Chapter Ten Physiognomy

  "Northeast? Are you referring to the Liao State, Master Chan? That's unlikely. The Liao State and our Great Song have been brotherly nations for nearly a hundred years, with both sides enjoying peace and stability. Is it possible that we're going to take up arms again? Why haven't any traveling merchants brought back even a hint of news?"

  He glanced at Xue Laozhang's stunned expression, shook his head lightly, and didn't continue speaking. Since he was a young man, he had been to the western border, and for over ten years, he had almost always lived on the frontier. He knew that Western Xia was small and weak, and to the Song Dynasty, it was just a minor annoyance, relying only on the danger of the horizontal mountains. After the Song army took control of the horizontal mountains, they also occupied Qingtang, linked up with local tribes to surround Western Xia, forcing them to fight on two fronts, and the situation had turned around. Moreover, as Western Xia's agricultural economy developed, the fundamental Party items aristocratic children were no longer as hardworking as before. After losing the horizontal mountain tribes, the bravest warriors in their army were mostly Han soldiers, which was a threat to the ruling Party items aristocracy. The balance of victory in the Song-Xia war, which had lasted for over a hundred years, had slowly tilted towards the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Western Xia was no longer a real threat to the Song Dynasty. However, what posed a true threat to the Song Dynasty was a new force he saw when he visited the northeast not long ago. Thinking of what he had seen and heard on his journey, Zhi Shan couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

  Xue Laozhang saw the look of displeasure and hastily changed the subject: "Master Chan, I've long heard that you're well-versed in physiognomy. Today, my several sons are all present, please take a look at them and see what their fortunes are like."

  Zhishan smiled and said, "Alright!" Then the four sons of the Xue family walked in front of Master Zhishan one by one. Master Zhishan looked at their palms and wrote down a judgment for each of them. To everyone's surprise, they were all destined to become high-ranking officials, with the lowest being a provincial governor. Old Man Xue listened from the side, laughing so hard that his mouth was almost closed, but he said, "Master, don't try to humor me. I'm just a humble commoner, and these two kids don't even study poetry or books, how can they possibly attain such high positions?"

  "Xue Gong, I am speaking the truth, according to the physiognomy book, whatever it says about you is what I say, not a single word or sentence is false."

  Xue Liangyu whispered to Xue Liangchen with a cold smile, "I think that Zhishan is just an ordinary Jianghu practitioner, speaking some pleasant words to deceive Father and swindle some money. Our family can already boast of having a county magistrate, how can both of us become state officials? Isn't this a joke?"

  Xue Liangchen also had some doubts, but he was a cautious person and said in a low voice: "Fourth brother, don't say any more, be careful not to let that guy hear it!"

  "What if I heard it? I'm not afraid of him!" Xue Liangyu sneered, he turned his head to glance at Zhou Ping, and a plan emerged in his mind. He took advantage of the conversation among the people on the stage, walked over to Zhou Ping's side, pulled him to his own side, and whispered: "Later you go to the monk's place and let him read your fortune!" Zhou Ping listened from the side, knowing that Xue Liangyu wanted to trick the monk, he didn't say a word, just nodded.

  "Dad, someone has come from outside and says they have something to find you about!" Xue Liangyu saw that everything was ready, so he walked over to Xue Laozhang's side and said. Xue Laozhang had no choice but to apologize to Master Zhishan and leave. As he was leaving, Xue Liangyu gave Zhou Ping a signal with his eyes, and Zhou Ping understood and walked up to Master Zhishan, singing a flattering tune: "Please, Master, take a look at me!"

  Zhi Shan nodded, looked at Zhou Ping's palm, and his face suddenly changed. He raised his head again to look at Zhou Ping's facial features, and muttered to himself: "This is indeed strange!"

  As a transmigrator deeply influenced by atheistic education, Zhou Ping naturally held a superior attitude towards physiognomy, this traditional culture. Seeing Zhi Shan like that, he couldn't help but feel a few doubts and asked: "Is there something strange?"

  "Look at your palm lines, everything before the age of 24 is a complete blank, it's as if you came out of nowhere! Master Zhi Shan held Zhou Ping's hand tightly and observed the palm lines while scratching his head: "But everyone in the world is born after ten months of pregnancy, did you come into this world looking like this?"

  "Ah!" Zhou Ping couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He had crossed over at the age of 24, and yet this monk was able to see even that. Could it be that the person before him was truly a high-ranking monk with great spiritual power?

  "Didn't I say so?" asked Master Zhao Shan, seeing Zhou Ping like this.

  Zhou Ping hastily replied, "I report to the master, two years ago I had a serious illness and lost my past memories. I have been working as a farmhand in Xue Gongzhuang ever since. It must be because of this reason that you can't see my past experiences!"

  "Ah-ha!" Zhi Shan looked at Zhou Ping's face, nodded slightly with a mixture of doubt and certainty, before releasing his grip on Zhou Ping's right hand.

  Zhou Ping rubbed his sore wrist and asked cautiously: "Master, but I don't know what will happen to me in the future?"

  Zhi Shan looked at Zhou Ping's face carefully, and after a while, he said: "Your past is a complete blank, and your future is also a mess. However, judging from the palm lines, I'm afraid that the wealth and prosperity of the Xue family brothers all originated from you!"

  "Is it from me?" Zhou Ping muttered to himself, and Master Zishan's words could be interpreted in many ways. It could mean that Zhou Ping alone had achieved great success and prosperity, or that they would gain a great fortune by sacrificing Zhou Ping as the first offering. At this point, Zhou Ping no longer dared to treat the monk as an ordinary Jianghu practitioner, and was just about to ask more questions when Xue Laozhang returned from outside with two gourds in hand, laughing: "Master, I've brought back some good wine! Shall we drink together and get drunk?"

  "Xue Gong still knows my temperament!" Master Zhi Shan sucked his nose, turned around and sat down. Others had already set up the tables and chairs, Xue Lao Zhang sat in the first seat, Master Zhi Shan sat opposite him, the four Xue brothers sat crosswise as companions, Zhou Ping and two other servants poured wine and served dishes on the side. After three rounds of wine, Xue Lao Zhang asked: "Liáng Chén, I heard you went to catch thieves with Liu Sheng earlier, how was it?"

  Xue Liangchen hastily put down his wine cup and replied respectfully, "Reporting to Father, although we did not capture the thieves this time, our gains are not small!" He then explained how the thieves had ambushed the Dayu Hall the night before last, and County Magistrate Zhu Zhi had fallen into their trap, causing his army to scatter. However, Xue Liangchen had taken advantage of the situation to drive away the thieves, seizing a large amount of wealth in the process. Upon returning, he was heavily praised by the county magistrate, who appointed him as acting county magistrate to continue dealing with the thieves. He explained everything that had happened, and finally pointed to Zhou Ping beside him, saying, "This time, thanks to Ah Ping's plan, we were able to drive away the thieves without harming anyone. I have already made him my Lang Dang."

  "Alright, alright, the goods can be forgotten, no one died which is most important. We'll distribute the rewards after dinner!" Mr. Xue said this and turned to speak warmly to Zhou Ping: "Ah Ping, since you've become the husband of my good daughter, you're now a member of the Xue family, just like our own flesh and blood. Come, take a seat!" As he spoke, Mr. Xue pointed to the empty space beside Xue Liangchen.

  "Yes, sir!" Zhou Ping hastily stepped forward and sat down on the floor. Mr. Xue poured a bowl of wine and handed it to Zhou Ping, saying: "Come, have a drink!"

  "Thank you, Uncle!" Zhou Ping took the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. Mr. Xue turned to Xue Liangchen and asked, "About how much wealth did we gain this time?"

  "The total value of the livestock and goods is approximately over 800 yuan, and after distributing to fellow archers and the Liu brothers' families, which amounts to about 300 yuan, there are still over 500 yuan left!"

  "Ah!" Xue Zhenren nodded: "Take 50 taels and give it to Ah Ping!"

  "Dad!"

  "Father-in-law!"

  It was Zhou Ping and Xue Liangyu and their eldest son Xue Liangyun who spoke in unison, all three of them showing a look of astonishment on their faces.

  "There must be rewards for achievements and punishments for mistakes, this is the ancestral teachings of my Xue family. Ah Ping has made a great contribution to defeating the enemy, he has achieved the first merit, I naturally want to reward him!" Mr. Xue made a gesture to silence his sons and continued: "Ah Ping, there is a piece of land on the east side of the village, also seven mu, you can take it and cultivate it yourself. The thatched hut next to it is yours too. With this fifty taels of silver, you can find a wife and start a family!"

  "This old man is buying people's hearts, he must be buying people's hearts!" Zhou Ping kept muttering to himself in his heart, but on his face was a look of gratitude and tears, as he bowed down to Mr. Xue and said: "Sir, you have shown great kindness, how can I repay it?"

  "Get up!" Xue Laozhang stretched out his hand to help Zhou Ping up: "You don't have to thank me, these are just the rules of my Xue family. My Hedong Xue family has been here for hundreds of years since Yifeng Gong moved to Hedong, and we have survived through wars and prospered because everyone in the clan is equal in wealth and status. How can it be that you, as a good minister's son-in-law, have many children but are too poor to start a family or business?"

  Zhou Ping was moved by Xue Lao's attitude towards him. It turned out that the Xue family was originally from Hedong, one of the six great surnames of Guanzhong (Wei, Pei, Liu, Xue, Yang, and Du) during the Han and Tang dynasties. After the fall of Shu Han, the Western Jin dynasty relocated over 5,000 households of the Xue family from Shu to Hedong to prevent the resurgence of Shu Han loyalists. As a result, the Xue family took root in Hedong. When the Northern Dynasties were plagued by war, the Xue family consolidated local power in Hedong and adopted a policy of "relying on the river for self-defense" against various minority regimes. When the central government was strong, they would temporarily submit to it by serving as officials in Hedong's counties, preserving their existing strength and becoming one of the de facto rulers of Hedong. To survive in this harsh environment, the Xue family developed a unique set of clan rules: distributing wealth relatively evenly among different branches within the clan to minimize internal strife over wealth; and absorbing talented individuals from outside the clan through the "Langdang" system to strengthen their own power. Although centuries had passed, these clan rules were still being followed by Xue Lao.

  Zhou Ping and Xue Zhangren exchanged a few words, then retreated to the side to eat some wine and food. Later in the evening, Xue Liangchen brought over a backpack and handed it to Zhou Ping, saying: "There are fifty taels of silver inside for you, count them carefully and don't lose any!"