“It’s the master who lied?! Why did Madam wade say that?!”
At this moment, Lin Wan’er (ni)’s face was full of surprise and confusion.
Lydia (Ava) ( Charlie’s mom ) asked Lin Wan’er (ni), “Senior, do you know anything about Meng Changsheng (Willie)’s life? For example, when was he born and when did he die?”
Lin Wan’er (ni) blurted out, “My master was born in Chang’an City in the first year of the Linde reign of the Tang Dynasty, which was 664 AD, and died in 1663, which was the second year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, exactly one thousand years ago.”<fn2df0> For original chapters go to find?novel</fn2df0>
Lydia (Ava) ( Charlie’s mom ) shook his head and said, “I’ve had people in Chang’an look up a lot of ancient books and materials. Because Meng Changsheng (Willie) passed the imperial examination and served as an official in the court, some official historical books have records of him. ording to the official historical records, Meng Changsheng (Willie) was indeed born in the first year of the Linde era.”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">
“However, this contradicts what the Taoist priest said, so I hired some tomb raiders to search for clues in the ancient tombs of the Wu family from the Tang Dynasty.”
“After more than a year of searching, until Senior and charlie went to the Shiwan Mountains, we finally found a document from over a thousand years ago from the Wu family. It stated that the 16th generation grandson of the Wu family at that time was named Meng Sheng, with the courtesy name Changming. He was born in the second year of the Qianfeng reign of the Tang Dynasty, which was 667 AD. The surname, name, and courtesy name all match. I believe this Meng Sheng is Meng Changsheng (Willie)!”
Lin Wan’er (ni)’s eyes widened, her expression no longer calm. She blurted out, “Madam wade, are you saying that Master-shi changed his birthday? He deliberately changed his age by three years?”
“Yes!” Lydia (Ava) ( Charlie’s mom ) nodded and said, “Based on what I have found, this should be the case.”
Lin Wan’er (ni) frowned. “But that doesn’t make sense! I once spoke with you about a man you met by chance. That man’s ancestor was a servant named Jiang whom Master had taken in during his early years. Even that man said Master was born in the first year of the Linde era. So Master must have been less than a hundred years old then. It’s impossible for him to be nning something a thousand years in the future, right? Besides, some schrs in the Tang Dynasty would spend vast sums of money and effort to bribe examiners and lower their ages just to pass the Tongzi exam. Some officials would also lower their ages to dy retirement, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually raising their age.”
Lydia (Ava) ( Charlie’s mom ) smiled and said, “Why did Meng Changsheng (Willie) im to be born in the first year of the Linde era? I have analyzed some clues from other records. Senior, please listen to my analysis and see if it makes sense.”
Lin Wan’er (ni) nodded and said seriously, “I’m all ears.”
Lydia (Ava) ( Charlie’s mom ) said, “First, let me analyze human nature. Meng Changsheng (Willie)’s original name was Meng Sheng, with the courtesy name Changming. Later, after practicing Taoism, he changed his name to Meng Changsheng (Willie) and styled himself Changsheng Jushi. This is like a businessman who was originally named Meng Sheng andter changed his name to Meng Facai. The only difference is that the word Changsheng sounds more ethereal, so it seems less vulgar. But in fact, its underlying logic is the same as names like Meng Facai and Meng Dangguan. I feel that someone who can change his innermost thoughts into his own name must have very strong inner desires and is definitely not the kind of person who has no desires or demands.”
Lin Wan’er (ni) agreed and said, “Mrs. Wade’s analysis is indeed very reasonable.”
Lydia (Ava) ( Charlie’s mom ) continued, “When Meng Changsheng (Willie) passed the imperial examination and entered the court as an official, the emperor was still Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi. Emperor Gaozong changed his reign title fourteen times in his lifetime. His wife, Empress Wu Zetian,ter ascended the throne and changed it seventeen times. Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong of Tang each used only one reign title, and other emperors generally used one or two. It’s said that Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu both frequently changed their reign titles because they both believed in Taoism and the I Ching and Feng Shui. Each reign title held special meaning for them, and it’s likely due to their frequent use of the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams for divination.”