Chapter 150: The Dutiful Son

The matter was settled just like that.

The senior uncle of the clan made the decision on the spot, called his youngest son over, and told him to toast Chen Chen Guanlou.

"From now on, you'll follow Brother Lou and do whatever he says. Whatever he tells you to do, you do it—no nonsense. If Brother Lou disciplines you, it's for your own good. If you're not convinced, Brother Lou won't even need to lift a hand—Laozi will beat you into submission first. Got it?"

Chen Chen Guanxin was only one year younger than Chen Chen Guanlou. As children, they had studied together at the family school, sitting at the front and back desks.

Chen Chen Guanxin had always had a low opinion of Chen Chen Guanlou. His impression of the man was still stuck back in their school days—pedantic, poor, and inflexible. He looked down his nose at everyone. "Father, I don't want to go to the Heaven Prison."

"If you're not going to the Heaven Prison, where do you want to go? You ungrateful brat. If you dare say no one more time, Laozi will break your legs right now."

The moment his father got fierce, Chen Chen Guanxin's calves started trembling—a conditioned reflex he'd long since developed.

But he still wanted to struggle one last time. "But didn't you say the Heaven Prison is a degrading job, that Chen Chen Guanlou had brought disgrace upon himself…"

"Shut your mouth for Laozi." The senior uncle of the clan was furious, his face dark as iron. But he had mastered the essence of Sichuan opera face-changing—one second he was the stern father disciplining his son, the next he was all smiles, apologetically saying: "Xiao Lou, don't listen to that brat's nonsense. Earlier, your uncle didn't understand the situation at the Heaven Prison and did say some foolish things. But now your uncle knows your abilities. The past is the past. Wouldn't you agree?"

Chen Chen Guanlou understood perfectly. He pressed his lips together and smiled. "You're too kind, uncle. You're not the only one who didn't understand the Heaven Prison. I get it, I get it all. I never took it to heart."

"Excellent! Young people should learn from you. A great mind can hold a boat—you're sure to accomplish great things in the future."

"He's just a prison guard at the Heaven Prison—what great things could he possibly do!" Chen Chen Guanxin's talent for stabbing people in the back was truly remarkable. He stabbed his own father.

The senior uncle of the clan could no longer stand this stupid son. He jumped up and started pummeling him with his fists.

Everyone hurried to intervene, pulling father and son apart. "Calm down, calm down."

"Why would the eldest brother lower himself to argue with Brother Xin?"

"Brother Xin is still young. Once he's had three to five years of experience and come to his senses, he'll be fine."

"At your age, don't get worked up over a young person. Be careful not to damage your health."

The senior uncle of the clan listened to the chaotic chorus of mediation while grief welled up inside him. He pointed at his youngest son and roared: "Chen Chen Guanxin, Laozi is asking you one last time. Will you listen or not? Will you follow Brother Lou or not?"

Chen Chen Guanxin was truly frightened now. He had never seen his father look so hurt and pained—as though he'd aged ten years in an instant. Feeling deeply guilty, he dropped to his knees on instinct. "Father, I'll do as you say, alright? You want me to work under Chen Chen Guanlou—no problem. Being a prison guard is nothing. I can handle that hardship. Father, please don't have anything happen to you. Your son can't bear the reputation of having driven you to your death! Father, if you're feeling unwell, at least hold on for ten days or half a month…"

"I'll beat you to death, you unfilial brat."

A new round of the father-son battle commenced.

Today's banquet was truly worth it. Not only did they enjoy a first-rate feast—whose chef had imperial cooks in his ancestry—but they also witnessed a touching display of father-son harmony.

When the wine was flowing freely and ears were warm, naturally some in the clan eagerly took charge of arranging for everyone to go pay respects to the Old Madam, the Second Master, and the two Ladies.

The senior uncle of the clan made the call: "Let the younger generation go. Everyone, go, go. Most of the younger ones have never met the Old Madam and the two Ladies. Take this chance to show your faces."

Chen Chen Guanlou didn't want to go, but he was now undeniably the wealthiest among his peers. There were certainly families richer than his, and quite a few. But among the younger generation, no one had more cash in their own pocket than he did.

Young people had no income of their own. Every month they relied on the family's monthly allowance. Even with five taels of silver a month, plus a bit extra at New Year, they'd be lucky to scrape together seventy or eighty taels a year.

Chen Chen Guanlou earned more than that in a single month.

If he didn't go, there really wouldn't be a single presentable person among the younger generation. The presentable young men had all followed the Grand Master to the front lines to earn military merit.

Therefore, he had to go—and lead the way.

The senior uncle of the clan patted his shoulder. "If we're stretching things a bit, you're someone who makes a living in officialdom. In front of the Old Madam, saying a few auspicious words won't hurt."

Chen Chen Guanlou nodded.

Since he'd decided to go pay respects, he would certainly do it well. He wasn't the type to do something grudgingly and then deliberately botch it out of spite.

He was the type who, if he decided to do something, would set aside all bias and resentment and do it properly.

When doing things, one shouldn't end up pleasing no one.

"Don't worry, uncle. It's just paying respects. At the yamen, I've paid respects to my superiors countless times. I know the measure of things."

"Then I'm relieved. Go, go. Early in, early out. When you're back, we'll continue drinking."

Chen Chen Guanlou and over a dozen young men of his generation followed the leading Liu Liu Guanshi to the rear courtyard of Hou Fu to pay respects.

The front courtyard of Hou Fu appeared grand, dignified, and stately. Once inside the rear courtyard, they discovered a whole other world—two words: extravagant luxury!

In the dead of winter, the flowers in the garden were in full bloom. Clearly, a fortune had been spent building a glass greenhouse just so they could enjoy flowers in winter.

Just this one expense alone would cost at least several thousand taels of silver for a single winter.

Not to mention the decorations along the way—brocades and silks used as corridor drapes, as if brocade and silk cost nothing at all.

"That's Southern Brocade—at least twenty taels of silver per bolt. There must be dozens, even a hundred bolts used here. Oh my, how much silver is that?" Chen Chen Guanxin, following his father's orders, had stayed by Chen Chen Guanlou's side the whole time. The young master's eye for quality, honed from childhood, kept eliciting gasps of admiration.

Before he finished marveling, he exclaimed again: "That flower vase is clearly from a former dynasty's official kiln. On the market, it would fetch at least three to five hundred taels of silver. Such a precious vase, and they just leave it outside holding flowers—aren't they afraid it'll get smashed?"

He marveled all the way as they walked.

Chen Chen Guanxin roughly calculated that the decorations along this route alone had cost at least seven or eight thousand taels of silver. And that was just the materials—not counting labor and reward money, or losses in between. A single family banquet costing over ten thousand taels—was it really necessary?

Far too extravagant.

He clicked his tongue. "Hou Fu really is lavish. Same surname Chen, just look at the gap. Brother Lou, doesn't that give you any ideas?"

Chen Chen Guanlou chuckled. "Whose fault is it that your great-grandfather wasn't born into the right family? If you'd been born from the First Branch Lady's belly, you'd be the little master of Hou Fu right now."

Chen Chen Guanxin snorted. "My family is still within the five degrees of mourning. By that reckoning, my family is proper clan kin with Hou Fu."

Chen Chen Guanlou scoffed. "Still within the five degrees of mourning—and you think you can share in Hou Fu's glory? Tell me, why didn't you go to the front lines with the Grand Master? Even if you can't fight, you can at least read and do accounts."

Chen Chen Guanxin's face turned awkward and a little guilty at these words, his eyes darting away.

Chen Chen Guanlou smiled faintly. "Could it be that you did go, but got sent back?"

"Who says I got sent back? I just didn't want to go to that godforsaken Jinzhou to eat sand."

What a feeble excuse!