Chapter 141
Chapter 141
[Isn’t the Villain Tempting? Not Really – 11]
The youths who had made those sour remarks were dragged down and thoroughly pummeled. The retainers knew their limits and did not take any lives, but broken bones and torn muscles were inevitable. The one with the filthiest mouth received the worst beating and ended up with a broken leg. He Jiaojiao even ran over to kick him several more times.
She had been delighted during the beating, but her expression turned gloomy on the journey home. After sitting silently in the carriage for a long while, she suddenly said, “Elder Brother.”
He Kanglin looked over. “What is it?”
He Jiaojiao pressed her lips together, as though gathering all her resolve. “When Mother brought us to the capital with Uncle, didn’t she say we would move into a home of our own once we’d settled here? Those people outside said such awful things. We should leave Uncle’s residence and establish our own household as soon as possible…”
He Kanglin smiled. “Jiaojiao, if I had completed my studies, or if Mother were preparing marriages for the two of us, I would have no objection to moving out early. But if you mean to leave because of what those people said today, there is truly no need.”
He asked his sister seriously, “Has our living in Uncle’s residence harmed any of the people who mocked us today?”
He Jiaojiao shook her head.
He Kanglin continued, “Have Uncle, Aunt, or our two cousins ever shown that they do not welcome us?”
He Jiaojiao shook her head again. “They’ve all treated us very well.”
He Kanglin smiled. “Then why should we change ourselves for the opinions of irrelevant people? Mother and the two of us have not yet secured our footing in the capital. If we rush away from Uncle to establish our own household merely because of a few rumors, we would be sacrificing substance to preserve our pride. Not only would we place ourselves in danger and force Uncle to worry about protecting us, we would wound Uncle and Aunt after all the loving care they have shown us. Why do that?”
One especially defiant fool actually rolled up his sleeves, marched to the Great General’s residence, and demanded an explanation. Emperor Gaozu laughed three times, then had the man sent away. Three days later, he found a pretext to strip him of office and drive him straight out of court.
When Lady He heard about it, she could not help worrying. As she ate with her two children in the courtyard, she sighed. “You two truly never let your mother rest easy. Your uncle spoils you as well. Now you’ve offended those people beyond repair!”
He Kanglin added, “Uncle all but covers the sky with one hand in the capital. That man not only failed to keep his head down but repeatedly stirred up trouble. A lack of foresight might be forgivable, but the situation was right before his eyes-practically poking him in them-and he still could not tell danger from safety. He deserved to be dismissed.”
Lady He was speechless.
Exasperation and amusement mingled within her, along with a faint trace of pride. “I’m telling you that the two of you handled this poorly, yet you’ve joined forces to teach me a lesson instead.”
He Jiaojiao giggled. “That’s because we were in the right from the beginning!”
Lady He smiled too. Holding her chopsticks, she chuckled for a long while before saying gently, “Eat, eat. We won’t speak of this anymore.”
…
Emperor Gaozu had long intended to wage war against Chuzhou. Once his preparations were complete, he left trusted subordinates to control the court and personally led the army on campaign. His eldest son, He Shaojun, was only seven that year, but his status was extraordinary, so Emperor Gaozu brought him along. His younger son and everyone else in the residence were entrusted to his wife, Lady Zhu.
He trusted Lady Zhu’s courage and ability to handle any upheaval that might occur in the capital.
His son was one he had acquired with this body, and so was his nephew. Since the eldest boy and He Kanglin were also the same age, Emperor Gaozu had originally intended to take the latter with him. When he asked, however, He Kanglin declined.
The refusal did not particularly surprise Emperor Gaozu.
After all, he had watched the children’s studies and achievements. He Kanglin excelled at his books, possessed a quick mind, and was upright by nature. Martial arts were his one slight weakness. The boy seemed born with a gentle, scholarly elegance utterly at odds with flashing blades and thundering cavalry.
Emperor Gaozu naturally would not force him.
The army departed in May and reached Chuzhou smoothly by the middle of the month. They encamped outside the city and fought fiercely for several days before Chuzhou fell. Emperor Gaozu returned in triumph and was consequently enfeoffed as Duke of Chu, granted the Nine Bestowments, and authorized to establish his own feudal state. For a time, no one could rival his glory. The He Family’s prestige rose ever higher, and its power became overwhelming.
Those granted the Nine Bestowments usually harbored ambitions for the supreme throne, and Emperor Gaozu was no exception. His trusted ministers and followers rejoiced, hoping their lord would advance one step further and raise them all with him. At the same time, members of the imperial clan and veteran nobles inevitably grew resentful. They sought to suppress the He Family’s ascent and restore the imperial house’s authority.
All of this was ordinary and hardly worth surprise. Emperor Gaozu paid it no mind. What he had not expected was that the imperial clan and old court ministers were not the only ones to involve themselves. He Zhenkui’s father, He Xiangji, and his stepmother, Lady Pan, also joined the fray.
When He Zhenkui left home all those years ago, he had parted from his father and stepmother on bitter terms. Several years passed without any word from him. At his second wife’s urging, He Xiangji removed his eldest son’s name from the clan genealogy and made her son the He Family’s legitimate heir.
When Emperor Gaozu traveled to Xing’an, he did not linger. He spent only one night at the Hu residence, then took his younger sister and her twins back to the capital the following day. By the time He Xiangji and Lady Pan learned what had happened, they were already far away.
He Xiangji might have been muddleheaded, but he was not completely stupid. When his son passed through the region without even coming home, he understood that He Zhenkui no longer felt the slightest affection for the He Family. With his son’s power now reaching the heavens, he dared not invite humiliation by approaching him. He remained honestly holed up in the old family home in Xing’an and pretended nothing had happened.
Some things, however, could not be escaped merely by hiding.
What He Xiangji had done was merciless. Few men of eminent clans shared a lifelong, devoted love with one wife, but they were still expected to show her basic respect and maintain a clear distinction between legitimate and concubine-born children. Men like He Xiangji-who married a second wife, drove his first wife’s eldest son from the household, struck him from the genealogy a few years later, and did not dare utter a word when his legitimate daughter’s husband proposed taking a second principal wife-were exceedingly rare.
He Zhenkui wanted no connection with the He Family and could not even be bothered to exact revenge. Emperor Gaozu preferred them out of sight and out of mind, and had cast them beyond the farthest reaches of his thoughts. Everyone else, however, saw matters differently.
The Great General was known for his fierce nature. Those he loved, he wanted to see flourish; those he hated, he wanted dead. His treatment of his full sister and her twins proved as much. Given that precedent, what must he truly feel toward the He Family in the depths of his heart?
Emperor Gaozu had shown no intention of taking revenge upon the He Family. But at the height of his power and prestige, who would dare court his displeasure by befriending them?
If even the He Family suffered such treatment, Lady Pan fared worse still. Those who targeted the He Family had to exercise some restraint, since however worthless He Xiangji might be, he remained the Great General’s birth father. But what was Lady Pan?
Crushing the Pan Family was absolute political correctness.
No seasoned bureaucrat would actually take a blade to the Pan residence and slaughter the entire family. Slow cuts from a soft knife hurt far more.
Lady Pan’s natal family was a declining gentry clan. After she married He Xiangji as his second wife, the Pan Family truly rode his coattails. Through the He Family’s influence, her father obtained a lucrative post in Xing’an, while her elder brother married a woman whose natal family possessed modest power.
From the moment the Great General passed his old home without entering, Father Pan’s life in the government office became difficult.
At first, his duties were reassigned. He was sent to audit accounts, collect debts, and perform every other thankless chore that demanded effort without offering reward. Yet Xing’an’s local great clans were deeply rooted and bound together by shared interests. What could he possibly uncover?
In the end, he accomplished nothing and lost his lucrative post. He remained on the official rolls, but not a drop of profit came his way.
Not long afterward, when the government office evaluated its officials, Father Pan predictably received the lowest possible rating. The document was sent to the capital for review by the Ministry of Personnel. The moment they approved it, punishment would follow close behind.
It was not as though anyone there were bursting with fatherly affection for him!
Father Pan was demoted. Soon afterward, his superior publicly reprimanded him for arriving late. One incident accumulated upon another until he was finally made an example of and dragged out for a flogging.
He was no longer young. The beating left him ill, and he spent several months bedridden at home-long enough for his position to vanish beneath him. By the time he recovered and returned to the government office, no trace of his appointment remained.
If Father Pan suffered, Lady Pan and the Pan women suffered even more. Forget marriage negotiations; no respectable banquet dared invite them now. The Great General had not acted yet, but if everyone waited until he did before severing ties, it would surely be too late.
He Xiangji and Lady Pan’s son was already of marriageable age. For the past two years, the couple had devoted themselves to finding him an excellent match. After enormous effort, they finally chose a bride-only for the young woman’s family to rush over and break the engagement now.
Who knew how much longer the son of the family that had stolen the Great General’s inheritance would remain standing? Only a fool would marry a daughter to him.
Some families were willing to gamble their daughters upon his future, but Lady Pan looked down on houses of that rank.
If this was the fate of the so-called eldest son who would inherit the He estate, the other children fared even worse. Xing’an’s eminent families demonstrated with perfect clarity their desire to flee as far away from them as possible.
People were social creatures, and clans even more so. Once all of Xing’an society isolated the He and Pan families, how could He Xiangji and Lady Pan possibly endure?
Even if they gritted their teeth and refused to bow, they still had children to consider.
Lady Pan knew the limits of her own position and knew the Great General must loathe her. She did not dare show her face before him. Instead, she wept. “It doesn’t matter if I die. I ask only that the Great General leave the children a path to survival. They are his own close blood, after all. Why must matters go this far? As for the He estate, he was always the eldest son. There is no harm in returning it to him. The children read the teachings of the sages. How could they not understand reason? As younger brothers, how would they dare seize what belongs to their eldest brother? We only acted as we did back then because rumors said the eldest young master had died on the battlefield…”
Lady Pan was past thirty but retained her mature beauty. She wept into her handkerchief for so long that He Xiangji’s heart softened.
They could not continue dragging matters out. He sat beside her and sighed for half the night before tentatively suggesting, “Perhaps I should go to the capital and test the winds?”
He did not ask that his eldest son’s favor bring the He Family any great benefit. As long as He Zhenkui agreed to see him and acknowledge him as his father, the family’s present crisis would be resolved.
As for the Pan Family…
If he could abandon his son and daughter for profit, why could he not abandon the Pan Family for the same reason?
The fact that he did not discard Lady Pan along with them was already an extraordinary performance by his standards.
When Lady Pan heard his proposal, hesitation crossed her face. She pretended to advise against it, but her tears never ceased and soon soaked the front of her robe. Then she appealed to his emotions and reason until his decision to travel to the capital became firm.
She was no fool. She did not expect to profit from the journey. She only hoped the Great General would relent and leave them a path to survival. The best possible outcome would be for him to forget past offenses and return to the He Family.
With the Great General’s boundless glory behind them, what did the He Family’s modest estate matter?
The only question was whether He Zhenkui would agree.
He Xiangji was deeply apprehensive, and Lady Pan equally uneasy. But matters had reached this point. They could only summon their courage and try their luck.
Lady Pan packed her husband’s luggage, and He Xiangji set out for the capital and the Great General’s residence. When the gatekeeper learned his identity, he hesitated, unsure whether he should announce the visitor. After all, every servant in the residence knew about their master’s ugly history with his old family.
He Xiangji stood outside the gates, his belly filled with guilty unease. Even so, the gatekeeper’s hesitation inevitably displeased him. Just then, a party of sturdy servants approached on horseback, escorting a young gentleman of eight or nine. The boy’s face seemed to bear some resemblance to his eldest son in childhood.
…There was probably a resemblance.
It had been too many years. He Xiangji no longer remembered very clearly.
Though uncertain inside, he rushed forward with a face full of delight and excitement. Recalling how Lady Pan had cried, he imitated her until his eyes grew moist. “I-is this Zhenkui’s child? In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so big. And I have grown old. Time truly spares no one!”
He wiped away his tears and continued emotionally, “You look just like your father. You’re the very image of him as a boy!”
He Kanglin looked terribly embarrassed. “You’ve mistaken me for someone else. I’m Kanglin.”
He Xiangji fell silent.
He quietly wiped the tear tracks from his face.
He Xiangji had been heartless toward his eldest son and no better toward his daughter. While Lady He lived with the Hu Family, she rarely saw her natal relatives. After several years apart, He Xiangji had even forgotten what his grandson looked like, despite the Hu residence being so near his own.
Now that He Kanglin had exposed the mistake, He Xiangji could not help feeling awkward. He tried to say something else, but He Kanglin had no intention of paying him further attention. The boy turned and strode into the residence.
He was He Zhenkui’s nephew and treated no differently from a son. Everyone also knew the young gentleman was clever and cautious. Seeing his attitude, the servants dared even less to make their own decision and admit He Xiangji. They reluctantly accepted his calling card and sent it to Lady Zhu in the inner residence.
Lady Zhu did not initially know who had sent the card and was about to open it when the gatekeeper announced from outside that the visitor was “the one from the old home.” She froze for a few seconds, then abruptly understood. With a cold laugh, she flung the card straight onto the floor.
“What old home or new home? The Great General has only one home!”
She scoffed. “Our family genealogy was drawn up long ago. The Great General is its first generation, and I am the founding mistress of the household. What clown has sprung out of nowhere, thinking a few words will let him climb on top of us? He must be blind!”
Lady Zhu leaned casually against the back of her chair, cold light glinting in her eyes. “Drive him away at once. Then issue an order throughout Xing’an: no one may borrow the Great General’s prestige or use his name to make trouble. Anyone who violates the order will be executed!”
Whenever the Great General was absent, Lady Zhu was the mistress of the residence and her word was final. The gatekeeper dared not argue. He conveyed her order to He Xiangji, then signaled the others to drive the man away.
He Xiangji knew he would not be welcome, but he had never imagined he would be this unwelcome. He had traveled all the way to the capital and failed to obtain his son’s pardon. Worse, he was returning with what amounted to a death warrant.
“No one may borrow the Great General’s prestige or use his name to make trouble”-to borrow An Lingrong’s words, wasn’t this the same as telling all of Xing’an that no one was allowed to let him live in peace?!
The gatekeeper said, “My lady’s will is the same as the Great General’s.”
He Xiangji froze, then suddenly understood. Hope rose in his heart. “How can a mere woman’s words be taken seriously?”
He declared, “Tell He Zhenkui to come speak with me. Otherwise, I will not leave. Let the whole capital see how husband and wife bully their elder!”
The gatekeeper saw that He Xiangji had moved some distance from the gates and could not very well continue beating him. Besides, if they actually killed the man, it might be difficult to explain. After hesitating for a few moments, he hurried back inside to report to Lady Zhu.
Lady Zhu laughed coldly three times when she heard the report, then summoned the servants around her. “Come. Let us go meet him!”
He Xiangji refused to leave the gates. Abandoning all concern for his dignity, he sat directly on the ground and shouted that he would not get up unless He Zhenkui came to him.
The gates suddenly swung open. Servants carried out a grand armchair and set it down. Next came a line of armed menservants and maids, who divided themselves neatly to either side. Only then did a valiant, striking woman of about thirty stride out behind them.
Intimidated by the display, He Xiangji climbed to his feet, brushed the dirt from his backside, and cleared his throat.
Lady Zhu emerged from the gates, flicked him a sidelong glance, and scoffed. She seated herself boldly in the armchair and said, “The Great General is away, so I possess full authority to handle every affair in his place. Tell me: have you come here today as the Great General’s father or as a complete stranger?”
He Xiangji unconsciously pressed his legs together. “The bonds of blood can never truly be severed…”
Her tongue was too sharp for him to match. He grew more embarrassed. “I was muddleheaded for a moment back then…”
“You weren’t muddleheaded for a moment. I don’t believe you’ve been clearheaded once in your entire life!”
Lady Zhu continued, “You were the one who drove your eldest son from home. You were also the one who opened the ancestral hall and struck his name from the clan genealogy. What is this? Is your word worth less than dirt? Are your clan elders puppets to be manipulated at will? Does your genealogy contain instructions on raising pigs? You people may have been born shameless, without a backbone between you, but my husband is not so contemptible that he will cheer after being trampled into the mud!”
Sweat broke across He Xiangji’s brow. He drew out a handkerchief to wipe it away, then dumped all the blame upon Lady Pan. “What I did back then grieved me as well. It was that wretch who incited me…”
Lady Zhu burst out laughing. “When you say ‘that wretch,’ do you mean yourself?”
Heat flooded He Xiangji’s face. He gave an awkward smile. “I mean the Pan woman. She is cunning and greedy by nature. She secretly sowed discord and urged me toward evil. I was deceived by her, and so…”
“She urged you, and you obeyed? She plotted evil, and you went along with it? If she was so cunning, why did you dote upon her, father children with her, even help her scheme for the family estate by harming your first wife’s eldest son and ignoring the abuse of the daughter your first wife left behind?”
Lady Zhu struck directly at the heart of the matter. “Lady Pan’s malicious provocation was certainly hateful, but your own stupidity and selfishness were the root of everything!”
He Xiangji’s lips worked several times, but no words emerged.
“You make it sound so lovely. Lady Pan committed every filthy deed, and none of it had anything to do with you. But I find something strange. If she was so greedy, why didn’t she coax the entire He estate out of your hands? You claim she deceived you and that you knew nothing of her evil deeds. By that reasoning, you must have loved her beyond measure. So why is your rear court still filled with concubines and bedmaids?”
Contempt filled Lady Zhu’s eyes. “Apparently, whenever Lady Pan schemes against someone else, you become a pure white lotus before the Buddha-spotless, ignorant, tragically deceived, and pitiful beyond words. Yet the moment her schemes touch your own interests, you wake at once. You surrender not one inch, yield not one share of profit, and refuse to let her pluck even a hair from you. He Xiangji, why do I feel that your blindness is selective and your selfish cruelty only comes and goes when convenient?”
He Xiangji flushed crimson. He did not even know where to put his hands. After squirming in shame for a long while, humiliation turned to anger. “What business are the affairs of our He Family to you? Tell He Zhenkui to come speak with me!”
Lady Zhu replied, “The Great General is busy. Why would he have time to meet an unrelated idler like you?”
He Xiangji tried to conceal his fear with bluster. “Then I won’t leave! We’ll see who can outlast whom! Let the whole capital see what kind of people you husband and wife truly are!”
Lady Zhu smiled slowly. “Some village lout from who-knows-where has come to the Great General’s gates to throw a tantrum and make trouble. If we fail to teach him a lesson, the entire capital will think my husband and I are worthless creatures anyone may bully.”
She leaned back in the chair, her presence towering and immovable as a mountain. “If you don’t wish to leave, then stay. Bring the canes and reward him with fifty strokes. Once the beating is finished, don’t rush to carry him away. Leave him outside the gates for three days first. Since you like this patch of ground so much, I will let you enjoy it to your heart’s content!”