Chapter Forty-Nine: Knocked Out the Ugly Uncle with a Spray
Qin Miaoniang’s purpose in coming up the mountain today was not to engage in idle conversation with Wu Ning, nor was she here simply to savor his fruit yogurt; she had a request for Wu Ning.
She hoped he would not speak to anyone about what had happened that rainy day.
Well, it was only natural, after all. Even if Wu Ning was “blind,” what occurred that day was hardly an honorable experience for a woman in this era—the fewer who knew, the better.
What worried Qin Miaoniang was that Wu Ning, unable to see what transpired in the room, might unwittingly speak carelessly.
Wu Ning had no objections to this and readily agreed, of course.
...
After seeing Qin Miaoniang off, Wu Ning allowed Wu Li to watch over the stall and, together with Wu Qi, hurried back to the kiln.
Unfortunately, things didn’t seem to go well with Old Ancestor Jun; last night’s firing was a disaster.
Seeing their ancestor’s murderous expression, the two brothers had the same thought—run!
Otherwise, that fury would likely descend upon them instead.
That evening, having settled the guests staying at the inn, Wu Ning should have retired to his room. Yet, catching sight of the lamp still burning in his uncle’s quarters, he found himself approaching the door.
He knocked gently twice, “Uncle, have you gone to bed?”
After a rustle inside, his uncle’s raspy voice came through, “Come in.”
Wu Ning pushed the door open and entered, just in time to see his uncle gathering up the paper and ink from the table.
His heart sank, quietly thinking, “Always the same—like there’s something he doesn’t want me to know.”
“Uncle, may I trouble you for a moment?”
“Speak!”
...
Wu Ning slowly sat on the edge of the bed, his mind still preoccupied with Qin Miaoniang’s question from that morning.
“Uncle, I’m not a child anymore. There are things that trouble me—why did we come to Fangzhou back then? And…”
“My parents…”
His uncle’s face turned cold. “Your parents are dead. You’ve knelt at their graves, have you forgotten?”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
Wu Ning lowered his head. He had not yet arrived in the Great Tang at that time, but the original owner had indeed knelt before his parents’ graves.
But…
“Uncle, I want the truth!” Wu Ning lifted his head. “If those who died truly were my parents, your own sister, then why in all these years have you never paid respects, nor allowed me to do so?!”
...
His uncle remained silent, gazing at Wu Ning with icy eyes.
Yet Wu Ning clearly had more to say. “And what exactly is the relationship between me and this valley?”
“If we’re of the same surname and clan, why is there not a single person here who remembers my father, not a single person who mentions them?”
...
His uncle still did not speak.
After a long silence, Wu Ning sighed deeply, thinking: still the same outcome, still feigning ignorance.
He rose to leave.
“Come back!”
---
His uncle’s harsh shout jolted Wu Ning, who turned abruptly.
“You…do you truly want to know?”
“I do!” Wu Ning nodded emphatically. “No matter what happened, at the very least, I deserve to know where I come from.”
“Even if we are fugitives for murder, or bear a vendetta for a slaughtered family, or perhaps hail from some great official’s household that was exterminated…”
Wu Ning forced a bitter smile. “You have to let me know!”
...
His uncle still did not speak, his gaze growing darker.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“I can tell you!”
“But…at least for now, you do not have the right to know too much!”
Damn!
Wu Ning was so angry he wanted to curse—was his uncle toying with him?
Suppressing his fury, “What would qualify me?”
“Prove it to me!” his uncle said, word by word. “Prove you have the strength to bear such hatred!”
“How should I prove it?”
His uncle laughed, sitting back slowly.
“That’s your concern.”
He looked around the room. “But running a little shop, selling a few bowls of yogurt and feeling accomplished, reading the ‘Zuo Commentary’ for half a year but only making it through a dozen pages…”
“Like you are now…” He glared at Wu Ning.
“You’ll never have the right to know. Better resign yourself to being a village bumpkin!”
“Are you trying to provoke me?” Wu Ning’s eyes chilled. Such tricks couldn’t fool him.
“And if I am?” His uncle sneered.
“All talent and no ambition, content with petty gains—what future could you possibly have?”
“A man’s ambition should reach far and wide, his eyes on the world. That is the only way to earn the right to hear your origins from me!”
“For now?” He cast Wu Ning another contemptuous glance.
“Go on being your peaceful fugitive, your wealthy landowner!”
Ha!
Wu Ning was even more incensed, cursing inwardly: “Look at your shabby appearance, now you despise a wealthy landowner?”
“Does uncle think I debase myself by being a merchant?”
“Isn’t that so?”
“Fine!” Wu Ning snapped, swinging back to sit.
He wasn’t leaving—he had to argue this out.
He sat cross-legged on the bed.
“Two paths!”
“What two paths?”
---
“According to your logic, there are only two ways to get ahead.”
“One is to become a soldier, the other an official.”
Wu Ning spoke gravely, “Take the soldier’s road—thanks to Fourth Uncle’s connections, as soon as the court grants amnesty and removes our fugitive status, enlisting would be easy.”
“But nowadays, every old soldier wishes to switch to civilian status, and among the roaming refugees across the empire, many are deserters.”
“Why? Because there’s no future in soldiering. Earned military merit can’t buy land, nor is promotion forthcoming.”
“Even if, by some miracle, I survive a great battle, win extraordinary merit, and catch the eye of a court official to serve in the capital…”
“Let’s say all those strokes of luck fall on my head, it’s still useless!”
“Do you know why?” Now it was Wu Ning’s turn to glare at his uncle with contempt. “Because the martial supremacy of the Great Tang is nearing its end!”
His uncle shuddered, “What do you mean?”
“What do I mean?” Wu Ning smirked. “You say I lack ambition?”
“Fine, I’ll show you some ambition.”
“Even if this valley is a militia village, half the people here are enlisted. Fangzhou has over twenty thousand soldier households—one of the most densely supplied counties except for Guanlong, Hanzhong, and the two capitals.”
“But look at Fourth Uncle’s recruitment. Even just for capital guard duty, not deployment, only two thousand soldiers could be raised. And elsewhere? Is the situation better than Fangzhou?”
His uncle lowered his head. “No.”
“No, exactly!”
“But this doesn’t stop you from making a name through military merit. As long as you dare venture out, with your skills in dealing with people, you’d rise quickly!”
“Tch!” Wu Ning curled his lips. “You’re being shortsighted, uncle.”
“Useless!”
“Even if all those lucky breaks land on me—twenty years!”
“With the court’s nature, what rank could a rootless civilian officer reach in twenty years?”
“But have you considered, uncle, after twenty years, wouldn’t the military structure of the Great Tang be bound to change?”
...
His uncle nearly exploded at first—how dare this rascal call him shortsighted?
But as he listened on…
“Change? How will it change?”
Tch, Wu Ning scoffed—just this level, and you say I lack qualification?
Today, I’ll show you whether I am qualified!
...
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