has an impertinent request. Could the Marquis of Duting please give me an autograph... ah, yes, just write your name... yes, and then write 'To my friend Ziyuan'... yes, Ziyuan is my courtesy name..."
And so, Fei Qian obtained the first celebrity autograph of the Eastern Han dynasty. Delighted, he blew on the ink to dry it and tucked it into his robe. Ah, right, he needed to give an explanation, or else people might think he had suddenly gone mad...
Thinking of this, Fei Qian straightened his clothes and bowed respectfully to Lü Bu, saying solemnly, "Ziyuan has long heard that the Marquis of Duting has long guarded Bingzhou, preventing the Xianbei from coming south to graze their horses and ensuring the peace of the local people. This is a great achievement, and Ziyuan deeply admires you. Therefore, upon meeting you today, I couldn't contain my joy. If I have offended in any way, I hope the Marquis will forgive me."
"So that's it! Bu has only performed minor deeds, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning at all, haha..." Lü Bu, after hearing Fei Qian's explanation, waved his hand modestly, but his face lit up with joy...
The happiest days of Lü Bu's life were when he was in Bingzhou, killing the barbarians and protecting his homeland. That was also his proudest achievement. Now that Fei Qian had brought it up, Lü Bu felt as if he had found a kindred spirit. Any earlier doubts or displeasure were long forgotten, and he now found Fei Qian quite likable. He said, "Ziyuan, wait here for a moment. After Bu reports back, let's find a place to drink our fill!"
With that, Lü Bu didn't wait for Fei Qian's response and strode off with a smile...
This—Lü Bu wants to invite me for drinks. Should I go or not?