Chapter 41: It Oppressed Everyone Alike, with Equal and Brutal Indifference

"Then I shall trouble you." Su Changling pondered for a moment and nodded. As she departed, she casually tossed the long sword, scabbard and all, into the girl’s arms.

Cheng Yingxue stumbled slightly under the weight of the several-pound blade, but she said nothing, merely holding the three-foot-long, icy-cold steel tightly to her chest.

"Fairy, why must you... ah, forget it." Seeing this, Cheng Mingye could only look up and offer a wry, bitter smile. But when he recalled the attitudes of his aged father and the other elders of the clan, he could only exhale a long, heavy sigh of ambiguous meaning.

At this point, he knew there was no room for reversal. Yet, as the girl’s only paternal uncle and a man who had weathered the storms of the business world for years, he found it truly impossible to let go of Cheng Yingxue, a rare, natural-born talent for commerce that appeared perhaps once in a hundred years.

"Not a single word of what happened in the hall today is to leave your lips. Otherwise, do not blame Mingye for being heartless—you will face the full weight of the family law!"

"Yunniang, come with me."

After seeing Su Changling off, Cheng Mingye turned back to warn the gathered kin. Once he had dismissed them, he beckoned for the girl to follow him.

The uncle and niece bypassed the main hall and wound their way to the back courtyard. Only when they reached the veranda of a small garden, where even the serving maids were out of earshot, did Cheng Mingye finally come to a slow stop.

"Yunniang, about severing ties with the family... have you truly thought this through?" The man spoke in a low, hesitating voice, his brow clouded with an indescribable sorrow. Cheng Yingxue fell into a brief silence. "...Uncle, you know."

"Yunniang has never been one to act on impulse."

"I know, that is why... alas... in the end, I have failed your father." Cheng Mingye sighed repeatedly, the distress etched into his features appearing only to deepen.

The young girl lowered her eyelashes slightly. "Uncle, you have done nothing to fail him."

"It is simply that my ideals and those of the Cheng family are incompatible—there was no fate between us."

She knew that her uncle, who could be just as stubborn as her grandfather when he chose to be, had truly changed his mind in the end. It was merely that her connection to the Cheng family was too thin, and with her grandfather and the others, whose minds were steeped in ancient dogmas to the very marrow, refusing to yield, there was little her uncle could do.

She could not allow her uncle, who was approaching the age of "knowing the decree of heaven," to be burdened with the stigma of being "unfilial."

The constraints of ritual and law never bound only women. Their inherent irrationality oppressed everyone beneath them, blindly and equally.

Cheng Yingxue curled her fingers unconsciously. The cold, solid touch of the sword scabbard in her palm instantly steadied her heart—no matter what, she had successfully taken the first step toward breaking free from those boundless shackles.

She did not know where her future might lead, but perhaps, regardless of the outcome, her journey could provide a small point of reference for those who came after. That would be enough.

"...But I promised your father that I would take good care of you both," Cheng Mingye’s voice grew hoarse. "And yet, I have ended up 'taking care' of you right out of the Cheng family."

"If I had known... I should have let you join me in business much sooner."

"If I had, you would likely have achieved enough by now to make your grandfather and the others change their minds... and you would not have been forced to this point of severing ties."

"I was wrong, Yunniang." The man covered his face with his hands, his eyes rimmed with a quiet, burning red. "I always thought that for a young woman, finding a family that respects and cherishes you, living a life of peace and stability without a single wave, was the best possible outcome."

"That is why, when the matchmaker from the Shen family came, I was moved. I have dealt with the Shen family, and I know their second son's character—aside from his frail health, he is truly a rare and decent man—but it never occurred to me that you could be a merchant, just as we are."

"Actually... even if you had brought me into the business world earlier, Uncle, nothing would have changed." The girl tightened her grip on her arm, feeling a bit helpless. She wanted to say something to comfort the middle-aged man, who was clearly mired in self-reproach, but she did not know how to begin.

"Because we are not simply struggling against Grandfather and the others," Cheng Yingxue said, kicking the stone steps with the tip of her shoe. "We are fighting against the old notions that have influenced them for seventy or eighty years... against the 'rituals' and 'rules' that have been preached in this world for who knows how long."

"Uncle, Grandfather and the others have lived their entire lives within those old rules."

"For us to rashly try to break their conviction is no different than denying the past few decades of their lives, denying the very meaning of their existence."

"Of course they wouldn't be willing to accept that."

"So, even if I had achieved something in business... nothing would have changed." The girl’s voice grew softer. "And Uncle, you were not wrong."

"In this world, for the vast majority of women, having a family that is willing to respect and cherish them, and living a life of peace, is indeed the best thing."

"It is just that I am not among that 'majority.' I simply do not like that path."

"Perhaps I have read too many books, and my heart has grown 'wild'." Cheng Yingxue smiled, half in self-mockery, half in earnest. "Having seen the vastness of the mountains and forests, I no longer wish to be a caged bird, however comfortable the cage may be."

"I know I have chosen a difficult road."

"But I believe I will not be the last woman in this world to choose it."

"Uncle, I never intended to be a benchmark or a role model for anyone," the girl’s eyes were clear and bright. "But I do want to leave some experience behind for them."

"Therefore, you need not worry about me."

"This is a choice I made myself, and I will see it through to the end."

"Well... very well. Since your mind is made up, I will say no more useless words." Cheng Mingye looked into the distance and exhaled slowly. It seemed he had been thoroughly persuaded by the girl, and he abandoned all thoughts of trying to dissuade her further.

"However, Yunniang, you may need this." The man lowered his gaze and pulled a thick stack of neatly organized banknotes from his sleeve.

Cheng Yingxue stared at the stack, her eyes widening uncontrollably. "Uncle, this is..."

"The profits from the businesses your father left behind, for this year." Cheng Mingye’s tone was exceptionally calm. "I had originally intended to give you the deeds and account books of those businesses as a gift for entering the trade."

"But as it stands, I fear it is no longer possible to bypass your grandfather and the others to hand them directly to you."

"So, take the surplus profits from this year instead. In any case, once you leave the Cheng family, whether you are doing business or simply living... you will need money everywhere you go."

"I will... have someone open a new account in your name at the bank." Cheng Mingye drew out his words slowly. He hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out to pat the top of the girl’s head.

"From now on, I will have half of the annual profits from these shops deposited into that account."

"Go, Yunniang. Leaving here is for the best."

"At least... you will not repeat the same path as Rou-niang."