As a servant of the Fang Clan, Fang Han’s duty was breeding horses. Specifically; he was in charge of caring for the second lady’s horse Thousand Li Snow.
Horse breeders had tough jobs since they needed to wake up in the middle of the night to replenish the horse’s fodder. For famous horses like Thousand Li Snow, there were even more rules to follow. Originally, Fang Han was supposed to give Thousand Li Snow a mixture of eggs, soybeans, and high-quality feed to eat. Then he was supposed to aid the horse’s digestion by walking it while they waited for the second lady to arrive.
However, because he spent the morning peeping in the inner court watching martial arts practice and listening to the lecture given by Fang Tong about cultivating the body and the secrets of divine realm, Fang Han ended up getting carried away, delaying him from getting crucial work finished.
Unsurprisingly, after Fang Han hurriedly arrived at the field he saw that the horse was standing there with a cold, elegant beauty riding on its back.
Next to the beauty stood a few maidservants, as well as some powerful looking guards. There were also other youths of both genders who, like her, were riding on horses and shining in the light, showing off their noble status.
“Fang Han, you have brought a calamity upon yourself! Hurry up and plead your sin to the second lady!” As soon as Fang Han appeared, an old man quickly ran over while yelling.
“Chief governor, this morning I had a stomachache,” Fang Han stammered.
This old man was the chief of the horse field.
“I don’t care about your excuses, by delaying the affairs of the second lady, you have brought calamity upon yourself. Your father taught you how to serve since childhood, but you still can’t understand that the master’s affairs are greater than the sky?” The old man rebuked.
“Are you the breeder of Thousand Li Snow, Fang Han? The second lady is calling you over to answer questions!”
At this time, from far away came an imposing looking maidservant. Upon seeing Fang Han, she made a sound, opened her hands, and, like an eagle grabbing a rabbit, rushed up and grabbed Fang Han’s shoulders.
Suddenly, Fang Han felt as if his body had restrained and unexpectedly the small maidservant had completely lifted him off the ground!
Observing the maidservant’s moves and power, Fang Han suddenly thought of the moves that he had seen during his secret observation of the martial arts practices. “This move is called Crane Clutching Sand. This maidservant’s strength is two to three times greater than mine.”
Although he had watched the practices for a month and understood some of the theories, training requires time and dedication. How could he compare with the second lady’s maidservant?
Not to mention, even if he could dodge, he wouldn’t dare. Otherwise, he would be in big trouble.
“Peng!”
Fang Han was suddenly thrown on the ground, his body tingling and numb.
“Kneel and answer.” The maidservant said before kicking Fang Han.
“So you are Fang Han?” Atop the pure white horse “Thousand Li Snow,” the Fang Clan’s second lady voice was conveyed from high above.
“This lowly person is Fang Han.” Fang Han lowered his head and reluctantly replied.
He knew that the second lady was called Fang Qing Wei¹ and that she was very powerful. Fang Han himself was a servant, and if anything that he showed her displeased her, he would be doomed.
“My Thousand Li Snow was raised well by you and shows the effort you put in raising it. However, this morning, you ignored your duties.” Fang Qing Wei said coldly
“I don’t care about your excuses. As a servant, all of your thoughts should be for your masters. That is the rule of my Fang Clan and it is also the rule of every servant. This horse, Thousand Li Snow is your life, even if you must put your life on the line, you must serve this horse well. Understood?”
“This lowly person understands, from now this lowly person will put his life on the line for the horse, and raise a great horse for the second lady. Wherever the horse is, he will be, whenever the horse is busy, he will be busy. Second lady, please forgive this lowly person’s crime of neglect of duty this morning.” Fang Han’s head smashed against the ground like a hammer smashing garlic, for once he actually knew how to act in the situation.
Amidst his kowtowing in fear and dread, Fang Han’s eyes quietly landed on Fang Qian Wei’s boots in the stirrup.
Her boots were pure white and were inlaid with beautiful jade, causing them to look delicate yet gorgeous.
Looking at these boots so high above Fang Han thought to himself, “one day, I too will be able to have others looking up at my shoes.”
“Whip him ten times, let him remember today’s lesson,” Fang Qing Wei responded immediately, waving her hand faintly while on the horse.
“Yes!” The nearby maidservant instantly picked up the horse whip and began fiercely lashing the whip against Fang Han’s body.
“Pa!” “Pa!” “Pa!”
Fang Han’s body shivered from the pain that felt like a drill through the heart. With each lash the whip flew through the air, resulting in a jarring “crack” sound.
Fang Han felt as if his skeleton was being ripped apart, but he ground his teeth together, cold sweat running down his body.
After ten lashes, Fang Han fell limply to the ground, as if paralyzed.
“Thank you, Second lady, for bestowing lashes on me!”
After the whipping, Fang Han using his remaining breath to speak gratefully, following the rules of the house. This is the fundamental precept of being a servant, if he dared to do otherwise, he would be seen as defiant. His next punishment wouldn’t be something as lenient as a whipping.
“Good!” Fang Qing Wei happily nodded her head. “When acting, I always discern reward and punishment. You neglected your morning duties, so I had to whip you. This horse, Thousand Li Snow, that you used your heart to raise is both refined yet fierce, and you didn’t steal a single gram of its feed, thus I need to reward you. Take this!”
A shiny silver ingot was thrown from atop of the horse and fell in front of Fang Han.
The surface of this silver ingot was inscribed with exquisite flames and veins with the words “Five taels” printed on it. This was the currency of the Dali Empire.
Five taels were equivalent to a year’s worth of Fang Han’s income. This was a generous reward.
The horses of the Fang Clan ate even better than people. Every day they ate a large serving of eggs and soymilk. Many of the clan’s servants would secretly take some of the horses’ feed. However,Fang Han had never done this.
This reward truly showed that Fang Qing Wei was a judicious person.
“Remember, as a servant, doing something wrong results in punishment and doing something good results in a reward. As long as you are loyal and wholeheartedly devote yourself to your masters, they will always be good towards you.”
After giving the reward, Fang Qing Wei turned to the other youths and said, “Let’s go before we miss the most opportune hunting time.”
“Second lady’s governing methods have structure,” A nearby gentleman exclaimed after watching Fang Qing Wei’s treatment of Fang Han.
“The house is large, and the people are many, only if there are rules governing servants would this be possible,” coldly replied Fang Qing Wei, before continuing in her cold yet exquisite voice. “Nevertheless, four words must be remembered, Kindness, Power, Unity, and Grace. One must give incentives and penalties. Know when to have mercy and when to use force. It’s good enough if you can understand those concepts.”
These gentlemen and ladies along with Fang Qing Wei in their pack rode off as fierce as an angry dragon roll up the wind.
“Aiyah! Fang Han! This time you really did receive a reward. Even though you received ten lashes, the second lady also rewarded you with 5 taels of silver, so profitable!”
“Indeed, ten lashes in return for 5 silver taels, I welcome it.”
“Who doesn’t welcome it? Even idiots welcome it.”
“Fang Han, this time you have prospered, buy some meals for us.”
After Fang Qing Wei’s party left, only the breeders were left in the field, and they all gathered around Fang Han, looking enviously at the silver in his hand.
“This time punished by a whip, but rewarded with silver. Next time maybe they will kill you, then give you a grand burial.” Looking at these people, Fang Han coldly laughed in his heart.
“I will definitely buy you all meals, but right now my entire body aches, wait till my injuries heal, and then I’ll make sure to invite you all.” Fang Han let out a cry, his face completely twisted and he limped his way out of the circle of people.
“If I train to the divine realm described by Fang Tong, I wonder if the second lady will strike me with the whip then distribute rewards, or will our positions be reversed? Will I hold the whip and lash the second lady, then bestow silver?”
By the time Fang Han had returned to his own house, the pain from the injuries had begun to lighten up. Holding the 5 silver taels in his hand, he knew that it was a way for Fang Qing Wei to control the other servants. First, he was used as an example to show clear punishments and warn the other servants. Second, it showed that Fang Qing Wei was judicious. Finally, he was rewarded after his punishment as a model servant who instead of being resentful after punishment, only grew more loyal.
However, Fang Han had already become tired and weary of the life of servitude he had gone through since he was a child.
The message his father secretly taught him when he was young, “I would rather be a beggar than serve someone,” stoked the fire of freedom in his heart.
- Fang Qing Wei’s name in Chinese is written 方清薇 (Fāng Qīng Wéi). Fang is a Surname meaning “Square.” Qīng has the meaning “Clear”, “Pure”, and most importantly for the context of this chapter “Just and Honest.” The Wei in her name refers to a species of Fern called the “Osmunda Regalis“
Rozen Fantasy Translations 