A Clash of Gods - Chapter 45
Chapter 45 The Marquis of Martial Arts
While Yang Ning was still in shock, someone was led into the mourning hall. This was a man of the age of thirty-something, well dressed, looking quite handsome yet pale. Seeing his staggering walking, unfocused gaze and listless appearance, Yang Ning knew that this man was extremely weak.
The Marquis of Martial Arts stepped into the mourning hall and darted a look at Yang Ning, who was kneeling on the side. The Marquis took off his hat and made a casual fist and palm salute after stepping forward, then he immediately turned to Steward Qiu and asked, “Is the Dowager available?”
“Please, Your Excellency, the Dowager has been unwell and is not able to receive anyone,” Steward Qiu said with great respect, “Your Excellency, please come to the leisure room for a cup of tea.” Steward Qiu turned and shotted a glance at Yang Ning. He gave Yang Ning a wave, gesturing Yang Ning to follow them.
Holding hands at his back, the Marquis of Martial Arts coughed, then stepped out of the mourning room under the guidance of Steward Qiu.
“This is the Marquis of Martial Arts?” Yang Ning gathered his wits back, as he asked Duan Canghai, who was behind him, “Our family has a marriage contract with him?”
Duan Canghai nodded and said, “Like the Marquis of Honor, the Marquis of Martial Arts is also one of the four great marquises in the Southern Chu State, and the line of hereditary succession is irreplaceable. The marriage contract was settled while the two old marquises were still alive.”
“In this case, the old Marquis of Martial Arts also passed away?” Yang Ning asked.
He saw that the Marquis of Martial Arts was merely over thirty, thinking that the old Marquis of Martial Arts must have passed away since the title was already inherited.
Duan Canghai said, “Yes, the old Marquis of Martial Arts also passed away several years ago, only two years later than the old marquis of ours. Those two marquises were Damon and Pythias while they were alive.”
Yang Ning had more questions, but Duan Canghai hurried and said, “Your Excellency, please hurry up. Now the Marquis of Martial Arts is in the leisure room and he must be here to see you. Please hurry and go over there, because he may have something to say to you.”
Yang Ning got upset, as he didn’t expect to have a father-in-law out of nowhere. Reluctantly, he got up and stepped out of the door. He saw Steward Qiu somewhere ahead of him, guiding the Marquis of Martial Arts and looking toward him frequently. Seeing Yang Ning was coming over, Steward Qiu felt relieved.
When Yang Ning stepped into the leisure room, the Marquis of Martial Arts was already seated in the chair, pompously. Steward Qiu, standing on the side, had already asked the servant to serve tea. He gave Yang Ning another wave, hinting him to step forward.
Yang Ning had no choice but to step forward, while the Marquis of Martial Arts leaned backward in the chair without looking at Yang Ning. The Marquis had a Pixiu carved out of a piece of white jade. Well-polished without any impurities, the jade was of first-class, apparently. Playing with the jade Pixiu in his hand, the Marquis opened his mouth without looking up, “How did you make your way back? I heard that you ran away and got kidnapped.”
Sensing the weakness in his voice, Yang Ning was more certain that the physical condition of this man was extremely poor. He knew that there were many rules in noble families of this kind, but he didn’t know what those rules were exactly. As he was trying to decide whether to answer or not, Steward Qiu on the side had already answered with a sincere smile, “I’m sure Your Excellency understands that our earl came back a few days ago. He is a lucky man blessed by the God, and suffered no real harm.”
“Lucky man blessed by the God?” The Marquis of Martial Arts lifted his eyelids, looking at Yang Ning, while he sneered and said, “How come I couldn’t see that he is lucky? Blessed by the God? Look at his depressing face. If the God blesses such a person, I would call the God ridiculous.”
Steward Qiu was shocked. Apparently, he didn’t see that the Marquis of Martial Arts would make such a comment.
It’s true that Yang Ning was one of the juniors, and he might be the son-in-law of the Marquis in the future, but judging by the current situation, it was only a matter of time for Yang Ning to inherit the title of Marquis of Honor. Anyway, the Marquis of Martial Arts shouldn’t throw those taunts in Yang Ning’s face.
“What Your Excellency said was right. As my father has just passed away, it would be truly ridiculous if I look joyful.” Yang Ning got a little annoyed, as he slightly tilted up his head without looking at the Marquis of Martial Arts. “Lucky or not, sometimes we could surely make the judgment by looking at one’s face.”
Saying things like this, he was thinking to himself, “You look so depressed, and you are definitely not a lucky person.”
The Marquis was stunned. He never thought that Yang Ning would talk back like this. He looked up and glanced at Yang Ning, then said with a sneer, “You have a temper.”
At that moment, tea was served. The Marquis held his tea cup and had a sip. He spitted it out after only sip, lashing out, “What tea is this? Is this for human being?” He angrily sat down his cup on the table besides him, as the tea spilled out wetting the tea table. Steward Qiu hurried and yelled, “Come and clean it.” Then he turned to the Marquis of Martial Arts with a reverent smile, and said, “Your Excellency, this is Cloud Mist Tea, which is usually your favorite. Maybe today you don’t like this taste.”
“What Cloud Mist Tea?” The Marquis of Martial Arts said grumpily, “It takes rootless rainwater to make Cloud Mist Tea. What kind of water did you use to make tea? This is still a noble family, so how come you don’t know such a trivial rule? Steward Qiu, I think that servants in this mansion, from top level to bottom level, don’t know anything about regulations. Qi Jing really has a lousy taste, pick rustics as servants. What kind of things can they do? They can’t even make tea properly. If you need, I will send to you some servants who know how to make tea.”
With the smile still on his face, Steward Qiu said, “I shall take the blame for poor discipline, and I will be more careful in the future.”
Yang Ning was about to retort, but then it came to him that it was unnecessary to fight over a cup of tea, so he forced himself to stand by.
The Marquis of Martial Arts was still playing with the Pixiu in his hands, while asking, “What kind of disease is the Dowager having? Is it serious? The purpose of my visit today is to meet with Her Excellency.”
“Thanks for your caring, Your Excellency, but the Dowager has ordered that she wouldn’t meet with anybody at this time,” Steward Qiu said, “I’m afraid that you may meet with the Dowager several days later.”
“Who is in charge of this family?” The Marquis of Martial Arts asked, “Still the Third Lady of yours? Such a noble family of a marquis is under the administration of a woman. If others get to know this situation, wouldn’t it be a big joke?” The Marquis adjusted himself to a more comfortable position, as he looked at Steward Qiu and said, “In the Qi Family, you couldn’t find a man who is responsible?”
Hearing this comment, Yang Ning was about to lose his cool.
Having met with everybody in the Qi Family, Yang Ning knew that it was true that in the Qi Family, there was no such a man who can take care of this family.
If the Marquis of Martial Arts was just looking down upon the male members of the Qi Family, Yang Ning wouldn’t be annoyed. He might even agree with that opinion. However, the Marquis’s words showed explicit contempt on Gu Qinghan, which made him a little bit angry.
He knew that Gu Qinghan was in a tough situation, since she had to take care of this noble family as a woman. It was really difficult for her, but it was easier for the Marquis of Martial Arts to make such a comment. So annoying. It was not convenient to retort directly, but Yang Ning responded with a sneer.
He wanted the Marquis of Martial Arts to hear his sneer, so the Marquis heard it as he expected. The Marquis immediately shotted Yang Ning a glance, then said with a smirk, “Boy, what is that sneer for? You don’t agree with me?”
Yang Ning didn’t look at him, let alone responding.
“That’s right.” The Marquis looked a little angry now. “Rumor has that a stupid blockhead was raised in the Qi Family. It seems that he didn’t make any progress so far.” After a smirk, he asked Steward Qiu, “By the way, did the King send anyone here? As the Marquis of Honor passed away, His Majesty must have something to say.”
Looking awkward, Steward Qiu said, “Your Excellency, so …so far, we haven’t heard anything from His Majesty.”
“The funeral is a few days later, but His Majesty hasn’t sent anyone here?” The Marquis of Martial Arts slightly rolled his eyes and said, “Did the Marquis of Loyalty and the Marquis of Golden Sword come?”
“The Marquis of Golden Sword came over at the day when the ofrenda was set up,” Steward Qiu said, “As to the Marquis of Loyalty…he has sent someone from his mansion.”
“Has sent someone?” The Marquis of Martial Arts lifted one hand to caress the beard on his chin. “You were saying that the Marquis of Loyalty didn’t come in person?”
Steward Qiu said, “The Marquis of Loyalty didn’t come in person. Maybe…maybe there was something holding him up.”
“Hold him up?” The Marquis of Martial Arts sneered and said, “The ofrenda has been set up for more than ten days. It’s not like that the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty is hundreds of miles away, so what kind of things could hold him up?” The Marquis of Martial Arts sat straight while putting away his Pixiu. He coughed before he said, “Steward Qiu, since the Dowager is not available now, and I don’t have the time to come over here from time to time, why wouldn’t you send a message for me?”
“Just tell me what to do, Your Excellency!”
The Marquis of Martial Arts said, “It’s not anything else, but the marriage contract between our families.”
“Is it?” Steward Qiu hurried and said, “Your Excellency, excuse me for saying this, but we haven’t held the funeral for the General. At this moment, it is…it is really not a good time to bring up such things.”
The Marquis said, “Of course I know that it is not a good time, but for this kind of things, it needs to be settled as soon as possible. If we hesitate on this, it might cause a worse situation.”
Steward Qiu nodded briefly and said, “Sure, the earl has grown into the age for marriage. I believe that the Dowager has been thinking over this matter.”
“You misunderstood,” The Marquis of Martial Arts lifted his hand and said, “The Marquis of Honor just passed away, and you were talking about marriage? Who would prepare for the son’s wedding several days after the father’s death?”
“Yes, Your Excellency, so what is Your Excellency’s opinion?”
After several dry coughs, the Marquis of Martial Arts opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something, and he had an awkward look on his face. After some hesitation, he finally said, “In my opinion, as to the marriage contract we made in the past, we need to give it further consideration.”
“Further consideration?” Steward Qiu was stunned. Apparently, he didn’t get the picture. He gingerly asked, “Your Excellency, what did you mean by…I didn’t quite understand what you were saying. Are you saying that we should postpone the wedding since the General had just passed away?”
“Steward Qiu, you have been working for a long time. Don’t you know that one has to observe a three-year mourning period after parents’ passing? From now on, your earl is not able to get married in three years,” The Marquis of Martial Arts said, “Don’t you understand what I was saying?”
“Your Excellency is going to break off the engagement?” A voice came from outside the door. After that, they saw Gu Qinghan was stepping inside elegantly.
The Marquis of Martial Arts turned and gave her a glance, without saying anything.
“Third Lady…!” Steward Qiu stepped forward. As he was about to say something, Gu Qinghan lifted one hand and stopped him. She moved around in a graceful manner, with a smile on her face, and said, “I just heard that the Marquis didn’t like the tea we served, so I come over to ask what kind of tea would suit the noble taste of the Marquis?”
The Marquis cleared his throat and said, “I won’t bother with the matter of tea. After all, I didn’t come here to taste your tea.”
“Your Excellency is generous, but we have to be careful on this matter.” Gu Qinghan was still smiling. “In the past, we have been serving Cloud Mist Tea every time Your Excellency came over. In fact, we don’t often have this kind of tea. Keeping this kind of tea in stock is only for the reception of noble guests like Your Excellency. Now that Your Excellency have a different taste today, we have to make things clear, otherwise we would be confused in the future when it comes to entertaining the guests