Just after noon that day, a baby’s cries rang out from the large house. A series of crisp, thunderous firecrackers shattered the quiet of the small mountain village.
In the main room on the left, Aunt Liu, the midwife, beamed as she told the baby’s mother, “It’s a boy!”
Everyone already knew that the He family was about to welcome a precious child. Hearing the celebratory firecrackers, neighbors and clan members soon came by to offer their congratulations.
The birth of He Peizhen’s eldest son, to a man of the Qing dynasty appointed as a Fengzheng Grand Master, certainly brought great joy to the small mountain village. But He Peizhen, now a father, was a thousand li away, serving as an assistant prefect in Qingyuan County, Zhili…
