Chapter 358: The Steward

Kushang Hamlet lies within Huyou Township, named for its proximity to the township granary. The hamlet has forty or fifty households — some wealthy families with fortunes of a million, others so poor they live in hovels against the city wall, with tattered mats for doors.

Yet every year on the first jia day of the tenth month, early winter, regardless of rank or wealth, all two hundred-odd people of Kushang Hamlet gather at the hamlet's altar beneath the great locust tree. The "She" is the earth god; offering timely sacrifices ensures favorable weather the coming year and a good harvest.

She sacrifices are held four times a year. The spring, summer, and autumn rites are mere routine, minor offerings. Only the winter-month She sacrifice is called the "Great Dismemberment." At this time, every soul in Kushang Hamlet turns out, bringing newly harvested millet and rice to offer the finest grain to the She god. The hamlet households also pool funds to slaughter animals en masse, dismembering them to present as tribute — some kill chickens or butcher dogs, others boil sheep or slaughter pigs — beating drums, striking bells, stamping feet, and dancing.

Given its importance, the person presiding over the She sacrifice cannot be chosen carelessly. It is usually the hamlet chief or a highly respected elder who takes the role.

But this year, the She Steward elected by Kushang Hamlet was a young scholar barely past twenty...

Chen Ping stood over eight chi tall, strikingly handsome in appearance. Unlike years past, when he wore coarse brown clothes, he was now dressed in brand-new silk robes, his hair combed neatly and bound with a white headwrap. Meticulously, he performed the prescribed rituals and recited the sacrificial hymns.

"With our pure bright offerings, with our sacrificial sheep, we honor the She, we honor the four quarters. Our fields are now blessed, the farmers' joy. Let zithers and drums resound to welcome the Lord of the Fields. We pray for sweet rains, to prosper our millet and sorghum, to nourish our men and women!"

Chen Ping, who claimed to study the "Yellow Emperor and Laozi," recited the verses with impressive poise. The hamlet folk gathered around murmured in quiet admiration:

"Who would have thought that Chen Ping — who once shunned farming and trade, idled about all day, was slandered for debauching his sister-in-law, and became the county laughingstock — would now be the most renowned figure among the younger generation of Yangwu County..."

This transformation could be traced back five years, to when Qin occupied this county. Chen Ping cleared his name of the false sister-in-law accusation and went to the Qin camp to work as a translator.

From then on, Chen Ping climbed to higher branches. He first earned merit and became a Gongshi, receiving a fair sum of gold. The Qin officials even proposed marriage on his behalf to the local magnate Zhang Fu, winning him the hand of Zhang's granddaughter. Because Chen Ping was poor, the Zhang family lent him money to arrange the wedding feast — practically a dowry in reverse.

At the time, busybodies gloated and speculated: how soon would Chen Ping be cursed to death by this woman who had already buried five husbands? But not only did Chen Ping survive, his prospects rose like the morning sun. The year Qin destroyed Chu, the Zhang family put up funds, contributing a thousand dan of grain to secure him the "Shangzao" rank. Now serving as a township clerk, his social standing was nothing like before.

Behind his back, some envious tongues whispered darkly: Chen Ping had long ago sold his charms to the Qin official Heifu, and later married a widow who killed her husbands — he got where he is by trading on his looks, possessing no real talent himself.

But at today's She sacrifice, Chen Ping used his actions to slap those people hard across the face!

Not only did he perform the sacrificial rites without a single misstep, his hymns rising and falling in perfect cadence, but even the post-sacrifice division of the offering meat left every household satisfied.

Dividing the sacrificial meat is far more than simply cutting equal portions with a knife. One must also consider each household's standing in the hamlet and their contribution to the sacrifice: who deserves more, who may receive less, which families should get a special cut? It is both fussy and maddeningly trivial. To do it fairly and reasonably, winning the hearts of the entire hamlet, is the most taxing and mentally exhausting task — no one but a shrewd mind can handle it flawlessly.

Yet Chen Ping accomplished it. He invited the hamlet's senior elders to the seats of honor, with the hamlet chief, field warden, hamlet gatekeeper, and others arranged in order. Then, wielding the knife himself, he carved the cuts and portions best suited to each, placing them respectfully before their tables. Only then did he finish distributing the meat to the remaining thirty or forty households one by one!

At this, even the old Confucian scholar in the hamlet who had always looked down on Chen Ping the most could find no fault, no matter how he tried. Cradling the cold pork on his table, he sighed: "Excellent! Young Chen, as Steward!"

Praises rang out without end — most heartfelt, a few ingratiating. Chen Ping maintained a genial smile throughout, his eyes drifting toward his elder brother and sister-in-law among the crowd, and then to his wife.

His elder brother, Chen Bo, hearing others praise his younger brother, puffed out his chest with pride.

Chen Ping's sister-in-law — who had once been cast out, then later reconciled with Chen Bo — prattled on, boasting that her young brother-in-law was so learned and well-connected that even a high official in Xianyang, the "Right Chief of the Multitude," had sent a wedding invitation.

Chen Ping's wife, the Zhang daughter, gently stroked her rounded belly and gazed at her husband with tender affection.

By now, dusk was falling, yet the She sacrifice was only reaching its climax. It was not merely a solemn day of rites but also a grand festival. Throughout the night, the entire hamlet would feast and drink, gods and mortals rejoicing together.

And not just Kushang Hamlet — across all of Huyou Township, the poor hamlets' altars rang with clay pots and pitchers tapped as drums, voices joining in song, each finding their own joy. As for the great altars sponsored by wealthy magnates and great merchants, they resounded with zithers and reed organs, with performers and variety acts — a spectacle of unprecedented splendor.

When the revelry ended and he returned home, after washing the grease from his hands, Chen Ping settled his wife to rest, then lit a lamp himself. Beneath the oil lamp's glow, he once again studied that invitation from Xianyang...

This was Heifu's wedding invitation. The outer cover was vermilion mulberry paper, the inner sheet fine hemp paper. The wording was modest, opening with "Heifu bows twice and speaks," and it had been sent two months in advance, inviting Chen Ping to come within the Pass.

"When will you set out, my husband?" the Zhang daughter asked softly.

Chen Ping felt a pang of guilt. He turned his head toward the lamp and said, "The Right Chief of the Multitude's wedding is on the first day of the twelfth month. Xianyang is a thousand li away — I must leave tomorrow."

His wife was eight months pregnant and due to give birth in the twelfth month. Traveling west to Xianyang now meant he would surely miss the delivery. Yet when Chen Ping received the invitation, he had not hesitated for a moment.

He would go! He had to go!

Chen Ping gently stroked his wife's hand and explained, "First, this Right Chief of the Multitude, Heifu — when he served as a clerk in this township years ago, he personally brokered the match with your family on my behalf. When he departed, he also gifted me no small sum of gold, for which I have never been able to repay him. Now, exalted as Right Chief of the Multitude and, they say, a close minister to the Emperor, he still remembers me, sending a wedding invitation two full months in advance!"

That faint friendship from five years ago — that he still remembered it now was something Chen Ping had never expected.

"Second, though I am now a township clerk with food and clothing secure, I am unwilling to spend my life confined to this backwater. Heifu's invitation to Xianyang may well be an opportunity!"

Marriage lies in mutual benefit. In marrying the Zhang daughter, Chen Ping had not only valued her beauty but also coveted the Zhang family's standing in Yangwu County. For five years, clinging to this patron's coattails, not only had his reputation grown daily and his wealth steadily increased, but his social circle had also widened continuously. As a township clerk, none dared show him disrespect.

But Chen Ping was not content with this!

"Today, as She Steward, everyone praised me."

"But is my talent and capacity only fit to steward the meat of one hamlet?"

The sacrificial meat may be a small thing, but it carries the weight of ritual norms. When ritual is correct, the realm is ordered; when ritual is skewed, the realm falls into chaos. That is why Confucius insisted on not eating anything improperly cut, and when the Lord of Lu failed to send him sacrificial meat after the She rite, Confucius, disheartened, resigned his post and left the state of Lu.

In the Spring and Autumn period, the chief retainer serving a high minister's household was called the "Household Steward." Confucius himself once served as Household Steward to the Gao clan, a ministerial family in Qi.

The master of a city was called the "City Steward" — as Ran Qiu put it: "A domain of sixty or seventy li, or even fifty or sixty — if I were to govern it, within three years I could make the people prosper." Confucius also served as Steward of Zhongdu, and it is said that within a year, men and women walked on separate sides of the road, no one picked up lost items on the streets, and craftsmen no longer made shoddy or counterfeit wares.

Chen Ping's ambition and drive, however, far surpassed that of She Steward, Household Steward, or City Steward.

His ultimate goal was the chief of all officials in a state — the "Prime Steward"!

"Ah, if only I could steward the whole realm — I would be just as competent as I was dividing the meat today!"

When he was praised for dividing the meat today, this was the sigh that rose in his heart.

But such an ambition could not be spoken aloud. A poor man with grand aspirations — if others heard, they would only mock him as a fool dreaming foolish dreams.

Yet there was one person, and one person alone, who five years ago had voiced the great ambition Chen Ping kept hidden in his heart!

"This gentleman — might he one day steward the realm?"

Those were Heifu's parting words, and they had stunned Chen Ping to his core. It was a long time before he recovered.

The realm is vast beyond measure. He had thought that from then on, he and Heifu might never meet again. Who could have imagined that five years later, while Chen Ping was still scrabbling about in Huyou Township, the former junior constable had already ascended to the imperial court, becoming Right Chief of the Multitude and a close minister to the Emperor!

The Zhang family's patron was Zhang Cang, yet now, it was said that even Zhang Cang had to serve under Heifu...

Chen Ping's ambition stirred once more. That Heifu still remembered him, going so far as to invite him from a thousand li away, showed that he valued Chen Ping's talents. And as a lower-ranking minister, Heifu was now qualified to recruit advisors and retainers.

Being a retainer in Xianyang was far better than serving as a petty clerk in the countryside. Chen Ping had seen clearly over these years: though Qin law was theoretically impartial to all, in practice, as descendants of the Six Kingdoms, their official careers and ranks faced a hard ceiling, nearly impossible to surpass the level of Bugeng or township head clerk.

But Heifu might help him cross that impassable chasm!

"So, both in sentiment and in reason, I must attend this banquet."

Chen Ping had explained at length, hoping only for his wife's understanding. They had been married over three years, and Zhang had finally conceived, yet he was leaving on a long journey just when she needed him most — hence the guilt in his heart.

Zhang was a well-bred lady. Though she had been cursed to bury five husbands, it was only for Chen Ping that she felt true, genuine affection.

Before she married, Zhang Fu had admonished her: "Do not neglect your duties because the Chen family is poor. Though Chen Ping is not yet wealthy or honored, he will surely achieve great things one day!"

She had firmly remembered her grandfather's words. She served her elder brother-in-law Chen Bo as if he were her father, served her sister-in-law as if she were her mother, and treated Chen Ping with the utmost respect and tender care, like lifting the tray to her brow.

With gentle understanding, she said, "You should go to Xianyang for the banquet. I have my sister-in-law, the bondmaids, and the nursemaid to look after me."

But then she frowned again: "Only…"

Having won his wife's understanding, Chen Ping was overjoyed and pressed, "Only what?"

Lady Zhang's face flushed slightly. Unsure whether she should bring the matter up, she held it in for a long while before saying softly, "I heard talk in the village that the reason Heifu took a fancy to you, husband, is because… because…"

She stole a glance at Chen Ping's handsome face, which held a touch of refined elegance, then hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping.

No further words were needed; Chen Ping already grasped his wife's meaning. Mild-tempered as he was, his expression changed to one of fury and he cursed:

"This is nothing but the jealous slander of village boors! Back then they falsely accused me of having an affair with my sister-in-law, and now they spew more malicious calumny — how vicious their intent! Think about it: setting aside the fact that what Heifu values is my ability, he is about to be married, and his letters brim with the joy of taking a new bride. How could he be a man of the cut-sleeve persuasion?"

……

In mid-October, Chen Ping left home. Riding in the carriage gifted by Zhang Fu, he journeyed west, passing Daliang, now a stretch of ruins where countless ghosts and wraiths seemed to flit about at night. He passed Xinzheng in Yingchuan Commandery, stopped at Luoyang in Sanchuan Commandery to observe the old customs of the Zhou people, and then, along with countless merchants, scholars, and commoners, underwent quarantine inspection at Hangu Pass.

Because Chen Ping carried Heifu's wedding invitation and the accompanying tally token, he himself could pass through the pass without trouble. The horse pulling his carriage, however, proved a problem — it was found to have a disease during inspection and was impounded. Chen Ping could only use the gold and silk he had brought to rent an oxcart at Peach Forest, and by the time the first snow fell in late November, he had just barely made it to Xianyang…

Cold and exhausted, Chen Ping had thought he would have to enter Xianyang alone to search for Heifu's residence. He had not expected that Heifu, calculating the date of his departure after his reply letter, had specially dispatched a servant to wait at Ba Bridge. In the snowy weather, the man held high a wooden placard reading "Chen Ping." After successfully receiving him, the servant sent word at once to inform the master, then escorted Chen Ping toward Heifu's mansion.

The grand residence the First Emperor of Qin had bestowed upon Heifu was located in the main urban district of Xianyang, so the carriage fetching Chen Ping first traveled west along the southern bank of the Wei River.

Snow drifted down in flurries. Chen Ping saw the towers and pavilions of Zhangtai Palace looming in and out of view, draped in silver, while the majestic capital on the opposite bank of the Wei River was likewise breathtakingly beautiful.

The thought that he had come from a remote, humble village in Bi County to the very nerve center of the empire — where every decision made here, from the abolition of feudalism and the establishment of commanderies and counties over the past year, to the standardization of cart axles and the unification of the written script, affected the fates of tens of millions — stirred the young man's emotions. As the carriage reached the center of the bridge, he felt as though he were walking upon a heavenly bridge across the Silver River…

"Master Chen!"

As the carriage reached the bridgehead, he seemed to hear someone calling him. Chen Ping fixed his gaze and saw a minister wearing a brown-feathered cap, draped in a thick bearskin cloak, standing at the bridgehead with several servants, cupping his hands in greeting toward him.

He paused for a brief moment, then recognized him — it was Heifu!

"Right Chief庶长!"

Chen Ping practically leaped from the moving carriage, nearly slipping, but Heifu caught him.

"I am lowly and base — what virtue or ability do I possess that the Right Chief庶长 should come here to greet me…"

"Master Chen and I are old acquaintances. We worked together back then, and I even acted as your matchmaker. As the ancients well said, 'Is it not a joy to have a friend come from afar?' How could I not come out to welcome you?"

Looking up, Chen Ping noticed that, whether it was due to the falling snow or because Heifu had long since left military life, his complexion seemed less dark than it had been five years ago.

Heifu, for his part, showed no awkwardness at all. Clapping him heartily on the shoulder, he declared:

"Back in Huyou Village, I said to you, Master Chen: in life, meetings have their time. Escort a friend a thousand li, yet in the end, parting must come. Five years have passed since we parted — five years is enough for many things to happen. I have already invited Zhang Cang and prepared a feast for you. First, let us drink some warmed wine and eat some Xianyang soup cakes to warm your bodies. Tonight, you and I shall share a bed and talk through the night to our hearts' content!"

"Sh-share a bed?"

This was a custom among scholars signifying the deepest friendship, but upon hearing these words, Chen Ping, who had been deeply moved, trembled slightly. A somewhat peculiar look crossed his face, and his smile gradually stiffened in the wind and snow…

(End of chapter)