As the birthplace of common law, 17th-century England was, in some ways, rather similar to the native Qin Dynasty:
It defined laws for every conceivable situation, almost as if it were using an exhaustive approach.
From starting wars to domestic disputes, even calling someone an idiot could earn you a punishment under the law.
Right was right, wrong was wrong, and every offense had to be punished. There was no room for compassion.
But as a modern man from the 21st Century, Xu Yun clearly had a different understanding of "punishment" from the people of 17th-century England.
He wasn't a bleeding heart, but by any normal person's standards, whipping a five- or six-year-old child twenty times with a sea-buckthorn switch for throwing a lump of cow dung was far too harsh.
As the saying went, the punishment didn't fit the crime.
But if he did nothing and simply forgave her, never mind whether Xu Yun himself would feel better—would Lilani suddenly see the error of her ways?
That was clearly impossible, too.
Don't forget, in the actual course of history, another unlucky fellow had once been pranked by this brat. At the time, Lilani had been two years older than she was now.
So her behavior couldn't simply be dismissed as an "honest mistake."
After giving it some thought, Xu Yun had ultimately made the decision he had earlier.
There were different degrees of wrongdoing. The three strokes Lilani received represented Xu Yun's assessment of the seriousness of her offense.
And the three strokes he took himself expressed his attitude:
No matter what, Lilani was still just a child, so his own sense of morality had led him to choose to share her punishment.
Of course.
Xu Yun could also have used some excuse like "a cousin takes the punishment in her place" to make Little Ox take the whipping for the girl, and gotten revenge for the brutal beating he had received in the process.
But he wasn't Wang Qiang. He couldn't bring himself to say something that shameless.
In any case.
After having his 21st-century ideals battered again and again by the society and culture of four hundred years ago, Xu Yun had finally made his own voice heard in this era.
Even if that voice was very small, so small that no one might hear it after today, its significance could not be ignored.
At the very least, everyone present was stunned by Xu Yun's actions.
Of course, while they were all stunned, each person's reaction was different.
Mrs. William and the two twins looked at him with simple surprise. His actions had been unexpected, contradicting what they had always believed.
Lisa Askew's expression was more complicated, carrying a thoughtful air that suggested she only half understood.
As for William Askew and Little Ox,
their expressions weren't exaggerated, but their eyes revealed far more than those of the women.
England's ideas were in the midst of a period of intense collision and change. So although Xu Yun's actions went beyond what was expected, people like Little Ox, Lisa, and William, who had received an education—William was a Cambridge graduate, too—wouldn't find them incomprehensible or secretly curse him as an "idiot."
After a while, William gave Xu Yun a long look.
Then he went over to Lilani and rubbed her head.
"Lilani, aren't you going to thank Mr. Fat Fish?"
Lilani fell silent for a while. The limited mind of this five-year-old girl was filled with questions and a feeling she couldn't understand. But in the end, she mumbled:
"Thank you, Mr. Fat Fish."
Xu Yun nodded with an expression that said she was a promising child. At the same time, he discreetly put his hands behind his back, a thought burning intensely in his mind:
Damn it, I hit too hard. It hurts like hell.
Seeing that a prank which might have led to serious consequences had been settled relatively well, William let out a quiet sigh of relief and reclaimed his dignified air as head of the household.
He gave a light cough, turned to Mrs. William, and asked:
"Dear, is lunch ready?"
Mrs. William pointed to the wild greens on the table.
"The greens and lentils are nearly washed. We can start stewing them in ten minutes at most. Today's lentils are very fresh. They'll be perfect in a sandwich."
William nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Then hurry along and get everything ready. I'll sit with Mr. Fat Fish for a while."
Mrs. William acknowledged him, tied her apron back on, picked up the greens, and returned to the kitchen.
William Askew led Xu Yun to a seat by the fireplace and pointed out his four daughters.
"Mr. Fat Fish, you've already met Lilani and Lisa. They happen to be my youngest and oldest daughters.
"The other two are Elula and Andrea. As you can see, they're twins, and they've just turned twelve.
"Elula, Andrea, say hello to Mr. Fat Fish."
Compared with their lively eldest and youngest sisters, Elula and Andrea were much shyer. The sisters bowed to Xu Yun and greeted him in soft voices.
"Hello, Mr. Fat Fish."
Xu Yun nodded in reply.
"Hello. It's nice to meet you."
Elula and Andrea were very thin, like a pair of little bean sprouts. They looked as if they hadn't grown at all.
The reason was quite simple:
Their growing years had coincided almost exactly with the period when William was losing money, so they'd had few chances to get proper nutrition.
Unfortunately, this would also affect the course of their lives. Because of malnutrition, the sisters would die at the ages of thirty-eight and forty-one, respectively.
Of course.
There were emotional factors involved as well, but that was beside the point for now.
After introducing his daughters, William began chatting curiously with Xu Yun. Like Little Ox, he knew that people from the East existed, but had never met one.
Although their worldviews were separated by a full four hundred years, William was a Cambridge graduate, after all. His knowledge and intelligence were both among the best.
And while he hadn't made much money in recent years, he'd traveled plenty. He could chat like an old hand on a fishing forum, knowing a little about everything.
After chatting for a while, Xu Yun found that he and William got along surprisingly well.
What, you ask what Little Ox was doing at the time?
Of course, he was munching away.
About twenty minutes passed.
Mrs. William came out of the kitchen in small steps, carrying a steaming-hot cauldron in both hands.
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