Chapter Five: The Clan Chief (Part One)

Lady Lu pointed a finger at Pei Qinghe’s nose, ready to unleash a torrent of abuse.

The last person who had done that was the leader of a band of marauders, who had stood at a distance and hurled endless insults at her. She had drawn her bow and loosed an arrow, piercing his throat from five hundred paces; the leader had died on the spot. The remaining bandits were so terrified they scattered like birds and beasts. She had led her troops in pursuit, and before half a day had passed, she had slaughtered them all.

Since then, no one had dared to point a finger at her again.

Pei Qinghe’s face remained expressionless as she cast a faint, cold glance at Lady Lu. An invisible, icy aura of slaughter washed over her.

The hair on the back of Lady Lu’s neck stood on end. Her finger, still pointing at Pei Qinghe, smoothly shifted its direction. "Lady Feng, look at this! This is the daughter you’ve raised. Sharp-tongued, insubordinate, and disrespectful to her elders!"

Lady Lu had always been accustomed to throwing her weight around, and setting rules for her daughters-in-law was a common occurrence. Lady Feng, who had always feared her mother-in-law, summoned her courage to retort: "Qinghe is intelligent, decisive, and both wise and brave. She did the right thing."

"You..." Lady Lu was so enraged she glared fiercely at her.

"Grandmother!" Pei Qinghe called out, her voice neither too soft nor too loud.

Lady Lu’s heart shuddered violently once more.

Pei Qinghe had studied military strategy and obsessed over martial arts since she was a child. All the young men and women of the Pei clan had been beaten into submission by her. Those who possessed talent and ability, regardless of gender, earned the respect they were due. The elders naturally tempered their tempers in her presence. Even she, her own grandmother, found it difficult to stand tall before such a formidable granddaughter.

Reluctantly, Lady Lu replied, "What is it?"

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "The men of the Pei family are all dead. My twenty-four cousins are all under eight years old. The Pei family needs someone to take charge. I will be the clan head. Do you have any objections, Grandmother?"

Lady Lu had given birth to four sons. The eldest, Pei Boren, had three sons and two daughters; the second, Pei Zhongde, had five sons and one daughter; the third, Pei Shuyi, had three sons; and the youngest, Pei Jili, had two sons and one daughter. Her four sons and eleven adult grandsons had all been beheaded; only the youngest son of the third branch, Pei Feng, and the youngest son of the fourth branch, Pei Yue, had survived. Of the four granddaughters, the two who had already married were not implicated, leaving only the thirteen-year-old Pei Qinghe and the twelve-year-old Pei Yan, the youngest daughter of the eldest branch.

The daughters-in-law had all become widows, drowning in the grief of losing their husbands and sons. Several of the young granddaughters-in-law had fainted from crying multiple times. Let alone taking charge, they could barely string a coherent sentence together.

In terms of capability, it was indeed fitting for Pei Qinghe to take charge. But Lady Lu was unhappy from the bottom of her heart. With Pei Qinghe’s temperament, if she took the position of clan head, would she ever be willing to hand it over to her cousins in the future?

Lady Lu frowned in opposition: "Absolutely not! How can a woman be the head of a clan? Feng-er is seven this year, and Yue-er is five. In a few years, they will be grown."

"Grown?"

"How?"

In her previous life, after Lady Lu passed away from illness, the young Pei Yue had also fallen gravely ill and died on the road. Pei Feng had managed to reach Youzhou alive, but years later, while hunting in the mountains, he was mauled to death by a beast in a gruesome fashion. They never lived to grow up.

The long-buried pain of those memories surged into her heart. Pei Qinghe’s heart, cold and hard as rock, felt a sharp pang. She suddenly turned her head and shouted: "Pei Feng, Pei Yue, come here."

The two young boys stumbled over. Seven-year-old Pei Feng was only as tall as Pei Qinghe’s chest. He had inherited the handsome features of the Pei men, fair and refined, though he was missing two front teeth, causing him to whistle when he spoke: "Cousin Qinghe, what do you need me for?"

Five-year-old Pei Yue was even shorter, reaching only to Pei Qinghe’s waist. His round, chubby face was flushed red from the wind, and he sniffled hard, pulling his snot back in. They were still too young to be beaten by their cousin, having only ever watched their older cousins get beaten until their faces were bruised and swollen. In their eyes, the sky might be vast, but Cousin Qinghe was the greatest of all.

Pei Qinghe said, "I am going to be the clan head. From now on, you will both listen to me. Do you agree?"

Pei Feng nodded repeatedly and shouted, "I agree!"

Pei Yue puffed out his little chest, his voice even louder than Pei Feng’s: "I will listen to whatever Cousin says."

Pei Qinghe turned to look at Lady Lu.

Lady Lu’s blood pressure surged, and her face darkened: "They are still young and know nothing."

Pei Qinghe nodded slightly: "Grandmother is right. Then I shall ask the sensible elders."

Lady Lu: "..."

Pei Qinghe ignored her grandmother’s ugly expression, turned around, and said in a clear, resonant voice: "I ask the elders of each branch to come forward. I have important matters to discuss."

There were five branches of the Pei family’s main lineage, plus twelve minor and distant branches. Originally, the head of each branch was a man; now that the men were dead, the women had to step up.

Before long, a dozen elderly women came trembling forward. The oldest, Lady Li, was eighty-one years old, her hair completely white, her eyes dim, her hearing poor, and her back hunched. In terms of seniority, Lady Lu had to address her as Aunt.

Pei Qinghe first bowed to the elders, then looked up, her bright, sharp gaze sweeping across them: "The Pei family has suffered a catastrophe. The three hundred or so of us who remain must survive."

"The Pei family needs someone to stand at the forefront and uphold the household. I nominate myself to be the head of the Pei clan. Do any of you elders have any objections?"

"I, this old woman, support young Qinghe." Lady Li’s hearing seemed to have returned; she reached out, found Pei Qinghe’s hand, and gripped it tightly: "Young Qinghe has been capable since she was a child. In this situation, only young Qinghe can hold the family together."

Someone immediately chimed in: "I agree as well."

"Qinghe is skilled, brave, and resourceful. She is the most suitable person to be the clan head."

At the critical moment, Pei Qinghe had stepped forward to negotiate with the entourage of the Prince of Zhangwu. Regardless of the methods she used, she had secured a large amount of cotton clothing, money, grain, and medicine. She even had guards from the Eastern Palace escorting them. These were tangible, real benefits.

The clan members were not stupid. If they didn't support Pei Qinghe, were they supposed to support the whistling Pei Feng or the snot-nosed Pei Yue?

Seeing her own granddaughter be so capable, Lady Lu still wore a sour face, her selfishness practically written all over her.

"What time is it now? Why are we still hung up on gender? If it weren't for the Crown Prince’s intercession, the men of the Pei family would all be dead. Now, we are left with these ignorant little boys who are of no use at all."

"Sister-in-law, you are over sixty, and your health isn't great. There’s no guarantee you’ll make it to Youzhou without dying on the way. What is there left to be so stubborn about?"

The speaker was Lady Chen of the second branch, a sister-in-law of Lady Lu. Lady Chen was two years younger than Lady Lu, also over sixty, with a sharp, blunt temperament.

Lady Lu was so choked up she could barely speak, finally managing to utter: "This girl is too wild and too bold. I fear she will bring disaster upon us later."

Lady Chen replied with a deadpan expression: "The Pei family has already committed the grave crime of treason. Two hundred and ninety-seven heads have been chopped off, and the family assets have been confiscated. What greater disaster could there possibly be?"

Lady Lu: "..."