The Demon Lords

Today is Sun Youdao’s 70th birthday.

By rights, it should be filled with guests, but Sun Youdao, who is almost retired, had already announced early on that he would not hold a celebration for his 70th birthday;

No gifts accepted, no guests received.

Most people in the Ying Capital City’s officialdom praised Grand Tutor Sun for his indifference to fame and wealth and his humility.

But some who knew the inside story or were familiar with Sun Youdao when they served in court with him would sigh, Grand Tutor Sun had long been disheartened.

Sun Youdao’s career was fraught with hardships; to be precise, in his early life, he hardly had any official career, being just a teacher.

Later, he became acquainted with Situ Lei when Situ Lei was still a young man, and the two of them hit it off.

After that, Sun Youdao accompanied Situ Lei to the Town South Pass; Situ Lei was responsible for the front line and fighting the Chu people, while Sun Youdao was responsible for supplying grain and military supplies at the rear.

When Situ Lei returned to Ying Capital City to report back, he took no soldiers from Town South Pass, only Sun Youdao.

Later, in the political arena, with Sun Youdao’s strategizing and filling in the gaps, Situ Lei ultimately overthrew his two brothers.

When Situ Lei ascended the throne, Sun Youdao was appointed as Prime Minister.

If not for the turmoil caused by the wild people, and if the Dacheng State could have smoothly succeeded, Sun Youdao and Situ Lei would have created a dazzling historical tale of monarch and minister admired by later generations.

If you exclude the brief reign of Situ Yu, who ascended to the throne for less than half a month after Situ Lei’s passing, then the fate of the Dacheng nation could almost be said to have ended in one generation.

From the day of Situ Lei’s death, Sun Youdao’s spirit had died; he was tired, but he needed to hold on because the wild people were still ravaging the Jin land.

The Yan people came, and although they were also invaders, at least the Yan people aimed to annex the Jin land and manage it as their own territory, unlike the wild people and the Chu people, who had always behaved barbarously.

Ultimately, after Lord Jingnan eradicated the wild people and seized Jade Plate City, with the establishment of the new Yan order, Sun Youdao declined the Yan Emperor’s imperial edict to summon him to Yanjing, choosing instead to retire, citing his old age and frailty.

Today, only one concubine and three sons accompanied his grand birthday.

Even his grandchildren, whom Sun Youdao found too noisy, were not allowed to come.

The concubine was already fifty; after his first wife bore the eldest and second sons, she passed away, and the concubine gave birth to the third son. Apart from this, Sun Youdao had no other women, and his daily life was actually quite simple.

The dishes were simple home-cooked meals, and the wine was ordinary.

Sun Youdao sat at the head seat, with his eldest son, Sun Ying, seated on his right, and Sun Liang and Sun Kang seated on his left.

The concubine sat beside Sun Youdao, helping to serve the dishes.

The Sun Family ate separately because Sun Ying was paralyzed from the waist down due to illness and could not sit at the table.

Nevertheless, the Sun family’s dining table had no strict rules; from an early age, Sun Youdao liked to instruct his sons while eating, hoping that some of them might succeed and take over from him.

Midway through the meal, Sun Liang was the first to speak: "Father, elder brother, I heard that Yan people’s Lord Pingye entered the city last night."

Upon hearing this, Sun Youdao nodded and said:

"That Lord Pingye is indeed remarkable; the Yan State truly has an abundance of talent."

Sun Liang laughed and said, "Yes, father, if not for today being your birthday, I would have wanted to go to the inn to find a chance to meet that Lord Pingye."

Besides his military achievements, Lord Pingye also rescued a princess of Chu State, making his reputation unmatched for the moment.

At this moment, Sun Youdao put down his chopsticks and looked at his second son.

Because of his eldest son’s physical disability, it was this second son who was the head of the Sun Family in this generation.

But in reality, in terms of character and method, it was the eldest son who was more outstanding; it can only be said that heaven is jealous of talent.

However, seeing the smile on the second son’s face,

Sun Youdao spoke very seriously:

"I have retired, and the little legacy I left can ensure wealth for your generation and, even perhaps by the third generation, our Sun family would at least be an ordinary middle-class family.

But the premise is, you must not make foolish moves."

"Father, am I making foolish moves?" Sun Liang was evidently puzzled.

"Yan people are Yan people, and Jin people are Jin people. Perhaps after another twenty years, or one or two more generations, the distinction between Yan people and Jin people will not be so sharp.

But now there is a distinction between Yan and Jin, and presently, the Dacheng State is gone, and our Sun family is merely leftovers of Dacheng State. Remember your identity.

Do not associate with the Yan nobility, and do not foolishly attempt to accomplish anything more. To live in a simple and unremarkable way is the most appropriate and advantageous choice."

Sun Liang dared not argue with his father and could only nod and say:

"Yes, Father, I understand."

Sun Youdao nodded, then looked at his eldest son, who was drinking alone. Noticing this, Sun Youdao asked:

"What has the eldest been busy with lately?"

"Father, elder brother has recently been building a pavilion, reportedly hiring many craftsmen."

Since Sun Youdao appointed his second son as head, Sun Ying voluntarily moved out of the Sun residence and bought another house, essentially dividing the family early.

"Oh, is that so?" Sun Youdao asked.

Sun Ying put down his wine cup and said to his father:

"Yes, Father, but it’s not completed yet."

"Then I shall look forward to it."

"When it’s done, I’ll invite you to enjoy the flowers together."

"Good."

At this moment, a servant hurriedly rushed in from outside.