Refusing the Marriage Alliance, I Founded a Dynasty - chapter 3

I thought Father would take me to the study, but unexpectedly, he led me up to the City Tower.

There was a curfew in Yongyuan City, but who would dare stop the carriage of the Prefect?

The snow was falling even harder, and the city was vast and empty, with only the prolonged sound of the night watchman striking his clapper echoing through the silence.

I gazed at the houses within the city; occasionally, a few lights flickered. The common folk must have stored enough firewood for winter, so families no longer had to huddle together for warmth.

Upon reaching the City Tower, Father’s shoulders and head were covered in snow, and I was no better off. Standing side by side, we looked like two snowmen.

Father asked me, “A Yu, what do you see?”

I tried to open my eyes wide, but all I could see was the light reflected off the snow.

“Father, your daughter is dull-witted.”

I answered honestly.

Father sighed, “Do you know how I built my career?”

I did know.

Though the Meng Family hailed from the Yunchuan Meng Clan, Father did not receive his official post through family connections.

In the past, Father’s branch suffered because the family head was incompetent, the family business declined, and he died young. The orphaned mother and child endured much bullying, relying solely on Grandmother’s strength and her skillful needlework to barely raise Father. It was this hardship that ruined her eyesight.

When Father grew up, he failed in his studies and refused to toil in the fields. So he left home to join the army, determined to become a man of honor.

At that time, Great Yin was in dire straits-internal rebellion and external threats from barbarians. Father was ambitious and courageous, achieving many feats on the battlefield and carving out a career with his own hands.

Back then, flowers bloomed and the fire burned bright, but it drew the suspicion of the Sage Emperor in the Imperial City, who found an excuse to strip Father of his military power. Father took his concubines and children south and became the Prefect of Yuezhou.

Now, after three years of governance in Yuezhou, the administration is smooth, the people are at peace, and all things flourish. The common folk sing his praises.

Father did not wait for my reply, but instead asked another question: “My child, the Third Son of the Xiang Family is handsome and elegant, beloved by all the young ladies. Though there are some faults, why did you cast him aside like an old shoe?”

Indeed, it is so.

Though Yuezhou is remote, it is vast. The Yongyuan Xiang Clan once ranked among the top ten in the Record of Aristocratic Families. Though they have fallen on hard times in recent years, outsiders still see them as a distinguished family, with talented and refined sons and daughters. The Third Son of the Xiang Family has no intention of entering officialdom; he is wild and unruly, yet gifted and strikingly handsome. If Mother had not gone to the capital years ago and become fast friends with Lady Xiang, promising a marriage between our families, I doubt I would have been chosen to marry him.

I said, “In Yongyuan City, Yuezhou, and even the capital, everyone thinks Xiang Sanlang is the man of their dreams. But in my eyes, he is nothing but a hypocrite who deceives the world!”

Father said nothing.

I continued, “Years ago, Mother and Lady Xiang promised a marriage between the Xiang Family’s son and the Meng Clan’s daughter. But I am not the only daughter of the Meng Clan. If Xiang Sanlang truly cared for Aling, he could have come to Father and explained his reasons. Father is not stubborn, and I am not a fool for love; why should we not make a good match? Yet he crept into the fragrant boudoir at night, intending to defile my Younger Sister first. He disrupted my Coming-of-Age Ceremony and disgraced the name of the Meng Clan after. Such a person waves the banner of wildness and freedom, yet acts with utter heartlessness and betrayal. Outwardly, he appears noble and pure, but inside he is filthy and rotten. I despise such a villain.”

Only then did Father look at me, gazing for a long time before smiling gently, “You are not like your father, nor your mother-you are like your Grandmother.”

I whispered, “If I could resemble Grandmother even a little, it would be my blessing.”

Grandmother raised Father single-handedly, waiting for him to return home and earn her the title of Lady of Honor. Father is a man of great stature, but not a good son. The inner quarters were chaotic with wives and concubines, and my Mother lacked the means to manage them, her temperament soft and gentle. Grandmother was troubled until her health failed, and she passed away after only a few years of peace.
Thinking of this, I felt a touch of self-mockery. Though Father may be unfilial, a child does not speak of a father’s faults. Yet, is my own conduct now not also unfilial?

Father asked me, “Do you know why the Third Son of the Xiang Family came to visit? He brought no calling card, nor did he inform your parents, yet he hurriedly seeks to break off your engagement?”

This was also what puzzled me. Though the Xiang Family has fallen on hard times in recent years, their ancestral foundation remains. Why would Xiang Ke commit such a discourteous act?

“Please instruct me, Father.”

Father drew a Silk Scroll from his sleeve. I saw that the scroll was inlaid with gold and jade, its fabric a bright yellow, yet I did not know whether I should kneel. This was an Imperial Edict from the Sage Emperor, which ought to be placed on the family altar and worshipped daily. Why did Father carry it so casually?

Father said, “It is just the two of us, father and daughter. No need to kneel.”

The snow had stopped. By the light reflected off the snow, I struggled to read each word, and when I finished, my heart felt cold.

On that Imperial Edict, in vermilion brushstrokes, the Sage Emperor commanded that a daughter of the Meng Clan be sent in Marriage Alliance to Rouran.

Father’s voice was indifferent, unmoved by the words of the Imperial Edict: “Rouran has sent a national letter to court, forcing Great Yin to bow and call them master, sending annual tribute, and specifically naming a daughter of the Meng Clan for Marriage Alliance.”

My teeth bit down so hard they nearly drew blood.

Father is a General, having risen through war, yet Rouran seized seven hundred li, and took fifteen cities from Great Yin. But upon returning victorious, all he received was the Sage Emperor’s suspicion. Now, his daughter is to be sent in Marriage Alliance. Does no one among the civil and military officials understand Rouran’s intentions? Yet they still compromised. To guard against the threat of a meritorious general, they would rather send the daughter of a hero to be humiliated by the enemy, exchanging her for a meager, lingering existence, than entrust military power to my father and strive for peace in the realm. Today five cities are ceded, tomorrow ten more. Are all the officials in court, and the Sage Emperor upon the dragon throne, truly so spineless?

Father said, “You are engaged to the Xiang Family, so this Marriage Alliance would surely fall upon Ling’er. I suspect the Third Son of the Xiang Family’s intention is to break off your engagement, so that you, as the elder sister, would bear the duty of Marriage Alliance, and Ling’er would be spared from disaster.”

I sneered, “I went too easy on him in broad daylight.”

Father asked, “If you were to go in Marriage Alliance, what would you do?”

I fell silent, carefully pondering Father’s meaning.

I am Father’s legitimate eldest daughter. Among my many siblings, only Elder Brother and I were personally taught by Father. After Mother met her tragic end, I fled a thousand li with my younger brother to find Father, who then kept me in his own quarters, overseeing my daily life, teaching me archery and horsemanship, and guiding my studies. With such favor, he surely does not wish to send me in Marriage Alliance.

But what is Father’s reason for asking?

What answer does Father wish to hear?

The wind rose. I said, “If I were sent in Marriage Alliance and managed to survive, within five years, Rouran would have a Han Empress Dowager.”

Father laughed heartily, “You truly are my child, never confined to the present. But tell me, if Father does not wish to send you in Marriage Alliance, how should we resolve this predicament?”

I thought for a moment and said, “I have three strategies!”

“Speak.”

“If it is the lowest strategy, then I ask Father to immediately arrange a marriage for me, find someone to take my place, or send Ling’er in Marriage Alliance.”

“If it is the middle strategy, then I ask Father to enter court and debate, leveraging his remaining military power and prestige to pressure the Sage Emperor.”

“And the highest strategy-”

Father’s gaze was piercing, “What is the highest strategy?”

I had drunk two cups of wine at the banquet earlier; I must be drunk.

Or perhaps mad.

I bowed deeply, my blood boiling, and heard myself say, “If it is the highest strategy, then I ask the Lord to rebel.”