The Emperor's Teacher Is No Easy Job

Ji Qiao, also known as Ji Guiyun, was a brilliant young talent whose fame shook the capital. He had personally helped the new emperor ascend the throne, quelled rebellions on every front, and risen to the highest rank among officials.

One man alone had stirred the entire Great Wei court into turmoil.

Yet at the height of his fame, he resigned, claiming he was getting old and wanted to find somewhere to farm.

The new emperor let him go.

Three years later, someone spotted Ji Qiao in the capital. Word of his return sent shockwaves through the court and the public alike, and everyone speculated about the meaning behind it.

No one knew that the current emperor had dragged him back.

.

Ji Guiyun, a good-for-nothing slacker, said, "Kill me or dismember me, do as you please. As long as Your Majesty is happy."

The current emperor had grown into someone Ji Qiao barely recognized. "Teacher, for the sake of our past bond, please help me."

Ji Qiao assumed Wei Lingye still didn't trust him, and put on a thoroughly nonchalant air. "This commoner was fortunate enough to know Your Majesty in years past, but there is a difference between ruler and subject. I am a useless man now, with neither courage nor wisdom, and Your Majesty and I have no bond to speak of."

Wei Lingye said nothing.

He brought out a little wooden horse. "You carved this for me when I was four and said we'd ride horses together forever."

Then he brought out a yellowed portrait. "You painted this for me when I was thirteen and praised me as handsome, the most handsome man in all of Great Wei."

Then he brought out a pair of wooden geese. "When I was sixteen, you sent these to me by fast courier and said they were to show me the geese of the northern frontier."

Ji Qiao: "..."

He looked up and saw Wei Lingye staring at him. "Ji Guiyun, please help me."

"Help me ease the ache of longing."

.

Ji Qiao felt that he had spent his whole life being bound to Wei Lingye.

"After I die, all I ask is that you offer me a jug of rough wine. That would be enough for me."

Wei Lingye shook his head. "I will offer you a lifetime of sorrow and longing, and an eternity of loneliness and pain."

Ji Qiao: "You want to make sure I can't rest in peace even after I'm dead."

Wei Lingye: "I want to make sure I can come with you when you die. Then I'll be able to rest in peace."

Theme: Selfless devotion, serving the country and its people