Chapter 298: 296 A Good Wife at Home (Bonus Chapter for Big Boss Penguin)

At Goose Lake, the Fei residence.

Because the second and third sons had clamored to divide the family and split the property, the main line of the Goose Lake Fei clan had already been split into three.

The household registrations were divided, but they still lived in the same houses.

Moreover, boundaries had been clearly drawn — which courtyard belonged to which family — and ordinarily they did not wander into each other's quarters.

Two-thirds of the household slaves had left, and those who remained had all been converted to hired contracts. The shop managers and clerks in the trading houses, those who had formerly been household slaves, had now all been converted to hired laborers as well.

*Smack smack smack…*

"Ah! Madam, stop hitting me — this slave is about to be beaten to death!"

"Shouting that loudly — I'd say you're still a long way from death!"

"…"

The second son, Fei Yingqi, had a shrewish wife, Lady Zheng, and to this day dared not take a concubine.

This shrewish wife was vicious to the extreme; she had beaten a household slave to death before, and even now she had not reined herself in much.

Lady Zheng sat at that moment in the main hall, holding a bamboo switch, her expression dark and ruthless. "Do you know your mistake yet?"

"I know my mistake. This slave knows her mistake." The maidservant knelt on the floor, not daring even to let out a sob.

Lady Zheng laughed coldly. "You wretched slave, more lawless by the day. Don't think that just because Brother Han freed the household slaves, you lowlifes can really turn your fortunes around. Here at Goose Lake, the Fei family still has the final say, and Brother Han is the Fei family's son-in-law. If you go report this to the authorities — from the village to the town to the county — which official would dare make our Fei family lose face?"

The maidservant begged repeatedly, "Madam, spare my life. This slave won't dare anymore. This slave won't dare!"

"Hmph. Spare the rod for three days and they'll tear the roof off," Lady Zheng muttered in complaint. "And this Brother Han — really now. Dividing the family and splitting the property is one thing, but at least it should have been divided among our own people. Instead he gave land to those low, broken-down households outside — his elbow bends the wrong way. And the most unforgivable thing was setting you household slaves free!"

The maidservant immediately kowtowed. "In life, this slave is Madam's person; in death, Madam's ghost. In the next life, I will toil like an ox or horse and still serve Madam."

"At least you know your place. Get lost and go back." Only then did Lady Zheng let the matter drop.

Now, it must be said that the entire Goose Lake Fei clan treated their servants fairly normally. Even Old Master Fei, who had framed Zhao Han, was still relatively amiable and would not casually beat or scold the servants.

Only the second son's wife, Lady Zheng, had what could only be called sadistic tendencies.

When Zhao Han issued his land-distribution order and his slave-freeing order, many of the household slaves in the compounds of the old master, the eldest son, and the third son were willing to stay on and convert to hired labor.

Especially the women who were already married — their husbands had been allotted farmland, and they themselves could earn money working as hired help in the Fei household. Their little lives were growing more prosperous by the day.

Only in the second son's compound did every single household slave run away, not one remained — they could not endure Lady Zheng's abuse.

After the land-distribution work was finished, the propaganda officers withdrew en masse, leaving only a propaganda section at the county office. Although peasant associations had been formed, their core members had been reassigned to various posts, and now neither the village chief nor the peasant association dared offend the Fei family.

And so Lady Zheng forcibly summoned back her former servants.

Those with too much backbone she dared not provoke; she only dared summon back the meek-tempered ones. She forced them to sign hired-labor contracts, and the moment they disobeyed she beat them viciously. The beatings were even more frequent than before.

"Third Master, the Heavenly King Zhao has returned!"

It was already dark. The third son, Fei Yingke, was in his concubine's room. Hearing the news, he scrambled to get up and put on his clothes.

The second son's principal wife was so fierce that he had never dared take a concubine.

The third son's principal wife, however, was meek and gentle, and this fellow already had ten concubines, who had borne him six sons and thirteen daughters.

Concubines were not permitted to receive land allotments!

This was a rule set by Zhao Han, the purpose being to make concubines leave of their own accord and not cling to a man's power and wealth.

The third son, Fei Yingke, however, was a true romantic. One wife and ten concubines, and not one was willing to leave — they all thought he was a fine husband.

Fei Yingke finished dressing, opened the door, and asked, "Where is Regional Commander Zhao?"

The manservant answered, "It seems he did not wish to disturb the merchant and passenger boats. He has stopped between Hekou Town and Goose Lake Town and has not disembarked."

Fei Yingke said, "It is late; we must not go and disturb him. Prepare the ceremonial gifts. We will set out at midnight tonight and go to the riverbank at dawn tomorrow to pay our respects."

"Yes, I will go prepare at once." The manservant immediately left.

Although Fei Yingke had been outrageously unfilial, forcing his father to divide the family property, he treated his wives, concubines, and servants truly well, and his children were all filial too. Three of his sons had already been sent to serve as clerks, and two of them were certain to be promoted in this latest expansion.

The hired hands in the compound bustled about, working with heated enthusiasm, as if it were a New Year's festival.

In the neighboring courtyard, the second son, Fei Yingqi, was woken by the noise. Groggy, he muttered, "Has Third Brother's place been robbed?"

"So noisy — are people not allowed to sleep?!" Lady Zheng sat up and cursed.

Fei Yingqi grew even more irritated. Why wouldn't this vile woman just die? He deeply envied his third brother for having ten concubines. He himself had taken one in his early years, but his principal wife had beaten her to death.

Seeing her husband silent, Lady Zheng scolded, "Are you dead? Go see what's going on out there!"

Fei Yingqi could only call out, "Xilan! Xilan!"

After several calls with no answer, Lady Zheng cursed, "That wretched slave — just got beaten, and now she's playing deaf and dumb and ignoring calls again."

The couple had no choice but to get up themselves. By the time they dressed and stepped outside, they discovered that all the hired hands in their own courtyard had run off, and the servants under their children had vanished without a trace as well.

Fei Yingqi muttered, "Something big must have happened."

Lady Zheng was instantly terrified. "Could it be that government troops from Zhejiang have attacked? I said it all along, I said it all along — that Zhao Han, a mere household slave, how could he possibly defeat the court's soldiers…"

"Shut up!" Fei Yingqi roared.

"You dare shout at me?"

Lady Zheng immediately launched into a wailing lament: "Wuwuwuwu, I don't want to live anymore…"

"I can't be bothered to argue with you!" Fei Yingqi said in frustration.

Lady Zheng's usual tactics were: first weeping, then making a scene, then threatening to hang herself. If that didn't work, she would go back to her maiden home and wail. If that still didn't work, she would go wail in public, deliberately choosing moments when Fei Yingqi was gathered with friends.

After a few such episodes, Fei Yingqi had lost all face before his friends and never dared provoke his household's shrewish wife again.

Fei Yingqi ran toward his third brother's courtyard. There he saw sedan chairs, ceremonial gift chests, and many other items all brought out and placed in the outer courtyard.

"What major event has happened?" Fei Yingqi asked.

A hired hand smiled and said, "The Heavenly King Zhao has returned to Yanshan — he's on a boat by the river right now. Second Master, you had best be careful. I fear some hired hands may go file complaints in the middle of the night."

"Zhao… Zhao…"

A great terror rose in Fei Yingqi's heart. He knew where the hired hands from his own courtyard had gone.

It was not that some hired hands were going to file complaints — it was that every single one of them was on the way to file complaints!

"Dead, dead, dead."

Fei Yingqi walked back in a daze, his soul scattered, and ran straight into Mistress Zheng, who had come chasing after him.

Mistress Zheng asked, "Is it Zhejiang troops attacking?"

*Smack! *

Fei Yingqi slapped her across the face and roared, "You vile woman, you've ruined me!"

Stunned by the slap, Mistress Zheng dared not make a scene. She clutched her face and asked cautiously, "What on earth has happened?"

"Zhao Han is back, and all the servants in the house have run off!" Fei Yingqi just wanted to cry. He felt like a complete failure.

Of the three brothers in the family, the eldest had soared to success — no need to say more about him.

The third brother, though untalented, had one wife and ten concubines, a flock of children, and a harmonious household. The servants in his courtyard were willing to stay on and keep working for him. Wherever he went, he was surrounded by attendants, full of pomp and glory.

And what about himself?

Just one shrew of a wife, a yellow-faced hag, who made a scene everywhere and humiliated him. All the household slaves had been beaten into leaving. If he wanted to order a few servants around, he had to use force to drag the household slaves back into service.

"Wuwuwuwu," Fei Yingqi suddenly broke into mournful sobs, beating his chest and stamping his feet. "Why is my fate so bitter? Father, what kind of marriage did you arrange for me? Virtuous and gentle, a proper young lady from a good family — the matchmaker spun a dazzling tale, but where does any of it match this vicious shrew? Wuwuwuwu…"

Mistress Zheng stood dumbfounded for a long moment, then shrieked, "Go after them, quick! Chase down those cheap maidservants and lock them back up!"

In the pitch-black night, catching them would be a miracle.

Fei Yingqi suddenly burst into loud laughter. He went back to his room to fetch silver, then strolled out with a lantern, heading on foot to Ehu Town to visit the brothels.

Kept on a tight leash by his shrewish wife, he had not touched another woman in a long time. Things were likely going to turn out badly anyway — he might as well enjoy a moment of tenderness first and ignore all other troubles for now.

"Where are you going?" Mistress Zheng came chasing after him.

"Get lost!"

Fei Yingqi kicked her away and said, his mood suddenly buoyant, "Your master is off to drink flower wine. You just stay home and wait to die!"

Kicked to the ground, Mistress Zheng was terrified beyond measure, then shouted, "Who was it all for, keeping you in check all these years? It was to keep you away from women so you could concentrate on the civil examinations! When you failed the examinations, I made you manage the family business seriously — our business is more prosperous than the third brother's! Just you watch, the third brother will squander the family fortune sooner or later, but the property under our names is enough for ten generations of wealth!"

Fei Yingqi spun around and roared, "So what if the business thrives, so what if we're rich for a hundred generations? A man lives stifled — you even interrogate me when I go out to see friends. I might as well just die!"

The husband and wife parted in bitter anger.

Mistress Zheng summoned her children and searched the compound everywhere, finally finding four stout men in the firewood shed.

Those were the vicious servants she kept. Normally, she relied on these four to throw her weight around, but now they had been tied up and stuffed into the firewood shed.

"You four, go after those people and bring them back, quickly!" Mistress Zheng stamped her feet in agitation.

The old master, Fei Yuanyi, had also been woken by the commotion.

Once he understood the situation, he likewise ordered the household slaves to prepare. Not daring to travel by sedan chair in the middle of the night, he leaned on a cane and was supported by others as he hurried on his way.

Whatever their past relations had been, he had no choice but to go pay his respects.

Meanwhile, the hired servants from the second brother's courtyard had fled en masse under cover of night, running frantically toward Hekou Town.

"Aiyo!"

"Get up, quick. I'll help you."

Supporting one another, they finally relaxed and slowed to a walk after passing Ehu Town.

"Will Heavenly King Zhao take up this matter?"

"Brother Han is loyal to his friends. He'll certainly take it up."

"But he's the Fei family's son-in-law. He'll most likely side with the Fei family."

"All the villages around say Brother Han is a good man, that he sides with the wretched."

"With the Fei family, it's different. We went to the village chief first, then to the town chief — did any of them dare meddle? Not only did they not meddle, someone tipped them off, and Liangzi was beaten to death by that vicious shrew."

"If we can't trust Brother Han, who else can we trust? We've got to stake our lives on this gamble!"

"…"

The dozen or so hired servants, their hearts full of anxiety, finally caught a faint glimpse of a fleet of boats by the river.

"Halt!"

Most of the troops had not disembarked, but soldiers had been posted to guard the riverbank, with sentries stationed at both front and rear.

The hired servants immediately knelt. "Soldiers, sirs, we know Heavenly King Zhao! We've come to seek justice!"

"Brother Han, save us!"

"Brother Han, I'm Fei Gu, I've spoken with you before!"

"…"

(Asking for monthly tickets.)

(End of chapter)