To keep Na Rimu happy, the birth of the Yun family’s young miss had alarmed many people. Gifts piled up in three rooms. Whether valuable or not, as long as they were numerous, Na Rimu was pleased. This made Xinyue quite dissatisfied—Yun Baobao’s birth hadn’t been celebrated so grandly.
“You gave birth to a son, isn’t that enough for you to be smug about? Why compete with Na Rimu? How old are you, still so immature? How much longer can she and her daughter stay in Chang’an? They’ll have to return after spring next year. If they stay any longer, Na Rimu will die.”
Seeing Yun Ye looking somewhat melancholic, Xinyue stopped grumbling. She grabbed his hand and tucked it into her bosom, resting her head on his leg and closing her eyes, enjoying this rare moment of quiet together.
Between husband and wife, sometimes this is how life goes—mutually appeasing each other. Being stubbornly rigid is what two fools do, purely making things difficult for themselves. In some mysterious way, a red thread strings two people together. If you want to live comfortably, plainly speaking, it’s about constantly compromising with each other. A refined gentleman before marriage develops bad habits like picking at his toes and passing gas after marriage—you have to be tolerant and pretend not to see it. This might be the happiest, most comfortable time of his life. Of course, when a wife who looks like a celestial fairy with makeup on transforms into Sadako after removing it, a man must still drool with appreciation, even if he has nightmares in the latter half of the night.
Real things generally aren’t too beautiful. Xiao Wu had been having beautiful dreams all along, looking forward to when she grew up and a refined gentleman would come take her away in a carriage festooned with red silk. But today, the person who came to the Yun family gate to fetch someone was a middle-aged man fat as a pig, followed by her five brothers standing in a row, quite imposing. The Lantian County Magistrate had also been forcibly dragged along as witness.
The Duke’s manor invitation card was specially edged in gold. Wu Yuanqing held the card wanting to hand it to the Yun family gatekeeper. Who knew that the gatekeeper, just emerging from the manor, glanced at him once and began sweeping with a broom, raising clouds of dust that made Wu Yuanqing retreat repeatedly.
“Xiao Wu is my sister. She’s a member of our Wu family. I’m her brother. I’ve found her a good match. Now, you Yun family hand her over to me.”
The Lantian County Magistrate had already cursed Wu Yuanshuang’s ancestors eighteen generations back in his heart. Originally, serving as county magistrate had been easy and pleasant. The Yun family shouldered the major storms, while he comfortably reaped political achievements from behind. His predecessor was now a fifth-rank official. If he could just coast along for two more years, promotion wouldn’t be difficult. Most remarkably, the Yun family never caused trouble. Even if an ox died by falling in their household, they would report it to the county and obediently pay the fine. There had never been any incidents of bullying men or tyrannizing women. Now several blockheads had run over from Chang’an, insisting that the Yun family was hiding population, requiring him as county magistrate to serve as witness.
The Yun family didn’t bully commoners or minor officials, but they were never lenient with powerful families. If you reached out a hand, they’d chop it off; if you stuck out a leg, they’d cut it off—never polite about it. Who knew what illness these Wu family fools had contracted, insisting on dragging away Marquis Yun’s disciple from the Yun family to sell her off? Ostensibly calling it marriage, even an idiot knew what was really happening. Thinking of Yun Ye’s protective nature, one knew these foolish children were asking for trouble.
Old Qian returned home from outside on a donkey cart. Without even glancing at those wastrel sons, he cupped his hands toward the county magistrate and said, “How rare to see the County Magistrate. The tea and water at home have some reputation. Why not enter the manor for a cup? In this hot weather, a cup of cooling tea is necessary.”
The county magistrate laughed genially and said, “I should indeed impose for a cup. Master Qian, please.”
Old Qian, along with the jovial county magistrate and the chief clerk—three men chatting and laughing—entered through the manor gate. Without disturbing the master’s family, they turned and entered Old Qian’s courtyard in the front yard.
“Brother Qian, the blockheads from Duke Yingguo’s manor insisted we come as witnesses. This minor official is incompetent and had no choice but to come. Please don’t take offense, elder brother.”
“How could I, Old Qian, not understand the County Magistrate’s difficulties? We’ll just sit here drinking tea and chatting. Other matters, my Marquis will handle himself. You don’t know—my Marquis has only two disciples: Young Miss Shishi and Young Miss Xiao Wu. Both are intelligent and accomplished young ladies of great families. In the manor, they receive the same stipend as the family’s own young misses. That’s to say, my Marquis regards these two young ladies as daughters. Now the Wu family, for the sake of some stinking money, wants to curry favor with Princess Yongjia by marrying their own sister off as a replacement wife to He Lan Sengjia’s cousin. Young Miss Xiao Wu is only eleven years old. Truly unconscionable! Previously, my family’s madam, being a woman, couldn’t easily intervene. Now, hehe, my Marquis has returned. County Magistrate, do you think my Marquis is the type to tolerate such things?”
The county magistrate and chief clerk nodded in unison. Yun Ye’s fearsome reputation had spread throughout Chang’an. Princess Yongjia really wasn’t impressive enough. Even the Dou family—people like that—had been reduced to ruins overnight. These few were truly overestimating themselves.
Today Yun Ye planned to go to the Academy to have a good chat with Li Gang about how to deal with Old Master Yan Zhitui, who truly couldn’t be offended. He wanted to see if there was any good method to mollify the old gentleman. Who knew that upon reaching the manor gate, he’d see several people pointing at the Yun family and clamoring endlessly? Seeing Xiao Wu covering her mouth with a handkerchief and weeping, how could he not know what had happened?
He took Xiao Wu’s hand and had her go out with him. This matter was better handled in her presence. Just as they emerged, Wu Yuanqing pointed at Xiao Wu and cursed loudly, “You lowly slave! You still know to come out? I thought you’d die in the Yun family and never emerge for your whole life.”
Xiao Wu raised her chin to speak but was stopped by Yun Ye, who said to her gently, “You are my disciple, of noble status. If bitten by a dog, must you bite back? When you see a mad dog, just break its legs—that’s all. Don’t get angry. People don’t quarrel with dogs.” Having said this, Yun Ye waved his hand. Liu Jinbao and Dongyu, grinning viciously along with a group of guards, surged out from the house. Using the backs of their blades, they beat away the Wu family’s guards and captured Wu Yuanqing, pressing him before Yun Ye.
“You see, Xiao Wu? This matter is quite simple, isn’t it? The dog doesn’t dare bark anymore. To help the dog gain some memory, I’ll hand it over to you to handle. Handle it however you wish. If anything happens, your master will bear responsibility. Master just wants to see your methods for handling affairs.”
As expected of the future empress—decisive in killing, without a trace of hesitation. She said to Liu Jinbao, “Big Brother Liu, could you break one of his legs? He is my brother after all—I can’t bring myself to kill him.”
Liu Jinbao most loved breaking people’s legs. Lowering his head, he discovered Wu Yuanqing had two legs. After hesitating a moment, he asked, “Xiao Wu, the left leg or the right leg?”
“My eldest brother is left-handed and uses his left leg more. Break his right leg then. That way it’ll be more convenient after the injury.”
Wu Yuanqing absolutely refused to believe Xiao Wu would dare break his leg. He continued clamoring, “Lowly slave! When the princess arrives, I’ll sell you into a brothel! You and your mother are both fox spirits! You still belong in the brothel as a…”
Before he finished speaking, Liu Jinbao and Dongyu grabbed his right leg and pulled in opposite directions. The sound of the knee joint crackling could be heard, and Wu Yuanqing screamed once before fainting.
Xiao Wu, her face only slightly paler, continued addressing her other four brothers: “Who else is planning to sell me to a brothel?”
The four Wu brothers looked at each other. Wu Yuanshuang’s right leg hung twisted limply, the heel turned to the front—recovery in this lifetime was quite unlikely. They turned their heads together to look at Xiao Wu. For the first time, they discovered this thin, frail woman was actually so vicious. They all avoided Xiao Wu’s hateful gaze, looking elsewhere, unable even to attend to Wu Yuanqing lying silently on the ground.
That fat middle-aged man remained unperturbed, smiling as he watched the chaotic scene. Stepping forward, he cupped his hands toward Yun Ye and said, “Marquis Yun, greetings. This humble one is He Lan Wuduo, cousin of He Lan Sengjia. This fierce-tempered young miss is already this one’s wife. How about Marquis Yun hand her over to this one? Princess Yongjia will surely reward you generously in the future.”
Yun Ye turned his head and said to Liu Jinbao, “Break both his legs.” Then he led Xiao Wu and drove off in the light carriage pulled by Wang Cai toward the Academy. Xiao Wu clenched her fists and pricked up her ears to hear the pig-like screams from behind. Suddenly tears flowed down. She clung adoringly to Yun Ye’s arm, rubbing her face against it. Yun Ye used his other hand to ruffle the little girl’s hair and smiled.
“Master, I broke my brother’s leg. Will others think I’m not a good person?” Xiao Wu asked Yun Ye somewhat hesitantly.
“In this world, generally speaking, good people suffer losses. Repaying resentment with virtue is a principle in books. But I, your master, don’t think so. Why should I? Why should I work so hard to be a good person and still get bullied? We revere Heaven because legend says this world was created by it. We revere Earth because the earth grows the five grains that nourish us. We respect the Emperor because in a certain sense he protects us. Our submission to them all has reasons—it all starts from our own needs. So we make offerings to them, and giving to them is proper. But those villains, those evil people—what about them deserves us repaying resentment with virtue? Breaking their legs so they can’t commit evil anymore is the best repayment to good people.”
Xiao Wu cheerfully slapped Wang Cai’s rump with her hand, hoping it would run even faster. She believed her brothers would definitely not dare trouble her again. Master was right—toward evil people, there was no need for tolerance. Breaking their legs was helping good people.
At this time, the Academy was preparing lunch. One after another, students held their rice bowls and knocked them boringly. The entire dining hall was like a noisy blacksmith’s shop. Wu She walked in front with his hands behind his back, while Gou Zi followed closely behind carrying a food tray. Finding a table with no one, he took out a piece of hemp cloth from his bosom and carefully wiped it down once before inviting Wu She to sit. After preparing Wu She’s utensils, he sat opposite, preparing to eat.
“Are you little bastards all itching for a beating? If you break your rice bowls, are you planning to eat with your hands? Knock once more and go to the discipline office for punishment!” Hong Cheng’s resonant voice rang out. The dining hall immediately quieted down, and everyone obediently lined up to get their food.
Hearing Hong Cheng’s shouting, Wu She smiled soundlessly and put a piece of fish meat in his mouth to chew heartily. The fish was quite plump and didn’t have a single fine bone—Gou Zi had diligently picked out even the smallest bones for his master-grandfather.