Just then, a servant came to report that Second Master Lian had sent his attendant Zhao'er with a message. Feng-jie hurriedly had him shown in.
Zhao'er bent one knee in greeting. "My respects to the Old Ancestress, Madam, and Second Madam... Eldest Master Zhen has woken up, and a physician has been called. He said his face was swollen from the blows, but the injuries were only superficial. A few days of medicinal dressings should have him fully recovered."
"Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva protect us..." Lady Jia murmured several Buddhist invocations. The others looked somewhat less worried and likewise kept invoking the Buddha. Only Feng-jie wore an odd expression. She raised her eyes and exchanged a glance with You-shi; the two sisters-in-law dimly understood what had happened.
Meanwhile, Baoyu emerged from behind the screen with Daiyu following him. The young girls Ying, Tan, and Xi also rose and peered out curiously.
"Old Ancestress!" Baoyu rushed into the Old Madam's arms, wheedling and fussing.
Lady Jia held Jia Baoyu and soothed him. "My precious Baoyu, you weren't frightened just now, were you?"
After indulging in her affection for a while, Jia Baoyu asked, "Old Ancestress, why did I hear that something had happened to Brother Zhen?"
"We don't even know what happened yet, but these servants are already shouting nonsense. I was just about to go over and see." Lady Jia smiled kindly.
So long as it was not something as terrifying as the death of one of the men who supported the household, Lady Jia, the Jia family's old matriarch who had weathered great winds and waves, could still hold steady.
As though sensing Lady Jia's composure, the atmosphere of mourning in Rongqing Hall vanished like smoke. Feng-jie gave a light laugh and urged, "Old Ancestress, it's pitch-dark at this hour. Why don't I accompany Sister-in-law You to the Eastern Mansion to see Brother Zhen?"
Though a passage connected the eastern and western mansions, it was the middle of the night, and the old lady was advanced in years. If anything happened to her, it would be no laughing matter.
Madam Wang said, "What Feng says makes sense."
Lady Jia said, "Yuanyang, go along too. Find out what happened, and how someone came to beat his face swollen."
Baoyu also said, "Old Ancestress, I'll go to the Eastern Mansion to see Brother Zhen too."
"It's bound to be in utter chaos over there right now. You can visit your Brother Zhen tomorrow." Lady Jia smiled and tapped Baoyu's forehead.
Baoyu could only give up.
Seeing that Yuanyang was going too, Feng-jie knew the matter could not be concealed. She said, "Old Ancestress, could it have been Master Heng from the back street who struck him?"
"Which Master Heng?" Lady Jia asked, her brows drawing together.
Zhao'er spoke up from the side. "Second Master said it was Master Heng who struck him."
Meeting Lady Jia's and Madam Wang's gazes, Feng-jie said, "You remember Jia Si, the Fourth Uncle in Liutiao Alley on the back street? He died long ago, leaving only Aunt Dong and their boy, Jia Heng. A widow and her orphaned son-she struggled to raise him from childhood, and then she too passed away before the New Year. With neither parent left to guide him, it's hardly surprising that the boy has grown stubborn as an ox and contrary."
In front of Lady Jia and the other women of the family, Feng-jie refrained from calling Jia Si directly by name.
An unusual expression crossed Li Wan's lovely face. The upright figure of a youth seemed to rise before her eyes. Jia Heng? He certainly had some nerve.
Displeasure showed in Lady Jia's aged eyes. Holding back her anger, she asked, "So that's the Master Heng you mean. Why did Jia Heng strike Zhen?"
Wang Xifeng said, "That Jia Heng has always been fond of brandishing blades and spears, showing off his courage and picking fights. Young men coming to blows over a disagreement is hardly unusual."
You-shi was a little more fair-minded and did not add fuel to the fire. Her soft, sweet voice carried a hint of tears as she said, "My husband found a match for Brother Rong: Qin Ye's daughter-he's a director in the Ministry of Works' Imperial Provisioning Office. But it turned out she'd already been betrothed as a child, with a marriage contract drawn up years ago. The groom named in that contract was Jia Heng. My husband wanted to ask Jia Heng to break off the engagement. Earlier today, there was already a scene. Lai Sheng went over, and after a few words went against Jia Heng's liking, he was beaten until his face swelled like a pig's... like goodness knows what."
Remembering that her own husband's face had just been beaten swollen too, You-shi swallowed the words on her rosy lips and hastily corrected herself.
Lady Jia fell silent for a moment, turning the matter over and over in her mind.
There was no need to spell it out. Zhen of the Eastern Mansion had most likely offered money, mixing threats with inducements to force the other party to break off the engagement, only to run into a hot-tempered young clansman, full of youthful fire...
Better to bully a white-haired old man than a poor young man. How could Zhen not understand that? Why insist on stirring up such turmoil that even the chickens and dogs knew no peace? How had it come to this?
Brother Rong was a duke's legitimate grandson. Why did he have to steal someone else's marriage?
Zhen was a fool.
And that Jia Heng had no respect for seniority or rank either. The moment he struck, he went straight for Zhen's face. What sort of behavior was that?
Jia Zhen was the clan head. He represented the dignity of the Jia Family!
Lady Jia felt utterly weary. She slammed her cane down, making the floor thud beneath it, and said, "Send someone to summon Jia Heng!"
"Now?" Plain hesitation appeared on Feng-jie's radiant face. "It's so late. Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow..."
It was already the middle of the You Hour-past ten at night by modern reckoning. Even if Jia Heng was to be dealt with, surely it should wait until tomorrow.
Li Wan also stepped forward to persuade her. "Old Madam, please don't be angry yet. Raising such an uproar in the dead of night won't help. Besides, the Five-City Military Command has patrols out in the streets, so coming and going isn't convenient. Just have the boy come first thing tomorrow morning. Brother Zhen is the one we ought to worry about now. We still don't know whether the beating has done him any serious harm."
Lady Jia felt this was reasonable too. She heaved a deep sigh. "I'm old now and no longer concern myself much with the affairs of the household or the clan. They've grown more and more pleased with themselves, utterly lawless. An elder brother doesn't act like an elder brother, and a younger brother doesn't act like a younger brother. They've disgraced us with this brawl between brothers. Who knows how many people will laugh at us!"
By an elder brother not acting like one, she naturally meant Jia Zhen, who had used his position as an older clansman to steal a younger kinsman's marriage for his own son.
By a younger brother not acting like one, she meant Jia Heng, who had struck his older kinsman in the face. Did he have any regard for the Jia Family at all?
Yuanyang hurriedly brought over a cup of Maple Dew Tea and smilingly soothed her. "Old Madam, there are several thousand people in this clan. How could everything always go as you wish? There are bound to be hot-blooded young people who act willfully and lose their tempers. If you let yourself get angry over every one of them, you won't need to do anything about your three meals a day-you'll be full of anger alone."
This senior maid in Lady Jia's rooms was in the bloom of youth, with a lovely face, almond eyes, and peach-blossom cheeks. She wore an emerald vest with piped edges over a green silk pleated skirt. Her soft, lustrous hair was braided and tied with a red cord. Her clear, pleasing voice, like an oriole emerging from a valley, soothed Lady Jia's anger.
Seeing Lady Jia's anger, Feng-jie rolled her phoenix eyes and likewise coaxed her. "Old Ancestress, even brothers in ordinary families scuffle and quarrel. It's like the teeth and tongue-even over a meal, they sometimes knock against each other and fight. Who would say they aren't close? What's there for anyone to laugh at?"
Madam Wang came over to soothe her too, while Baoyu wheedled at her side and the girls gathered around to keep her company. Only then did Lady Jia's expression ease. She instructed Feng-jie, "Feng, you and You-shi should hurry over to the Eastern Mansion and see Zhen. Whatever the matter is, leave it until tomorrow."
After all that commotion, Lady Jia was plainly tired too.
Meanwhile, the rear courtyard of the Eastern Mansion blazed with light. In the reception hall, Jia Zhen lay on a rattan chair with a towel laid over his face, groaning incessantly while fury burned in his eyes.
This pampered young master had only ever been slapped hard by his father, Jia Jing, when he was a child. In all the years since, this was the first time a member of a collateral branch had struck him in the face before an audience. He felt humiliated beyond measure.
So much so that earlier, he had failed to react properly. Thrown off balance, he had even uttered those shocking words inviting death.
Now that he had calmed down, fear crept in after the fact. Jia Heng's face had been openly savage. Had he drawn his sword to kill him?
No, he wouldn't dare. He would never dare...
Beside him, Jia Lian sighed heavily. "Brother Zhen, surely it could have been discussed peaceably. As the saying goes, even if the bargain falls through, goodwill remains. How did it come to this?"
Jia Zhen's eyes blazed. The pain in his cheeks and the humiliation in his heart tormented him. "Second Brother, I'm going to kill that little bastard! I'll kill him! Tomorrow I'll report him to Jingzhao Prefecture for defying the clan head and have him arrested! Send him to penal military service, exile him..."
At this, the corner of Jia Lian's mouth twitched. Defying the clan head, penal military service, exile? Does Brother Zhen think the government office belongs to our Jia Family?
Still, he had to persuade him. "Brother Zhen, calm down first. Jia Heng may be hateful, but from the look of him, he's a vicious, desperate fellow. If his savage temper flares again and he comes at you with blades and spears... wouldn't you be smashing fine jade against a clay pot?"
"If I don't avenge this insult, I swear I'm no man!" Jia Zhen declared furiously.
Before you continue