Chapter 18: 018 — Persuading Through Reason

The serving maid Ink Fragrance was not very old, around twenty or so, with a clear, lovely face, and not yet married.

There had been a time when Fei Yinghuan suddenly took a fancy to the idea of "a beauty adding incense to one's night reading." So he went through a woman broker and bought a musician-household girl who could compose poetry and excel at calligraphy, assigned her exclusively to grind ink, arrange books, recite poetry, and deliver late-night snacks, and gave this girl the name Ink Fragrance.

Gradually, the young master Fei became somewhat addicted to this.

His wife, née Lou, though jealous, neither wept nor made a scene, nor did she beat or scold the maid; instead, she made a great show of arranging a concubine for her husband.

Not a chamber maid, nor a base slave-concubine, but a formal concubine. This serving maid Ink Fragrance, of the debased registers, was sent a matchmaker, given betrothal gifts, had a contract drawn and reported to the authorities, and was grandly brought in as a proper commoner concubine!

This matter disgraced the family's reputation, its nature quite vile.

The old patriarch of the Fei clan, upon hearing the news, flew into a great rage, gave Fei Yinghuan a fierce beating, and strictly forbade any woman from appearing in his study, lest feminine charms distract him from his studies and the examinations.

Ink Fragrance, who had exclusively managed the study, was then turned into the young madam's personal maid. Apart from sweeping the courtyards, she also ran errands delivering messages and greeting guests.

Clearly, that young mistress of the Fei household was no simple character.

And Ink Fragrance was no simple person either; after serving the young mistress for many years, she had never once been caught in a fatal mistake and beaten to death!

Leading the brother and sister into the first courtyard, Ink Fragrance introduced with a smile: "The main rooms are where Steward Fei's family lives. The young master's page boys stay in the eastern wing rooms. Three are still empty now; you two can pick whichever you like."

Zhao Han did not go to look at the wing rooms, but instead carefully observed the main house.

Steward Fei truly lived up to being a high-ranking household slave; his quality of life far surpassed that of a small landlord. The house he lived in was spacious and bright, and even had its own central hall belonging to his family.

Zhao Han asked curiously, "Why doesn't Uncle Wei live here?"

Ink Fragrance said with a laugh, "Master Wei finds the house too big; he really can't get used to it, and insisted on moving out to live in a small place."

Master Wei?

It seemed Wei Jianxiong held very high status!

The brother and sister quickly finished touring the three vacant rooms in the eastern wing. The furnishings and layout were exactly the same. Not shabby, not luxurious, the style tending toward plain simplicity.

Zhao Han pointed at random: "This one will do."

Ink Fragrance said, "I'll have someone bring over a bed, bedding, a towel, and a washbasin. For the remaining daily necessities, you'll have to buy them with your own money."

Zhao Han asked, "Where do we eat?"

Ink Fragrance answered, "Madam Ling will arrange it."

"Who is Madam Ling?" Zhao Han was completely baffled.

Ink Fragrance was still smiling, only now the smile carried a hint of mockery: "Madam Ling is Steward Fei's principal wife."

A steward who was a household slave, and his wife could be addressed as "Madam"?

And Ink Fragrance had deliberately emphasized "principal wife" — could it be that this Steward Fei could even take concubines?

This was truly seeing ghosts!

After Ink Fragrance left, Zhao Zhenfang finally began to speak.

The little girl ran around the room, spinning with her arms outstretched, bouncing and skipping as she said, "Second Brother, this room is so big! Are we going to live here from now on?"

Zhao Han sternly admonished her: "We'll live here, but this house is not ours. You must never treat this as your own home. When we've grown up, Second Brother will take you to find our elder sister."

"Mm, I'll remember," Zhao Zhenfang said. "As long as we can find Big Sister, I'd be fine living in an even smaller place."

Not long after, another serving woman came, helped the brother and sister make the beds and fold the quilts, and also left behind a chamber pot, washbasin, toothbrush, and other daily necessities.

There was a toothbrush, but no tooth powder.

Tooth powder had to be bought oneself, and that stuff was a bit expensive. Its main ingredient was salt, with added Chinese medicines; the high-grade stuff even had fragrances added, leaving a fresh, sweet scent with every breath.

If you couldn't bear to buy tooth powder, you just brushed with plain water.

Being provided a toothbrush free of charge was also a privilege of the Loyal and Diligent Academy; among the low-ranking servants outside, very few ever brushed their teeth.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Zhao Han was tidying up the room when suddenly someone pounded madly on the door.

Opening the door to look, Zhao Han immediately laughed. Outside stood more than ten little brats.

Three page boys dressed in silk stood shoulder to shoulder at the very front; their arrogant expressions made it obvious they had come to make trouble.

The other little brats were dressed rather more plainly, and nearly every one of their clothes had patches.

"I am called Zither Heart, specially assigned to serve the young master in playing the zither!"

"I am called Sword Courage, specially assigned to serve the young master in practicing the sword!"

"I am called Wine Soul, specially assigned to serve the young master in drinking!"

The three boys announced themselves, their tone brimming with pride; they had been selected from among many household-born servants.

First, they had to be handsome and clear-featured; second, they had to be clever and quick-witted; they even had to undergo regular examinations in their cultural lessons.

Among the household slaves, they were the best of the best, and in the future they would be groomed as key talents.

Clearly, Zhao Han was not the only one receiving cultivation; whoever developed best in the future would become the head steward of the Ehu Fei clan!

Zhao Han fought hard to suppress his laughter, finding it extremely difficult, simply because these names were far too cringey.

Qinxin, Jiandan, Jiupo…

Was this supposed to be wuxia or xianxia?

Fei Yinghuan liked to show off; even the names he gave his page boys were this flamboyant.

"What are you laughing at?" Qinxin demanded.

Jiandan also said, "No laughing, behave yourself!"

Jiupo threatened, "We've already asked around. You're a boy the young master picked up on the road. Don't think you're some special favorite; if you dare disobey, we'll beat you to death. Now kneel and kowtow. Qinxin is the eldest brother, Jiandan is the second brother, and I am the third brother. Kowtow and acknowledge us as your brothers, and from now on we'll be family; if anyone bullies you, we'll protect you too!"

"Kneel!" Qinxin and Jiandan barked in unison.

"Kneel! Kneel!"

The dozen or so little brats behind them all shouted together.

Zhao Han found this highly amusing and asked with a smile, "How old are you all?"

Jiupo seemed to be the most talkative; not only did he give his own age, he also answered for the other two: "Qinxin is fourteen, Jiandan is thirteen, I'm also thirteen. How old are you?"

Zhao Han said with a straight face, "I'm sixteen, my sister's fifteen — both older than you. The three of you, kneel down this instant and call us Elder Brother and Elder Sister!"

The three of them stared blankly, looking at Zhao Han, who was a head shorter than them, then at Zhao Zhenfang, who had just started losing her baby teeth.

The hell kind of fifteen or sixteen is this?

"You're lying!"

"Nonsense!"

"No way you're older than me!"

The three reacted fiercely, as if they felt their intelligence had been insulted.

Jiu Po suddenly shouted, "Get him!"

A dozen or so little brats immediately lunged forward. Zhao Han smoothly shut the door and swiftly dropped the latch.

"Agh!"

No one knew who it was, but whoever charged at the very front got his nose smashed by the door panel, blood streaming out.

Zhao Zhenfang was somewhat alarmed. "Second Brother, there are so many of them."

Zhao Han laughed. "Don't be afraid."

Jiu Po roared through the door, "If you're a real man, come out right now! Don't hide inside like a cowardly turtle!"

Zhao Han called back with a laugh, "A dozen against one — and you call yourselves real men? If we're talking real men, then one-on-one!"

"One-on-one it is! Get out here, quick." Ji'an Dan spoke up at once. He attended Fei Yinghuan during sword practice and had picked up a few moves on the side, priding himself on being unbeatable among all the Fei household servant boys.

Zhao Han laughed. "Swear it!"

Ji'an Dan immediately shouted, "I swear to a one-on-one duel. If I go back on my word, may I fall into a latrine pit and drown."

What a vicious oath — a ruthless one, this kid!

"Open the door, quick! Second Brother already swore it," Jiu Po was still bellowing.

Zhao Han told his little sister to step back a few paces, positioned himself sideways, then suddenly pulled the latch open.

"Agh!"

"Get off me!"

"Get up, quick!"

A heap of little brats tumbled through the doorway. Jiu Po, whose tone had been the most insolent, was crushed conspicuously at the very bottom.

After much scrambling, the children picked themselves up in a sorry state.

Afraid his clothes would tear, Ji'an Dan stripped off his silk outer robe, then cupped his fists with great solemnity and said, "Please, instruct me!"

Zhao Han had trained too... in military-style boxing.

Ji'an Dan was fourteen, after all — a full head taller than Zhao Han, and having been well-fed year-round, he was considerably stronger as well.

The boy swung a punch at him. Zhao Han immediately ducked low to evade, simultaneously driving a straight punch into the opponent's kidney.

"Ah!"

Ji'an Dan's face twisted in agony, both hands clutching his kidneys. The blow doubled him over, leaving him in too much pain to speak.

Zhao Han pressed his advantage, following up with a rear cross punch that slammed hard into Ji'an Dan's stomach.

"Urgh!"

Ji'an Dan's stomach churned violently; he nearly threw up his lunch.

The final blow — a right hook — blossomed across his face.

Dizzy and reeling, Ji'an Dan dropped to the ground on his backside.

The scene fell instantly silent, broken only by Ji'an Dan's groans of pain. The dozen or so little brats were all scared witless.

Zhao Han raised his arm and pointed at Jiu Po. "You want a one-on-one too?"

Jiu Po said at once, "A... a gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists!"

Qin Xin hurriedly chimed in, "Right, a gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists! Hitting people like that is a disgrace to refinement!"

Servant boys of a juren indeed — they even knew the phrase 'a disgrace to refinement.' They must have read a few of the sages' books.

Zhao Han began waving a banner to borrow authority, puffing out his chest and raising his head. "This martial skill of mine was personally taught by Master Wei. If anyone objects, you're welcome to spar with me anytime!"

Master Wei's disciple?

The children stared blankly again, feeling as if they had just kicked an iron plate.

As if he had mastered Sichuan opera face-changing, Jiu Po's expression instantly shifted to an ingratiating smile, his whole frame shrinking by three-tenths. "We're all brothers here — you can't know a man till you've fought him..."

"Shut up!"

Zhao Han cut him off sharply. "If we're brothers, then we ought to sort out seniority. Who's the elder brother, and who's the younger?"

The children were stunned, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Zhao Han raised his fist. "The one with the bigger fist is the elder brother. Now kneel and call me Elder Brother!"

No one answered; none could bring themselves to lose face.

Zhao Han suddenly seized Jiu Po by the collar and demanded, "Will you kneel or not?"

"I'll kneel!"

Jiu Po hastily dropped to his knees, thinking a wise man doesn't court immediate disaster — today's humiliation could be repaid tenfold another day. He kowtowed at once and cried out, "Jiu Po pays respects to Elder Brother."

Zhao Han then pointed at his little sister. "You must also pay respects to Elder Sister."

His face burning with shame, fists clenched, Jiu Po steeled himself and called out, "Pays respects to Elder Sister."

Zhao Zhenfang was a little frightened. "St... stand up and speak."

Zhao Han then asked Qin Xin, "And you?"

Qin Xin ground his teeth and said, "I'd rather die than kneel!"

Zhao Han immediately made as if to strike him.

"Brother!" Qinxin dropped to her knees with a thud.

After this bout of persuasion through reason, all dozen or so children were thoroughly convinced, and one after another they knelt to pay respects to their elder brother and eldest sister.

At just six years old, Zhao Zhenfang suddenly found herself with a dozen pesky little brothers.

Jiandan, his lip split, was still a bit dizzy. He asked cautiously, "Brother, can we go now?"

"No hurry."

Zhao Han fetched his bundle, took out ten taels of silver, and pressed it into Jiandan's hands. "Brothers, today we've gone from blows to friendship. Since I've accepted your kneeling and become your elder brother, I should show some regard. Especially Brother Jiandan, with the corner of his mouth scraped raw — take this silver and buy some food to build yourself up. As for what's left, share it among the brothers for tea."

"Brother is generous!"

The pack of little brats was instantly overjoyed.

Qinxin, Jiandan, and Jiupo, though they wore silk, had hardly any money at all.

The silk clothes were work uniforms that Fei Yinghuan had provided for his close servant boys, just to show off.

Even when they occasionally received rewards, they had to hand them over to their parents, who were also household servants of the Fei clan.

Ten taels of silver, even split among a dozen people, counted as a huge sum to them.

The humiliation of being forced to kneel just moments ago vanished in an instant, and every one of them was cheering and clamoring to divide the silver.

In the end, Qinxin, Jiandan, and Jiupo each took two taels, and the remainder was divided among the other children.

The group's internal unity was shattered on the spot. The rest of the children felt it was unfair, thinking Qin, Ji'an, and Jiu were far too stingy.

Their newly acknowledged elder brother had said the silver was to be shared among everyone.

Why should the three of you take six taels out of ten?

Jiandan was also somewhat displeased, feeling that since his lip had been split, he deserved a larger share — Qinxin and Jiupo shouldn't get the same as him.

(End of chapter)