Chapter 92 Wisdom and Debate: If you insult my family, don't blame me for hitting you.
Lady Chen was clearly frightened by Changsun Qingjing's extreme words and actions.
In her, Lady Chen glimpsed the scene of Lady Dou arguing with others about the merits and demerits of Emperor Wu of Zhou in her youth; she glimpsed the irritable and unpleasant side of Li Shimin; and she glimpsed the disdainful look that Dou Kang occasionally revealed at the banquet of nobles, as if he were looking at a rotten rat.
She resisted that look with all her might, and was even somewhat afraid of it.
“It must be that I didn’t explain myself clearly. I’ve always been outspoken,” Lady Chen said sullenly. “What I meant was that you two would have had opportunities to meet before your marriage and would inevitably have spent time together. Shimin’s cousins, on the other hand, are all rigid ladies who adhere to proper etiquette and are inflexible. Shimin is an upright and proper gentleman, so it’s understandable that he would be unable to take his eyes off you when he met a lively, graceful, and cheerful young woman like you.”
Although Lady Chen indirectly acknowledged that Changsun Qingjing was indeed beautiful and charming, she always seemed somewhat reluctant and unwilling. Therefore, she couldn't help but subtly criticize Changsun Qingjing, implying that she must have used some underhanded and improper means to achieve her current status.
Upon hearing this, Changsun Qingjing, of course, showed no appreciation whatsoever. He simply stood by the Tiaobo Pavilion and coldly said, "Madam, you seem to have misunderstood our marriage. We were betrothed when we were young. It was entirely thanks to my uncle, Zhongguang, who greatly admired my mother, Dou, for her wisdom and virtue, that our parents were able to arrange the marriage. I was not acquainted with Shimin before the marriage. He was merely a friend of my elder brother. We would occasionally meet at my uncle's place, either I was wearing a veil or he was surrounded by his servants, inviting my brother to join us. If Madam insists that we had an affair under such circumstances, I have nothing to say. As for why we were fortunate enough to be married, it is entirely due to the righteousness of Tang Gong, Madam Dou, Daosheng Gong, and Erlang."
"You speak with such sincerity. Are you truly so self-righteous and abiding by propriety? Don't your uncle, your mother, and your brother care about your marriage?" Lady Chen asked haughtily.
"They cherish me like a precious gem, so how could they not care about my marriage? But like all elders, they want to find me a husband of equal social standing, someone I can entrust my life to; they want him to love and respect me, and also want his parents and family to love and value me as much as I do..." Changsun Qingjing spoke eloquently, politely and with a pointed meaning.
Lady Chen's expression hardened. The two stared at each other for a moment, then fell into a stalemate. This noblewoman, who had been pampered by her parents, served by servants, and indulged by her husband since childhood, and whose mature and steady body housed a childlike and unrestrained soul, was being contradicted so wittily by a junior of humble origin for the first time. She felt truly indignant and resentful.
Faced with difficulties and suspicion, Changsun Qingjing calmly replied, "I'm afraid this will disappoint the ladies who wish to learn from my wisdom. I have no special skills, yet I can sit here as the daughter-in-law of the Li family and chat with you, Madam. It's not because my mother, uncle, brother, and I are sycophants, but because my aunt, uncle, and Shimin are all virtuous and righteous gentlemen."
“I would like to hear the details, so that I can give an explanation to my relatives who doubt your fickle words and deeds and that you are not a good match for the young master, and clear your name.”
Lady Chen felt that the young woman in front of her was skilled in flattery and ingratiation, and that she was really rude to use Dou Kang's name to mock her.
"My father was the former Right Valiant Guard General, and Shimin's father is the current Right Valiant Guard General. The Li family of Longxi is certainly of noble birth, and the Changsun family of Luoyang is also a high-ranking family, just like the Yuan family and the Dou family of his wife's husband. Although my father and adoptive father did not have the illustrious titles of the Eight Pillars of State, their talents were not inferior to others. My father started as a Senior Officer of the Guard, and gained the appreciation of Emperor Gaozu Wen for his ingenious strategies and secret plans among his colleagues. He went beyond the Great Wall many times, risking his life and making many great achievements. He was established as a military officer and died in office as a third-rank military officer. Even my father-in-law spent half his life and traveled to many places before he was granted the position of Right Valiant Guard General. He did not shy away from admitting to me that his current position was hard-won. Shimin himself only hopes to become a Gentleman of the Three Guards. I wonder what achievements those talented people who look down on my father's accomplishments have to boast about?"
Since Lady Chen looked down on the fact that her eldest grandson Qingjing's parents were not of prominent birth, she decided to argue with them: "My uncle, as the son of a prefect, has no airs of extravagance. He was appreciated by many literary masters from a young age and passed the imperial examination with his own talent. Even though he is a minor ninth-rank official, he did not rely on his maternal grandfather's influence."
"It would have been fine if you hadn't mentioned your uncle, but since you're making such a big fuss about it, I'll be blunt: how do you explain his demotion due to his involvement in the case of Husi Zheng's escape?" Lady Chen smiled contemptuously.
"My uncle is an upright and honest man, not concerned with trivial matters. He himself is not familiar with this Minister of War, nor does he like to show his face at banquets for nobles. Otherwise, why would the unruly and arrogant young nobles of Chang'an be vying to associate with him? My uncle was only implicated in this major case because Husi Zheng was pretentious and asked for favors in writing. Even His Majesty himself was quite sympathetic to my uncle's talent, but according to the laws of the Great Cause, he was exiled to a distant place to educate the southern barbarians and atone for his crime." Changsun Qingjing's words were seven parts truth and three parts exaggeration.
The true parts are the experiences of the father, Changsun Shengcai, who was both a scholar and a warrior and eventually achieved great things, and the lament of the uncle, Gao Shilian, who was capable of being a prime minister but was stuck in a low-ranking position.
The exaggerated parts are what she deliberately concealed: her father's risky gamble during the transition from Zhou to Sui, where he risked his life and fortune, and the political undercurrents surging within her uncle's small Qi-Wei clique.
However, these mixed arguments, a blend of truth and falsehood, were sufficient to deal with a foolish and arrogant noblewoman like Lady Chen.
“I have never liked to cover up my flaws, nor do I feel that I am unworthy of Shimin.” This girl from a prominent family in Luoyang spoke sharply, with a hint of the coldness and decisiveness of Dai Beiye.
"I have never seen such a selfish and arrogant young lady as you!" Lady Chen pounded the stone bed in anger. "You are truly unruly and lack proper upbringing, defying reason and law."
Perhaps because she had been used to being bossy since childhood and had never been disobeyed in the slightest, Lady Chen was extremely angry today when she encountered this unreasonable niece-in-law. Unfortunately, this noblewoman who liked to shirk responsibility forgot that she herself had provoked all the unpleasantness.
All of this made her restless and unable to eat or sleep.
She had come here intending to use this opportunity to admonish her nephew and niece-in-law to be dutiful and not bring shame upon the family, and to see for herself what kind of person this legendary bride, whom the Li family had married despite the emperor's suspicion, was.
Having seen her in person today, I must admit that this young lady is bright and free-spirited, and her personality is more resolute and decisive than the several concubine-born princesses currently abandoned in Daxing, which is quite pitiful; but her Daibei bloodline is ultimately no match for the royal family.
Furthermore, in Lady Chen's eyes, Changsun Qingjing lacked any sense of humility or self-awareness, did not know how to be courteous to elders, and always had the upper hand in conversation. He was full of rustic and vulgar habits, which disgusted her. She could not help but vent all her dissatisfaction over the past few months or even years on Li Yuan's perfunctory treatment of her, Dou Shi's excuses to her, Li Shimin's resistance to her at every turn, and even Dou Kang's disdain for her, on the newlywed woman in front of her.
Since Lady Chen always liked to slander Changsun Qingjing's innocent elders for being uneducated, Changsun Qingjing had no choice but to let her see the family education of the Qi royal family: "My uncle taught my brother and me this way: In serving one's parents, one should distinguish right from wrong. If elders uphold propriety and righteousness and are kind to their juniors, one should do one's best to support them and serve them with sincerity; if they are unreasonable, harsh, and cruel to their juniors, one should remonstrate and persuade them, and not blindly follow their wishes, lest it cause future trouble. This is how I usually interacted with my uncle, and after marrying into the Li family, this is how I interacted with my parents-in-law, and I have never been unjustly criticized by my elders."
"So, Madam Changsun thinks I'm the unreasonable elder relative who needs to be persuaded by a junior?"
"Who says otherwise?" Changsun Qingjing thought to himself, but his face remained expressionless.
The waterwheel behind the cliff suddenly accelerated, whether due to human intervention or wind, the sound of its bronze gears meshing drowned out by the roar of the water. The water accumulated in Tianjing Pool swept out like an out-of-control waterwheel into the groove above the cliff.
In an instant, the Three-Tiered Waterfall transforms into an inverted Milky Way. At the first tier, the water spray bursts like snowflakes, the second tier tears countless white ribbons through the rugged rocks, and the final tier crashes down into Tinglai Pool with the force of thunder.
The pool bottom, paved entirely with bluestone, was struck by the water and produced a resounding metallic clang, as if a giant beast lurking underground had been awakened.
Water vapor rose into the air, making the glazed tiles of Tiaobo Pavilion crackle and pop, as if it were cooperating with Changsun Qingjing's merciless mockery of Lady Chen, using high pressure to intimidate this uninvited guest.
Author's Note: Lady Chen is definitely not going to have the upper hand; I'll drive her away tomorrow! [666]
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