Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A Proposal to Join the Clan
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“May I say a word?”
Xi Jin stepped forward slowly.
Though gazes poured in from all around, he did not lower his head.
“From the very start, it was Young Master Gai Jun who hurled insults at Baek.”
Gai Jun’s shoulders twitched at those words.
“They were words unfit even to speak aloud. Baek endured to the end... but he could not bear the insults to his mother.”
The courtyard fell silent.
Xi Jin paused for a moment, then continued with a trembling voice.
“Even I... if I heard such words, I could not have held back.”
As Xi Jin finished speaking, a deep silence blanketed the courtyard.
Yet Liu Biao did not miss the subtle cracks appearing on the faces of the private school disciples amid that hush.
“From this moment, I ask in the name of the General Who Pacifies the South. If any lie is spoken here, your families will bear the consequences.”
A stir rippled through the disciples, but their glances still darted toward the Gai Clan, and none dared speak first.
‘Is the prestige of the General Who Pacifies the South not enough?’
Watching them, Liu Biao slowly slipped his hand into his sleeve.
A moment later, he quietly drew out a single token.
It was a bamboo slip lacquered white, stamped with the emperor’s seal—a tally stick.
The tally stick symbolized the emperor’s command and authority, bestowed upon those entrusted with vital missions.
Through it, Liu Biao held a delegated tally, granting him the emperor’s authority.
In wartime, such a delegated tally meant the power of summary execution.
No scholar-official was ignorant of the fact that it allowed the beheading of any who violated military orders, without trial.
The Gai brothers’ faces hardened, their complexions gradually paling.
Those who knew its weight held their breath, and the disciples, seized by fear, began to speak one by one.
“...Young Master Gai Jun was the first to spew insults.”
“He insulted him for months, and when Baek showed no reaction, he finally attacked by mentioning his mother.”
“He called his mother a woman lacking in chastity, whose husband’s identity was unknown.”
Gai Liang’s face flushed red as he moved to step forward.
At that instant, Gai Yue silently raised a hand to block him.
Yet even his eyes wavered.
Liu Biao glanced at the Gai brothers for a moment before turning back to the private school disciples.
“Why did you not speak the truth from the beginning?”
One boy flinched and answered.
“We were too afraid of the Gai Clan to dare speak the truth.”
At that moment, a heavy silence descended upon the courtyard.
Children who had hidden the truth even before Liu Biao.
Their reason—fear of the Gai Clan—drew all eyes quietly toward the brothers.
Gai Liang’s face was a sight to behold.
Anger and bewilderment twisted together on his expression.
His lips trembled, but no words of rebuttal came to mind.
“The sons of scholar-officials must uphold certain virtues.”
Liu Biao’s voice was low but rang out clearly.
“For hundreds of years, the Han has taken Confucianism as its foundation. At the root of all those teachings lie two characters: loyalty and filial piety.”
He took a single step forward.
“No matter how high one’s status, to utter words that defile another’s parents is no mere slip of the tongue.”
His gaze pierced Gai Jun.
“It is a betrayal of human decency.”
Overwhelmed by unbearable humiliation, Gai Jun bowed his head.
Liu Biao’s words seemed like a lesson for the disciples, but in truth, they sharply rebuked the Gai household’s conduct.
Beyond the hushed disciples, tension crackled tautly between Liu Biao and the Gai brothers.
“Who upheld the Way and who abandoned it... there is no need to say it now.”
Liu Biao’s final words both resolved the incident and served as a quiet warning to the Gai Clan.
At that moment, Gai Liang finally stepped forward.
A forced smile, devoid of sincerity, played on his lips.
“The General Who Pacifies the South speaks most rightly.”
His tone was deferential, but the strain of suppressed pride could not be hidden.
“It is the boy’s mistake. At his vigorous age, he has yet to learn to guard his tongue, leading to this commotion... It is this father’s failing in instruction.”
He bowed his head, but showed no sign of true remorse.
“I will deeply engrave the general’s reprimand and teach him properly. Shall we end this matter here and take it as a chance for all to steady our hearts?”
His words were polite, but the intent was clear.
‘Let us end it here.’
As always, an empty apology and face-saving to wrap things up.
Liu Biao gazed up at the sky for a moment.
The surface was calm, but a heavy displeasure lingered within.
The insult etched in his heart remained, with no true atonement.
‘In the end, it concludes like this again.’
But he had to stop here.
One who leads must know when to advance and when to halt.
“I will pursue this matter no further after today.”
At Liu Biao’s words, the Gai clansmen withdrew as if they had been waiting.
Liu Biao soon turned his gaze to Baek, standing at the courtyard’s edge.
Baek’s face was swollen, bloodied, yet he stood firm.
His back and shoulders were marred with bruises, his cracked lips parched.
Yet he did not collapse.
He swayed but endured, ultimately lifting his head to stand tall.
Watching all this, Liu Biao fell silent for a long while before quietly speaking.
“Your body is wounded, but your spirit unbroken.”
Baek bowed his head without a word.
Liu Biao scanned the courtyard one last time, then turned away.
“You may all disperse.”
As he departed, the heavy air in the courtyard began to lift.
The disciples finally breathed easy, and Sunju moved toward Baek.
Duseon silently clasped her son’s hand, quietly wiping her tears.
That evening, Gai Liang and Gai Yue quietly visited Cai Mao’s annex.
Seated under the lamplight with cups of wine before them, the three held their words for a time.
Gai Yue spoke first.
“Even if Jun bears fault, to pull out the tally stick over such a trivial matter—is that not excessive?”
Gai Liang sighed in agreement.
“To corner us like that before the children... I thought we were felons guilty of treason.”
Cai Mao, who had listened silently, set down his cup and spoke.
“No need for such agitation.”
His voice was low but firm.
“Governor Liu acted that way today out of emotion. The children’s squabble was mere surface; not the core.”
He took a sip from his cup, then continued quietly.
“It all stems from our openly blocking his wishes. He harbors resentment. Moreover, we ruined the Yang Clan he secretly sought to nurture, so he throws a tantrum like a child robbed of a toy.”
Unable to swallow his anger, Gai Liang growled.
“Then, we just watch and wait?”
Cai Mao nodded with a faint smile.
“He will soon realize his place. Did Wang Rui know his limits from the start? He bared his teeth and snarled at first, but in the end, rolled over and wagged his tail before us. Taming a fierce one is far more satisfying than one that submits meekly from the outset.”
The Gai brothers burst into laughter at his words.
“Hahaha! Indeed. Master Cai’s words ring true.”
Gai Liang laughed as he lifted his teacup, and Gai Yue added with a cold smile.
“A dog that refuses taming to the end... can only be boiled and eaten, no?”
At that, a brief silence filled the room, followed by an eerie chuckle.
Days later, on a moonless night devoid of passersby.
Liu Biao and Liu Qi appeared discreetly at the Jin Clan estate.
Sunju, who had intended to retire early due to her age, donned an outer robe upon hearing Duseon’s report and emerged into the receiving hall.
Liu Biao and Liu Qi bowed politely.
“Mother-in-law, forgive our unannounced visit at this late hour. Since Jin Hui’s passing, my heart has always been here, yet state affairs have kept me from visiting often.”
Sunju regarded the two calmly, then nodded.
“No need for apologies. More importantly, thank you for the other day. You stepped forward for Baek’s sake, even at risk of straining ties with the Gai brothers.”
Liu Biao bowed lightly.
“I merely did what was right.”
Sunju soon turned her gaze to him.
“Yet your visit at this deep hour suggests some matter at hand?”
Liu Biao steadied his breath briefly and said,
“I came to speak on a certain matter. And... I hoped that boy from then might join us here.”
Sunju nodded without a word.
Duseon, standing nearby, glanced about cautiously before quietly leaving to fetch Baek.
Silence filled the receiving hall.
In that quiet, Liu Biao slowly surveyed the room.
Sunju in her faded robes, the worn screen, cold air seeping through the crooked window frames.
The aura of decline he had sensed during his prior visit over Baek’s incident felt even sharper tonight.
Liu Biao stood wordless for a moment, then drew a small wooden box from his bosom.
He carefully presented it to Sunju with both hands, neatly sealed as it was.
“With many eyes about, it is modest, but I have prepared it bit by bit over time.”
Sunju lowered her gaze quietly.
After contemplating the box, she spoke.
“No need. You must have many uses for it in state affairs; trouble yourself no further with such things.”
But Liu Biao gently shook his head.
“How could I let the family of the foremost among the Three Dukes and Eight Marquises, Grand Tutor Jin Zhongge—Grand Tutor Jin Fan—decline like this? The lineage that stood unbowed before the eunuchs’ power and upheld the Pure Stream faction’s spirit.”
It was then.
The tray in Duseon’s hand, entering with Baek, tilted.
A teacup fell and rolled across the floor, water from the pot spilling onto the table.
Sunju and Baek were startled by Duseon’s uncharacteristic mistake but showed no sign.
Duseon silently bowed to pick up the cup, her fingertips trembling slightly.
Yet Liu Biao showed no particular reaction to the minor commotion and continued seamlessly.
“In these chaotic times, the name of the Three Dukes and Eight Marquises must shine even brighter. The fall of this house would mean the vanishing of their spirit as well.”
He glanced at the box before him and said,
“Please accept it.”
Sunju quietly looked down at the box.
A moment of silence passed.
“...If I accept this, it means you intend to achieve something in the name of our clan?”
Liu Biao nodded quietly.
“I shall ensure that name is not used in vain.”
Sunju gazed at the box again.
She knew the weight it held went beyond mere wealth.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on Duseon and Baek.
Even in their fallen state, they steadfastly remained by her side.
Baek especially evoked the image of her grandchild lost to the Party Prohibitions.
A boy with a bright future ahead, much like the one she had failed to protect then.
“Then I gratefully accept.”
Sunju nodded quietly, slowly placing her hand atop the box.
Liu Biao watched her gesture for a moment, then spoke cautiously, as if measuring his words.
“There is one more thing. Calling that boy here... relates to it as well.”
Sunju raised her head to look at Liu Biao.
“Hm... Something concerning Baek? Speak freely.”
Liu Biao steadied his breath, adjusted his posture, and slowly opened his mouth.
“Mother-in-law, what if we register that boy into the Jin Clan household?”