Chapter 8 What kind of daughter-in-law do you want? ...
"My lord, there are six spring outfits and twelve summer outfits in total. They are all here. Please take a look." The steward of the Li residence was named Lü Gui. He came to the capital from the northwest with Li Pan. He was originally just a deputy general under Li Pan. Later, he was injured on the battlefield and became lame in one leg. Li Pan then let him manage the Li residence in the rear and stopped receiving military pay, instead receiving a monthly salary.
However, the Li family consisted of only Li Pan and his mother, so there wasn't much to manage. Lü Gui had a very leisurely life in the Northwest. But once he arrived in the capital, the number of things to deal with increased tenfold or even a hundredfold. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past few days, and when he closed his eyes, he could almost see the visiting cards flying in like snowflakes at his door.
Li Pan leaned back in his ebony chair with an air of nonchalance, lazily raising his eyelids: "Why are you showing this to me? It's not like I'm wearing it. Show it to the old lady."
Lu Gui said, "I've already shown it to the old lady. She said it's too much and she can't wear so many. She also has quite a few new clothes that she brought from home, so she asked me to return some of them."
After hearing this, Li Pan smirked, stood up, and strode towards his mother's room.
Li's mother was sitting by the window, listening to the maid she had brought from the Northwest read out invitations to her. When she saw Li Pan return, she immediately said happily, "Shitou, you're back! Quickly, quickly, we received another invitation from the Duke of Guangping's family today. You must think of a way to refuse it for your mother!"
Li Pan snatched the invitation from the maid's hand, glanced at it, and said, "Not going again?"
Mother Li shook her head repeatedly: "No, no! What kind of place is the capital? Your old mother can't read a single word. If I go, I'll just be laughed at by those noble ladies!"
Li Pan: "Back in the Northwest, when we asked you to learn to read, you said you couldn't. Now that you're in Beijing, are you finally afraid of being laughed at? I think you just need someone to push you. If you're pushed too far, you'll naturally be willing to learn. When I first joined the army, I couldn't read either. It was General Hu who forced me to learn. If I couldn't learn, he'd beat me with a military stick. That's how I learned, wasn't it?"
Mother Li: "Sigh, your old mother is getting on in years, and my eyesight is failing. I get tired of looking at things for too long, unlike you young people. Besides, I have a literate maidservant by my side, so daily life is not a problem! But if you really want to beat your mother with a military rod, then go ahead."
Li Pan: "..."
Li Pan: "Mother, how long are you going to pretend to be sick from the change in environment? Yesterday I had dinner with Vice Minister Gu from the Ministry of Revenue. He asked about your condition and said that if it couldn't be cured, he could recommend a doctor to me. All I could say was that I was almost better."
He put one hand on his hip and rubbed his temples helplessly with the other.
Mother Li: "I'm just afraid you'll embarrass yourself if we go out! It's one thing for me to have a bad reputation, but you're a marquis now... Oh dear, when has our Li family ever produced someone like you..."
"If you're afraid of embarrassing me, what do you mean by having Lao Lü return those clothes?" Li Pan frowned and said, "Let alone now, back in the Northwest, I never lacked for your food or clothing, did I? How come you've become so stingy now that you're in the capital? Anyone who didn't know better would think we were living a life of poverty in the Northwest! And those clothes you brought from the Northwest, I don't even want to talk about them. Is the climate in the capital the same as in the Northwest? How can you even wear them!"
Before Li Pan joined the army, the Li family was indeed poor, but after Li Pan gained the appreciation of the General Who Conquers the Barbarians and made military achievements, the family's life gradually improved. Later, Li Pan became the Grand General Who Pacifies the Barbarians, and his word was law in the important northwestern military region. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Li's mother was the most respected old lady in the area.
However, Li's mother was used to being frugal, and even if she had money, she wouldn't spend it easily. Li Pan, on the other hand, still had to fight, and if the general's household was too extravagant, it would easily cause dissatisfaction among his subordinates. Therefore, Li Pan turned a blind eye to his mother's stinginess.
Unexpectedly, his mother became even more demanding after arriving in the capital. It's just a few clothes; how much money could he get if he returned them? Which noble lady in the capital doesn't wear a different outfit every time? He only asked Lü Gui to buy ready-made clothes so that his mother could wear new clothes as soon as possible. The clothes that were actually custom-made hadn't even started being made yet!
Li's mother said earnestly, "Shitou, we've just arrived in the capital and don't know anyone here. It's best not to attract too much attention. Although I'm not very worldly, I know that for someone your age to receive such attention from His Majesty might not be a good thing. I don't go out often, so having three or five new clothes to change into at home is enough. Why have so many? What if someone who doesn't like you finds out and complains to His Majesty?"
Li Pan raised an eyebrow: "Mother even thought of this?"
Li's mother glared at him: "Your mother isn't completely ignorant, you know!"
Having been the mother of a great general for several years, her horizons had broadened considerably, and she was no longer a truly ignorant peasant woman.
Li Pan: "Since Mother is afraid of giving people something to talk about, then I might as well tell you the truth. If you keep refusing people's invitations like this, you can still use the excuse of 'not being used to the local environment' to keep going. But in the long run, people aren't stupid. They'll just think you're aloof and look down on them. Isn't that even more offensive? Do you think I like going out drinking with people all the time? I get annoyed just looking at their potbellies and greasy faces, but they're all high-ranking officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. I can't refuse them."
Li's mother was stunned.
"And do you think being impeached is a bad thing? If I really couldn't find any fault from beginning to end, and everyone liked me and said all sorts of good things about me, do you think His Majesty could sleep soundly? Your son has military power!" Li Pan slammed his fist on the table. "No one is perfect. It's just spending some money. Besides, I'm spending my own salary and rewards, not embezzled money. What's there to be afraid of? This little bit of money is a luxury for our family. For the noble families in the capital, the rewards they give to their servants every year are more than this! Do you think His Majesty would punish me for this?"
Li's mother's face scrunched up: "This...that..."
Her son looks somewhat fierce when he's not smiling. Although she feels that a general should have that kind of imposing presence, she gets a little intimidated when her son argues with her.
“Since Old Lü bought those clothes, you can keep them. If you don’t like them, then keep them at the bottom of your trunk. What kind of image does a noble household have if you return a few clothes? Do you think this is the Northwest, where people will praise you as ‘the old lady is truly thrifty and sets a good example’?” Li Pan scoffed. “People will either laugh at your poverty or suspect you of mocking their extravagant lifestyle and feigning frugality. Which do you choose?”
Li's mother felt embarrassed.
With limited experience, she had never really gotten used to that kind of life of being adept at navigating social situations and being a social butterfly. Back in the Northwest, Li Pan mostly knew military households, and their relationships were simple and straightforward. Later, when Li Pan was promoted, more people came to curry favor with him. Li Pan warned her not to meet just anyone, as one of them might be a spy for the Quanrong. So she became cautious and dared not act rashly—which did save her a lot of trouble. The more she did, the more mistakes she made. Li's mother preferred the days when she was secluded and didn't receive guests. She would rather spend that time growing vegetables in the open space of the general's mansion than entertaining guests.
Li Pan: "By the way, His Majesty has bestowed a mansion upon us to serve as our marquis's residence. It will be cleaned up in a few days. Mother, would you like to go and take a look now?"
"Never mind, never mind." Mother Li waved her hand. "I'm 'sick' right now, so I shouldn't go out. You've seen the Marquis's residence, that's enough. You know more than I do, so I'll listen to you."
Li Pan scoffed, "Since you're all going to listen to me, you're not allowed to object to anything I ask Lao Lü to buy for you in the future. You'll accept whatever I buy for you."
Li's mother sighed, "I know, I know."
The mother and son stared at each other for a moment, then the mother suddenly leaned forward and stammered, "Stone, I have a question for you, please don't be angry. It's just... you've been traveling around the capital these past few days and have made quite a few acquaintances with officials. Have you... have you taken a fancy to any girl?"
Li Pan crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, saying with a half-smile, "Mother knows that her son is drinking with officials from the capital, not with their daughters."
“You’re already twenty-eight. If you got married early, you might even be able to hold your grandson in a few years… You always said that the war wasn’t over yet and you weren’t in the mood to get married. Now that the war is over, you should start thinking about it!” Mother Li said. “I’m not forcing you to get married right away, but you have to keep this in mind. If you see someone suitable, then marry her!”
Li Pan countered, "What kind of daughter-in-law do you want?"
Li's mother choked, "This...this..."
"You can't say either, can you?" Li Pan chuckled. "If I married an ordinary family's daughter, you'd definitely think it was a waste of my status as a marquis; if I married a rich young lady, wouldn't you worry that she'd look down on you for being illiterate? Those banquets of noble ladies, which only last a few hours, you wouldn't dare attend, yet you'd be eager to find a daughter-in-law to be tied to you for the rest of your life. When it snows, and someone is reciting poetry by the window, you might say something like, 'If only white flour were this big,' and they don't find you vulgar, that's just because they're kind-hearted."
Li's mother lowered her head in shame: "..."
Li Pan continued, “Mother, raising me was not easy, and I shouldn’t talk back to you, but times have changed, and there are some unpleasant things I have to say upfront. You can’t have it all. If you really feel uncomfortable with things like learning to read and attending banquets, you don’t have to do them, but don’t even think about marrying some rich young lady as your daughter-in-law. You can’t handle that, and besides, I don’t have the patience to serve you. It’s not that I think it’s shameful to have a mother like you, that’s why I’m making you do those things. It’s just that if you don’t do those things, you won’t be able to live comfortably in the capital. If you can adapt, then adapt; if you can’t, then we might as well go back to the Northwest.”
Li's mother was immediately startled: "Why are you going back to the Northwest? The capital is so nice, you must be living there!"
Li Pan: "You stay at home all day and never go out. What makes you think the capital is better? Is the moon in the capital rounder than the moon in the northwest?"
Li's mother remained silent.
Li Pan: "The Duke of Guangping has invited us to his mother's birthday banquet. There will be many people and a lot of chatter there, so I don't think you can handle it. I can go by myself. I'll ask around another day to see where I can buy a clever maid, preferably one who has served those noble ladies before, so you won't be completely clueless and afraid to even leave the house."
A note from the author:
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General Hu: You are a promising young man. I have high hopes for you. What is your name?
Male protagonist: Li Shitou.
General Hu: ...That's too rustic. How can such a name intimidate the enemy and subdue your subordinates? From now on, your name will be Li Pan.
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