Death to Those Who Insult My Mother

Black Han felt as though the heavens had collapsed and the earth had caved in. He threw his arms around Third Master Du's legs and begged through his tears, "Third Master! Third Master, I beg you! Please don't take my daughter away! I'll repay the money! I swear I will! Give me a little more time! I'll pay it all back!"

Third Master Du tried to shake him off but failed. He shot his men a look, and two of them stepped forward and hauled Black Han away.

"Let go of my daddy!" A-Wu rushed out clutching the saber, but she was far too weak to draw it from its sheath. All she could do was point the tip of the scabbard at Third Master Du.

Third Master Du burst out laughing. "Oh! A brave little one! Come on, take this girl away."

With a roar, Black Han broke free of the men restraining him and shielded his daughter behind his back.

Little A-Wu cried, "Daddy, let's report them to the authorities! Have them arrested!"

Third Master Du rubbed his ring and smiled at little A-Wu. "Good! Go ahead! Better yet, take your complaint all the way to the Jingzhou prefectural office! It's been a long time since anyone dared bring a lawsuit against me."

Black Han knew that reporting him would be useless.

Third Master Du had powerful backing and wielded influence among both the authorities and the underworld. Black Han had signed a contract, so he might not even have justice on his side. Even if he did, there was no way he could win against this man.

The commotion inside alerted the neighbors, and the Village Head of Eighth Camp Village hurried to the house with seven or eight villagers.

As though clutching at a straw that could save his life, Black Han shouted, "Village Head, save us! They're trying to take A-Wu!"

The Village Head barked, "Who dares cause trouble in our camp village?"

"I do!" Third Master Du stood in the doorway, his face dark.

Startled, the Village Head immediately put on a smile. "Why, if it isn't Third Master! What wind has blown you our way?"

Third Master Du coldly spat out a single word. "Scram."

The Village Head offered an apologetic smile. "Third Master, look, it's so late..."

Third Master Du roared, "Get lost!"

The Village Head and the others fled in a panic.

Third Master Du glanced at Black Han and said impatiently, "Do it."

Four burly men closed in. Seeing the Village Head flee and hearing not a sound from the eastern room, Black Han had already sunk into despair. He was about to draw the saber at his waist and fight for his life when a clear voice rang out: "Who dares!"

Wang Yang emerged slowly from the eastern room. Black Han's tears poured out at once as he pleaded, "Young Master Wang! Please, Young Master Wang, save A-Wu!"

Feigning indifference, Wang Yang said, "I don't leave debts of gratitude unpaid. Your Squad Leader Xue saved me, and you've served me quite well. I had intended to make you a squad leader as repayment, but since this has happened, I'll help you this once instead. Whether you become a squad leader will now depend entirely on your own fortune."

Black Han hastily dropped to his knees and knocked his forehead loudly against the floor several times. "Thank you, Young Master Wang! Thank you! I don't want to be a squad leader. Keeping A-Wu safe is all I ask!"

Third Master Du and his men had not noticed anyone in the eastern room. They were all taken aback when a handsome youth suddenly emerged, speaking with such lofty assurance.

A squad leader might not be a high-ranking official, but it was still a military post. This young man was only seventeen or eighteen and wore such ordinary clothes, yet he casually promised to make someone a squad leader. How could they not be astonished?

"Who are you?" Third Master Du fixed his hawklike eyes on Wang Yang. Many people lost their nerve under that stare before he even said a word.

Getting through life is all about acting!

Here goes nothing!

Without so much as glancing at Third Master Du, Wang Yang calmly settled onto the mat where he had eaten dinner and said mildly, "Someone, provide a seat."

Third Master Du and his men froze. Black Han was too overcome with emotion to react either. A-Wu, however, trotted into the room, brought out a worn straw mat, and laid it neatly opposite Wang Yang.

"Sit." Wang Yang looked at Third Master Du.

Who the hell was this?!

The four burly men exchanged looks, all rather dazed.

Third Master Du, however, was not intimidated. He snorted coldly. "No need to sit. Tell me what family you're from."

Wang Yang knew that his clothes and the place where he had appeared hardly fit the image of someone from the Langya Wang. But volunteering an explanation would only make him seem far too insecure.

He therefore had to choose an opening and let a little information slip naturally.

It did not need to be much. He had to give their imaginations room to roam, then let them find a plausible explanation on their own.

That was how people worked. An explanation they arrived at themselves was far more convincing than one someone else handed them.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. As though speaking to himself, he said, "Running into trouble on this journey has been quite interesting. I've met all sorts of people I would never have met before and seen all sorts of things I would never have seen. Even stray cats and dogs can come asking what family I belong to."

Black Han trembled with fright at Wang Yang's words.

Third Master Du's expression changed abruptly. His four men surged forward, cursing. "Fuck your mother!" "Little slave!" "How dare you speak to Third Master like that!"

Seeing the four charge at him as though ready to gang up and beat him, Wang Yang was scared out of his wits! Yet his face showed nothing but contempt, his gaze as disdainful as could be, treating them all as mere ants.

With sun and moon in hand, I pluck the stars; no man in this world compares to me! Wang Yang frantically repeated to himself.

Black Han, get the hell over here and stop them!

Black Han was still in a daze, but Wang Yang did not get beaten. Third Master Du was the one who stopped his men.

As the saying went, "The longer you've roamed the rivers and lakes, the smaller your courage grows."

The more seasoned a man was in that world, the more cautiously he acted.

Don't dare hit me?

Wang Yang was delighted.

Then don't blame me for taking a mile when you give me an inch!

Wang Yang's face darkened. "Black Han, kill the man who just cursed my mother."

Kill someone?!

Everyone was shocked!

Black Han stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what Wang Yang had just said.

"My mother is from the Chen Commandery Xie Clan. Death to those who insult my mother! Put this man's death on my account. You have nothing to fear. Even if this reaches His Majesty himself, you'll be fine."

"The Chen Commandery Xie Clan? Your mother is from the Chen Commandery Xie Clan?! Then you're..." Third Master Du lost some of his composure. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined meeting a great aristocrat in a godforsaken place like this!

The Xie and Wang clans were both among the foremost great houses of the Southern Dynasties, collectively known as "Wang and Xie." Marriage in those days also required "matching gates and households." If his mother belonged to the Xie family, his father certainly could not be from some humble, common lineage. In this way, Wang Yang laid the first foundation for his claimed identity.

Wang Yang ignored Third Master Du entirely. He looked at Black Han, gave him a meaningful glance, and said irritably, "What are you waiting for?"

At almost the same moment, little A-Wu jabbed her father with her small elbow.

Black Han's wits came back online. He drew his saber with a swish and shouted, "Yes!" Then he advanced on the man who had cursed Wang Yang's mother.

"I-I-I didn't know! I really didn't know!"

The man had never imagined that a single curse could bring death down upon him. Scared out of his senses, he even forgot to run and could only plead in a trembling voice, "Third Master! Third Master, save me!"

The others feared bringing trouble upon themselves, and without Third Master Du's orders, who dared step forward to save him?

Third Master Du knew perfectly well that the youth was bluffing to intimidate them. Even if he came from a mighty first-rank clan and was a true scion of aristocratic houses, a single remark like that hardly justified killing someone.

Even an aristocratic son might not emerge unscathed after killing a man under these circumstances.

But he did not dare gamble.

What if this brat was a reckless hothead accustomed to flouting every law and restraint?

What if the sight of blood awakened Black Han's ferocity and sent him on a killing rampage?

What if this little bastard really did have power reaching to the heavens and arranged to call it self-defense-or silenced every witness?

None of these possibilities was particularly likely, but none could be ruled out. Losing a subordinate was no great matter, really, but what was happening here absolutely could not attract attention. Those above had specifically ordered it! If a bloody clash with this aristocrat really broke out, the affairs here might become impossible to conceal.

To keep matters from escalating, Third Master Du swung his hand back and slapped his subordinate. "Apologize to the young master at once!"

Note: ① Wang Yang ordered Black Han to kill a man over a curse. Through modern eyes, this was sheer unreasonable troublemaking, using a minor offense as a pretext. But the medieval period still retained a culture of vengeance, particularly in matters involving one's parents. For example, Yang Qiu of the Later Han: "When a commandery clerk insulted his mother, Qiu gathered several dozen young men, killed the clerk, and exterminated his household. By this he became known." (Book of the Later Han, "Biographies of Harsh Officials.") During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Northern Zhou law "forbade vengeance throughout the realm; offenders were to be judged as murderers." Emperor Wu of Liang decreed: "None may use private grudges as grounds for retaliation. Any who offend shall be rigorously investigated and tried." Both north and south expressly prohibited vengeance, targeting customs of retaliation inherited from ancient society. Thus, even someone as shrewd as Third Master Du could not entirely take Wang Yang's measure, because in his eyes, Wang Yang really might kill a man over those words.

② A misconception circulated online that aristocratic clans held the power of life and death over commoners. That was not actually the case. Even their own slaves could not be killed at will. For example, the Book of Southern Qi, "Biography of Wang Jingze," stated: "Lady Lu, concubine of the son of Wang Yizhi, Inspector of Guangzhou under Song, was cruel and violent, killing maidservants and concubines. Yizhi's son Fa Lang reported her, and Jingze committed her to Shanyin Prison and had her executed." Here, a concubine of a great house committed murder and therefore paid with her life. For an example involving an aristocrat himself, Shen Wenxiu of the Shen clan of Wuxing served as Jiankang Magistrate: "For flogging a private slave to death on behalf of the Prince of Xunyang, he was dismissed from office and given one hundred strokes of the rod" (Book of Song, "Biography of Shen Wenxiu"). As an official killing on a prince's behalf, he did not pay with his life, but he was still punished. The Northern Dynasties were the same. For example, the Book of Northern Qi, "Biographies of Imperial Relatives," stated: "Wenlüe killed a horse and a maidservant, placed the maidservant's head and the horse's flesh in two silver vessels, and sent them as gifts. The Prince of Pingqin complained to Wenxuan, and Wenlüe was confined in the Capital Prefecture Prison."

In fact, not only killing but even beating someone was not permitted at will. The renowned scholar Zhang Rong, for example, was dismissed from office for striking a servant fifty times (Book of Southern Qi, "Biography of Zhang Rong": "He later requested leave to attend his paternal uncle's funeral. On the road, he punished his attendant Qian Jingdao with fifty strokes of whip and rod and had him held in Yanling Prison. An edict from the fifth year of Daming stipulated that when a pure official of the second rank administered the rod to a servant or attendant, the number of strokes must not exceed ten. Left Assistant Director Sun Mian impeached him, and he was dismissed from office.")

As this showed, once a killing was formally brought to account, punishment could still follow. Of course, discipline and law were lax in those days, and killings that escaped legal sanction were not uncommon. But if the matter really was exposed, the perpetrator might not escape trouble altogether. This was also why Third Master Du believed that if Wang Yang actually killed his subordinate in such circumstances, he might not emerge unscathed.

As for the claim circulating online that aristocrats could kill at will, it probably came from the story in New Account of Tales of the World about beheading beauties for failing to persuade guests to drink. First, however, that book chiefly collected anecdotes and casual tales and could not be treated as an official history. Second, the two Jin dynasties marked the height of aristocratic power, which was why Tian Yuqing argued that the term "aristocratic politics" should apply only to the Eastern Jin. With imperial power rising during the Southern Dynasties, the aristocratic clans could no longer recover their Jin-era glory. Third, arbitrary killings by aristocrats certainly occurred, but either "without an accusation, there was no investigation," or there were unusual, complicated circumstances behind them. Such cases could not be taken as the general rule.