Chapter 42: The Helplessness of the Li Residence (Happy New Year!!!)

Inside Tao County.

The news of Zhang Jinchen attacking Qinghe County in Qinghe Commandery quickly spread throughout the city, sending the populace into a frenzy of fear and unrest.

After all, anywhere in the commanderies of Xindu, Pingyuan, Qinghe, or Wu’an, whether in the cities or the villages, any common person could tell you: compared to other bandit leaders, Zhang Jinchen was especially ruthless, leaving no survivors wherever he passed.

In the past, those unfortunate enough to fall into Zhang Jinchen’s hands rarely lived to tell the tale—unless they were robust men or exceptionally beautiful women, almost none, whether male or female, returned alive.

Now, with the terrifying realization that Zhang Jinchen was camped in the neighboring Qinghe Commandery, besieging Qinghe County, the citizens of Tao County feared Qinghe would soon fall. Zhang Jinchen’s gaze would then surely turn toward Xindu Commandery, and especially toward Tao County itself.

“Look, they’re sending reinforcements to Qinghe Commandery again. But why so few this time?”

“It’s useless. How many batches have they sent now? I heard every previous group of reinforcements for Qinghe was defeated by Zhang Jinchen’s forces, suffering heavy casualties. If it weren’t for the Cui clan’s sons offering generous rewards, no one would dare go!”

“Tch—Is Zhang Jinchen truly that formidable? No wonder they say the famed general Yang Shanhui led troops against him hundreds of times and never won a single battle!”

“Let’s hope that now, with Yang Shanhui serving as the magistrate of Qinghe Commandery, he can lead the defense of Qinghe County. As for us in Tao County, we shouldn’t send too many men either…”

On the streets, countless citizens watched as armored soldiers marched one by one toward the city gates, their eyes full of anxiety, whispering and pointing at the departing troops.

The steady stream of news about defeated reinforcements only heightened their fears. If Tao County conscripted too many able-bodied men to aid Qinghe, their own defenses would be left dangerously thin. Though the city’s garrison remained, every man sent was one less protector at home.

Within the Li Residence.

Lady Dowager Li, Lady Zhou, and the other women sat restlessly, anxiously awaiting news.

In the main hall, Li Qiong knelt beside a disconsolate Cui Wenjin, attempting to console her. Watching Cui Wenjin, who had hardly eaten or slept these past days, Li Qiong could not help but feel deeply worried.

“Wenjin, everything will be alright! The soldiers Tao County sent will surely lift the siege on Qinghe County,” Li Qiong whispered reassuringly.

But even as she spoke, Li Qiong herself did not truly believe it. Ever since Cui Yuzhe had left with the reinforcements for Qinghe Commandery, two days had passed with no news from him—only a constant stream of reports of defeat.

Just then, Li Qiong saw her father enter from outside the main hall and quickly rose to greet him.

“Father, how is it?” she asked.

With her question, Lady Dowager Li and Lady Zhou turned their anxious gazes toward Li Jingjie.

Not long ago, Cui Yuzhe and Cui Wenjin, the siblings, had sought refuge in the Li household. Before leaving, Cui Yuzhe had expressed his goodwill toward the Li family. Now, with the Cui clan of Qinghe in dire straits, the Li family could not, in good conscience or reason, stand by and do nothing.

Moreover, Lady Dowager Li and everyone in the household understood that if they helped lift the siege of Qinghe, they would earn the Cui clan’s gratitude—a debt of great significance to the Li family.

“Sigh…” Li Jingjie looked at his daughter, then at his mother and wife, and shook his head helplessly. He walked over to a wooden table, knelt down, and drained the tea a servant brought him.

“What is the situation? Out with it!” Lady Dowager Li frowned. If she hadn’t known how tirelessly her son had worked these past days, she might have scolded him.

“Mother, I went to seek out the county magistrate, but he was powerless to help. Then I went to see Gao Shida, who also found excuses to refuse. On my way back, I met Lord Dou, and he told me…”

At this, seeing his mother’s puzzled look, Li Jingjie glanced at Cui Wenjin.

“This attack by Zhang Jinchen on Qinghe may very well be connected to Gao Shida,” Li Jingjie sighed, looking at his mother as he finished.

The words struck everyone in the main hall—Lady Dowager Li, Lady Zhou, and the rest—into a state of panic.

“Connected to Gao Shida? Does that mean the Gao clan is involved?” Lady Dowager Li’s expression grew grave as she questioned Li Jingjie.

She was well aware of the relationship between Gao Shida and the Gao family.

Unlike rebel leaders elsewhere, who typically rallied desperate refugees and quickly lost control to swelling mobs, the power behind Gao Shida was always the Gao family—a great clan whose influence had spread, deep and wide, throughout the empire for centuries, far surpassing other noble houses.

If Zhang Jinchen’s attack on Qinghe truly had Gao Shida’s involvement, it was hard not to suspect that the Gao family itself might be implicated.

But why would the Gao family wish to become mortal enemies with the Cui clan? Court politics and personal rivalry were one thing, but this—the invasion of Qinghe, the homeland of the Cui, where their kin, women, and children still resided—was another matter entirely.

At the mention of the Gao family, Cui Wenjin, who had been comforted by Li Qiong, lifted her head, her eyes fixed on her uncle Li Jingjie. She thought of her parents, sister, and clan still trapped in Qinghe, and then of the Bohai Gao family in Tao County.

She vowed silently: if the Gao family was truly behind this, she would use every resource at the Cui clan’s disposal, whatever the cost, to make the Gao family regret it.

“Mother, I also asked Lord Dou. This is only his conjecture—there’s no hard evidence,” Li Jingjie explained, glancing at Cui Wenjin, worried that a mere suspicion might lead to a deadly feud between two great houses.

Both were prominent clans, with connections across the realm; a struggle to the death between them would be no trifling matter.

“The situation has changed drastically,” he went on. “The Gao family is now divided: one faction supports Lord Dou, believing him to be benevolent and wise—a true leader—while the other resents him as an outsider from Zhangnan, not a native of Tao County, and prefers Gao Shida as a better representative of the family’s interests. So, they continue to back Gao Shida.”

He shook his head again.

“Not even Lord Dou can control Gao Shida now. Over the years, Gao Shida has recruited many soldiers and fierce generals, and his power has grown immensely. He finds reasons to refuse every request. Even if Lord Dou and the entire Gao clan confronted him, they could do nothing.”

His words left Lady Zhou, Lady Bao, Lady Wei, and Lady Zhangsun all silent and troubled.

To the north, in Shanggu Commandery, the rebel leaders Wei Daor and Wang Xuba each commanded armies of more than a hundred thousand. Just last month, Wang Xuba had seized Gaoyang Commandery, and most of the troops from Qinghe and Xindu had already been diverted north.

Now, Tao County simply could not spare any more men to relieve Qinghe. What were they to do?

In the attic of the Li residence,

Fu Zihou, with nothing else to occupy him, had been instructed by his parents to visit the Li household daily, spending time with his fiancée, Li Cha, and teaching her to read.

Watching Li Cha study so earnestly, Fu Zihou felt a sense of relief at his earlier decision.

The day he’d learned of the engagement from his aunt, he hadn’t thought much about it. Beyond the connection with the Li family, his real concern was for his own family.

Fu Zihou understood human nature. His eldest uncle had already made up his mind—neither his father nor his grandfather could stop him. Even if they gave his uncle not a coin, he would still go to Pengcheng and join Wei Qilin’s uprising.

So, when he heard of the engagement, Fu Zihou had simply wanted to keep his family from being implicated by his uncle’s actions, planning to take them away from the village.

A true man must know when to bend and when to stand tall. If, upon arriving in Tao County, he found his betrothed wholly unattractive or incompatible, he could always delay the marriage for a year or two, and once his family was safe, discuss breaking it off with the Li family—without hindering the girl’s prospects.

But now, beyond knowing the ties between the Li and Fu families, simply looking at Li Cha’s timid appearance left him with no thought of abandoning the engagement.

Fu Zihou was, after all, an ordinary man. And seeing Li Cha hanging her head, he was reminded of his own past life: ostracized by peers, scorned by elders—he knew all too well that feeling of helplessness.

At the table,

Li Cha, head bowed, was still unaccustomed to being watched so openly, even after two days of this routine. But today’s ten characters had all been taught.

She gathered her courage and, lifting her head, glanced at Fu Zihou.

Just as she was about to remind him of something, she noticed that his eyes were slightly red—a look of sorrow that sent a pang through her heart.

“A bug flew into my eye, that’s all,” Fu Zihou said, noticing her gaze, and made a gesture. Not understanding her sign language, he simply shook his head, wiped his eyes, and looked out the window.

Li Cha could not speak, but she knew it was not a bug.

She watched Fu Zihou’s profile, saw the redness in his eyes, and felt a strange ache within her. She thought of the white robe she had prepared for him but had never dared to give, bit her lip, and mustered her courage, raising her small hand, trembling, to reach for his arm.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the yard outside—a servant running in obvious haste.

“Cha’er, I’ll wager it’s yet another report of defeat,” Fu Zihou said quietly, calming his sorrow and turning to see Li Cha, suddenly tense and anxious.

“Zhang Jinchen’s infamous cruelty has made everyone in Tao County—officials and commoners alike—terrified. All they can do is throw money at the problem, recruiting ragtag bands, not true warriors. It’s no wonder: when fighting Zhang Jinchen’s troops, if one man flees, ten will follow, and then a thousand scatter. How could they possibly win?”

He didn’t know why Li Cha was so unsettled, but the thought of the county magistrate and his useless officers filled him with frustration.

With the meeting with the Xie family drawing near and no one able to break the siege of Qinghe, all his plans would be thrown into chaos.

And if the Cui clan remained trapped, or something terrible happened, not only would they fail to avenge Lady Dowager Li’s son or repay the Li family’s kindness, but this year would be difficult indeed.

Fu Zihou slumped over the table in distress.

“Not one of them knows how to choose the vanguard. How could they ever win? Why is there not a single capable general in Tao County…” he muttered, suddenly missing his old teacher. If he were here, the siege of Qinghe would surely be lifted in no time.

Watching so many people helpless before Qinghe’s predicament, Fu Zihou finally understood that the “vanguard selection” his teacher spoke of was not a skill everyone possessed, despite what the ancient texts claimed.

“So the teacher was just bluffing all along,” Fu Zihou sighed.

Now, all he could do was pour out his troubles to Li Cha. Although she could not speak and he did not understand her gestures, he could sense her silent patience, her willingness to listen without a hint of annoyance.