Master of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 5: Complaints

Old He quickly said, "Allow this servant to handle it. I'll head to the kitchen right away and have them prepare something. What would you like to eat, young master?"

Meng Tianchu shook his head and said, "No, I want Feiyan to do it. I'm the son-in-law here, yet I can't even order around a little maid? What's the point of being the son-in-law then? Write what I say!"

Old He guessed that Meng Tianchu must have been upset by Miss Xiahou and the maid Feiyan in the bridal chamber earlier. Since he couldn't do anything to Miss Xia, he decided to vent his frustration on Feiyan. Old He nodded quickly and agreed. The writing desk already had paper and ink ready. He ground a bit of ink, picked up a wolf-hair brush, and swiftly wrote. He then put the brush down and looked at Meng Tianchu.

Meng Tianchu picked up the note and saw the words:

"To my wife,

I kindly ask Feiyan to prepare some supper for me."

The handwriting was passable. Meng Tianchu didn’t know that Old He had been his father’s, Meng Hao’s, study attendant and knew a bit about literature.

But supper wasn’t Meng Tianchu’s real aim. He glared at Old He and said, "Who told you to write so politely? Rewrite it! Make it stricter. Begin with her name—drop the ‘Miss’—call her Feiyan the maid! Order her to prepare supper for me, or she’ll face the family rules. Damn it! A little maid dares to act like this around me? Is she out of her mind? Isn’t this era all about male superiority? I refuse to believe I can’t tame her!"

Old He silently stuck out his tongue. The young master was clearly very upset. While he didn’t understand the phrase "this era," he didn’t dare to ask. He quickly replaced the paper and rewrote the note.

Meng Tianchu glanced at the new note, which now read:

"To Madam Xiahou Fengyi,

I, your husband, command you to order Feiyan the maid to prepare supper and bring it to me. Disobedience will be punished according to family rules!

Your husband, Tianchu."

Xiahou Fengyi? A name as elegant as a phoenix gracing the sky? Her stunning beauty didn’t disgrace such poetic imagery. Though Meng Tianchu had never seen a phoenix, he imagined one couldn’t be colder than her.

As he pondered, he nodded with a smile and added, "Add the date too. And don’t forget the era name. Make it formal. Let her see I mean business!"

Old He hurriedly picked up the brush again and added:

"April 6th, the second year of Jiajing."

Jiajing? The Ming Dynasty? I’ve traveled to the Ming Dynasty? Meng Tianchu was unsure whether to be happy or sad. Just hours ago, he had been scaling mountains and examining corpses in the modern era. Now, he had traversed time to the Ming Dynasty and married an untouchable beauty as his wife. Life truly worked in mysterious ways.

Old He noticed Meng Tianchu standing there in a daze but dared not interrupt him. After a long sigh, Meng Tianchu said, "Just send it."

Old He quickly agreed and rushed out with the note.

Meng Tianchu sat powerlessly on a chair. He thought, My soul has traveled here, but my body must still be back in the modern world. My parents will be devastated when they find out I’ve died.

Thinking of his parents weighed heavily on his heart. But what could he do? There wasn’t even a post office here, let alone a phone booth. He couldn’t call or send a letter to let them know he was safe.

While lost in these thoughts, Old He returned with a sheepish smile. "The note has been delivered to the young madam."

Meng Tianchu shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. "What did she say?"

"Madam said… if you want to eat, make it yourself. Or I could go to the kitchen and have something prepared for you."

Meng Tianchu was furious. Isn’t this era supposed to be all about male dominance? Aren’t maids supposed to be lowly servants? Why am I treated like this? He recalled Feiyan pushing him earlier, almost causing him to fall flat on his face. The anger in his heart surged. Fine! If you all look down on me, I’ll cause a big commotion until you can’t ignore me!

How to cause trouble? Set a fire? No, better not. Meng Tianchu calmed himself. This Xiahou Hong married his daughter to me, supposedly valuing honor. I could use his sense of righteousness to deal with those two annoying women.

With that in mind, he stood up abruptly and said to Old He, "Grab a lantern. We’re going to see the master!"

Old He, seeing the rage on Meng Tianchu’s face, dared not disobey. He quickly grabbed a lantern and led the way to the master’s residence.

Xiahou Hong and his wife were chatting over tea when they saw Meng Tianchu walk in, visibly startled.

Before Xiahou Hong could speak, Meng Tianchu bowed respectfully and said, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, I have a question. May I ask, who is Fengyi marrying today?"

Xiahou Hong looked Meng Tianchu up and down. What kind of question is that? he thought. But quickly, he realized there must be a deeper meaning behind this question. "What’s the matter? Has something happened?"

Meng Tianchu bowed again, his voice filled with grief. "I don’t understand, so I came to ask. Who is Fengyi marrying today?"

Madam Xiahou frowned. "Why are you asking such a thing? Since you’re calling us father- and mother-in-law, why question who the groom is? Are you deliberately—"

"That’s not it!" Meng Tianchu forced a self-deprecating smile and sighed. "How could someone like me be so fortunate?"

Xiahou Hong furrowed his brows. "Tianchu, speak plainly. Did Fengyi mistreat you?"

So you know your daughter isn’t easy to deal with, huh? Meng Tianchu thought angrily. He raised his head and said, "Exactly! Since Fengyi and I are married now, why won’t she let me into the bridal chamber?"

Xiahou Hong and Madam Xia exchanged shocked glances. Meng Tianchu didn’t seem to be lying. Xiahou Hong asked, "Is that true?"

"Heh. If Fengyi looks down on me, you shouldn’t have forced her to marry me. Now, no one is happy!" Meng Tianchu’s voice was laced with grievance, almost convincing even Madam Xia to feel sorry for him.

"This is outrageous!" Xiahou Hong slammed the table. "That girl is becoming more and more unruly!"

"It’s not just Fengyi. Even Feiyan disrespects me!" Meng Tianchu sniffled and blinked hard, trying to squeeze out a few tears. But his tear ducts, unfortunately, were uncooperative.