To put it humorously, the upheaval that nearly altered the course of Shao Shang's life initially held less interest for her than Cheng Mu's manure vat.
The sage said, "Speak not while eating, and be silent while sleeping." Most members of the Cheng family would undoubtedly disagree with this maxim—at the very least, Cheng Mu and Old Man Cheng could never abide by it. More often than not, their meals would devolve into arguments, and the reasons for these disputes were usually absurd beyond words.
On this day, the mother and son were once again at odds over whether the family farm should adopt extensive or intensive cultivation. The topic had originated with Cheng Yang, though her intentions had been purely filial. But as they say, the world is never short of well-meaning people who end up doing more harm than good.
"...Mount Tu Gao is so scenic, with clear skies and crisp air. It was my first time seeing it too. And it's quite close to the Capital City. Next time I go to the estate to check the accounts, I’ll take you there for an outing, Grandmother," Cheng Yang said with a gentle smile.
Seated at the head of the table, Cheng Mu cast a sidelong glance at her son and sighed mournfully, "Ah, some of you are off attending Imperial audiences, others are racing horses—leaving this old woman all alone, lonely and pitiful!"
Cheng Shi set down his lacquer wood chopsticks and declared loudly, "Didn’t you say yourself, Mother, that with spring planting and aphids sprouting, you needed to stay behind to tend the crops in the back garden? But Mother, you mustn’t keep planting whatever fills the belly like before—coarse and unrefined. We’re no longer starving! Look at Niao Niao—last time she cultivated those cucumbers and cabbages, so delicate and crisp, fresh and refreshing!"
He didn’t mention how, when he’d shared the small baskets of out-of-season cucumbers and cabbages his daughter had grown with colleagues and friends, their astonished expressions had made him feel as though the family’s prestige had risen several notches. Even among wealthy and powerful families, cultivating off-season delicate produce was no small feat.
"You insolent brat! How dare you spout such nonsense!" Cheng Mu slammed the dining table in fury. "You can insult me, but don’t you dare insult my fields and crops! Every time, I pile the fertilizer thick, and the millet and wheat I grow are sweeter than anyone else’s!"
"Speaking of which, those manure vats—aren’t they foul? Do you remember the one behind the hill back home? I told you repeatedly not to bury it so low, and then that time you stepped into it while climbing the mountain—"
What a splendid topic for mealtime. Cheng Song and Cheng Shao Gong trembled with suppressed laughter, heads bowed. Cheng Yang froze with her chopsticks mid-air, her face awkward. Madam Xiao, unable to endure it any longer, slammed her lacquer wood chopsticks onto the dining table with force.
Cheng Yang flustered, quickly saying, "This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have brought up something that upset Grandmother..."
"Ah, Cousin, don’t interrupt! This has nothing to do with you. Father and Grandmother are just... well, showing their closeness! Mother and I have quarreled too!" Shao Shang, having grown up among common folk, fit right into this rowdy, lively atmosphere.
The Cheng brothers stole glances at their mother, only to see Madam Xiao massaging her forehead with a sigh.
Shao Shang pressed on eagerly, "Father, did Grandmother fall in after all?"
"You little wretch! Are you hoping this old woman fell in?!" Cheng Mu bellowed, her nostrils flaring.
Cheng Shi hurried to defend his daughter. "Mother, don’t shout so loudly. Niao Niao is timid—don’t frighten her!"
"Her? Timid?" Cheng Mu pointed at Shao Shang and screeched at her son. "Have your eyes been fertilized too?!"
"—Yong Er!"
Madam Xiao struck the dining table sharply, her voice ringing out. The entire household fell silent, momentarily stunned out of their bickering.
"...Tell us, what did you see at the Imperial Academy today?" Madam Xiao finished icily, her face ashen.Cheng Yong took a deep breath, relieved that he was fine, and said, "Mother, something major did happen today—the Yong Wang clan has rebelled!"
At these words, everyone except Cheng Shi was shocked. Madam Xiao solemnly asked, "Yong Wang? So he truly harbored rebellious intentions all along. Did they stage their treason in Fengyi Commandery, northwest of Yongzhou?"
Cheng Yong clasped his hands and replied, "Mother is absolutely right."
"Fengyi Commandery in Yongzhou—isn't that just separated from us by Hongnong Commandery?" Cheng Song tilted his head, recalling the map.
Cheng Mu turned pale with fright. "What? Are they going to attack the Capital City...?" Her voice trembled as she made to rise.
Cheng Yang hurried forward to console her, and Shao Shang also came to help, laughing, "Grandmother, why are you afraid? Don’t you see Eldest Brother sitting here perfectly fine? If things were urgent, he would’ve rushed back in a panic to report!"
Cheng Shi burst into laughter. "Our Niao Niao is so clever!" He then turned to Cheng Mu. "I was just about to say this. Fengyi isn’t far from the Capital City, so this matter can’t be hidden. If you hear anything outside, Mother, don’t panic. This rebellion won’t amount to anything!"
"Father is right!" Shao Shang chimed in. "Didn’t Uncle and Aunt and I just run into a rebellion recently? It was over in just a few days, and the ringleaders were beheaded and hung up to dry. It’s a shame Uncle wouldn’t let me go see them!"
"Enough, enough! What’s a little girl like you doing going to see such things?" Cheng Shi scolded in a low voice. His daughter was perfect in every way—except for her alarming lack of reverence, or in simpler terms, her lack of common sense.
Shao Shang sulkily retreated. She had wanted to ask Cheng Mu whether she had really fallen into a manure pit.
"My son, are you sure the Yong Wang forces won’t make it here? I heard the Yong Wang clan was a formidable family even in the previous dynasty!" Cheng Mu remained anxious, though she shakily sat back down.
Cheng Shi scoffed. "Precisely because they were too formidable, they later rose up and declared themselves emperor. They just couldn’t let go of their former glory! In my opinion, wealth and status are fated. The Yong Wang father and son simply don’t have the face for it!"
"Father, you can read faces too?" Cheng Shao Gong perked up. "Tell me, what’s their facial fortune?"
"Get lost!" Cheng Shi glared at his son before continuing, "Mother, don’t worry, really! This morning, His Majesty already dispatched several troops westward to Fengyi Commandery. Oh, Ling Buyi is among them." As he said this, he glanced cautiously at his daughter, but she showed no reaction.
Seeing her husband’s reassurances missing the mark, Madam Xiao added, "Husband’s mother, listen to me. Back then, when the Yong Wang father and son saw the situation turning against them, they surrendered to His Majesty on their own. There was just one condition—they claimed they couldn’t bear to leave their ancestral lands and graves, so they refused to move to the Capital City like the others who surrendered. His Majesty agreed to avoid bloodshed. But think about it—how wise is our Emperor? Would he really leave them completely unchecked? Husband’s mother, rest assured. Over the years, His Majesty has gradually stripped Yong Wang of his military and taxation rights, and set up multiple encirclements around Fengyi Commandery. Now, the Yong Wang clan can’t just surrender or rebel as they please!"
Only after hearing this logical explanation did Cheng Mu finally relax.
"...However," Madam Xiao glanced worriedly at Shao Shang and asked her husband, "Could this affect Niao Niao?"
"Ah." Shao Shang had been nodding along, but suddenly the topic shifted to her.Like many young people who grew up in peaceful and prosperous times, Shao Shang wasn’t particularly politically sensitive. Especially for someone in a purely scientific and technical field—whether leaders changed or not, Fourier remained Fourier; whether certain countries attacked others under the pretext of "weapons of mass destruction," Kirchhoff’s laws didn’t alter.
For her, current affairs only served two purposes: how well she could answer hot-button issues during political exams, and how generously the higher-ups funded lab projects (which directly determined her professors’ moods).
What did a father-son rebellion in a neighboring commandery have to do with her? Shao Shang couldn’t fathom it no matter how hard she tried.
Seeing her daughter’s blank expression, Madam Xiao sighed. "The King of Yong’s surname is Xiao. His Heir Apparent is the one who married He Zhaojun."
Shao Shang took a moment to process this before exclaiming, "You mean… that so-called Xiao Heir Apparent?"
Madam Xiao nodded. Cheng Song, unfamiliar with such marital affairs, quickly asked, "But Mother, isn’t General He stationed at Fengyi by imperial decree? How… how does this marriage alliance…?"
Everyone understood Cheng Song’s implication. Cheng Mu grew anxious again about whether Fengyi could hold. Only Cheng Shao Gong asked, "But what does this have to do with Niao Niao?"
"...Right, what does this have to do with me?" Shao Shang remained puzzled. "There are only two outcomes here. Either General He remains loyal and valiant, suppressing the rebellious King of Yong and his son, then returns to receive rewards and honors..."
"Or General He colludes with his in-laws, turning the He Family into traitors—then it’s even less of our concern!" Cheng Shao Gong finished.
Cheng Shi waved it off. "My child is right. You’re overthinking this, Mother."
"Not quite. There’s a third possibility," Cheng Song said with a grin. "General He might be deceived and lulled into complacency by his in-laws, failing to act in time. In that case, he’d still face punishment upon his return! Who knows—Father might get another chance to distinguish himself!"
Shao Shang cheered, "Second brother, brilliant!... But Father shouldn’t go. Let others have a turn at glory."
The four of them burst into laughter. Madam Xiao watched her thick-skinned husband and children laughing foolishly and could only sigh. When she looked up, she saw Cheng Yong’s eyes reflecting the same concern as hers.
...
As it turned out, predicting the future wasn’t something ordinary people could do, because none of the Cheng family’s speculations came true. Just three days later, news arrived that the Yong rebellion had been quelled.
The Cheng siblings were stunned. Cheng Mu’s worries vanished instantly, and she laughed heartily. "All that talk about how fearsome the King of Yong was—turns out he was nothing! That Prefect Fan in A’Zhi’s commandery held out for over ten days!"
Two days later, Cheng Yong brought more detailed news.
To swiftly crush the rebellion, all of General He’s adult sons had died in battle. He himself succumbed to severe injuries on the way back to the Capital City. Even someone as slow as Cheng Mu sensed something amiss. "A’Yong, does the He Family have anyone left?"
"Yes. Only their sole daughter, He Zhaojun, and a four-year-old son remain," Cheng Yong said, his worried gaze shifting to his younger sister. "His Majesty has enfeoffed Lady He as Ancheng Jun, granting her estates and income. The young son will inherit the title."
Shao Shang sat silently by the window, a faint, cold beam of sunlight falling on her face. After a long pause, she murmured, "If it’s fortune, it won’t be misfortune; if it’s misfortune, it can’t be avoided."Perhaps the words had been prophetic. Three days later, Marquis Yang Ji Zun, who had been sent to retrieve General He's remains, recounted the general's dying words verbatim before the assembled court during a minor audience:
"Your subject was but a crude man from the countryside. To have served by Your Majesty's side was the greatest fortune of my life. I die without regret, and beg Your Majesty not to grieve."
"Your subject leaves behind only two weak daughters and a young son. My daughter Zhaojun was originally betrothed to a son of the Lou family. Now that the Xiao rebels have been executed or captured, the previous engagement is broken. I hope she may renew ties with the Lou family."
Upon hearing the first testament, the Emperor wept uncontrollably, lamenting, "Heaven has taken from me a loyal minister and fine general!" The entire court joined in mourning. But when the second testament was read, the Emperor's grief momentarily paused as all eyes turned to Lou Taipu.
Ji Zun remained standing before the throne and continued his report: "This old minister observed General He's expression and believes he was unaware that Lou Taipu's nephew had already become engaged to Lady Cheng. Hence this request."
Wan Songbai, who had been wiping tears, recovered from his shock and exclaimed, "Exactly! General He was always reasonable. Had he known of this engagement, he would never have—"
"However—" Ji Zun maintained an impassive expression, avoiding the varied looks from the courtiers, "the He family's sacrifice was heroic. Though protocol may not permit it, compassion could make an exception. This old minister begs Your Majesty's decision!"
The Emperor sat silently on his throne, the twelve jade beads of his ceremonial headdress swaying slightly, obscuring the sovereign's expression from his ministers.
Lou Taipu stood dumbstruck, realizing any words from him now would be wrong.
"What decision needs making?!" Wan Songbai, sensing the dangerous turn, raised his voice. "First, General He didn't know about the existing engagement when he made his request. Second, serving one's country loyally is a subject's duty. To speak bluntly, does meritorious service now entitle one to make demands?"
Ji Zun nodded. "Minister Wan makes a fair point. Your Majesty's rewards are one matter, but seizing another family's marriage arrangement is quite another."
General Wu suddenly stood, bellowing, "That's not how it should be seen! The He family suffered terribly—nearly wiped out. Shouldn't we show some compassion?"
Ji Zun turned to General Wu. "Does the General suggest His Majesty should order this marriage to proceed? Consider carefully—if we set this precedent, whenever a family suffers heavy losses in future, may they then claim others' possessions based on merit? For example—"
The silver-haired elder suddenly pointed behind him at Marquis Xuan, the Empress's brother: "Take Marquis Xuan—His Majesty once granted his family a mountain in their homeland as ancestral graves. Yet this mountain originally belonged to the Zhen family of Xuzhou. When the Zhens were enemies, this mattered little. But later they surrendered. If Zhen descendants distinguish themselves in future, should Marquis Xuan return their mountain?"
General Wu fell silent momentarily before countering, "That—that's different! Ancestral graves are sacred, not to be traded. But this marriage—the Lou and Cheng families haven't wed yet!"
Ji Zun nodded again. "The General has a point. Now General He left one young son. But suppose in future, a family fights for the country until only one daughter remains—may she then demand any married man she fancies divorce his wife to wed her? Where do we draw the line?"
This time General Wu had no rebuttal. He sat down angrily amidst the ranks.Just as Wan Songbai was chuckling to himself, thinking Old Man Ji was on their side, Ji Zun added, "However, the He clan's loyalty and bravery moved heaven. General He's dying wish should indeed be honored."
Wan Songbai gaped at the stubborn old man for a long moment before finally understanding.
—The Emperor couldn't directly issue an edict for such matters, or it would set a precedent. But the Lou and Cheng families could voluntarily annul the engagement to accommodate the 'pitiful yet loyal and brave' He clan.
...
After the court session ended, Wan Songbai hurried to the Cheng residence to relay everything in detail to his sworn brother Cheng Shi, who hadn't attended the minor court assembly—oh, and to Madam Xiao as well.
Cheng Shi said unhappily, "Is there really no other way to reward a meritorious official? Must they make sport of us?"
Madam Xiao remained silent for a long while before suddenly asking, "Did Lou Taipu not say a single word?"
Wan Songbai wiped his sweat and nodded emphatically. "That old fellow acted as though his tongue had been cut out!"
A cold smile touched Madam Xiao's lips. "Why should we be in a hurry? The root of this matter lies with the Lou Family. Let's wait and see what the two branches of the Lou Family have to say."
Cheng Shi said gravely, "Exactly. It's not that we're desperate to keep A Yao as our son-in-law, but if we withdraw too easily, the entire Capital City will think the Cheng Family can be bullied!"
Seated quietly in the adjoining room, Shao Shang listened to the elders' discussion and suddenly thought of an interesting analogy: Suppose you painstakingly tested into Peking or Tsinghua University—you might never have such good exam luck again—but the daughter of a martyr who died in the line of duty needed your university spot. Would you give it up or not?
Author's Note:
There will be another update tomorrow.
OpenNovel