In the palace, Cheng Danruo has been promoted once again. Outside its walls, however, Xie Xuanying’s troubles are just beginning.
Princess Rong’an has already chosen her husband, and Lady Liu’s plans to find a suitable match for her own son are gathering momentum. With so many banquets taking place in autumn, she has attended several social gatherings and discovered quite a few promising prospects.
Tonight, she summoned Xie Xuanying to her room and tentatively broached the subject. “Has His Majesty set a date for Rong’an’s wedding?”
Xie Xuanying nodded. “Next spring.”
Construction on the princess’s residence had begun some time ago. Rather than being built from scratch, it was being converted from a former earl’s mansion. With the emperor personally overseeing the matter, the Ministry of Works was naturally making swift progress. The residence would be completed by the end of the year at the latest.
“Spring is neither too hot nor too cold. It’s the perfect time for a wedding.” Lady Liu offered a brief word of approval before changing the subject. “Once Rong’an is married, it will be your turn.”
“There is no hurry,” Xie Xuanying replied.
“How can there be no hurry? You’ll be nineteen after the New Year.” Lady Liu’s tone brooked no argument. “Next year, one way or another, your marriage must be settled.”
“I don’t want to marry so soon.”
Lady Liu studied her son’s face, searching for a clue. “Is it that you don’t want to marry at all, or that you don’t want the wife your mother chooses for you?”
“Mother, I’ve thought about this for some time,” Xie Xuanying said slowly. “I want to accomplish something first before discussing marriage.”
The words struck a nerve with Lady Liu, and she nearly lost her composure. “How did my son come to think this way?”
“Mother, there’s no need to be upset. Everything I have now is thanks to the protection of my ancestors, but ancestral blessings won’t last forever.” Xie Xuanying tried to console her. “Sooner or later, I must make a name for myself.”
Lady Liu gave a scornful laugh. “Make a name for yourself? Then why don’t I see your brothers doing the same?”
Xie Xuanying replied patiently, “Eldest Brother serves in the army and spends more than twenty days a month away from home. Second Brother has his own duties to attend to as well.”
Marquis Xie’s duty is not simply to hold the title of marquis. His actual post is that of a commander in the Left Military Command, effectively placing him in charge of one of Great Xia’s military regions and the military affairs within its jurisdiction.
In other words, he has troops under his command!
His eldest son by a concubine has served alongside him in the army and is now a bona fide chiliarch of the fifth rank. Meanwhile, his eldest son by his principal wife, having benefited from ancestral privilege, was appointed assistant secretary long ago, though his substantive post is that of a garrison commander in the naval guard under the Left Military Command.
By comparison, although Xie Xuanying serves as a close attendant to the Son of Heaven, his career prospects are far less promising than those of his brothers.
Whenever Lady Liu thought of this, she felt aggrieved on her son’s behalf. “San-lang, listen to me. Families that recognize your potential won’t mind waiting a few more years. As for those who have their eyes fixed solely on your title, we needn’t stop them from seeking a match with someone of higher standing.”
Afraid that her son might feel hurt, she steeled herself and continued encouraging him. “You are in no way inferior to your brothers. I will certainly find you a virtuous and capable young woman. With her as your helpmate, you will be able to devote yourself to your work without worrying about things at home.”
Xie Xuanying looked at his mother. “Mother, I don’t want that sort of woman.”
“Then what sort do you want?” Lady Liu laughed. She wasn’t afraid of him voicing his preferences; she was afraid of him saying nothing at all. “Someone prettier, or someone well versed in poetry and literature?”
Xie Xuanying answered slowly, “Looks aren’t particularly important.”
Lady Liu nodded. “When choosing a wife, virtue comes first.”
“Neither is talent particularly important,” he continued.
Lady Liu grew suspicious. “Would you even accept a woman who can’t read a single character, one who embodies the saying that a woman’s lack of talent is a virtue?”
Xie Xuanying replied, “As long as we are compatible in temperament and I find her pleasing to the eye, what’s wrong with that?”
“Is that so?” Lady Liu understood at once. “Then whose temperament is compatible with yours, and who catches your eye?” She gave her son a light slap and said with mock annoyance, “Still refusing to tell me the truth?”
Xie Xuanying immediately rose and knelt. “Mother, please calm down.”
No one knew a son better than his own mother. Lady Liu shot him a sidelong glance and sneered. “So you do have someone in mind. Why are you stammering? Are you afraid I’ll refuse to let you marry her?”
“You misunderstand, Mother,” Xie Xuanying said.
“What have I misunderstood, then?” Lady Liu asked coolly.
“You once asked me what I disliked about Miss Xu.” Xie Xuanying paused. “She comes from a distinguished family, is dignified and gracious, and possesses excellent virtue. But she wouldn’t stand on my side.”
Lady Liu was taken aback. “What makes you say that?”
“Miss Xu wants to marry a man of high rank and distinguished lineage. Without me, she would be better off marrying a commandery prince.” Xie Xuanying continued, “I ask for very little. I only want someone who will truly stand by me.”
“Once she marries into our family, she’ll naturally be on your side,” Lady Liu replied.
Xie Xuanying raised his head and asked a pointed question. “When you married into the Xie family, were you and Father truly of one heart?”
“You have some nerve!” Lady Liu’s expression shifted, and she slapped her son. “What nonsense are you talking?”
“There’s no one here but the two of us, Mother and son.” He lowered his voice. “Why hide it from me?”
Lady Liu fell silent. She wasn’t truly angry, either. More than anything, she was pleased that her son could see her situation so clearly. After a long sigh, she said, “I’m a second wife. Of course, my situation is different.”
Xie Xuanying shook his head and offered another example. “Suppose I wanted her to humble herself and defer to my eldest sister-in-law. With Miss Xu’s pride, would she be willing to bow her head?”
Lady Liu was displeased. “Why should she have to defer to her?”
He did not answer her directly, but instead asked, “If I refuse to yield, would a woman from a family steeped in poetry and propriety dare to disregard the sages’ teachings and stand with me through every advance and retreat?”
Lady Liu furrowed her brows, beginning to understand what her son meant.
“I want a woman who can manage the household and stand firmly on my side.” Xie Xuanying paused. “Otherwise, we will be at odds, and there will be no peace in the household.”
Lady Liu could tell that he meant every word. After a moment’s thought, she said helplessly, “That won’t be easy.”
No one understood the situation in the marquis’s household better than she did. To help the third branch maintain its position, a woman would need to be capable, level-headed, and generous in her dealings with others. Yet a woman like that would have pride of her own. Even if she obeyed her husband, she could hardly be expected to agree with him in everything. Moreover, she would most likely come from a distinguished family and remain influenced by her natal relatives.
Conversely, a woman who put her husband first in all things would probably be gentle, dependent, and compliant. That might be acceptable in an ordinary household, where the husband was a legitimate second son with no particular burdens. But in the Xie family, such a woman would likely be outmaneuvered by the first and second branches before she even realized what was happening.
“You’ve given me a difficult problem.” Lady Liu pondered, still uncertain. “I can’t think of anyone suitable at the moment. Do you have someone in mind?”
Dan-niang.
Xie Xuanying thought of her, but he could not say her name aloud.
“Not yet. But that is the kind of woman I want.” Unwilling to deceive his mother any further, he changed the subject. “I’ve never asked you for anything, from childhood until now. This is the one thing I ask of you. Please, Mother, grant me this wish.”
Lady Liu’s heart ached.
Her son had been sent into the palace when he was still a child. Meanwhile, the second son had remained at home, living carefree as the young marquis, receiving daily instruction from his father and personal guidance from his grandmother, enjoying every blessing the family could offer.
And what of her son? At the age of three or four, he had been sent into the palace to win honor for the Xie family.
Before he turned ten, Xie Xuanying had spent more days in the rear palace than at home.
The inner palace, with its deep courtyards, was hardly an easy place to live. Princess Rong’an was willful and capricious. His aunt was the empress in name, but after childbirth, her health had been poor, and she had grown distant from him, preferring the company of the former marchioness. How much attention could she possibly spare for her own nephew?
He had been so small, yet already he had to compete for his aunt’s favor and ingratiate himself with the emperor. The marquis had shown little concern for his hardships, but Lady Liu truly felt she had failed this son.
As he grew older, he was either attending upon his teacher or serving at the emperor’s side.
And what of Second Young Master Xie? His wife had been chosen by the former marchioness, and the betrothal gifts had been presented before the bride even entered the family. His official post had been secured through the marquis’s personal appeal to the emperor. The elders guided him at every turn, while outsiders called him “Little Marquis” wherever he went.
Why was it that her own son had to bear all the hardships, while the second son enjoyed every blessing?
“My poor son.” Lady Liu suddenly burst into tears. “You’ve had such a hard life.”
He had no share in the family estate and would have to earn his own fortune. No one concerned themselves with his future prospects, either, so he had to seek them out for himself. And now, even when he wanted to secure a good marriage, the matter was proving so difficult.
Her heart ached as though a knife had pierced it, yet she could not help advising him. “I understand what you’re thinking, but marriage is a bond between two families. As long as your in-laws are decent people and can help you, why must your future wife be perfect in every respect?”
“Unless the family has only one daughter…” Xie Xuanying paused, then, after a long silence, continued, “There still has to be something promising about me before such a match can even be discussed.”
Once again, they had come full circle.
This time, Lady Liu could no longer dismiss his argument outright, so she resorted to buying time. “You’re not getting any younger. Surely you can’t put off marriage until you’re enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed chancellor?”
Xie Xuanying considered this for a moment. “I should have accomplished something in three years.”
“That won’t do.” Lady Liu rejected the idea outright. “You’ll come of age next year. I’ll give you one year at most.”
A female official’s term of service was at least five years. But Xie Xuanying didn’t dare bargain with her directly, lest he give himself away. All he could do was say quietly, “Father won’t help me. One year…”
“One year, then. If nothing comes of it by then, I’ll start looking for a wife for you myself.” Lady Liu steeled herself. “I refuse to believe that my son, as outstanding as he is, can’t find a good match.”
Xie Xuanying nodded, but added one condition. “Let’s wait until Miss Xu is married before discussing it.”
However much Lady Liu had once liked Xu Yi-niang, she now resented her all the more. She sneered. “San-lang, rest assured. I understand. The adoption of a commandery prince is no trivial matter. The Xu family will have their day of reckoning!”
Xie Xuanying quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He decided to visit the Directorate of Astronomy and see what he could do to hasten the marriage of Commandery Prince Feng.
Persuading Lady Liu was only the first step.
Xie Xuanying had a more important task ahead of him: accomplishing something of significance.
He knew perfectly well that his mother’s agreement was only a temporary concession born of her love for him. His father would be far harder to persuade. No matter whom Xie Xuanying loved, if a marriage alliance became necessary, his father would have him bound hand and foot and dragged into the bridal chamber.
If that happened, Xie Xuanying would have no choice but to defy his father and flee far away.
To have a say in his own marriage, he would first have to establish himself through his own achievements.
And as for making a name for himself… the Hanlin Academy clearly offered little prospect of advancement.
Compiling books was certainly important, but it would take several years to complete. Military merit, on the other hand, could be earned much more quickly. Yet if he meddled in military affairs, he would not only arouse his second brother’s wariness, but likely incur his father’s displeasure as well.
He had been keeping an eye out for an opportunity all this time, but none had presented itself.
It was not until September that a memorial reached the emperor, reporting that a rebel army had risen in Shandong. The rebels belonged to an organization calling itself the Wusheng Cult.
Its leader was known as the Eternal Venerable Mother. The cult had already captured several county towns, strangled several county magistrates, forced prominent local families to take their own lives, and seized territory before declaring its own kingdom. The memorial requested that the court dispatch troops to encircle and suppress the rebellion.
The emperor was naturally furious. But upon closer investigation, he discovered that the rebellion had broken out not only because the local garrisons had fallen into decay, but also because Dengzhou in Shandong was already embroiled in war.
The pirates had returned that summer!
Worse still, they had somehow acquired powerful cannons and were fighting the Xia army to a standstill. With the battle deadlocked, the commander-in-chief of Shandong had transferred some of the garrison troops to the front lines.
And then, in Qingzhou Prefecture, a peasant uprising had broken out. No, a rebellion.
There was certainly no possibility of withdrawing troops from the front.
Dengzhou occupied an extremely strategic position. It had to guard against pirate incursions, but it also bordered Gaoli. Moreover, the Jianzhou Guard lay between them. In another world’s history, the commander of the Jianzhou Guard would have a descendant named Nurhaci.
A few decades later, the Later Jin would be founded. Its armies would then sweep south, seize the realm of the Han Chinese, and establish the last imperial dynasty.
Of course, with the Shandong rebellion now demanding his attention, the emperor could hardly be expected to recognize the future threat posed by the Jianzhou Jurche
What he cared about was still the rebel army.
Shandong was too close to Beijing. With one misstep, the rebel army might surround Beijing and threaten the emperor’s personal safety.
Troops must be sent to suppress it as quickly as possible.
