Chapter Eight: The Slave (Part Two)

Regarding Xu Fu’s taking action before reporting back, Xu Kang was not particularly surprised. After all, his elder brother’s character could be summed up in one word: reckless.

What did surprise him, however, was the alleged price for the two men before him, who were said to be carpenters—two thousand coins!

To put things in perspective, a large fat pig in Luoyang now sold for eighteen hundred coins. And yet Xu Fu was telling him that two skilled carpenters cost only two thousand? What kind of joke was this?

In that instant, Xu Kang sensed something was amiss. Recalling how Xu Fu had “acted chivalrously” last night to bring home a roast leg of lamb, his eyes narrowed.

Could it be that Xu Fu had the audacity to openly rob someone of their slaves?

Though he found it unlikely, he decided to make sure. “Brother, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but two thousand coins is just too outrageous. Tell me honestly: did you ‘act chivalrously’ to get these two men?”

“Uh... this... of course not!” Xu Fu denied it, but with a hint of hesitation. Seeing this, Xu Kang was instantly certain of his suspicion.

Damn, he really did rob someone. This is bad!

In the Han dynasty, private property was inviolable—a principle stricter even than in later times. Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang had decreed in the “Nine Chapter Law” that anyone who entered another’s home without the owner’s permission, for any reason, could be killed by the owner without consequence.

Although it was now the late Eastern Han, and the Yellow Turban Rebellion had thrown society into chaos, the rites and morals had not yet completely collapsed. If you committed a crime, you were still held accountable.

What Xu Fu had done—seizing someone else’s slaves—could at best be settled with an apology and compensation, but at worst, it could land him in prison or see him executed!

In short, it was a very troublesome matter.

Xu Kang hated troublesome matters, and hated even more cleaning up other people’s messes. If it had been someone he didn’t know, he would have ignored it, but Xu Fu was different.

He was his elder brother in this life—reckless, yes, but not unkind, always bringing something back for him when he went out, like that roast leg of lamb.

With that in mind, Xu Kang couldn’t harden his heart.

Damn it, what else can I do with a brother like this? I can only help him!

Although he had decided to help Xu Fu out of this predicament, Xu Kang needed to hear the full story first; otherwise, he wouldn’t know where to start.

Knowing how stubborn his brother could be, Xu Kang decided to use the family’s ultimate weapon—Madam Xu.

So he called out at once, “Mother, brother’s in trouble ag—mmph mmph mmph...”

Before he could finish, his mouth was covered—by none other than Xu Fu himself!

Xu Fu looked like a thief caught in the act, face full of alarm, as he pleaded in a low voice while keeping Xu Kang’s mouth shut, “Sorry, second brother, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have lied to you. Yes, I did get these two men by ‘chivalrous’ means. Just don’t call Mother, or she’ll be angry. Ask me anything, I’ll tell you. Just please don’t shout, alright?”

Tch, if you’d just said so earlier!

Seeing Xu Fu finally confess, Xu Kang nodded in satisfaction, patted his hand to signal him to let go, and once free, wiped his mouth and asked, “Alright, so what happened exactly?”

Relieved that Xu Kang had stopped calling for their mother, Xu Fu recounted the whole story.

It turned out Xu Fu did go out to buy chests as requested, and he ran into the two carpenters while doing so.

At the time, the two of them were being whipped by their master for an utterly absurd reason: their chests were too well made, so sturdy that customers wouldn’t need to buy new ones. For this, their master beat them.

Faced with such an injustice, Xu Fu couldn’t stand by. He beat up the master, threw two thousand coins at him, made him sign a document transferring ownership of the slaves, and brought the carpenters home.

Upon hearing this, Xu Kang finally relaxed.

Whew... As long as there was no forced entry, at worst this would count as coercion or forced trade. If the other party came knocking, it could be settled with some compensation, or, if handled well, perhaps not even that.

His eyes narrowed again in thought. After a few seconds, he turned to Xu Fu with a solemn expression.

“Brother, Mother can’t know about this for now. You three go outside. I expect the other party will show up soon. When they do, don’t say a word, don’t get into an argument. Bring them in to see me. I’ll handle everything.”

“Uh... alright, then!”

As far as Xu Fu was concerned, as long as Xu Kang didn’t call for their mother, he had no objections. He nodded and led the two carpenters away.

Sure enough, not long after, the aggrieved party arrived, bringing with them a man in a patterned brocade robe with a sabre at his side—clearly a local official.

Recalling Xu Kang’s instructions, Xu Fu said nothing, got into no conflict, and led them straight to Xu Kang.

Before the visitors could speak, Xu Kang greeted them with a smiling bow.

“I am Xu Kang of Yingchuan, styled Yide. May I ask what brings you here? Has my teacher been reinstated, and sent you to find me?”

Both Xu Fu and the newcomers were stunned—what was this? Was there an official’s disciple in this household?

In Luoyang, serving the emperor’s court required finesse. Hearing Xu Kang’s words, the brocade-robed official dared not be careless and returned the bow respectfully.

“Sir, my surname is Zhang. I am a local patrol officer, charged with investigating thefts. I did not come at your teacher’s behest. However, I am well-informed—if you tell me your teacher’s name, I may be able to gather some news.”

“Oh... I see.” Xu Kang’s face showed a trace of disappointment, but he nodded.

“Very well, there’s no harm in telling you. My teacher’s surname is Cai, from Chenliu. He once served as Court Physician and Gentleman Consultant. Because he offended powerful men at court, and was slandered by the former Eunuch Wang Fu, he was exiled to Shuofang...”

At that, Officer Zhang’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Could it be... could your teacher be Master Cai Yong, styled Bojie?”

Seeing the shock on his face, Xu Kang suppressed the urge to laugh and nodded gravely.

“Indeed. My teacher is Cai Bojie.”