A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 27: Searching for a Beautiful Woman
Du Shiniang was fifteen years old this year and the tenth child in the clan. Her father was the legitimate daughter of Old Lady Guo, and her mother was Old Lady Guo's niece, so Old Lady Guo doted on her since she was a child.

Father Du Zhili was in Luoyang with his wives, concubines and children, but he deliberately left his second daughter Du Shiniang to accompany her mother in Duqu.

On the way back to Duqu,
Du Shiniang sat in the carriage with the old lady, fanning her grandmother gently with a palm-leaf fan. Guo leaned back with her eyes closed. "Your father has sent another letter, still about your marriage. The Wei family has asked someone to mediate with your father again. This time, it's the Duke of Zheng."

Du Shiniang hugged her grandmother's arm and shook it gently, saying coquettishly: "Granddaughter doesn't want to get married. She wants to stay with Grandpa forever."

"I'm almost eighty, and I might never open my eyes again. You're fifteen, too, and it's time for you to choose a husband. The Jingzhao Wei family is a good match for our Du family. Wei's Erlang, although the second son, is also a legitimate son. His mother is also from the Hongnong Yang family, one of the six surnames in Guanzhong."

Du Shiniang pouted. "I heard Wei Erlang is a little younger than me, and he's a dandy. I don't like those uneducated and uneducated dandies. Besides, Wei Erlang's father died of illness in Jiangdu just last year, and he's still in mourning. How can the Wei family propose marriage at this time?"

Wei Erlang, Wei Siqi, whose great-grandfather was Wei Xiaokuan, the Grand Tutor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and whose father was Wei Kuangbo, the Duke of Yun of the Sui Dynasty, was a nobleman born with a silver spoon in his mouth. At the age of fifteen this year, he has already inherited the title of Marquis of Huanggua.

"It's normal for sons of noble families to be playful when they are young. They will gradually mature after getting married. As for mourning, the Wei family naturally knows that they can only formally propose marriage after the three-year mourning period is over. Now they just want to make a verbal agreement on this matter first. I don't know how many sons of noble families would like to marry the daughter of our Du family. As long as the two families agree, they can get married after he completes the twenty-seven-month mourning period, which is just over a year away." Mrs. Guo patted the back of her granddaughter's hand.

"I do not like him."

"You've only met him once, three years ago at your second brother's wedding. He was only twelve then, so he was just a child."

Du Shiniang's eldest brother Du Jingai married a woman from Taiyuan named Guo, while her second brother married a woman from Jingzhao named Wei. Her second sister-in-law was Wei Siren's cousin, the great-granddaughter of Wei Xiaokuan, and the daughter of Wei Yijie, the current assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel and Duke of Xiangcheng County.

"A-Zu, you really want me to get married? I still want to stay with you forever."

"Girls cannot be kept at home when they grow up. If they stay, they will become enemies. They must get married eventually."

Her son had written several times about Shi Niang's marriage. The Wei and Du clans had a long tradition of intermarriage. Du Yan's two legitimate sons and two daughters were all married, with his eldest daughter marrying the Zheng clan of Xingyang. Now, the second legitimate daughter was promised to the Wei clan of Jingzhao, which was also a good idea.

Du Yan had another reason for pressing the issue: the Wei family had hired Duke of Zheng, Wang Shichong, to act as matchmaker. Du Yan and many members of the Wei family were currently in Luoyang, jointly honoring King Yang Tong of Yue as emperor. Wang Shichong was one of the Seven Nobles of Luoyang and held military power.

Wang Shichong asked for his eldest son Wang Xuanying to marry Wei Nizi, the eldest daughter of the Wei family. Wei Nizi was exactly the sister of Wei Siren.

The last time Du Yan sent his younger brother Du Rui back to visit his mother, he had actually revealed to her that although the civil and military officials in Luoyang unanimously supported the King of Yue as the emperor after the Emperor of Daye was murdered by Yu Wenhuaji, everyone understood that Yang Tong was just a puppet on the stage.
Just like when Li Yuan first attacked Chang'an and made King Yang You of Dai the emperor, when the time came, Wang Shichong, who held the military power in Luoyang, would definitely force Yang You to abdicate to him.

Du Yan didn't know whether the country would be ruled by the Wang or Li family in the future, but since he was in the court in Luoyang, he could only take it one step at a time.

Wang Shichong personally came forward to act as matchmaker for Wei, and he could not refuse.

Guo was not very optimistic about Wang Shichong in Luoyang, nor did she want her granddaughter to get involved in this mess, but she also knew that women from aristocratic families actually had less freedom in marriage.

"Okay, okay, if you don't want to get married, then wait a little longer. Spend more time with Grandpa. I'll have someone write back to your father, saying he can't bear to leave you. Besides, there's chaos everywhere right now, and I'm worried about sending you to Luoyang. Wei Erlang is still in mourning, so it's too rude to talk about marriage now. Wait a little longer."

This "wait a little longer" also contains Guo's wisdom. If we wait a little longer, the situation in the world will become clear.

"Thank you, A-Zu. I knew that A-Zu loved me the most."

Shi Niang breathed a sigh of relief. She really had a bad impression of Wei Erlang. Three years ago, when her second brother got married, Wei Erlang also came to send off the bride. He was a complete dandy and beat a maid until her face was covered in blood over a trivial matter.

"Oh, right, up ahead is Guozhuang in Yusu Township. Didn't my third uncle's sixth aunt marry into this village? Let's go over and see her."

Mrs. Guo didn't even open her eyes. "I'm tired after a day out. It's getting late, so I won't go."

Du Sanlang was the illegitimate son of Guo's husband and a maid, and Du Liuniang was the daughter of Du Sanlang and a maid. In Guo's eyes, both father and daughter were as lowly as could be.

Guo, now nearly eighty years old, looked kind and gentle, but she had also been quite capable in her youth. She was the daughter of a prominent family, yet at a young age she married into the Du family as a second wife. Du Zheng had a legitimate son from his previous wife, and several children from his concubines and maids, and Guo had treated none of them well.

Du Ruhui, who is now serving as a military officer in the Duke of Zhao's mansion in Chang'an, was born to the eldest son of the original wife. The eldest son of the original wife had three sons. These three brothers were also disliked and rejected by Guo since childhood. Even the brothers Du Yan and Du Rui had a bad relationship with their elder brother Du Zha, and even had a hostile relationship with their three nephews.

The struggles within the mansions of wealthy families are actually more intense, especially when it comes to the dispute between legitimate and illegitimate children.

The situation of the Du family was quite special. Du Zha was born to the original wife and was the eldest son. Guo was the second wife. The two sons she gave birth to were of course also legitimate sons, but they could only be the second and third legitimate sons. The Du family's family business should have been inherited by the eldest son, but Guo was naturally unwilling to do so. As a result, the relationship between the two branches of the Du family had been very bad for many years.
Those born out of wedlock are simply innocent victims.

If Du Liuniang had a little status in the Du family, she would not have married into a landlord family in Yusu Township. In the eyes of the Du family, the Guo family was not worthy of being mentioned in the slightest.

Even if Guo passed by, she was unwilling to visit the home of her nominal granddaughter.

"A-Zu, I want to go take a look. Just say hello and follow me."

"Okay, just say a few words and come back. Don't waste time. Don't forget your identity. You are the daughter of a famous family." Guo couldn't persuade her precious granddaughter, so she ordered the steward to send a few servants and maids to accompany her.

Guozhuang intersection,

Du Shiniang got off the carriage and waved goodbye to her grandmother.

The maid Shuying came over and said, "Shi Niang's plan to go to Guozhuang to see Liu Niang was fake, but she really wanted to go to Luojiabao, right?"

"Be careful or I'll tear your mouth apart. What nonsense are you talking about?" Du Shiniang scolded with a smile, but her face couldn't help but turn red.

"Shi Niang, that Li Lang is just a Taoist priest who just returned to secular life, a mere village chief. How can he compare to Wei Erlang of the Jingzhao Wei family? Wei Erlang was granted the title of Marquis of Huanggua County, and even the Emperor of Luoyang granted him the title of Secretary."

Du Shiniang snorted, "He's such an uneducated dandy, and he's only a secretary because his sister is promised to Wang Shichong's son. If someone like him can be a secretary, I don't think he'll last long in the Luoyang court."

"My dear, please don't say anything nonsense. Our Alang is still serving as the Imperial Censor in Luoyang."

"Let's go to Sixth Aunt's house first."

Shuying girl immediately caught the loophole in the words, "Go to Sixth Aunt's house first, does that mean you're going to see Li Lang next? Madam, you're not really interested in that little Muramasa, are you?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I just saw that A-Zu really likes eating yuba, so I planned to go buy some myself. It's on the way anyway, and he even led the way for us today, so I just wanted to return the favor."

"Hmph, my lady, something is wrong with you. You must not lose your mind. Our sixth aunt married a small village chief, Guo Erlang. Look, when she returns to the Duqu tribe, few people look up to her." Du Shiniang pinched Shuying's mouth with a red face, and the little girl fled in a hurry.

Luojiabao.

After Li Yi came out of Mati Temple, he also went to visit the village head Wang, the village head Wang, Feng Xiangzuo of Fengjiabao, Mr. Dong and others, and presented them with a portion of bean curd sheets and bean puffs.
I just returned to Luojiabao after a round of sales.

I was a little confused when I saw a group of people escorting a large carriage.
From a distance, I saw two familiar figures getting out of the carriage.

There was Du Shiniang, the oval-faced girl in red and green with two rings on her head, and the maid Xiao Shuying with two knife-like buns on her head.

"Shi Niang has met Li Lang,"

As soon as Du Shiniang came down, she bowed to Li Yi.
Li Yiting was surprised that they appeared here.

"Are you just passing by?" In fact, he knew that to go to Duqu, one did not have to go through Luojiabao, but could go directly to Shenheyuan from Guozhuang.

"Today I had some delicious vegetarian dishes at the Mati Temple dining hall. The monk in charge of reception said that the dried bean curd sheets and fried tofu were provided by Li Lang. My grandfather especially likes dried bean curd sheets. I happened to be passing by here, so I thought I'd buy some."

Li Yi was also very welcoming to this customer who came to him on his own.

He invited the two of them to his Wuji courtyard.

Du Shiniang looked around curiously at the courtyard without even a door.

"This place really used to be a Taoist temple. Are you really a Taoist priest here?" the girl Shuying asked with a blush.

Li Yi smiled and said, "This was indeed the Wuji Temple before. How many dried bean curd sheets and tofu puffs do you want?"

Du Shiniang asked for twenty kilograms each and did not ask the price.

Li Yi went to get it.
Du Shiniang was waiting in the courtyard corridor.

"Madam, look, there are additional words here."

Shuying picked up a piece of white paper from the corridor. There were four lines of poetry written on it. Du Shiniang took it and saw that the words on the paper were very thin and strong.

Upon closer inspection, it is as strong as iron painting, as graceful as silver hook, wandering and bending, with an elegant and graceful appearance.

Du Shiniang was also taught calligraphy by her father and brothers since she was young. Now her handwriting is very good, but I have never seen such words. "It is smart and quick, the handwriting is thin and strong, thin but not without flesh, the traces of the strokes are particularly graceful, it is good calligraphy."

Shuying asked, "Why are these characters so small and thin? They don't look like they were written with a brush."

"What does this say?"

Du Shiniang chanted, "After a long period of refining the nectar, a golden dragon emerged. Trapped in a roasting cage, its heart remains undimmed. Even its molten bones carry fragrance for miles. There is no need to guess at fate."

"What do you mean?" Shuying didn't understand.

Li Yi happened to come out of the east wing with bean curd sheets and fried tofu. "This is a doggerel poem about bean curd sheets. I plan to write it on the bean curd sheet wrapper later."

"Was it written by Li Lang?"

"Just write it casually, a doggerel." Li Yi said.

Du Shiniang was very surprised. She had not expected that Li Yi could write poetry. "This calligraphy has a lean and vigorous style. I have never seen it before. It has a very charming charm."

“It’s called a lean muscle body.”

"Shoujinti, which calligraphy master's handwriting is this?"

"Well, my master, Master Li, likes calligraphy. He first learned from Ouyang Xun, then from Yu Shinan, and finally from the two Wangs. He also integrated the Han Li style and finally created his own style."

Du Shiniang praised her, "Your poem is very well written, and your calligraphy is also very good. It is thin, straight, and sharp, with a side stroke like an orchid or bamboo. Can I ask Li Lang for this calligraphy?"

"It's just some random doodle. If you don't mind, you can take it."

Du Shiniang thanked her with a smile and accepted it solemnly.

Li Yi handed the prepared dried bean curd sheets and tofu pudding to the Du family servants. "The price is one jin of rice per dou, and the same price applies to the Ma Ti Temple." He then presented them with some thousand sheets, vegetarian chicken, tofu skin, and salty fermented black beans. "These are also quite good, nutritious, healthy, and delicious. If you like them, I can deliver them to your door anytime."

Twenty catties of dried bean curd sheets and twenty catties of fried tofu were used to clear out all the stock that Sanniang's family had driven out. The price was four stone of rice. The servants of the Du family wanted to get forty pieces of silk from the cart to settle the bill. Du Shiniang stopped them and said, "Get fifty pieces of silk."

"Forty horses are enough." Li Yi said.

"Those ten pieces of silk will be considered as a reward for this calligraphy. Please accept them."

Du Shiniang and the others did not stay long and soon said goodbye and left.

Watching the carriages go away, Li Yi looked at the fifty pieces of silk under the corridor and couldn't help but be absent-minded.

This Du Shiniang is a pretty good person.

"Who is she?" A jealous voice came. Li Yi turned his head and found that it was Luo Sanniang.

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(End of this chapter)