Judge of the Song Dynasty

After assuming his new leadership position at the bookstore, Zhang Fei quickly set out his strategy and promoted some individuals. In his approach to personnel management, he focused on employing a combination of kindness and authority, inevitably forming a team centered around himself.

However, he had faith in appointing the capable, so he delegated the task of drafting contracts to those skilled in it, intending to assess their abilities before making further personnel arrangements.

As for himself, he entered a state of annual leave.

…

“Blow… blowing up a balloon… blowing up a balloon, clang clang clang…”

In the steam-filled bathhouse resonated a lively song, accompanied by the sight of a pair of long legs emerging sensually from a tub, their seductive hair barely visible.

Today… today Zhang Fei was going to White Crystal Inn with Cao Dongdong and the others. It was said to be the most upscale place for entertainment in Bianjing, and Cao Dongdong even promised to introduce him to a woman.

Young people, with their abundant energy. Zhang Fei used to accompany clients or bosses to nightclubs quite often.

But since coming to the Northern Song, he hadn’t visited any entertainment venues yet, despite the thriving entertainment industry in Bianjing.

He had always wanted to go; it was the sole benefit of being single, being able to indulge freely. Unlike those married men sneaking around, making excuses, sneaking off to the restroom for a few seconds of pleasure. But Xu Zun was truly a respectable person; when living in the Xu family’s house, he felt embarrassed to go.

He was eager to move out because he needed a more liberated nightlife.

Tonight, he was prepared.

Prepared for everything!

After soaking in the fragrant hot bath, Zhang Fei changed into a new jade-white robe and tied a headscarf.

“Li Si, how do I look?”

Zhang Fei stood before Li Si, striking a seductive pose.

Li Si nodded earnestly, “Brother San, you look really handsome in this outfit.”

“You only have one flaw, always telling the brutal truth!” Zhang Fei chuckled proudly.

“Huh? Where are you planning to go?”

Just as they were talking, Xu Zhiqian suddenly entered the hall.

Zhang Fei was startled, “Lady Xu, don’t you knock before coming in?”

Xu Zhiqian appeared slightly embarrassed, “I saw that the back door wasn’t closed, and there’s no gatekeeper in your house, so I just came in.”

Right! A gatekeeper! Maidservants! Maybe I can persuade Little Ma to send me a few maidservants and gatekeepers later. Zhang Fei pondered inwardly.

Seeing Zhang Fei’s wandering gaze, Xu Zhiqian asked, “Where are you two planning to go?”

Zhang Fei replied, “Well, the young master wants to thank me for helping him win the lawsuit, so he’s invited me to White Crystal Inn for a nice dinner tonight.”

“White Crystal Inn?”

Xu Zhiqian couldn’t help but glance at Zhang Fei’s attire.

“Am I handsome?”

Zhang Fei raised an eyebrow.

Xu Zhiqian gave him a disdainful look and cautioned, “That place is full of trouble, especially at night. If you follow the young master there, be careful not to stir up trouble.”

Zhang Fei’s smile faded slightly. “I don’t feel like going anymore.”

“Why not?” Xu Zhiqian asked.

Zhang Fei replied irritably, “Well, you’ve jinxed it. How would I still dare to go?”

Xu Zhiqian chuckled, “It’s fine if you don’t go.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a voice came from outside the door, “Zhang San, are you ready?”

It was Cao Dongdong’s voice.

Zhang Fei quickly responded, “Coming! Coming!” Then he turned to Xu Zhiqian and said, “Lady Xu, I have to go now. Please stay a while longer if you’d like. Farewell! Li Si, let’s go!”

The master and servant hurriedly made their way to the door.

Watching Zhang Fei’s hurried figure, Xu Zhiqian couldn’t help but find it comical, suppressing a laugh.

…

As they reached the door, Zhang Fei suddenly shivered. In order to show off his physique, he wasn’t wearing much underneath, fearing it might look bulky. He just a thick cloak wrapped around him.

They climbed into the waiting carriage. Besides Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi, there was another handsome young man who could threaten Zhang Fei’s looks. Zhang Fei couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s this?”

Cao Dongdong hurriedly replied, “He’s my brother, Fu Shichun. You can call him Brother Chun.”

The Fu family was once the foremost influential family in the Song Dynasty. His great-great-grandfather, Fu Yanqing, had three daughters who all became empresses, namely Emperor Shizong’s Empress Xuan Yi and Empress Xuan Ci of the later Zhou dynasty,[1] and Emperor Taizong’s Empress Yi De of the Northern Song dynasty.

They were once an illustrious family, but their descendants were not so competitive, and now they were on the decline. However, a skinny camel is still larger than a horse; no one should underestimate them.

Generally, prominent families had one special trait: their women were beautiful, and their men were handsome.

Fu Shichun smiled faintly, “The way you defended the young master was truly remarkable. Little Ma and I were there too, and it was truly admirable.”

“Not at all! Not at all!”

Zhang Fei hurriedly bowed, squeezing past Ma Xiaoyi to sit down. With four people in a carriage, it did feel a bit crowded.

“It shouldn’t be this cold today.”

Zhang Fei rubbed his hands.

Ma Xiaoyi immediately interjected, “Brother San, you’re mistaken. If it weren’t cold today, we wouldn’t be going to White Crystal Inn. We’d all be going to Floating Fragrance Inn.”

Zhang Fei asked, “Is there a reason for that?”

“There’s a good reason for that,” Ma Xiaoyi explained. “White Crystal Inn is the top restaurant in Bianjing. When the weather is good, the scholar-officials dine and drink there. We younger folks don’t get to enjoy ourselves fully then. But in this dead of winter, those literati and officials won’t go to White Crystal Inn; it’ll mostly be young people.”

“So there are so many nuances involved,” Zhang Fei chuckled. “Well, it seems we’ve chosen the right place for today.”

“That’s right,” Fu Shichun said. “I heard there’s a widow tonight who’s extremely beautiful, attracting quite a few people.”

Zhang Fei frowned. “Another widow?”

“Another?” Cao Dongdong, Ma Xiaoyi, and Fu Shichun echoed in unison.

“Yeah! Why did I say ‘another’?” Zhang Fei scratched his head, perplexed.

Cao Dongdong’s eyes flickered. “Zhang San, do you not like widows?”

“Do you?” Zhang Fei retorted.

Cao Dongdong nodded directly.

Zhang Fei said, “It’s not that I like them, but I don’t mind.”

Cao Dongdong said, “If I fancy her…”

Before Zhang Fei could respond, Ma Xiaoyi interjected, “Big Brother, we must keep our word. We promised to help Brother San find a concubine today. We can’t go back on our word.”

Cao Dongdong sighed, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t help him, it’s just…”

Ma Xiaoyi interrupted him again, “You have so many concubines, and Brother San doesn’t have a single one. Yet you still want to compete with him.”

“I was just saying.”

Cao Dongdong said, “Fine, I’ll leave the woman to him.”

He really wanted to befriend Zhang Fei; he lacked someone like him by his side.

Fu Shichun chuckled, “Young master, Xiaoyi, let’s not rush to argue. There might be many contenders tonight, and we might not necessarily succeed.”

Cao Dongdong frowned. “Who can compete with me?”

Fu Shichun said, “I heard Han Pan and his group are also going tonight.”

Cao Dongdong snorted. “He’s no match.”

Zhang Fei asked, “Who’s this Han Pan?”

Fu Shichun replied, “He’s the grandson of Old Chancellor Han, the senior statesman of three emperors.”

The senior statesman of three emperors, there’s no need to say it; it must be Han Qi.

Han Qi has already retired and was living at home, but he did not walk the same path as Wang Anshi and Sima Guang. Wang Anshi and Sima Guang both had one wife, and they lived very frugally. They can’t even afford a house. But Han Qi had quite a few courtesans and concubines. He knew how to enjoy life and was very wealthy.

Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were outliers. If one’s thinking hadn’t reached a certain level, one simply couldn’t do it.

Han Qi was part of the mainstream of scholar-officials.

Zhang Fei remembered Xu Zhiqian’s words and said, “Could this cause trouble?”

Cao Dongdong exclaimed excitedly, “With me here, what are you afraid of?”

Ma Xiaoyi added, “Exactly, exactly. That Han Pan is your old rival, Big Brother. We can’t back down.”

Cao Dongdong declared, “Xiaoyi is right. Today, I must compete with Han Pan. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely help you win over that widow.”

“…” Fınd the newest release on novel·fire.net

Zhang Fei looked bewildered. I never said I wanted that widow!

Why not find a young woman?

What a headache!

Little did he know, there was a longstanding grudge between the Cao family and the Han family. When the previous emperor Emperor Song Yingzong ascended the throne, it was said that he was in poor health, and Empress Dowager Cao governed the country behind the veil. Plus, many courtiers didn’t like Yingzong at the time, so they incited discord between mother and son. Empress Dowager Cao seemed to have thoughts of deposing the emperor, which led to her reluctance to return power to Yingzong even after he recovered. Han Qi repeatedly submitted memorials and even threatened to resign, ultimately forcing Empress Dowager Cao to return power to Yingzong.

Of course, this didn’t have a direct connection to Cao Dongdong and Han Pan; they simply didn’t see eye to eye on each other.

“Phew!”

The carriage suddenly came to a halt.

Cao Dongdong asked, “Have we arrived?”

The coachman replied, “We’ve arrived at the White Crystal Inn’s gate, but there’s a carriage blocking the way on the other side.”

“Who’s so blind as to block my way.”

Cao Dongdong opened the curtain, coincidentally, the luxurious carriage on the opposite side also opened its curtain, revealing a young man who was handsome and elegant like jade.

“Han Pan!”

Cao Dongdong frowned.

“Is that Han Pan?” Zhang Fei asked.

Ma Xiaoyi nodded.

“If he doesn’t move, we won’t either,” Cao Dongdong ordered the coachman and then jumped out of the carriage.

Han Pan also got out of his carriage. First, he nodded to the coachman, who immediately drove aside. Then, he smiled at Cao Dongdong, “Is the young master here today for that widow too?”

Cao Dongdong provocatively asked, “Are you?”

Han Pan chuckled, “If it were any other time, I would yield to the young master.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the carriage making way, then continued, “But this time, I intend to buy that widow and present her to my grandfather as a concubine.”

Zhang Fei, who had just stepped out of the carriage, almost stumbled upon hearing this. This dude, seriously, I should give him a thrashing to show the Confucian spirit!

Is this really filial piety?

Han Qi is quite old now; are you trying to get him to overexert himself so that you get to inherit sooner?

Cao Dongdong snorted, “Just say you want her, no need to bring up Chancellor Han.”

Han Pan smiled, “Believe it or not, it’s up to you, but tonight I won’t let you have her.”

Cao Dongdong sneered, “That’s just fine.”

Han Pan smiled faintly, then suddenly looked at Zhang Fei, furrowing his brows, and walked over, “And you?”

Zhang Fei hurriedly bowed, “I’m Zhang Fei.”

Han Pan nodded, “Zhang San the pen-in-cap?”

Zhang Fei nodded.

Han Pan chuckled, “Luckily you’re here this time, otherwise, the young master might be accused of having an affair with a married woman.”

As he spoke, there was a hint of regret in his tone.

At this moment, someone walked over, “Hehe… I heard that Zhang San from Dengzhou has the ability to distort the truth, and to call a deer a horse. I am glad to finally meet this famous person!”

Fu Shichun whispered to Zhang Fei, “This person is called Fu Zhishuang, the grandson of Chancellor Fu.”

Cao Dongdong angrily asked, “Fu Zhishuang, what do you mean by that?”

Fu Zhishuang smiled, “There are so many young masters in the capital, why did Instructor Lin choose you? Shouldn’t you reflect on this?”

Cao Dongdong said, “It’s just that I got along well with him.”

Fu Zhishuang chuckled, “He got along so well with you, that he plotted against you. Haha, this reasoning is really hard to accept!”

Han Pan also smiled and remained silent.

Ma Xiaoyi stepped forward and chimed in, “Do you think you are angels? You just spend money to avoid trouble.”

Han Pan suddenly looked at Zhang Fei, “Zhang San, as a pen-in-cap, can you tell me if this is an insult?”

Zhang Fei said, “If you wish to consult me, it will cost you ten strings for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.”

“You are a mere pen-in-cap. You seem to really think highly of yourself,” Fu Zhishuang frowned.

Han Pan stopped him and signaled to his servant.

The servant immediately took out a silver ingot and handed it to Zhang Fei.

Rich people were indeed different. I shall befriend you! Zhang Fei accepted it immediately and said, “Sorry, our dynasty only recognizes one type of insult, which is lese majeste. Young Master Han, do you wish to charge Little Ma with lese majeste?”

Fu Zhishuang pretended to be shocked and said, “Zhang San, doesn’t lese majeste specifically mean disrespecting His Majesty?”[2]

Ma Xiaoyi took a deep breath, his expression very convincing.

Cao Dongdong also realized it and quickly clasped his fists, “Brother Han, compared to Chancellor Han, you’re even more impressive!”

Han Pan’s face suddenly turned pale, “Don’t slander me, I have no such intentions.”

Fu Zhishuang was also frightened by this accusation, “Brother Han, don’t argue with such lowly people. Let’s go.”

He quickly pulled Han Pan away.

The more they talked, the scarier it got.

“Hehe!”

Cao Dongdong was very excited and said to Zhang Fei, “Zhang San, you’re really something. With just a few words, you scared them away.”

Ma Xiaoyi said, “And earned a silver ingot.”

Zhang Fei sighed, “That was fun, but it’s going to be difficult to take the beauty home tonight.”

“Young master! Xiaoyi! Brother Fu! You’re here.”

A young man in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, walked over.

“Brother!” Ma Xiaoyi exclaimed, then introduced to Zhang Fei, “Brother, this is Fan Zheng, the only son of Mogul Fan. He’s also our brother.”

[1] The Later Zhou dynasty was one of the states that existed before the Song dynasty unified China. More info on this Fu Yanqing found here.

[2] The implication here is that Han Pan is taking himself to be the Emperor, such that insulting him would be lese majeste.