That day, Chen Jianghe stood beneath the old locust tree, holding the Three-Body Stance for nearly an hour. His qi and blood flowed slowly through his body with each breath, while his muscles and bones stretched taut like bowstrings.
[Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence, and All Efforts Will Bear Fruit] [Current Skill: Three-Body Stance (Minor Achievement)] [Progress: 30%] [Current Skill: Five Elements Fist (Beginner)] [Progress: 85%] [Effect: None]
"At this rate, in another two months, my Five Elements Fist should reach minor achievement." Chen Jianghe calculated silently. "Though it's a little slow, I have the fate Heaven Rewards Diligence. As long as I train diligently, I'll achieve something in the end. Since that's the case, I should focus on steady progress. I should avoid taking desperate risks whenever I can."
When he'd first begun training, he'd had no choice but to take a dangerous gamble to successfully "change his strength." Now that he was on the right track, he should take things one step at a time, relying on painstaking effort to slowly build his strength.
Just then, familiar footsteps came from the direction of the kitchen.
Lin came over carrying a coarse pottery bowl. It held freshly cooked rice porridge, with a few leafy greens floating on top.
She handed the bowl to Chen Jianghe, then stood beside him and watched him drink. Her lips moved, but she hesitated to speak.
"Mother, is something the matter?" Chen Jianghe set down the bowl.
Lin rubbed her hands together and said quietly, "Jianghe, now that you're an official disciple of the martial arts hall, you need resources to train. Your father went to serve the corvée in your eldest uncle's place back then. The Chen Family ought to offer us some help for that."
Chen Jianghe furrowed his brows. "Mother, what good will it do to go to the Chen Family? If they truly cared about that favor, they would have helped us all these years. In this world, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children matters more than life itself."
"Mother knows." Lin's eyes reddened. "But your father's life can't have been given for nothing... Jianghe, just accompany me there. Whether it works or not, I'll be able to let it go."
He knew that his mother partly hoped to ask for resources, but also wanted justice. Her husband had died in someone else's place, yet her son couldn't even eat his fill. This world was far too unjust.
But when had this world ever been fair?
Chen Jianghe drew a deep breath and took his mother's hand. "If you insist on going, Mother, I'll go with you."
The Chen Family's ancestors had once earned military merit and been granted a hundred mu of fertile land. They had built a residence in the western part of the Outer City of Yilin County. They weren't exactly wealthy and powerful, but they had at least managed to squeeze into the ranks of the local landlords.
Back then, when the authorities conscripted laborers to build the Grand Canal, each household had to provide one able-bodied man. The authorities had selected the Chen Family's eldest legitimate son, Chen Yuanhe.
But Chen Jianghe's father, Chen Yuanshan, was only an illegitimate son.
His grandfather, Chen Qingyi, couldn't bear to see his legitimate son suffer, so he bribed the officials and had Chen Yuanshan's name substituted. Another legitimate son, Chen Yuanhu—the husband of his aunt Han—had died of illness years earlier, leaving only his widow to observe chastity in the Chen Family.
Everyone in the Chen Family knew what had happened, but no one dared mention it.
The two black-lacquered wooden gates at the entrance to the Chen Residence stood ajar. Most of the gold lacquer on the plaque above them had flaked away, leaving only the characters "Chen Residence."
Lin took a deep breath and stepped forward to knock.
After a long while, the gate opened a crack, and a servant's head poked out. He looked to be around forty.
"Who are you looking for?" The servant eyed Lin's coarse cloth clothes, washed pale with age, and spoke impatiently.
Lin hurriedly replied, "I'm Chen Yuanshan's family. I'd like to see the old master."
"Chen Yuanshan?" The servant frowned as he thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered. "Oh, the illegitimate Second Master? Didn't he go to serve the corvée? Who knows if he's dead or alive by now."
Lin's face went pale.
Chen Jianghe stepped forward, shielding his mother. "Sorry for the trouble. Chen Jianghe and his mother, Lin, request an audience with our grandfather."
Only then did the servant take notice of Chen Jianghe. Seeing him in the short uniform of a martial arts hall, with a sturdy build and calm eyes, the servant didn't dare slight him too much. He merely pursed his lips. "Wait here."
Then he shut the gate again.
Lin stood outside, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly. Chen Jianghe took her hand and said softly, "Mother, don't be afraid."
About a quarter of an hour later, the gate opened again.
The servant stepped aside, still speaking in a lazy drawl. "Come in. The old master is in the main hall."
The mother and son entered.
Past the spirit wall lay a small courtyard paved with gray bricks. A few half-withered clumps of bamboo grew in one corner. The door to the main hall stood open, but the interior was dim.
Lin hesitated, and Chen Jianghe gently nudged her back.
As they entered the main hall, Chen Jianghe swept his gaze over the people inside.
An elderly man with grizzled hair and beard sat in the grand chair at the head of the room. It was his grandfather, Chen Qingyi. He wore a silk gown and held a teacup in his hands, his eyelids half lowered so that his expression was unreadable.
A middle-aged man stood on the left. His face resembled Chen Qingyi's, but his brows and eyes held an extra measure of smooth, worldly cunning. This was his eldest uncle, Chen Yuanhe.
Beside Chen Yuanhe stood a plump woman in a dark purple jacket embroidered with floral medallions. A gilt bracelet circled her wrist. She was his eldest aunt, Wang.
On the right sat a younger woman, perhaps just over thirty. She had a thin face and wore plain clothes, with only a silver hairpin in her hair. She was the widow of his younger uncle, Chen Yuanhu: Han.
Lin pulled Chen Jianghe down to his knees. "Father, your daughter-in-law has brought Jianghe to pay her respects."
Chen Qingyi gave a noncommittal "Mm." "Get up. If you have something to say, say it."
Lin rose but kept her head bowed, her voice strained. "Father, Jianghe is now training at the Xingyi Martial Arts Hall and has become an official disciple. But... martial arts training costs a great deal. Meat, medicinal tonics—everything requires money. I thought that Yuanshan went to serve the corvée in his eldest brother's place, and never came back. Jianghe is a son of the Chen Family too. I beg you... for Yuanshan's sake, please help Jianghe."
Silence fell over the hall.
Chen Qingyi said nothing. He merely watched her in silence.
Han was the first to lose patience. She flicked her handkerchief and said sharply, "Oh, listen to yourself! What do you mean, 'in his place'? The authorities assigned the corvée quotas back then. Everyone accepted their fate! How did it become something we owe you?"
She stood and walked up to Lin, looking her up and down. "Besides, Yuanshan was an illegitimate son. It was only right that he shoulder the family's burdens. What, does a son merely doing his duty deserve a reward?"
Lin's face turned deathly pale, and her lips trembled. "Sister-in-law, that's not what I meant..."
"Then what did you mean?" Han cut her off, raising her voice. "Yuanhu died young and left me, a widow, to fend for myself. I never came here crying poverty and begging for handouts like you! The Chen Family's resources should go to the legitimate heirs first! Isn't that right, eldest sister-in-law?"
Wang set down her teacup and replied unhurriedly, "You have a point, Sister Han. The Chen Family may not be wealthy and powerful, but we can't let the rules fall into disarray. Legitimate and illegitimate children are different. That's what our ancestors decreed."
She paused and looked toward Chen Qingyi, a smile spreading across her face. "Oh, Father, there's also some good news I haven't had a chance to tell you. That boy, Wanglong, sent a letter a few days ago."
Chen Qingyi finally raised his head. "What happened to Wanglong?"
Chen Yuanhe promptly chimed in, unable to hide his pride. "Father, Wanglong has been training hard at the Zhenlei Martial Arts Hall for half a year. The day before yesterday, he finally broke through to Bright Strength!"
"Is that true?" Chen Qingyi's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Absolutely!" Chen Yuanhe straightened his back. "The letter said the martial arts hall's instructor praised him as a rare talent, the likes of whom appear only once in a decade. Several families in the Inner City are asking about him now. The Zhao Family, the Qian Family, and even the Li Family have all let it be known they'd like to recruit him."
Wang picked up where he left off. "Father, just think. If Wanglong passes the martial arts scholar examination, the whole family will benefit. Once we move into the Inner City, our ancestors will be glorified!"
The wrinkles on Chen Qingyi's face smoothed as he exclaimed, "Good! Good! Wanglong has promise! Now that's a fine son of the Chen Family!"
He looked at Chen Yuanhe. "Yuanhe, tell us what Wanglong needs. Even if we have to sell everything we own, we'll support him!"
Chen Yuanhe smiled. "Don't worry, Father. Wanglong said in his letter that he needs some rare medicinal herbs to temper his body. I've already asked someone to buy them in the Inner City. We won't let anything delay his training."
The atmosphere in the hall instantly grew lively. Han and Wang took turns talking about Chen Wanglong's future prospects, as though they could already see the Chen Family moving into the Inner City and enjoying a life of fine clothes and fine food.
Lin stood there like an outsider.
Chen Jianghe had remained silent throughout. At last, he stepped forward and supported his mother's trembling arm.
He didn't look at the people in the hall again. Lowering his head, he said softly to his mother, "Mother, let's go."
Lin looked up blankly, her eyes hollow.
Chen Jianghe supported her as she turned and walked toward the door.
"Stop." Chen Qingyi's voice suddenly came from behind them.
Chen Jianghe stopped, but didn't turn around.
"Jianghe," Chen Qingyi said, his tone softening, "now that you've joined the martial arts hall and become an official disciple, you've at least set foot on the right path. The family can't give you resources, but if you make something of yourself someday, the Chen Family won't disown you. The bonds of blood and kinship can't be severed, after all."
Chen Jianghe slowly turned around.
He looked at the elderly man with his grizzled hair and beard, and at the faces arrayed before him—some cold, some scornful, some hypocritical.
Then he smiled.
"Old Master," he said evenly, "since you draw such clear lines between us—illegitimate and legitimate, blessings and duties—"
He paused and spoke each word deliberately. "Then from now on, my mother and I have nothing to do with the Chen Family. We will never set foot through this gate again. And I ask that you stop talking about blood and kinship."
With that, he looked at no one else. Supporting his mother, he turned and walked out of the main hall.
Sunlight streamed in from outside, bright enough to sting his eyes.
Lin leaned against her son's shoulder, her steps unsteady, but she didn't look back.
Silence settled over the hall for a moment.
Then Wang's low, mocking voice drifted after them. "So ungrateful..."