Chapter 619

Chapter 626: Disagreement (Part 2)

"You... you..." Jin Ge'er pointed at Chang'an, choking on his anger.

Everyone liked playing with him, but he usually found it annoying and brushed them off. Sometimes, when he was in a good mood, he’d throw them a bone, and they’d eagerly rush over to please him. This time, he had actively sought out Chang'an to play, yet Chang'an dared to give him the runaround!

He wanted to punish Chang'an with a beating, but Chang'an still refused to beg for mercy.

Thinking of this, Jin Ge'er felt a twinge of guilt.

Chang'an’s mother, Binju, had once served his own mother and was in her good graces. Mom often slipped Binju gifts, and whenever Binju came to pay her respects, she was different from the others—she’d drag her kids along. Mother would give Chang'an and Zhang Shun gifts every year and even allowed them to play in the back garden. Now, if he were to punish Chang'an, Mother would surely be displeased. But if he didn’t, he had already given his word. Father had said that one shouldn’t speak carelessly, but once words were spoken, they must be followed through... And Mother had said the same. A person must keep their word so that others would believe and listen to them in the future...

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have threatened to beat Chang'an.

After hesitating for a long time, Jin Ge'er gritted his teeth and said, "Give him ten strikes!"

He’d make it up to Mom later... It was better than going back on his word in front of everyone...

Huang Xiaomao and Liu Erwu exchanged glances, then loudly egged him on as they went to fetch the bamboo rods.

Just then, the door curtain of the main room was abruptly lifted. The two turned in pleasant surprise to see a fox-eyed young woman stepping out with a smile.

"Young Master Six!" She curtsied to Jin Ge'er. "Madam heard your voice but didn’t see you, so she grew curious and sent me to check." Then, playing dumb, she glanced at Chang'an and Zhang Shun. "Weren’t you two supposed to be playing in the back garden? Why are you here?" She acted as if she had no idea what was happening and quickly introduced them to Jin Ge'er. "These are the eldest and second sons of Housekeeper Wan Daxian. Do you know Wan Daxian? He’s a second-tier steward in the accounting office and came with Madam from Yuhang to Yanjing as part of her bridal retinue. You must know their mother—Binju, who often comes to pay respects to Madam. She was also part of Madam’s dowry and served her since childhood as a senior maid. In fact, Madam even arranged Wan Daxian and Binju’s marriage..."

Amber prattled on, but to Huang Xiaomao and Liu Erwu, her words were a lifeline. They looked at her with gratitude in their eyes.

Jin Ge'er, however, was annoyed.

He knew this woman—she had once been one of Mother’s maids and was among those who came to pay respects after the New Year. According to Song Mama, she was in Mother’s good graces, and one of Mom’s two head maid slots in Mother’s quarters was reserved for her, Amber. When Qiuyu and Hong Wen had mentioned her, he remembered Qiuyu’s eyes flickering with fear—clearly, she was intimidated by Amber.

Her words were all about Chang'an’s parents, transparently nudging him to show leniency and spare Chang'an this once.

But if Chang'an didn’t back down, how could he back down?

Since Amber had stepped in, Mother must have heard the commotion outside. Not wanting to worry Eleven Miss, Jin Ge'er thought for a moment, then talked over Amber and asked Chang'an directly, "Will you play with me or not?"

Though Amber hadn’t been in the household these past few years, she had kept up with its affairs. She knew that Young Master Six was currently the most favored by the elder madam and the marquis, and everyone in the household deferred to him, which had shaped his bossy streak. Yet despite all she had said, the young master still insisted on punishing Chang'an.

She quickly shot Chang'an a look, urging him to agree first. But Chang'an, raised by Wan Yizong to be a ‘word-is-bond’ type, knew that yielding would resolve the situation. Yet, remembering his grandfather’s teachings, he couldn’t bring himself to apologize.

Seeing this, Amber grew anxious and said with a smile, "Chang'an, Zhang Shun, have you greeted Young Master Six yet? Hurry and kowtow to him!"

Though Chang'an was straightforward, he wasn’t foolish. Catching Amber’s drift, he quickly knelt and kowtowed to Jin Ge'er, calling out, "Young Master!" Then he lightly nudged Zhang Shun’s back, prompting him to do the same.

Amber lifted the curtain and said cheerfully, "Young Master! Let me escort you to see Madam!"

Though still angry, Jin Ge'er wouldn’t disobey his mother. He side-eyed Chang'an and entered the room.

Amber let out a quiet breath and hurried after him.

"What happened?" Eleven Miss, now seated properly on the kang, pressed Jin Ge'er, smiling. "I could hear you from the inner room!"

Jin Ge'er still wore a displeased expression as he recounted the incident. "...I already ordered Chang'an to be given ten strikes!"

His fists were clenched tightly, as if digging in his heels.

Eleven Miss hadn’t expected her young son to have such a strong sense of justice. Was this a success in their parenting... or a failure?

She found it equal parts tickled and torn. But seeing the expectant look in her son’s eyes, she knew she couldn’t stop him.

"Since you've already given the order, then let Chang'an receive ten lashes!" Lady Eleven said, nodding slightly at Amber. "I still have words for you, so let Guan Qing's household oversee the matter outside."

She didn't say the young lord was wrong and even kept him in the room.

Amber immediately understood Lady Eleven's intention.

She smiled, curtsied, and withdrew.

Jin Geer's little face instantly brightened like summer sunlight, radiant and dazzling.

"Mother!" He tugged at his mother's sleeve, glancing at Binju, who was biting her lip and on the verge of tears inside the room, then at Chang'an, who was being pinned to the punishment bench by Huang Xiaomao outside the window. After a brief thought, he said, "It was Chang'an's fault. Later, I'll call a doctor for him!"

Binju hurriedly curtsied. "Thank you, Young Lord Six. He's just hardheaded like this. Please don’t be angry with him, Young Lord Six. It’s not good for your health, and my lady would worry!"

Jin Geer nodded.

Lady Eleven then said to Binju, "You should go check on Chang'an too."

Binju acknowledged and hurried out of the inner chamber with unsteady steps.

Lady Eleven wanted to speak privately with Jin Geer about the matter, so she dismissed the servants in the room. "...After the punishment is done, let the mother and son come in to see me."

The maids obeyed and left.

Seeing the room empty, Jin Geer quickly said, "Mother, it's all my fault. I shouldn’t have punished your people!" He hung his head, shoulders sagging, full of remorse.

"Now you regret it?" Lady Eleven scolded him sternly.

"Yes!" Jin Geer nodded repeatedly.

"You must learn to control your temper," Lady Eleven advised patiently. "You can't always get your way. Even I feel like scolding the clumsy little maids sometimes! But people are born quick or slow—they’re here to work. If they can’t do their tasks well, we can replace them. If there’s no one to replace them, let the quick ones handle complex tasks and the slow ones do simpler things. We can’t scold them just for being born that way, can we? Besides, Chang'an was right. He was just accompanying his mother to pay respects to me, not serving as your personal servant. Why must he play cuju with you? Even if he were your attendant—Sui Feng tends to your menagerie, Huang Xiaomao and Wang Erwu are assigned to play with you—you can’t expect Sui Feng to neglect his duties and fool around like them, can you? Chang'an didn’t deserve to be punished. By having him beaten for your sake, we’ve made it worse. But for your reputation, we had no choice!" She sighed deeply. "Chang'an has been wronged."

Jin Geer listened, his face filled with dismay. "Mother, then... what should we do?"

Lady Eleven turned the question back to him. "What do you think we should do?" She pretended to be undecided.

Jin Geer had to think seriously about it himself.

"Compensate Chang'an with money?" he suggested hesitantly. "Or... reward him with something?"

Lady Eleven sighed inwardly.

Truly, children learn by example.

Both she and Lord Xu often resolved matters by compensating others with money. Now, at the first sign of trouble, their son’s first thought was to do the same. But such was the way of their society. For servants of lower status, they could only express apology or favor through money or kind words.

"That’s secondary," Lady Eleven said gently. "What’s important is that you learn to think before you act. Didn’t your father remind you of this just the other day...?"

She continued her quiet conversation with her son in the inner chamber. Meanwhile, Binju watched as Wang Erwu lightly swung the paddle on her son’s backside and asked Amber anxiously, "Will this... be alright?"

"You! What am I to do with you?" Amber said helplessly. "If my lady truly wanted Chang'an beaten, she would’ve handed him over to Steward Bai. Why would she leave it to us household women?"

"I—I’m just so beside myself," Binju flushed.

Chang'an, having taken his punishment, bounced up and hurried to comfort his mother. "Mother, I’m fine! It didn’t hurt at all!"

"That’s because my lady showed mercy!" Binju scolded him sternly. "Young Lord Six asking you to play with him was an honor. You should’ve just obeyed. How dare you talk back to him like that? When we get home, I’ll tell your grandfather and father—let’s see how they tan your hide..."

Chang'an listened to his mother’s scolding, his expression bewildered.

Luckily, Qiuyu stepped in to mediate: "Binju, the mistress would like you, Chang'an, and Zhang Shun to come in."

Binju quickly adjusted her son's collar and smoothed his slightly disheveled hair before leading him into the inner chamber.

Jin Geer gave Chang'an two taels of silver as a reward.

Chang'an, puzzled, accepted the silver at Binju's prompting.

"There are things one should do and things one should not," Eleventh Miss said with a smile, looking at Chang'an. "Would you like to enter the household as Jin Geer's personal servant?"

Chang'an was unsure.

His whole family served in the Xu household. His grandfather had mentioned that when he turned fourteen or fifteen, he too would join the Xu household. But he wasn't old enough yet and still had to take care of Zhang Shun...

He glanced at Binju.

Binju, both surprised and delighted, immediately knelt before Eleventh Miss. "Thank you, Mistress." Noticing her son still standing dumbfounded, she pulled at his sleeve, signaling him to kneel. "Hurry and thank the Mistress and Young Master Jin Geer!"

Chang'an quickly knelt down, but before he could voice his thanks, Eleventh Miss asked again, "Zhang Shun, would you like to enter the household with your elder brother?"

Zhang Shun, staring at the enameled candy dish on Eleventh Miss's kang table, answered loudly and without hesitation, "Yes!"

※

A slow wit has its perks.

At last, Jin Geer had found an attendant who wouldn't just go with the flow.