『The Short-Fused Lord Grand Tutor!!!』
My name is Xie Lanzhou, courtesy name Jingheng, Grand Tutor. In this life, I have cared about only one person. She is already dead. My name is Xie Lanzhou, Grand Tutor. I was born into the Xie clan. Ours was a family of scholarly lineage; my father was a renowned master of the court, and my mother was born of a prestigious family. I had three older brothers and two older sisters. I was the youngest. Yet, since childhood, I was never favored. My father disliked me for being taciturn. My mother found me lacking in warmth. My eldest brother had my father's love, my second brother had my mother's love, and my third brother had the love of both. I had nothing. All I had was my eldest sister. Her name was Xie Heng. She was married off when I was still young, but I remember her. I remember how every time she visited home, she would take me onto her lap and teach me to read. Her hands were very warm. When she smiled, the corners of her eyes curved gently, so beautiful. She would say, "Our Lanzhou will become a great official one day." Every time she returned, she would secretly bring me pastries. Afraid that others might see, she would slip them into my hands and say, "Don't let anyone know." Every time, I hid them away and only ate them after she had left. I ate very slowly, taking tiny bite after tiny bite, reluctant to finish them. When my father openly declared in front of everyone that I was "sullen and good-for-nothing," she was the one who spoke up on my behalf. She said, "Father, Lanzhou isn't sullen. There are things inside his heart; he just doesn't like to speak them aloud. A person like him sees everything clearer than anyone else." Back then, I didn't understand what it meant to have "things inside one's heart." I only knew that she was the only person who never resented me for being quiet. The year I turned nineteen, she died. Falsely accused of treason, she was bestowed death. The entire Xie clan was condemned to extermination. I stood outside the execution grounds, watching them fall one by one. I didn't cry. I memorized the face of every single executioner. That night, I returned to the small rented courtyard, shut the door, and sat for the entire night. I didn't cry. I simply sat there, watching the moon outside the window. I missed her. I missed how she held me on her lap to teach me characters. I missed how she secretly slipped me pastries. I missed her saying, "Our Lanzhou will become a great official one day." I became a high official. She was no longer here to see it. From that day forth, there was only one purpose to my existence. Vengeance. I endured in silence for sixteen years. I passed the imperial examination as a Jinshi, entered the court, and climbed step by step. I formed no factions, took no sides, and flattered no one. I did only one thing: gather evidence. Those who framed her back then—I investigated them one by one. I investigated their backgrounds, their leverage, their crimes. I committed everything to memory and wrote nothing down, for what was written could be discovered. Throughout those sixteen years, I lived a bitter life. I lived in a small courtyard, ate simple food, acquired no property, and took neither wife nor concubines. Every day, I woke early to practice calligraphy, went to the yamen, and returned at night to read and play Go. Alone. I was always alone. I visited her once a year. Her grave lay outside the city, remote and desolate. I brought a flask of wine and a parcel of pastries. I sat before the grave in silence, just sitting. I sat for the entire day. Only when darkness fell did I leave. As I departed, I poured the wine before the grave and placed the pastries upon the mound. I said, "Sister, I have come to see you." Just that one sentence. Having said it, I walked away. I never cried. I simply walked away. Later, my nephew achieved it. He fought his way back to the capital from the Northern frontier and ascended the throne as Emperor. I presented the evidence. He reviewed it through the night, and the next day, he had every official involved executed. I stood outside the hall, listening to the wails and pleas for mercy within, my expression tranquil. I had waited sixteen years just for this day. I had exacted my revenge. Completely and cleanly. Not a single soul was spared. He walked out, covered in blood, and said to me, "Uncle, We have avenged Mother." I looked at him for a long time. Then I knelt before him. That was the only time in my life I ever knelt to him. I said, "On behalf of the entire Xie clan, this subject thanks Your Majesty." From then on, I resigned from all substantive offices, retaining only the honorary title of Grand Tutor. Every day, I entered the palace to discuss the classics and history with him and deliberate on matters of state. I said, "This subject has no wish to wield power; this subject wishes only to watch over Your Majesty." Those words were true. I had no need for power, no need for gold or silver, no need for anything. I only needed to watch over him. To watch him secure his reign, to watch him live well. That was my promise to my sister. I fulfilled it. I watched him grow from a seven-year-old boy into a twenty-six-year-old sovereign. I watched him kill, ascend the throne, and secure his dominion. I watched him turn himself into an isolated island. I said nothing. I only waited by the palace gates whenever he was suffering. I was merely the first to step forward to protect him whenever he was impeached. When he said, "We miss Mother," I simply handed him a cup of warm tea. I did everything I could. It was not much. But it was enough. My name is Xie Lanzhou, Grand Tutor. In this life, I have cared about only one person. She is already dead.
All my life I have never vied or fought for anything, but there is one person you must never touch.