My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

On the morning after the Laba Festival, a thin frost covered the gray tiles of the Tingwei Prison.

The Minister of Justice, Wang Ya, came in person.

The presiding judge, who had been so scathing in court just months ago, was now behaving with excessive politeness.

"Commander Xiao, you may return home today. A carriage is ready outside the courtyard, and you may take all your belongings with you."

His gaze swept over the gifts Xiao Heng had received over the past few months in his room, his eyes flashing slightly, but he said nothing, only gesturing for the clerk behind him to come forward and help carry them.

Xiao Heng didn't have any particular interest in these things, but after standing there for a while, he was somewhat disappointed.

Without reading out the pardon document, without announcing new appointments, and without even a single platitude from the court, his sentence ended quietly.

An unmarked carriage stopped outside the courtyard. The clerk placed the boxes and then stepped back.

Wang Ya escorted him to the car and said in a low voice.

"The things that the supervisor has received during these past few months of quiet recuperation are all gifts from personal relationships and have nothing to do with official duties, so he can rest assured."

These words sound like a guarantee, yet also like a reminder.

Xiao Heng cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Commandant Wang!"

He said no more and bent down to get into the carriage.

The carriage rumbled along, passing through the streets of Jiankang in the early morning.

Xiao Heng sat upright in the carriage, not showing his face. The faint sounds of bustling city life drifted in from outside: the joyful chatter of people celebrating the Lunar New Year, the cries of vendors, and the laughter of children...

All of this was separated from him by a thick curtain of carriage curtains; he was like a passerby, silently passing through this capital city.

What is a powerful minister?

Xiao Heng closed his eyes, his heart feeling icy cold.

That's it.

He can turn you into a prisoner in the Court of Justice with a single sentence, or he can quietly send you out with a conversation in his study that no one knows about.

You have no crime to commit and no merit to perform; we arrest you without needing to explain ourselves.

I'm releasing you, and I don't need to explain myself to you.

Whether to arrest or release him depended entirely on the old man who was tending the charcoal fire in his study deep in Wuyi Lane.

And you, in fact, need to be grateful for the protection afforded by this release itself, just as Wang Ya specifically pointed out that a private gift could be preserved, and accept this favor that you have no choice but to receive.

This is not a victory for the law, nor even a victory for justice.

This is simply the sophisticated operation of power.

It lets you fully experience its weight, remember its impermanence, and then learn to submit, or learn to struggle more covertly.

The carriage stopped.

A clerk outside the carriage whispered, "Supervisor, we've arrived."

Xiao Heng lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage. Before him was his cousin Xiao Yuanzhi's residence in the city.

The door was ordinary, but it was clear that they had been notified in advance. The door was wide open, and two old servants of the Xiao family were waiting at the door, their expressions respectful but also filled with barely suppressed excitement.

The clerk helped unload the boxes and then drove away, swiftly and efficiently, as if he had never been there.

Xiao Yuanzhi strode out to greet him, grabbed Xiao Heng's arm, looked him up and down, his eyes slightly red, and said repeatedly.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

He led Xiao Heng inside. The house had been simply cleaned and tidied, and a quiet room had been specially prepared for Xiao Heng.

"Sanlang, after the banquet at Lord Xie's mansion last night, I vaguely heard rumors that you might be free soon, but I never expected it to happen today!"

Xiao Yuanzhi lowered his voice.

"Do you know what the next steps will be? Has the imperial court issued any decree?"

Xiao Heng shook his head helplessly: "No, it was just a release."

Xiao Yuanzhi was taken aback, then frowned.

"This...doesn't this mean that merits and demerits are disregarded? What kind of logic is this?"

"This is how Lord Xie handled it."

Xiao Heng said calmly, pointing out the gifts in the box that clearly came from different factions to Xiao Yuanzhi.

"Brother, please register and properly store these items one by one, as they will be used to return gifts in the future!"

Xiao Yuanzhi was not stupid; he immediately understood the deeper meaning and nodded solemnly.

"I understand. I will handle it carefully."

Soon, several uncles and brothers from the clan, having heard the news, also came to visit.

Their attitude was subtly different from that during the Laba Festival sacrifices; their enthusiasm was now tinged with a greater sense of inquiry.

Xiao Heng was exhausted and could only manage to get by by citing physical fatigue and the lack of new orders from the court.

In the afternoon, the house was peaceful for a rare moment.

Xiao Heng sat alone in his room, opened the north window, and looked at the withering winter plum blossoms in the courtyard.

The winter sun in Jiankang is pale and weak, offering little warmth when it shines on you.

Just then, an old servant came to report that a guest had arrived.

The visitor was Zhang Xuanzhi, who still maintained the leisurely demeanor of a scion of a noble family, wearing a crane-feather cloak and carrying a small jar of wine and several packets of cooked food.

Xiao Heng smiled and welcomed him inside, only to find that Zhang Xuanzhi was more familiar with the layout of the courtyard than he was, and went directly to a hidden stone platform.

"No need to ask, I've lived in this courtyard before. I've taken leave today to steal half a day of leisure."

These words surprised and impressed Xiao Heng even more. He felt that he and everyone in his clan were being tested by Xie An.

Zhang Xuanzhi ignored him, opened the oil paper package, which contained still-warm roast goose and fennel beans, and poured himself two bowls of wine.

After a few sips of wine, Zhang Xuanzhi suppressed his smile and said in a low voice.

"I know what happened this morning. This is the best outcome."

Xiao Heng looked at him without asking, but the smug look on his face betrayed him.

"What, you still want to go back to the army?"

Zhang Xuanzhi shook his head, but then changed the subject.

"As you said in the study yesterday, Xie Gong played chess alone for a long time after returning home."

He paused, then spoke even softer.

"Xiangyang. You have some nerve."

Xiao Heng's heart tightened, but he smiled bitterly.

"These are all boastful words; I hope General Zhang will forgive my arrogance."

"raving?"

Zhang Xuanzhi glanced at him meaningfully.

"For such outrageous words to reach Xie Gong's ears and make him ponder them, they must be no ordinary outrageous words. However, this matter is best kept between you and me. To the outside world, you remain a court attendant and must wait patiently. It seems you will be in seclusion for some time. Do you still remember those birth charts I showed you a while ago?"

As he spoke, he took out a neatly folded piece of plain paper from his sleeve and pushed it in front of Xiao Heng.

Xiao Heng unfolded the scroll, revealing the same familiar names and birth dates—unmarried women from the Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang families of Wu County. The difference was that this time, next to each name were several lines of tiny annotations, seemingly detailing their fathers' and brothers' official positions, and their kinship ties.

"Of course I remember."

Xiao Heng's heart stirred slightly. He had only glanced at it at the time and hadn't taken it seriously.

"Just remember that."

Zhang Xuanzhi took a sip of wine, his gaze falling on the withered branches in the courtyard.

"Once the twelfth lunar month passes, the new year arrives. The marriage proposal involves six rites: betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, setting the date, and the wedding ceremony. Even if everything goes smoothly, it still takes more than half a year. If there are further considerations and exchanges, it is common for it to drag on for more than a year. These are not only formalities, but also matters of time."

Xiao Heng's fingers paused slightly as he looked at the plain paper, feeling quite displeased.

Zhang Xuanzhi turned around, looked at him, and suddenly smiled.

"Furthermore, I vaguely remember that you haven't reached adulthood yet this year, have you?"

Xiao Heng did not answer, but repeatedly looked at the contents of the plain paper.

Seeing his reaction, Zhang Xuanzhi said no more.

"Propriety should not be disregarded; some things should be done as soon as possible during this period!"

Xiao Heng understood what he meant. Xie An was urging this matter through Zhang Xuanzhi, which was the final step in helping him complete his aristocratic identity.

Only after Xiao Heng was crowned and married a woman surnamed Wu was he fully recognized and accepted; otherwise, he would have nothing.

Xiao Heng had no choice but to agree for the time being. Fortunately, the four families of Wu County were not top-tier clans like the Wang and Xie families.

Zhang Xuanzhi sat for a while longer, chatting about recent interesting anecdotes among scholars, before getting up to take his leave.

After seeing Zhang Xuanzhi off, Xiao Heng stood alone in the courtyard, his consciousness already in his sea of ​​consciousness.

His information about these four companies all came from Zhang Xuanzhi's forced indoctrination, and now he has to choose one.

So, when in doubt, resort to deep simulation.

[Deep Simulation Startup]

[Core condition set: Choose a wife from the four families of Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang in Wu County...]

[Historical points invested in this simulation: 100]

[Simulation Start]

The four prominent families of Wu Commandery were long-established powers in Jiangdong since the time of Sun Wu. They controlled local civil administration, economy, militia, and clan discourse in Wu Commandery (present-day Suzhou area) of Yangzhou, and catered to Xie An's promotion of the integration of immigrants and local residents...

The Gu family of Wu Commandery: renowned among scholars, excelling in philosophical discussions, civil administration, and local governance, and controlling the power of the Zhongzheng official in Wu Commandery to evaluate officials...

The Lu family of Wu County: excelling in both military and political affairs...

[The Zhu family of Wu Commandery: in charge of grassroots affairs in Jiangdong, including water conservancy, tenant resources...]

[The Zhang family of Wu County: skilled in literature, education, and metaphysics, and had close ties with gentry families who migrated from the north.]

【...】

[Optimal solution: Choose either Gu (Gu Qingyuan) or Lu (Lu Wan)]

[Evaluation: You are no longer merely a participant in history, but a shaper of it. The Gu family can quickly elevate the reputation of scholars, shedding the label of a newly rich military scion from humble origins, and gaining recognition from the Jiangdong and overseas Chinese circles of intellectual discourse. The Lu family can directly provide military and political support; both can provide the highest level of support from the four families as a whole.]

[WARNING: Due to deep involvement and alterations in power dynamics, the certainty of this historical timeline has been significantly reduced.]

......