Chapter 139: Taking a Beating

Liu Qin gestured toward Bai Rong’er. "Brother Wei, I’m sure you and the Bai family are already acquainted. Let Sister Bai act as your assistant; you two can discuss the specific arrangements yourselves. Two more families will be moving into the estate, but they will not be involved in the estate's affairs, and you are not to interfere with theirs."

She then explained the plan to establish a dye workshop on the estate.

"Understood. I shall follow your instructions in all things, Young Master."

Wei San was truly a man who understood his boundaries. Seeing his steady and composed demeanor, Liu Qin found it impossible to imagine what he had been like back when he was a local thug. Whenever she thought of hooligans, the face of Zhao Er came to mind—a completely different breed from Wei San.

The estate would certainly need more hands, but Liu Qin did not trust people recruited from the outside. She wondered if Wei San had any trusted brothers he could recommend. With this in mind, she asked, "Brother Wei, are there any brothers you trust from your past?"

Wei San hesitated. His past was something he had lived so recklessly that he preferred not to dwell on it. However, since the Young Master had asked, he answered truthfully, "I was foolish in the past and spent my days hanging around with the wrong crowd; there was nothing good about those people. However, there are a few companions I grew up with who are decent men. They often tried to talk sense into me. If you need people, they are trustworthy."

"Brother Wei, please stop calling yourself 'this lowly one.' Just refer to yourself as 'I,' just like the others. Since your companions are reliable, bring them by next time for us to see. If they prove capable, we will keep them on the estate."

Once everything was settled, the plan was to clear out several rooms, welcome the Lin and Zhu families onto the estate, and then begin the construction of the dye workshop and the general repairs of the estate.

Liu Qin entrusted the dye workshop entirely to Fang Nuo. Since he was the one who had brought these people back, he was more familiar with them. Furthermore, she preferred to keep a low profile—the less she appeared in public, the better. Of course, the main reason was simply that she wanted to be lazy. Why labor over these tasks herself when someone else could handle them perfectly?

Wei San’s three companions lived in Sheep Gut Lane. Liu Qin had Jiang Li handle the recruitment while she watched from behind a curtain. Indeed, they appeared honest and reliable, so they were hired and placed under Wei San’s command.

As the person in charge of the dye workshop, Fang Nuo had to frequently check on the progress. One day, he finally found his chance to give Bai Lingfeng a sound thrashing.

It started when Bai Lingfeng tried to help lift a heavy log. His face turned beet red from the effort, but the log didn't budge. Fang Nuo, happening upon the scene, snorted with mockery, "Useless little brat."

He didn't stop to consider that he was just as much of a "little brat" himself.

Feeling slighted by a peer, a defiant Bai Lingfeng let go of the log and retorted, "If you're so capable, you do it!"

Fang Nuo walked over and, with a casual exertion of strength from both hands, lifted the log with ease. After all, the nearly two years of martial arts training he had undergone had not been in vain.

After finishing, he clapped his hands, walked over to Bai Lingfeng, and looked at him with disdain. "What? Not convinced? Want to have a go at a fight? Actually, never mind. I doubt you’d dare. If I injured you, you’d just go crying to your sister to complain."

With that, he turned to leave. He was intentionally provoking him.

As expected, Bai Lingfeng, with his childish temperament, couldn't handle the goading. He jumped up, shouting, "Let's fight! Who's afraid of who?"

They found an open space. Fang Nuo placed one hand behind his back, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I’m older than you, so I won't take advantage of you. I’ll use only one hand. Give it your best shot."

The more Fang Nuo acted this way, the more Bai Lingfeng felt insulted. Furious, he charged forward blindly. Fang Nuo, effortlessly avoiding him, turned his body and struck a blow to Bai Lingfeng’s back, knocking him to the ground.

Bai Lingfeng scrambled up, wiped his face, and charged again. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get close to Fang Nuo. Instead, he was met with a flurry of punches and palms until his face was bruised and swollen—especially his eyes, which were now dark and puffy, resembling a giant panda.

Bai Lingfeng was stubborn and refused to admit defeat. No matter how many times he was struck, he would crawl back up, though it took him longer each time.

Nearby, Chang’an, unable to watch any longer and fearing a real injury, intervened gently: "Young Master, don't you have to head to the dye workshop? The Lin family is waiting."

Fang Nuo finally stopped. Looking at Bai Lingfeng’s miserable state—especially those eyes—he felt satisfied. *Let's see if you dare to be arrogant in front of the Young Lady again, or stare at her incessantly.*

Fang Nuo strode away, leaving Chang’an to take the beaten boy back. Facing an astonished and heartbroken Bai Rong’er, Chang’an didn't know what to say. He could only offer a weak excuse: "Well... the Third Young Master was just playing around with young Bai. Here is some medicine; please help him apply it. They are just superficial injuries, nothing to worry about."

He then hurried away. *Sigh, playing around? He’s beaten to a pulp.* Chang’an felt a pang of self-contempt for being able to say that with a straight face.

Bai Rong’er touched her brother’s face with a heavy heart. Ever since Liu Qin had referred to him as "young brother Bai," everyone around her had followed suit.

"How did you provoke the Third Young Master? Didn't I tell you not to cause trouble? They are our masters, and we are the servants. Besides, if it weren't for the Young Master, how could we be living here so securely, with food and shelter? Why are you so inconsiderate?"

Though she was scolding him, her heart ached.

Bai Lingfeng, however, couldn't sense his sister's pain. Seeing that she was only blaming him, he turned his head away stubbornly. "I didn't provoke him. He provoked me."

"Even so, you should have endured it. Have you forgotten the kindness the Young Master has shown us?"

"The Young Master is one thing, but he is another."

"You, oh, you are so stubborn."

Bai Rong’er tapped his forehead, unable to say more. She pulled him into the room to clean his wounds and apply medicine. As Chang’an had said, Fang Nuo knew his limits; these were only superficial bruises, and no bones were broken. Even so, Bai Lingfeng wailed in pain, making Bai Rong’er afraid to even touch his bruises.

From then on, Bai Lingfeng harbored a grudge against Fang Nuo, though for years to come, he would never understand exactly how he had offended the most black-hearted Third Young Master.

Liu Qin and Jiang Li were unaware of the fight, let alone that it was caused by them. If Liu Qin had known the truth, she would have been shocked. *This is too much; someone just looked at me a few extra times, and Fang Nuo beats them up? If someone were to hold my hand or hug me, would he pull out a knife?* She supposed she should feel lucky that she had chosen Jiang Li; she wouldn't be able to handle such possessive jealousy from Fang Nuo.

The next time they visited the estate, seeing the two lingering bruises on Bai Lingfeng’s eyes, Liu Qin asked curiously, "Young brother Bai, who did you get into a fight with?"

Having been warned by his sister not to mention it in front of the Young Master, Bai Lingfeng replied gloomily, "No one. I just bumped into something by accident."

Liu Qin found it strange—that was quite a peculiar accident, to bump into something in a way that left symmetrical bruises right on his eyes.

Fang Nuo stepped in to change the subject, pulling Liu Qin and Jiang Li away to discuss the dye workshop. He did not want Liu Qin to know he was the culprit; he couldn't afford to leave the Young Lady with the impression that he was a boorish and unreasonable person.