Section 082: Refusing the Olive Branch
News of Li Dong’s victory over Zhi Shilang and the favor he won from the Sui Emperor spread through every street and alley of Zhangqiu as swiftly as the wind. Men and women, young and old, spoke of it to one another, all taking pride in it and glorying in it. When children were unruly or too mischievous, their families would scowl and scold them: “I envy Li Dong. He grew up on the very same water of Zhangqiu, so why is he so capable? Look at you...” The meaning was plain enough: they hated to see talent wasted, and were angry that the children made no effort to strive for anything themselves.
When the city garrison saw Li Dong riding in alone from outside the walls, they shouted, “Halt!”
Li Dong drew rein most unwillingly and asked, “May I ask what instruction you have for me? I haven’t broken any law!”
The soldier asked with great seriousness, “Are you the legendary Li Dong?”
“Oh? I would not dare, I would not dare. There’s no need to speak of such things at one’s own doorstep.” Li Dong replied modestly, though he felt a little puzzled. Why were they stopping me?
The soldier bowed deeply, then called out to him in excitement, “I am on gate duty today, and to see your noble countenance with my own eyes is truly the fortune of three lifetimes, the fortune of three lifetimes!”
The remark amused Li Dong. He could not help feeling rather pleased with himself. A smiling face invites no slap; since the man was paying him respect, what reason had he to be displeased?
After entering the city, he noticed people pointing at him and whispering behind his back. Hearing this, he no longer rode. He dismounted and led his horse on foot, and whenever he encountered anyone who pointed him out, he would nod in greeting and walk on with a smile.
Li Dong worried that if others recognized him while he failed to recognize them, he might seem lofty and cold, the sort of man who did not even bother to acknowledge people. A village saying spread from mouth to mouth can make a nameless soldier into a swaggering general in a single day, and it can just as easily ruin a man’s reputation until he becomes a vermin everyone wants to strike. When all voices speak as one, even gold can be melted; how much more so a man?
After leading his horse for some time, the pedestrians along the road gradually thinned. Li Dong no longer mounted. The closer he drew to home, the harder his heart pounded.
Serving as matchmaker for Cheng Yaojin had given Li Dong a firsthand understanding of how difficult it was to be a parent.
When a child is still an infant, they fear he will be cold, fear he will be hot, fear he will be hungry, fear he will be overfed. Their worries know no end, large and small alike, and in the dead of night they cannot even sleep in peace.
At long last the child grows from a babe who cries for milk into an adult, finally independent and self-reliant. Yet then the parents begin to worry over their children’s marriage. When the children at last marry and have children of their own, one might think the parents could finally rest easy. But no—white hairs slowly sprout upon their heads, and before they realize it, the fine lines at the corners of their eyes and on their faces have become deep ravines.
As the children grow ever stronger, the parents are only walking day by day toward old age and death. Alas for the hearts of parents under heaven!
What, then, is filial piety?
To obey one’s elders is filial; to follow in all things without defiance is obedience.
Before leaving Zhangqiu, his father, Li Hun, had urged him more than once to hold the wedding with Lu Rou, but Li Dong had always brushed it aside with some excuse. Looking back now, he felt somewhat unfilial.
This return home was made in order to show his parents filial devotion.
Once he left again this time, he did not even know when he would return, or whether he would be able to return at all.
Father and son had been granted one another for a lifetime; his parents had worried and feared for him all their lives. It was only right that he, in turn, should do his part as a son.
When he reached his own gate, he saw that even the lintel had been replaced, and several garrison soldiers stood guard at the door. He understood at once: since his father had been promoted to county magistrate of Zhangqiu, his status had changed, his position had risen, and at last he could enjoy the life he had once only dreamed of.
The soldiers were overjoyed at the sight of Li Dong and were about to shout out loud when Li Dong hurriedly raised a hand to stop them. He handed the reins to one of them, lifted a finger to his lips, and gave a soft hush, signaling them not to make a fuss. The soldiers led his horse away to the stable and fed it.
Li Dong straightened his clothes, adjusted his cap, and walked along the green-brick path straight toward the main house.
The door of the main room was only slightly ajar, a narrow slit the width of a finger showing between the panels, proof that someone was inside. Li Dong raised his right hand, hesitated for a moment, and at last knocked on the chain latch.
Tap, tap, tap.
Tap, tap, tap.
After a few knocks, Li Dong smiled. He was being far too restrained, far too courteous. This was his own home—why should he knock? With that thought, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Perhaps because the people within had heard knocking before any message from the soldiers arrived, they too were slightly startled. Just as one of them was stepping out, he collided face-to-face with Li Dong.
The one who came to meet him was his mother, Madame Zheng. She looked much as she had before; no change was visible in her appearance.
When Madame Zheng saw that the person entering was Li Dong, she seemed unable at first to believe it. Then a look of delighted surprise spread across her face. Her eyes shone with tears, her lips parted slightly, and her yellowed hands, lined with fine wrinkles, were held motionless before her chest for a long while before she lowered them.
“You are... Dong’er?” Madame Zheng asked in a trembling voice. “You came back without even saying a word? You kept me delightedly surprised for ages!”
“Yes, Mother, I’m back!” Li Dong answered, and tears of useless shame spilled from his eyes. He hurriedly dropped to his knees before her in salute.
“The floor is cold. We’re family—there’s no need for such ceremony!” Madame Zheng quickly helped him up, then called out in unrestrained joy toward the courtyard, “Xing’er—Dong’er is back!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a graceful figure came running from the western side room. Barefaced and simple, yet clean and fair, she looked pleasant to the eye. Perhaps she was a servant hired by his father to tend to his mother’s daily needs.
Xing’er came rushing like a gust of wind. After looking Li Dong over, she exclaimed, “My, I knew you were young, but I never imagined you were this young. Tsk, tsk...”
Li Dong smiled faintly. In his heart he thought: so young and clever—if she is the one attending to the parents’ daily life, then I can be at ease. Thinking this, he bowed to Xing’er and said, “Many thanks, madam Xing’er!”
Xing’er leapt back a long way, her bright, mischievous eyes wide. “There’s a difference between master and servant. You mustn’t speak like that!”
Li Dong said, “This bow is to thank you for showing filial devotion to my mother in my place...”
Madame Zheng chided Xing’er: “Stop standing there and using your mouth for business only. Hurry and fetch a washbasin so Dong’er can wash his face.” Then she turned and asked, “Have you eaten yet, Dong’er? Are you hungry? Should I have something made? What would you like? Ah, look at me... Come, let us mother and son sit down and talk a while.”
Xing’er answered and, with a flick of her braid, twisted away again in a hurry.
Li Dong helped his mother sit inside the room, and she quickly asked, “What made you come back all of a sudden? Did you run into some difficulty out there?”
Li Dong hastened to reply, “No... I just wanted to come home and see you... nothing else. Don’t think badly of it. I’m fine!” He patted his chest twice, then laughed first at himself.
Looking at Li Dong, Madame Zheng also smiled. Her eyes were full of tenderness and love, as though Li Dong had never grown up at all and were still swaddled in her arms, held in her hands, her affection endless and her heart entirely devoted.
While the mother and son were speaking, his father Li Hun strode in through the doorway with big steps and shouted from the yard, “You little rascal, back home and you don’t even say a word? Playing hide-and-seek, are you?”
Li Dong quickly rose and saluted his father. “I only just got back, so I didn’t dare disturb you at the office. I knew you were busy...”
Li Hun was very displeased. He glared and barked, “Fine of you to wash your hands of it all. The county magistrate knows you’re back, and even Lu Rou knows. She rushed over to the office to ask me, and I was the last to hear of it... What sort of business is this?”
Turning to Madame Zheng, he scolded, “It’s all because of you, all because you spoiled him. He has no proper manners!”
Madame Zheng seemed not to hear a word of it. At the mention of Lu Rou, her expression softened instead, and she asked, “Dong’er, that young lady is pressing the matter along. When will you settle things?”
Li Dong stiffened. He had not expected the subject to come up so suddenly, and his head instantly began to ache.
Li Hun then said, “There’s something else too. Since when did you get mixed up with the Cui family? They even sent someone looking for you.”
“Tell them to wait. I still have important matters to attend to.” Li Dong said without hesitation. “Before I made a name for myself, who gave us a second glance? Now that I have a little renown, everyone is crowding forward. I have no time for them—refuse them.”
His father, Li Hun, exclaimed in astonishment, “The Cui family! The foremost clan in the realm! And you refuse to see them?”
“My son knows what he is doing. I ask Father not to interfere too much. That will only make things more tangled.” Li Dong’s voice was not loud, but his tone was resolute.
He intended to rely on his own efforts to raise the Li family to a reputation and standing a hundred times more glorious than the Cui family’s. If he grew too close to the Cui family now, opportunities would be limited and benefits limited too; in the end, it would only create a situation impossible to disentangle. By then, handling matters would become far too troublesome.
Li Hun was both angry and helpless. Shaking his head, he sighed, “A grown son is no longer under his father’s control. Very well—have it your way.”
The servant Xing’er prepared the meal and brought it into the room. The family sat eating together, speaking of cousins and aunts and all the other branches of the family tree, enjoying the happiness of domestic reunion and warm contentment.
His parents again mentioned the marriage to Lu Rou, and Li Dong clearly stated that he would be away from home for a long time this time, and that the next time he came back he would certainly see to it according to their wishes. Though the two elders were most unwilling, there was nothing they could do. His standing was no longer what it had once been.
Li Hun had also heard certain reports spreading from Qi Commandery, saying that his son was to be sent to Liaodong to appear personally before the Son of Heaven. This was a tremendous piece of good fortune; it must not be delayed by marital matters and a splendid future ruined. In the end, he could only reluctantly agree to Li Dong’s arrangements.
After the meal, Li Dong seated his parents on benches, fetched a large wooden basin of warm water himself, sprinkled in a little salt, and washed his father’s and mother’s feet.
It was the first time, now that their son was fully grown, that he had ever washed their feet. The two old people felt terribly embarrassed.
They said that their legs were not yet so old they could no longer walk, and that they could wash their own feet.
Li Dong argued with them earnestly. “Your washing them and my washing them are not the same at all. Please just sit quietly and let me fulfill a little of my filial duty!”
Li Hun and Madame Zheng exchanged a glance and smiled. Their hearts were filled with joy as they thought: our son has gone through many things and has at last grown up; at last he knows how to honor his parents.
Li Dong washed with great care and seriousness, as though he were tending a great battle. His parents’ feet had been slightly misshapen by years of walking, and again he felt a surge of emotion.
After washing their feet, he trimmed the thick calluses from them and only then comforted the two elders into sleep.
When he returned to his own east side room, Xing’er had already tidied the bed and bedding. He lay down upon it, and it was soft and very comfortable.
Li Dong sighed. At last he had done his humble share of filial duty for the two elders. Though they were not his true parents, they were the parents of this body of flesh; to fulfill filial piety for them was to fulfill it for all the parents under heaven. After he left home in the future, he would at least feel somewhat less guilt in his heart.
Then he kept thinking over how to explain things clearly to Lu Rou: for now, it was not yet the best time to bring her home as his wife. But would she easily believe him?