The work Fang Han had to do as a servant in the Fang family was raising horses, rearing a famous horse, "Thousand Li Snow", for the Second Miss of the Fang family.
Raising horses was a hard job, requiring waking up in the middle of the night to add fodder. Rearing famous horses, in particular, involved even more rules. Originally, at this time, Fang Han should have boiled soy milk for "Thousand Li Snow", mixed eggs and soybeans along with various refined feeds, fed it to "Thousand Li Snow", then walked it around the horse farm to digest the food, awaiting the arrival of the Second Miss of the Fang family.
But because he secretly watched the inner estate's martial arts practice this morning, and the appearance of "Giant Spirit Hand" Fang Tong explaining the mysteries of the Physical Body Realm and the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities made him forget himself, he delayed the most important matter.
Sure enough, when Fang Han hurriedly walked to the horse farm, he saw that the "Thousand Li Snow" he reared was being ridden by a woman with a cold, glamorous, and noble temperament.
Beside this woman stood maidservants, as well as awe-inspiring guards. Along with a few young men and women also riding on horses, all with shining eyes, revealing quite high cultivation bases.
"Fang Han, you have caused a monstrous disaster! Why haven't you quickly knelt down and begged the Second Miss for forgiveness!" Seeing Fang Han appear, an old man hurriedly ran over and roared at Fang Han.
"Head Manager, I had a stomachache this morning…" Fang Han hemmed and hawed.
This old man was the Head Manager of the Fang family's horse farm.
"I don't care what your reason was, delaying the Second Miss's affairs is a monstrous disaster. How to be a servant, your father taught you since you were little, do you still not understand that the master's affairs are bigger than the heavens?" The old man reprimanded.
"You are Fang Han who raises Thousand Li Snow? The Second Miss called you over for questioning!"
Just at this moment, a maidservant with high-arched eyebrows and an arrogant demeanor walked over from a distance. Seeing Fang Han, she shouted, spread her five fingers, and directly grabbed Fang Han's shoulder like an eagle catching a rabbit.
Fang Han immediately felt as if his whole body was bound, surprisingly being lifted forcefully by a little maidservant.
"This move is called Crane Claw Printing Sand… This maidservant, her strength is two to three times greater than mine." Fang Han looked at this maidservant's moves and strength, and instantly recalled the experience of stealing martial arts.
However, he could not dodge it at all. Although his mind had been enlightened from watching secretly for a month, he still needed a massive amount of practice. How could he compare to this personal maidservant beside the Second Miss?
What's more, even if he could dodge, he wouldn't dare to dodge. Otherwise, utter disaster would fall upon his head immediately.
"Bang!"
Fang Han was thrown to the ground with a smack, his whole body turning sore and numb.
"Kneel properly, answer," that maidservant kicked Fang Han.
"You are Fang Han?" From atop the snow-white and incredibly divine "Thousand Li Snow", the voice of the Fang family's Second Miss transmitted down from high above.
"This lowly one is exactly Fang Han." Fang Han lowered his head and held back the pain to reply.
He knew that this Second Miss of the Fang family was named Fang Qingwei and was extremely formidable. As a lowly servant, if he showed even a bit of something that dissatisfied her, his end would probably be worrying.
"My Thousand Li Snow has been reared well by you, which shows you have reared it attentively. However, this morning, you neglected your duty." Fang Qingwei said coldly: "I don't care what reasons you have, as a servant, you must consider everything for the master. This is the rule of my Fang family, and it is also the rule for being a lowly servant under heaven. This horse, Thousand Li Snow, is your life. Even if you risk your life, you must serve it well, understand?"
"This lowly one understands. In the future, this lowly one will certainly risk his life to raise the horse well for the Second Miss. As long as the man is here, the horse is here; if the man perishes, the horse perishes. Second Miss, please forgive this lowly one's crime of neglecting duty today." Fang Han kowtowed like pounding garlic; at this time he naturally knew what he should do.
Amidst his terrified and trembling kowtows, Fang Han's gaze quietly fell onto the boot of Fang Qingwei, who was stepping on the stirrup.
Fang Qingwei's boot was pure white, inlaid with beautiful jade, exquisite and gorgeous. Looking at this lofty boot, Fang Han thought, it would be nice if one day he could also make others look up at his boots.
"Reward him with ten lashes, to remember this lesson."
Fang Qingwei on the horse slightly waved her hand.
"Yes!" A maidservant beside her immediately picked up a horsewhip and whipped it fiercely onto Fang Han's body.
Smack! Smack! Smack! …
Fang Han's body shivered with piercing pain. That maidservant's hand strength was immense, and with every lash, the tip of the whip flew in the air, vibrating and producing cracking sounds, almost scattering his skeletal frame. But he gritted his teeth and endured it, dripping with cold sweat.
After the ten lashes were over, he was almost going to collapse soft on the ground.
"Thank you, Second Miss, for rewarding the lashes!"
Fang Han said, taking his last breath after the whipping was finished. This was the rule for being a domestic servant. If one didn't say this sentence, it meant being unyielding in the heart, and what would follow wouldn't just be a whip.
"Good!" The Second Miss on the horse, Fang Qingwei, nodded in satisfaction, "When I handle things, rewards and punishments are clear. You neglected your duty today, so you must be whipped, but you reared this Thousand Li Snow attentively, its energy is strong, and there is no behavior of privately embezzling horse grain. For this, I shall reward you. Take it!"
A shining silver ingot fell from the horse, dropping right in front of Fang Han.
On this silver ingot, exquisite flame patterns were cast, along with the characters indicating pure silver of five taels. It was obviously the official silver of the Dali Dynasty.
Five taels was equivalent to Fang Han's income for a year; this was a pretty good reward.
The horses of the Fang family ate better than humans, supplied with massive amounts of eggs and soy milk every day. Many servants secretly embezzled horse grain to eat themselves, but Fang Han had no such behavior.
This reward showed that Fang Qingwei examined minute details with a discerning eye.
"Remember, being a lowly servant, if you do wrong, you are punished; if you do well, you will be rewarded. As long as you are loyal and wholeheartedly for the master, there will always be benefits for you." After Fang Qingwei tossed down the reward, she said to the several young men and women beside her: "Let's go, do not miss the time for the hunt."
"The Second Miss governs the household with excellent methods."
A young man finished watching Fang Qingwei deal with Fang Han and praised her.
"The family is large and the population is large; to manage these servants naturally requires the enforcement of rules." Fang Qingwei's voice was very cold, maintaining a cold, glamorous, and noble tone from beginning to end: "Just four words: applying both favor and power. How to bestow favor, how to flaunt power—just grasp the proper degree in this."
While these young men and women were speaking with Fang Qingwei, they rode off furiously swirling like dragons.
"Oh my! Fang Han! You actually gained a benefit this time. Although you took ten lashes, you received five taels of official silver as a reward from the Second Miss. What a bargain."
"That's right, ten lashes for five taels of silver; I'd be willing too."
"Who wouldn't be willing? Even a fool would be willing."
"Fang Han struck it rich this time, you have to treat us, treat us."
After Fang Qingwei and her group left, some horse grooms from the horse farm gathered around. Looking at the silver in Fang Han's hand, they all revealed envious expressions.
"This time it's applying the whip and rewarding with silver. Next time it might very well be killing you and giving a lavish burial." Looking at these people, Fang Han smiled coldly in his heart.
"Treating you is for sure, but right now my whole body aches with injuries. Once my injuries heal, I will definitely treat you all to a meal." He let out painful moans of "Ouch, ouch," his face contorted, and he limped away to break free from these people's entanglement.
"If I cultured the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities that Giant Spirit Hand Fang Tong spoke of, I wonder if the Second Miss would still give lashes first and then offer a sweet taste? Would our positions be swapped? Me whipping this Second Miss with a whip, and then rewarding her with silver?"
After Fang Han returned to his small living quarters, the pain of the whip marks on his body lessened a bit. Holding the five taels of silver in his hand, he knew this was a customary method of household management. First, to show that one's rewards and punishments are clear; second, to show that one examines minute details to warn the other servants. Third, hitting and then rewarding prevents the servants from generating resentment, making them even more loyal to the master.
However, since he was little, Fang Han grew weary of this life of being a slave to others.
This was what his father taught him in secret: "Better to be a beggar than a slave to others."