Chapter 27

Historically, a fellow townsman of Xie An was dismissed from his post, and before returning home, he had a backlog of fifty thousand palm-leaf fans. To help his fellow townsman, Xie An took one fan for his own use. When the aristocrats and commoners of the capital heard that Xie An was using a palm-leaf fan, they all scrambled to buy and imitate him, actually driving the price of the fans up several times!

As a vivid example of Xie An's demeanor, this event has been widely circulated, but the "fellow townsman" helped by Xie An did not leave his name. This gave Wang Yang room to play.

The meaning of the last two lines of the poem is: Fifty thousand palm-leaf fans fanning together are enough to break the harsh summer; even if there is only half a day of cool breeze, the affection can last for ten thousand generations.

With affection, there can be repayment; with repayment back and forth, doesn't this matter have a clue?

The beauty of this poem lies in two places: First, sending a poem to a girl without being lewd. It is neither a frivolous word praising her beauty nor an expression of admiration. The whole poem is an ode to the Xie family's ancestors, which can be considered an ode to history, and it falls on the reason of repaying a debt on behalf of an ancestor, which can be considered reasonable and well-founded. Second, using this poem as the "written contract" for the ancestor's debt, which is the so-called "heart's contract." In this way, she will definitely read it and will not throw it away directly as the little fatty said.

However, although Wang Yang found an excuse to send the letter and make her read it, it was ultimately a clever trick. Young Xie Xie Niangzi is not a fool; can she not see the trick here? The key is whether she buys it.

Wang Yang was not sure of Young Xie Xie Niangzi's personality. Seeing that there was no sound in the carriage, he felt uneasy.

Xiao Ning saw her mistress looking at this piece of paper again and again, her pretty face becoming colder and colder, and the fingers pinching the letter paper becoming tighter and tighter, so she asked carefully: "My Xie Xie Niangzi, this letter..."

"Catch him!" Xie Xinghan's pretty white fingers clenched, and the letter paper became a ball.

Xiao Ning said loudly: "My Xie Xie Niangzi orders, catch them!"

"Run!" Wang Yang grabbed Yuyang Le Pang and ran, but Yuyang Le Pang didn't react and stood there motionless.

The four Xie family servants rushed up together, and suddenly countless white powder poured down like a galaxy, covering the sky!

It was flour!

This was the flour Wang Yang had ordered the strong man to buy at the wine shop in advance to make his escape.

Along with the flour, a handful of copper coins was also scattered into the air.

"Pick up the money!" Wang Yang shouted.

The flour blinded eyes and splashed everywhere, the commoners scrambled to pick up the money, and the group of youths clamored together, the scene immediately falling into chaos!

Wang Yang, Yuyang Le Pang, and the strong man took this opportunity to run wildly outward!

"Don't... don't run anymore... no, can't, really... can't... run anymore." Yuyang Le Pang bent over, panting heavily.

"Did... did we shake them off?" Wang Yang was also exhausted. Those few Xie family servants were too desperate; they chased them for three streets with flour on their heads!

The strong man had the best physical fitness. Seeing that Wang Yang and the other two were no longer running, he turned back to see if there were any pursuers following them.

"Good brother, thanks to you today, I will remember this favor! Let's go, come home with me, let's have a good drink."

Wang Yang dared not go home with the little fatty. Because the little fatty's father was the Jingzhou Assistant Governor. Back then, Lu Su advised Liu Bei to reuse Pang Tong, saying that Pang Tong was not a talent for a hundred miles, but should hold important positions like Assistant Governor or Chief Clerk.

In the Southern Dynasties, the power of the Bieja was not as great as in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but he was still a high-ranking local official, similar to a deputy governor. Although the little fatty couldn't tell if his identity was true or false, his father might not be so easily fooled.

"Another day, I have something to do today. I'll visit you after I'm busy." Wang Yang decided to get the two thousand coins first and then proceed according to the original plan.

"What other day? Today! Besides, don't you need two thousand coins? I don't have much money on me, just one string. Come home with me for a drink and take the money by the way."

One string is one thousand coins strung together.

Ancient people generally had three ways to carry money when going out: one was in their pockets, one was in a money bag, and one was hung on their bodies or wrapped around their waists.

There were usually two places for pockets: one was sewn into the sleeves. The opening of the pocket was at the elbow, in the opposite direction to the cuff. As long as the bag opening was tightened, the items inside would not fall out. So there was a medical book in the Eastern Jin Dynasty called *Emergency Prescriptions Kept Up the Sleeve*, meaning a book that could be carried with you in your pocket, just like a modern book called a "pocket book."

The second was the "triangular" pocket formed after the belt and the lapel of the upper garment overlapped, and putting things inside was the so-called "carrying in the bosom." The Song Dynasty text Chan has the line "Suspect me of carrying the Dharma in my bosom, untie my waist to shake out my broken skirt." The so-called "carrying the Dharma in the bosom" is not just a metaphor, but that ancient people could really carry things in their bosoms.

In the Southern Qi Dynasty, silver notes had not yet been invented, and gold and silver had not become the mainstream transaction currency among the people. Even if there were differences in the value of copper coins, the Southern Dynasties, except for the Chen Dynasty, had never minted large coins heavier than five units of weight. Although ancient coins were allowed to circulate, such as the "Daquan Dangqian" of the Eastern Wu period or the "Zhi Wubai Zhu" made by the Shu Han, these "large-denomination coins" were not many after all, and they depreciated greatly during use, so even the rich would not carry too many copper coins with them.

Should I take one thousand coins first?

No, one thousand is not enough; I must get two thousand.

Wang Yang said: "It's really inconvenient for me today. Drinking another day is the same. Strong man, you go with Young Master Le to get the money."

Seeing that Wang Yang insisted on refusing, Yuyang Le Pang didn't force it anymore. Wang Yang called the strong man over and gave him a few instructions before letting the strong man go home with Yuyang Le Pang.

On the way, Yuyang Le Pang asked the strong man about Wang Yang. The strong man replied, "Without the master's permission, I dare not discuss the master's affairs." Yuyang Le Pang just thought the Wang clan of Langya had strict family rules and didn't take offense.

When the two arrived at the Bieja's mansion, the strong man upheld Wang Yang's intention and refused to enter the door, insisting on waiting outside. Yuyang Le Pang had no choice but to let him.

"Shuangji, go to my account and withdraw two thousand coins for the black-faced man outside the door."

"Young Master..." Shuangji stammered, his face showing difficulty.

Yuyang Le Pang didn't notice and walked into the courtyard, shouting: "Achang, you pick ten people, take sticks, and come with me to block that bastard Sun Duo!"

"Hurry up and come change my clothes! Don't let that bastard Sun Duo run away!"

Yuyang Le Pang shouted a few times before realizing something was wrong. The servants in the courtyard didn't come up to serve him as usual, but looked at him timidly, with a look of wanting to speak but stopping.

"What's wrong with you?" Yuyang Le Pang stopped and asked suspiciously.

"Rebellious son! You still have the face to come back! Come here! Take this rebellious son!"

Hearing his father's shout, Yuyang Le Pang shuddered. Not knowing what had happened, he hurried to run out of the mansion. Seven or eight servants went to stop him together. Yuyang Le Pang shouted: "Get out of my way!"

The servants didn't dare to really stop him, but they didn't dare to let the young master run away either. They could only block the road with their bodies while apologizing to the young master. Just as Yuyang Le Pang was about to force his way out, he was held down by two guards who jumped out from behind.

"Why are you catching me! What mistake did I make!" Yuyang Le Pang struggled loudly.

"Young Master, I'm sorry!" The guards escorted Yuyang Le Pang all the way to the front hall. In the hall, Yuyang Le Pang's father, Jingzhou Bieja Le Zhan, was waiting there angrily, holding a rattan stick.

"Rebellious son! Kneel down!"

"Dad—"

"Kneel down!"

Yuyang Le Pang didn't dare to resist and knelt directly in the middle of the hall.

"I'll beat you to death today, you dissolute, unlearned, rebellious son!"

Le Zhan didn't show mercy, and Yuyang Le Pang screamed in pain: "Ouch! Ah! Dad, you—ouch! Why are you hitting me!"

Le Zhan was hitting with excitement, scolding Yuyang Le Pang for being idle and causing trouble, but he didn't answer his son's question at all. A rattan stick flew back and forth, making Yuyang Le Pang scream like a slaughtered pig.

"Master Le, there is no need to be angry. It is not too late to ask clearly before taking action." A cold and exquisite young girl's voice sounded from the back hall.