Chapter 141: Gossip

In the fourth month, early summer, unlike the south with its endless plum rains, the north where Huyou Township lay was bathed in strong sunlight. The wheat in the fields had all flowered; in the countryside, filling grain, wild trees, and blooming flowers vied to burst forth in splendor, while birds busily carried food to feed their young, singing back and forth to one another.

In this radiant season, at the Qin army garrison camp outside Huyou Township, the Qin soldiers had also shed the tension they felt when they first arrived. Although sentries still had to stand guard and patrols still had to be made, the men's expressions had relaxed considerably.

They had been stationed in Huyou Township for half a month. As the Patrol Chief and the local magnate Zhang clan grew "closer by the day," the soldiers gradually let down their guard against the locals. When they saw Wei people approaching carrying farm tools, they no longer got jumpy and would even exchange greetings, each in dialects the other could not understand.

Although it was usually one asking if the other had eaten, and the other answering that the weather was fine…

Several squad leaders and fire-team leaders had each been assigned their tasks. Xiao Tao was specifically in charge of leading a few skilled archers to guard the township's south gate.

Bu Cheng was responsible for finding medicinal herbs to treat the soldiers' headaches, fevers, and indigestion caused by being unaccustomed to the local climate. On campaign, the most terrifying thing was not resistance or conflict, but contagious, virulent diseases. When Hei Fu laid down orders and prohibitions, he also did as he had at home with his mother, brothers, nephews, and nieces — he warned everyone not to drink unboiled water! It had to be boiled before drinking!

Although this measure drew some complaints, everyone still obeyed and followed it.

Gong Ao and Li Xian took turns leading patrols. They did not go far, just circling the township twice in the morning and afternoon to make the Qin army's presence felt. Hei Fu's forces could only control the township itself; they could not, as they would on Qin home territory, extend control from points to lines and then to areas. Scattered troops were weak, concentrated they were strong. Hei Fu had no interest whatsoever in the vast roads, post stations, and hamlets beyond the township.

Ji Ying, who had once been a postal runner, was responsible for maintaining contact with Daliang, Waihuang, Jiyang, and Yangwu. The day before yesterday, he had ridden to Daliang personally and returned to inform Hei Fu that "Young General Wang's" water-attack strategy had already been put into action.

Starting in mid-second month, the great engineer Zheng Guo, who had come from Xianyang, personally planned the route. Wang Ben had men breach the riverbank defenses at Xingyang, releasing the great river's waters to pour into the Honggou Canal. The surging river water mixed with the canal water, and north of Daliang, following newly dug deep trenches, it surged down to the low-lying city of Daliang…

"Apart from the military camp on higher ground, the city of Daliang is completely surrounded by river and canal water. I asked the convict laborers from Nan Commandery, and they said the water has been pouring in for a month and a half. Although the city walls have not yet collapsed, I imagine there is no dry ground left inside the city…"

Hei Fu let out a breath of relief. "It seems Daliang will fall within one or two months."

Once Daliang was breached, the state of Wei could be declared destroyed, and Hei Fu's assignment in Huyou Township would come to an end.

Although he felt he would not be staying in Huyou Township much longer, while the soldiers could afford to relax, Hei Fu himself could not. Not all the Wei people had submitted. He could sense that in the shadows, many hostile gazes were still fixed on him.

So Hei Fu gave Zhong Ming, who had the advantage in language, a new task: to go sit in the township market whenever he had time. Ostensibly it was to monitor trade, but in truth it was to gather information. The marketplace had heavy foot traffic, and information both useful and useless converged and circulated there. This helped Hei Fu grasp local public sentiment and guard against undercurrents stirring.

That day, Hei Fu personally led a squad out on patrol and, on the way, stopped at a crossroads to bring back Dongmen Bao and two Qin soldiers who had been recovering from wounds in Waihuang. Chen Wujiu's wound salve was indeed effective. After more than half a month of recuperation, Dongmen Bao was largely recovered. Although he still could not run, he could already walk briskly. Hei Fu could not help but marvel at the man's powerful vitality.

By the time they returned to camp, the sky was growing dark. Zhong Ming, who had gone to the township market to gather news, was already back. He was sitting inside the tent, talking with Ji Ying about something, the two of them laughing together…

Hei Fu did not even need to ask what the two were laughing about.

Over the past half-month, Zhong Ming had not uncovered any useful information, but he had picked up a heap of marketplace gossip and rumors. It was either that A and B had openly cursed each other in the market over haggling and nearly come to blows, or that C and D were quarreling over dividing family property to the point of brothers becoming enemies…

If this were in the Qin heartland, the laws and ordinances would govern even such trivial matters. But Huyou Township had only just surrendered, and it was still governed by Wei customs; the conditions for implementing Qin laws and ordinances did not yet exist. So Hei Fu did not wish to stir up trouble. As long as it was not murder, assault, robbery, or theft, he paid no attention to anything else.

But this was only in Yangwu and Huyou, which had surrendered peacefully. According to Ji Ying, in Chenliu and Waihuang, which had been taken by force, the newly appointed Qin officials ruled with extreme severity. Especially toward the wandering swordsmen who had resisted the Qin army — nearly all were arrested and thrown into prison, sparking many incidents of resistance and bloodshed…

Regarding this, Hei Fu merely strengthened patrols south of the township, guarding against fugitive Waihuang bravos coming to stir up trouble. The Qin army's garrison duty was a responsibility system: as long as you watched over your own patch, your neighbor's house catching fire would not implicate you through collective punishment. So at a time like this, everyone swept the snow from their own doorstep; who had the leisure to worry about the frost on someone else's roof tiles?

After the two rose to salute him and exchanged greetings with Dongmen Bao, Hei Fu smiled and asked, "What did you find out today?"

There was little in the way of entertainment in the army. Every evening, listening to Zhong Ming recount the marketplace gossip had become a fixed diversion for the junior officers to pass the idle hours.

Zhong Ming immediately perked up. "Patrol Chief, today in the township market I heard two amusing stories. Would you like to hear them?"

"Go ahead."

"The first matter concerns the Thrice Venerable Zhang Fu."

Hei Fu raised his eyes.

Zhong Ming said mysteriously, "Just yesterday, the fifth man married to Zhang Fu's granddaughter — died!"

…

"Zhang Fu's granddaughter — that is, the daughter of that Zhang Zhong who came to deliver grain a few days ago — is said to be extremely beautiful, a famous beauty in the township."

"Several years ago, after the Zhang granddaughter came of age, Zhang Fu married her to a Wei noble scion in Daliang as a wife. This was originally a fine match. Who would have guessed that on the very night of the wedding, before the noble scion had even entered the bridal chamber, he had drunk too much at the feast. As soon as he stepped through the door, he tripped over the threshold, fell and cracked his head, and never woke up again…"

After hearing Zhong Ling's words, Dongmen Bao, who had just arrived, widened his eyes. "So that means, at the time, the woman was still a virgin?"

"Indeed."

"A pity, truly a pity."

Dongmen Bao clicked his tongue, saying that noble scion was just too unlucky — he should have at least gotten into bed before dying. This set off a round of raucous laughter among the group. By now, apart from Gong Ao, who was on guard at the camp gate, the others had all gathered around to listen to the gossip.

"The next few at least managed to get the deed done in time, but they were unlucky too."

Zhong Ling continued: Zhang Fu's granddaughter had subsequently married several more husbands.

The second husband was a county magnate from Yangwu County. Barely three months after she married him, the man got into an argument with a bravo in the market and was stabbed to death with a single sword thrust…

The third husband was a local community head from this township. He had originally been in good health, but a year after the Zhang granddaughter married him, he contracted consumption and died.

By this point, the Zhang granddaughter could no longer marry into a good family. So Zhang Fu could only find her a merchant, hoping that a humble marriage might turn out better. Who would have thought…

"She had only been married five months when that merchant, while traveling on business, ran into bandits. His goods were plundered, and he was killed."

Hei Fu shook his head slightly. The Wei region was steeped in Confucian customs, but although Confucian scholars were fond of elaborate rituals, they did not excessively restrict women. Women divorcing and remarrying was normal and not condemned by public opinion at all. Yet this Zhang granddaughter — four marriages and each time the husband died — had reached the point where no man dared marry her.

But she was also only twenty, in the prime of her youth. She could not remain single forever, so Zhang Fu found her a live-in son-in-law…

Live-in sons-in-law were a byword for low status not only in Qin but also in Wei. They were explicitly barred by law from establishing their own households. When it came to harsh corvée duties like border garrison service, they were the first to be called up.

Fortunately, this live-in son-in-law had the Zhang clan's protection and was not swept up in the Qin-Wei war. But the weather has its unforeseen storms. Yesterday, while working in the fields, he was bitten by a venomous snake in the grass. By the time they brought him back, his leg was terribly swollen and he had stopped breathing. Today, at the western Zhang residence, funeral rites are underway…

After Zhong Ming finished, everyone sighed with regret, most of them feeling that those five men were simply the unluckiest of the unlucky — how did they end up with such a woman?

"It must have been that the wedding dates were not chosen properly." Only Bu Cheng, who had appeared from who knows where, believed it was because those men had not selected the right day.

Thereupon, Bu Cheng launched into an endless lecture for Hei Fu and the others on the marriage taboos found in the Day Book.

"Marrying on a wushen or jiyou day is inauspicious. You ask why? Because legend has it that the Herdboy constellation wed the Weaving Maid constellation on just such a day, yet failed to marry her three times. That Zhang granddaughter's first husband probably chose such a day."

Bu Cheng also said that besides checking the day, whether a couple could get along after marriage also depended on calculating the constellations… er, lunar lodges?

A wife brought in on "Horn Lodge" day: a jealous wife, watching you every day — you cannot even speak to another woman.

A wife brought in on "Heart Lodge" day: a fierce wife, who at the slightest disagreement will beat you black and blue!

A wife brought in on "Winnowing Basket Lodge" day: a gossipy wife, this long-tongued woman will nag daily about other families' business, stirring up trouble with her words.

A wife brought in on "Emptiness Lodge" day: you will not get a wife at all, because she will surely run away from the wedding!

Everyone listened very attentively. When it came to checking the almanac and choosing a date, it was better to believe it exists than to believe it does not. After all, marriage was a lifelong matter. If the month and day were not chosen well, even if you yourself were fine, your parents would always feel uneasy about it.

Ji Ying, who was already betrothed and would marry once he returned home, asked with particular concern, "Wait — from what you are saying, it sounds as though no day is auspicious. Are there any auspicious times?"

Bu Cheng said smugly, "You unmarried fellows, take note: Net Lodge day is a supremely fine day. Marry a wife on this day, and you are sure to have two wives! Not only one wife, but she will bring along a concubine as part of her dowry!"

Hei Fu did not know whether to laugh or cry — this was taking "buy one, get one free" to a crazed extreme. Ji Ying, however, beamed with delight, saying that when he went back, he absolutely had to have Bu Cheng help him pick the date…

With Bu Cheng's interjection, the conversation had veered completely off track. Only Li Xian was still sighing with emotion, saying that this Zhang Fu granddaughter was doomed to a husband-cursing fate — no one would dare marry her in the future.

Ji Ying nodded. "Unless they are lowly bondservants."

Li Xian then said, "Patroller, Zhang Fu is one of the Three Elders. Over the past half month he has mediated quite a bit between us and the local gentry. Now that his grandson-in-law has died, should we go offer our condolences?"

Heifu immediately slapped his thigh and praised Li Xian, "You're the careful one." He then had Li Xian and Ji Ying take some money and silks and go in his stead to the Western Zhang residence to pay mourning respects.

After the two had left, Dongmen Bao was still pressing Zhong Ming, "You've told us the first matter — what about the second?"

Heifu sat himself down, took the clay bowl Bu Cheng handed over, and sipped the warm water inside while listening half-heartedly.

Zhong Ming had already finished recounting the most gossip-worthy tale of "one woman dooming five husbands." When it came to the second matter, his enthusiasm had waned somewhat, and he said flatly, "The second matter is that Chen Bo of Kushang Hamlet in the town has divorced his wife."

"Who is Chen Bo?"

"An ordinary commoner of Kushang Hamlet."

Dongmen Bao immediately lost interest. "Isn't it just a commoner divorcing his wife? I saw that often back in Anlu County too. What's so strange about it?"

Zhong Ming smiled. "There's more to it. After Chen Bo divorced his wife, some whispers began to spread, saying that the reason Chen Bo cast aside his wife was because his younger brother Chen Ping tried to force himself upon his sister-in-law, and Chen Bo had no choice but to send her home…"

"Pfft…"

The words had barely ended when Heifu sprayed a mouthful of warm water all over himself, soaking his entire front lapel. He did not bother to wipe it off and demanded of Zhong Ming, "What did you just say Chen Bo's younger brother was called?"

Zhong Ming had no idea why the normally unflappable Patroller was so agitated. He was a little stunned, and only after a moment did he say, "That wife-stealer? His name is Chen Ping…"

PS: Second update.

Also recommending a historical alternate-history novel, *Hands That Reach Everywhere*:

A grand chessboard, north and south in balance. All living beings under heaven enter the game. There are chariots charging straight ahead, cavalry trampling through linked camps; cannons striking both shores, a hundred generals vying for supremacy; a state's peerless champion, a great image without form. Amid the raging storm of a chaotic age, that white-robed figure crosses the river, like a pawn past the riverbank — one man, one sword, pressing forward without retreat.

(End of chapter)