Chapter Ninety-Seven: Dark Currents Stirring (Part One)

Zhengyang County had once belonged to Taiyuan Commandery. Later, after Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor, the Wang clan’s merits were so great that he deliberately separated the county from Taiyuan Commandery and handed the entire district over to the Wangs. After several years, this place had become the Wang clan’s true stronghold; from the county magistrate down to the constables, every one of them was a Wang. It was, in every sense, a state within a state. By the Zhenguan era, the Wang clan’s splendor had even surpassed the Zheng and Cui families, becoming a power second only to the Taiyuan Li clan, with protégés scattered everywhere.

Yet at that very moment, the Wang clan residence in Zhengyang was shrouded in gloom.

The clan head, Wang Gui, sat with his eyes closed, one hand resting on the table as his fingers tapped softly and incessantly against its surface. Before him stood all the Wang family’s principal figures: sons and daughters, sons-in-law and nephews, filling the room in crowded ranks, numbering no fewer than several dozen. The steady tapping echoed into everyone’s heart, and the atmosphere in the room gradually turned cold and foreboding.

After a long while, Wang Gui suddenly opened his eyes and said, “All of you speak. How should this matter be handled?”

His eldest son, Wang Chongji, pondered for a moment before replying, “Father, we must prepare for the worst. Although our younger aunt did act improperly in this matter, if we handle it poorly, disaster may follow. I think we can first placate the Zheng side and set the marriage aside for the time being, while at the same time putting pressure on the court. We cannot yield over a mere Duke of Ying. Otherwise, in the future our Wang clan will become the laughingstock of the realm, and our prestige will be gone.”

Wang Gui glanced at Wang Chongji, then turned to his second son, Wang Jingzhi.

Wang Jingzhi’s mouth twitched. He was of a quiet disposition and had never liked affairs of this sort. Moreover, he was still only in his teens, an age meant for play, and had never truly put his heart into the clan’s affairs. Now that Wang Gui was asking him, he felt rather at a loss.

Most importantly, in the autumn of the second year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin had, on a whim, promised Princess Nanan to Wang Jingzhi. But the princess was only ten years old at present, so they would have to wait several years. In that sense, their Wang family could also be considered allied by marriage to Li Shimin, and this left Wang Jingzhi somewhat hesitant.

Seeing Wang Jingzhi remain silent, Wang Gui said with disappointment, “Very well. First send someone to the Zheng family and make the matter clear. As for me, I will go to Chang’an in person and see whether there is still any room to turn this around.”

“This matter is not that serious, is it? It’s only the illegitimate son of a Duke of Ying. Do we really need to go to such lengths? We could simply use the Wang clan’s prestige to suppress it—who would dare refuse?” An old man suddenly spoke, his eyes flashing with anger.

This man was named Wang Xu. He was Li Ji’s father-in-law and Wang Gui’s cousin. Though already fifty-eight, he remained robust and full of vigor, carrying himself like a man perpetually bristling with killing intent. He had none of the air a scholar ought to possess. Then again, that was hardly surprising; in his youth, during the Sui dynasty, he had been a forward general and had killed many men.

This time, Li Kong had publicly humiliated the Duke of Ying’s wife, which was no different from slapping Wang Xu in the face with the sole of a shoe. If he were not now merely a private citizen without office, he might already have led men to Li Ji’s mansion to demand justice.

Wang Gui gave a cold snort. “All of this was caused by your precious daughter. Do you really think our Wang clan can do anything at will? Do you even understand what the military strength of the Great Tang is like now? Besides, although Li Kong is only Li Ji’s illegitimate son, the merit he has achieved is enough to make Li Shimin go to war with any enemy for his sake.”

At this, Wang Gui let out a helpless sigh before continuing, “What matters most is that Li Shimin is no longer satisfied with the present. He wants complete control over the realm, and for him, families like ours are the greatest stumbling block. In the past few years it did not matter much, because the Great Tang lacked both money and grain, and he needed men like us to steady his empire. But over the past two years, thanks to Li Kong, the silver and coin in Li Shimin’s hands have exceeded even ours, and the sharpness of his armies can no longer be compared with what it was before. Perhaps what Li Shimin is waiting for now is simply for our aristocratic families to make a mistake.”

“What? Does Li Shimin dare destroy the great clans like us?” Wang Xu’s face darkened.

Wang Gui looked at this cousin of his, and a deep sense of powerlessness rose in his heart. Whether Li Shimin would dare annihilate the great clans was, in truth, something all aristocrats regarded with disdain. In their view, without the support of those great families, Li Shimin’s Li Tang dynasty would collapse in an instant. After all, sixty percent of the court officials were drawn from the aristocratic houses.

But Wang Gui knew very well that Li Shimin absolutely would dare. Li Shimin had never liked playing by ordinary rules. The ministers he relied on now were mostly humble men who had followed him from the wilderness, and he had always been seeking talent among the common people. Though those men were not yet famous, if the moment came, Li Shimin would certainly promote them heavily in order to strike at the influence of the great clans.

Wang Gui had even heard that Li Shimin planned to work with Li Kong to establish schools in the prefectures and counties, specifically to train children from humble backgrounds. So this time, even if Li Shimin would not destroy them outright, he certainly would not back down.

“Enough. For now, this matter will be handled like this. Chongji, you are the heir to the clan head; go personally to the Zheng family and show our Wang clan’s sincerity. Remember this well: under no circumstances may you come into conflict with the Zhengs. If it truly cannot be avoided, then use delay as your tactic. Before I return from Chang’an, you are absolutely not to act on impulse.”

“Yes, Father, I will remember it.” Wang Chongji accepted the order and turned to leave the room.

At the same time, in the clan residence of the Xingyang Zheng family:

A young man knelt with his head bowed, his body trembling faintly, and cried out to a man over fifty, “Uncle, please seek justice for your nephew!”

“Seek what justice? What justice are you talking about?” The man looked down at the young man before him, his expression unreadable. This man was none other than Zheng Qian, the man betrothed to Cui Zhu. Seated in the chief position was Zheng Xuandu, the eldest son of the current Zheng clan head, Zheng Shanguo.

When Zheng Shanguo had been in Chang’an, the Zheng family had developed quite well; especially when Zheng Shanguo served as Crown Prince’s Right Protector, they had even reached the peak of their fortunes. But in the first year of Zhenguan, Zheng Shanguo was transferred away from Chang’an, and last year he passed away. Since then, while the Zheng clan had not collapsed, it had lost its greatest pillar.

That was precisely why, even knowing the Wang family was stirring trouble, they had no choice but to accept it. On the one hand, they truly wanted an alliance by marriage with the Wangs to strengthen ties between the two sides. On the other hand, they simply could not afford to offend the Wang clan now. With Li Kong causing such a disturbance, in truth it was not a bad thing for Zheng Xuandu.

Zheng Qian stared in astonishment at Zheng Xuandu, seated in the chief position, and said, “Uncle, you... Uncle, I cannot bear this humiliation, and neither can our Zheng family. Has Uncle not considered that if this matter is allowed to rest here, how will our Xingyang Zheng family stand among the aristocratic clans in the future?”

“Then what would you have me do? Go and fight the emperor to the death? Or fight that old bastard Wang Gui to the death?”