Chapter 2: The Servant

Fang Han’s duty as a servant of the Fang family was to raise horses—specifically, to groom and maintain a famous steed named “Thousand-Mile Snow” for the second young miss of the Fang family.

Raising horses was grueling labor. One had to rise in the middle of the night to add fodder, and when raising a famous horse, the rules were even more stringent. Normally at this time, Fang Han should have been boiling soy milk, mixing eggs with soybeans and various refined feeds for Thousand-Mile Snow to eat. Then, he would lead the horse to the paddock for a walk to aid digestion while waiting for the arrival of the second young miss.

However, because he had been peeping at the inner manor’s martial arts practice this morning, he had become so entranced by “Giant Spirit Hand” Fang Tong’s explanation of the mysteries of the Mortal Realm and the Supernatural Realm that he had forgotten himself, delaying his important duties.

Sure enough, when Fang Han hurried to the paddock, he saw that the Thousand-Mile Snow he tended was already being ridden by a woman of cold, elegant, and noble temperament.

Standing beside this woman were maidservants and majestic guards. Several other young men and women also sat atop horses nearby; their eyes shone with spiritual light, revealing that they possessed significant cultivation.

“Fang Han, you have courted disaster! Get down on your knees and beg the Second Miss for forgiveness!” Seeing Fang Han appear, an old man rushed over, roaring at him.

“Chief Steward, my stomach was acting up this morning…” Fang Han stammered.

This old man was the Chief Steward of the Fang family’s paddocks.

“I don’t care about your reasons. To delay the Second Miss’s affairs is a catastrophic offense. Your father should have taught you since childhood how to be a servant—do you still not understand that the Master’s business is more important than the heavens?” the old man rebuked.

“Are you the Fang Han who raises Thousand-Mile Snow? The Second Miss has called you over for questioning!”

Just then, a maidservant with high-arched eyebrows and a haughty air walked over from a distance. Upon seeing Fang Han, she shouted and extended her hand, her five fingers splayed like an eagle catching a rabbit, grabbing Fang Han directly by the shoulder.

Fang Han suddenly felt as if his entire body were bound. He was actually hoisted up by a mere little maidservant.

“This move is called ‘Crane Claw Imprinting the Sand’… this maid’s strength is two or three times greater than mine.” Fang Han watched the maid’s technique and power, immediately recalling his experience from eavesdropping on the martial arts practice.

However, he could not dodge at all. Although a month of peeping had opened his mind, he still required massive amounts of practice. How could he compare to the personal maidservant at the Second Miss’s side? Moreover, even if he could dodge, he wouldn’t dare. Otherwise, a great disaster would befall him instantly.

Bang!

Fang Han was thrown to the ground, his body aching and numb.

“Kneel properly and answer.” The maid gave Fang Han a kick.

“Are you Fang Han?” From atop the snow-white, extraordinarily divine Thousand-Mile Snow, Fang Qingwei’s voice drifted down, high and mighty.

“This lowly one is Fang Han.” Fang Han lowered his head, answering through the pain.

He knew that this Second Miss, Fang Qingwei, was extremely formidable. As a servant, if he showed even a hint of something that displeased her, his fate would be dire.

“You have raised my Thousand-Mile Snow well; it is clear you tended it with your heart. However, you were negligent this morning.” Fang Qingwei spoke coldly. “I do not care what your reasons are. As a servant, everything must be done for the sake of the Master. This is the rule of the Fang family, and the rule for servants throughout the world. This Thousand-Mile Snow is your life—you must risk your life to serve it well, understand?”

“This lowly one understands. In the future, I will surely risk my life to raise the horse well for the Second Miss. If the horse lives, I live; if the horse dies, I die. Please, Second Miss, forgive this lowly one’s negligence today.” Fang Han kowtowed like a pestle grinding grain; at a time like this, he naturally knew what he had to do.

While kowtowing in fear and trepidation, Fang Han’s gaze quietly fell upon Fang Qingwei’s boots resting in the stirrups.

Fang Qingwei’s boots were pure white, inlaid with beautiful jade, exquisite and magnificent. Looking at these high-and-mighty boots, Fang Han thought that one day, it would be nice if he could make others look up at his own boots.

“Award him ten lashes so he remembers this lesson.”

Aboard her horse, Fang Qingwei gave a slight wave of her hand.

“Yes!” A nearby maidservant immediately took up a riding crop and lashed Fang Han’s body viciously.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Fang Han’s body shivered with piercing pain. That maid possessed immense arm strength; with every lash, the tip of the whip whistled through the air, creating explosive cracks that nearly shattered his skeletal frame. However, he gritted his teeth and endured, drenched in cold sweat.

After the ten lashes were finished, he was nearly paralyzed on the ground.

“Thank you, Second Miss, for the award of the whip!”

After the lashing, Fang Han pulled in a final breath to speak. This was the rule for servants; if one did not say this phrase, it implied internal resentment, and what followed would not be mere lashes.

“Good!” Aboard her horse, the Second Miss, Fang Qingwei, nodded with satisfaction. “I do things with clear rewards and punishments. You were negligent today, so you had to be lashed. However, you tended this Thousand-Mile Snow with your heart; its energy is robust, and you did not secretly embezzle the horse’s feed. Therefore, I shall reward you. Take it!”

A shiny silver ingot fell from the horse, landing in front of Fang Han.

This silver ingot was engraved with exquisite flame patterns and the words “Five Taels.” It was clearly official silver of the Great Li Empire. Five taels was equivalent to Fang Han’s entire yearly income; this was a generous reward.

The Fang family’s horses ate better than the people, supplied with a large quantity of eggs and soy milk daily. Many servants secretly embezzled the horse feed for themselves, but Fang Han had never done such a thing. This reward showed that Fang Qingwei was observant of even the smallest details.

“Remember, as a servant, if you do wrong, you are punished; if you do well, you are rewarded. As long as you are loyal and single-mindedly serve your Master, there will always be benefits for you.” After tossing the reward, Fang Qingwei turned to the young men and women beside her. “Let us go; we must not miss the hour for the hunt.”

“The Second Miss manages her household with discipline,” one young man praised after watching Fang Qingwei handle Fang Han.

“The household is large and the population is great; managing these servants naturally requires rules.” Fang Qingwei’s voice was very cold, maintaining an air of elegant and noble aloofness throughout. “It is but four words: ‘Bestowing Favor and Wielding Authority.’ It is simply a matter of grasping the proper balance of how to bestow favor and how to wield authority.”

While speaking, these young men and women and Fang Qingwei galloped away like a surging dragon.

“Oh! Fang Han! You’ve actually gained a benefit this time. Though you took ten lashes, you received a reward of five taels of official silver from the Second Miss. What a bargain!”

“Indeed, to exchange ten lashes for five taels of silver—I would be willing as well.”

“Who wouldn’t be? Only a fool wouldn’t.”

“Fang Han, you’ve struck it rich this time. You must treat us, treat us!”

Once Fang Qingwei’s group had departed, several horse grooms from the paddock gathered around, looking at the silver in Fang Han’s hand with expressions of envy.

“This time it’s lashes then silver. Next time, she might kill you, then give you a lavish burial.” Looking at these people, Fang Han smiled coldly in his heart.

“Treating you is a certainty, but I am in pain all over right now. Once I’ve recovered from my injuries, I will definitely treat you to a meal.” He let out painful groans, his face twisting as he limped away from the pestering of the crowd.

“If I achieve the Supernatural Realm that Fang Tong spoke of, I wonder if the Second Miss would still lash me first then give me a sweet treat? Would our positions be reversed? Would I lash this Second Miss then reward her with silver?”

After Fang Han returned to the small hut where he lived, the pain of the whip marks on his body lessened slightly. Holding the five taels of silver in his hand, he knew this was a standard method of household management: first, to show that one’s rewards and punishments were clear; second, to show that one was observant of the smallest details as a warning to other servants; and third, to reward after punishing so the servant wouldn’t harbor resentment and would serve the Master with even greater loyalty.

However, since childhood, Fang Han had been weary of this life of servitude.

This was something his father had secretly taught him: “Better to be a beggar than a slave.”

End of 2