A Springboard for Soaring
The Wang residence had the exact look one would expect from a mid-sized landowner in Peixian. Solidly packed earthen walls. A wooden gate with its lacquer still intact. Impressive tiled roofs visible beyond the compound. It wasn’t as ostentatious as the Lü family estate, but among Peixian’s local notables it was a house that could certainly hold its head high.
Whew.
I took a short breath in front of the gate. This morning I had dug out the finest silk clothing from my dowry chest and put it on. In my hands I carried a heavy gift box labeled “sincerity,” filled with douhua and premium tea—the complete outfit of a lobbyist of this era, designed to persuade a stubborn old man of ancient China. I fixed a capitalist smile on my lips and stepped forward.
The elderly gatekeeper, who had been dozing in his chair, snapped awake at the sound of my approach and studied my face.
“Who might you be?”
Curiosity outweighed wariness in his voice. That was understandable. A young woman in silk robes arriving alone in broad daylight without a single servant was unusual.
I politely clasped my hands and introduced myself with refined grace.
“My name is Lü Zhi. I have come to see Elder Wang.”
“Lü Zhi? …Ah, you must be the young lady of the Lü family.”
The expensive clothes had been worth it; the gatekeeper guessed my identity without difficulty. He straightened his posture and spoke in a noticeably more respectful tone.
“Did you have an appointment?”
“I was referred by Magistrate Xiao.”
“Lord Xiao?”
The gatekeeper looked me up and down in disbelief. I met his gaze steadily, expression unchanged.
“Please wait a moment.”
Apparently the weight of Xiao He’s name was enough; he soon nodded with reluctant acceptance and disappeared inside the residence.
How much time passed after that? Long enough, by my reckoning, to cook and eat two cups of ramen. Only then did the gate open again.
“You may enter.”
Once inside, a servant in neat clothing silently led me to the guest hall, left a curt “Wait here,” and promptly vanished.
No one else around.
The spacious guest room held a landscape scroll on the wall, a woven mat on the floor, and a tea set on the table. The teapot, however, was empty, and the servant had left without any intention of bringing hot water. In other words, Wang Su did not welcome my visit. It was the classic territorial display of an old man’s caution and distrust.
Well, I am a woman, after all.
If one were to be blunt, the Liu Bang household was the true anomaly. No matter that I was his brother’s wife, for them to follow the suggestions or requests of a twenty-year-old girl without complaint was extraordinary.
I sat with my legs folded for a while, surveying the empty room. The table was polished until it shone, revealing the owner’s meticulous nature. After yet more waiting, the sliding door rattled open and an elderly man entered slowly.
White hair. Deep wrinkles. Eyes as sharp as a raptor’s. He looked at least sixty, yet his back was straight as bamboo. He resembled a withered old tree, but one whose roots ran so deep it could never be uprooted.
So that’s… Wang Su.
I quickly unfolded my legs and knelt properly.
“Introduced by Xiao He,” he said without sitting, looking down at me with cold eyes.
I clasped my hands at once and bowed respectfully.
“Yes. My name is Lü Zhi. I am the wife of the Sishui Pavilion Chief, Liu—”
“I know. You’re that loafer’s wife, aren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“What is your business?”
I spoke in the most courteous yet clear voice I could manage.
“Lord Wang, this young one has come today to discuss commercial prospects with you.”
“Commercial prospects?”
Wang Su’s white eyebrows twitched.
“A girl talking about trade.”
“Yes. At present I am producing a food called douhua in Peixian, and—”
“I know. That white lump.”
Wang Su cut me off again, then clicked his tongue.
“I’ve heard the rumors. That the Lü family’s daughter doesn’t know her place and goes around talking about calculations and such.”
“……”
“A woman should behave like a woman and tend to her inner chambers. Why are you running wild like this?”
The criticism was so caustic it felt almost irrational. I clenched my fist in silence. My nails dug painfully into my palm.
Yes, I knew. In this era, that attitude was normal. A twenty-year-old woman suddenly visiting a man’s inner hall to propose a partnership would look to the old man like the family dog walking in on two legs and reciting the Analects.
But.
If I were going to back down, I never would have come.
I drew in a deep breath. The more unfavorable the situation, the more infuriating it became—the more I must smile. That was the only survival technique I had learned in my previous life on that corporate battlefield.
“However, my lord.”
I lowered my voice to a calm register and wore my best business smile. I lifted my head and looked directly into Wang Su’s eyes.
“No matter whose mind it sprang from, isn’t talent valuable in and of itself?”
“…What?”
Wang Su let out a hollow laugh. The mouth that had been lecturing me stopped cold. I didn’t miss the opening. I placed the gift box I had brought on the table and opened the lid. The soft, snow-white douhua revealed itself.
“As you know, my lord, this is douhua. It is made from beans, yet it sells for as much as meat.”
I smiled brightly.
“With these insignificant hands I am turning coarse beans into gold, my lord.”
“……”
“And I stand before you today not as a mere woman, but as a rising merchant of Peixian, hoping to share the fruits of that success with you.”
I had thrown the decisive card. The only thing that could move this old landowner was one thing: pride.
“Hah…”
A sigh that sounded almost impressed escaped Wang Su. His voice, though still cynical, had grown somewhat calmer.
“A girl with such an impudent tongue.”
His expression had clearly softened compared to earlier. At the very least I had been promoted from “fluffy dog” to “young girl.” Even so, he didn’t seem ready to step onto the board I had prepared. He closed his eyes as though severing lingering attachments and shook his head firmly.
“Enough. That is all I had to say, so you should leave as well.”
“But my lord, you have not even heard my proposal yet—”
“I told you to leave!”
Wang Su’s command to depart echoed through the guest hall.
It was then that a voice interrupted.
“Father, why are you raising your voice before a guest?”
The sliding door opened and a man entered. He had a robust build and appeared to be in his early forties, with a square jaw and eyes as sharp as a tiger’s. He paused, stared at me for a moment, then turned back to Wang Su.
Wang Su sighed and waved a hand.
“It’s nothing. Go back inside, Ling.”
Ling… Could it be Wang Ling?!
Wang Ling. The man who would later aid Liu Bang as a founding hero of the Han, receive the title of Marquis of Anguo, and rise to the position of Chancellor. And the very leader of the staunch anti-Lü faction that would resist Empress Lü’s tyranny to the bitter end.
To think the Wang family of history was this Wang family…
Come to think of it, in the historical records Wang Ling had been the undisputed elder brother of Peixian, a man even Liu Bang addressed with respect. In this era one could not become “big brother” through fighting skill alone; it made far more sense that he was the son of a local magnate.
I quickly straightened my posture and bowed.
“It is an honor to meet you. My name is Lü Zhi.”
“Lü Zhi… Ah, Ji’s wife.”
He appraised me openly.
“I’ve heard the rumors. You’ve been selling something called douhua in the market lately.”
Wang Ling’s voice held neither mockery nor praise—only dry confirmation of facts.
“…Ling,” Wang Su began in an irritated tone.
“I was about to send her away. Pay her no mind.”
“Send her away? Why?”
“Can’t you see? A girl who doesn’t know her place—”
“Father.”
Wang Ling cut his father off. His tone was respectful yet firm.
“The servant told me she came on Xiao He’s introduction.”
“…That is true, but.”
“Xiao He is not the sort of man who introduces people without reason. Shouldn’t we at least hear what she has to say?”
“……”
Wang Su fell silent. Clear displeasure showed on his face—the expression of a father whose authority had just been challenged. Yet Wang Ling continued, delivering a pointed remark.
“Father, turning away someone introduced by Xiao He is also trampling on his dignity. Xiao He is the chief administrator of this county. It does us no good to make an enemy of him.”
It was a logical argument. After all, this was an era of men who valued honor and face above life itself.
“…Hmph.”
In the end Wang Su yielded. He reluctantly took a seat across from me.
“Very well. I will listen to your story, at least.”
“Thank you.”
I let out a silent sigh of relief.
To be rescued by a future enemy. History really does have a twisted sense of humor.
I steadied my nerves with a deep breath and went straight to the point.
“I wish to build a Jeonunchang.”
“A Jeonunchang?”
Wang Ling, seated beside his father, tilted his head. I explained at once.
“Yes. In simple terms, it is a central hub where logistics converge. We will build it in a location with good transportation links so that all the goods we produce will pass through it.”
“I see. So you need land on which to build it.”
“Exactly.”
I nodded.
“You possess suitable land, my lord. The plot that has a road and lies close to the city walls.”
“…Good heavens.”
Wang Su clicked his tongue in disbelief. Wang Ling narrowed his sharp eyes and asked,
“Then what do we stand to gain?”
“If Lord Wang provides the land, I will construct the Jeonunchang there and divide the profits with you.”
“Profit sharing.”
“Yes. I possess business acumen, and you possess the land. If we combine our strengths, it will surely prove beneficial.”
Wang Ling’s fingers tapped the floor at an increasingly rapid pace. He turned to his father.
“What is your opinion, Father? It does not seem like a bad proposal.”
Wang Su remained silent for a long time. His eyes appeared to rest on me yet looked at something beyond. At last he spoke, voice low.
“Daughter of the Lü family. Why have you brought this matter to me? There is no shortage of men who own land.”
“Because I received an introduction from Lord Xiao.”
“Is that all?”
Wang Su’s gaze grew even narrower. I paused for a beat, then spoke the unvarnished truth.
“No. It is also because Lord Wang had his land seized by the county magistrate.”
“……”
At my direct strike, Wang Su’s face hardened like stone. It was as if I had touched a reverse scale. The wrinkles between his brows deepened. Anger, humiliation, and helplessness warred across his features. His voice trembled as he answered.
“Yes, I had my land taken by that bastard.”
The venom drained from his tone, replaced by bitter regret.
“He demanded a bribe. When I refused, he accused me of tax evasion and seized the land under the pretext of an investigation.”
A deep sigh.
“And it never came back.”
“Father…”
Wang Ling spoke with concern, but Wang Su ignored his son’s comfort and glared at me once more.
“It was humiliating. For several days I could not even swallow food.”
His gaze had never been sharper.
“And now you think you can soothe my trampled pride with a few paltry coins? You want to use my land to make money and then hand taxes over to that county magistrate?”
The true heart of the matter had finally surfaced. I sensed it clearly: money could not fill the hole in this old man’s chest.
Not a proposal, but a gamble.
A dangerous gamble in which failure meant losing everything. Yet the odds of success were far higher—a gamble well worth taking.
“No.”
I continued without hesitation, straightening my back while still kneeling.
“I will wager the future on you, my lord.”
“The future? Is the Lü family preparing something?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“The future I can promise you is the new world my husband will create.”
“…What?”
Both men’s mouths fell open at once. Their expressions hovered between disbelief and outright fear. Yet I met Wang Su’s eyes without wavering.
“My lord, the world is trembling as we speak.”
I told them the same story I had given Xiao He the day before—the calm before the storm, the flames of war that would soon engulf Peixian.
“And in that chaos, the only vessel capable of uniting the hearts of Peixian’s people is, without question, my husband.”
“That… good-for-nothing loafer?”
“Yes. Precisely.”
I nodded, infusing my voice with even greater conviction.
“Emperor Shi Huang was a man of steel. Because he was strong he conquered the six states; because he was resolute he declared himself emperor and placed the world beneath his feet.”
I looked at each man in turn.
“Yet what was the result? The world that should have known peace fell instead into misery. Men who should have laid down their weapons and returned to their families died unjustly under cruel punishments and forced labor. The unjust seizure of your land, my lord, is likewise a consequence of that harsh legalist rule, is it not?”
Wang Su’s eyes trembled faintly.
“The reason is that Qin’s governance lacked humanity. The Legalists revered only the Path of Hegemony and knew nothing of the Path of Kings. Their blade could carve the world into one, but it could not mend the hearts of the people it had torn apart.”
In truth I knew little of the philosophical depths of Legalism or Confucianism; my understanding came only from college liberal-arts lectures. But I did know the historical fact that the Qin dynasty, which championed Legalism, had collapsed utterly in fifteen years, while the Han dynasty, built on Confucian ideals, had endured for four centuries. And I knew—better than anyone alive—that the hero who would unify the coming age of chaos was Liu Bang.
For now, that knowledge is enough.
Over the past three months I had observed the man called Liu Bang more closely than anyone. I had spoken with those he loved, received his affection, and watched the future he envisioned from his side. What I needed now was not ornate rhetoric, but to honestly convey the feelings I had experienced and the answer I knew to be true.
“Emperor Shi Huang built the Great Wall to block the barbarians, yet he himself demolished the far more important wall of public sentiment. As the pillars of Epang Palace soared into the heavens, the spines of the people supporting them snapped.”
Wang Su’s gaze wavered. Wang Ling sat with arms folded, nodding silently.
“My lord, what is the true Path of Kings?”
My voice rang low.
“The true Path of Kings is not obtaining obedience by the sword, but winning devotion through virtue. Those forced to their knees by power will rise at the first opportunity, but those moved by the heart will willingly pave their own path to kneel. That benevolence and righteousness is the quality of a true sovereign who will lead the coming age.”
I leaned forward slightly.
“For many years my husband served as pavilion chief, standing with the common people at the lowest level. He felt their hunger as his own and treated their hardships as his own duties. He loves every person in Peixian equally, and they in turn love him.”
My voice trembled without my permission. Still, I clenched my fist and cast aside every stray thought.
“Soon the world will descend into chaos once more. When that time comes, those who rely only on the sword may seize land for a moment, but they will lose it just as quickly. Those who embrace benevolence and righteousness, though their progress may be slow, will survive to the end and become the masters of the world.”
I bowed deeply, forehead nearly touching the floor.
“I implore you, my lord—lend me the land. Become the wings that allow my husband to soar in this turbulent age. If you do, something will surely change. The county magistrate will fall, and a new justice will rise in Peixian. That changed world is the future I can promise you.”
My breath came short. From the middle onward I had barely been aware of what I was saying. Yet one thing was certain: this was utter madness. The moment Wang Su reported my words to the authorities, my neck would be forfeit.
It’s done. This is enough.
I felt no regret. I had conveyed the future I knew and the true character of the man I knew as Liu Bang to both of them. Therefore I no longer trembled. I straightened my posture, placed my sweat-dampened hands on my knees, and looked at the two men once more.
All that remained was their answer.
Inside the guest hall, only heavy silence lingered.