“The old man relies on this kind of thing to frighten people? Is it effective?” After hearing Yun Ye’s account, Li Tai asked strangely. In his eyes, laws were obviously more powerful than such brainless falsehoods.
“The effect is right before you. Just now you leaned against the carriage and fell asleep, which shows the carriage traveled very smoothly. Have you ever had this feeling on the roads of Chang’an?”
Li Tai was stunned for a moment and nodded, acknowledging his ignorance. But he quickly categorized this situation as the ignorance of people in savage lands, not believing this was an achievement brought by enlightenment.
The carriage traveled along this road for an entire day, only arriving at Meng Family Village late at night. Meng Lu stood alone at the road entrance. Hearing the carriage’s lantern light from afar, he cried out joyfully, lit all the torches on both sides of the village, and ran forward jumping. He hadn’t seen his Han brothers for a long time and missed them very much.
Yun Ye heard Meng Lu’s shouts. Under Li Tai and Hipatia’s strange gazes, he laughed and jumped down from the carriage, happily embracing Meng Lu who came running wildly.
“Is the elder well? Is Meng Na well? Did she give birth to a little Meng Lu? I’ve come specifically to attend the ‘Moon Dance Festival’ this time. Is Meng Na still the most beautiful beauty in the village?”
Hearing Yun Ye’s rapid-fire questions, Meng Lu showed his white teeth and answered smoothly: “The elder has grown even older. Meng Na also gave birth to a child, but the heavenly god said I’m not allowed to approach, so the child lives with Meng Na. After Meng Na gave birth, she became Wu Na and can’t be a beauty anymore.”
What kind of logic was this? Not being able to approach one’s own child—this absolutely violated human ethics. The lofty Li Tai was just about to express his indignation when Yun Ye dragged him aside.
“Stop being neurotic. In families here, only what women say counts. After men and women have children together, the men become wanderers and can still find other women. Only when the woman agrees can the man go to the woman’s house to spend the night. This is their thousand-year tradition. Don’t bring out the ‘Great Tang Code’ to embarrass yourself.”
Hipatia clapped her hands happily and said: “This is truly a god-given land, a paradise for women.”
“Xinyue!” With a loud shout, the tall-figured Meng Na ran out from the village. Giggling, she picked up Xinyue and spun her two circles. Xinyue, spun dizzy and confused, shrieked while pounding Meng Na’s solid arms with her fists, finally making the over-excited Meng Na stop. Na Rimu also wanted to embrace Meng Na, but she ignored her. Lingdang stood prettily holding the sleeping child, drawing Meng Na’s delighted gaze.
“What a beautiful child! Look how fair she is. Such good fortune to have such a beautiful daughter. I’m so unlucky—Meng Lu is completely useless. I gave birth to a male, also useless.”
These words made Lingdang instantly fall in love with Meng Village. Although she was happy about giving birth to a daughter, she always felt somewhat apologetic toward her husband. Now hearing Meng Na say this, how could she not be happy?
Yun Mu walked over and tugged at Meng Na’s blue jacket. She was very interested in the beautiful patterns on it. Meng Na lowered her head and gazed obsessively at Yun Mu’s exquisite little face, carefully touching it. She turned back and said to Xinyue: “Is this your daughter? Could the heavenly god favor you so much as to give you such a treasure too?”
Na Rimu proudly drew Yun Mu to her side, her upturned chin very telling. Her daughter was the most beautiful child in the Yun family. Of course, she herself was also the most beautiful woman in the family.
“Yun Ye, you gave the useless male children to Xinyue and gave the most beautiful treasure to this woman I’ve never seen. Has your heart been eaten by the Black Demon King?”
Li Tai’s mouth opened so wide a fist could almost be stuffed in. Men weren’t valued here? Xinyue had given birth to two chubby boys in one go—noble ladies throughout Chang’an were so envious their mouths watered—yet here it had become a bad thing?
Yun Ye said with a bitter smile: “This, this—I can’t control this matter. Whatever heaven gives me, I take. I also really like male children. They’re all my kids. I like every one of them.”
Meng Na looked at Yun Ye with contempt, then took Xinyue and a group of women to her bamboo building. Hipatia happily bounced along after them. However, Na Rimu stubbornly refused to leave, planning to stay with her husband.
Having walked halfway, Meng Na saw Na Rimu was still there. She forcibly dragged Na Rimu away while walking and saying: “The ‘Moon Dance Festival’ is about to start. What are you doing crowding together with those men? Do you want to arrange in advance for them to carry you away? How shameful! You’re so beautiful yet still worry about not having men?”
The women who had come out to greet everyone immediately departed like a tide, leaving only a few lonely men. The guards didn’t know whether they should go protect their mistresses.
“Just secure the entire village. There won’t be danger in the village.” Yun Ye quietly instructed Liu Jinbao, then saw Liu Jinbao lead the guards to immediately vanish into the darkness.
“Honored guests, please don’t take offense. The women of Meng Family Village are like this. They don’t like having many men at home and drove them all to other villages. Surplus grain isn’t for feeding men.”
The elder had grown even older. Only a few teeth remained in his mouth. His hair had also fallen out severely—on his bald forehead remained a few wisps of white hair. But his eyes had become even gentler.
“I’m going to die soon. When a person has no teeth and can’t eat, that means death is near. In my final time, I can still see the village’s most respected guests. I’m very happy.”
Watching the old man trembling in the night wind, Yun Ye went to support him, but the elder avoided it. Smiling, he said: “When I need someone to support me, that will definitely mean I’m dead. Right now I don’t want to die yet. The village is about to hold the grandest ‘Moon Dance Festival.’ People from over thirty villages will come. I still want to carry a woman back! Hehe.”
Yun Ye and Li Tai laughed dryly twice, not finding anything funny about these words. The elder led Yun Ye and Li Tai wandering through the village. Though pitch black everywhere, the old man’s footsteps appeared very vigorous. Li Tai had already stumbled twice, yet the old man was perfectly fine. Pointing at the high grain pile in a shed, he said proudly: “What a prosperous village! Only Meng Family Village can hold such a grand ‘Moon Dance Festival.’ This is worth being proud of for many years!”
“Young chieftain, please cherish this land. Don’t let demons come occupy it. We will certainly respect you. Your commands will be the direction we advance.”
Having finished sighing and lamenting, the elder crossed his arms and respectfully saluted Li Rong. Though very young, Li Rong at this moment displayed maturity very inconsistent with his age. With one hand gesturing support to the elder, he said: “This is my land. You are my subjects. Protecting you is my sacred duty. Rest assured, this land will forever be prosperous and peaceful.”
When Li Rong said these words, Yun Ye and Li Tai both retreated into the darkness. Li Tai whispered to Yun Ye: “Imperial blood is truly different. Such a small child already has the bearing of a sovereign. Truly a fine boy.”
Yun Ye watched Li Rong meticulously interacting with the elder, his heart also deeply moved. Li Anlan had indeed poured all her heart and soul into this son, yet wasn’t as concerned about her daughter. Back then she had complained that Li Er paid her no attention. Now when it came to herself, she was still walking her father’s old path. If Yun Ye hadn’t brought her daughter Yun Lu back to Lingnan this time, in her lifetime she wouldn’t see her daughter many times. If her daughter also harbored resentment toward her, he didn’t know how she would face it. People were all like this—thoroughly admitting mistakes but absolutely refusing to change.
This ‘Moon Dance Festival’ was actually specially held by the elder to repay the Yun family’s kindness. Most people in Lingnan lived in high mountains and great marshes, with very weak identification with official government. He wanted to use this ‘Moon Dance Festival’ to introduce Li Rong as chieftain to all the Liao people. The significance was very important.
The reason Yun Ye came personally this time and brought large amounts of grain, hemp cloth, and many iron cooking utensils was that these things must be bestowed by Li Rong at the ‘Moon Dance Festival.’ Among them, the most precious were those prepared medicines—ointments, pills, elixirs, and powders. These prepared medicines would only be bestowed upon the elders.
Every village had an aged elder—the smartest and wisest old person in the village. Though they seemed to have no power or position, they firmly controlled their villages. As long as their loyalty was gained, Li Rong’s rule in Lingnan would take root—far beyond what Li Er’s single imperial decree could compare to.
This great land was Li Rong’s stage. Yun Ye could only hide in the background. He believed that through two generations of rule, the people here would completely forget the former Meng King. They had no written language—oral transmission could record history for at most two generations only.
Li Tai was also moved. Such a historical moment was actually witnessed by himself. The Li family bloodline had finally taken root and sprouted in this land. Seeds that had sprouted would sooner or later grow into towering trees.
The small village only became noisy for a very short time before returning to silence again. Rising at sunrise and resting at sunset was originally their tradition. Daytime was the human world. At night everything returned to nothingness—that was the paradise of gods and demons. Only under the bright moon was the sacred moment for reproducing offspring and continuing descendants.
Li Tai was very unaccustomed because Meng Lu’s snoring thundered so loudly, constantly drilling in through the gaps in the bamboo building. He sat up irritably from the bamboo bed, looking at the moon about to become full. Wrapped in a blanket, his entire body bathed in the bright moonlight, he resembled a philosopher.
“Ye Zi, if the day after tomorrow I take a fancy to a woman, can I just carry her away and find a place where no one is to get the deed done?”
“Naturally so. Except for my three wives, you can carry away whoever you want. Let me tell you, the women here are very fierce. If by chance she has your child, if it’s a daughter you won’t be able to take her. If it’s a boy, you could snatch him away.”