Chapter 5: Revenge is inevitable

  Two people quickly turned their heads to look, and saw a man in a green robe standing on the slope, with a thin build and a ferocious big face that made one's heart tremble. Xue Liang exclaimed: "Ninth Master."

  Xue Liangyi called out, and Ding Hao quickly remembered the man's identity. His name was Yan Jiu, the general manager of the inner government of the Ding family's large courtyard. Although his face was full of scars and he wore a cyan satin garment that made it difficult to show off his demeanor, in the Ding family, even the two beautiful concubines, Ding Lao Ye and Ting Xun, had to respectfully call him "Ninth Master" when they saw him. This Yan Jiu had rendered great service to the Ding family and was a loyal servant; his loyalty and righteousness were even recorded in the annals of Ba Zhou Prefecture.

  It was eighteen years ago when Master Ding's first wife had just given birth to a child at her parents' home, and the bandits came. Mrs. Ding was weak after childbirth and couldn't escape with the child, so she let the house slave Yanjiu take the young master away, while she herself jumped into a well to preserve her chastity. Although Yanjiu was a humble house slave, he was very loyal and managed to bring the second young master back to the Ding family after much hardship, traveling thousands of miles. Along the way, he suffered greatly, and his face was scarred from rolling down a hill while holding the second young master, scratched by grass and tree branches.

  Ding Tingxun was grateful and repaid him by entrusting him with the internal affairs of the household, enjoying a life of ease. Yan Jiu, on the other hand, remained loyal and continued to serve the two young masters personally, attending to their every need. The second young master, Ding Chengye, although an ungrateful and inconsiderate person, was quite close to this loyal servant, mainly because Yan Jiu not only never stopped him from indulging in his love of wine, women, and gambling but also helped him cover up these vices.

  "Yan Jiu sneered, 'You two are so unruly, stealing the kitchen's New Year's goods to roast here. That kitchen over there really needs a good cleaning.'"

  Xue Liang's face turned sour as he said, "Ninth Master, you've misunderstood. This raccoon dog was hunted by myself."

  "Hey, you little rascal, do you still want to fool me? Your Ninth Master's eyes aren't blind, are they? Alright, come with me and speak in front of Second Young Master."

  Wild geese pressed Xue Liang and Ding Hao, carrying the charred raccoon dog, triumphantly returned to the mansion. The two were brought into a hall in the third courtyard, where the floor was paved with clear bricks, and the pillars were all made of nanmu wood that was resistant to corrosion and insect damage. On both sides stood eight large men holding torches, while Ding Chengye sat at the head of the table with his legs crossed, his thin lips pursed, and a hint of anger on his handsome face.

  Xue Liang knelt before him and explained: "Second Master, Second Master, that wolf really wasn't stolen."

  Yan Jiu gave Ding Hao a cold glance and sneered, "You unruly thing, why aren't you kneeling? Do you think you're the young master of the Ding family?"

  Ding Hao looked around at the strong and powerful farmhands with a fierce gaze, gritted his teeth secretly, and thought to himself: A real man can yield and compromise. If Han Xin could endure humiliation, why couldn't I tolerate this temporary anger? Now that things have come to this point, resistance is futile. Yan Jiu, Ding Chengye, remember this one kneel from me!

  He gritted his teeth and knelt down beside Xue Liang. Ding Chengye glanced at Ding Hao, his two sword-like eyebrows slowly rising, a cold smile spreading across his face: "You dare to break the rules of the Ding family, sneaking around and doing dirty deeds, and then try to deceive me with clever words?"

  Xue Liang hastily said: "Second young master, I and Ding Hao dare not steal things from the mansion. This raccoon dog... was indeed caught by me in the woods outside the village."

  "Ha ha, with that stupid look on your face, can you even catch any prey? Xue Liang, it's better for you to tell the truth in front of Young Master."

  Ding Hao had been watching with a cold eye, because he had never been a servant before and couldn't bring himself to do so now. He easily put aside his dignity, calling out "Young Master" and "Little One" as he begged for mercy from others. But seeing Yan Jiu insist that they were thieves, and Ding Chengye seeming to have the intention of punishing them, he finally couldn't bear it and said: "Second Young Master, has any of the New Year's goods prepared by the estate gone missing? If you bring in the people from the kitchen to ask, you'll know. Ninth Master is deeply loyal to the Ding family and won't tolerate anyone being disloyal. This loyalty... we small ones all know about it. Perhaps in the busyness, mistakes were made, and there may have been times when things weren't taken care of."

  As soon as Ding Hao said this, Ding Chengye suddenly became furious: "What's going on? Does the young master need you to teach him how to do things? You two dogs are really bold! Today, Father is not at home and Big Brother is not at home either. In the Ding Mansion, I, the Second Young Master, have the final say. Yan Jiu, execute family law for me!"

  Several strong men rushed up and knocked the two to the ground, brandishing large clubs and starting to beat them. The club hit Ding Hao's body, causing him so much pain that he convulsed, hugging his head to protect himself, gritting his teeth to endure it. In his heart, he suddenly remembered what Dongjia's daughter had said - this handsome second young master of the Ding family was indeed a vengeful person who would not let go of past grievances; since he had ruined one good thing for him, now that he had the chance, he wanted revenge.

  After a dozen or so blows, the two men's grunts turned into cries of pain, and their lower bodies seemed to no longer belong to them. Just then, a sorrowful cry was heard: "Second Master, don't hit him, my son won't steal things, he won't steal things."

  A woman rushed into the house, and suddenly threw herself on Ding Hao's body. Before Zhuang Ding could react, she quickly exerted force to the side, wiping her forehead and hitting her shoulder, causing her body to tremble with pain. But she stopped Zhuang Ding just in time, and immediately rolled over and crawled to Ding Chengye's feet, hugging his legs and begging bitterly: "Second Master, my son must be wronged, he has been honest since childhood, absolutely not stealing people's things."

  Ding Hao stared at the woman who suddenly rushed in, seeing a thread of crimson blood trickling down from her forehead, but she seemed to be unaware of it, only holding onto Ding Chengye's leg and pleading for herself, his heartstrings trembling involuntarily.

  "Second Master, Steward Su, my son has always been honest, you all know that, he would never steal anything. My son must be innocent, he just recovered from illness, how can he bear the beating? Second Master, if you're not satisfied, then beat me instead, Yang will take the punishment for her son..."

  Ding Hao's nose suddenly felt a sour taste, and his eyes became slightly blurry in front of him.

  "Second Master!" He suddenly got up, gritting his teeth to prop up his almost completely numb body, swaying and staggering as he stood up, shouting loudly: "Second Master, this family's property is all the Ding family's. You are the young master of the Ding family, taking care of your own family's property, there's nothing wrong with that. But I may be a lowly servant, yet I also can't be wrongly accused without reason. You say I stole things, you should at least produce evidence. Just based on Yan Jiu...Yan the steward's one sentence, you're deciding my guilt, I don't accept it!"

  Ding Chengye flew into a rage, kicked Yang's wife to the ground with one foot, and jumped up saying: "You good-for-nothing thing, even if I hit you by mistake, what can you do? In the eyes of your family's second young master, you are not even as good as a dog. If you were beaten to death, it would be no more than a bundle of mats being dragged out and buried. The second young master is dealing with his own thieving slaves, and the government cannot control me..."

  "I didn't steal anything from your family!" Ding Hao gritted his teeth and said word by word.

  Xue Liang cowered beside him, tugging at his pant leg, but Ding Hao's eyes blazed with fury as he glared fiercely at Ding Chengye.

  Ding Chengye burst out laughing: "You didn't steal? Is that right, a mother who steals people and a son who doesn't even steal things? Beat him for me, beat him until he admits it!"

  The servants on both sides were about to rush up and grab people, Yang was in a hurry to block Ding Hao's front, but was pulled away by a servant and fell to the ground. Ding Hao saw that his heart was burning with a nameless fire. What is a close mother? This is a close mother! Lao Tzu is also a man, can't bear it! Should be dead, not dead, originally good fortune, but if you want to live like this, then it's better to die quickly. When Old Xu hit me that time, I should have been done for, and these few days of rebirth are just my earnings."

  His eyes were red and he was about to fight with all his might, when a cold rebuke suddenly came from the doorway, like pearls rolling on a jade plate, crisp and clear: "Enough! Ding Chengye, you have such a big temper, with your father and older brother above, when will it be your turn to take charge?"