Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 54 Clan Council (Part Two)

The young woman who suddenly stood up was slender and beautiful. Unfortunately, there was a scar on her left cheek, like a scratch on fine porcelain.

This woman was Gu Lian, who had been rescued from Black Bear Village and was also the leader of this group of pitiful women.

Gu Lian's eyes were filled with anticipation and trepidation. Under everyone's gaze, she mustered up her courage and continued, "Can we also have children with our husbands' families in the future?"

“Of course.” Pei Qinghe looked at Gu Lian with approval and appreciation in her eyes: “You are now people of Pei Family Village, working hard every day. I, Pei Qinghe, will make sure you are well-fed and clothed. In the future, if you have children after marrying into the family, they can also take the surname Pei.”

"Absurd and ridiculous!"

As expected, it was the old-fashioned and conservative grandmother, Madam Lu, who jumped out to object: "They are all women who have lost their virginity. It is already a kindness and righteousness of our Pei family to allow them to settle in Pei Family Village. How can we agree to such an absurd thing! Whether they marry or find a husband, it has nothing to do with the Pei family. How can their children bear the Pei surname!"

Even Li couldn't help but chime in, "Qinghe, this matter still needs careful consideration."

It's fine if the Pei family wives' children take the Pei surname. But what do these women from the bandit stronghold have to do with the Pei family?! The Pei family is supporting them now, but are they going to raise their children in the future?

Pei Qinghe didn't look at Madam Lu, but said to Madam Li, "Not only them, but anyone who comes to the Pei family and is determined to stay will receive the same treatment."

"But……"

"They follow me, they pledge their loyalty to me, and their descendants will bear my surname, Pei Qinghe's Pei." Pei Qinghe calmly interrupted Madam Li: "Furthermore, the Pei family was convicted of treason by the court, all the men were executed, and we have been reduced to this place. Is the surname Pei so noble? Or is there something worthy of our scheming?"

"If someone truly wants to stay and live and die with us, and wants their bloodline to bear the Pei surname, what's wrong with that!"

Li was speechless.

Unable to bear such harsh and hurtful truths, Madam Lu angrily retorted, "The Pei family has been wrongly accused and framed. They will one day be exonerated and return to the capital."

Pei Qinghe glanced at her coldly: "Grandmother speaks with such certainty, could it be that His Highness the Crown Prince personally promised it?"

Lu Shi: "..."

"The political situation at court is constantly changing, and there are constant upheavals in the palace. The Crown Prince is barely able to protect himself, so how can he have the time to care about the fate of the Pei family? General Meng sent someone to deliver some grain and a flag of the Beiping Army, which is enough to help the Pei family. If there are bandits or roving bandits, it will take three or four days to send a message back and forth. By the time reinforcements arrive, Pei Family Village will have already been looted. The Crown Prince is even more far away, thousands of miles away."

Pei Qinghe's face was expressionless, and her voice was icy: "We can't rely on anyone. Only by being self-reliant can we stand on our own feet and protect ourselves."

"Of the three clan rules, the most important is the first one. We must learn martial arts, train soldiers, have the ability to kill, and have the ability to protect ourselves."

"To expand our population in the short term, the third point is also extremely important. To recruit displaced people and hidden households into Pei Family Village, we must treat them as our own people. We must make them stay willingly. Ask Pei Jia and Pei Yi if they want to leave now?"

Pei Jia and Pei Yi, who had been keeping their necks hunched, exchanged a glance and stood up together: "We're not leaving."

"We want to stay in the Pei family and follow Miss Pei forever."

Fang Datou was a step slower, but his voice was much louder than Pei Jia's and Pei Yi's: "I will also follow Miss Pei Liu forever. Also, I want to change my name; from now on, I will be called Pei Bing!"

Nobody paid any attention to this idiot.

Everyone looked at the coachman Zhao Hai and Doctor Bao.

Doctor Bao glanced quickly in Pei Yun's direction and shouted, "I'll stay too."

The coachman, Zhao Hai, stood up hesitantly, looking uneasy. He glanced furtively at the woman surnamed Pei sitting in the corner, then mustered his courage and said, "I am willing to marry into the family."

Everyone was so shocked their jaws nearly dropped. This Zhao Hai, who usually kept his head down and rarely uttered a sound, was like a taciturn man. When did he start seducing the women of the Pei family...? No, who is it that has so quickly forgotten her deceased husband and taken a fancy to this unassuming bachelor?

Pei Qinghe wasn't surprised at all, and said calmly, "We'll talk about this later. Please sit down!"

Zhao Hai's palms were sweating as he sat down amidst the surprised and disapproving gazes of the crowd.

Doctor Bao sat down, filled with remorse. He should have shouted, "I'm willing to marry into your family!"

"In my opinion, the first and third clan rules are more important; they are the foundation upon which the Pei family stands. But you only see the second one. And you argue and quarrel endlessly about it."

Pei Qinghe spoke of "you" while her eyes were fixed on the Lu family: "Short-sighted, stupid and ignorant."

Lu's forehead veins throbbed.

Pei Qinghe didn't let the others off the hook either. Her dark eyes, like sharp blades, swept over the other six old women one by one: "And you, narrow-minded and short-sighted."

The elderly women awkwardly lowered their heads to avoid them.

Pei Qinghe suddenly raised her voice: "Who objects to these three clan rules?"

No one spoke.

There was silence.

Pei Qinghe led his people to kill bandits time and time again, displaying unparalleled bravery, which gradually earned him the respect and awe of his people.

Lu's lips moved, but in the end, she didn't utter a word of objection.

"Alright, these three clan rules are hereby established." Pei Qinghe said calmly, "Everyone may disperse."

The quick-witted Pei Xuan was the first to respond loudly, and she and Pei Feng led a group of children to school. The old women carried toddlers to the village to bask in the sun and do needlework. Pei Yan, Pei Yun, and others lined up for running drills. Pei Jia and Pei Yi called on Gu Lian and the others to plow the fields and sow seeds.

Zhao Hai came over with a flushed face. He was half a head taller than Pei Qinghe. He stammered and couldn't squeeze out a coherent sentence for a long time.

Pei Qinghe found it somewhat amusing: "What, you dare to do it, but you don't dare to say it?"

Zhao Hai hurriedly shook his head: "Sixth Miss, you've misunderstood. Even if I had the greatest courage, I wouldn't dare to be so frivolous. Xiao Wan'er's mother hasn't spoken to me either."

Xiao Wan'er's biological mother, Madam Bian, is twenty-four years old this year. Her husband died in battle four years ago, and Xiao Wan'er is her posthumous daughter.

Bian Shi remained a widow for four years. She had thought she would live out her days in the Pei family's backyard, but unexpectedly, the Pei family was wiped out. On the way to exile, Bian Shi fell seriously ill and lay on a wooden cart for nearly a month, barely surviving. Somehow, she and Zhao Hai secretly fell in love.

Zhao Hai had been a bachelor for over twenty years, but suddenly his heart began to flutter with romantic feelings, which became uncontrollable. Today, taking advantage of the clan meeting, he mustered up his courage and stood up.

“I am willing to marry into your family.” Zhao Hai spoke haltingly and incoherently, but mustered all his courage and met Pei Qinghe’s gaze: “I humbly request that you grant my request, Sixth Miss.”

Pei Qinghe did not immediately agree, but turned to look at the young woman under the tree.

This young woman with delicate features and a gentle face was none other than Bian, the cousin-in-law of the eighth branch of the family.

(End of this chapter)