Chapter 288: The Bandit Series – Kidnapping the Bride (Part IV)

Deep within the sprawling manor, an elderly gentleman sat behind a gauze screen embroidered with green bamboo. His hair was silver, and he sat tall in a high seat of honor, dressed in a brocade robe with traditional frog buttons. His posture was ramrod straight, and his bearing extraordinary. Beneath his gaze, Ye Yuzhu knelt on the cold floor tiles outside the screen, wearing only a thin inner garment.

Master Ye took a drag from his pipe. Ye Yuzhu kept his eyes lowered and said, “I know nothing of the matter Father speaks of.”

Master Ye exhaled, a cloud of smoke drifting out from behind the screen. He let out a cold chuckle, his voice so chilly it seemed to make the temperature of the snowy day outside drop sharply. “You know nothing?” he asked.

Ye Yuzhu said, “Nothing.”

The water pipe slammed onto the small table with a sharp crack, then tumbled to the floor and shattered into pieces. Ye Hongshan slapped the table with such force it sounded like a clap of thunder, making the servants jump in fright. He leaned forward, pointing a finger at Ye Yuzhu. “Stubborn! Still so stubborn! Everyone knows of your lightfoot skills^[1]! They’ve practically come to our door demanding the person back, and you still claim to know nothing?!”

Ye Yuzhu’s lips twitched, but he remained kneeling on the floor in silence.

Ye Hongshan gnashed his teeth in fury. “I really raised a fine son! For the sake of a mere woman, you would risk the lives of hundreds in this family! She was to be wed with all proper matchmakers and betrothal gifts, a proper marriage! Even if you’ve snatched her away, what good will it do?!”

“Father, are you convicting your son without a shred of proof? Our Ye family has been a prominent clan in Linying for generations. If some damn Marshal can just come here demanding answers without any evidence, then does every bad deed under heaven have to fall on my shoulders? For Father to speak like this ruins our own morale and boosts the prestige of others!”

Leaning on his cane, Ye Hongshan walked out from behind the screen and struck Ye Yuzhu hard across the leg. Ye Yuzhu let out a muffled groan, forcing himself to take the hit.

Ye Hongshan pointed at his face and snarled, “You worthless thing! The ‘fine work’ you’ve done has nearly stripped your father of all his dignity, and you still dare mention the Ye family? I see you won’t shed a tear until you see the coffin^[2]! Men!”

As soon as Ye Hongshan called out, a cold sweat broke out over Ye Yuzhu. The servants on both sides threw the doors wide open, revealing two long benches in the courtyard. Qian Chuanzi was lying on one of them, beaten until his head bled. Rolling his eyes up and seeing Ye Yuzhu, he burst into tears, a mess of snot and weeping. A ragged cloth was stuffed in his mouth, making his cries muffled and unintelligible.

Ye Hongshan slammed his cane against the floor. “Beat him! Beat him mercilessly!”

The servants on either side, holding punishment staves as thick as a man’s calf, got into stance. One heavy blow after another struck Qian Chuanzi with dull thuds.

At this sight, Ye Yuzhu dropped to his knees right at Ye Hongshan’s feet. He desperately grabbed the hem of his father’s robe, casting everything else aside. “Father! This has nothing to do with Chuanzi! Stop beating him! You’ll beat him to death!”

“He is but a servant. Since he failed to watch over you properly, his death is no great loss,” Ye Hongshan said, leaning on his cane with a cold, indifferent expression.

In the time it took to speak those few words, Qian Chuanzi spat out a mouthful of blood, which fell to the ground along with the rag that had been stuffed in his mouth.

Ye Yuzhu looked back. Shocked by the blood pooling on the ground, tears welled in his eyes. He began kowtowing frantically against the floor. “Father! I was wrong! It was my fault! I know I was wrong! I was the one who kidnapped Marshal Zhao’s bride! Chuanzi is my brother! I beg you, stop the beating! You’re really going to kill him!”

Ye Hongshan stroked his beard and closed his eyes, immovable as a mountain.

Ye Yuzhu’s forehead was already a bloody mess, yet the dull thuds of the staves rang out one after another in his ears. In a fit of desperation, he hiked up his robe, scrambled to his feet, and bolted out the door. Startled by the movement, Ye Hongshan opened his eyes to look, only to see Ye Yuzhu run to Qian Chuanzi and throw his entire body over the nearly unconscious man.

The servants on both sides wielding the staves froze, unsure of what to do.

Ye Hongshan barked, “Pull him off!”

At once, three or four servants tried to drag Ye Yuzhu off Qian Chuanzi. But Ye Yuzhu fought with every ounce of strength he possessed, sweat drenching his face as he clung to Qian Chuanzi, refusing to let go. “If you want to beat my brother, then beat me to death alongside him!” Ye Yuzhu roared. “Just consider it as if I never had you as a father in this life!”

Qian Chuanzi’s mouth was filled with bloody froth. His lips moved weakly as he rasped, “Young Master… Young Master… these staves have no eyes… don’t let them hurt you…”

Ye Yuzhu held Qian Chuanzi tightly on the bench. Their blood ran together down their shoes and socks, pooling on the ground. “I don’t care! It was my idea! I was the one who took her! If you want to beat someone, beat me! Chuanzi is innocent! If you have the guts, kill me along with him today!”

Ye Hongshan was dazed with fury at the sight. Coming to his senses, he barked, “Continue! Keep beating him!”

“I did this for the family! Do you want the Ye family to fall into total ruin, never to rise again?” Ye Yuzhu shouted in anger.

“Hold!”

Before the staves could fall again, Ye Hongshan called a halt. Leaning on his cane, he walked to the doorway and looked closely at his son, whose head and face were covered in blood. “What did you just say? Say it again.”

With the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth, Ye Yuzhu swallowed a mouthful of blood and said with difficulty, “The Ye family is a prominent clan. How could we be content to serve under others? I refuse to let the Ye family be in such a desolate state when Father hands it down to me! It’s true I took the bride out of selfish motives, but if I hadn’t gone up Mount Funiu that night, Marshal Zhao would have colluded with those bandits within the month, and the Ye family would never have another chance to rise!”

Ye Hongshan raised a hand, and the servants holding the staves immediately left the courtyard. Seeing this, Ye Yuzhu quickly helped Qian Chuanzi off the bench and assisted a servant in hoisting the man onto his back. Ye Yuzhu gave worried instructions: “Go, fetch a doctor immediately!”

He pulled out his coin purse and shoved it into the servant’s hand, emphasizing, “Give the money to his wife. Make sure you get a doctor!”

Only after watching the servant disappear toward the front courtyard did Ye Yuzhu wipe the blood from his face with his sleeve and return to the room. Ye Hongshan did not rush him; he simply sat back down behind the screen, his anger clearly having cooled.

Suppressing the resentment in his heart, Ye Yuzhu returned to his original spot and stood with a slight bow. Ye Hongshan switched to a different pipe, lit the tobacco, and asked, “It seems you have your own schemes. Well then, tell me. What exactly is your plan?”

Ye Yuzhu took a breath and said, “That Marshal Zhao forcibly abducted a commoner woman. Now he’s come knocking without a shred of proof. As long as he can’t produce evidence or find Lady Xue, he can’t possibly use force against us, given our family’s standing.”

Ye Hongshan gave a dry chuckle. “And how do you know Shulong Fortress won’t sell you out?”

Ye Yuzhu looked up. “The men who helped me with the abduction were handpicked by Gan Zhao and me over the course of a month. Every one of them is elite, men of iron character. They would never commit such an act of treachery. I have her hidden in the Gan Clan manor; that man named Zhao would never think to look there.”

Ye Hongshan took a drag from his pipe, his brow furrowing slightly. “You dragged young Zhao into this as well?”

Ye Yuzhu felt a pang of uncertainty at his father’s tone, wondering if he had misspoken. As he calculated how to respond, Ye Hongshan sighed again. “I suppose it’s no surprise. The two of you have always been close. If you were hell-bent on doing this, he would have little reason to refuse you. That boy is extraordinary and a skilled strategist; you must value him.”

Ye Yuzhu found the comment odd, but he didn’t press for details. Since his father had reached his own conclusions and he was the one in the wrong, it was best to keep his mouth shut and ask no questions.

Ye Hongshan continued, “So, how do you plan to settle this?”

Ye Yuzhu lifted the hem of his robe and knelt, cupping his hands toward Ye Hongshan before bowing his head to the floor three times. “If you cannot give Marshal Zhao an explanation, Father, I fear there will be no end to this. Your son has been unfilial. I have studied for years without achieving anything of note. Now, I ask to leave. I will no longer act as a scion of the Ye family. If I do not make a name for myself out there, I will never have the face to return and face our ancestors.”

Having spoken, Ye Yuzhu remained prostrate on the ground.

Ye Hongshan turned his face away, sighing. “Alas, our Ye family has been officials and we have been bandits, but we have never been pure scholars. Your great-grandfather hoped our generation would produce a true man of letters, but it seems it was not meant to be. If your mind is made up, I cannot stop you. Pack your things tonight and head for Funiu.”

Ye Yuzhu rose and bowed again. “Please take care of your health, Father.”

Ye Hongshan beckoned for Ye Yuzhu to come closer, then tipped a tally stick^[3] out of the bamboo canister and tossed it onto the floor. When Ye Yuzhu saw the tally, his face filled with shock.

“In Linying, no one can rival our Ye family. Take this tally and the three hundred brothers hidden in the back courtyard, and go forge your future,” Ye Hongshan said. “Treat those willing to follow you well. It brings me great comfort to see so many people willing to help you.”

“No matter how much I worry, this family will eventually be yours. Once you are out there, do not forget our ancestral teachings and rules. You are an educated man; do not truly adopt the ways of bandits, burning, killing, and looting. Even when you reach a high position, keep the people’s welfare in your heart. Only then will men respect and follow you.”

Ye Yuzhu picked up the tally from the floor and gripped it tightly in his hand. He had already caught the underlying meaning in Ye Hongshan’s words. As he bowed, an unfathomable glint of ruthlessness flickered in his eyes. “Thank you, Father. I will follow your teachings to the letter. Whatever face the Ye family has lost, I will ensure he pays it back in full.”

With that, he gathered his robes, stood up, and walked out of the sprawling compound without looking back.

That departure lasted for three whole years.