Chapter 34: The Bad Guy and His Bad Friends
Early morning.
A young maid stood on tiptoe to take down the red, bubble-like lanterns from the door, blowing out the candles inside.
Another maid carried warm water, approaching the Old Madam’s room with caution.
The Old Madam was extremely particular about her health; she would not touch anything cold in the early morning, as it was liable to hurt her lungs.
Her breakfast was also prepared with care; while it did not look lavish, it was well-balanced, consisting of foods conducive to longevity.
The mix of soft and hard, meat and vegetable was excellent.
As the Old Madam’s door was gently pushed open, the whole household began to wake up.
Each person was attended to by their own servants for washing and dressing.
Jiang Wan also rose early. After getting up and washing, she sat upright, first copying a Buddhist scripture. She was very focused, her posture correct, her grip on the brush firm—every stroke was made with intent.
Grandmother loved Buddhist scriptures.
She would copy one every day to send over.
Her boudoir was large, and the antique shelf held many bottles and jars, but the most striking feature was a bookshelf filled with many books.
These books were truly rare.
In the world outside, people were generally illiterate.
Being able to read was enough to be respectfully addressed as “Teacher.”
A household like hers, which not only possessed literacy but also such a vast collection of books, required not just wealth, but a deep heritage to achieve.
On the desk, besides the scriptures, there were a few books placed casually; they were a bit worn, showing they were read daily.
Under the books lay a few landscape paintings—ordinary scenery, yet the perspective was excellent, the charm natural and unforced, all stamped with Jiang Wan’s small seal.
Beside the bookshelf was another window facing the small bridge and flowing water in the courtyard. Inside the window stood a guqin, the spots where her hands rested polished and shiny, evidence of Jiang Wan’s frequent practice.
The bookshelf covered various categories, including one shelf dedicated entirely to chess manuals and books on strategy.
Jiang Wan finished copying the scripture, stood up, and washed her hands with the help of a maid.
As she accepted the hand towel from the maid, she even thanked her politely.
The little maid blushed with shyness.
…
The matriarch of the household, Madam Wu, had also risen, her complexion rosy.
Her husband had risen even earlier; he must have gone to the training grounds to exercise.
Although her life was far less luxurious than in the past, and her jewelry did not keep up with the latest seasonal trends—and the people she associated with in this backwater place were far below what she would have looked down upon in the past—she was clearly living quite well.
Her husband doted on her, and their intimate life was also perfect.
Although her husband was not as handsome as the Second Uncle, he was refined, cultured, and skilled in martial arts—was he not a hundred times better than that skinny man, the Second Uncle?
Only after marriage did she realize what use a man’s looks were.
Madam Wu was in a good mood and instructed her head maid: “Bilo, go to the courtyard and pick a fresh branch to replace the old one; it will look more spirited.”
…
At the training grounds, under the lush, leafy tree, a man in a dark blue forged robe was punching with force, his breathing rhythmic.
He was very robust.
Jiang Huaisheng was an outstanding talent rare in this era; born into nobility, he excelled in all of the Six Arts of the Gentleman.
Even after arriving in this countryside, he did not give up on his diligent study and training, day after day, with great self-discipline.
…
The person in the family who caused the most worry was likely the young master, Jiang Rong.
Jiang Rong had previously received two lashes from his father and had used recuperating from illness as an excuse to rest for two days.
He was worried that if he kept resting, he would get lashed again, so he got up early today to go to the County School.
He put on the new robe his mother had urgently ordered someone to make for him.
He first went to pay his respects to his grandmother, seeing that her expression was the same as usual, no different.
He thought to himself, ‘Could it be that Jiang Feng didn’t get into trouble? Although Grandmother drove that family out of the house, if anything happened to their family, Grandmother would be the first to know.’
His sister was also the same as usual, an old stick-in-the-mud, uninteresting.
After paying his respects, Jiang Rong slipped away before his father arrived.
Today, Guard Wu Liu actually hadn’t come.
He didn’t know where he had died.
Jiang Rong went out with two servants; he hadn’t felt anything when Guard Wu Liu was around, but now that he hadn’t come, he felt inexplicably anxious.
He must be worried about being punished.
Jiang Rong walked slowly toward the County School with his servants.
As it turned out, he ran straight into several hoodlums standing not far away, one of whom was Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng seemed to be looking at him, too.
Moreover, Jiang Feng’s gaze was inexplicably terrifying.
He couldn’t help but feel a dull ache in his waist.
Jiang Rong retreated a step in fright, but then felt he was being too cowardly—this was the main street, what was there to be afraid of?
He led his servants and swaggered past Jiang Feng.
Sure enough, Jiang Feng was not looking at him.
He was chatting with the hoodlums beside him, a smile on his face.
Jiang Feng wore a smile as he watched Young Master Jiang Rong walk past him with his servants.
The wound on his eye, covered by his hair, was itching.
The youth beside him held a steamed bun, swallowing it in big mouthfuls while bumping his arm: “Brother Feng, are you in! Mmm, my big brother said, we just need to follow along and cheer, scare the passersby; we don’t need to actually do anything. If it comes to a real fight, they’ll handle it. We’re just there to add to the numbers. When they eat the meat, we can drink the soup.”
Jiang Rong heard this from afar and couldn’t help but inwardly spit.
Isn’t that just robbery!
A dog can’t change its habit of eating excrement.
Bad people are rotten to the bone; they make such evil deeds sound high-sounding.
He didn’t need to deal with him; a hoodlum like Jiang Feng would sooner or later bring about his own death.
Jiang Rong sped up a few steps, feeling that even being close to someone like Jiang Feng lowered his own status. That he was worthy of the surname Jiang was an insult to his surname.
Jiang Feng listened to the youth’s words and asked unhurriedly: “How many people do we have? How many people does Big Brother have? Who are we scaring?”
The youth scratched his head, swallowed the bun in his throat with effort, and said somewhat blankly: “Just us guys who hang out together, maybe seven or eight. Big Brother said we just need to cheer. They have a lot of people. The people we’re scaring are just a few young masters from rich families who are out having fun. They’re rich, super rich, wearing silk.”
“Brother Feng, are you going or not? We’re just waiting for your word. We all trust you. If you go, we’ll all go with you.”
Another youth didn’t have a bun, but he stared at the youth eating the bun and swallowed several times.
Jiang Feng looked at the back of Jiang Rong, who was wearing a silk robe, nodded, and said: “I’m going. To cheer for Big Brother, I’m definitely going.”
“Go, go, go, let’s hurry then. Big Brother said, if he has a mouthful of meat, we’ll definitely have a mouthful of soup.”
The youth dragged Jiang Feng along.
He didn’t budge.
Jiang Feng patted his patched robe and laughed: “Let’s go, let’s go drink some soup.”
The few youths walked with their arms around each other, swaggering along…
