Chapter Seventeen: The Pressure Monster

The younger uncle had no choice but to get down on all fours, sticking his rear up in the air. The old man reached behind his neck and pulled out his "filial cane," ready to enforce the household discipline.

Unlike his two elder brothers, the youngest uncle was not one to take a beating quietly. After just a couple of strikes, he howled and dashed madly around the room.

"Don't hit him! Don't hit him! You'll break the youngest!" The old lady fussed from the side. She didn't even know what the third son had done wrong, but a mother's instinct was always to protect her child—especially the youngest.

"Old man, even if you beat the youngest to death, it won't solve anything. Now that it's come to this, let's at least get to the bottom of it," the eldest uncle urged.

"No! I'll break his damned legs first!" the old man roared. "Daughter, help your mother back to her room. Eldest and second, hold down that rascal for me!"

He turned to Su Lu and Su Tai. "You two are no help—get out!"

Even in a fit of rage, the old soldier managed the chaos with perfect order.

The two brothers had no choice but to retreat from the main hall, glancing back every few steps. As Chun closed the door from inside, the cries of pain rose anew...

Back in their own quarters, Su Lu asked Su Tai, "How did big brother find out?"

"I told him," Su Tai whispered. "Uncle said not to tell our elders, but he wouldn't speak up himself. With something this big, there was no way to keep it under wraps."

"Exactly. Our young aunt's belly is growing fast. If we wait any longer, even the bedsheets won't cover it," Su Lu agreed.

"That's right. I've been so anxious I can't sleep. As soon as I saw big brother, I told him and asked him to take charge." Su Tai sighed, looking dejected. "I've broken my promise."

"We promised not to tell our elders. Big brother doesn't count as an elder, so you haven't broken your word," Su Lu comforted him. "And you did the right thing—this can't be kept from the family any longer."

"We needed big brother to give him a push, or nothing would ever move forward." He could see it too: the youngest uncle was a spoiled late-born son, always shirking work and responsibility.

Yet, it was just this sort of idle, smooth-talking, dandyish pretty boy that girls found most appealing—how infuriating was that?

"Big brother really takes responsibility," Su Tai couldn't help but admire. "A true role model for us all, as the eldest of the eldest branch."

"Hmph, I just don't want a scandal to ruin my chances in the academy," a cold, clear voice sounded as their big brother entered.

"What, you got kicked out too?" Su Lu hurried to his feet, nervous about being nitpicked again.

"No." Su Man's mouth twitched. "I came out on my own. I can't stand to see our elders punished."

"Of course." Su Lu nodded quickly, rubbing his hands together. "Any instructions, big brother?"

"Stay steady," Su Man said, glancing at the plantain leaf paper on the table.

"This is?" He picked up a sheet for a closer look.

"This is the 'plantain leaf paper' second brother made for me," Su Lu replied.

"The idea was Qiu's," Su Tai quickly added.

"You even know to practice calligraphy on plantain leaves," Su Man commented, but frowned. "But your handwriting—how many times have I told you, you must use your right hand to write!"

"I'm just starting," Su Lu explained sheepishly. "Besides, this isn't for practicing penmanship, it's for copying and memorizing texts."

"You're aiming for the academy, too?" Seeing Su Lu was copying 'Admirable Sayings' from Elementary Learning, Su Man understood his intention.

"Yes, I want to try," Su Lu replied, bracing himself.

"You refused to study when you were little. I sent you off, and you ran right back. Now what madness is this?" Su Man snorted coldly. "Don't bother, you'll only embarrass the family."

"Don't say that, big brother," Su Tai interjected. "Qiu is working hard now—he's memorized a lot already."

"Scholarship comes from long, hard effort. Last-minute cramming is useless," Su Man's expression softened slightly. "How far have you gotten?"

"I'm just about to start the Four Books," Su Lu answered.

"What? You haven't even started the Four Books? At this rate, what's the point of taking the exam?" Su Man tossed the plantain leaf paper back at Su Lu, flicked his sleeves, and strode out. "A complete waste of time!"

"Is Chun in his rebellious phase?" Su Lu couldn't help but laugh, watching his brother storm out. Thank goodness he only came home every two months—otherwise, how would they ever get by?

Su Tai gave Su Lu a sympathetic look and murmured, "Big brother has high standards for himself, and for everyone around him."

"I get it—he's the family taskmaster," Su Lu thought, realizing Su Man was the 'captain' of their clan.

Fortunately, he was mature enough not to be affected. He sat down and began practicing his writing once more.

He had wanted to ask his studious big brother for help with his lessons, but that was out of the question now...

~~~

All afternoon, the main hall echoed with shouts and wails.

Don't be fooled by the old man's usual sluggishness—when he got going, he was relentless and tireless.

By dinner, neither the old man nor the youngest uncle had appeared. The eldest uncle and Su Lu's father looked as though they'd plowed ten acres—utterly spent.

"Where are those two?" Su Lu whispered.

"Your grandfather went out for a walk. Your youngest uncle is lying in his room—he won't be seeing the fields for ten days or more," Su Youcai replied, rubbing his sore arms. He'd nearly had his own broken trying to shield his younger brother from the worst.

"And about uncle's situation..." Su Tai couldn't help but ask.

"You boys worry too much," the eldest uncle grumbled. "Before heading out, the old man told me to visit the eldest of the Cheng family tomorrow to sound things out."

"So grandpa agrees, then?" the brothers asked, delighted.

"What choice does he have? The baby's already on the way." The eldest uncle sighed. "The real trouble is still ahead."

"We'll just muddle through and get the marriage sorted out," Su Youcai said. "We can't let that child be a laughingstock from birth."

Though Yongning was a place where Han and non-Han lived together and customs were freer, families like the Chengs and the Sus still followed the norms of the heartland. At least, appearances had to be maintained.

"You two keep your mouths shut—not a word to anyone!" the eldest aunt reminded the pair.

"Don't worry, Auntie. I never see anyone else anyway," Su Lu replied—one of the perks of being a stay-at-home type.

"Me neither! I can't even understand what they say," Little Jinbao added proudly.

Su Tai just kept his head down, shoveling food in, not daring to speak.

"The Chengs won't make things difficult for us, will they?" the aunt worried.

"They shouldn't. The baby isn't in our third's belly, after all, and they pride themselves on their scholarly lineage," Su Youcai reasoned. "If anything, they're the ones more anxious."

"I see it now!" the eldest uncle slapped his thigh. "No wonder the Chengs have been so quiet today! That old Cheng must not want to stir up trouble during the festival."

"Does that mean we can give less for the bride price?" the aunt asked at once.

"Useless woman, is this the time for that?" the uncle shot her a look.

She was immediately disgruntled, muttering about how a wedding dropped out of the sky but with no money to arrange it, and that come spring, Chun would be sitting for the provincial exams...

Su Man couldn't bear it any longer. He set his bowl down. "I'm full."

He stood and left for his room.

~~~

Su Tai had to get back to the distillery to steam the grain, and Su Lu walked him downstairs.

"At least uncle's issue is settled, right? That must be a relief," Su Lu said as he saw his brother off.

"Heh..." Su Tai grinned sheepishly. "As long as it's settled, uncle can blame me all he wants."

"He should be thanking you," Su Lu laughed, waving as his brother disappeared into the distance. Then he went upstairs to his room to finish his nightly studies.

But his father was already lying on the bed. Su Lu asked, "Shall we do the lesson tomorrow instead?"

"Time is short—we can't afford to delay," Su Youcai replied, forcing himself to sit up and rub his face before settling at the table. "What's today's lesson?"

"We can start the Four Books," Su Lu answered. In truth, he'd been waiting for this moment. Everything up to now had been an appetizer; the real feast was about to begin.

"Good." Su Youcai nodded and began, "The 'Four Books'—The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects, and Mencius—are the foundations that uphold the world. Their status is unparalleled. From primary schools to the imperial academy, they are at the core of every curriculum, and so it is with the civil service exams."

"Why is that?" Su Youcai rhetorically asked and answered, "Because the Four Books construct a complete framework of cultivating oneself, managing the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world—The Great Learning is the foundation, the gateway to virtue as handed down by Confucius; The Analects set out the fundamental norms for conduct; Mencius is the development, elaborating on the rule of benevolence; The Doctrine of the Mean is the ideal, describing the highest standards of virtue and the ultimate state of life."

"So we study the Four Books in this order: first, The Great Learning, to establish the structure; second, The Analects, to grasp the fundamentals; third, Mencius, to see its expansion; fourth, The Doctrine of the Mean, to seek out the subtleties of the ancients."

After this introduction, he opened a handwritten copy of "The Great Learning: Chapter and Verse." "As I've told you before, Zhu Xi's 'Collected Commentaries on the Four Books' is the only acceptable interpretation. Never stray from it."

He added earnestly, "So don't question what you study now. The more you question, the harder it will be—and you'll invite trouble. Save your different opinions for the day you become a presented scholar."

"I understand, Father," Su Lu nodded. His father worried too much—he was an exam machine, able to pass through a hundred flowers without a single petal clinging.

"Good, let's begin." Su Youcai started to read aloud from The Great Learning:

"The Book of Great Learning is the method by which the ancients taught. Since Heaven gave birth to the people, none have been without the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom..."

~~~

Su Youcai was truly exhausted tonight. He managed to explain a thousand characters or so before succumbing to yawns.

Su Lu, though unsatisfied, didn't want to become the family's second pressure monster—or perhaps he already was. How much extra strain had his father and brother endured for his studies?

But having realized it, he resolved to change, announcing the lesson was over and urging his father to bed.

Su Youcai lay down and was soon snoring thunderously.

Su Lu fetched water to wash his father's hands and feet, then covered him with a quilt—it was already September, and the nights were cool with the windows open.

But with the windows closed, the pine oil lamp smoke would choke the old man awake. Yet he couldn't stop studying at night—that would be giving up halfway. Su Lu could only sigh at his own lack of filial piety and tuck the quilt more tightly around his father.

With complicated feelings, Su Lu returned to his desk, ready to make the most of his "golden hour" before bed—when he suddenly felt a chill, looking up to see a shadow grinning coldly at him from outside the window.

"Ah!" Su Lu nearly hurled his inkstone, but stopped in time when he saw it was none other than his "beloved big brother" Chun.

"You really are a model son," Su Man remarked, glancing at Su Youcai, now wrapped up like a rice dumpling, his praise dripping with sarcasm.

"No choice—if the poor want to study, they have to pay the price," Su Lu sighed.

"Except the price is paid by your father," Su Man said, removing the stick propping open the window and shutting it. "Douse the lamp and come to my room."

Su Lu had no idea what his brother wanted, but obediently blew out the pine torch and went next door.

Once Su Man had come of age, he'd been given this study-cum-bedroom. Though he only returned every two months, the room was spotless—a testament to their aunt's diligence.

Su Lu stood before the desk, gazing enviously at the scholar's four treasures and the row of bookshelves behind. "From now on, when I'm not home, you can study here at night," Su Man said sternly from behind the desk. "Not for your sake, but so you don't freeze second uncle and Xia."