Chapter 979: Meeting My Mother-in-Law

Gou Moli had once explained why Chu had been willing to brave the condemnation of all Xia and cooperate with him, the Savage King, back then. At the time, reliable news had already spread that Situ Lei, Emperor of Great Cheng, intended to lower his own state’s status and bow his head in submission to Great Yan.

In truth, there was no need for Gou Moli himself to recount it. Far too many clues already showed that the late Emperor of Great Yan and Situ Lei had reached a tacit understanding of some kind.

After the Helian and Wenren Clans voluntarily invaded Yan territory and were promptly trampled into extinction by Great Yan’s iron cavalry, the Situ Clan—who had no grievance with Yan, had taken no part in the invasion, and by all rights should have been trembling in sympathy for the fallen rabbit—suddenly chose that exact moment to proclaim an empire and establish a state.

After founding Great Cheng, Situ Lei led its elite troops onto the snowfields to campaign against the Savages, who had already become a serious force and were threatening Snow Sea Pass. In doing so, he exposed his entire back to the Yan.

Yet the Yan army not only refrained from seizing the opportunity to invade Great Cheng and attempt the unification of the Three Jins, but Zheng Fan, then merely General of Shengle, even followed Prince Jingnan through the Tianduan Mountains into the snowfields and relieved Great Cheng’s pressure from a secondary front.

If Gou Moli had not truly been blessed by the starlight at the time, if the Savage elites around him had not all fought with their lives, if Chu had not stabbed Great Cheng in the back, if traitors had not emerged within the Situ Clan itself, and if a whole string of other factors had not combined to make the Situ Clan’s snowfield campaign end in failure... then eastern Jin today might not have been the eastern Jin of Prince Pingxi Residence at all.

It might still have belonged to the Situ Clan.

Situ Lei’s early proclamation as Emperor had been somewhat like raising the asking price before a deal so there would be room to bargain downward.

If he had simply surrendered outright, given how miserly Great Yan had been with noble titles granted to men outside the imperial surname, Situ Lei might not even have received a princely title. Perhaps Yan would merely have created some new title analogous to Marquis Zhenbei or Marquis Jingnan—something like “Marquis of the East”—and made it hereditary in perpetuity.

But proclaiming himself Emperor first, then carrying out the righteous All Xia act of expelling the Savages, meant that no matter how stingy the Yan were, they would still have needed to make him a Prince. There was even a good chance they would skip that step entirely and recognize the Situ Clan as a “Ruler.”

Great Yan’s noble system was complicated, and not merely at the lower levels. It was complicated at the top as well. Whether a Ruler or a Prince of a Different Surname ranked higher was difficult to say, but a Ruler possessed much greater independence. Within his own territory, he could appoint officials, train troops...

More or less, what Zheng Fan had built in eastern Jin today was exactly the position Situ Lei had once wanted.

And the Situ Clan’s eastern Jin had actually been larger than Zheng Fan’s present territory. Yingdu itself had once been the Situ Clan’s capital.

That was why Zheng Fan had ordered his soldiers to shout toward the Chu Emperor and address him as the Ruler of Chu.

The meaning was simple.

Surrender now, and I, your Great Chu son-in-law, can guarantee you the treatment of a Ruler.

If conditions allowed, Zheng Fan would naturally have been willing to “spend the last of his courage pursuing the beaten foe,” continue the campaign in one breath, swallow Shangyang Commandery, break into the capital region, and grace Ying Capital with his presence for a second time.

But after that?

Chu’s Ying Capital had always possessed one peculiar custom: it was not that the capital had been built in a place called Ying. Wherever the capital happened to be built became Ying.

If Zheng Fan simply kept his head down and continued pushing his elder brother-in-law farther south, the Yan army would eventually face the damned waterways, marshes, and mountain ravines of southern Chu.

Great Yan’s iron cavalry would be forced to dismount, carry sabers into forests and gullies, and chase and kill Chu soldiers and Shanyue through the mountains.

It had taken Chu eight hundred years just to bring the Shanyue more or less under control, and the most obvious progress had only come under Zheng Fan’s present brother-in-law.

So how many resources would Yan need to keep pouring in before southern Chu could be pacified?

If Chu were the only enemy remaining, then naturally there would be nothing to discuss. Grit the teeth. Spare no cost. Kill it completely.

But the problem was...

Qian still remained.

And Qian remained almost entirely intact.

Ever since the late Emperor’s reign, the target Yan had most wanted to cut into had actually been Qian.

Because it was soft.

Tender.

Easy to bully.

Yet precisely because Qian was so adorable, the Yan had been forced again and again to leave it bouncing happily on the side while turning first toward Jin and Chu.

Gnaw through the hard bones.

Then leisurely savor the true delicacy at the end.

Eastern Jin and all Great Yan had spent more than five years preparing for this war. The composure displayed on the battlefield, and the leisurely posture that had finally driven Chu into a desperate gamble, had all been built on the accumulation of those years.

Great Yan had not yet returned to the late Emperor’s era of “smashing pots and selling iron” or exhausting the entire realm through militarism, but this war had nevertheless consumed much of the ease and reserve accumulated since then.

If the fighting continued indefinitely, the people of Yan would once again need to remember what it felt like to tighten their belts.

The court troops committed this time were actually secondary.

The real expenditure lay in the enormous quantities of grain and military supplies the court had poured into eastern Jin through Yingdu, through Xu Wenzu’s hands.

Troops could be found by conscription. If one truly hardened one’s heart, manpower could be scraped together.

Grain had to be grown.

Military supplies had to be manufactured.

Neither could be restored overnight.

In truth, Zheng Fan and Ji Old Sixth had already discussed this exact situation five years earlier.

Their answer had been simple:

First beat Chu flat.

Then turn the spear around and slaughter Qian.

Fighting Qian... that was the ideal place to feed war with war.

Zheng Fan had led troops into Qian several times, and he had genuinely never needed to worry much about supplies.

That was why this offer of “Ruler” status was serious.

Ji Old Sixth—the Emperor of Yan—and the Yan court would accept it too, for the sake of the grand undertaking of unifying All Xia.

Of course, Zheng Fan had never expected his brother-in-law to genuinely nod, agree, and come out in white robes leading a sheep in surrender.

Most likely, Chu would refuse and continue fighting to the bitter end.

Zheng Fan would not be disappointed.

The position had already been won.

Strategic initiative now rested firmly in his hands.

Whether Yan continued fighting or stopped, drew half its fist back, and turned toward another direction would now be Yan’s decision.

Chu no longer possessed the strength to throw another punch.

The horse had been exercised.

The pretty words had been said.

Zheng Fan prepared to return to camp.

There was still a mountain of military business waiting for him.

Besides, the pigs in Shanggu Commandery had not even all been rounded up yet.

But just as Zheng Fan was about to give the order, a eunuch rode out from Ying Capital on a white horse, carrying a brilliant yellow imperial decree in his hands.

Yan riders immediately prepared to move forward and intercept him.

Zheng Fan raised one hand and stopped them.

The eunuch reined in at an appropriate distance and opened the decree.

“An edict from the Empress Dowager...”

He was nervous, and his voice trembled slightly.

But after reading those words aloud, habit still made him look toward the person receiving the decree.

A moment later... he saw the imposing figure in princely robes urge his horse half a body-length forward.

Zheng Fan did not dismount.

He certainly did not kneel.

Yet even that gesture nearly moved the eunuch to grateful tears.

“The Imperial Son-in-Law has returned to visit his wife’s family. This Dowager must see him. Imperial Son-in-Law, please wait a while.”

...

The Empress Dowager’s procession came out from the capital.

There were not many guards.

Only a little over two hundred.

And after leaving the city, the procession stopped far in the distance.

A group of eunuchs then erected a simple raised platform in the open ground and set up folding screens around it.

In earlier years, the Chu nobility had enjoyed outdoor feasts, composing poetry and singing freely in the countryside. Small platforms like this had once been fashionable.

When the platform was ready, Yan cavalry swept in from both wings and surrounded the area.

Then the eunuchs and palace maids bowed and withdrew completely.

Only the Empress Dowager remained seated upon the platform.

The Blind Man arrived afterward with Brocade-Clad personal guards and inspected everything again.

After confirming there was no problem, he signaled toward the rear.

Not long afterward...

Zheng Fan stepped onto the platform.

The Empress Dowager’s hair was already half white.

She wore little powder, so age showed clearly on her face, but she carried a natural kindness.

Zheng Fan had not allowed the Brocade-Clad personal guards to enter with him.

They stood outside.

The Blind Man and A’Ming, however, accompanied him in.

A small table stood before the Empress Dowager.

On it were pastries and tea, all delicate Chu foods.

Zheng Fan walked forward and looked at her.

She looked back at him.

A smile appeared on her face.

“When a son-in-law returns to his wife’s family, even an ordinary household knows to prepare wine and meat and welcome him properly. The Xiong Clan has no reason to neglect such courtesy. Truthfully, when a woman’s family treats her husband well, it is not because they want to flatter him. Leaving aside the shortsighted sorts, most simply hope that by treating the son-in-law well, the son-in-law will treat their daughter a little better.”

Zheng Fan smiled.

He bowed slightly.

“Greetings, Empress Dowager.”

“Sit.”

“Very well.”

Zheng Fan sat across from her.

“Try some. I did not make them myself, but these are several of the flavors I usually like most.”

“Thank you, Empress Dowager.”

After thanking her, Zheng Fan looked toward A’Ming.

A’Ming took chopsticks and a plate, selected one piece of every pastry, and ate them all.

Then he took the pot of tea, poured himself a cup, and drained it.

The Empress Dowager showed no anger whatsoever.

After A’Ming finished tasting everything, Zheng Fan did not touch the pastries.

Instead, he took the cup A’Ming had just used, poured tea into it, drank a mouthful, and praised:

“Excellent tea.”

“Hehehe.”

The Empress Dowager covered her mouth and laughed.

“I have made an old lady laugh at me.”

“Not at all. Not at all. A man doing things outside his home naturally needs to be cautious. Seeing you this careful and steady makes this old woman very happy for Liqing. A man is the sky over the women in his family. That old line, ‘I regret I ever urged my husband to seek a marquisate,’ was never merely pretty words. Take care of yourself. Treasure yourself. Be cautious. Only then can the sky over that girl remain standing.”

“Yes.”

The Empress Dowager folded both hands before herself.

“Tingshan was raised by me.”

“I am sorry to have caused you grief.”

She shook her head.

“Life and death on a battlefield are things one has to learn to see more openly. I do not blame you. Palm and back of the hand—both are flesh. If he lived, would that not have meant you were gone?”

“Yes.”

“This old woman did not come here to act as anyone’s lobbyist. I know perfectly well that neither you nor the Emperor are men who can be persuaded. A few words from me will not make either of you loosen your position. I simply did not want to neglect courtesy. Though if we are being serious, I do not really have the face to speak of courtesy at all. If I had been the one who arranged Liqing’s marriage to you back then, perhaps I could sit straighter before you now and scold you a few times as an elder. But this kinship... this son-in-law... To put it plainly, you had the ability. You had the strength. So you came here and carried Liqing away yourself. I have heard plenty of stories about snatching brides. A young lady from a great household elopes with some poor boy, and years later the poor boy rises in the world and takes his wife by the hand back to her family in glory. A fine story. Unfortunately, it does not fit you very well. You have risen higher and higher. Chu has fallen lower and lower. They say a woman’s natal family must stand tall if she is not to be bullied after marriage. Yet Great Chu keeps weakening. Now, instead, we find ourselves needing to cling to Liqing’s face and beg for the tiniest sliver of family affection.”

“Tell me what you want.”

“I would not dare ask for much. Just one thing. Consider it?”

“You are too polite.”

“Our Emperor has a stubborn nature. You know that.”

“Yes.”

“You met him before. Spent time with him too. I heard it from the Emperor himself. He admired you greatly.”

“That was a very long time ago.”

“Zheng Fan.”

“Mm?”

“Tell me. If you lost, would the Emperor kill you?”

“Most likely he would place me under house arrest.”

Just as Zheng Fan had once treated the Savage King.

“And your family? Liqing is not your only woman. Big Girl is not your only child. What do you think the Emperor would do with them? Would he... exterminate them completely?”

Zheng Fan hesitated for a moment.

Then shook his head.

“Probably... not.”

Years ago, the two of them had shared a carriage.

Afterward, as opponents, they had played against each other many times.

Enemy though he was, Zheng Fan could not deny that his elder brother-in-law resembled the late Emperor of Yan in many ways.

At the very least... he possessed breadth.

“That is why this old woman asks only this: someday, when you have completely won, deal however you wish with those who refuse obedience. But those who obey... if you still have spare grain, give them one mouthful and let them live. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

The Empress Dowager smiled.

“You agreed very quickly.”

“How could I neglect something my mother-in-law personally asked of me?”

The most vicious stage of Yan-Chu confrontation, when each side lived or died on every contest, had already passed.

During the late Emperor’s reign, Great Yan could not afford defeat.

One loss could have caused the entire structure to collapse.

That was why, from court down to army, everything had carried a particular ruthlessness and decisiveness.

Now... things were different.

This time, Zheng Fan had not ordered prisoners slaughtered.

More than that, he had used the military-merit system—the most direct tool possible—to discourage his soldiers from killing captives.

That itself was already a clear political signal.

If Chu eventually fell completely, Zheng Fan had no intention of carrying out some grand policy of extermination.

Divide and draw in the majority.

Suppress and kill the minority.

That was how territory was pacified and governed.

Yan had already developed an extremely mature model through its rule of Jin.

The Empress Dowager seemed satisfied.

She signaled that she wished to stand.

Zheng Fan did not move.

A’Ming stepped forward and offered the back of his hand.

The Empress Dowager used it for support and rose.

She was old, but hardly some woman who could no longer walk properly.

She went ahead.

Zheng Fan walked beside her.

A’Ming remained between them.

When they reached the edge of the platform, a gust of wind came through.

It was a little cold.

“I miss Liqing.”

“Liqing has always missed you too.”

“Can she come back and see me?” the Empress Dowager asked.

Zheng Fan nodded without hesitation.

“Yes.”

“And Big Girl?”

“We will bring Big Girl back to see you too.”

A married Princess returning alone to visit her mother was no problem.

From a cold political perspective, Xiong Liqing’s value as a Princess of Chu had actually been exhausted long ago, back when Zheng Fan, still only Count Pingye, had brought her into Yanjing to receive investiture from the late Emperor.

Today, her status as Princess of Chu—and Zheng Fan’s status as Imperial Son-in-Law—could still make policies of conciliation toward Chu territory easier to implement.

But that usefulness existed only because Yan possessed absolute military superiority.

The tail could never be allowed to wag the dog.

Would anything happen to the Princess if she returned?

Would the remnants of some false Chu movement try to harm her?

First, there was little value in doing so.

Second... it would not truly matter.

So Xiong Liqing could return to see her mother in safety.

Big Girl was different.

Zheng Fan doted on his daughter.

Sending his daughter inside alone was impossible.

Unless he went with her.

And the condition for Zheng Fan himself entering would be that Great Yan’s army had already marched into Ying Capital and entered the Chu imperial palace.

The Empress Dowager clearly understood that as well.

“In her letters, Liqing often tells me how much you spoil your daughter. Liqing is fortunate. Big Girl is fortunate too. A true man spends his temper outside. Men who enjoy raging at home are usually the sort who can never amount to anything.”

“You have praised me many times today.”

“There is a saying among the common people: the more a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more she likes him. Isn’t that so? Besides, Big Girl writes to me and sends gifts too. That child has a thoughtful heart. A pity I have never seen my granddaughter.”

“You could return with me to Prince Pingxi Residence in eastern Jin.”

The Empress Dowager laughed and scolded him.

“If I did that, Great Chu would lose every last scrap of face. No. No.”

Then... her gaze suddenly deepened.

“When all is said and done, a married daughter is water poured from the house. My son is still here. What sense would there be in going to trouble my daughter and son-in-law?”

“We are family. I would not care about that.”

“That sounds warm.”

At that moment, the gates of Ying Capital opened once more.

A force of Imperial Guards marched out.

The Yan troops Zheng Fan had brought immediately formed ranks.

Then... a figure in dragon robes rode out from the city.

His horse gradually slowed.

Eventually, it was only walking.

“My son has come to fetch me,” the Empress Dowager said.

“Mm.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

The armies on both sides began forming lines at a great distance from one another.

The small platform stood between them.

The Emperor of Great Chu was drawing closer.

One man.

One horse.

“Want to meet him?” the Empress Dowager asked Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan smiled slightly.

He remembered that his elder brother-in-law had already been a Third Grade expert years ago.

The man had forcibly fused himself with the Fire Phoenix spirit, somewhat like Zheng Fan allowing the Demon Child to possess him.

A’Ming and the Blind Man were both beside him, yes.

But Zheng Fan still had no desire to gamble.

He was not merely wearing shoes now.

He was standing on stilts.

His elder brother-in-law, by comparison, was practically barefoot.

Heaven knew what that man might prepare if he suddenly went mad.

Once one began judging others by oneself... the world became an extraordinarily dangerous place.

So Zheng Fan told the Empress Dowager:

“No. I should leave my elder brother-in-law a little dignity.”

“You are thoughtful,” she said with genuine satisfaction. “Giving each other some face. That is how family ought to behave.”

“Yes.”

Zheng Fan stepped down from the platform and mounted his horse.

A’Ming and the Blind Man followed closely behind.

Only the Empress Dowager remained standing there.

Just as Zheng Fan prepared to ride back toward his army, he suddenly asked:

“Tell me. If the two of you attacked together, would there be a chance to solve the problem once and for all?”

The Blind Man answered confidently:

“We could try.”

Zheng Fan hesitated.

Then shook his head.

“Forget it. Why fight over one moment’s advantage?”

As though explaining it to himself, he added:

“If the late Emperor had possessed a position as certain of victory as ours is now, he would not have gambled either.”

“Master is correct,” the Blind Man immediately agreed.

“But I still feel a little unwilling.”

As he spoke, Zheng Fan quietly drew a fire signal from his sleeve.

Pull the stopper... and the Yan force in the distance would immediately launch a charge.

“Master...”

The Blind Man suddenly warned him.

“What?”

“There is more than one person.”

Behind the Chu Emperor, a white cloak suddenly appeared.

Within the cloak emerged the figure of a barefoot old man.

His forehead was broad and protruding, giving him something of the appearance of a longevity immortal.

On the other side appeared a man in black brocade robes holding a sword.

His eyes were closed.

His steps never slowed.

The Chu Emperor reined in his horse.

And stopped.

“We did not ask you to follow.”

The old man laughed.

“We were worried for Your Majesty’s safety. That brother-in-law of yours is famous for having no martial virtue.”

The moment he finished speaking, the old man’s gaze sharpened.

He looked toward the distant figure in princely robes.

Not at the Prince whose name shook All Under Heaven.

At the other figure beside him.

A blind man.

In some unseen region, their consciousnesses had already collided three times.

The old man had originally intended to keep his form concealed.

But as the distance narrowed, he discovered that he could no longer hide himself.

And the reason was precisely that blind man.

“Interesting. He resembles a Qi Refiner, yet does not resemble one.”

Confusion showed in the old man’s eyes.

Across from him... the Blind Man spoke too.

“Master. The one who possessed the traveling-song performer last time has appeared.”

Three against one had suddenly become three against three.

Zheng Fan’s thoughts instantly became incomparably clear.

He put the fire signal away.

Turned his horse.

And said:

“The great battle is over. I’ll leave little scraps like this to you hardworking people. Hyah!”

The Prince rode back toward his army with his two gentlemen.

At that moment, the Chu Emperor stepped onto the platform and stood beside his mother.

The Empress Dowager looked at him and sighed.

“Do you regret it?”

“No.”

“Send a hostage over,” she said.

“Very well,” the Chu Emperor agreed.

“I used to have no particular longing for your father. Now I regret not following him sooner. At least I would have had some peace and quiet.”

“May Mother live a hundred years.”

“You worry about living your own ten thousand.”

The Emperor helped the Empress Dowager down from the platform.

She saw the old man and the swordsman standing not far away.

“Where did you dig those people up from?”

The Chu Emperor introduced them:

“Two dogs crouching at the bottom of a well.”

The Empress Dowager reached out and slapped the back of his hand.

She laughed and scolded him.

“And you still have the heart to mock other people.”

The Emperor smiled.

“Your son lost. But those two never even had a chance to sit at the table, and somehow, in their dreams, they have been winning the entire time.”

[End of Chapter 979]