Chapter 204: Declining the Marriage

"Grand Master."

After leaving the Li clan's main residence, Li Xian immediately bowed to Heifu with trepidation. "I had no idea either. The clan head asked me to invite you, Grand Master, to the banquet for this reason…"

Heifu showed no displeasure. He smiled and said, "I have always respected the Li clan head. Even if a marriage alliance cannot be formed, our friendship remains. It's nothing — don't let it trouble you."

"Yes."

But inwardly, Li Xian was already cursing. He cursed the Li clan head for handling this so dishonorably.

It turned out that several days ago, after Li Xian returned home with his noble rank, besides the joy of his wife and child, the Li clan head indeed began to value him. For the first time ever, he summoned Li Xian to the main residence, encouraged him face to face, and said he was the most promising among the clan's younger generation. Then, assuming the airs of an elder, he gave Li Xian earnest instructions, warning him of things to watch out for when he took up his post as a Clerk in the county office.

Although Qin did not permit living together under one roof, clan ties were still very hard to sever. Even after dividing the household, the branch families still surrounded the main lineage like scattered stars around the moon. The clan head's commands were often more effective than those of the village officials.

After that, the clan head suddenly began asking Li Xian about Heifu. He seemed to have developed a strong interest in Heifu and even had Li Xian deliver an invitation on his behalf, asking Heifu to come to the residence for a banquet.

"The Grand Master served as a village Chief for a year in our home village and solved many cases for us. To this day, thieves and petty criminals dare not commit evil the moment they hear the Grand Master's name. The Grand Master has done our village a great kindness, yet I have never once invited him to my home. That was truly discourteous. This time, let it serve as an apology."

Li Xian thought the clan head simply wanted to curry favor with Heifu and, suspecting nothing, did as he was told.

Heifu agreed readily, partly for Li Xian's sake, and partly because the Li clan was the second-largest clan in Anlu County, with influence second only to the Yun clan — and they had some past grievances with the Yun clan. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So he gladly accepted and went to the banquet in Yunshui Village on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month.

Judging solely by the exterior of the residence, the Li clan still seemed illustrious. But a closer look revealed they had declined considerably compared to the past. Even the Zhang clan, a local magnate Heifu had seen in Huyou Village in Wei, surpassed them — and the education and bearing of the Li clan's younger generation fell far short of the Zhang clan's.

The banquet conversation held little substance. The Li clan head had invited every person of note in the entire village, and they all gathered around Heifu like stars clustering around the moon, flattering him for his youthful success, calling him a model for the younger generation of the entire county…

Someone even said while toasting, "The Left Commandant ought to step aside and yield to a worthy talent!"

Up to this point, the banquet had been fairly normal. But when Heifu, warmed by wine, rose to use the privy, the Li clan head shot a meaningful glance at the Village Stable Clerk, a man Heifu had dealt with during a murder case.

The Village Stable Clerk immediately rose and followed. He waited outside the privy, and when Heifu emerged, he quietly proposed, "I hear the Grand Master is not yet betrothed. The Li clan head has asked me to act as matchmaker on his behalf. The Li clan head has a legitimate daughter, just fifteen, beautiful in appearance, virtuous and well-mannered, close in age to the Grand Master. She might make a fine match…"

The moment he heard the word "matchmaker," Heifu sobered up instantly. He had, after all, acted as a matchmaker for Chen Ping before, so he naturally knew what this meant. He silently heard the Village Stable Clerk out, said he would consider it, and would give the Li clan head an answer after the banquet.

Unsurprisingly, after the banquet, Heifu personally supported the Li clan head as he withdrew, and took the opportunity to politely decline the marriage proposal…

"This old man was too forward."

The Li clan head's expression remained unchanged. The reason he had the Village Stable Clerk discreetly inform Heifu of this matter was precisely in consideration of preserving face for both sides if the discussion failed. The two of them acted as if nothing had happened, chatting and laughing as they said their farewells.

Heifu had declined yet another marriage proposal, his heart utterly unmoved, because this was the fourth one he had formally turned down since returning…

And that was not even counting the opportunists who had brought their daughters to his door but never even made it past the threshold.

In Chaoyang Hamlet, there had been a wave of matchmaking as early as the year before last, when Heifu first became a village Chief. Heifu had refused everyone back then. Now that Heifu had become a Grand Master, the hamlet's residents probably felt they were not worthy of his family and dared not humiliate themselves.

But in Yunmeng Township, quite a few people were willing to try. The Township Overseer, the Township Thrice Venerable, and even the Township Patrol Officer had all, one after another, asked Heifu's paternal aunt to act as matchmaker, wanting to marry their daughters, granddaughters, or even nieces to Heifu.

Heifu had tactfully declined each of these proposals without making the other party feel insulted. But unable to bear the constant stream of people coming to his door, he had agreed to attend the Li clan banquet to escape for a while. Who would have thought he still couldn't avoid it.

Beside him, Li Xian was still cursing the clan head. "The clan head really does get more muddled with age, making decisions on his own without even discussing it with me first…"

If the Li clan could truly have a son-in-law like Heifu, it would be a good thing for the entire family. But Li Xian, having followed Heifu for two years, could sense his lofty aspirations. Ordinary women from the county or villages were probably hard for him to take a fancy to.

Li Xian's guess was correct. Although by the common marriage age of this era, Heifu, at twenty, was indeed getting on in years, he was in no hurry to take a wife.

Not finding a partner he truly fancied was one reason, but there was a second reason as well.

According to the noble rites of the Spring and Autumn period, a man underwent the capping ceremony at twenty, and a woman the hairpin ceremony at fifteen. Yet it was also stipulated that a man married at thirty and a woman at twenty. Why so late? Why wait so long after coming of age?

The reason was simple: they were waiting — waiting for a marriage that could bring the greatest benefit to the family.

Through Chen Ping's experience in taking a wife, Heifu had also come to accept this principle.

"Heaven's principles and human sentiment need no elaborate explanation. Marriage exists for profit!"

The marriage proposals that had come to his door these past few days brought no benefit to Heifu himself or his family. Instead, it was the bride's side that stood to gain.

Heifu knew his own potential. He would not stop at Grand Master, nor would he stagnate in the small county of Anlu. So he wanted to wait a while, until he reached a broader stage, and then seek a suitable marriage. Of course, there was also a bit of a modern man's wishful thinking in this.

"Perhaps if I wait a little longer, I'll find a woman I truly fancy. What's the rush!"

…

Although the matter was not settled and they had withdrawn from the banquet early, the sky was already growing dark. The two villages were somewhat far apart, and Heifu could not possibly return home today. Li Xian invited Heifu to his home for some hot soup to sober up, after which he would personally escort Heifu to the guest lodge.

"Very well. When I set out today, I also brought some gifts for your wife and child."

Heifu turned back to the newly purchased carriage that had cost him twenty thousand coins, and retrieved two bolts of silk cloth bought in Yunmeng Township, along with two jin of brown sugar packed in a wooden box…

Li Xian was somewhat moved. Heifu had not neglected proper courtesy toward him just because he had become a Grand Master. He quickly led Heifu through a series of twists and turns, heading deeper into their "Li Hamlet."

Li Xian explained, "Originally, this entire hamlet was one family. Even after dividing the household, they still live clustered by clan. According to the closeness of relations, those living near the Li clan's great residence are close-lineage descendants, while those farther away are distant-lineage descendants."

Li Hamlet was not small in scale. A rough estimate suggested it could house at least sixty or seventy households, showing that the Li clan's influence was still considerable. Still, Heifu did not regret declining the marriage proposal.

Li Xian added, "This is actually nothing. In the northern suburb village of the county seat, the Yun clan also lives clustered in a single hamlet, with over a hundred households and seven or eight hundred people!"

Heifu nodded. This was the root of the local clans' strength. Although Lord Shang's household division decree had formally broken up the patriarchal clans and increased tax revenue, in reality, they had simply changed their methods, still tightly banding together, sharing glory and suffering alike.

These county magnates, in turn, often colluded with the officials in the commandery, relying on them as backers. It seemed that taking down the Yun clan would be no easy task.

Li Xian was clearly from a distant branch line, living on the outermost edge of the hamlet. Yet on the road, everyone they encountered greeted him with respectful bows. It was clear that Li Xian's circumstances had greatly improved.

Li Xian wore a smiling face in public, but behind people's backs, he did not take those same clan members seriously. Over the past twenty-odd years, he had long had his fill of human warmth and coldness.

"Just as you, Grand Master, once said: the world does not lack those who add flowers to brocade; what it lacks are those who send charcoal in the snow. I, Li Xian, will not take these fair-weather sycophants to heart."

The implication was that Heifu was the one who had "sent charcoal in the snow."

Soon, they arrived at Li Xian's home. The courtyard was not large. The walls had just been repaired and looked very new. The wooden gate, originally full of cracks and gaps, had just been brushed with black lacquer.

Heifu couldn't help but laugh. Wasn't this exactly how his own home had looked back when he first became a village Chief?

Li Xian pushed open the gate and invited Heifu inside. The courtyard was neatly kept. On the empty ground to the left sat a batch of newly purchased furniture that hadn't yet been arranged. On the right was a vegetable patch with sparse, tender chive leaves.

Moving further inside, Heifu found the main hall swept just as clean as the courtyard. The mats, the low table, even the floor and walls were spotless. It was clear that Li Xian had married a diligent wife.

"Wife, the Grand Master has arrived! Hurry and bring Cang and Yuan out to greet him!"

Li Xian invited Heifu to enter, apologizing that the house was too messy. At the same time, he called out loudly. Soon, a woman in her twenties hurried out from the kitchen, leading two children of about five or six. They hastily bowed low before Heifu.

Heifu stepped back and cupped his hands in salute. "Please, rise quickly. In the army, I may be Li's superior officer, but in daily life, I regard him as an elder brother. Sister-in-law, please rise!"

Li Xian's wife, being addressed as "sister-in-law" by this "exalted one" her husband often spoke of, was somewhat at a loss. After she rose, Heifu crouched down, pressed the two small boxes of brown sugar into the children's hands, and smiled. "How old are you both, and what are your names?"

"I'm Yuan, six years old…" The little girl blushed, a bit shy, and hid behind her mother as soon as she finished speaking.

The little boy, with only a tuft of hair left on the top of his head, was not shy at all. He looked boldly at Heifu and answered loudly, "My name is Li Cang, and I'm four!"

"Li Cang?"

Heifu was stunned for a moment. The name sounded so familiar — could Li Xian's son actually be a historical figure?

Only after the children had run off cheerfully gnawing on their brown sugar did Heifu suddenly recall where he had seen that name before.

"Li Cang — isn't that the occupant of the Han tomb at Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan!"

Heifu couldn't help laughing. Shuihudi and Mawangdui, the two great archaeological discoveries of Hubei and Hunan — had they really converged in this time and space, in this manner?

(End of chapter)