“Every man says such things when he takes a wife and concubines, but every year—even every day—there are those who are cast aside by their husband’s family. The legitimate wife fares somewhat better, as she can at least request the clan elders to judge her case in the ancestral hall, but concubines… they don’t even have the qualification to step foot in the ancestral hall!”
“You and Caiping still have many long decades ahead of you. Over these decades, can you guarantee that you will never change your heart? Can you guarantee that even if countless people whisper ill of Caiping in your ears, you will always believe in her and cherish her as before?”
Faced with Yunyi’s words, Li Xuanba was left speechless. After a long while, he finally said: “I cannot guarantee such distant matters, but I can swear to do everything in my power to treat Caiping well, because she is the first woman I have ever loved!”
To Li Xuanba’s words, Yunyi responded with a soft sigh. “Third Young Master, if you truly love Caiping, then let her go. Given Caiping’s family background, once she becomes entangled with a prominent family like the Li clan… she will surely suffer greatly. You love Caiping, surely you love her smile, love her innocent and carefree nature. But staying by your side, sooner or later all of this will be worn away and exhausted. Is this what you wish to see?”
Li Xuanba desperately tried to find words to refute Yunyi, but sadly discovered that he… had nothing to say in response. He could only watch helplessly as they departed.
Along the way, she comforted Caiping with a few more words, and seeing that she was not seriously affected, Yunyi then turned back toward Shuangqiao Village. The moment she stepped into the village, she felt something was amiss. Usually, whenever she returned to the village, the villagers who knew her would actively greet her upon seeing her, but today along the entire path, not a single person greeted her. Even when she encountered acquaintances and took the initiative to greet them, they merely nodded in response, each one looking as if they were weighed down by heavy concerns.
The villagers’ condition made Yunyi worry about Wu Laosan. She quickened her pace toward home, and fortunately Wu Laosan was still the same as before. Seeing her return, his face lit up with joy, and while skinning a wild rabbit, he said: “Are you tired from walking? If you’re tired, go sit in the chair. Father will be done here soon.” Then, remembering something else, he added: “Oh right, I caught two pheasants yesterday. When you leave later, remember to bring them to Second Young Master and the others!”
“I understand,” Yunyi replied, bringing clean water to Wu Laosan while asking about the village’s unusual atmosphere today. Wu Laosan sighed and said: “I heard that His Majesty, in order to campaign against Goguryeo, wants to conscript soldiers and civilian laborers. In every county, all able-bodied men of appropriate age who are not disabled must be conscripted from each household. Once they go, they might not return alive, so naturally everyone is extremely worried.”
Yunyi frowned: “Didn’t we just campaign against Goguryeo last year? Why must we campaign again this year?”
Wu Laosan shook his head: “Who’s to say otherwise? Year after year of warfare, year after year of conscription—how are we supposed to live? I heard that Aunt Fang from next door cries day and night until her eyes are nearly blind. If it weren’t for the fact that our household only has you and me, and we’re not affected by the conscription, I’d be too worried to eat or sleep.” He continued: “Ever since this current emperor ascended the throne, life for us common people has become increasingly difficult. In the past, at least they would select one person from every five or ten households, but now they must conscript from every household. In the future, all the prefectures and counties will be left with only the old, weak, women, and children—what will we do then? In the old days, everyone said it was good to have male children, but now everyone fears having male children. Why? Because they worry that when they grow up, they’ll be forcibly conscripted.”
Hearing Wu Laosan speak ill of Yang Guang, Yunyi felt indescribably sad. She reluctantly defended him: “His Majesty doesn’t want to make things difficult for the people either. It’s just that Goguryeo has been harboring ambitious designs against our Great Sui. His Majesty, in order to protect the stability of our borders, has repeatedly launched campaigns. As long as Goguryeo submits to our Great Sui, there will naturally be no need for further campaigns.”
“No need for further campaigns?” Wu Laosan, unaware of Yunyi’s thoughts, scoffed: “Where would such good fortune come from? You’ll see—even if we don’t campaign against Goguryeo, in the future we’ll campaign against some ‘Low-guryeo’ or ‘Short-guryeo’ or the like. If not that, then we’ll dig another great canal or build another palace. In any case, this emperor will never let us live in peace. Otherwise, where would all those…” He lowered his voice: “Rebellious activities come from?”
“Actually… His Majesty isn’t as bad as father says. Many things he doesn’t know about—it’s the officials below who deceive their superiors and bring disaster to the country and people.” Though she said this, Yunyi’s confidence was clearly lacking, and evidently even she didn’t quite believe it herself. Sure enough, Wu Laosan said: “If you say he doesn’t know about small matters, I believe that, but this is war we’re talking about! As emperor, how could he not know? And what about those canal excavations, palace constructions, and increased taxes—would he know nothing about those either? Take our household, for instance—more than half of what we harvest from those few acres goes to taxes, and what’s left isn’t even enough to eat. If I didn’t regularly hunt game in the mountains, and if you didn’t have work at the Governor’s mansion, we wouldn’t even have enough to eat.”
“I believe His Majesty must have his reasons for doing this,” Yunyi said. Her words drew a puzzled look from Wu Laosan: “Girl, what’s wrong with you today? Why do you keep defending that emperor?”
Yunyi smiled to cover her feelings: “I’m not doing anything of the sort. I’m just speaking my mind. After all, the capital is so far from us—there are many things we don’t understand clearly.”
Wu Laosan didn’t pursue the matter further, only sighing: “In any case, I’ve come to understand that as long as this emperor remains on the throne, we won’t have a single good day.”
Yunyi fell silent for a while, then said: “Speaking of which, hasn’t the Governor always been benevolent and caring? Regarding this matter… did he say nothing?”
Wu Laosan smiled bitterly: “What can the Governor say? He’s just a minister after all. When the emperor issues an order, can he disobey? However, I heard that the Governor has already spoken many good words on our behalf. Originally, everyone of appropriate age was to be conscripted, but now only one person per household is conscripted. Even so, it’s still like the sky falling for those families!”
After a moment of silence, Yunyi asked: “Is there truly no other way?”
“What other way could there be? Unless you’re a wealthy household that can use grain and money to substitute for conscription quotas. I heard that the Du family…” Wu Laosan glanced at Yunyi, and seeing no unusual reaction, continued: “The Du family did exactly that, but I heard that as a result, their originally quite substantial family wealth was almost entirely depleted. Even so, this only works if done before your name is recorded in the registers of the officials responsible for conscripting soldiers and civilian laborers. Once recorded, no amount of silver can remove it—you must go.”
“Knock knock knock!” came the sound of knocking at the door. Opening it, they found it was Aunt Fang from next door. Before Wu Laosan could speak, she had already rushed in with her red, swollen eyes, grasping Yunyi’s hand and tearfully pleading: “Meixue, you work at the Governor’s mansion—could you help us plead for mercy? Please don’t let them conscript your Brother Fang! He’s my only son—if anything happens to him, how can I go on living?”