[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-624":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205913,1561,"Chapter 624: Guests Like Clouds","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-624",624,"\u003Cp>On the afternoon of the twenty-third day of the twelfth month, Wang Dou returned home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mother Lady Zhong, along with his wives, concubines, and children, were all overjoyed beyond measure. Bathing and changing clothes went without saying; the most important matter was first offering incense before the ancestral tablets. Now that Wang Dou had been enfeoffed as a marquis and further appointed Regional Commander of an entire garrison, this was a momentous event that brought glory to the ancestors and allowed no carelessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having returned home, Wang Dou's entire being, mind and body, relaxed. Campaigning abroad for so long, it was impossible not to be weary in body and spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, there was still one important matter that required Wang Dou to attend to: comforting his lovely wife and beloved concubines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, after the lively family feast, Wang Dou went to his principal wife Xie Xiuniang's room to rest. Xie Xiuniang bustled about joyfully. Wang Dou looked her over. After several years of recuperation, her body was somewhat fuller than in years past, no longer as frail as before. However, having damaged her vital energy in earlier years, one could not exactly say she was in robust health.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among Wang Dou's wives and concubines, Xie Xiuniang counted only as delicately featured, yet toward her, the feeling in Wang Dou's heart ran deeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, from the time she was a child bride, through so many years of wind and rain, sharing both hardship and sweetness, the emotions within were something an outsider could hardly replace. Even toward Ji Junjiao, whom Wang Dou liked very much, perhaps it was more a man's desire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Between husband and wife, especially in ancient times, it was simply like this: as they spent time together, their feelings grew ever deeper. This was an emotion that fused habit, familial affection, and all manner of life experiences — firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea. People of later ages would find it very hard to understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as many people weep and wail, shouting to the heavens, \"I have finally found my true love!\" — yet look a few months later, and they have already split, divorced. Then, after many true loves, they continue searching still. They are not like some of the older generation, who bicker and quarrel yet rarely separate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xiuniang personally attended Wang Dou in washing his face and feet. She also helped him remove his clothes. Wang Dou flung open the covers with a sweep, utterly unabashed, and lay stark naked on the bed. At his present station, even in the bitter cold of the twelfth month, he had the means to keep the entire residence as warm as spring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xiuniang's small face flushed red, but she dared not go stark naked as Wang Dou did. She still wore her undergarments, and her gaze darted about shyly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou laughed. \"An old married couple, and still so shy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xiuniang's small face grew even redder. She slipped into the bedding and nestled obediently against Wang Dou's chest, feeling its breadth and solidity — her lifelong support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She held Wang Dou tightly and murmured, \"Brother, I have missed you so.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou stroked her fine hair and said softly, \"I have too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two talked. Wang Dou recounted some experiences since their parting, from time to time drawing startled exclamations from Xie Xiuniang, and gazes of adoration besides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet clearly, Xie Xiuniang was more concerned about one matter. She hemmed and hawed, \"I hear that His Majesty intends to let the princess...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not finish her words, but Wang Dou understood her meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Secretariat, officialdom, and the imperial court of the Great Ming were like a leaky fishing net — no news could be kept hidden. The matter of Princess Kunxing was no longer a secret among the upper echelons of the Great Ming. As Wang Dou's principal wife, Xie Xiuniang had no reason not to know, and she had every reason to be concerned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou gave her a light kiss and said, \"Rest assured, your place in my heart can never be replaced by anyone. Never mind one princess — give me ten princesses and I would not trade.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xiuniang's heart was as sweet as honey. She always felt that ever since marrying Wang Dou, the days that accompanied her had all been exceedingly happy ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Wang Dou always had qualities that set him apart from the men of this era — a kind of attentiveness and consideration, sometimes intentional, sometimes not. At times, a casual act like pulling out a chair for her carried a warm, blissful feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xiuniang was not without idle chats with other ladies, and sometimes they would speak of their own men. Thus she could clearly sense this difference, and others all envied her for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Zhong, when she observed this at times, would also say, \"This rascal has come to his senses — and come to them well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xiuniang set her mind at ease, but then grew worried again. \"Then what about the eleven?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"Oh? My Xiuniang has learned to tease now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave her a pat on the bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xiuniang let out a startled cry, looking pitifully charming. \"Brother, spare me — I dare not anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her body burning with heat, she clung tightly to Wang Dou and said shyly, \"Let me attend to Brother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was somewhat surprised. \"Oh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching her climb on top, he felt curious. In the past, he had always taken the initiative while Xie Xiuniang was passive. It seemed that a long separation made the reunion sweeter than a wedding night — Xiuniang, usually so bashful, had grown bold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, he had a feeling: as he himself grew, so too were the people around him growing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, after spending two nights with Xie Xiuniang, Wang Dou rested in Ji Junjiao's room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it came to mood and atmosphere, Ji Junjiao was the most attentive among Wang Dou's wives and concubines. The room's arrangement was luxurious yet tastefully elegant. A gilt incense burner by the bed slowly emitted a faint, fragrant smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, she would not personally attend to washing Wang Dou's face and feet as Xie Xiuniang did, considering that the work of maidservants. However, bathing together in a shared bath, then preparing a few exquisite small dishes, sipping wine while admiring the snowflakes outside the window, and listening to her play the qin and flute — the flavor of it was indescribable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Junjiao possessed a fabled constitution and was innately seductive, giving Wang Dou a feeling of unrestrained exhilaration. After their passion, Ji Junjiao lay sprawled in her jade-like beauty, draped only in thin gauze, her manner languid. Wang Dou rested comfortably against her snow-white thighs as her jade fingers picked up slices of snow pear and delivered them into his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At times, Wang Dou felt as if in a dream. He thought back to when he had first arrived in the Great Ming, a lowly soldier struggling bitterly to survive, hovering on the edge of life and death time and again. Step by step he had fought his way up, finally reaching Regional Commander and even being enfeoffed as marquis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While he had changed his family's livelihood, he had also altered the fates of many people around him. Now the eyes of the entire Great Ming were fixed upon him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he held weighty office and high rank, with lovely wives and beautiful concubines — what more could a man ask for?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet as he climbed toward greater heights, unbeknownst to him, many people had gathered around him, and many matters were no longer up to him alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. More and more people were longing for him to change their fates — how could he remain indifferent?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this civilization that he both loved and that filled him with silent sorrow — how, likewise, could he remain indifferent?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a burden of a thousand jun pressing down, Wang Dou sometimes felt weary, even struggling to breathe. Perhaps only his family could soothe his apprehensions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Junjiao gazed at this man in her embrace, wondering what he was pondering. Perhaps men absorbed in their endeavors all possessed a special magnetism. Ji Junjiao particularly loved the way Wang Dou looked when deep in thought. Perhaps that was how she had been moved in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She laughed coquettishly. \"What is my lord thinking of?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou smiled faintly. His hand caressed the skin of Ji Junjiao's leg, truly like congealed cream and white jade, finally stroking past her foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although her feet had been bound, Ji Junjiao's feet were still exceedingly graceful, with nothing discordant about them, as if naturally so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Foot-binding in official and gentry households was, in fact, very particular. There were always specialists to guide the process — tightening and loosening — so the bound feet turned out beautifully shaped, as if by nature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unsightly small feet of later ages were either improperly bound or belonged to lazy, slovenly women of the countryside. Properly done foot-binding was very elegant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, whether it was Eastern foot-binding, Western corseted skirts, or the high heels and ballet of later ages, they were all mutilations of the female body — mere products of a patriarchal society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Wang Dou disliked it, Ji Junjiao had ceased binding her feet, which also influenced some of the officers' and officials' womenfolk in the Eastern Route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, \"Junjiao, I feel I have treated you somewhat unfairly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed. According to the rites and laws of the Great Ming, Xie Xiuniang was the principal wife. Whenever the court bestowed honors, they all fell upon her head — from Lady to Countess, and now to Marchioness, with ceremonial regalia and phoenix coronet. What woman could look upon that without envy? Only Ji Junjiao had nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Ji Junjiao came from a great official clan. Even if she herself did not mind, what of her family? Her clansmen? How could there be no murmured complaints?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Ji Shiwei had also helped him greatly, so Wang Dou felt somewhat ashamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Junjiao looked at Wang Dou and burst out laughing. \"Why does my lord speak so today?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She said softly, \"Does my lord think that I followed you for the sake of titles and honors?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shook her head. \"When I fled my home back then, it was only to be with you. And I believe my lord will not treat me poorly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou nodded. Ji Junjiao was indeed worthy of coming from a great clan — she understood when to advance and when to yield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention titles and rewards, the matter of her second brother Ji Zhongkun — Ji Junjiao's heart was not necessarily free of pain, but she forced herself to endure, unwilling to interfere with my decisions. Yet the more she did so, the more I cherished her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, don't overthink it. My man, come love me again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Junjiao giggled, hugging Wang Dou tightly, her eyes glistening with allure: \"But my husband is so mighty, I alone cannot handle it. Shall I call the two maids, Butterfly and Dragonfly, to join us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Butterfly and Dragonfly had previously been Ji Junjiao's personal maidservants. After Ji Junjiao married Wang Dou, they served as bedchamber maids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Dou and Ji Junjiao shared the pleasures of the bedchamber, the two of them also participated together — serving as cooling in summer and warming in winter. This was a customary practice in wealthy households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they had borne children, the two were elevated to concubines, each with her own courtyard. The four of them together had become rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Ji Junjiao, Wang Dou said: \"Such a wanton thing, and you can think of it... Quickly, summon them...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth month, not only Yongning City, but the entire Eastern Circuit was adorned with lanterns and colored banners, for this day was Wang Dou's thirtieth birthday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Wang Dou's birthday was on the twenty-ninth of the previous month, but it had been postponed for various reasons and set for this day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grand banquet was magnificent, with countless people coming to offer birthday congratulations and pay their respects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou's cousin, the Central Army Personal General Zhong Diaoyang, served as the greeter. Wang Dou's maternal uncle, the newly appointed Chief Clerk of the Secretariat Office of the Shogunate, Zhong Zhengxian, served as the banquet steward, laboring together with all the shogunate officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Wang Dou felt that for merely his thirtieth birthday, there was no need for such extravagance. But as Wang Dou sometimes lamented, many things were no longer up to him. The officers and officials strongly urged, saying that the Grand General's coming of age was a great joyous occasion for the entire circuit and army — how could it not be celebrated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the Grand General had been appointed Regional Commander and further enfeoffed as Marquis, with no celebration held earlier. With double happiness arriving at the door, it must be celebrated with great fanfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, but the entire circuit's soldiers and civilians must celebrate together. Each household was allotted a certain amount of grain, rice, and festive noodles. In any case, after the confiscations, the Eastern Circuit was wealthy and generous and did not care about such expenses. There was also a hint of showing off to the other circuits in this. Wang Dou could understand their feelings, so he let them be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus on this day, the General's residence was thronged with guests like clouds, and the entire circuit was filled with joy...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right Pillar of State, Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Minister of Revenue, Elder Ni, arrives...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Imperial Commissioner Viceroy of Xuan-Da-Shanxi and Other Regions Military Affairs, Concurrently Managing Provisions and Pay, Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Minister of War and Concurrent Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Viceroy Ji, arrives!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Imperial Commissioner Provincial Governor of Xuanfu and Other Regions, Supervising Military Affairs, Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Provincial Governor Zhu, arrives!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Imperial Commissioner Provincial Governor of Datong and Other Regions, Supervising Military Affairs, Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Provincial Governor Wei, arrives!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Imperial Commissioner Provincial Governor of Shanxi and Other Regions, Supervising Military Affairs, Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Provincial Governor Cai, arrives!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General Who Guards the North, Regional Commander of Jizhen, Marquis of Jibei, Regional Commander Yang, arrives!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Count of Dingxing, arrives!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Military Defense Circuit Intendant of Huailai and Other Regions, Vice Commissioner of the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commission, Ma Guoxi, arrives!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...arrives.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Left Pillar of State, Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, Senior Grand Secretary Elder Zhou, sends a gift box of congratulations...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Regional Commander of the Capital Training Divisions, Count of Xiangcheng, sends a gift box of congratulations...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Imperial Commissioner Viceroy of Baoding-Zhending and Other Regions Military Affairs, Concurrently Managing Provisions and Pay, Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent, Minister of War and Concurrent Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Viceroy Yang, sends a gift box of congratulations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Regional Commander of Shanxi Garrison, Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief, Regional Commander Zhou, sends a gift box of congratulations...\" (To be continued.)\u003C\u002Fp>",2570,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","97e53ea8b11bbb46823549322a6ebe265db302d63b8e3cd2e102ab1ba7d645a5","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-625","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-623",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]