3
The Gold Content of a Scholar
Early the next morning, Uncle entered the guardhouse with dark circles under his eyes, only to find the father and his two sons sleeping soundly together.
“Heartless brats, sleeping so comfortably!” Uncle kicked Su Youcai in annoyance. “I didn’t get a wink of sleep all night.”
“Time for breakfast?” Su Youcai opened his eyes, saw it was his elder brother, and stretched lazily. Su Tai and Su Lu also woke up.
“Breakfast my foot!” Uncle spat. “Commander Zhou has summoned us for negotiations.”
“Ah.” Su Youcai quickly patted his buttocks and stood up, his two sons following him out of the guardhouse.
As soon as Su Lu stepped out, he saw his younger uncle waiting by the entrance, hunched over with a white cloth wrapped around his head. His handsome face was swollen like a pig’s head.
“Second Brother, it’s all my fault…” Younger Uncle’s eyes welled with tears, his voice choked as he spoke.
Though the sight was somewhat comical, Su Youcai couldn’t bring himself to laugh. He turned to his elder brother and asked, “And you call this ‘not seriously injured’?”
“Wasn’t that to reassure you?” Uncle coughed and lowered his voice. “Besides, their man’s leg is broken. We need to play up our misery too… Before coming, I rubbed Third Brother’s face with urtica leaves.”
“Oh.” Su Youcai nodded. That sounded exactly like something his elder brother would do.
Su Lu, however, was stunned. Urtica leaves were covered in stinging hairs. Accidentally brushing against them would leave red patches on the skin, causing unbearable pain and itching. His uncle had actually used them on his younger uncle’s face. The customs in these mountains were truly fierce…
“Little Brother, what exactly happened yesterday? Why did they beat you?” Su Youcai asked his younger uncle again.
“…” Younger Uncle lowered his head and remained silent.
“Stop asking, Second Brother. Father and I interrogated him all night and got nothing out of him,” Uncle said angrily. “Don’t you think he’s being foolish? Even if he won’t talk, do you think the Cheng family won’t?”
“Exactly. That would leave us too passive. With a big confrontation looming, Little Brother, don’t leave us in the dark,” Su Youcai agreed wholeheartedly.
“Second Brother, please don’t ask. I really can’t say,” Younger Uncle said, his face full of shame but refusing to relent. “The Cheng family won’t say anything either. If they did, it would mean a fight to the death, and the sky would fall…”
“I’ll beat you to death, you brat! The sky won’t fall!” Uncle raised his arm in anger, but Su Youcai quickly stopped him.
“Let it go, Elder Brother. Little Brother must have his reasons,” Su Youcai said. “Perhaps speaking up would bring even bigger trouble.”
“He has reasons? I’m the one drowning in bitterness! Who did I offend? Not only do I have to clean up your messes, but I also got an earful from your sister-in-law…” Uncle grumbled in frustration. “As if the current trouble isn’t bad enough?”
~~
As they spoke, the five members of the Su family arrived in front of the station hall, just as the Cheng family entourage arrived.
Su Lu saw a man at the forefront wearing a black gauze square scarf and a round-collared lanshan robe with black trim, seated upright on a sedan chair carried by two men. He was surrounded by his clansmen as they approached the corridor.
There was no need to ask—this was the Cheng family scholar his father and uncles had spoken of. He was the very embodiment of the local gentry Su Lu had imagined.
Commander Zhou also came out to greet them with a cupped-hand salute. “Master Cheng, your presence brings great honor to our humble station.”
Master Cheng stepped down from the sedan chair and returned the salute. “I apologize for troubling you, Commander.”
“Not at all, not at all.” Zhou Baihu then looked at the stretcher behind him, on which lay a man with a bruised and swollen face, flushed red, looking exactly like Su Lu’s uncle.
But this man’s entire left leg was in splints, wrapped in thick bandages, reeking heavily of medicine, and he kept moaning incessantly.
In the misery competition, Su Lu’s uncle was utterly defeated…
“Is this Old Cheng? I can hardly recognize him.” Zhou Baihu was also taken aback.
“Aiyo, aiyo…” Cheng Xiucai’s elder brother didn’t speak, only groaned repeatedly.
“My elder brother is a vegetarian who recites Buddhist scriptures and treats others with kindness, yet he suffered such violence at the hands of the Su family. I beg Commander Zhou to uphold justice…” Cheng Xiucai said with grief and indignation.
“How did this happen?” Zhou Baihu seemed somewhat puzzled. The border region between Sichuan and Guizhou was known for its fierce folk customs, where fights and brawls were as common as eating and drinking, and broken bones were frequent occurrences. But a thigh being broken was truly rare.
“I was at home studying at the time,” Cheng Xiucai said, then turned to his nephew. “Weren’t you in the fields yesterday? You tell the story.”
“Alright.” His nephew nodded. “…First, Su Youcai kicked my father from behind, sending him face-first into the mud. Then his son rushed over and stomped hard on my father’s thigh—there was a crack, and it broke.”
Everyone turned to look at Su Tai. With his bear-like physique, he certainly could break someone’s leg…
Su Tai fearfully lowered his head, his hands fidgeting awkwardly, like a child who had caused a major disaster.
Su Lu tightly gripped his hand and declared loudly, “I saw it clearly—my brother never touched him.”
“That’s right! Elder Master Cheng was kicked two zhang away by me. How could Xia Ge’er have stepped on him?” Su Youcai didn’t know whether Su Lu was telling the truth, but at this moment, it was crucial to clear Su Tai’s name.
“You’re lying! It was your son who stepped on him!” the Cheng family members shouted noisily. “And it wasn’t a step—it was a stomp!”
“No, it wasn’t! Xia Ge didn’t step on him!” The Su family members retorted just as loudly, refusing to back down.
“Stop, stop!” Zhou Baihu quickly silenced both sides, then asked Su Youcai, “Why did you kick Elder Master Cheng?”
“They had seven or eight people surrounding my younger brother, beating him half to death. He was covered in blood—I thought they were going to kill him!” Su Youcai pointed at his youngest brother’s swollen face.
“Why were you beating Su Youma?” Zhou Baihu then asked the Cheng family.
“Well…” The Cheng family members exchanged glances. Finally, Cheng Xiucai’s nephew spoke up, “It was my father who told us to beat him.”
Everyone looked toward Elder Master Cheng lying on the stretcher, but he turned his head away, only groaning without speaking.
“Ah, I asked my elder brother all last night, but he wouldn’t say why,” Cheng Xiucai sighed. “It must be that the boy did something heinous. My elder brother is probably afraid of creating bad karma by speaking of it.”
“He deserves to die!” Elder Master Cheng suddenly strained his neck and roared.
“Listen, such deep resentment!” Cheng Xiucai lamented, clutching his wrist. “It’s like the cuckoo weeping blood, his heart and liver torn apart!”
“Youma, what wicked thing did you do to make him so furious?” Zhou Baihu asked Su Lu’s uncle again.
“Commander, please don’t ask. I’d rather die than say…” the uncle whispered.
“Ah, what kind of mess is this?” Zhou Baihu sighed helplessly. “One after another refusing to speak—how am I supposed to settle this case?”
“Then skip this part and move straight to negotiations,” the deputy commander suggested from the side.
“Alright then, let’s be straightforward.” Commander Zhou readily agreed and said to Cheng Scholar, “Master Cheng, name your price. How much silver will it take to settle this matter?”
“Twenty taels,” Cheng Scholar replied without hesitation. “My elder brother’s leg is worth far more than that, but any higher amount would likely be beyond their family’s means.”
“Yes, yes…” Commander Zhou then turned to look at Su Lu’s uncle.
“Impossible!” Uncle declared resolutely.
In these times, silver was extremely precious. Even if his entire family went without food or drink for a year, they still couldn’t earn twenty taels.
“Then what’s the most you can offer?” Commander Zhou asked.
“One tael,” Uncle extended one finger.
“Then there’s nothing to discuss!” Cheng Scholar flew into a rage, cupping his hands toward Commander Zhou. “No need for the Commander to trouble himself further. We’ll take our case to the county magistrate and let His Honor make a fair judgment!”
“Don’t get worked up, just treat his words as nonsense. His family are military households—in the end, the county magistrate would still refer the matter back to the Military Garrison for handling.” Commander Zhou quickly stopped Cheng Scholar, who was making to leave, then turned and glared at Su Lu’s uncle:
“Damn it, what game are you playing? Offer more!”
“Truly impossible, even if I sold my wife, I still couldn’t…” Uncle said with a pained expression.
“Sell your wife? Wishful thinking!” Commander Zhou said irritably. “I’ll make the decision for you—ten taels!”
“Ten taels is still impossible…”
“Shut up!” Commander Zhou glared fiercely at Uncle, then turned back to Cheng Scholar with a pleasant expression. “Come, come, Master Cheng, let’s have some tea inside and discuss this properly.”
“Hmph.” Only then did Cheng Scholar reluctantly enter the main hall.
Su Lu’s uncle also tried to follow them in, but Commander Zhou stopped him: “You stay there! Wait until we’ve finished talking!”
“Oh…” Uncle had no choice but to stand at the door, sighing deeply. This definitely wouldn’t be settled for less than ten taels of silver—how was he going to explain this to his wife?
The others also split into two groups, waiting under the corridor. The Cheng family members whispered among themselves, all looking composed and confident, clearly believing they had the Su family cornered.
The atmosphere on the Su family’s side was much more tense. Su Youcai, having studied for so many years, clearly understood Commander Zhou and Cheng Scholar’s intentions… After all, it wasn’t Commander Zhou who would be paying compensation, so of course he wanted to resolve the matter internally to avoid being blamed by his superiors.
Cheng Scholar was exploiting this mentality, coercing Commander Zhou to join him in pressuring his elder brother to yield. His elder brother was still Commander Zhou’s subordinate—in the end, no matter how stubborn he was, he’d likely have to give in…
Su Lu’s younger uncle kept muttering to himself repeatedly: “It’s all my fault, all my fault…”
Meanwhile, Su Lu had been secretly glancing at Elder Master Cheng’s injured leg out of the corner of his eye.
“You’ve been staring at his leg since the beginning. What’s so interesting about it?” Su Tai finally couldn’t help but ask quietly. “Is it because it’s pale?”
“Shh.” Su Lu made a silencing gesture and beckoned for his second brother to follow him outside.
Since the two brothers were unimportant, the Cheng family paid them no mind and let them leave.
~~
After quite some time, Commander Zhou and Cheng Scholar emerged from the office.
Commander Zhou then said to Su Lu’s uncle with a smile, “Master Cheng is being very generous. Since your family truly can’t come up with the silver, he’s willing to forgo it.”
“Then what does he want?” Su Lu’s uncle wasn’t naive enough to think the other party would let his family off.
“Your family’s ten mu of sorghum fields adjacent to the Cheng family’s land,” Commander Zhou coughed once before saying. “Just transfer them over so they can make wine.”
“How can that be?!” Uncle became frantic upon hearing this. “That land was cleared hoe by hoe by my grandfather and my father! It’s the best sorghum field in Erlangtan!”
“Then it’s not worth much!” Commander Zhou’s face fell as he said: “This matter is settled! Bring the land deed tomorrow and go to the county office to transfer ownership!”
“But… how can it be settled just like that?” The uncle said, his mouth parched from arguing.
“Then do you want your brother and nephew to go to jail?!” Commander Zhou snapped impatiently.
“Let them go to jail then! Elder brother mustn’t agree!” Su Youcai shouted loudly.
“Hmph, what did I say!” Scholar Cheng fanned the flames from the side: “Commander’s good intentions are being treated like donkey’s liver and lungs!”
“Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!” Commander Zhou indeed had his temper provoked, pointing at the uncle’s nose and saying: “If I can’t deal with others, can’t I still deal with you?!”
“…” The Su brothers immediately lost their nerve. A county official isn’t as formidable as the immediate authority – the commander managed every aspect of the military households under his jurisdiction, and could indeed keep their family firmly under control.
Seeing the Su family being backed into a corner, the Cheng family members gloated one after another. Even Elder Master Cheng forgot his moaning, stretching his neck to watch the spectacle.
Suddenly, he felt a chill on his neck. Subconsciously reaching to touch it, his hand grabbed onto something slippery and alive.
Before Elder Master Cheng could react, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. Looking down in panic, he saw a small emerald-green snake had bitten his wrist.
He immediately jumped three feet high in terror, screaming fearfully: “Snake! It’s a bamboo pit viper! I’ve been bitten by a bamboo pit viper! I’m going to die!”
The other Cheng family members were all terrified, none daring to step forward to help.
It was Su Lu, who had left and returned, who grabbed the green snake and said with a laugh: “Don’t worry, it’s not a bamboo pit viper – it’s a non-venomous green snake. My brother specifically caught it to treat your leg ailment, old sir.”
“Wow, this method is miraculous! It cured him instantly!” Su Tai followed behind, clapping and marveling.
So it was a false alarm. The Cheng family members finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaving only embarrassment…
All eyes fell on Elder Master Cheng, who stood firmly on both feet – not a trace of any thigh fracture to be seen.
Elder Master Cheng’s face turned even redder, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. In his flustered state, he actually struck a golden rooster stance standing on one leg.
“Enough! Stop acting!” Commander Zhou turned his spearhead, roaring angrily at him: “You’ve completely shamed Master Cheng’s reputation!”