Chapter 43: Marriage Alliances and Peace Talks

"Sigh."

Li Yu picked up a dry branch from the floor in front of the stove, snapped it over his knee, and tossed it into the burning hearth.

"That boy missed it by only ten spots; I’m afraid he’ll have to work hard for another three years."

It was understandable that his two younger brothers hadn't passed; after all, they were still too young. Unlike himself, he possessed the soul of a mature man.

"Sister, how are you holding up? Would you like me to hire someone to help you with the cooking?"

Between raising a child and managing the chores, he couldn't imagine how she managed it all. He noticed traces of burns from hot oil on her hands. Back home, when she was still a maiden, she hadn't done much work, but marriage had truly changed things.

"You have too much money to burn..." Before she could finish, Li Ying blinked and laughed. "It really is burning a hole in your pocket. Your wife is quite wealthy."

"I heard she brought over six hundred mu of fertile land as a dowry. No wonder you’re dressed in silks and satins now; it’s clear you married a good wife."

When their parents wrote, they mentioned that the sister-in-law had paid to renovate their ancestral home completely and even bought the houses of the neighbors on both sides. It had all become part of the Li family estate, and she had even bought several servants to attend to the elderly couple. Life was looking brighter every day.

"But I don't need help. Look at all the other wives in the neighborhood—don't they all do their own chores? What would it look like if I hired someone?"

They were "poor Hanlin scholars," after all. If they hired help, how could they still call themselves poor? The very essence of "noble poverty" was reflected in that word "poor."

"Besides, Meng Zhen helps with the household chores too; it’s not that tiring."

It was true, however, that they were a bit strapped for cash. Her own consumption of rouge and powder had been cut in half, and the climate in the capital was not as nourishing as back home. She had grown darker, and her skin had become coarser.

Fortunately, Ning Zhao'an had anticipated all of this. She hadn't just brought fabrics and jewelry; she had brought plenty of rouge and creams for her sister-in-law. She hadn't brought cash, but she had given the little girl a fifty-tael silver note.

Li Ying naturally wanted to refuse such a large sum, but Li Yu quickly interjected.

"This is for the child. If you don’t accept it, are you saying you don't want Yaya to recognize me as her uncle?"

With just that one sentence, Li Ying stopped refusing and tucked it into her bodice. "I’ll save it for Yaya, to set up her dowry in the future."

Save it, my foot! Where in the capital could one possibly save money? By the time Yaya grew up, that money would likely be long gone.

At the dinner table, while feeding her daughter, Li Ying complained.

"Those officials who passed the same year and were sent to provincial posts are all living quite well. Take that man... what was his name? Zhang Wenhan in Fuzhou. Didn't he get appointed as the magistrate of Jing'an County? He wrote a letter the other day saying he’d gained over ten pounds. Look at us; we’re thin as monkeys. I think officials sent to the provinces are the ones who truly enjoy life."

Li Yu looked at his brother-in-law’s waistline and found that he did indeed look a bit thinner, though he suspected his sister was using some hyperbole.

"Who’s to say otherwise?"

They say a family shares the same mind, and Wu Jingcheng felt the same way.

"So many second-tier Jinshi were sent to the provinces, yet I, a third-tier, was left in the Hanlin Academy to 'eat dirt.' Just look at my luck. I went to the Grand Secretary to request a provincial post, but he wouldn't let me leave. He said I have a talent for calligraphy and that the Hanlin Academy couldn't do without me. You tell me, what use is good handwriting?"

Before he entered the bureaucracy, he had aspired to be a Censor, but now he was buried in endless paperwork, writing so much every day it made him nauseated. Over the years, he had tried to find other avenues to see if he could secure a provincial post and live a better life. But with the various factions in the imperial court fighting tooth and nail, he dared not approach anyone. He could only go to and from his duties in trepidation, daring to go nowhere but the Ning household.

Li Yu frowned. "Is the court really that chaotic right now?" He hadn't heard anything about it at home.

"How could it not be?" Wu Jingcheng took a sip of strong liquor and lowered his voice. "A few days ago, the factions of Chancellor Wang and Chancellor Fan actually got into a physical fight in the court, right in front of His Majesty, over the young Marquis from the Prince of Pingnan’s estate."

Jiang Qian had been sent to deal with sea pirates, but perhaps in his eagerness for success, he had launched an attack the moment he arrived, hoping to capture them all in one fell swoop. Who knew that he would not only suffer a crushing defeat, but also allow the pirate leader—who had already been preparing to surrender—to escape with several ships full of weapons and treasure? Now, if they wanted to negotiate a surrender or capture them again, who knew how long they would have to wait.

"Chancellor Wang advocates for severe punishment, stripping him of his rank and forbidding him from participating in military affairs. Chancellor Fan, however, thinks we should give the scion of a meritorious family a chance, arguing that there is no general who has never suffered a defeat..."

At this, Wu Jingcheng waved his hand, his flushed face full of exasperation. "There have been countless such messes over the past two years. Two months ago, the Northern Di invaded the border and demanded that our dynasty send a princess for a marriage alliance. Chancellor Wang said that even the previous dynasty had the backbone to refuse marriage alliances, and our dynasty must have that same spirit. Chancellor Fan said we lack the money and grain to fight and urged us to agree to the alliance to ease the conflict.

"Chancellor Wang argued that even if we have to raise taxes in the Jiangnan region, we must fight. Chancellor Fan countered that sending a princess would avoid burdening the people and wasting wealth, so why force a tax hike on the commoners? This argument has been going on for so long with no result, and heaven knows how it will end. Once, His Majesty even fell asleep while listening to them bicker."

Hearing this, Li Yu frowned. He didn't recall the late Emperor having any surviving princesses. They hadn't reached maturity, had they?

Li Ying, who was sewing winter clothes nearby, remarked, "Chancellor Fan speaks lightly. Since when has a real princess ever been sent for a marriage alliance? Isn't it always the daughters of princes and ministers who are given the title of princess?"

"Why not send Chancellor Fan's own daughter? See if he’s willing or not. But then again, no matter whose daughter is sent, it’s still a sign of weakness, isn't it?"

It was no wonder Chancellor Wang wouldn't agree; national dignity was above all else. Their Great Yong had replaced the Great Xin, and even when the Great Xin was at its most desperate, they never considered a marriage alliance as a sign of weakness. How could the Great Yong, having been established for only fifty years, agree to such a thing?

Listening to this tangled mess of court politics, Li Yu couldn't help but furrow his brows deeper.

"Is Chancellor Wang's influence in the court gradually waning compared to Chancellor Fan's?"

Wu Jingcheng nodded, asking in surprise how he knew.

Li Yu replied, "Everything Chancellor Fan thinks aligns with the interests of the powerful, while everything Chancellor Wang thinks goes against them. Naturally, one grows into a forest of shade, while the other teeters and sways."

The late Emperor was too muddled. If a crown prince capable of taking charge had ascended the throne, these matters wouldn't have reached such a chaotic state.

Wu Jingcheng sighed. "In these three years, over a dozen outspoken officials who dared to remonstrate were demoted, and three ministers... were beaten to death in the court."

"Zi Xuan, truthfully, now that I think about it, it’s a good thing you failed the imperial examination back then."

In the years he had served as an official in the capital, he had specifically sought out his friend's exam papers at the Ministry of Rites to understand why he had failed. The tone and phrasing of his friend’s essay made him gasp. He recalled that the examination had taken place while the late Emperor was clinging to life, desperately trying to select loyal and capable officials for the country.

If Zi Xuan's essay had reached the late Emperor, he would have undoubtedly been kept in the capital for an official post and placed in a critical position. If Zi Xuan had acted as uprightly as his essay suggested, he would likely have been among the names of those ministers beaten to death.

"Zi Yuan, for the next examination, change your writing style. Once you pass, if you want to get real work done, just go to the provinces. Don't stay in the capital and become a target for others."