Chapter 393: Male and Female

A daughter was the flesh of her father’s heart.

Old He willingly accepted being the sort of father who spoiled his daughter without limit. In the He family, if anything, the son had always held far less status.

Compared with truly wealthy and noble households, the property Old He had accumulated through half a lifetime of labor amounted to nothing. But among ordinary poor commoners, he had done quite well. He could easily stop working, divide the family property, carry a stool to the mouth of an alley, sit there squinting at whichever widow nearby had recently lost her husband, and gather a few acquaintances to listen to neighborhood gossip.

But now, after his son had told him “Yan Little Sixth’s” true identity the previous night—

Old He’s entire mind had gone blank.

Mother of Heaven!

Once, Old He had even thought his daughter foolish. She had seen that Yan Little Sixth had a handsome face and willingly given herself to him. When her father and elder brother tried to stop her, she had even pressed a hairpin to her own throat.

Looking back now his daughter really did have judgment.

If that night had never happened if Old He had genuinely stopped her wouldn’t she have lost her chance to transform into a phoenix?

What remained afterward, however, was mostly apprehension and fear.

Old He had never dreamed of relying on his children to lift him into a life of luxury.

He had never possessed the fantasy that when one person attained the Dao, even his chickens and dogs would rise to Heaven.

His daughter had married an imperial prince.

She was entering the Ji household.

The plays all showed how dangerous places like that were how fierce those lives could become.

Forget the Son of Heaven’s household.

Even here in Nan’an County, the household of Wealthy Master Zhang had once seen the principal wife order servants to drown a concubine. Nobody reported the crime, so the yamen never investigated it. Officials simply closed one eye.

The depths of the imperial palace could hardly be compared with the home of some local wealthy master.

“Dad?”

He Chu came over to help his father up.

Old He slowly rose.

Earlier, he had deliberately pretended not to understand the situation despite understanding perfectly well.

He Chu had already told him last night that the man coming to present the betrothal gifts today was an imperial prince.

Which meant the man who had handed him the gift list and called himself the elder brother should have been the current First Prince.

A man who had once commanded an army!

Then there was the gift list itself, with the doubled pork legs.

That imperial in-law of his...

Afraid?

Of course Old He was afraid.

The sight of an ordinary county magistrate could make his legs weak.

Never mind princes of the current dynasty.

But as a father on the day he gave away his daughter he had to stiffen his spine.

The harsh words that needed speaking had to be spoken.

The warning that needed giving had to be given.

Today alone he had that right.

Only today.

Once this day passed the other man would remain a prince while Old He remained nothing but a butcher.

Forget speaking harshly as he had earlier.

Afterward, Old He would hardly dare accept the full rites of a father-in-law from him.

“Chu.”

“Dad, I’m here.”

“Go keep the Sixth Prince company and help receive the relatives and neighbors.

“Let your father... let your father calm down a little more.”

“All right, Dad.”

People of this age rarely married daughters very far away.

Among ordinary people, marriage distances were usually measured by the neighboring village.

A daughter of the He family marrying this far away was already extremely unusual locally.

They could only adapt to circumstances.

There was no way to complete the entire traditional sequence of ceremonies, but putting out banquet tables and inviting relatives and neighbors to eat remained necessary.

So the wedding banquet passed in considerable liveliness.

There was no need to describe every complicated detail.

The following morning, Ji Chengjue prepared to return to the capital with his wife.

Everyone knew what awaited them there.

This place had merely been the appetizer.

Yanjing would host the true spectacle.

Old He and He Chu intended to pack the household and leave for the capital the following day.

Truthfully, there was very little that genuinely needed packing anymore.

Even so, Old He declined his son-in-law’s invitation to travel to Yanjing together.

That night the courtyard that had been lively yesterday was quiet again.

Father and son sat together on the threshold.

They looked up at the moon.

Quite a few people had come asking about the true background of the He family’s son-in-law, but both Old He and He Chu had laughed vaguely and brushed the questions aside.

Strangely enough when other households suddenly rose through marriage, they became so excited they wished the entire county knew their daughter had hooked a golden tortoise son-in-law.

The He family’s father and son felt no such excitement.

Instead, both seemed to have something heavy pressing on their hearts.

Even food and wine had lost their flavor.

“Son.”

“Mm. Dad, I’m here.”

“Count the things again.

“We leave tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ve counted everything.

“Brother-in-law said once we reach Yanjing, we won’t need to arrange anything ourselves. He’ll settle both of us properly.”

Old He sighed.

Then raised one hand.

He Chu obediently leaned his head closer.

*Smack!*

His father slapped him.

“Yours is yours.

“His is his.

“You and I have hands and feet of our own. We haven’t fallen so low that we need to live by licking our in-laws’ boots.”

“But, Dad...”

“What?”

“Every New Year and major festival, don’t you kneel with everyone else and pay respects to His Majesty too?”

During major rites and festivals, people indeed gathered to face the capital from afar and kowtow toward the Emperor.

Old He pursed his lips.

Then stubbornly said:

“His Majesty is His Majesty.

“An in-law is an in-law.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Son, your father has sold pork for most of his life.

“The only principles I understand are the principles of streets and alleys.

“So let me put it this way.

“This marriage— our family is marrying upward.

“So far upward we’ve reached Heaven.

“The little bit of farmland our He family owns, those few pigs we have on credit with farming households— none of that means a damned thing in the eyes of our imperial in-laws.

“Our He family... has nothing left except our backbone.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Chu, you need to stiffen that backbone too.

“Sixth High—

“Sixth Boy tells you to learn characters, then learn them. Read books. Study properly.

“But the gifts for your teacher— our family pays them ourselves.

“If Sixth Boy invites you to eat something, first weigh it in your own heart.

“Can you afford what he’s offering?

“If he invites you to eat one fish today, then tomorrow you should return half a chicken.

“If you know you can’t afford to return anything tomorrow— then don’t eat his fish today.

“Dealing with people means exchange.

“There has to be giving and taking.

“You cannot only eat and never give.

“Understand?”

“I understand, Dad.”

“Learning characters is good.

“Reading books is good too.

“Your father held you back back then. I thought learning characters would, at best, let you become some accountant.

“Better to start slaughtering pigs early and earn a living with me.

“But now— you need to read more and learn more characters.”

“Why, Dad?”

“Your sister is already part of the Ji family.

“Part of the imperial house.

“If people later hear that her own elder brother is a coarse brute who cannot recognize a single character, then you and I will be embarrassing your sister.”

“Little Sister won’t care about that, Dad.”

“Whether she cares is her business.

“You and I need to care.

“Your sister’s future life won’t be easy either.

“Family status.

“Family status.

“A few years ago, Great Yan still cared enormously about family status.

“It stood higher than Heaven itself.”

“There aren’t any great clans anymore, Dad.”

The Emperor of Yan had ridden down the great clans beneath cavalry hooves until blood flowed like rivers.

Old He sighed again.

Then extended one hand.

Seeing the gesture, He Chu once more obediently leaned his head toward his father.

*Smack!*

Another slap.

Old He did not use much strength.

Not because he felt sorry for his son.

More because he felt using greater force on this son would probably be a waste of effort anyway.

Then Old He pointed toward his own chest.

His tone became grave.

“Family status— lives in here.”

...

“There’s a saying being passed around lately. I wonder whether Your Sixth Highness has heard it.

“They say that ever since His Majesty swept away the great clans, the present age has entered an era of great contention.

“In ordinary peaceful years, the jianghu becomes lively. So there are the Four Great Swordsmen, the Seven Great Saber Masters, the Nine Houses of Spear and Staff, and all kinds of other martial schools and sects. People always have to divide them into several grades, several houses, several great figures, just to create excitement.

“Beyond the secular world, among ordained and religious schools, there are several Great Celestial Masters and several ancestral seats. For incense offerings and reputation, they too establish rankings.

“But once an era of great contention arrives, the jianghu is instantly smashed apart beneath iron cavalry and weapons of war. Even ancestral temples and ancient seats are trampled until they lose all temper.

“The Sword Saint of Jin has attached himself to Great Yan’s cavalry. Tianhu Mountain was burned clean by the Marquis of Jingnan. The Swordsmith of Chu fled from beneath Yupan City. Ancient temples have had the gold scraped from their Buddha statues.

“In short— everyone has ended up looking miserable.

“But idle people can never remain idle.

“So recently, another saying has begun spreading.

“This one focuses primarily on rising military talents, supplemented by status and prestige.”

Ji Chengjue lifted his tea and smiled at the young official sitting across from him.

“Oh?

“Does it include the Marquis of Jingnan and the Marquis of Zhenbei?”

“No, no.

“When people make this ranking, they focus on the younger generation.

“The young prince of the Barbarian King in the desert has been extremely active in recent years.

“The reason the Barbarian King stood aside and watched while Great Yan went to war against Qian and Jin was actually because he wanted both hands free to focus on transferring the Royal Court into that young prince’s control.

“They say this young barbarian prince has the support of the Royal Court’s Left and Right Wise Kings and the Left and Right Guli Kings.

“He himself is called an eagle rarely seen in the desert for a hundred years.

“Perhaps one day he will become a great threat to Great Yan.”

Ji Chengjue shook his head.

“As long as barbarians are still breathing, they have always been a threat to Great Yan.”

“There is another.

“Zhong Tianlang of the Zhong Clan in Qian.

“He is regarded as the standard-bearer of the Zhong Clan’s next generation.

“When Great Yan fought Qian, he once led light cavalry into Yan territory, uprooted military camps, and conducted raids.

“During that war, Qian armies collapsed one after another.

“He alone barely managed to preserve a little face for Qian— and for that emperor of theirs.”

Ji Chengjue looked unimpressed.

“He’s merely the tallest among dwarfs.

“I’ve heard of Zhong Tianlang too.

“I don’t find him especially remarkable.

“Qian has vast territory and a huge population. Supposed seeds of future great generals are countless.

“But in the end— none of them can hold up Qian’s collapsing sky.”

“The third is Nian Yao of Chu.

“He was born a private slave in the household of Chu’s Fourth Prince—the current Regent of Chu.

“The reason Chu’s recent internal conflict could be settled so quickly owes much to him.

“He led troops that captured two rival princes contending for the throne and also suppressed the Shanyue.

“The people of Chu call him the Regent’s foremost hawk and hound.”

“In my view, he is even less impressive than Zhong Tianlang.

“Zhong Tianlang at least won a few small exchanges against Great Yan.

“At least that was against a foreign enemy.

“This one merely fought a civil war.

“Nothing especially remarkable.”

“Your Sixth Highness, then surely there is no need for this subordinate to explain who the fourth is?”

When busybodies ranked people in the present age, they did not necessarily assign exact places.

Arguments were endless.

Outsiders could hardly settle who should stand above whom.

But people always loved grouping things into categories.

Four.

Seven.

Nine.

Top Ten.

Something of that sort.

Now the State of Jin had fallen.

Ordinarily, Jin should have occupied one of the positions.

With Jin gone, however, that was impossible.

So people had forcibly pulled one young prince from the desert barbarians into the list instead.

The fourth the final figure naturally belonged to Yan.

Young.

But already possessing military accomplishments worthy of display.

A recognized rising general.

Ji Chengjue reached up and patted his forehead.

“Zheng Fan.”

“Precisely.

“Count Pingye.”

The young official nodded.

“Huu...”

Ji Chengjue released a long breath.

“Count Pingye broke Mianzhou with three hundred cavalry and killed Prince Fu. Then he followed Li Fusheng deep into Qian territory and later entered Shangjing as an envoy to stand before the Emperor of Qian.

“Afterward, he followed the Marquis of Jingnan in suppressing the upheaval around the Jin capital and campaigned across the snowfields.

“In the recently concluded war to drive out the savages, Count Pingye again led an isolated force deep behind enemy lines and seized Snow Sea Pass through surprise attack, helping Great Yan’s Eastern Expedition Army annihilate the main savage force that had entered the passes.

“With military achievements and momentum like these— he belongs at the head of the four.”

First of all, no matter how impressive someone became in a civil war, compared with wars against foreign states it was still worth nothing.

Second, Zheng Fan had participated in campaigns that reached the feet of enemy capitals and even destroyed states.

The weight behind his record was extremely real.

So with Count Pingye seated in the first chair among the Four Rising Generals, the people of Yan naturally had no objection.

Even the people of Qian, famous for defending their own, could hardly find a convincing argument against it.

“Time really does pass quickly.

“I still remember when Zheng Fan and I first met.

“He was only a Lieutenant Commander of Merchant Protection.

“Now, when people sit over tea after meals and discuss the heroes of the realm— he has already become the final name everyone brings out.”

There was one sentence Ji Chengjue did not speak.

The reason he had stripped off his Chief Constable’s uniform and returned openly to Yanjing was not because everything had happened to be ready except for the east wind.

It was because Zheng Fan, thousands of li away, had stimulated him.

So he had acted early.

Truthfully, though, whether he acted early or late made little difference.

As long as his father had not died, no matter how much Ji Chengjue struggled there was only so far he could go.

The young official suddenly murmured:

“Tell me.

“This world is churning with wind and cloud.

“How magnificent must it be?

“Why should you and I be trapped here with nothing but tea, only able to comment on them from afar?”

Ji Chengjue paused.

Then asked:

“Feeling dissatisfied?”

“Your Second Brother sits in the Crown Prince’s seat.

“Are you satisfied?”

The young official did not even bother with honorifics anymore.

He simply asked the question directly.

Ji Chengjue fell silent.

“Hahahaha.

“Exactly.

“You can’t stand it either.

“Legitimate son.

“Concubine-born son.

“In their eyes, those rules stand higher than Heaven.

“But just because we were born from concubines— do we deserve to live like this?”

“What does the distinction between legitimate and concubine-born sons have to do with you?”

“Right.

“Strictly speaking, it has nothing to do with me.

“That is exactly why I envy you.

“You can use your status as a concubine-born prince and still fight for something.

“Truthfully—

I think quite highly of you, Ji Little Sixth.

“I hid myself so deeply, yet you still recognized me.

“Still found me.

“Heh.

“I envy you.

“You still have the right to fight over whether the heir should be chosen by legitimacy or by merit.

“But me?

“I don’t even have the right to compete!

“I— don’t even exist in this world!

“Look at that child in the Marquis of Jingnan’s household.

“How am I any different from that boy?”

The young official lifted his teacup and drained it in one swallow.

He drank tea as though it were wine.

His eyes began reddening.

He even looked faintly drunk.

One finger tapped against the tea table.

“If I were given the opportunity, perhaps I truly could not reach Count Pingye’s level.

“But I would never be useless!

“Zhong Tianlang.

“Nian Yao.

“That young barbarian prince.

“All of them— would have to stand behind me!

“His Majesty suppressed you.

“Froze you out.

“But in the end, didn’t he still give you a chance?

“What about me?

“What about my father?

“In my father’s eyes, perhaps this son of his died long ago.

“Perhaps I already stopped existing!”

“Lower your voice.

“My wife is pregnant.

“She needs proper rest.”

“Heh.”

The young official waved a hand.

“Ji Little Sixth, you need to fight.

“If you don’t want your son to end up like me— you need to fight.

“If you refuse, then one day that unborn child of yours may not even be able to openly and honorably bear the surname Ji.

“Believe it or not!”

Ji Chengjue nodded.

“The Zhenbei Army was broken apart by my father.

“Given away as my elder sister’s dowry.

“He never intended to leave it to me.

“Not one piece.

“And there will be no place for me in the succession of the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence either.

“He is forcing me to accept fate.

“Forcing me!”

Ji Chengjue silently refilled both their cups.

“Tell me why.

“Just because those old bastards are our fathers— the rules they established decades ago have to be followed by us younger people with our heads pressed down?”

“You’ve drunk too much,” Ji Chengjue said.

“This is tea.

“How the hell am I drunk!”

“Ji Little Sixth.

“Your Eldest Brother is already standing behind you.

“Can’t you make a little more room?

“Leave one place for me too?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.

“My Eldest Brother is merely helping me clear the trade routes.

“Brothers supporting one another.

“That’s all.

“What nonsense is this about one person standing behind another?”

The young official laughed.

He laughed so hard mucus ran from his nose.

He simply wiped it away with the sleeve of his official robe and pointed toward Ji Chengjue.

“Ji Little Sixth, you’re playing stupid with me now?

“You were the one who recognized me.

“You were the one who found me.

“You were the one who called me over here to drink tea.

“I came.

“I drank your tea.

“I even prepared a congratulatory gift for your unborn child.

“Do you know how little official salary I receive?

“I squeezed that gift money out from between my teeth.

“And now—

I’ve laid my heart and guts out in front of you while you sit there unmoving as a mountain?”

“No.

“I haven’t.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Who beneath Heaven does not know your relationship with Count Pingye?

“You control the Ministry of Revenue.

“Do you really think observant people cannot calculate how much money and grain you’ve actually been sending toward Snow Sea Pass?

“And you know perfectly well what relationship Count Pingye has with the Marquis of Jingnan.

“If I stand behind you, then it is equivalent to you stretching one hand into the Zhenbei Army.

“With my identity, even if I cannot command the Zhenbei Army, I can at least ensure those Zhenbei chief commanders no longer interfere in your Ji family’s internal affairs.

“In Great Yan— whoever wins the support of both the Jingnan Army and the Zhenbei Army can—”

Ji Chengjue suddenly showed a startled expression.

“Listening to you explain it like that— it suddenly sounds very simple.

“I’m almost tempted.”

“What exactly do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

Ji Chengjue sighed.

He placed the teacup in his hand back on the table.

Then he said with some emotion:

“It’s just that the dragon throne of my Ji family sounds far too easy when you say it like that.

“It actually makes me a little uncomfortable.

“And there is something else— something I’ve never been able to understand.”

“What?”

“Who are you?”

“You don’t know who I am?”

“No.

“What I’m asking is— who are you?”

“Ji Little Sixth, you—!”

“Who told you that you are the Young Marquis of the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence?”

“You...”

Ji Chengjue reached out and took the lid from the other man’s teacup.

He placed it on top of his own cup.

Now one teacup had two lids.

Then Ji Chengjue lifted the lid he had just added.

He casually tossed it onto the ground.

*Crack!*

The lid shattered.

Ji Chengjue pointed first toward the lid still resting atop his own cup.

Then toward the shattered pieces at his feet.

He asked:

“Can you truly be certain— which one you are?”

————

[End of Chapter 393]