At least there would be some income.
In the evening, the Zhengyang Men Weisuo began changing shifts.
As soon as Xiao Ji came down from the city gate, he saw several familiar Xiaoqi from Han Zongqi’s team waiting inside the gate. Spotting him, they called out, “Xiao Ji, hurry up! Today we’re gathering at Chen Family Tavern.”
Colleagues at the Guard Station often went to taverns in the city after their shifts to drink and chat. In the past, Xiao Ji, being a bachelor, was a regular.
The Xiaoqi at the Guard Station didn’t earn high salaries, and many had families to support, so Xiao Ji, as a single man, was particularly popular among his colleagues. Xiao Ji was generous—when a group went out for drinks, he paid the bill seven or eight times out of ten.
Before he was married, Xiao Ji didn’t think much of it. After all, some of his brothers had to support not only their wives and children but also their elderly parents. As a lone bachelor, he was the wealthiest among them, so treating his brothers to drinks a few times didn’t matter much.
Of course, he wasn’t unaware that some people simply took advantage of him, but he didn’t want to argue over a few drinks.
Today, however, Xiao Ji was worried about Xie Linlang being home alone and wanted to return early. Being stopped on his way, he felt somewhat annoyed.
He pushed away the hand of someone who had slung an arm over his shoulder and refused, “Not today. Before I left, my wife reminded me to come home early tonight.”
In the past, whenever someone at the Guard Station said this, they might be teased a bit, but no one would insist on dragging them out for drinks. Xiao Ji wasn’t lying either—Xie Linlang had indeed reminded him to return early before he left.
But as soon as he said this, someone from the First Guard Team laughed loudly and said, “What, is our Xiao Xiaoqi afraid of the woman at home? In my opinion, if a woman talks too much, just beat her a few times and she’ll behave. Xiao Ji, are you afraid of your high-ranking father-in-law and have to live under a woman’s thumb?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the people surrounding Xiao Ji quickly dispersed. In truth, everyone had invited Xiao Ji out of habit today, forgetting that he was now a married man.
When Xiao Ji said he wanted to go home early, everyone had intended to tease him a bit before letting him go. After all, they weren’t so inconsiderate as to disturb a newlywed couple.
But what did this person mean by saying such things? Why stir up trouble and incite Xiao Ji to beat his wife? Not to mention, a man beating his wife wasn’t something to be proud of.
Who among them didn’t know that Xiao Ji’s wife was the daughter of the Vice Minister of Revenue? Would beating her be an easy matter?
And what was the point of deliberately bringing up Xiao Ji’s in-laws? Was it meant to provoke him?
Anyone who could say such things clearly had ill intentions.
Working together at the Guard Station and gathering for drinks meant they knew each other fairly well. Xiao Ji had also heard some gossip about the person who spoke.
Moreover, he had just gotten married, and this person was already urging him to beat his wife. Clearly, he was no good.
Xiao Ji took a step forward. Being much taller than the speaker, he looked down at him with a sidelong glance:
“What, beat a woman if she doesn’t listen? I’ve heard that you, Qian San, often have your money confiscated by your wife at home. Why don’t you beat her a few times to teach her her place?”
Xiao Ji was tall and, when not smiling, often appeared to have a bad temper. But after spending time with him, everyone knew he was just stern on the surface—in reality, his temperament was quite good.
Moreover, he had earned Han Zongqi’s favor and had been learning martial arts under his guidance in recent years.
Han Zongqi had come down from the Northwestern Army, and it was said that the martial arts he knew were all meant for killing.
Having received Han Zongqi’s instruction, Xiao Ji’s martial skills were now first-rate among their group. Last year, he even took first place in the capital’s Guard Station competition. If he weren’t so lacking in ambition, he would have long since risen to the rank of Zongqi.
For these reasons, Xiao Ji actually got along quite well with everyone at the Guard Station.
This was also the first time everyone had heard him speak so bluntly. Once they understood the implied meaning in his words, they couldn’t help but turn their heads and laugh.
To speak of this Qian San, he was something of a celebrity at the Zhengyang Men Weisuo—though not because he had any great ability or had performed some monumental feat during duty.
Rather, this man was henpecked, frequently driven out of his home by his wife and forced to seek lodging at the Guard Station.
It wasn’t that he was truly so afraid of his wife; in fact, his wife’s family were butchers, with three brothers built like mountains of muscle.
Those three would storm over to give Qian San a good beating whenever they heard he had mistreated their sister. Sometimes, not only would Qian San be taught a lesson, but his mother, who loved to torment her daughter-in-law, would also get dragged into the mess.
After several years of this, not only was Qian San henpecked—his entire family was terrified.
He himself didn’t dare offend his wife at home, yet here he was, goading Xiao Ji into hitting women. To be honest, given this man’s usual behavior, it was rather strange.
Xiao Ji didn’t mince words with him either, immediately striking at Qian San’s sore spot.
Seeing Qian San’s horse-like face turn pale and then flush, Xiao Ji continued, “If I ever run into the Tu brothers, I’ll be sure to ask just how imposing Brother Qian is at home. I bet he beats his wife so badly she can’t bear it.”
The Tu brothers Xiao Ji mentioned were Qian San’s three brothers-in-law, who ran a butcher shop in West City.
Xiao Ji was usually amiable and always willing to help his brothers at the Guard Station with their troubles, but no one would ever think him a pushover and look down on him. On the contrary, Xiao Ji was the type to repay every slight.
Seeing that Xiao Ji was serious, Qian San immediately thought of his three brothers-in-law’s iron fists and felt a phantom pain in his face. He hastily clasped his hands in a pleading gesture and begged, “Xiao Xiaoqi, please calm down, calm down! I spoke out of turn—my mouth is worthless. You’re magnanimous, please forgive me. You absolutely must not go to the Tu Family Butcher Shop!”
Xiao Ji couldn’t be bothered to argue with this man; he truly looked down on Qian San.
This fellow had once been too poor to find a wife. Coincidentally, the Tu family’s daughter, with her broad shoulders and sturdy build, had trouble finding a husband, so he shamelessly pursued her.
The Tu family, fearing their daughter would suffer hardship in the Qian household, provided a generous dowry and even helped the Qians open a butcher shop.
But once the Qian mother and son had gained both a person and benefits, as soon as their bellies were full, they began to look down on the butcher’s daughter.
Qian San spent his days fooling around outside and rarely came home, while Old Lady Qian spent her time at home imposing rules on her daughter-in-law.
Poor Tu Siniang, who had been tall and robust before marriage, was worn down by the Qian mother and son until she visibly thinned.
In the end, the Tu brothers got wind of the situation, stormed over to the Qian house, and gave them a thorough beating. Tu Siniang’s sisters-in-law even pinned Old Lady Qian down and pummeled her, leaving Qian San and his mother wailing pitifully until they finally apologized obediently to Tu Siniang.
Tu Siniang had initially been insecure about her lack of beauty and, after marrying into the Qian family, had mistakenly thought she needed to endure everything, which only allowed Qian San and his mother to push her further.
Now seeing Qian San and her mother-in-law being dealt with and then groveling before her, she suddenly had an epiphany. Coupled with her sisters-in-law earnestly urging her to stand up for herself—”The Qian family was penniless and destitute until they married you, and only then did they start having good days. How dare they treat you poorly after you’ve given them face?”—Tu Siniang, who had learned pig slaughtering from a young age and was never one with a weak disposition, now had a plan in mind.
The next time Qian San and Old Lady Qian reverted to their old ways, without needing her brothers from her maiden family to step in, she blocked the courtyard gate herself and thoroughly disciplined Qian San and his mother. From then on, Qian San finally behaved himself.