“Outrageous! How dare these nobodies come after the Xue family…”
When the constables found Xue Pan, he was in a restaurant, drinking and boasting with a group of drinking buddies and hangers on.
“You should have seen that young lady. She was as lovely as a flower, with a tiny rouge colored mole between her brows. The more you looked at her, the more you fell for her.”
“I don’t know where those two idiots came from, thinking they could snatch her from me. I had my men beat them until they were like rotten pears!”
“Throughout Jinling and Yingtian Prefecture, no one who dares compete with me for a woman has even been born!”
Although the Xue siblings shared the same mother, their looks and temperaments could not have been more different. Xue Baochai was a beauty, while Xue Pan could only be called a person. Though he was a young master from a prominent family, he possessed none of the refinement of a family devoted to farming and scholarship. He was all swagger and spoiled arrogance.
Xue Pan was ordinary looking to begin with, and now that he had set his sights on something wicked, his face was full of ill intent. Anyone who saw him would have wanted to kick him.
His drinking buddies and hangers on were much the same sort as he was, and they surrounded him with endless flattery.
“Master Xue is truly blessed. You can go out for a stroll and see great beauty.”
“If there’s a chance, Master, you must introduce us.”
“If she’s good enough for Master Xue to praise so highly, she must be an unparalleled beauty!”
“I wonder what kind of blind fools those two were, daring to compete with Master Xue for a woman. They clearly don’t recognize a mountain when they see one!”
The wine had gone to Xue Pan’s head. He was gesturing wildly as he described Xiangling’s beauty when he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder. He flew into a rage.
“Whose filthy hand is that? How dare you touch my clothes?”
Before he could even turn around, the constables behind him sprang into action. They seized several of his pressure points in quick succession and pinned him face down among the leftovers on the table.
As his drinking companions cried out in alarm, the constables shackled Xue Pan and shouted, “The authorities are conducting official business. All bystanders, clear the area!”
The alcohol surged through Xue Pan, and fury nearly made his head burst.
He shouted, “Let me go at once, or I’ll have your whole family killed!”
His drinking companions and hangers on shuddered at those words.
It seemed there would be no settling things peacefully today.
They exchanged glances and promptly decided to make themselves scarce.
Pinned among the cups and dishes, Xue Pan was frantic and furious. From the corner of his eye, he spotted his young servant standing nearby, apparently too stunned to move. He immediately shouted:
“Go home and report this!”
That blind Prefect had some nerve!
Once his mother heard what had happened, she would surely teach that detestable Prefect of Yingtian what it meant to cross the Xue family.
Xue Pan could protest all he liked, but the constables paid him no mind.
Once they had tied him up with hemp rope and brought him back to the prefectural office, their task was done.
As for how uncomfortable Xue Pan felt after being bound, that was no concern of theirs.
That morning, Madam Xue had woken with her right eyelid twitching incessantly. She felt deeply unsettled.
Seeing her mother so restless, Xue Baochai smiled and said, “Mother, there’s no need to worry so much. Didn’t Elder Brother promise you yesterday that he would mend his ways if you gave him Xiangling?”
Madam Xue sighed. “That is what he said, but I still haven’t given her to him. I’m only afraid that the maid has bewitched your brother. When his proper wife enters the household, there may be trouble and discord.”
Xue Baochai smiled gently and spoke in a soothing voice. “You’re worrying too much, Mother. She’s only a maid. If she’s good, then fine. If not, we can simply have a broker come and sell her. Surely your son wouldn’t defy you over her?”
Madam Xue was greatly comforted. She nodded. “Your brother has a thousand faults, but there is one thing in his favor. He is filial. If I truly refuse to agree to something, he listens to me.”
“Your brother isn’t really a bad sort. He’s just spoiled and headstrong, always doing whatever takes his fancy, like a child. Who knows when he’ll finally grow up?”
Madam Xue was still chattering about Xue Pan when his young servant suddenly burst in. His face was deathly pale, and he was trembling.
“Madam, disaster has struck! The Prefect has taken our young master into custody!”
Madam Xue’s expression changed at once. “What happened? Has Pan’er become involved in a case of manslaughter?”
The servant shook his head. “This servant doesn’t know. From what the constables said, it seems to concern Sister Xiangling.”
“When that kidnapper sold Sister Xiangling to three households, the other two buyers arrived when Young Master went to collect her. They both insisted they wanted the girl, not the money. Young Master had brought more men, so he managed to snatch Sister Xiangling back.”
Madam Xue had already begun to relax halfway through his explanation.
“I thought it was something serious. So it’s only this. Pan’er is young and hotheaded. I imagine he said a few harsh words to them, and the men under him were clumsy and used too much force. It’s hardly worth worrying over.”
“Tell Zhang Gui to take one thousand taels of silver from the accounts and go speak kindly to those two households. Have them withdraw their complaint.”
After giving these orders, Madam Xue told the servants to prepare a brazier and some pomelo leaves.
“The courtroom is a place of conflict. They often resort to severe punishments there, and the place is bound to be full of foul influences. When your brother comes home, we must drive away the bad luck properly.”
Xue Baochai nodded, paying the matter little mind.
This sort of thing has happened more than once or twice. The people who filed complaints were not truly seeking justice. They had merely heard that the Xue family was wealthy and wanted to extort a little money.
Once her mother sent them silver, they would happily withdraw their complaints.
To Xue Baochai, this was simply another in the endless string of little troubles her brother caused.
Zhang Gui was gone for half the day. He returned at dusk, wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve, his face full of embarrassment.
“Madam, I’m afraid our young master has run into a tough opponent this time. The other party not only refused the silver, but drove this servant out, insisting that he wanted the person, not the money.”
“He also said that Young Master beating people cannot be allowed to pass just like that. He is determined to make the Young Master suffer some pain himself!”
Madam Xue laughed in anger.
“Well, well. I had no idea there was such a hardheaded fellow in Jinling!”
“Did you ask whether he knew what would happen if he offended the Xue family?”
Zhang Gui lowered his head. “I did, Madam. But he said he was from out of town and knew no one surnamed Xue. The only thing he recognized was the law!”
“He also said that our young master would take those ten strokes today, whether he wanted to or not!”
Madam Xue was so furious that she slapped the teacup off the small table beside her, then clutched her chest and struggled to steady her breathing.
“Outrageous! What sort of people dare provoke the Xue family?”
A maid hurried forward to soothe her, but Madam Xue shoved her away.
“What did the Prefect say? Is he really going to let some lowly commoner insult the Xue family at will?”
The sweat on Zhang Gui’s forehead grew heavier. He spoke in a low voice.
“When this servant arrived, the Prefect was already furious. He said our young master had failed to bow before an official and had shown contempt for the court. He issued a warrant, ordered the constables to pin Young Master down, and had him beaten ten strokes!”
Madam Xue’s vision went black, and she fell backward.
That damned Prefect of Yingtian had actually dared to beat her son!
She had never once had the heart to strike Xue Pan, not even when he was a child. How could a mere fourth rank Prefect dare do such a thing?
With tears streaming down her face, Madam Xue cried out, “Send a letter to the capital and tell my brother in law what happened today. Let him seek justice for us, a widow and her children!”
“How can there be such lawlessness in this world? A mere Prefect dares bully the nephew of the Commander of the Imperial Guards!”
When Xue Baochai hurried over after hearing the news, she found her mother nearly beside herself. She quickly stepped forward and rubbed Madam Xue’s back.
“Mother, please don’t panic. We must first find a way to bring the Elder Brother home. The journey from the capital to Jinling takes at least half a month. Even riding at full speed, a round trip would be difficult within ten days. If you want Uncle to intervene and save Elder Brother, I’m afraid help from afar will come too late.”
Madam Xue clutched Xue Baochai’s hand, tears streaming down her face. “Then what should we do? Are we just going to let that corrupt official bully us?”
“The complainants are unreasonable, and this corrupt official refuses to distinguish right from wrong. What sins has our Xue family committed to deserve this?”
Xue Baochai soothed her mother with a few gentle words until she calmed down. Then she began to reason with her.
“Mother, there’s no need to be anxious. Please hear me out.”
“The plaintiff is an ignorant hothead who has never even heard of the Xue family. There’s little point in trying to persuade him.”
“When Elder Brother was involved in lawsuits before, we always spent money on the plaintiffs to get them to withdraw their complaints. We never tried to influence the Prefect. In my view, this Prefect has probably long been displeased with us. Now he has come across a hothead who refuses to withdraw his complaint, giving him an excuse to make trouble.”
“If an out of town hothead doesn’t know the Xue family, how could this Prefect not know us? He must be pretending ignorance while pursuing some other aim!”
“In the end, it is the Prefect who decides the case. As long as we offer enough silver, why would he refuse to show the Xue family some consideration?”
Madam Xue nodded through her tears. “You’re the one with good sense.
The moment I heard your brother had been beaten, it felt as though a knife had cut into my heart. I could think only of asking your uncle to intervene, and forget everything else.”
Xue Baochai smiled, still not taking the matter too seriously.
“If you ask me, Elder Brother deserves a lesson. This could have been settled with a little silver, but he insisted on having his men use force.”
“When I think about it, I almost find it funny. Are we really so short of money that we couldn’t spare a little? By ordering his men to snatch the girl, the Elder Brother made it look as though our family was too stingy to pay.”
Madam Xue’s tears gave way to a rueful smile. She dabbed them away with her handkerchief. “You’re right. That wretched boy never lets anyone have peace!”
Xue Baochai gave the servants an order.
“Take three thousand taels of silver from the accounts and deliver it to the Prefect’s office. Tell him that we, a widow and her children, cannot conveniently call in person, and ask him to be understanding. If he says anything discourteous, don’t argue with him. Just pretend you didn’t hear it.”
Zhang Gui took his orders and left. Madam Xue began to cry again.
“I simply cannot swallow this humiliation. Your brother may be unruly, but he is only young and hotheaded. If he did something wrong, they could have explained it to him carefully. Why beat him?”
Xue Baochai comforted her. “Mother, don’t grieve over this and make yourself ill. If you want to vent your anger, isn’t it easy enough? Just send a letter to Uncle.”
“For now, bringing Elder Brother home is what matters most. As for everything else, once Uncle receives the letter and takes our side, do you think this Prefect will dare refuse to come to our house and apologize?”
Madam Xue wiped her tears and said bitterly, “I suppose we have no choice.”
“Kind people are bullied, and gentle horses are ridden. They see that the Xue family is just a widow and her children, so they think they can walk all over us!”