Chapter 121: This is going to ruin the Yuan Ye Family’s eternal foundation!
Yuan Ye did not see them off; he disliked the atmosphere of farewell. He was sighing with regret in his bedroom, contemplating where to find replacements for the gaps left by A Man and A Qing. He never expected a twist of fate, and they actually ran back. Upon receiving the notification, he hurried back to the office. As soon as he entered, he saw them kneeling upright, sitting properly, their small faces looking very serious.
Except for A Man, whose face couldn’t look serious. When she put on a stern expression, her Dou Dou eyebrows would squeeze together, making her look like a Shiba Inu that had achieved sentience at first glance.
A Man had sharp hearing. Hearing the movement, she turned her head to glance at him, then shifted her body to face him, bowed deeply, and called out earnestly, “Lord!”
A Qing silently followed her as she turned, her hands clasped on the floor. She bowed deeply, her forehead lightly touching the ground. Yuan Ye was slightly surprised but instantly understood. A Man and A Qing were making a statement, wanting to officially transition from their status as “friends and guests” to members of the Yuan Ye Family, becoming something akin to vassals. Otherwise, there would be no need to address him this way.
He didn’t know what had happened to make A Man and A Qing make such a decision. They used to cherish their freedom so much. But he quickly stepped forward to help them up, shaking his head and saying, “There’s no need for this between us. Let’s just continue as before!”
“A snake cannot move without a head; there must be a hierarchy. Since we’re going to follow you, we can’t be disrespectful.” A Man was too familiar with him, having been a friend with whom they could share dirty jokes. It was a bit embarrassing to directly declare her intention to pledge allegiance, so she could only use “Greetings, Lord” to express her feelings. Seeing that Yuan Ye understood immediately, she felt relieved and said earnestly, “Besides, if we don’t call you Lord, you won’t be able to give us an annual salary, and we can’t work for free!”
“The annual salary is easy to discuss…” Yuan Ye didn’t care about this small amount of pay. Maeda Toshiie, that rough fellow of seventeen or eighteen, could earn an annual salary of 150 kan—he had received a raise of 100 kan for bravely fighting and achieving merit on the night of the coup. A Man was far more useful than Maeda Toshiie. It wouldn’t matter if he gave her several hundred jin of copper a year. It was just that he disliked the “Patron-Client System” and was full of vigilance towards a “dual power system.” He didn’t want his subordinates to form factions in the future, with each vassal having a group of independent retainers who completely ignored him.
Every modern person understood the importance of centralization. What if, in the future, a powerful retainer’s vassal did something like “Lord, it’s cold, add a yellow robe,” that would be truly hilarious. He didn’t want to go down the wrong path from the start, which was why he had never recruited vassals. But now, if it were A Man and A Qing…
This seemed unnecessary to worry about. A Qing’s personality wouldn’t lead to rebellion, and although A Man was wild and a good candidate for rebellion, she was a woman. In this era, there was absolutely no possibility of her establishing herself as a ruler. It wouldn’t be a big deal for them to become “vassals.” Moreover, others would likely not consider them legitimate vassals, at most viewing them as Female Warriors like Aba, Azuru, or Tagata. They wouldn’t be able to compete with them, thus corrupting the atmosphere.
Yuan Ye’s thoughts wandered. He felt that it wouldn’t have any negative impact for A Man and A Qing to become vassals, and he truly couldn’t bear to part with them. So he said, “Alright, but it’s just a title. You don’t need to take it too seriously. We’ll continue to interact as before.”
“Yes, Lord.” A Man and A Qing bowed deeply again, officially joining the Yuan Ye Family and expanding it into a three-person group. Finally, Yuan Ye was no longer the sole descendant. Followers and family retainers like Yayoi and the Momoi Brothers were equivalent to servants. In this era, they weren’t considered people and couldn’t even sit at the table, so they weren’t counted as family members.
Generally speaking, only vassals were formal family members, being both family and subjects, obligated to show filial piety and loyalty.
Yuan Ye quickly helped them up again. According to the “Patron-Client System,” he should now be considered the “Adoptive Father” of A Man and A Qing. His gaze towards the two “Adopted Daughters” became considerably more affectionate. Holding their hands, he said traditionally, “Then I’ll entrust the household matters to you from now on.”
A Man immediately replied with full confidence, “Rest assured, Lord. From now on, you just need to enjoy your retirement. I will handle all household matters.”
Yuan Ye was speechless for a moment. This wasn’t going according to the script. Shouldn’t she have been more humble? Why did it sound like something Cao Cao would say? Was this wild child planning to turn me into Emperor Xian of Han?
But it didn’t matter. A Man couldn’t overthrow him, so he didn’t dwell on it. He then asked with concern, “Why aren’t you going back all of a sudden? Did something happen?”
“I suddenly realized that I don’t need to listen to the old man about everything. Although he raised me, he’s old and can’t keep up with the times. What he says isn’t necessarily right. He insisted we go back without knowing your situation at all. I think it’s better for him to listen to me and come here to live. I’ll support him with my annual salary then.”
A Man didn’t hide anything from Yuan Ye, speaking directly. “Also, I remember you analyzed before that the world would become increasingly chaotic, samurai would fight more and more fiercely, and powerful Daimyo controlling several provinces would emerge, continuing until the world was unified. I think you’re right. Kōka, that broken place less than two hundred li from Kyoto, definitely won’t be able to hide. It will surely be dealt with, so there’s no future in hiding. It’s better to come here and fight for a way to survive together.”
So that’s how it is. A Man has grown up and gained insight. Her ideas differ from the older generation, and she wants to contend for authority with them and take charge.
This is a normal phenomenon, isn’t it? Children grow up, and this day always comes!
Yuan Ye nodded gently and asked with concern, “Will your grandfather be willing to come?”
“I will persuade him!” A Man was very confident. She used to argue with her grandfather often, so a few more arguments wouldn’t hurt.
Yuan Ye also greatly admired A Man’s grandfather. Judging from A Man and A Qing, he must be a formidable old man. If he could be consumed, it would be greatly beneficial. He immediately affirmed, “Persuade him well. We can discuss everything then. Even if he’s worried about his hometown people and wants to move everyone from his hometown, we can discuss that. When we have a larger territory in the future, he can choose any land to settle them, anywhere!”
He didn’t care about such a small matter at all. They could even exempt them from taxes then and let them build a “ninja village,” using trained “ninja” as their Annual Tribute. Anyway, the people of Kōka have always had a tradition of working outside as mercenaries, so they probably wouldn’t care much.
“Don’t worry, it will definitely be fine. He can’t argue with me!” A Man had already decided to practice “Gekokujō,” pushing her grandfather aside. From now on, he could just live out his retirement peacefully. She would carry on the Life Preservation Style.
After she finished speaking, she hesitated for a moment and dragged the leather pouch Yuan Ye had given them earlier over. “This is… your farewell gift to us. Now that we’re not leaving, this money… please take it back!”
“Okay!” Yuan Ye reached out to take it, but after pulling the leather pouch twice, it didn’t budge. A Man held onto the leather pouch, unwilling to let go, her small face showing pain and struggle. It wasn’t until A Qing silently crawled forward and pried her fingers open that she sighed and let go, her expression still distressed. If she had known this would happen, she should have pretended to be generous and not taken it in the first place. Spitting out what she had already tasted was truly painful.
Yuan Ye ignored her. This was a large sum of money, a pouch full of Silver Tacks, with a Banknote hidden underneath. It was something he had squeezed out in gratitude for their desperate rescue when he thought they were parting ways. Now that they weren’t leaving, holding such a large sum of money was useless. It was better to invest it in production.
Moreover, A Man had a history. If she took this money to gamble, it would all be wasted. It had to be taken back.
Yuan Ye reclaimed the thank-you gift, and that matter was settled. A Man and A Qing not only didn’t leave but officially became members of the Yuan Ye Family, even preparing to move the Life Preservation Style to Wanjin and live there from now on. This could be considered a blessing in disguise.
He personally cooked a good meal at noon and shared it with A Man and A Qing to celebrate the new members joining. After the feast, everything returned to normal. They did what they did before, and it felt like not much had changed. At most, there would be an old man in the future. But it was different for A Man. Her mindset had changed; she was now a proper vassal of the Yuan Ye Family, an important member of the household.
She first pondered for a while what kind of proper name she should give herself. She hesitated whether to use Yuan Ye’s Family Name. Then she considered that her Tsūna “A Man” also needed to be changed, perhaps to Man Chiyo or Man no Maru. She then thought about her “given name.” According to the “Eboshi-oya” principle, she should pick a character from Yuan Ye’s “given name” to use. However, she couldn’t decide which of the two characters, “Jia” or “Yuan,” would be better. Both felt rather ordinary.
Or perhaps using Wanjin as the Family Name would be good, like calling herself Wanjin Man Chiyo… No, Wanjin already had Endo Chiyo. Calling herself Man Chiyo wouldn’t be good. Perhaps Wanjin Man no Maru…
She thought for a while but couldn’t figure it out, so she could only continue to be called A Man for now and discuss it carefully with others later. After all, choosing a name was a big deal, and she should also seek the old man’s opinion. It wasn’t that she had become the superior and taken charge, so the old man was no longer considered a person. His opinion was still very important.
She put this matter aside for the moment and then looked around the still rather rudimentary Wanjin territory, her Dou Dou eyebrows slowly furrowing.
Before, she was just a guest. Offering “unpleasant but honest advice” was just fulfilling her duty as a friend. Looking at everything in Wanjin daily seemed quite normal, even developing quite well. What ordinary Local Lords took a year to accomplish, she could do in a month. But looking at it now, she found many problems.
These family retainers and servants seemed to walk a bit slowly, lacking any sense of urgency, which was annoying to watch. And that donkey also looked somewhat displeasing, constantly eating fodder and not doing any work. The more she looked, the more it resembled a useless donkey.
Thinking about it more carefully, Yuan Ye also seemed to have big problems. He was already old, almost an old man, yet he refused to get married. Whenever it was mentioned, he would say this wasn’t right, that wasn’t good, and wouldn’t even have a son. Did he even care about the family’s legacy?
This was rebellion! This was going to ruin the Yuan Ye Family’s eternal foundation!
Having a son shouldn’t be that complicated. Turn off the lights, and aren’t all women the same? It’s just that he himself has too many issues!
A Man wandered around casually. The territory that she used to find prosperous now seemed to have problems from the Head of the Family down to the family retainers. None of them were doing things properly. They must be thoroughly reformed, whipped with a small whip. At the very least, they shouldn’t all walk so slowly. At a minimum, their movement speed should reach two rooms per breath to be considered qualified.
She had to do this. After all, this would be her home from now on, the place where her life was sustained!
