Chapter 29: The Elderly Woman, Grandfather's Release

Outside the gates of the Li residence.

The servants guarding the gate saw the middle-aged man approaching and all hastily stepped aside to clear his path, even the servant who had been speaking with the old man quickly withdrew, making way.

“Ah! Of all people I hoped not to see, it’s always him,” the old man muttered in exasperation when he spotted the man clad in silk, his brows furrowed in resignation.

Seeing the puzzled look on Fǔ Zihou’s face beside him, the old man whispered that the middle-aged man was Li Jingjie, Li Gang’s second son.

At first, the marriage agreement between the Li family and the Fǔ family involved Li Jingjie’s daughter, the fourth daughter of the Li family. Later, it was he who sent someone to the Fǔ family, saying he would substitute his niece for his own daughter.

“In earlier years, among all Li Gang’s sons, he was the only one who stayed home, claiming to diligently study the classics. Yet he never amounted to much! All day, he thinks only of finding a suitable husband for his daughter, and insists it must be a son of a noble family. Hmph!” The old man, his hair disheveled, spoke with a stern face, clearly displeased.

“Uncle! Uncle!” Before he reached them, Li Jingjie raised his hands in greeting, then hurried forward with a broad smile and bowed deeply before the old man.

“Uncle Fǔ! What brings you here today?” When he first heard from the servants, Li Jingjie was astonished, unable to believe it until he saw the old man and his family a few steps away. Only then did he accept that the Fǔs had indeed come to Tiao County, bringing their whole household.

“Have they shown you any disrespect, uncle?” Li Jingjie’s slightly plump face was full of concern as he glanced at the gatekeepers.

The six gatekeepers looked terrified, listening to Li Jingjie’s inquiry. They never expected that this old man and his companion would command such respect from Li Jingjie.

Thankfully, they hadn’t tried to drive them away!

“No, everything is fine! Come, come, step closer!” The old man waved his hand, avoiding unnecessary words with Li Jingjie, beckoning him forward and, out of the servants’ hearing, seized his hand.

“Let me ask you, does the marriage agreement between the Li and Fǔ families still stand?” The old man, feeling the chill in the air, frowned and questioned Li Jingjie quietly.

Li Jingjie was surprised, but immediately nodded without hesitation.

“Uncle, of course it still stands!” he replied.

Looking at the old man before him, Li Jingjie knew his father and the old man had been friends for many years. His parents had benefited from the Fǔ family in their youth. If not for his own stubborn interference, the old man and his father wouldn’t have lost touch for so long.

Because of this, his father remained dissatisfied with him. Even when Li Jingjie visited, his father never greeted him warmly.

Now, seeing the old man come to ask about the marriage agreement, Li Jingjie recalled the time he sent someone to the Fǔs and his father’s furious reaction afterward. He smiled bitterly and stepped back.

“Uncle, I beg your forgiveness! At the time, seeing my father isolated and targeted at court, I acted on my own! Please, do not hold it against me. My father has never forgiven me for this, and now wants little to do with me,” Li Jingjie bowed and apologized sincerely, full of remorse.

At the side, Fǔ Zihou watched the forty-something Li Jingjie defer so humbly to the old man, astonished, especially by his apology and explanation, which Fǔ Zihou had never expected.

It was Li Jingjie who personally sent someone to the Fǔs. Normally, anyone else would resent the Fǔ family, even treat them as enemies for the sake of appearances.

Yet Li Jingjie not only hurried out to greet the old man, but apologized and admitted his fault before both his servants and the Fǔs.

Only those who have experienced the coldness of the world can appreciate how rare such conduct is.

Moreover, when Li Jingjie mentioned the elder Li, his eyes revealed a deep bitterness.

This piqued Fǔ Zihou’s curiosity about the elder Li, whom he had never met.

Since the Han dynasty, filial piety has been highly valued, and after centuries of turmoil and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, many families came to regard filial piety as more important than loyalty to the sovereign. Yet, beyond the noble clans, not everyone adheres so strictly.

No wonder Emperor Wen of Sui originally summoned the elder Li to assist Crown Prince Yang Yong.

“So, as you say, your father has retired and is no longer at court. Are you willing to marry your daughter to my Fǔ family?” The old man smiled, asking in return.

“Uncle…” Li Jingjie was momentarily speechless.

Seeing Li Jingjie’s bitter, troubled smile, the old man was irritated.

“I know what kind of person you were as a child! You want to play games with me? Looking down on the Fǔ family means looking down on me! Enough with the excuses!” The old man frowned, impatient.

“Uncle, I would never dare…” Remembering how the old man and his wife cared for him as a child, Li Jingjie felt guilty seeing him angry, wanting to explain, but the old man waved him off impatiently.

“As long as the marriage agreement stands, I ask for nothing more!” The old man, seeing Li Jingjie’s forced smile, couldn’t return it, so he turned to Fǔ Zihou. “Zihou, greet your uncle!”

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Fǔ Zihou, upon hearing, raised his hand and saluted Li Jingjie.

“Zihou greets Uncle!” he said.

Unlike the old man, who knew Li Jingjie and was angered by his actions, Fǔ Zihou had never met him, nor even heard of him before. His impression of the Li family was shaped by rumors that the Lis looked down on the Fǔs.

Thus, upon arriving in Tiao County, he had braced himself for the worst.

Yet seeing Li Jingjie treat the old man with such respect, Fǔ Zihou was relieved.

He understood that the true bond between the Fǔs and Lis was between the old man and the elder Li, not the families at large.

It was unreasonable to expect an outsider to behave as if they were family.

Li Jingjie hadn’t blocked the marriage, he simply preferred to marry his daughter into a prominent family. Fǔ Zihou, no longer a child, understood this was only natural.

Watching Li Jingjie interact with the old man, Fǔ Zihou could see that Li Jingjie was not like the Leis, who truly despised the Fǔs; rather, he simply hoped to create alliances with noble families for his daughter.

“Dear nephew!” Li Jingjie now looked at the youth beside the old man.

Learning that this youth was the intended groom of his daughter, Li Jingjie’s slightly plump face showed some embarrassment.

“Indeed, you are a fine young man!” he praised, glancing at the old man, worried he might be rebuked, and quickly turned back to Fǔ Zihou.

“Now that you’re in Tiao County, I have a large collection of books in the house. You’re welcome to read them at your leisure! In a few days, I’ll introduce you to some scholars and young nobles here, so you can make new friends. If ever you wish to enter official service, just tell me, and I will help you secure a post!” Li Jingjie smiled kindly at Fǔ Zihou.

“Thank you, Uncle!” Fǔ Zihou bowed gratefully, now forming a concrete impression of this uncle.

The old man also sensed that Li Jingjie was compensating for Fǔ Zihou, and thinking of the benefits of associating with noble youths, his expression finally softened.

“You must be tired from your journey, uncle. Please come in, I’ll have a banquet prepared!” Li Jingjie promptly invited the Fǔ family inside and sent someone to arrange lodgings for them.

“A shelter is all we need, don’t trouble yourself with a banquet. Just settle the marriage arrangements,” the old man shook his head.

Li Jingjie, seeing the old man unwilling even to enter the Li residence, wore a bitter smile and was about to insist.

At that moment, from within the Li residence, an elderly woman, accompanied by several young women, hobbled out with a cane.

“Liyang! Liyang!” she called to the old man.

Fǔ Zihou noticed that when the old man saw the elderly woman, his eyes flashed with nostalgia, then more with anger, as he turned away upon her approach.

“Mother!” Li Jingjie bowed quickly.

The elderly woman ignored him and went straight to the old man, gazing at his disheveled hair and deeply wrinkled face, her eyes reddening.

“Liyang, do you still resent me? Resent that I didn’t stop my wayward son back then?” she asked softly, her eyes full of guilt.

Li Jingjie dared not protest, hearing his mother scold him, and glanced at his wife, who seemed anxious. He thought she was worried about their daughter and signaled her to relax.

“Liyang! Back then, Yang Su, Su Wei, all those powerful men, wanted nothing more than to destroy Wenji. Our son’s actions were wrong, but at that time, the Li family truly had no way out, so I turned a blind eye! Afterwards, when Wenji resigned, I immediately sent someone to the Fǔs, but never heard back from you! Now you are here, if you can forgive the past, I will still offer our fourth daughter in marriage to your Fǔ family…” The elderly woman wiped her tears, promising the old man.

Hearing her words, everyone present—including Fǔ Zihou, Liu the elder, Madame Tao, and others—could see Li Jingjie and his wife’s faces change to shock and panic.

“In earlier years, Wenji and I both benefited from the Fǔs. Liyang, you know this. If there was any way, how could I disregard the Li family’s reputation?” the elderly woman pleaded.

Seeing her tears, Fǔ Zihou noticed the old man’s expression softening.

The old man now frowned at her.

“When did you send someone to the Fǔs? Why did I never hear of it?” he demanded.

The elderly woman was startled at his question, confused. Suddenly, she turned to her second son, Li Jingjie.

“Was it you, you wretch…” she trembled with rage, her cane raised but not striking, her tear-stained face growing colder.

“Mother, it wasn’t me! Truly, it wasn’t!” Li Jingjie denied hastily, asserting his innocence.

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Li Jingjie knew better than anyone that if he had done such a thing, his father would have been the first to expel him from the family.

This was not the same as sending someone to the Fǔs; refusing to marry his daughter to the Fǔs was an attempt to help his father by forming alliances with other noble families. That was why his father was angry and avoided him, but never expelled him.

He had never known of his mother sending someone to the Fǔs.

“Bring the steward here!” The elderly woman, seeing her son’s sincere expression, felt her breath quicken, and pounded her cane vigorously on the ground, her face a mask of tears and anger.

Her furious voice startled not only Li Jingjie, but Fǔ Zihou, Madame Tao, Madame Zhang, and others.

Even the women of the Li residence had never seen her so enraged.

Soon, hearing her command, two servants rushed inside.

“Liyang, I will give you an explanation for this,” the elderly woman turned and assured the old man.

No sooner had she finished than Li Jingjie’s wife suddenly dropped to her knees, trembling.

The abrupt action caught everyone off guard.

“Mother… it was me!” Li Jingjie stared at his wife in shock.

Under everyone’s gaze, the elderly woman slowly turned to Li Jingjie’s wife, Lady Zhou.

“Mother, I was wrong!” Lady Zhou, seeing the cold, unfeeling look in the elderly woman’s eyes, began to sob, crawling forward to beg forgiveness.

As Li Jingjie’s wife, Lady Zhou had lived in the Li residence for many years, yet it was the first time she saw the elderly woman’s eyes devoid of warmth towards her.

Afraid of being cast out, Lady Zhou turned to the old man. “Uncle Fǔ! Uncle Fǔ, it was my fault! I was wrong! I was wrong!”

“All right, all right! I’ve come today as a refugee, not to watch your family quarrel! Don’t blame her just yet, answer me this: are you really offering your fourth daughter to my Fǔ family?” The old man addressed the elderly woman impatiently, but still wanted to confirm her promise.

Looking at Lady Zhou, and realizing the misunderstanding, the old man let out a deep sigh, unwilling to see the Li family embroiled in scandal because of him.

At the side, Fǔ Zihou saw the old man’s relief, knowing that the old man’s longstanding concern had finally been resolved.

Back in the village, Fǔ Zihou had wondered why the old man was so angry with the Li family after what they’d done, even breaking off contact, yet never spoke of it to him, nor allowed his parents or uncle and aunt to mention it.

Now, seeing this elderly woman, Fǔ Zihou finally understood.

The old man had always remembered Li Gang and his wife!

He never spoke of it, lest he grow bitter toward the Li family, or let word of it spread.

As for Lady Zhou, her actions were a symptom of the era—poor communication easily led to mistakes and manipulation.

Lady Zhou didn’t want her daughter to marry into the Fǔ family, so she privately enlisted the steward to defy the elderly woman’s wishes.

No one knew what means Lady Zhou used, but the steward was surely doomed.

A steward who betrays the master, anywhere, will at best be sent away.

“You’ll be dealt with upon returning home!” The elderly woman, sensing the old man’s intent, softened her expression somewhat, but did not let Lady Zhou rise, instead turning to the old man.

“Of course it counts. Come inside first! If you wish to scold or punish us for the past, today in the Li residence none will complain. But please, come in and rest awhile. As for the marriage, we’ll follow your lead!” the elderly woman said gently.

Looking at the old man, she couldn’t help but recall the days she and her husband lived as guests with the Fǔs.

“Very well, have your son arrange a fine residence for my Fǔ family!” The old man finally smiled, seeing the elderly woman’s tearful joy, and his own eyes grew moist.

“Of course! As spacious as the city allows. If nothing suitable can be found, you’ll live in the Li residence!” she replied, crying and laughing.

At last, the elderly woman looked at Fǔ Zihou, then at the old man.

“Second son’s child, Fǔ Zihou!” the old man happily introduced.

Fǔ Zihou bowed to her, and only then did the other women and maids of the Li residence, as well as Lady Zhou, realize that the youth beside the old man was Fǔ Zihou, the intended groom.

“Good, good, good!” The elderly woman looked at Fǔ Zihou as if at her own grandson, raising her hand to let him dispense with ceremony.

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