Chapter 23: The Four Dimensions of the Heavenly Dao: Loyalty, Obedience, Filial Piety, and Virtue

“Oh~ Young Master, look!”

On the jujube tree, Lin Hansu suddenly raised her arm and pointed. Following her finger, eight black-clad cavalrymen galloped along Prefectural Front Street to the gates of the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen.

After reining in their horses, the cavalrymen dismounted, forming two ranks before entering the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen.

Their expressions were stern, their movements synchronized. From a distance, one could feel their imposing and unassailable Aura.

“West Yamen Black Cavalry.”

Ding Suian said softly.

The Black Cavalry is the overt law enforcement agency of the West Yamen, with the Shadow Division operating in the shadows.

“So they are the Black Cavalry!” Lin Hansu exclaimed in surprise.

The Jintai Temple case involved the Family members of Great Wu nobles, so it was reasonable for the West Yamen to take over.

Ding Suian had already learned about this from Ruan Guofan, so he was not surprised.

Outside the second hall of the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen.

Li Fengrao’s sphincter tightened when he saw the Black Cavalry arrive in person. He thought his secret of taking a ninth concubine had been exposed.

Then, learning that the Black Cavalry had come for the Jintai Temple case, he let out a long sigh of relief.

After collecting the bandits’ bodies yesterday and having the coroner examine them, he had already sensed the strangeness of the case—at least The Third Place Scholar Li’s chest wound and the scorched marks on the neck of the bandit whose head was crushed both corroborated that the case was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.

But the victim’s Du Family were descendants of the Prince’s Estate, and the Prince’s wife on the other side had just been praised by His Majesty last month as the ‘model for all women in the world.’ He couldn’t afford to offend either party.

He was caught in the middle, torn between two difficulties, so the West Yamen’s proactive takeover was like a timely help in a desperate situation.

The appearance of the Black Cavalry also frightened The Du Family greatly. So much so that when the Black Cavalry took away the case files and the bandits’ bodies, no one dared to step forward and ask a single question.

Even Third Master Du, who was usually arrogant and reckless, stood with his neck pulled in behind a group of women, becoming completely invisible throughout.

“Evil people need evil people to deal with them!”

Lin Hansu looked into the distance, her tone a mix of satisfaction and envy for these intimidating enforcers who represented powerful imperial authority.

After the Black Cavalry left, the curtain fell on the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen’s grand drama.

On the way back to Huguai Garden, Ding Suian suddenly asked, “Prince’s wife, where is the study in the estate?”

“In Huguai Garden. Why?”

“I want to find some books to read. I wonder if it’s convenient?”

“You? Looking for books to read?” Lin Hansu squinted at him, her eyes sparkling with the wisdom of seeing through everything.

You’re just a small soldier, what kind of books would you read!

If you want to come to my courtyard, just say so. Don’t use such a clumsy excuse.

“Then come at night.” Lin Hansu looked straight ahead, her hands clasped within her large sleeves, her steps steady, a dignified expression on her face.

“At night?”

“Yes, didn’t you climb over the wall last time?”

“Uh… alright then.”

That night at hai hour.

Ding Suian climbed over the wall into Huguai Garden, where Granny Zhang was already waiting inside.

On the first floor of Ji Pavilion, Lin Hansu had taken off her mourning clothes and changed into a light pink ruqun with lotus vine trim embroidered on the cuffs and collar.

This outfit was chosen with care. Most Great Wu women wore dark colors like gray, blue, and purple after marriage.

Light pink ruqun like this were mostly favored by unmarried Young Ladies.

Although Lin Hansu’s charming face still retained some girlish charm, as a married woman of six years, wearing this inevitably carried a hint of pretending to be young.

At the same time, Lin Hansu secretly pondered that after their somewhat taboo contact on the jujube tree in the West Courtyard today, the Young Master was so eager to see her again tonight. Should she maintain some distance when they met later?

Lest the Young Master push his luck and she lose control of the situation.

‘Thump-thump~’

While she was lost in thought, a knock sounded on the door.

Lin Hansu immediately sat up straight and said calmly yet authoritatively, “Come in~”

‘Creak~’

Granny Zhang entered alone.

Lin Hansu turned her head to look behind, but seeing no one, her Phoenix eyes, filled with spring, couldn’t help but show confusion, “Where is he?”

“Squad Leader Ding went to the study.”

“He actually went to the study?”

Book printing and publication in Great Wu were strictly controlled.

Ordinary bookstores, apart from introductory readers, poetry, and storybooks, only carried books about the glorious achievements of the current dynasty.

Even historical records were a controlled category.

It wasn’t that people weren’t allowed to read them, but rather that one was only permitted to do so after reaching a certain status.

This was to prevent ignorant commoners from misinterpreting or deconstructing the true meaning of the books.

Given Ding Suian’s Family background, he was simply not qualified to access these controlled books.

Long-term knowledge monopoly led to ordinary people being ignorant of the world’s operating logic, and also led to grassroots soldiers like Ding Suian having only a superficial understanding of high-level combat power.

His only channels of understanding were folk storybooks, the most mysterious of which recounted how three hundred years ago, during the Great Xia Dynasty’s war against rebels, Daoist Immortals serving the court summoned a’Starfall’ that plunged into the enemy camp, directly causing the numerically superior rebel army to suffer a great defeat.

Ding Suian regarded such stories, which promoted the divine legitimacy of the court, as mere third-rate novels.

But after the Jintai Temple battle the night before, Ding Suian questioned Wang Xigui and others. It was indeed as Ruan Guofan had said: when The Third Place Scholar Li chanted ‘A gentleman does not contend,’ Wang Xigui felt a sense of confusion, only feeling that fighting for life and death was meaningless.

Although it only lasted for two or three breaths before he suddenly regained consciousness, in a life-and-death struggle, two or three breaths of daze would be enough to die ten times over.

This method of controlling people’s minds was beyond Ding Suian’s comprehension.

And there was also the Goatee’s palm-Condensing lightning and his bizarre movement technique.

Witnessing it firsthand brought about a shock, making one realize, ‘This world is actually so mysterious.’

At the same time, he was full of doubts. It was true that his Shen Ting acupoint had ached the night before, but he hadn’t experienced the dazed state that Wang Xigui and the others had.

What was going on with that?

Was it due to his Realm? Or due to distance?

To find answers and to glimpse the mysteries of the Rites Sect, Buddhism, and Daoism, the only feasible method at present was to pore over various books.

And Prince Lanyangs Estate. The books accumulated by three generations of princes to adorn their Family’s reputation were as vast as a sea.

Ding Suian walked past rows of bookshelves, his index finger tracing the spines of books, stopping on a volume titled “Heavenly Dao Profound Scripture.”

Flipping open the title page, Ding Suian was startled.

The preface to this book was unsigned, bearing only an imperial seal: ‘Orthodox Imperial Calligraphy.’

‘Orthodox’ was the imperial reign title, and ‘Imperial Calligraphy’ was the emperor’s personal seal! It was indeed worthy of being the State Religion to merit a preface by the emperor.

The first sentence on the first page of the main text read: The Heavenly Dao is the human heart.

However, after a cursory glance, he was disappointed; this book did not contain much about the Divine Ability of the Rites Sect, but rather was a treatise on Heavenly Dao doctrines, emphasizing the important role of ‘rites’ in both court and common society.

It was roughly like a propaganda brochure.

The only Divine Ability mentioned in the book was ‘Indoctrination,’ which Ruan Guofan had just spoken of the night before.

The ‘Indoctrination’ Divine Ability is the foundation of the Rites Sect, and among it, the ‘Four Dimensions of the Heavenly Dao’ are the theoretical basis of the Indoctrination Divine Ability.

They are: The ruler is the guide for ministers; ministers must be loyal.

Officials are the guide for the people; the people must be obedient.

The father is the guide for sons; sons must be filial.

The husband is the guide for wives; wives must be virtuous.

The husband is the guide for wives; wives must be virtuous.

Reading through the entire book, Ding Suian felt both uncomfortable and awkward—this Rites Sect was simply plagiarizing and distorting the Confucian Sect’s classics!

Although the Confucian Sect had its own limitations, its exposition of cardinal relationships also emphasized mutual responsibilities and obligations.

While the Rites Sect only spoke of ‘ministers must be loyal’ and ‘people must be obedient,’ the original meaning of Confucianism also had this line: ‘The ruler is the guide for ministers; if the ruler is not enlightened, ministers will defect to another country; officials are the guide for the people; if officials are not incorruptible, the people will rise up and attack them!’

Ding Suian seemed to grasp something, and he flipped the Profound Scripture back to the first page, gaining a new understanding of the phrase ‘The Heavenly Dao is the human heart.’

The Four Dimensions of the Heavenly Dao—’loyalty, obedience, filial piety, and virtue’—all flattered the powerful!

Between ruler and minister, the ruler is the stronger, so it only speaks of ‘ministers must be loyal.’

Between officials and commoners, the official is the stronger, so it only speaks of ‘commoners must be obedient.’

Between father and son, the father is the stronger, only speaking of ‘if the father is not benevolent, the son must still be filial.’

Between husband and wife, the husband is the stronger, only speaking of ‘if the husband is not righteous, the wife must still be virtuous.’

The entire text contained only one-sided discipline from the strong to the weak, without mentioning any obligations.

Just like between father and son, in the prevalent large-Family households of today, the father’s generation undoubtedly controls the means of production and holds greater power to speak.

The son, at the time, might have been full of complaints about his father’s authoritarianism.

But when the son becomes a father, he will actively uphold the’sons must be filial’ without any preconditions.

This is the ‘human heart’ that the Rites Sect desires.

It seems unreasonable, yet it aligns perfectly with human nature.

Thanks to book friend: 20180226183157988, for the reward~