National Beauty

国色

national-beauty

Chapter 10

Well said!


 Liu Nan almost wanted to cheer loudly for his younger sister. Liu Zhen had completely said everything he wanted to say but couldn't organize into words!


 He looked at Ji Yu and the others, grinned, his smile filled with satisfaction and relief.


 Ji Yu and Ji Hui stared in astonishment at the little girl before them, who was only five or six years old. No one had expected to hear such a statement from her mouth.


 But after the astonishment came anger.


 Ji Hui's face turned red with anger, a state exactly like Liu Nan's just a moment ago, only now the target was different.


 "You little brat, how can you spout such nonsense!"


 Liu Zhen smiled, put down the bamboo slip in her hand, and said unhurriedly: "The Lord of Qin State was once but a horse-keeper for the Son of Heaven of Zhou. In terms of bloodline, who could be nobler than the Son of Heaven of Zhou? However, Qin State accumulated power generation after generation, eventually extinguishing the six states and unifying the world. Conversely, look at the Chu State. Among the Seven Warring States, Chu State had the largest territory, yet in the end, it suffered the fate of a shattered state and ruined families, forcing you all to leave your homes and live in hiding under assumed names. Isn't this exactly what I said before? 'Kings and nobles, generals and ministers—how could they be born noble? They are but products of chance and opportunity, rising with the tide!' Am I wrong in what I've said?"


 "You! You!" Ji Hui's face turned from red to ashen.


 Even Ji Yu couldn't think of anything to refute her for a moment.


 "Crude and ignorant!" Seeing her two older brothers speechless, Ji Xuan immediately stepped forward. She sized up Liu Zhen with a critical gaze and sneered slightly, "Even if Qin State possesses the world, it was only obtained through endless military aggression. When have the six states ever submitted? The mere tyrannical Qin... Mmph!"


 Her mouth was quickly covered. Ji Yu and Ji Hui, standing on either side of her, acted almost simultaneously. Pale with fright, they half-dragged, half-pulled her out.


 The provocative trio thus made a disheveled exit.


 Actually, what Ji Xuan said was more or less what many people thought at the time. The six states defeated by Qin State had not been completely subdued in spirit. Even Liu Yuan and An Zheng often complained in private, just like how later generations would critique the state of affairs in their leisure time. But what one thinks in their heart is one thing; to publicly declare it like Ji Xuan was foolish.


 If Ji Xuan's words were to spread, no matter how prestigious the Ji Family was, they would be in for more trouble than they could handle.


 After the three left, Ji Ci let out a soft sigh of relief. "I am very sorry, they were too rude."


 It all happened so fast that he didn't even have time to stand up for his friends before it was over.


 "I am the one who should apologize," Liu Zhen said with a smile, pressing her lips together. "Those words just now were only to refute them. I had no intention of targeting the Ji Family. I hope you can forgive me."


 "They were the ones who were rude first, what does it have to do with you?" Ji Ci shook his head.


 "I think I understand now. Apart from you, I'm afraid no one else in the Ji Family welcomes us." Liu Nan wasn't without anger in his heart, but he knew he couldn't vent it on his friend.


 Fortunately, Ah Zhen's rebuttal just now was satisfyingly cathartic.


 "My elders are not like this," Ji Ci said, very distressed. He was, after all, just a child not yet ten years old. He could only repeatedly apologize to his friends. He then looked at Liu Zhen: "Ah Zhen, were the things you said just now all your own thoughts?"


 Liu Zhen shrugged. "No, I heard them from Father and Uncle An."


 Even if she had thought of it herself, she couldn't admit it. How could a little girl who had just learned to read say something like "Kings and nobles, generals and ministers—how could they be born noble?"?


 Liu Nan praised his sister without reservation: "If it weren't for you just now, I'm afraid I would have used my fists. Look at them fleeing in disarray, ha! That was so satisfying!"


 Liu Zhen shot him a sideways glance. "Elder Brother, I've told you long ago to study diligently and listen more. If you had paid careful attention to what Father and the uncles say on a daily basis, how could you have been refuted into speechlessness just now?"


 Liu Nan scratched his head, making a pained face without retorting. It seemed he had long grown numb and accustomed to being lectured by his little sister.


 Liu Zhen turned her head to Ji Ci and said, "Ah Ci, given your family's attitude, we won't stay long. Would it be convenient for me to borrow this scroll for a few days?"


 Ji Ci let out a sound of surprise. "Why are you leaving? Didn't we agree you would stay for the midday meal today?"


 Liu Zhen: "If today's scene hadn't occurred, it would have been fine. But now that Ji Yu and the others have slighted us, if we were to stay, we would instead be looked down upon."


 Ji Ci grew anxious. "But they are they, and you are my friends! I would never treat you poorly!"


 Only at this moment did he resemble a young boy, rather than the person who put on a stern face all day, pretending to be mature and placid.


 Liu Zhen said, "Ah Ci, we still consider you a friend, but we really cannot stay in this Ji Family home any longer. Let's meet again another day. Elder Brother, let's go."


 She left as soon as she said she would, still holding the bamboo scroll she had just borrowed from Ji Ci. Ji Ci couldn't stop them and could only watch helplessly as the four Liu siblings departed.


 Liu Wan and Liu Zhuang were still clutching the unfinished bowl of Spring Essence, unwilling to let go. Liu Zhen glared at them coldly: "The Liu family may be poor, but we do not have children who would abandon their reputation for the sake of food!"


 Liu Wan and Liu Zhuang had never been treated so fiercely by Liu Zhen. Their lips trembled, and they were about to cry. Liu Zhen frowned slightly. The two little children were five and four years old respectively; she couldn't expect them to understand. So she didn't explain further, and she and Liu Nan each took one by the hand and half-forcedly led them home.


 Liu Wan, unable to finish her bowl of Spring Essence, was dragged away by her older brother and sister. Filled with grievances she couldn't express, the moment she saw Madam Zhang upon returning home, she immediately threw herself at her and began to wail.


 Madam Zhang was greatly startled and hurriedly asked for the reason. She only learned what had happened through Liu Wan's stuttering account and Liu Nan's supplemental explanations.


 Liu Zhen said, "It was I who acted rashly. I should have waited for Ah Wan to finish that bowl of Spring Essence. Please punish me, Mother."


 Madam Zhang was indeed not very pleased, but not because Liu Zhen had forcibly pulled Liu Wan and the others away, but because she was worried that Liu Zhen's actions had offended the Ji Family.


 Although no one in the Ji Family was an official, even without holding office, they were still honored guests of the Governer. Looking at her own family, Liu Yuan had just been promoted to Prison Warden and hadn't even warmed his seat yet. On a normal day, he might not even get to see the County Magistrate, let alone the Governer.


 But when Liu Yuan returned in the evening and Madam Zhang told him what happened, Liu Yuan slapped his thigh and said, "Ah Zhen did well!"


 Madam Zhang frowned. "Husband, Ah Zhen's actions not only offended the Ji Family but also displeased young master Ji!"


 Liu Yuan: "A woman's shortsighted view! If Ah Zhen and the others hadn't come back, they would have truly been looked down upon. The Ji Family today are nothing but commoners. What makes them superior to anyone else!"


 Madam Zhang: "But young master Ji's father and grandfather are honored guests of the Governer!"


 Liu Yuan scoffed. "So what? Subjects of a fallen kingdom are like stray dogs. Even if a descendant of the King of Chu were to start an uprising, I'm afraid not a single person from the Ji Family would dare to respond!"


 In his view, what Liu Zhen did was by no means an overreaction. One had to understand that this era did not advocate for things like individual freedom; a person's actions were often tied to their family. For Ji Yu and the other two to look down on and slight the Liu siblings was equivalent to the entire Ji Family looking down on them. Of course Liu Zhen and the others had to leave. Not leaving would only cause them to be looked down upon even more.


 Hearing her husband's assessment of the Ji Family was so low, Madam Zhang couldn't say anything more. She lowered her head, gently rocking her arms, humming softly to coax the infant in her embrace, her gaze softening.


 Liu Yuan also leaned over, teasing his soundly sleeping little son, and chuckled in a low voice: "Ah Jin is so quiet and well-behaved, not at all like his elder brother."


 Madam Zhang shot him a playful, scolding glance. "The eldest is lively and active, so his younger brother ought to be a bit quieter. Otherwise, the house will have no peace in the future!"


 The friendship between Liu Nan, Liu Zhen, and Ji Ci did not change because of this small incident. Ji Ci still came to visit the Liu household every few days, occasionally bringing some bamboo scrolls or food. He just no longer mentioned them visiting his home. Liu Nan and Liu Zhen knew it wasn't his fault and, of course, wouldn't hold a grudge over such a small matter. As their interactions became more frequent, their bond grew more stable and profound.


 Liu Zhen also gradually came to understand the messy affairs of Ji Ci's family.


 After the Chu State was destroyed, the Ji Family moved here, burying their heads in scholarship and no longer concerning themselves with the affairs of the world. Ji Ci's grandfather and father thus gained the reputation of famous scholars. Even so, the Ji Family were still commoners. The "four-hundred-year-old prestigious family" was really just a nice-sounding phrase for self-comfort. Without power, there was no glory or wealth.


 Thus, some in the Ji Family naturally wanted to enter officialdom, for example, Ji Ci's two uncles—the fathers of Ji Yu, Ji Hui, and the third sibling. But the patriarch of the Ji Family, Ji Ci's grandfather, would not allow it. He believed that the Ji Family had received great favors from the King of Chu for generations. Now, even if they couldn't restore their old state, they couldn't lose their integrity and serve as officials under the Lord of Qin.


 However, Ji Ci's two uncles believed their father was being partial. Their older brother, Ji Ci's father, was destined to take over the Ji Family clan in the future, so whether he became an official or not didn't matter. But they were different; they didn't want to live at the mercy of their older brother after their father's death.


 With their different ideas and the suppression from Ji Ci's grandfather preventing them from realizing their ambitions, conflicts naturally arose within the Ji Family over time. That was why Ji Yu and the others were so rude to Ji Ci's friends the moment they appeared—it was purely a case of "pointing at the mulberry and cursing the locust tree," venting their parents' frustrations.


 Faced with such messy internal family conflicts, even Ji Ci, as the eldest grandson of the legitimate line, was helpless. So he could only apologize to Liu Zhen and the others in private, blaming himself for not understanding the situation before bringing them to his home, which resulted in his friends being needlessly embarrassed.


 As time passed, Liu Zhen was able to understand more and more classical texts. She was hardworking by nature, spending most of her day calming her mind to read and practice calligraphy. She had already finished several scrolls from Ji Ci's collection, meticulously copying and memorizing them.


 Although this era was not bound by too many etiquette rules, the status of women was not high. From the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the greatest use for a state's princess was political marriage. By the Qin Dynasty, princesses no longer had to be married off for political alliances, but their status had not improved much. If this was the case for noble princesses, it went without saying for common women. No matter what your name was before marriage, after you married, your name would be replaced by your husband's family name.


 Liu Zhen didn't know what kind of future awaited her. The person she could marry depended largely on the Liu family's social standing. From the current situation, her father was just a minor official. At best, she would also marry the son of a minor official in the future, and then, like her birth mother or Madam Zhang, bear and raise children and manage the household.


 Even though she didn't want to live that way, fate was fate because it was unpredictable and irreversible. Therefore, Liu Zhen decided not to worry about her future destiny and to strive to live the present days well.


 Fortunately, her father was very open-minded and did not forbid her from reading and learning characters. He wasn't even shy about Liu Zhen listening in when he was drinking and chatting with his sworn brothers.


 For this, Liu Zhen was very grateful to her father.


 Just when she thought these peaceful days would continue forever, fate finally ushered in a crucial turning point.


 This turning point was unrelated to her, but it was related to the world.


 That night, a heavy rain began to fall. The summer heat of the eighth month was completely washed away. A fierce wind howled, repeatedly slamming the doors and windows with loud bangs. The several younger children had already hidden under their blankets. Only the youngest, Liu Jin, was startled into crying from time to time, needing to be held and coaxed by Madam Zhang.


 Although she had gone to bed early, Liu Zhen tossed and turned on her cot, unable to sleep due to the noise outside the window.


 At this moment, a banging on the door, louder than the wind, came from outside. She immediately got up and ran, still dressed, to check.


 She saw Liu Yuan get up to open the door and welcome his sworn brother, An Zheng, inside.


 "Why at a time like this...?" Liu Yuan was also very surprised.


 An Zheng was covered in rainwater from head to toe but couldn't be bothered to brush it off. He took a few steps forward, lowered his voice, and said urgently, "Elder Brother, the First Emperor has passed away!"

National Beauty

National Beauty

Chapter 10 - Chapter 10

Sleepy