Prince Pingyuan declared that he would abolish the bondservant system.
Not a single person present understood what he meant.
The two presiding dignitaries, Yu Yunqiu and Ao Shuangqian, exchanged glances, trying to fathom what abolishing the bondservant system was supposed to signify.
Would they no longer be called bondservants?
Then what should they be called?
Or did it mean bondservants could no longer be bought and sold at will?
Was this newly appointed city master looking to raise taxes?
Li Qi guessed they might not understand, so he had the "Three-Headed Qiao Yi" beside him explain specifically:
"All dignitaries, gentry, and commoners shall surrender their bondservant registers to His Royal Highness the Prince. From this day forth, all bondservants shall attain the status of commoners, free to leave or stay as they please without interference.
"All affairs of Xiaocheng will henceforth be handled by Prince Pingyuan. Any who object may bring their grievances to Prince Pingyuan for judgment."
Now the matter was stated with unmistakable clarity.
Every dignitary and gentleman of the gentry stood dumbfounded.
The commoners were terrified as well. They too kept bondservants, though in limited numbers; aside from wealthy merchants and magnates, most ordinary commoners owned only three to five.
A gentleman among the gentry might keep a dozen or more, while a wealthier scholar could possess over a hundred.
As for the dignitaries, it went without saying. Men of Yu Yunqiu and Ao Shuangqian's standing owned countless bondservants—without them, they would not even know how to get through the day, and they could hardly bear to imagine what Xiaocheng would become.
Even more shocked than any of them was Qiao Yi.
Qiao Yi wanted to charge downstairs, and Nian Shangyou could barely hold him back.
"This is ancestral tradition! The ancestral laws must not be broken! Words like that cannot come from my mouth!"
"My Lord, just pretend you never said it—you didn't say it in the first place!"
"He put on this charade, so now it counts as having come from me! Get out of my way!"
Qiao Yi shoved and wrestled until Nian Shangyou could resist no longer.
"All right then, My Lord. I'll step aside. Go ahead."
Nian Shangyou yielded the path.
Qiao Yi reached the ground floor, stretched his hand toward the pavilion door, and then drew it back.
He could not go out. If he stepped outside, everything was ruined.
Even if he went out now, not only would he clear nothing, but there would also be no room left to salvage the situation.
Shouts and curses drifted in from outside the pavilion.
"Bondservants are my family's private property! On what grounds must we surrender them? Who will compensate us?"
"Xiaodu is the ancient capital of Great Shang! Why should it be enfeoffed to an outsider? Has the Grand Secretariat lost its mind?"
"What sort of thing does he think he is? A mongrel from Puluo Province! People from Puluo Province are born bondservants—what kind of prince is he supposed to be?"
"If the Sovereign were still around, would he ever be allowed to run rampant like this?"
"Disperse, everyone! Coming here today was no different from listening to a toad croak!"
Qiao Yi stood on the ground floor for a moment, then returned to the second floor and said to Nian Shangyou, "It seems they still hold quite a bit of attachment to that pretender king."
Nian Shangyou said resentfully, "This is all Li Qi's fault. His reckless meddling provoked public outrage, forcing these people to bring up old scores."
"No," Qiao Yi said, gazing toward the palace hall. The "Three-Headed Qiao Yi" before the gates was indeed seamless. "Just now, many scholar-gentlemen joined in the cursing. For a scholar to dare mention the pretender king right before the Senior Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat proves that this old score wasn't dredged up today—it has lived in their hearts all along."
Nian Shangyou said, "Your humble subordinate feels this is merely momentary fury..."
Qiao Yi shook his head. "Fury, yes, but not momentary. Perhaps this isn't a bad thing."
Nian Shangyou had no idea how to reply.
Not a bad thing? Has Master Qiao gone mad with rage?
Qiao Yi had not lost his senses; he had calmed down. "It has been far too many years since I last visited Xiaodu. People told me long ago that Xiaodu and Chaoge were not of one mind, and it appears they were right.
"This works out well. Let them clash with Li Qi first, so I can see what Xiaodu is truly made of. No matter who wins, in the end, it will be up to me to haul in the net."
***
Dignitary Yu Yunqiu worked his gills and glanced at Ao Shuangqian.
Ao Shuangqian lightly clicked his left pincer-hand.
Together, the two bowed respectfully toward Li Banfeng, and then, without uttering a word, withdrew from the imperial city.
The two had overseen affairs in Xiaodu for years; once they departed, everyone else followed suit, and before long, the imperial city was left empty and quiet.
Despite their respectful demeanor, they were making one thing crystal clear to Li Banfeng: in Xiaocheng, the two of them still called the shots, and Prince Pingyuan's declaration to abolish the bondservant system was nothing more than empty talk.
Once the crowd had completely cleared out, Qiao Yi emerged from the pavilion. Offering no comment on what had transpired during the ceremony, he merely took his leave of Li Banfeng: "The compensation previously promised to Your Royal Highness has all been honoured. The two of us should return to Chaoge now."
Li Banfeng gave a slight start. "Leaving in such a hurry—is that appropriate?"
Qiao Yi remained expressionless, while Nian Shangyou scoffed inwardly.
Now you think it's inappropriate? You want Master Qiao to help you stabilize the situation?
Why should Master Qiao help you? Where did all that overbearing arrogance of yours go?
Li Banfeng added, "I think you should stay a little longer."
Qiao Yi said nothing.
Nian Shangyou bowed. "Your Highness, there are numerous affairs in Chaoge awaiting my lord's attention. If we delay too long and others notice something amiss, it will be detrimental to both of us."
Li Banfeng frowned. "Leaving right now is quite detrimental to me, too. You haven't fully paid the compensation, yet you want to walk away? How could things be so cheap?"
Nian Shangyou blinked. "Not fully paid?"
Li Banfeng said, "What do you think? We agreed on twenty plots of newland, but you only gave me ten pairs of covenant deeds. Where are the remaining ten pairs?"
Nian Shangyou had clean forgotten about this. "Your Highness, could you bear with us for a bit? As you surely know, an accident occurred at our altar, making it difficult to assemble twenty plots of newland all at once. Grant us a couple of days' grace, and when the time comes, we will certainly deliver every single plot in full."
Li Banfeng proved generous enough: "It's not that I can't grant an extension. First write a promissory note, spelling out both principal and interest clearly."
Nian Shangyou pressed his lips together. "Well... interest too?"
Li Banfeng sighed. "For the sake of our acquaintance, I can waive the interest, but I'll charge a modest late fee. If you don't pay up within ten days, add one extra pair of covenant deeds."
Nian Shangyou grew anxious. "An extra pair every ten days? That interest is a bit too—"
Qiao Yi intervened, "No matter. I agree to this. This old man shall write the promissory note right now."
Since his lord had agreed, Nian Shangyou naturally had nothing left to say.
Tucking away the promissory note, Li Banfeng asked, "You troubled yourself with organizing the ceremony just now, but you still haven't told me where those three weapons are."
Nian Shangyou led Li Banfeng first to Jinghe Palace, opened a hidden trapdoor in the palace floor, and descended into an underground secret chamber.
Inside the secret chamber sat an antique console radio.
In the Outer States, radios were no longer a common sight. The radios lingering in memory were either palm-sized or about the size of a brick; only the older generation knew just how enormous a console radio could be.
Li Banfeng had seen a console radio in Old Lady Wu's room, even larger than professional stage speakers.
The overall dimensions of this radio closely resembled the one in Old Lady Wu's room; standing beside it, Li Banfeng was only a head taller than the unit.
Turning the switch produced nothing but static, and no matter how he adjusted the dial, it caught no broadcast.
Nian Shangyou explained, "I arranged this grade-one weapon here, but just like the one in Tianyi City, I only set it up and have no idea how to use it. Your Royal Highness will have to take the trouble to study it."
"I'm not afraid of studying it," Li Banfeng said, switching off the radio. "The key question is whether this thing truly is a grade-one weapon. Don't go fooling me with just any random junk."
Qiao Yi said, "Even if Your Highness does not trust me, could you still distrust the covenant deed?"
Leaving Jinghe Palace, they arrived at Wan'an Palace. Nian Shangyou opened another secret chamber beneath the main hall. Inside was a table, upon which sat an antique mantel clock.
Nian Shangyou introduced, "Your Highness, this clock is also a grade-one weapon."
Li Banfeng brushed his fingers across the clock and came away with a hand full of dust. He opened the clock's access door and drew out a clock key from beneath the pendulum.
Most youths in the Outer States had no idea what such a key was for, but Li Banfeng knew: it was a tool for winding the clockwork.
Inserting the key into the winding arbor on the dial, Li Banfeng wound the spring fully. With a nudge to the pendulum, the clock began to tick steadily away.
It ticked for a good while without showing any change. As Nian Shangyou was about to explain, Li Banfeng waved his hand. "Save your breath. You definitely don't know how this weapon works either."
Nian Shangyou smiled modestly. "Your Highness is wise. Your humble subordinate truly does not know."
With the binding terms of the covenant deed, Li Banfeng wasn't overly concerned. Down the line, he could let the Hanxue clock pendulum have a chat with this clock; they would likely hit it off quite well.
Exiting Wanfu Palace, Li Banfeng asked Nian Shangyou, "Don't tell me the third weapon is underground as well?"
Nian Shangyou froze. "Your Highness, we have already given you three weapons. The other one is the dragon-bone waterwheel in Tianyi City—you've already seen it."
"Nonsense!" Li Banfeng lifted the brim of his hat. "That waterwheel was part of Tianyi City. Tianyi City already belongs to me, so how can you pull the waterwheel out and count it separately?"
Nian Shangyou blinked his fishy eyes. "B-but that waterwheel is indeed a grade-one weapon. It wasn't originally in Tianyi City; I set it up specifically—"
Qiao Yi stopped Nian Shangyou.
At a time like this, there was no point trying to reason with Li Qi; the more you argued, the worse off you ended up.
Still, certain things needed to be stated clearly. Qiao Yi said, "Though the two weapons we just inspected are here in Xiaodu, they were specially arranged for Your Highness by my two brothers. They cannot be counted as mere complimentary inclusions with Xiaodu."
Li Banfeng said, "You mean they were just moved here? Then why was that old clock covered in dust?"
Nian Shangyou waved his hands frantically. "Your subordinate truly knows nothing about that! When I set up the clock here, Lord Xie specifically instructed that it shouldn't be wiped clean."
Li Banfeng nodded. "I'll let that slide. Where on earth is the third weapon?"
Nian Shangyou glanced at Qiao Yi.
Qiao Yi frowned. "Why are you looking at me? Do we have one or not? Answer the Prince quickly!"
Nian Shangyou understood now: Qiao Yi wanted nothing more than to extricate himself from Xiaocheng as quickly as possible.
"Your Highness, this way please! This weapon is not underground."
Nian Shangyou led Li Banfeng to the Directorate of Ceremonial and stepped into a room.
The room was small, measuring perhaps five or six square meters at a glance. Inside lay a rolled bamboo mat, an eight-immortals table, and two benches.
It was a room where eunuchs once lived.
Li Banfeng looked at Nian Shangyou. "Where is the grade-one weapon?"
Nian Shangyou pointed at the eight-immortals table. "Your Highness, feast your eyes."
"This table is also a weapon?"
Nian Shangyou bowed low. "A grade-one weapon, genuine and guaranteed."
Li Banfeng leaned close to the eight-immortals table and listened for a long while. He could sense some spirituality within it, but heard not a single sound.
More importantly, he couldn't imagine how on earth an eight-immortals table was supposed to fight.
Now that the three grade-one weapons had been handed over, Li Banfeng asked Nian Shangyou, "Are there any other grade-one weapons in the imperial city?"
"None." Nian Shangyou's catfish-like face showed not a ripple of emotion.
Li Banfeng pressed no further. Nian Shangyou boarded a merchant ship with Qiao Yi and departed Xiaocheng.
Making his way to the imperial garden, Li Banfeng used his Interlocking Chambers art to bring his madam outside, and the two sat together on an artificial rockery to admire the flowers.
Learning that Li Banfeng intended to abolish the bondservant system, the lady expressed some worry: "Darling husband, the bondservant system of the Shang State has persisted for who knows how many years; a single decree cannot possibly abolish it. You are rushing things, Husband, and I fear the nobles of Xiaocheng will act against you."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "The nobles are not the point."
Hearing this, the gramophone grew even more anxious: "Husband, do not underestimate them. The dignitaries and scholar-officials have operated in Xiaocheng for countless years; their roots run deep, and the means at their disposal number in the hundreds and thousands. You must take extreme care."
"I haven't underestimated them. I know they aren't easy to deal with." Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then summoned twelve shadows.
These twelve shadows all belonged to the Earthly Branches lineage; endowed with Dwelling Cultivator talents, they were difficult to detect.
Li Banfeng instructed them, "Banfeng Zi through Banfeng Shen, each of you patrol one ring of the city. If you encounter any bondservants wishing to leave their masters, guide them to the imperial city, and I will settle them first.
"Banfeng You, Banfeng Xu, and Banfeng Hai: the First, Second, and Third Rings cover vast ground, so lend extra support there. If abnormalities arise elsewhere, provide timely reinforcement as well."
With the Earthly Branch shadows deployed, Li Banfeng dispatched the Heavenly Stem shadows next: "Familiarize yourselves with the imperial city as quickly as possible. Map out every mechanism and secret tunnel, devise defense strategies, and prepare for a vicious battle."
Once the Heavenly Stem shadows were dispatched, Li Banfeng and his madam set about studying how to use the three grade-one weapons.
***
Back in his manor, Dignitary Yu Yunqiu downed several cups of gloom-laden wine while his son Yu Daoquan warmed the wine beside him, offering words of comfort: "Father, do not fret. How could anyone take the baseless prattle of a Puluo mongrel seriously?"
Yu Yunqiu glanced at Yu Daoquan, initially inclined to ignore him. He had over thirty sons, and Yu Daoquan was not born of his principal wife, so Yu Yunqiu rarely paid him much attention.
Yet when such a momentous event occurred today, only Yu Daoquan dared bring it up unprompted; perhaps the young man was actually capable of getting things done.
After considering for a moment, Yu Yunqiu imparted a few words of guidance: "I haven't taken Li Qi's words seriously, but I fear someone else will."
Yu Daoquan asked, "Do you mean the Ao family? Are you worried they will defect to Li Qi?"
Yu Yunqiu shook his head with a bitter smile. "Your worldly wisdom is still lacking. Ao Shuangqian and I have fought all our lives. Though I hold his character in low regard, I have never looked down on his mettle.
"He could never defect to Li Qi. But within our own household, someone might truly believe what Li Qi said."
Hearing this, Yu Daoquan understood. "Father, your son will go gather men at once and see our household affairs handled properly."
Yu Yunqiu possessed more than three thousand bondservants. Some served as household servants in the estate, some farmed the fields, and some laboured in shops.
The servants in the manor naturally dared not make any reckless moves, and those farming out in the fields were too far from the city to have heard about the abolition of bondservants. Only the bondservants working in the shops began to harbour ideas.
Yu Yunqiu ran a porcelain shop in the Third Ring. Come nightfall, the shopkeeper closed up business and the shop hands returned to their respective homes to rest. Only the bondservants were forced to live inside the porcelain shop, locked behind chained gates and forbidden from taking a single step outside.
There were thirty-eight bondservants in the shop in total, all crammed into a shed to sleep. Around the hour of the Ox, a bondservant named Bei woke quietly and nudged another bondservant beside him.
This bondservant was named Shun; he had stayed awake the whole time, waiting for Bei to come wake him.
As the two made for the shed's exit, a bondservant named Gong, who slept right beside the doorway, suddenly propped himself up: "Where are you two going?"
Among this group of bondservants, Gong was the oldest and most senior, and all the bondservants feared him.
Shun hurriedly explained, "We're going to take a leak together."
"Isn't there a chamber pot right there?" Gong thrust out a leg, pointing to the bucket in the corner. "A bucket that big isn't enough for you to piss in?"
Bei replied, "We don't just need to pee, we need to take a dump too, and we didn't want the stench to bother everyone."
Gong stared at the two for a moment. "Taking a dump together too? How is it that convenient?"
Bei replied, "We ate something bad tonight; our stomachs are churning."
Gong sneered, "You won't need to eat tomorrow then. Starve for a day and you won't feel uncomfortable anymore."
Bei and Shun dared not say more; keeping their heads down, they hurried out of the shed toward the latrine.
The two brothers had already made their plan: tonight they would scale the walls of the porcelain shop and flee all the way out of the city, finding a forest to hide in first.
If the city master proved true to his word, they would return to work as wage laborers; if not, they would live as wild men in the woods.
Beside the latrine, Bei and Shun dragged two stones out of a clay pile. They had originally hidden three stones in the pile, but one of them was nowhere to be found.
The walls in the Inner States were tall, and the bondservants still wore iron cangues; stacking two stones was not high enough to climb over the wall.
Shun said in a low voice, "Maybe we should call it off tonight and find a way tomorrow night."
Bei shook his body and said, "We can't. By tomorrow night, the city master's words might not count anymore, and we won't even be able to get out the city gates."
Shun lowered his head. "I'm scared we won't get through the city gates tonight either. This city master was probably just boasting. If we get caught after getting out, our lives are forfeit—at least right now we're still alive!"
Bei glanced back at the distant shed, shaking the iron cangue on his body. "Does this count as living? Whipped from morning to night, working harder than beasts of burden, eating worse than animals, and dying in that shed when we can work no longer—are we to spend our whole lives like this?
"I heard of bondservants who escaped into the forests; they built their own houses, farmed their own land, ate what they earned with their own hands, and even took wives. That is living."
"Those are just fairy tales. Who has ever seen bondservants that fled into the mountains? Nobody knows if that's real or fake. I've also heard that every bondservant who leaves the city ends up dead out there."
"You only know if it's real by trying! Two days ago, Xiao Mo spilled a bowl of soup for the young master and was beaten to death—you know about that, don't you? That wasn't fake, was it? No matter how badly we live out there, it's better than this!"
With Bei putting it that way, Shun hardened his resolve. "Fine. Wait for me here; I'll go find another stone."
"Hurry back!"
Shun left, and Bei waited beneath the wall. After waiting a good while, he suddenly saw someone approaching with a torch.
Terrified, Bei tried to duck into the latrine, but it was already too late.
A guard stepped up, raised his spear, pierced Bei's body, and pinned him to the ground.
Behind the guard stood Yu Daoquan.
And behind Yu Daoquan stood the oldest bondservant in the porcelain shop, Gong.
Gong said to Yu Daoquan, "Young Master, I could tell at a glance that these two brats had something up their sleeves. Claiming they were going to take a dump together in the dead of night—turns out they were planning to escape!"
Bei refused to admit it, struggling against the ground: "We weren't trying to run! We just needed to take a dump!"
"Bullshit!" Gong barked in fury, pointing at the stones by the base of the wall. "Where did these stones come from? You think I couldn't see through your little scheme? Did you notice you were missing a stone? I'm the one who took it away!
"You ungrateful, wolf-hearted wretches! Did the master ever starve you or deprive you of water? Just hearing that Puluo mongrel's demonic nonsense, you dare betray our master? Do you even count as human? Where is Shun? Where did he go?"
Bei yelled, "We really didn't mean to run! Shun has already gone back to the shed!"
He shouted so loudly to warn Shun.
Shun hadn't gone back to the shed; he was hiding behind a kiln. Hearing Bei's shout, Shun dashed toward the shed as fast as he could.
Holding a knife, Yu Daoquan carved two slashes into Bei's face. "Li Qi said a few casual words, and you actually took it seriously? You've lived until today because our family granted you the grace of life! What use is there in keeping a traitorous, biting beast like you alive?"
"Young Master, I'm wronged! I'm wronged!" Bei continued begging for mercy.
Yu Daoquan commanded, "Beat him to death with clubs."
Shun fled back into the shed, curling up into a ball and not daring to twitch.
He could hear Bei's wails of agony, each cry ringing crystal clear in his ears.
***
Bei's corpse was hung before the entrance of the porcelain shop. Banfeng Zi happened to pass by, flattening himself against the wall as he observed the situation.
Yu Daoquan sent someone to fetch his father. Yu Yunqiu hurried over and listened to Yu Daoquan recount what had happened.
Yu Yunqiu nodded repeatedly. "Well done. You deserve a reward. Tomorrow, choose a shop in the Third Ring, and I'll place it under your management."
Yu Daoquan quickly expressed his thanks, adding in passing, "The bondservant Gong rendered significant merit this time; Father, please grant him a reward as well."
Gong knelt prostrate beside them, not daring to breathe loudly.
Yu Yunqiu glanced at the bondservant Gong. "In normal times, he would be rewarded. But right now, Li Qi is making an issue out of the bondservants, so rewarding him openly is inappropriate. Let this merit be noted for the time being."
At those simple words—"noted for the time being"—the bondservant Gong was moved to tears of gratitude, knocking his head against the ground in ceaseless kowtows.
Yu Yunqiu instructed further, "Hang this corpse outside the porcelain shop for a day, and then circulate it through every shop for display. Let the bondservants see the fate awaiting those who try this."
Yu Daoquan acknowledged the order.
Yu Yunqiu added, "I suspect he isn't the only bondservant thinking of fleeing."
Yu Daoquan took the hint immediately. "Father, I shall inspect other locations."
Yu Yunqiu returned to the Eighth Ring to rest, while Yu Daoquan led his men to continue inspecting their various shops. The Yu family possessed numerous businesses in the Third Ring. As they approached a silk shop, they suddenly noticed several men walking over.
These men were hunched, with long whiskers, hopping and bounding as they walked; they looked somewhat like prawns.
Seeing them armed with weapons, one couldn't tell whose guards they were.
The Ao family's?
Yu Daoquan was about to step forward and greet them when he caught their scent and found it rather strange.
They didn't carry the fishy shrimp stench of the Ao family, but rather the unique sweet fragrance of cantaloupe.
"Gentlemen, you are—"
Before he could finish, one guard swung an iron rod and struck Yu Daoquan squarely on the leg.
Crack!
Yu Daoquan's leg snapped, and he dropped instantly to his knees.
"You...!" Screaming in agony, Yu Daoquan saw his guards surge forward, clashing with the cantaloupe men.
The two sides were evenly matched. Banfeng Two said, "For trivial nonsense like this, did you really have to use these cantaloupes? These things are utterly useless."
Li Banfeng said, "If you're so useful, you go."
Banfeng Two actually stepped in. Taking a single stroll through the melee, he felled every single guard around Yu Daoquan.
"Chain them up!" Banfeng Two ordered. The cantaloupe men bound Yu Daoquan and all his guards in chains and escorted them to the imperial city.
That night, passersby on the street saw Yu Daoquan being taken away and hurried to notify the Yu family. Receiving the news, Yu Yunqiu went straight to the imperial city to demand his son's release.
The gates of the imperial city remained shut tight; Li Banfeng refused to see him.
Yu Yunqiu was tempted to force his way in, but having no measure of Li Qi's depth—and not even knowing the origins of those prawn men from the previous night—he hesitated.
Left with no alternative, he returned to the imperial city the following day and waited by the gates for Li Qi.
Around the hour of the Horse, Li Qi emerged, and Yu Daoquan was brought out as well.
Dignitaries and scholar-gentlemen had all been summoned, gathered before the imperial city gates.
Covered in bruises and lacerations, Yu Daoquan and over a dozen guards were pinned to the ground together.
Yu Yunqiu moved to step forward and argue, but Li Banfeng cast a single glance at him.
That glance sent a shiver running through Yu Yunqiu, leaving him unable to open his mouth.
Li Banfeng asked Yu Daoquan, "Treating human life as worthless grass—do you confess your crime?"
Yu Daoquan shouted, "Bondservants are my family's private property! I had every right to dispose of him!"
Li Banfeng said, "Yesterday I declared that the bondservant system is abolished. Openly defying my decree—do you confess your crime?"
Yu Daoquan yelled back, "I am guilty of nothing! Which family in Xiaocheng doesn't keep bondservants? By what right do you judge me guilty?"
"So you will not confess," Li Banfeng nodded slightly, then pronounced sentence immediately: "Beaten to death with staves, his corpse exposed for three days."
Chapter 724