xymnovel Chapter 37 Fu Family's 4th Rank Yanqing
Chapter 37 Fu Family's 4th Rank Yanqing
Nearly a month later, as spring turned to summer, the construction of the city wall in Qingjian was completed, and Gao Huaide returned to the prefectural city with his cousin.
As he entered the city, he saw several women dressed in simple clothes waiting by the roadside. They looked anxious and apprehensive, yet also hopeful, peering intently at the procession as if searching for their loved ones.
The laborers were gradually released and returned home to reunite with their wives, children, and elderly parents, and then hurried back to farm work, starting the spring planting and summer harvest.
But some people will never come back.
"My husband was conscripted to build the city. When he left, he said he would return in a month or so, as the family's several acres of land were waiting for him to come back and cultivate them. The villagers said he deserted on the battlefield and was killed by the soldiers."
Among the crowd was a woman with delicate features, holding the hand of a toddler who was still learning to walk, and she murmured to herself as she passed by.
"Gentlemen, judge for yourselves, does he deserve to die?"
Gao Huaide heard the woman's words clearly and his heart stirred slightly: Could her husband be the one he killed?
"Young master, do not lose your composure."
Lu Qian leaned closer and said, "Tigers and leopards are born to eat meat, while cattle and horses are born to be oppressed and slaughtered. This is roughly the relationship between the superiors and the common people. Tigers and leopards are concerned with how to sharpen their claws and teeth. Even if they pity cattle and horses, it is just an occasional act of kindness after they have eaten and drunk their fill."
Fu An also advised, "Yes, there are many things worse than this in chaotic times, young master, don't think too much about it."
Gao Huaide nodded slightly, spurred his horse into the city, and left the pitiful figures of the woman and child behind.
……
Back at the government office, Gao Xingzhou was receiving guests in the front hall, Gao Huaiyuan went to report back, and Gao Huaide went straight to the back residence.
"I'm back."
After calling out twice, several maids and servants came forward, but his mother, sister, and brother were nowhere to be seen.
"Young master, the young master is out, and the madam and young lady are entertaining guests."
A close aide reported softly.
My brother went out? He's not like me, who likes to wander around. And who are my mother and sister's guests? Gao Huaide's curiosity was piqued. He gestured that there was no need to announce them, and tiptoed to the back living room, where he crouched down by the window to eavesdrop on the sounds inside.
"Sigh, I've only been able to calm down a bit these past few days thanks to my fourth brother and sister-in-law's company."
Gao Huaide recognized his cousin's wife as the speaker, and a strange woman's voice chimed in: "Your fourth brother didn't fare any better. The day he received the bad news, he froze completely, which terrified my mother and me."
"Wang Foliu raised this servant boy, and it's fortunate that your elder brother trusted him so much, entrusting him with all the management of goods and finances, from which he embezzled a great deal of benefits. He was only scolded a couple of times, but who would have thought that this heartless wretch would actually rebel and kill the head of the family."
Lady Gao said, "Fortunately, we defeated him. If we had allowed him to escape to Huainan, it would have been truly a case of Heaven being blind." (Note 1)
"Therefore, wealth should be kept in the hands of one's own family. Aunt, you should let Xuan'er learn some books and numbers so that she can manage the livelihood for her husband's family in the future."
"Why should a girl learn the work of those corrupt officials?"
The stranger disagreed with her sister-in-law's statement: "Being a good wife and mother, and passing down the family traditions of poetry and propriety is the right path. If she is also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she can relieve her husband's worries and add to his enjoyment. I think Xuan'er is very good."
"My fourth sister-in-law comes from the Zhang family of Qinghe. I am a woman from a martial family, and my knowledge is limited, so naturally I cannot compare to her."
My cousin's wife said with a hint of sarcasm, "Back then, my father spent a lot of money on dowry and favors to arrange for my fourth brother to marry you."
The Zhang family of Qinghe was a prominent family during the Sui and Tang dynasties. All five members of the family, father and sons, held the rank of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measure), and were known at the time as the "Zhang family with 10,000 shi."
Because the three brothers lived together, halberds were displayed in front of their house to signify their prestige, and they were known as the "Trident." During the Tang Dynasty, they produced three prime ministers, ranking first among the Ten Pillars of State, truly a distinguished and noble family.
"I don't like hearing you say that, sister-in-law. Since I married into the family, I've been carrying on the Fu family line. Aren't I worth the dowry?"
The relationship between sisters-in-law is the most difficult. Madam Gao sensed that the tone of the conversation was not right, so she quickly tried to smooth things over: "Your sister-in-law is the granddaughter of Zhang, the former defense commissioner of Qingzhou. Now that Yanqing has been appointed as the prefect of Qingzhou, he will surely be able to help you a lot."
Zhang was unmoved and refuted Madam Gao's words as well: "My husband did not rely on nepotism, but earned his position through his own abilities and risking his life."
The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Gao Huaide overheard a few words of conversation and was about to push open the door to greet them when two exclamations came from behind him, one after the other.
"Second sister, no!"
"Watch out, Dedi!"
Pong!
Before he could turn around, a small stone flew by and hit the back of his head. Although the force was not great, it caused a burning pain.
I reached out and touched it; thankfully, there was no broken skin or bleeding.
Gao Yanei had never suffered such a loss before. He turned around and angrily shouted, "Who littered like that!"
"You're eavesdropping on your mother's conversation; you're no good!"
Gao Huaide saw a two- or three-year-old girl glaring at him aggressively, while another girl, a few years older than her, was with her sister, stopping the girl from picking up stones from the ground and throwing them at him.
"Who are you, coming to my house to cause trouble?"
Gao Huaide quickly explained, "Brother De, these two are Fu family sisters, they're all family."
The young girl snorted, put her hands on her hips, and said, "I am the daughter of Fu Yanqing, the Prefect of Qingzhou. My name... I won't tell you, you bad person!"
"Second sister, you mustn't be rude. This is Brother Gao."
The older girl deduced Gao Huaide's identity from Gao Huaixuan's words and was about to pull her younger sister to apologize to him.
The young girl stubbornly refused to admit her mistake, so she had to apologize on her behalf. She crossed her hands in front of her chest and imitated an adult's heart-holding gesture, which was quite convincing: "I was rude and offended you, Brother Gao, please don't be angry."
Seeing her sincere attitude, Gao Huaide didn't want to argue with the little girl, so he said gruffly that it was nothing.
The commotion outside startled the adults inside, who stopped their conversation and came out.
"De'er, you're back!"
Mrs. Gao exclaimed with delight.
"Huai De, where's your cousin?"
My cousin-in-law asked if her husband had returned.
"Oh, it's Dege'er, he's really handsome."
A strange woman praised it.
"Mother, he's eavesdropping on your conversation!"
A young girl filed a complaint.
"My second sister threw stones at someone, and I apologized on her behalf."
The older girl also spoke.
Gao Huaide was immediately dizzy and confused, with a cacophony of voices around him, unsure of who to respond to.
"Why aren't you inside greeting your guests? What are you doing all gathered in the yard?"
Just then, Gao Xingzhou returned and saw his wife, son, daughter, and guests, seven or eight people huddled together in a chaotic mess. He couldn't help but frown: "They have no manners at all."
"Brother Gao, please don't mind. We're all family, there's no need to stand on ceremony."
Gao Huaiyuan and another person accompanied Gao Xingzhou, and the other person spoke up to comfort him.
Gao Xingzhou did not want to appear incompetent in managing his household in front of the guests, so he asked his wife to check on the preparations for the family banquet, his daughter to take two little girls to play, and Gao Huaide to come and pay his respects.
"This is Fu Yanqing, the Prefect of Qingzhou. Why don't you come over here and call him Uncle Fu?"
Gao Huaide moved forward and looked up to examine the man.
Fu Yanqing was more than ten years younger than Gao Xingzhou, and was over thirty years old. He had a face like a silver basin, a full forehead, and a square jaw. According to physiognomy books, this was a sign of wealth and good fortune. His mustache was neatly trimmed.
"Uncle Fu, your nephew Gao Huaide greets you."
Fu Yanqing was dressed in a scarlet official robe, his rank was between the fourth and fifth grade, and a piece of white cloth was sewn onto his shoulder and arm. His expression was slightly melancholy.
Recalling what his mother had just said, it seemed that someone in Lord Fu's family had just died.
Seeing Gao Xingzhou's stern face, Gao Huaiyuan winked at his wife: "Uncle, brother-in-law, please take your time talking. My wife and I have been away for over a month, and most of the things in the house are covered in dust. We need to go back first and then come back to meet again tonight."
The cousin's wife understood, curtsied and said goodbye: "Uncle, Aunt, Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, we'll go home to pack up first, and we'll be leaving now."
"Brother Gao and I still have some things to discuss. You take Yun'er and Rong'er to sit for a while longer and keep an eye on them so they don't run around."
Fu Yanqing's wife, Zhang, agreed. The older girl bowed respectfully, while the younger girl made a face at Gao Huaide and stuck out her tongue, which infuriated him, but he couldn't vent his anger in front of his father.
Thinking that he had just been ambushed by a three-year-old girl, a disgrace to any martial artist, and a source of shame for the rest of his life, Gao Huaide felt a deep resentment.
He blamed Fu Yanqing for this and secretly prayed, "May God bless you so that every child you have from now on is a daughter, and that they will all be bullied by others."
Fu Yanqing had no idea that this kid, with his smiling face, was so vicious inside; otherwise, he would have kicked him eight times over.
As the crowd dispersed, only Gao Xingzhou, Fu Yanqing, and Gao Huaide remained in the courtyard.
Gao Huaide tried to run away, but his father stopped him.
"Don't go. I'm talking to Lord Fu. You just stay here and listen quietly."
Gao Huaide secretly lamented, regretting that he hadn't left first.
Fu Yanqing was the son of Fu Cunshen, who held the titles of Grand Tutor, Chancellor, and Military Governor of Lulong.
After Zhou Dewei's death in battle, Fu Cunshen succeeded him as the commander-in-chief of the Han and non-Han cavalry and infantry. In terms of military rank, he was more qualified to become the chief general of the Jin army than Li Siyuan. He passed away ten years ago and was posthumously awarded the titles of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Prince of Qin, and honored with a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He enjoyed great honors after his death.
Six years ago, Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing were appointed as the left and right commanders of the Longwu Army, respectively, and together they attacked Dingzhou Wangdu and defeated the Khitan reinforcements.
Gao Huaide had heard his father mention the Fu family's reputation; they were one of the most distinguished military families in the dynasty.
Fu Cunshen had nine sons. His eldest son, Fu Yanchao, had already been awarded the title of Military Governor of Taining Army in Yanzhou; his second son, Fu Yanrao, was the Right General of the Thousand Oxen Guard, responsible for the emperor's personal guard; and the rest of his sons each had their own duties.
Fu Yanqing was the fourth child in his family, and was known in the army as "Fu the Fourth".
In retrospect, his relationship with Gao Xingzhou was more than just that of comrades.
"The sister of Lord Fu married your cousin, so she is your cousin's wife."
"what?"
Gao Huaide never expected that this Fourth Fu was actually a distant relative of his own. (Note 2)
The revenge for the sneak attack with flying stones is impossible to obtain.