Chapter 15: Fury

Liu Zhang strode forward in great strides, while Caiwei had to trot to keep up beside him.

As they went, Caiwei recounted the entire affair in detail. First, Li Da, the deputy steward of the residence, had conveyed Liu Mao’s order and asked Madam Wang for several singing girls. Madam Wang had fended him off by invoking Liu Zhang’s orders. Then Madam Wang had been summoned by Liu Mao, and after a disagreement, she had been beaten fifty times with a staff.

Liu Zhang saw the heart of the matter as clearly as a polished mirror. He could more or less guess what had happened: Li Da, the intermediary who had delivered the message, had most likely embellished the story and fanned the flames.

His elder brother, Liu Mao, had once believed that the position of Governor of Yizhou belonged to him and no one else. Thus, he had always put on the appearance of a benevolent man who loved others and treated the worthy with courtesy, rarely punishing servants harshly for their mistakes.

Now that his hopes of becoming Governor of Yizhou had been dashed, his true nature had emerged. He had become extremely severe toward the servants around him, beating or cursing them at the slightest provocation. Yet he still retained some of his former tolerance. Beating an elderly woman to death was something he likely could not have done without someone provoking him.

Li Da had never been content with his station. He was always scheming to climb higher, and for that purpose had attached himself to Liu Mao. Relying on Liu Mao’s authority, he had often shown disrespect toward Liu Zhang’s former self. But Liu Zhang’s former self had been mild-tempered and had never held it against him. He had assumed that after Liu Zhang became Governor of Yizhou and Li Da lost his influence, the man would settle down. Never had he expected Li Da to stir up such a calamity today.

It was time to clean up the Governor’s residence, Liu Zhang thought. Only after the house was swept clean could one invite guests in.

Before long, Liu Zhang entered the courtyard where Liu Mao was staying. Seeing the raised white-wax staff and Madam Wang sprawled over the bench, apparently motionless, he gave a thunderous shout.

“Stop!”

Zhang San and Li Si halted at once. Seeing Liu Zhang arrive, they immediately fell to their knees. The two were Li Da’s staunchest lackeys, but in the end they were only servants. The man before them was the newly appointed Governor of Yizhou, a figure they could not afford to ignore. If they caused trouble, Liu Mao might protect Li Da, but he would never protect them.

Caiwei immediately rushed forward and reached Madam Wang’s side. She examined her condition, softly calling her “Mother” beside her ear, but received no response.

Liu Zhang also stepped forward and came around to the other side. Taking Madam Wang’s right hand, he felt for her pulse. If a man could not become a fine statesman, he should become a good physician. His former self had studied medicine and possessed some experience in it.

The pulse was so faint as to be nearly nonexistent. For an aged and weakened woman, dozens of blows had left her on the brink of death.

It seemed that Madam Wang heard Caiwei’s cries. Though her pulse was nearly gone, she opened her eyes and looked at Caiwei, whose tears were streaming freely. She managed to force a kindly smile and tried to raise her hand to wipe away the tears on Caiwei’s face. But the withered hand reached only halfway before falling helplessly back down, and her eyes closed once more.

The pulse had vanished.

Liu Zhang felt it clearly. Madam Wang’s brief awakening had merely been the last flicker of life. She was dead.

“Heh, Jiyu is here. Come in quickly. Let us brothers have a good drink together.”

Hearing the commotion, Liu Mao emerged with Li Da at his side.

Liu Zhang did not respond. He stood there blankly, staring at Madam Wang, who had died with a kindly expression on her face. Caiwei seemed to have realized it as well. Tears and mucus streamed down her face, yet she did not dare make a sound.

“Elder Brother, do you know that Madam Wang is dead?”

After a long moment, Liu Zhang calmly announced her death.

“Burp.”

Liu Mao belched drunkenly and said with indifference, “Dead is dead. That wretched slave was far too weak to take a beating.”

Liu Zhang’s expression did not change. The angrier he became, the calmer he appeared.

Behind him, however, Gan Ning and Gan Jiu both wore furious expressions.

Looking at Madam Wang, a woman about the same age as his own mother, Gan Ning felt a surge of rage. She had been beaten to death and then subjected to Liu Mao’s humiliation. As a wandering warrior, he hated nothing more than those who bullied women and children.

Gan Jiu’s anger came from a different place. His own mother had been born a servant, and he knew all too well the pain of masters harming their slaves at will. He loathed it with all his heart. Having often witnessed his mother being mistreated by her owners as a child, he now clenched both fists tightly.

“I wonder what offense Madam Wang committed,” Liu Zhang demanded of his good elder brother, Liu Mao, pressing him for an explanation.

Still fueled by wine and with his anger unabated, Liu Mao blurted out, “That wretched slave dared to slight me. I asked her for several singing girls, and she refused. She even said she would only give them to you, Jiyu. Does she mean that I, Liu Mao, am unworthy? I am a noble young master! Am I supposed to endure humiliation at the hands of a servant?”

“Does Elder Brother not know what kind of person Madam Wang is? She is honest and dutiful. How could she commit such an act of defiance or utter such rebellious words?”

Liu Zhang affirmed Madam Wang’s character, then turned sharply toward Li Da.

“Li Da, how exactly did you deliver the message?”

Under Liu Zhang’s fixed stare, cold sweat began to form on Li Da’s forehead and ran in rivulets down his fleshy face. He swallowed and replied with a tremble, “My lord, everything I conveyed was true. I fabricated nothing.”

“Is that so?”

Liu Zhang’s face twisted into a look of disdain. He shouted, “You bastard, you slandered another man before my elder brother and sowed discord, thereby causing Madam Wang’s death.”

“You truly deserve to die!”

By then, Liu Mao had probably guessed what had happened. Li Da might indeed have embellished Madam Wang’s words. But Liu Mao could not yield now. Otherwise, his standing within the residence would plummet, and his supposedly timid younger brother would crush him beneath his heel.

He shielded Li Da and said, “Jiyu, although Li Da’s account may have differed somewhat from the truth, it was true in essence. That wretched slave indeed failed to show proper respect to me, a noble young master. She did overstep herself.”

Liu Zhang did not answer Liu Mao. Instead, his tone suddenly softened as he asked Li Da, “Li Da, do you know of Emperor Guangwu?”

He had cast out a hook, waiting for the fish to swallow it of its own accord.

Li Da answered at once, his voice steady this time. “Of course I do. I have read a little. Emperor Guangwu restored the Han dynasty. He possessed both virtue and talent, excelled in both civil and military affairs, and was brave and fearless.”

He placed particular emphasis on the words “brave and fearless,” raising his tone slightly. Relying on Liu Mao’s recent defense of him, he now felt invincible. He was no longer afraid of Liu Zhang and even dared to lace his words with barbs.

Liu Zhang understood exactly what Li Da meant. He could hear the hidden emphasis: the man was mocking him for being weak and timid.

But Liu Zhang had no interest in playing word games with him. He shook his head and said, “Those were indeed some of Emperor Guangwu’s outstanding qualities. But what mattered most was that he loved the people as his own children and was generous and merciful.”

His next words carried a sudden, blazing fury.

“Do you know that Emperor Guangwu once issued an edict?”

“A killer of slaves shall not have his sentence reduced.”

“Today, you will pay with your life for hers.”

Liu Zhang drew the treasured sword from his waist and handed it to Gan Ning. Pointing at Li Da, he commanded, “Xingba, kill this wretch with me.”

Gan Ning accepted the sword and answered resolutely, “Yes.”

He then glanced at Gan Jiu. Understanding at once, Gan Jiu stepped forward and dragged Li Da to the ground. He wrenched both of Li Da’s arms behind his back, then planted one foot heavily on his spine, forcing his entire body taut and exposing his head.

Li Da struggled to break free, but Gan Jiu’s hands seemed to possess the strength of a thousand measures of weight, leaving him unable to move. He turned toward Liu Zhang, hoping to beg for mercy, only to see Liu Zhang gazing up at the drifting clouds, deep in thought.

He immediately turned toward Liu Mao and cried out in a shrill, slaughtered-pig squeal, “Third Young Master, save—”

Before he could finish, Gan Ning drew the sword with a rasp and swung it down without hesitation.

Li Da’s head, its face frozen in terror, flew through the air and rolled several times across the ground. A thick stream of hot blood sprayed from the severed neck and splattered everywhere.

In the space of a few breaths, Li Da, the deputy steward of the Governor’s residence, had lost his life and become nothing more than a stiff corpse. Gan Jiu released his grip. With nothing left to support it, the headless body collapsed heavily to the ground.

Only then did Liu Zhang lower his head. He did not look at Li Da’s corpse. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and stared straight at Liu Mao, his face expressionless, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint arc.

Liu Mao swallowed. Facing Li Da’s head, which had rolled right before him, he staggered backward several steps. Losing his footing, he fell heavily onto the ground and stammered in panic, “Jiyu, you… you…”

Was this truly his timid and useless younger brother?

To think that he could kill a man so decisively, right before his very eyes. Li Da’s head had rolled directly to Liu Mao’s feet, forcing him to confront the terror and horror frozen on the man’s face at the moment of death. Liu Mao was shaken to his core, cold sweat pouring down his body, and all traces of drunkenness had vanished.

Looking at Liu Mao sitting collapsed on the ground, Liu Zhang offered his assessment in silence.

A useless coward who was fierce in appearance but faint of heart.