A family inclined to kindness and charity would grace the descendants. Thanks to one small act of kindness, by providence she comes across a grateful friend; Fortunate that her mother, has done an unperceived good deed…. Men should rescue the distressed and aid the poor… Who would have guessed that kindness in this world ultimately would be the road that one must choose, that proverbial fork in the road? Clouds of rain float on eastern winds as new vines start to blossom. Though drums of war roar too loudly and their brilliance has been lost, a green grass carpet greets the sun by the break of morning. Let us wait for the yellow leaves, a few gourds are harvested.
Comparing Northern Qi and Southern Qing?
The topic had to be treated with care, as he could not downplay his own country's strength, and as an envoy, he could not criticize Northern Qi too harshly. But Fan Xian answered freely, as if he had known the answer to this question since birth. He spoke with courage in his convictions, his words resounding and powerful, and delivered rapidly. He made Haitang's seemingly always-calm face change, and left the Emperor jaw-dropped, showing his well-kept white teeth.
Fan Xian smiled gently and cupped his hands in salute.
"But as a foreign official, I do not know for sure."
Such modesty. The Emperor was stunned, then burst into laughter. He couldn't punish this rascal: after all, he was a "foreign official", even if he did know plenty about the Kingdom of Qing, he knew little of Qi, so how he could he compare them?