Chapter 5: Stepmother

May, early summer.

After a spring of nourishment, the Yi River, which had previously run dry, was once again brimming with water, its surface rippling gently.

Hedong County is located on the east bank of the Yi River, from which it takes its name.

The county seat is not large. Before the drought, it had a population of over a thousand households, classifying it as a "lower county" according to the Great Zhou Dynasty’s administrative hierarchy.

However, after three years of drought, the commoners either fled or perished; now, only five or six hundred households remain within the city walls.

With the population plummeting and chaos erupting last winter, the county magistrate fled upon hearing the news. The acting magistrate left behind was killed by rioters, and the official granaries were looted clean.

The county office was burned, leaving behind nothing but broken walls and ruins.

The city walls and the moat were also in a state of utter disrepair.

It was not until this spring that an army clad in silver armor arrived in Hedong County, repairing the walls and pacifying the populace, barely preventing Hedong from becoming a den for rioters.

Last month, General Yang, who occupies Yi Prefecture, sent a new magistrate. It is said that he is a young master from the Wang clan, a top-tier aristocratic family.

"As expected of a son of the Wang clan. The spectacle! The carriage at the head of the procession had already entered the county office while the last one was still outside the city gate."

"Two or three hundred retainers, all of them helmeted and armored, looking majestic. No wonder the rioters knew the Wang family’s fortified manor had grain but couldn't do a thing about it."

"And those servants and maids, dressed in silks and brocades—they look more refined than the noble ladies in our own county."

"...That’s not all. The most dazzling of them all is the young master of the Wang family; he is handsome and refined, like an immortal descended to earth."

The moment Magistrate Wang Lin and his family arrived in Hedong County, they provided the commoners inside and outside the city with endless topics of conversation.

They discussed the wealth of the Wang family, envied the refinement of their servants, and secretly kept watch over every move made by Magistrate Wang’s family.

For instance, before the Wang family had even reached the county office, they had already sent ahead boxes of copper coins and cartloads of grain to recruit craftsmen and farmers.

The Wang family spent their own money to rebuild the dilapidated county office.

Furthermore, the Wang family expanded the street behind the county office—

According to the official rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty, government offices are structured with the administrative office in the front and the residence in the back.

The front is for official business, while the back is the residence for the magistrate and his family.

In official circles, there is actually a tacit rule: officials do not renovate the office.

After all, the office is like iron, while the officials are like flowing water.

A term of office lasts three years; once it expires, the official is transferred.

Officials and their families are only temporary residents, so there is no need to spend their own money to repair government property.

But this Hedong County office was different!

Firstly, the office had been burned beyond recognition; if it weren't repaired, it would be impossible to move in.

Secondly, the Wang family is a clan that values propriety above all else.

If they are particular even about their food—"never tiring of fine grains or finely minced meat"—how could they be indifferent about the place where they live every day?

Moreover, the number of family members Wang Lin brought with him this time was quite significant.

Even before taking up his post, at the Wang family manor, Wang Lin and his mother, the Dowager Xie, had already conducted a division of the family, casting out the restless and gossiping concubines' sons and keeping only the three branches of the legitimate line. Including masters and servants, these three branches numbered over a hundred people.

The backyard of the county office was a small two-courtyard compound. It was cramped even for the Dowager herself, let alone the other masters.

Expand!

It had to be expanded!

The entire backyard, along with an entire street, was enclosed within the perimeter.

Even so, when the Wang family members all arrived and began to allocate the courtyards, it was still somewhat insufficient.

Furthermore, Wang Lin was planning to remarry.

He is the head of the Wang family, and the wife he brings back would be the mistress of the household; the courtyard she resides in could not be too shabby.

Wang Lin’s new bride was not from a minor family, but from the Cui clan, a famous aristocratic family of the Northern Territories.

The Cui clan cannot compare to the Wang clan, an old-established family that has been prominent for hundreds of years; they are "new money" that has risen in the last hundred years.

However, the Cui clan possesses an advantage that the Wang clan does not—

The Cui clan is not a purely Han clan; for the past hundred years, they have occasionally intermarried with foreign tribes of the Northern Territories.

The Cui clan has also produced several empresses and consorts.

The most famous among them was the late Emperor’s primary wife, Empress Yuande.

Empress Yuande and her son, the Crown Prince Ai, have both passed away, but the current Emperor is her grandson.

Relying on this connection, the Cui family became one of the most prominent maternal relatives in the capital.

Their power was second only to the Grand Chancellor.

Last year, the "Maomao Rebellion" broke out in the capital; the Grand Chancellor poisoned the Emperor, and the Cui family was also severely crippled.

However, Empress Yuande’s natal family was only one branch of the Cui clan.

The Cui clan has other kinsmen.

These kinsmen also intermarry with other aristocratic families.

The Cui woman whom Wang Lin was marrying had an aunt who had married into the Helou clan, one of the eight great aristocratic families of the Northern Territories.

And the commander of the army stationed in Hedong this time was surnamed Helou. Oh, no, to be precise, it was Lou.

The late Emperor promoted Sinicization, so the Helou clan took the opportunity to change their surname to Lou.

"Lou Jin, whose father is the Pillar of State General Lou Yan, once garrisoned the Six Towns alongside the Yang family."

"Lou Jin’s mother is a woman of the Cui clan—"

Wang Lin’s soon-to-be bride is a cousin to Lou Jin.

With Wang Lin serving as the Magistrate of Hedong, Lou Jin garrisoning Hedong, and the added "in-law" relationship, it was a union of two powerful forces.

Wang Lin would no longer fear rioters or the interference of crude, arrogant military generals in local government affairs!

Therefore, Wang Lin was very satisfied with this new bride from the Cui clan. To secure the marriage, the Wang family showed absolute sincerity.

First, the Dowager Xie gave up the main courtyard on the central axis, which had been expanded, to serve as the bridal chamber for the Cui bride.

Second, the "burden" left behind by his first wife at the Wang family home was "sent" to the Dowager Xie’s side in advance.

Third, the Wang family offered a hundred catties of gold and a hundred volumes of ancient books as a betrothal gift.

Gold might be one thing; even a humble family could scrape that together.

But ancient books were incredibly precious.

Those were the treasures of the Wang family, collected over hundreds of years. Not to mention the imperial family or other aristocratic houses, even other clans coveted them.

Yet the Wang family handed over a hundred volumes all at once, enough to prove how much they valued this new bride from the Cui clan.

...

The eighth day of the fifth month, an auspicious day for weddings.

The day before, the Cui family had sent over the dowry.

The Wang family had deep foundations, but the Cui family was wealthy and extravagant. In short: they were not short on money.

Over a hundred chests of dowry flowed into the county office like a stream, filling the main courtyard where the bridal chamber was located to the brim.

This did not even include the furniture and ornaments that had been laid out in advance.

The Cui family’s "ten miles of red dowry" once again opened the eyes of the people of Hedong County.

Countless people envied and gossiped, and this excitement continued until the day of the wedding ceremony.

The Great Zhou Dynasty followed ancient rites, and weddings were held at dusk, hence the term "dusk ceremony."

Wang Lin, dressed in bright red wedding robes, rode his horse and led the wedding procession in a grand manner to the post station outside the city.

The Cui family was not in Yi Prefecture; after the two families agreed on the marriage, the young master of the Cui family escorted the bride to Yi Prefecture.

Hedong County was too small to have a decent inn, so the Cui family’s escort party simply stayed at the post station.

Next to the post station was Lou Jin’s military camp, and there was a wide river nearby, making it both safe and convenient.

When they arrived at the post station, the sun had already dipped to the west.

Following ancient rites, Wang Lin passed the challenges one by one.

As a son of an aristocratic family, he was well-versed in the Six Arts of a gentleman, and poetry and prose came easily to him.

Whether it was the challenges posed by the bride’s side—archery or composing poetry—he handled them with ease.

...Or perhaps it had something to do with his experience.

After all, it was not his first time being a groom; Wang Lin’s mindset was calm, and he was in good form.

Having passed all the barriers, he finally received the bride. The Cui woman, dressed in green wedding robes and holding a round fan, sat in the ox-cart.

"Er-niang, put down the fan and rest for a while."

Feicui, the Cui woman’s personal maid, sat with her in the ox-cart. She lowered the curtain, and the cart began to move.

Feicui looked left and right, and seeing that no one was paying attention, she whispered a suggestion.

Hearing this, the Cui woman did not refuse.

She was tired of holding the round fan constantly.

"Did you see the young master? How was he? Is he truly as handsome as in the portrait, with a dignified bearing?"

The Cui woman was only seventeen and came from a good family, yet she was willing to marry a man who had been married before, mainly because she liked handsome men.

"Er-niang, the young master is indeed very handsome, and his bearing is truly extraordinary!"

"Of course it’s extraordinary! He is a son of the noble Langya Wang clan!" This was the second biggest reason the Cui woman was willing to be a second wife.

"..." Feicui was somewhat silent.

No matter how good Master Wang was, he was still a remarried man.

Not to mention, the Wang family had a legitimate eldest daughter from his first wife.

The Cui woman and Feicui had been mistress and maid for over a decade and were extremely familiar with each other.

The Cui woman glanced at Feicui and knew exactly what she was thinking: "Hmph, she’s just a five or six-year-old girl; what kind of waves could she possibly make?"

"Besides, her mother... hmph, with such a disgraceful status, Wang Lin probably just wants to distance himself from that relationship."

To put it bluntly, Wang Lin’s first wife was a stain on his reputation.

And Wang Heng, being Wang Lin’s own flesh and blood, was also the product of that "stain."

The Cui woman would bet that as soon as Wang Lin saw his daughter, he would be reminded of his past "humiliation."

He would never favor that child.

In the backyard, without her own mother and with a father who didn't favor her, wouldn't that Wang Heng be left for her, the stepmother, to manipulate and crush as she pleased?!

(End of chapter)