As previously mentioned, Head of House Yin had defiled the innocence of the current Ninth Prince. Madame Yin, consumed by fury, was currently enforcing the family law. Atop the long bench, Yin Zhuli gritted her teeth and endured the punishment. Yin Qi was not one to show mercy; after a dozen lashes, Yin Zhuli’s heavy robes were already soaked with sweat.
Just as she was struggling to endure, a voice drifted in from outside: "Stop."
Yin Zhuli looked up, her face instantly brightening with joy. "Master!"
The newcomer was none other than Tang Yin, the mentor of the Yin family’s head. He was a renowned scholar-official of Chang'an, skilled in both the literary and martial arts. He had overseen Yin Zhuli’s studies since she was a child and occasionally taught her techniques for self-preservation, such as qinggong, short-blade mastery, and palm strikes. After all, the Yin family of Fugui City possessed immense wealth and property; those coveting them from the shadows were by no means few.
Upon seeing him, Madame Yin’s expression softened slightly, but her resolve remained firm. "Master Tang, this wretched creature is far too unruly. These hundred lashes today shall not be spared. If you have come to plead for her, there is no need to speak."
Tang Yin stood at the doorway. Hearing this, he merely sighed softly. "Madame Yin, 'to teach without severity is the teacher's laziness.' Tang has come to receive the punishment in her stead."
His figure was silhouetted against the light, the sun drenching his green robes until his collar seemed to glow, his bearing elegant and transcendent.
"You overstate the matter, Master. This is my daughter’s own stubbornness; it has nothing to do with you. Please, return to your quarters." Madame Yin gestured to Yin Qi. Seeing that Yin Zhuli’s blood had already stained her clothes on the bench, Yin Qi pursed his lips slightly. Just as he raised the whip to strike, it was parried by a short flute.
"Madame Yin, let Tang administer the remaining sixty lashes."
Though he spoke in the tone of a request, he had already reached out, half-accepting and half-wresting the whip from Yin Qi’s hand. Madame Yin opened her mouth to protest but found it difficult to say more.
That day, the Head of House Yin learned something new: as it turned out, whipping was also a field of study. Some strikes looked heavy and sounded loud, yet felt quite dull upon the skin; others looked heavy and sounded loud, and the pain they inflicted was very real indeed.
Regarding this, the little Prince Shen had once analyzed the matter with her quite seriously. He believed the key lay in whether the body of the whip or the tip of the whip landed on the flesh. First, the hand wielding the whip must lean forward, causing the tip to carry more force; naturally, it would hurt when it landed. However, if the tip swept across the ground or some other object first, the body of the whip would land with its momentum naturally dampened.
Of course, his talk was of "bedroom interests," which was not quite the same as this. To think that her Master was also well-versed in such subtleties...
She looked up at Tang Yin with a subtle gaze. Tang Yin, assuming she was in pain, leaned his whipping hand even further forward, causing the greater part of the long whip to slap against the gold-brick floor. He had no idea what this scoundrel was thinking at that moment; otherwise, the tip of that whip would likely have landed directly on her wandering forehead.
***
Meanwhile, the little Prince Shen was having an equally difficult time after being "escorted" into the palace. Consort Dowager He was so livid she had overturned every table in Jiaoshu Palace, vowing to beat this disgraceful thing to death.
Fortunately, there weren't many lethal weapons in the palace. She grabbed a gold-inlaid bronze rod used by the servants to lift curtains, seized him, and gave him a sound thrashing. Prince Shen was the picture of innocence—he didn't even know what had happened. He only remembered being picked up early in the morning and brought back to his mother’s Jiaoshu Palace, followed immediately by a relentless beating.
He had been accustomed to being beaten since childhood. The various consorts of the palace only arrived belatedly to offer half-hearted mediation. Unfortunately, the more Consort Dowager He thought about it, the angrier she became, and the angrier she became, the harder she struck. Seeing that the beautiful Prince Shen Tingjiao was being beaten into the likeness of a battered flower after a storm, the King, Shen Tingyao, was finally disturbed.
He paced into the palace with his hands behind his back, finally intimidating Consort Dowager He, who had been prepared to sacrifice family for justice. "Tingjiao, you are truly too absurd. With such a thing occurring, where is the dignity of the Great Xing Imperial Family to be placed?" Seeing Consort Dowager He’s eyes redden again, he added from his high vantage point, "Very well, since it has come to this, We shall select a date for you and that Head of House Yin. You shall marry... you shall take her as your wife."
Shen Tingjiao was still somewhat dazed. "Marry whom?"
The following day, the King issued an imperial decree, betrothing Yin Zhuli to the Prince of Fulu, Shen Tingjiao. The wedding date was set for the eighth day of the fifth lunar month of the following year.
After the decree was read, the eunuch, Manager Huang, was led by the Head of House Yin to the main hall for tea. Along the way, he produced a secret decree, stating that while the Head of House Yin had disgraced the imperial family—a crime normally beyond forgiveness—the King took into account the Yin family’s generations of successful commerce and their hard work for the people of Great Xing. Her life would be spared, but she was required to provide five hundred thousand *dan* of grain to atone for her crime and resolve the needs of the Northwest military campaign.
Yin Zhuli was injured and did not dare to bow, keeping her back straight, but the corners of her mouth twitched. "Manager Huang, the King is trying to sell the Ninth Prince to me!"
Manager Huang had always received many benefits from the Yin family, so he naturally did not take offense at her words. "Head of House, you must not speak nonsense. By marrying into the imperial family, you will be the Consort of Fulu. This is an honor that many could only dream of."
Yin Zhuli still clicked her tongue. "Tsk... Manager Huang, although the Ninth Prince is the greatest beauty in Great Xing, five hundred thousand *dan* of grain—and of military grade, no less—is a bit too expensive, isn't it?"
Manager Huang had received his orders before leaving; since this transaction was a forced deal regardless, it was going to happen. He immediately glared and said, "Head of House, this is an imperial command. Do you dare to defy the decree?" Having finished his intimidation, he switched back to a smiling face. "Head of House, I will tell you the truth: the national treasury is currently tight. Moreover, the military rations sent to the Northwest last time were intercepted. Great General Qu Tianji has sent six urgent dispatches in a single day, each traveling eight hundred *li*, demanding grain. It just so happens that you've run into this... You are a sensible person; you should know that you must give these five hundred thousand *dan* of grain whether you want to or not."
Yin Zhuli still looked troubled. "I understand the logic, but Manager Huang, the Ninth Prince has someone else in his heart. I worry he might not be willing to be sold..."
Manager Huang choked on his tea, coughing for a long time before shrieking, "How bold!"
Yin Zhuli quickly corrected herself: "Marry! I meant marry!"
Shen Tingyao had clearly considered this, so Manager Huang was not worried. "I have already said, this is an imperial decree. How could the Ninth Prince not obey?" He leaned close to Yin Zhuli’s ear and whispered again, "The King said that if he dares not to be sold, he will be sent to Shandong to mine coal."
"..." The Head of House Yin was silent for a long while. Finally, she handed over a gold ingot and asked in a low voice, "Did the King also say that if I don't buy him, he'll have me drowned in a pond?"
Manager Huang took the ingot, took another sip of tea, and then said with a beaming smile, "That, he did not. The King only said that if the Head of House does not buy him, he will not allow the Head of House to mine coal in Shandong!"
"..." Yin Zhuli rubbed her temples for a moment before finally saying respectfully, "My thanks to Manager Huang. I shall see you out. Safe travels, Manager Huang."
The moment Manager Huang stepped out the door, the Head of House Yin summoned her Head Steward, Hao Jian. "How much can be mobilized right now from the rice shops and granaries near Fu City in the Northwest?"
Steward Hao took out a golden abacus. Without even needing the ledgers, he buried his head in calculations for the time it took to drink a cup of tea. He then announced clearly, "Head of House, currently the three cities near Fu City can provide ninety thousand *dan* of top-quality millet, sixty thousand *dan* of broomcorn millet, sixty thousand *dan* of panicled millet, seventy thousand *dan* of rice, fifty thousand *dan* of wheat, and fifty thousand *dan* of beans."
Yin Zhuli clicked her tongue, her back aching and her heart aching for her wealth. "Send word. Take a portion of each to make up two hundred thousand *dan* and deliver them to the Northwest Loyal and Brave Army camp. Hand them over to Great General Qu."
"Understood." Just as Steward Hao was about to leave to make arrangements, a servant in black clothes and a small cap came running in, shouting, "This is bad, Head of House! The Prince of Fulu has fled the marriage! His whereabouts are currently unknown, and the King is sending people everywhere to hunt him down!"
"Fled the marriage?" A look of joy appeared on Yin Zhuli’s face, which accidentally tugged at the wounds on her back, making her wince in pain. "He fled? Excellent! You there, Hao Jian! Come back here first..."
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 殷启 | Yin Qi | A member of the Yin household administering punishment. |
| 唐隐 | Tang Yin | Yin Zhuli's mentor/teacher. |
| 富贵城 | Fugui City | Literally "Wealthy City," the base of the Yin family. |
| 椒淑宫 | Jiaoshu Palace | The residence of Consort Dowager He. |
| 何太妃 | Consort Dowager He | Shen Tingjiao's mother. |
| 沈庭遥 | Shen Tingyao | The King/Emperor of Great Xing. |
| 大荥 | Great Xing | The name of the dynasty/kingdom. |
| 福禄王 | Prince of Fulu | Shen Tingjiao's title (Fulu means Fortune and Prosperity). |
| 黄公公 | Manager Huang | An imperial eunuch (Gonggong). |
| 石 | Dan | A unit of dry measure (picul), approx. 60kg or 100 liters. |
| 曲天棘 | Qu Tianji | A Great General of the Northwest. |
| 郝剑 | Hao Jian | The Head Steward of the Yin family (pun on "very cheap/shameless"). |
| 忠勇军 | Loyal and Brave Army | The name of the military force in the Northwest. |
| 粟米 | Millet | One of the grains mentioned. |
| 黍 | Broomcorn millet | One of the grains mentioned. |
| 稷 | Panicled millet | One of the grains mentioned. |
| 稻 | Rice | One of the grains mentioned. |
| 麦 | Wheat | One of the grains mentioned. |
| 菽 | Beans | One of the grains mentioned. |
