Jia Zhen's fury

Ningguo Mansion

Jia Zhen and You-shi were listening to opera in the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. As luck would have it, today was Jia Zhen's birthday, so they had invited the opera troupe from Qingfang Garden. Flutes and strings played on the stage, accompanied by an endless stream of lilting song.

Jia Lian and his wife, Feng-jie, had also accepted Jia Zhen and You-shi's invitation to enjoy the performance at the Eastern Mansion. Feng-jie's maids, Ping'er and Feng’er, stood nearby attending them.

The troupe was performing an excerpt from "Dingjun Mountain," in which Huang Zhong slew Xiahou Yuan in battle.

Cracking melon seeds, Jia Lian asked with a smile, "What have you been busy with lately, Cousin Zhen?"

In truth, he knew perfectly well. Only a couple of days ago, he had heard Jia Zhen complain about finding Brother Rong a wife. Now he was simply picking a ready-made topic to keep the conversation going.

Tapping lightly with the folding fan in his hand, Jia Zhen said, "Brother Rong is getting on in years. He's old enough to marry now, so I've been looking for a good match."

You-shi smiled beside him. Wine had flushed her youthful, lovely face, lending her a captivating charm. She was as radiant as peach blossoms in March, and Jia Lian could not help stealing a couple of glances.

But Feng-jie seemed to have eyes everywhere. Beneath the table, her hand pinched the soft flesh at Jia Lian's waist.

You-shi picked up the conversation with a laughing remark. "Second Mistress, you have sharp eyes and a careful mind. Do help us find Brother Rong a good match."

As sisters-in-law, You-shi and Feng-jie were accustomed to joking freely with each other, and neither held back now.

Wang Xifeng laughed. "Oh my, I thought Cousin Zhen had seen plenty of the world outside. Here in the Prefecture, the only women I see are maids and old serving women. None of them would suit Brother Rong, would they?"

Though spoken without any particular intent, her words struck the heart of the matter. Jia Zhen really had found someone he fancied.

Seeing Jia Zhen fall silent in thought, Wang Xifeng smiled. "Just as I said-Cousin Zhen is a careful man. He's determined to find Brother Rong a good wife."

Jia Lian set down his melon seeds and turned his extraordinarily handsome face toward Jia Zhen. A faint gleam flickered in his peach-blossom eyes as he asked, "Whose daughter has caught your eye, Cousin Zhen?"

The two cousins had been accustomed to carousing together in their younger days.

Stroking his beard, Jia Zhen smiled. "I did have a family in mind, but their daughter was already betrothed as a child. I'm still sorting that out."

"A childhood betrothal?" Wang Xifeng asked.

"We still don't know whose daughter she is," Jia Lian said.

Jia Zhen was about to explain when a commotion suddenly arose in the distance. Then Lai Sheng and several servants came in a dark cluster along the Covered Corridor.

Jia Rong followed behind them, his head bowed, looking as though he had lost both his parents.

"Master, you must seek justice for me!" Lai Sheng reached them and dropped to his knees with a thud. Clutching one side of his face, he wailed, "That Jia Heng is a rebellious fucking bastard! I told him you wanted to question him, but he wouldn't heed your summons at all. I went up to reason with him, and that high-and-mighty master lost his temper, grabbed us, and gave us a thorough slapping!"

Then he took his hand away, revealing half a face swollen with blood to the height of half a finger's breadth.

The four household servants behind him raised their heads as well.

Good heavens-their noses were bruised and their faces swollen. They looked exactly like four pig heads.

Jia Heng had practiced martial arts for years, and his hands knew their work. Each punch or slap drew blood; each blow of a stick left a welt.

At first, the injuries had not looked so bad, but as time passed, their faces had swollen into pig heads.

At the sight, You-shi's rosy face froze, and her delicate lips parted. Unable to help herself, she burst out laughing. Her cloudlike coiffure and dangling hair ornament trembled gently, and her lovely face shone with radiant charm. Then, realizing how inappropriate it was, she lightly pressed her crimson lips together.

Feng-jie was less concerned with such niceties. Half laughing and half indignant, she said, "How could he beat them like this! He truly has no respect for the law."

Jia Lian frowned. "He was far too heavy-handed. Jia Heng? Hmm? Which branch is he from?"

As he spoke, he looked questioningly at Feng-jie.

Jia Zhen slammed the table in fury. "Rebellion! This is outright rebellion!"

In his rage, he used precisely the same words as Lai Sheng. They truly were master and servant.

Those blows had struck Lai Da, but they had also struck Ningguo Mansion in the face! Struck the Jia family in the face!

"Where is that dog?" Jia Zhen demanded. "I'll have that lawless wretch seized!"

Suddenly, he looked up and spotted Jia Rong. His eyes turned venomous, as though he meant to devour him. "You unfilial beast! Look what you've done!"

With nowhere left to hide, Jia Rong dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed. "There was nothing I could do, Father! Jia Heng is formidable with his fists and feet. Yes-even the eldest young master of the Feng family said he was formidable. Ordinary men can't get near him..."

As he spoke, Jia Zhen reached for his teacup, but Feng-jie rose to her feet. "Calm yourself, Cousin Zhen. How old is Brother Rong, after all? How could he manage something so serious? It isn't worth getting this angry."

Jia Lian also stood to soothe him. "Didn't Brother Rong just explain? That Jia Heng is a violent brawler. Even if Rong went up to him, he couldn't withstand a pounding from those fists."

With Feng-jie and Jia Lian intervening, Jia Zhen's expression shifted several times. "If your second uncle and aunt weren't protecting you, I'd skin you alive today!"

"All of you, get up!" Jia Zhen barked again.

Jia Rong shuddered in fright and slowly rose. He went over to Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng and bowed. "Thank you, Second Uncle, Aunt."

Jia Zhen sat down again, his anger still simmering. Clearly, Jia Heng's "insolent defiance" continued to infuriate him.

Jia Rong said, "There is something else I must report, Father. Jia Heng also asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Oh? What did he say?" Jia Lian asked.

Jia Rong said, "Jia Heng said that if you wished to discuss anything with him, you needn't send such insolent servants. He also said you should arrange another place to meet. Unless it was the year-end ancestral rites, he wouldn't enter the Prefecture."

"Just listen to that! What sort of talk is that? Our Jia family has held ducal and marquis titles for a hundred years. How did we produce such a bastard, with no respect for his elders?" Jia Zhen fumed to Feng-jie and Jia Lian. "Send someone to the prefect of Jingzhao at once. Report this to His Lordship and have that bastard arrested for defying his clan elders!"

"The Jingzhao Prefecture doesn't handle this sort of thing," Jia Lian said with a frown. "Besides, if we make a fuss, we'll only become a laughingstock."

Especially since, from what he had heard, the affair seemed to involve stealing Jia Heng's intended bride. They had little right on their side to begin with.

The moment Jia Lian heard what sort of matter this was, he felt that even if they took it to the authorities, the Jia family would have a hard time winning the case.

"What laughingstock? We need only spend a little silver." By the time Jia Zhen finished speaking, even he sounded less certain.

Xu Lu, the current prefect of Jingzhao, was upright and impartial. He had no ties to the Jia family and scarcely gave their influence any consideration.

Feng-jie knitted her brows. "Cousin Zhen, Jia Heng mentioned insolent servants. Could there be more to this? From what I'm hearing, he seems to want a proper talk with you."

Seeing Jia Zhen's troubled expression, Feng-jie's phoenix eyes flashed beneath her curved willow-leaf brows. She deliberately sought an opportunity to demonstrate her ability.

Jia Zhen's face remained dark, but he too was turning Jia Heng's words over in his mind. After a moment's thought, he demanded, "Rong, tell me everything that happened when you went to see Jia Heng, from beginning to end."

Jia Rong hesitated, then began recounting everything in full detail.

Jia Zhen frowned. "What does Jia Heng mean by this? Could there still be room to negotiate? But last time, didn't he say something about not breaking his word even for ten thousand taels of gold?"

"Perhaps there is still room to discuss it," Jia Lian said. "Why not speak to Jia Heng again, Cousin Zhen?"

Jia Zhen stood and paced beneath the eaves with his hands behind his back. After considering it for a while, he raised his eyes to Jia Rong. "Rong, go again this afternoon and deliver a letter. Tell him I've arranged to discuss matters with him at the Green and Red Pavilion tonight. Let's see whether he comes."