The lady's orders: seize them!

In history, a fellow townsman of Xie An's had been dismissed from office and was left with fifty thousand Fan-Palm Fans in stock before returning home. To help him, Xie An took one of the fans for his own use. When the nobles and commoners of the Capital heard that Xie An used a Fan-Palm Fan, they scrambled to buy them and follow his example, actually driving the price up severalfold!

The incident had long circulated as a vivid illustration of Xie An's elegance, but the "fellow townsman" he had helped in the story had left no name behind. That gave Wang Yang room to maneuver.

The last two lines of the poem meant that fifty thousand Fan-Palm Fans fanning together could shatter the fiercest summer heat. Even if their cool breeze lasted only half a day, the friendship could endure for ten thousand generations.

Friendship called for repayment, and with repayment going back and forth, wouldn't this business start to take shape?

The poem was clever in two ways. First, it was a poem sent to a girl without being frivolous. It contained neither flippant praise of her beauty nor any declaration of admiration. The entire poem celebrated a worthy ancestor of the Xie family, making it a poem on history, and it even grounded itself in the pretext of repaying an ancestor's debt. That gave it both reason and justification. Second, the poem served as a "written contract" proving that his ancestor owed money-the so-called "pledge of the heart." This ensured that she would read it rather than throw it away outright, as Fatty had suggested.

Still, though Wang Yang had found a pretext both to deliver the letter and to make her read it, he was ultimately just being a smart aleck. Lady Xie was no fool. How could she fail to see through his trick? The key was whether she would play along.

Wang Yang had no firm grasp of Lady Xie's temperament. With not a sound coming from the carriage, his heart fluttered uneasily.

Seeing her mistress read the sheet again and again, her pretty face growing colder and her fingers tightening on the letter, Xiao Ning cautiously asked, "My lady, this letter..."

"Seize them!" Xie Xinghan clenched her fair, delicate fingers, crumpling the letter into a ball.

Xiao Ning called loudly, "The lady's orders: seize them!"

"Run!" Wang Yang grabbed Le Pang and bolted, but Le Pang failed to react and stood rooted to the spot.

The four servants of Xie Residence rushed forward together, only for a vast cloud of white powder to sweep down upon them, like the Milky Way pouring backward from the heavens!

It was flour!

Wang Yang had told Black Han in advance to buy it from the tavern for their escape.

A handful of copper coins flew into the air along with the flour.

"Money for the taking!" Wang Yang shouted.

Flour scattered everywhere and stung their eyes, the townspeople scrambled for the coins, and the youths all raised a clamor. The scene instantly dissolved into chaos!

Wang Yang, Le Pang, and Black Han seized the chance to sprint away!

"Stop... stop running... I can't, I can't... really... run... anymore." Le Pang bent at the waist, panting heavily.

"Did... did we lose them?" Wang Yang was exhausted too. Those servants from Xie Residence had been utterly relentless. With their heads covered in flour, they had still chased them for three whole streets!

Black Han was the fittest of the three. Seeing that Wang Yang and Le Pang had stopped running, he doubled back to check whether any pursuers were still following.

"My good brother, it was all thanks to you today. I'll remember this favor! Come home with me, and let's have a proper drink."

Wang Yang did not dare go home with Fatty, because Fatty's father was the deputy governor of Jingzhou. Back when Lu Su had urged Liu Bei to give Pang Tong an important post, he had said that Pang Tong's talents were too great for a mere county and that he ought to hold a key position such as deputy governor or administrative director.

During the Southern Dynasties, a deputy governor no longer wielded as much power as in the Later Han, but he was still a high-ranking provincial official, roughly equivalent to a vice governor. Fatty might not be able to tell whether Wang Yang's identity was genuine, but his father was another matter.

"Another day. I still have something to do today. I'll call on you once I've finished." Wang Yang decided to get the two thousand coins first, then proceed with his original plan.

"Why another day? Come today! Besides, don't you need two thousand coins? I didn't bring much with me, only one string. Come home with me for a drink, and you can get the money while you're there."

One string was a thousand coins strung together.

People in ancient times generally carried money in one of three ways: in a pocket sewn into their clothing, in a money pouch, or hanging from their bodies or wrapped around their waists.

Pockets were commonly located in two places. One was inside the sleeve, with the drawstring opening at the elbow, facing the opposite direction from the cuff. As long as the opening was drawn tight, nothing inside would fall out. Thus, during the Eastern Jin, there had been a medical book called Emergency Formulas to Keep Up One’s Sleeve, meaning a book that could be tucked into a pocket and carried around, much like a modern book titled "Pocket Guide."

The other was the "triangular" pocket formed where the sash overlapped the front of the robe. Putting things inside it was what people meant by "carrying something in one's bosom." The Chan Writings of the Song contained the lines, "Suspecting my bosom brimmed with Buddhist teachings, I loosened my sash and shook out my ragged robes." This "bosom brimming with Buddhist teachings" was not merely a metaphor. People really could carry things inside the fronts of their robes.

Paper banknotes had not yet been invented in Southern Qi, nor had gold and silver become the principal currencies for ordinary transactions. Though copper coins came in different denominations, none of the Southern Dynasties except the Chen Dynasty had minted large coins weighing more than five zhu. Ancient coins were permitted to circulate, such as the Great Spring Worth a Thousand from Eastern Wu or the Five Hundred Zhu Coin minted by Shu Han, but these "large-denomination notes" were scarce, and their value had depreciated considerably in circulation. Thus, even the wealthy would not carry too many copper coins on them.

Should I take the thousand coins first?

No, a thousand isn't enough. I have to get two thousand.

Wang Yang said, "Today really isn't convenient for me. We can drink just as well another day. Black Han, go with Young Master Le to collect the money."

Seeing Wang Yang's firm refusal, Le Pang stopped insisting. Wang Yang called Black Han over and gave him a few instructions before letting him go home with Le Pang.

Along the way, Le Pang asked Black Han about Wang Yang. Black Han replied, "Without my master's permission, I dare not discuss his affairs." Le Pang merely took it as evidence of the Langya Wang clan's strict household rules and was not offended.

When they reached the deputy governor's residence, Black Han followed Wang Yang's instructions and refused to enter, insisting on waiting outside. Le Pang could only let him have his way.

"Shuangji, draw two thousand coins from my account and give them to that dark-faced man outside."

"Young master..." Shuangji faltered, looking troubled.

Le Pang did not notice. As he walked into the courtyard, he called, "Achang, pick ten men and have them bring clubs. Come with me to corner that bastard Sun Duo!"

"Someone, hurry and help me change! Don't let that bastard Sun Duo get away!"

Only after calling several times did Le Pang realize something was wrong. Instead of coming forward to attend him as usual, the servants in the courtyard were looking at him timidly, as though they wanted to speak but dared not.

"What's wrong with you all?" Le Pang stopped and asked in bewilderment.

"You unfilial wretch! You still have the nerve to come home! Men! Seize this unfilial wretch!"

At his father's shout, Le Pang trembled with fright. Without knowing what had happened, he hurried toward the gate. Seven or eight servants moved to stop him, and Le Pang shouted, "All of you, get out of my way!"

The servants dared not truly lay hands on him, but neither did they dare let their young master escape. They could only block his path with their bodies while apologizing to him. Le Pang was just about to force his way through when two guards rushed up from behind and pinned him down.

"Why are you grabbing me? What did I do wrong?" Le Pang struggled and shouted.

"Forgive us, young master!" The guards escorted Le Pang all the way into the front hall, where his father, Le Zhan, the deputy governor of Jingzhou, was waiting in a fury with a rattan cane in hand.

"You unfilial wretch! Kneel!"

"Father-"

"Kneel!"

Le Pang dared not resist and knelt right in the middle of the hall.

"I'll beat you to death today, you frivolous, ill-behaved, ignorant, good-for-nothing son!"

Le Zhan showed no mercy. The pain made Le Pang howl. "Ow! Ah! Father, at least-ow! Why are you beating me?"

Le Zhan grew ever more absorbed in the beating, berating Le Pang for idling about, chasing amusement, and stirring up trouble, but never answering his son's question. The rattan cane lashed back and forth, making Le Pang squeal like a pig being slaughtered.

"Lord Le, there is no need to be angry. Ask him what happened first. There will still be time to punish him afterward." A young girl's cool, refined voice sounded from the rear hall.