Chapter 172: Do You Want a Wife?

“My granddaughter is very ordinary-looking, and you’re blind. Wouldn’t that make you a match made in Heaven?”

The Blind Man felt somewhat melancholy.

He liked calculating others.

He did not especially enjoy being calculated himself.

“Old Wen, alliances secured through marriage have existed since ancient times.

“And in the end, most of them still fall apart.”

The current Yan Emperor’s harem contained plenty of consorts taken from the great clans for political marriage.

That had not stopped him from trampling those same clans beneath cavalry hooves.

Marriage alliances were, truthfully a rather childish thing.

If the relationship were already strong enough, there would be no need for one.

And because the relationship was not strong enough it would eventually break anyway.

“You are different.

“In all my life, I have rarely misjudged a person.”

The Blind Man sighed.

“I am only a vulgar man.”

Wen Sutong stopped speaking.

“Old Wen?”

“I’m waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me to do what?”

“To name your conditions.”

The Blind Man, Bei, smiled.

“What do you mean?”

Wen Sutong placed one hand on the battlement and lightly stroked the stone.

“A man like you, when facing anything, will never first ask whether you personally can accept it.

“You first weigh the interests.

“That is simply the way you live.”

“Then what condition does Old Wen think I should ask for?”

“The loyalty of my Wen Clan.”

The Blind Man shook his head.

“Not enough.”

“This place may very well become newly conquered territory of the State of Yan.

“The Yan can take it, but they cannot firmly control it in a short time.

“This old man can continue sitting in the office of Chuzhou Military Commissioner.

“Do not look at the yamen now, crowded with useless clay idols and empty shells.

“If this old man truly decides to work, these old bones can still accomplish something.

“Rebellion is beyond me.

“But keeping Chuzhou City and the surrounding towns and villages under control?

“That is no problem.

“Who should be removed.

“Who should be supported.

“How the administration should be made to function again.

“This old man understands all of it perfectly.”

“Continue.”

“My loyalty.

“Together with the loyalty of Chuzhou City and the territory around it.”

“Don’t stop.”

“Not loyalty to the State of Yan.

“Not loyalty to the Yan Emperor.

“Loyalty to your Master.”

“Now that has the right flavor.”

“Truthfully, this old man would rather join hands with you than with your Master.”

“I’m blind.”

“But your eyes see more clearly than other men’s.

“Standing before you, I feel as though I am the blind one.”

“I will not betray my Master.”

“Good.

“Then this old man can be loyal to your Master as well.”

“Why?” the Blind Man asked.

“Which ‘why’ are you asking?”

“All of them.”

“Yes.

“If this old man simply pledged loyalty to the Yan Emperor, then not only would I certainly be able to keep this office of Chuzhou Military Commissioner—in the future, as a signboard and example for surrendered Qian officials, I might even be invited into the Great Yan court and rewarded with high office and generous salary.

“But to speak frankly—

“I do not believe the Great Yan will enjoy lasting peace and stability.”

The Blind Man remained silent.

Wen Sutong continued.

“The Yan Emperor’s trampling of the great clans was certainly exhilarating.

“In courage, skill, and grand bearing—the rulers of the other three eastern states combined may not compare with him.

“But he was too impatient.

“Far too impatient.

“By sweeping away the great clans, the Yan Emperor certainly strengthened his imperial authority.

“His word now carries the force of Heaven’s law.

“The majesty of the Son of Heaven suppresses the entire realm.

“But the source of his success is also the beginning of his future ruin.

“The Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army were already two great military blocs.

“In independence, they are far beyond even the Western Army of our Great Qian.

“Yes.

“While Li Liangting and Tian Wujing still live, those two armies will certainly obey the Yan Emperor.

“But afterward?

“By trampling the great clans, what did the Yan Emperor gain?

“Their wealth.

“Their land.

“Their population.

“And—their talent.

“But what did he lose?

“People’s hearts.”

“The concept of people’s hearts is too broad.”

“No.

“It is not broad at all.

“Let us put it in the simplest terms.

“Did the great clans of Yan ever betray the Ji Clan?”

For several centuries whenever war began the Emperors of the Ji Clan personally led the army.

The aristocratic clans followed behind them.

They fought the barbarians.

They fought the other eastern states.

“The great clans rendered merit to the Ji Clan.

“Without their support, the Ji Clan could never have sat securely in that position for so long.

“Perhaps the great clans truly were a tumor upon the state.

“But it was just like the scholar-officials of our Great Qian.

“Too many of them bring no benefit to the realm.

“Yet everyone still supports the Zhao sovereign.

“The great clans never betrayed the Ji Clan.

“But the Ji Clan trampled them beneath iron hooves.

“And immediately afterward came this great war.

“Even if Yan armies win battle after battle—even if they advance with overwhelming momentum—once the old clans are gone, new people and new families will naturally rise.

“Some through military merit.

“Some through civil governance.

“They will fill the places once held by the old great clans and once again support the structure of the state.

“And then?”

Wen Sutong’s palm lightly patted the battlement.

“In this world, everything depends upon mutual benefit.

“A ruler is a ruler.

“A minister is a minister.

“But ruler and minister still seek things from one another.

“It is like bargaining in the marketplace.

“Even when business fails, some measure of goodwill should remain.

“But after the Yan Emperor swept that goodwill into the ditch—what remains is merely forced buying and forced selling under a thin covering of propriety.

“Even—plunder.

“Ministers will no longer trust the Yan Emperor.

“Especially generals holding military power.

“Especially the new military houses rising through war.

“Because the Yan Emperor has already proven through his actions—he is not a sovereign with whom one can safely share wealth and honor.

“The seeds of the Great Yan’s future chaos—were planted there.

“Unless...”

“Unless what?”

“Unless the Yan Emperor can live for several more decades.

“Unless Tian Wujing and Li Liangting also enjoy long lives.

“Unless the Yan Emperor’s successor—and the people surrounding that successor—also possess men comparable to Li Liangting and Tian Wujing.

“Otherwise—when the Yan Emperor dies—the realm will collapse!”

“Old Wen.”

“Mm?”

“Is your granddaughter clever?”

“My granddaughter may not be beautiful, but she is this old man’s legitimate granddaughter.

“Naturally, she is intelligent.”

“Oh.”

The Blind Man nodded.

“Mr. Bei agrees?”

“No.

“Old Wen still has not explained why you are placing your wager on us.”

“Actually—you already gave this old man the answer earlier.”

“Mm?”

“When I asked you before, you said—you had too much grain.”

“Yes.”

“This old man—also has many granddaughters.”

“............” The Blind Man.

The Blind Man coughed.

“Old Wen intends to cast a very wide net?”

“Others may not understand.

“But surely Mr. Bei does.

“I am a surrendered Qian official.

“At best, I am a ceremonial archway.

“Something polished and bright on the outside.

“Who will truly take me seriously?

“During festivals, temples and divine statues receive endless incense.

“But on ordinary days, how many people genuinely keep the gods in their hearts?

“Besides—when men grow old, they become fond of talking about fate and omens.

“This old man does not believe in gods or Buddhas.

“But I do believe in fate.

“The State of Qian has many Qi Refiners.

“They constantly speak of placing pieces on the board.

“Of patterns.

“Of grand arrangements.

“As though Heaven and Earth themselves were nothing more than a chessboard in their eyes.

“This old man also enjoys playing chess.

“So—treat this as me placing a piece.”

“It’s simply that—if I marry your granddaughter, I suddenly become two generations younger than you.”

“This old man also has a daughter who has been widowed for two years.

“She is rather beautiful.

“If Mr. Bei does not mind, this old man—”

“Forget it.”

The Blind Man, Bei, shook his head.

In the end he could not imitate Master’s particular taste.

“Mr. Bei may enter my residence today and take her away.”

“Isn’t this somewhat too rushed?

“Even if we cannot make a grand display of the betrothal gifts—surely it need not be quite this shabby?”

“Mr. Bei wants to delay?”

“No.

“It’s simply that the army outside has not yet returned.

“What if the force coming back is the Qian army?

“Wouldn’t Old Wen have drawn water with a bamboo basket and gained nothing?”

“This old man does not understand military affairs.

“But I understand people.

“After seeing you—

“I felt that the army returning would certainly be the Yan army.

“Rather than wait here for an inevitable result—it is better to settle the matter before the result arrives.

“That way, my Wen Clan appears more sincere.”

“Old Wen speaks reasonably.

“I simply fear wronging the young lady.

“Other women marry in glory and ceremony.

“If she is simply led away by me like this—what does that look like?”

“Because this old man understands that tomorrow—your army should be leaving.

“You will continue south.”

“Old Wen just said you knew nothing of warfare.”

“This old man did not lie.

“I merely saw it.”

“Since Old Wen knows we are leaving, why insist on this?”

“Because—you will come back.

“Everything you have done inside this city is laying the groundwork for your return later.”

“Clear-eyed.”

“As for betrothal gifts—this old man does not care.

“The Wen Clan may not be enormously wealthy, but we have not fallen so far that we need to sell our daughters to feed ourselves.

“There is only one thing Mr. Bei can do for this old man.

“When you take my granddaughter away—you and she will kowtow to this old man together.

“Will you?”

A slight curve appeared at the corner of the Blind Man’s mouth.

He said, “Proper.”

...

The people who cared most about propriety were often the ones who most disliked actually doing proper things.

Inside the Wen Clan’s main hall a group of men stood together.

These were members of the Wen Clan’s second and third generations.

Two of Wen Sutong’s brothers were also present.

Though they sat they only dared place half their buttocks on the chairs.

Wen Sutong might currently hold the office of Chuzhou Military Commissioner.

But with row upon row of Yan armored soldiers standing outside the hall the Wen Clan had not forgotten the cold sensation of blades pressed to their necks that day.

Originally there had not been this many soldiers.

Because of Wen Sutong’s special status, one Yan detachment had indeed been stationed outside the Wen residence to guard it.

But the soldiers now crowding inside were not that detachment.

On the way back from the city walls the Blind Man and Wen Sutong happened to run into A’Ming and Xue San.

A’Ming and Xue San had just put down a minor disturbance and were returning.

The moment Xue San saw the Blind Man he immediately came over to greet him.

Who could have expected the Blind Man’s next sentence nearly made Wen Sutong tear out his own goatee in rage.

The Blind Man simply asked, “Third Brother, do you want a wife?

“So long as you say yes, I’ll bring one over for you in a moment.”

How sharp was Xue San?

They were all Demon Kings.

Whether they felt like scheming on an ordinary day depended entirely on mood.

But none of them lacked brains or cunning.

Xue San instantly understood what was happening.

And immediately refused.

Then, with extraordinary speed he sent someone to notify the Fourth Lady and Fan Li.

They brought their own troops over to the Wen residence to watch the show.

The Demon Kings were all delighted.

All of them looked forward to it.

Even the normally lazy A’Ming wore a faint smile.

To see the Blind Man who usually loved calculating everyone else finally calculate his own body into the bargain...

Tch tch.

Satisfying.

They knew perfectly well this was a political marriage.

But none of them felt even the slightest sympathy for him.

You’re getting a wife.

Exactly what loss are you suffering?

By Demon King standards family affection?

Friendship?

What did any of that count for?

The only thing they had heard was that the girl was supposedly not very good-looking.

The Blind Man stood beside Wen Sutong.

His eyes remained closed.

Both hands rested calmly before him.

Wen Sutong coughed.

“Call Yuexin out.”

A servant went to summon her.

The instant those words were spoken the expressions of several Wen Clan members changed.

Clearly, they had more or less guessed what the head of their household intended.

They were, after all, children of a prominent family.

Their experience and understanding naturally exceeded that of ordinary commoners.

For a moment the Wen Clan members inside the hall displayed all sorts of reactions.

Some felt shame.

Some were afraid.

Some felt relieved.

And some uneasy.

Those who felt shame still possessed some conscience.

Those who were afraid were simply muddled and lost.

Those who felt relieved had no brains.

Those who felt uneasy were the clever ones.

News had already spread that the king’s army had appeared outside the city.

Yet the Wen Clan was marrying off a daughter to the Yan now.

If the king’s army later returned and recovered Chuzhou wouldn’t the Wen Clan be left with absolutely no room to maneuver?

The Blind Man remained silent.

But the armored soldiers outside the hall ensured that everyone inside the Wen household remained silent too.

The scene was quiet.

Yet someone disliked that silence.

A suona suddenly sounded outside.

Festive.

Auspicious.

There were only two instruments.

But as the two answered one another the sound did not feel lonely at all.

The men playing them were Old Xiao and his apprentice Little Pockmark.

In Xue San’s words the Blind Man was getting married.

Such a major event needed a little ceremony.

Unfortunately, everything had happened too quickly.

There had been no time to teach the pair the standard wedding tunes.

Still that was fine.

The local flavor came through more strongly this way.

The suona music made Wen Sutong narrow his eyes in comfort.

His fingers rested on the tea table, lightly tapping out the rhythm.

The old man was genuinely happy.

Once he had put down the burden in his heart once he had already decided to follow this road all the way into darkness if loyalty to the Great Qian and his posthumous reputation were no longer possible then why keep acting coy?

Better to eat the shit while it was still hot than arrive too late even for that.

Before long guided by a servant a young woman in red entered.

The instant Xue San saw her the gloating smile on his face froze.

With absolutely no manners whatsoever he pointed at the girl.

And stammered, “She... she’s ugly?”

The girl was sixteen.

In this era, girls of fourteen or fifteen marrying was perfectly normal.

Younger marriages were not rare either.

But in later times sixteen was still a little girl.

Marriage would have been far away.

The girl was tall.

Only sixteen yet already around five feet nine inches.

Her face still retained a trace of baby fat.

But between her brows and eyes a naturally alluring quality, not yet fully mature, had already begun to appear.

Her figure was not thin.

But she was not plump either.

At sixteen she was already growing into a beauty.

Ten thousand Fan Lis thundered through Xue San’s heart.

Where the hell was the ugly woman?

Those long legs alone could probably charm half the men who saw them.

The Fourth Lady gave two soft laughs.

“By the standards of this age—a woman this tall counts as ugly.”

In later generations, a tall woman with a model’s figure and long legs could easily be considered beautiful.

But in this era a woman growing too tall could genuinely have difficulty marrying.

If the wife stood this tall how was the husband supposed to maintain his authority?

A girl who could not marry naturally became an ugly girl.

In Yan, things might be somewhat better.

Yan customs were rough.

But in Qian, people preferred the delicate, petite type.

Among wealthy families foot binding was also common.

This girl had not bound her feet.

Heh.

Tall.

Unbound feet.

Of course she was an “ugly” woman.

Xue San’s heart began bleeding.

A political marriage!

Who performed it hardly mattered.

For Master’s grand plans what was wrong with sacrificing himself a little?

And then he remembered how the Blind Man had just asked him:

“Third Brother, do you want a wife?”

Aaaaaaaaaaah!

As for asking now whether he could replace the Blind Man did he really think a blind man was actually blind?

Fan Li chuckled.

He thought the girl looked quite good.

For the Blind Man to take her as a wife fine.

A’Ming did not care much either way.

Had the girl genuinely been ugly, he might have taken some pleasure from it.

But since she clearly was not ugly he lost interest.

Among the Seven Demon Kings, A’Ming and Liang Cheng were equally indifferent toward women.

They truly seemed unable to care much about how beautiful a woman was.

The Fourth Lady removed a bracelet from her own wrist.

When the girl approached her on the way into the hall the Fourth Lady reached out, took the girl’s hand, and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.

The girl was surprised.

But not flustered.

She openly looked at the Fourth Lady a woman beautiful enough to make other women jealous then gave a small curtsy.

“Thank you, Elder Sister.”

The Fourth Lady nodded.

The girl entered the hall.

Then bowed around her.

“Greetings, Grandfather.

“Greetings, Uncles.”

Wen Sutong pointed toward the Blind Man standing beside him.

“Yuexin.

“The husband Grandfather has chosen for you.”

The girl walked directly to the Blind Man.

She bowed.

“Greetings, Husband.”

After the salute she simply stood behind him.

No embarrassment.

No hesitation.

No resentment.

As though everything that had happened was perfectly natural.

“Tch.

“This woman isn’t Silver-Armored Guard, is she?” Xue San whispered.

“That old man Wen isn’t that stupid.

“The girl is simply intelligent.

“She doesn’t fuss over meaningless things.”

“Aiya.

“Aiya...”

Xue San’s heart ached.

“Such a good girl.

“And she has to marry a cripple.

“Alas.”

The Fourth Lady placed a hand on Xue San’s head.

“Good boy.

“No one looks down on you for being disabled.”

“............” Xue San.

There were no betrothal gifts.

No matchmaker.

Everything happened simply.

Almost absurdly simply.

The Blind Man spoke.

“I’m leaving.”

Wen Sutong nodded.

He did not even ask them to stay for a meal.

As the Blind Man, Bei, began walking out the girl turned toward Wen Sutong.

“Grandfather.

“I’m leaving with Husband.”

Then, she followed behind the Blind Man.

And voluntarily reached out to support his right arm.

“There’s a step ahead.

“Husband, walk carefully.”

Xue San gritted his teeth.

“Public displays of affection!”

Just as the newlywed couple were about to leave the hall—

Wen Sutong called out, “What about the kowtow?

“You haven’t kowtowed yet.”

The Blind Man did not look back.

He answered directly, “Saving it.

“I’ll kowtow at your grave later.”

The expressions of the Wen Clan members changed immediately.

On such an “auspicious” day how could he say something like that?

But today, the Wen Clan had spent the entire time demonstrating one principle over and over:

Angry but not daring to speak.

Wen Sutong, however, did not grow angry at all.

Instead, he laughed and slapped the tea table.

Then shouted, “Remember to bring peach-blossom wine!”

---

(End of Chapter)