1- The Zhao Family

He knelt on his knees, eyes lowered forward. He focused on a small, minuscule really, scratch on the bottom of the ancient chair in front. For the fifth time in less than an hour, he cursed his decision to come here today.

He only just walked in the door when the beating started.

When he was summoned to the old estate, he should have said he was busy with a case. He should have said anything.

Now he was caught and made to kneel. He hadn’t been beaten yet but when they were done with the two before him, his turn would come.

He took a risk and turned to the left, almost pleading to be let off.

“Eyes front!” His father barked.

Zhao JingShen glanced further left with resentment. Old man, no one was looking at you.

He looked to his mother again, but she was unusually stern today. She indicated with a jerk of her head to obey. Sighing, he faced front.

The sound of a blow reached his ears, closer than the previous blows. He moved his eyes to see, just in time to witness the feather duster fall on his second brother’s shoulder for the second time.

“Grandma!” His brother wailed.

Zhao JingShen shook his head. He felt pity. Pity that such a big man would crumple from a weak blow by their old Grandma. She didn’t have enough strength to swat a mosquito. Just last week he had to help her do it.

“Grandma! Grandma, stop!” Over the wailing of their brother, Zhao JingShen looked over to Zhao JingShi. The three of them, Zhao JingShi, Xing ZhiYan, and Zhao JingShen knelt to be punished by the Old Man and Old Lady from their family. The crime?

“Grandma!” Xing ZhiYan wailed so much that Zhao JingShen wanted to disown him. “Grandma, these things can’t be rushed! What if I hurry and bring home a bad bride?”

The old lady was further enraged. The feather duster's frequency and force increased. Zhao JingShen, watching from the side, shook his head again.

But a soft blow to the back of his head made him look up.

His sweet mother glared at him. “Why are you shaking your head? You will be next.”

“Mother!” He pleaded, keeping an eye on the side. He was indeed next and no Old Lady was going to take him off guard. “I’m young. They aren’t married yet and they are older.” He threw his two brothers further under the bus. “Why are you dealing with me today?”

“Today I will deal with all three of you!” The Old Lady shouted. “Don’t look to your parents!” she snapped the duster on Zhao JingShi, the eldest brother in the family. “We have agreed. You three are old and there is no daughter-in-law. No grandbabies!”

“I’m only twenty-seven,” Zhao JingShen was offended at being called old. He watched the duster fall on his oldest brother again. That brother’s eyes looked calculating. Zhao JingShen sent him a warning look.

“You!” The Old Lady pointed the feather duster at JingShen but did not hit him.

To be truthful, she could abuse the other two rascals but had always never dared to hit the youngest grandson. With his job, he was hurt how many times a day? It would pain her to add to it.

The Old lady hesitated to hit him but the Old Man next to her didn’t. His hand fell heavily on Zhao JingShen’s shoulder. "You!"

“Grandpa!” Zhao JingShen played along like the wronged and beaten grandchild he was. His eyes showed just how betrayed he felt by the Old Man.

“Twenty-seven is not too young.” The Old Man ignored his wronged face and lectured. “Look at these two wastes,” he pointed to the other two kneeling grandsons. “One is thirty-one,” he pointed to Zhao JingShi. “One is twenty-nine,” he pointed to Xing ZhiYan. “It’s because they didn’t start looking earlier that they are so old and we have no daughter-in-law. You!” The old man pointed to Zhao JingShen’s nose. “You, we will deal with early so you don’t become wastes like them.”

The two wastes looked over, both highly affronted. Their eyes glinted with a secret just waiting to burst to save themselves.

“Bros,” Zhao JingShen laughed awkwardly, trying to warn them off. They ignored him. They shared a glance, and Zhao JingShen’s body tensed.

They looked over at him. He shook hand head again, this time begging with his eyes.

It was his fate as the youngest to be ignored, however. Since childhood they played this game. He knew these two would sacrifice him to save themselves so in his heart, he promised them a good beating.

They both pointed and shouted at the same time, “He-“

Zhao JingShen pounced. He was only one man, but he was highly skilled. He dropped on both his brothers and kneed one in the mouth. The other, he tried to block his mouth with his hands. But Zhao JingShi and Xing ZhiYan weren’t normal bros either. They had both been trained exclusively to be able to protect themselves as heirs of the powerful Zhao and Xing families.

Xing ZhiYan grabbed his knee, wrapping his own legs around Zhao JingShen’s. Zhao JingShi slapped away JingShen's hands and moved to immobilise him. They scuffled for a while, the other two against the stronger, deadlier young brother.

And then the feather duster fell on all three of them.

“Ow!”

“Grandma!”

“Hey!”

“Gandma stop!”

“Wait Gandma!”

“Sorry Grandma!”

They let go of each other to protect themselves, covering the places she hit and yelling out with each whack. It felt like she had three feather dusters - one for each of them. But they were still tangled in a heap and it was a while before they became smart and scrambled to their original positions.

Three grown men getting treated like three year olds... it was shameful.

Back to kneeling, Zhao JingShen looked a his mother, aggrieved. She turned her face away. His father, sitting next to her, gestured heartlessly that he pay attention again. Feeling wronged, he sighed. Was this man really his father? No sympathy for children!

“Grown men fighting like three year olds!” The Old Lady scolded.

The feather duster fell on Zhao JingShi.

“This is why they can’t get married,” The Old Man nodded sagely.

And then the older brothers heartlessly sacrificed their youngest brother. He could only kneel there pitifully and be sacrificed.

“It’s because of Zhao JingShen!” JingShi yelled.

At the same time, Xing ZhiYan said, “We promised not to get married until he brings in the daughter-in-law from outside.”

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You could hear faint creaking in the silence. The Old House was ancient so there were plenty of eieree sounds now and then. Zhao JingShen looked up at the high ceiling as if to use his superpower vision to detect where the faintest sounds were coming from. He pretended not to see everyone gaping at him.

“There’s a daughter-in-law outside?” His aunt Zhao HeJin, Xing ZhiYan's mother, always loved a good drama play so she recovered first.

“He calls her his ‘family’s daughter-in-law’,” Zhao JingShi was eager to gossip.

“How come I don’t know I have a daughter-in-law?” His mother said the first words since he walked into the old house.

Zhao JingShen stopped inspecting the ceiling and looked over at his betrayers. He gestured, vowing to deal with them later.

Xing ZhiYan opened his mouth. But a tap from Zhao JingShi made him shut it again. Temporarily.

Zhao JingShen knew he had to confess before these two did it for him.

But before he had the chance, the feather duster fell, this time with force. “Ow!” He ducked, trying to get away. It fell again and again, along with the Old Lady’s words.

“You have a daughter-in-law outside and didn’t bring her to see us! You ungrateful! We work so hard to rise you and you disrespect us like this? Are you ashamed of us, you don’t want her to see us! You! You!”

“Grandma! Grandma!” She wouldn’t stop hitting and his mother was also hitting from the side so he quickly said, “The little girl is still young! It’s not time to pressure her yet.”

The duster froze in the air.

Zhao JingShen cautiously looked up and over. Everyone was looking at him with interest. And something like greed. As if he was handing out gold and they wanted some too. Even his betrayers behaved the same. Suddenly he had a premonition. If he brought the little girl with him, would he be able to get her back from these daughter-in-law deprived people?

“How old is this little girl?” His Grandma finally asked.

Zhao JingShen glared at his brothers for the trap they set. If he told, he’d get the duster. If he didn’t tell, he’d still get the duster. He deliberate looked to the side, at no one, so he would not see their expressions when he said, “Twenty-one.”

“Little young for you,” Zhao JingShi said from the side, “But when a bro falls in love, what can you do?”

The Old lady eagerly exclaimed, “Love! Why didn’t you bring her home if you love her.” The feather duster fell once again, “You rascal! Are you outside playing with little girls without decency!”

“No!” He instantly denied. This is something he couldn’t let anyone misunderstand, lest they have some thoughts against his family's daughter-in-law. “It’s just the little girl is young. She’s busy with school so she doesn’t have time. And with my job, I also don’t have time.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Xing ZhiYan continued to dig Zhao JingShen's pit. “The little girl keeps getting angry at him, so she won’t agree to come home easily.”

The next slap came from the side. His mother, the woman who gave birth to him and pampered him, suddenly discarded their years of mother-son devotion and hit him again. “Ma!” Betrayal from all sides today!

“You! Why are you angering our daughter-in-law?”

Zhao JingShen went dumb, staring at his mother.

Who is your daughter-in-law? Do you even know her name?

Anyway, finally he - the family favourite - saw his true position.

He nodded at her, frowning. He kept nodding and frowning as he looked around at the faces of his parents, his grandparents, and his aunts and uncles. “I see. You get a daughter-in-law and you immediately forget your son?”

“Of course,” the Old Lady nodded along with JingShen’s own mother. “Who cares about you? As long as you bring us a daughter-in-law we don’t need to care about you.”

“A family full of boys!” The Old Man gaffed. “Who wants you? What we want is some daughters-in-law to make us grand babies.”

In the Zhao Family, the only daughter born in generations was Zhao HeJin. The family was heavily deprived of girls and the old man thought it was their bad luck. When he was young, after trying for many years and after three boys, there was finally Zhao HeJin. He thought their family’s bad luck changed.

Who knew, in the next generation, he prayed that each of his grandchildren would be girls but these three boys came out instead. He could only pin his hopes on them bringing home good daughters-in-law. The daughter-in-law could be pampered like a daughter. Not like these rascals.

The Old Man looked at them with disappointment. The oldest works all the time at the company. To see him is like to see Buddha. No free time.

The middle one was a little better, but learned from the behaviours of the older brother. He worked too much and did not pay around outside. If course their family was happy with their clean and outstanding boys but these blocks of wood made it impossible to trade them off for good daughters-in-law.

The youngest was the worst. With his job, the amount of free time he had to find a wife was less than the older two combined. Not for the first time, the Old Man regretted giving in to this spoiled brat’s puppy eyes nine years ago. The boy had pleaded, begged, went on a hunger strike and finally acted like a three year old with a tantrum, to be able to go off and join the Army.

With their wealth and power and centuries of service to the nation, did they need to give a child to bleed for the country too? But this pampered brat who had never been denied anything since birth, would not be denied his dream. Who made him dream of joining the Army and fighting for the nation? And later, who made him one of the most skilled and deadly people in the country? The Old Man was proud, but also regretful. His precious grandson sacrificed too much for the country.

The Old Man had thought a daughter-in-law would be sacrificed too but who knew, this rascal was as outstanding in this area as in everything else.

“Find a time and bring the little daughter-in-law home,” he decided. With finality. He was, after all, the head of his family. After the Old lady, of course, but in this they were agreed. The Old Lady nodded at him.

Who knew the brat was still a brat after so many years in the army? He directly disobeyed!

“I can’t,” Zhao JingShen shook his head. He looked down with some shame. “Er... she hasn’t agreed completely. She’s still young. I don’t want to scare her.”

The Old Man felt such anger! He slammed his hand down on the arm of his chair. “Incompetent!” He roared. “We don’t ask much of you and you can’t even woo the daughter-in-law home?”

At the dig, Zhao JingShen looked over at his betrayers. Both of whom were standing a bit away, having successfully put him in the hot seat so they could escape. They looked at him with identical clear-eyed innocence. He snorted. Innocent, right.

Zhao JingShen was supposed to be the next head of the company and family after his grandfather and father. His father was the first son and Zhao JingShen was his father’s only child. But Zhao JingShen had dreams outside of the family company and so his brothers stepped in to help him. Because of them and his family’s generosity, Zhao JingShen could go out and be a soldier without worrying about home.

Indeed, his family didn’t ask much of him at all. Just that he live his dream and come back safely every time.

Temporarily, he forgot his bros and worked on his own defence. “Grandpa, she’s a new medical intern. She graduated only two months ago. She’s busy working at the hospital.”

“None of that explains why you haven’t brought her home,” His father interjected.

Zhao JingShen glared out of the side of his eyes. In his heart he grieved: Are you my father or my executioner?

“It’s because he always makes her angry,” Zhao JingShi said to Xing ZhiYan.

Xing ZhiYan nodded. “Remember the time we saw her? She kicked our brother and ran away.”

Zhao JingShi nodded. He frowned thoughtfully. “But didn’t she scream at him first.”

“Yes. I remember he laughed.”

“And then she kicked him.”

“And then he laughed again.”

“And then he chased her into the hospital.”

“Ah, that’s right.” Xing ZhiYan looked at Zhao JingShi. Zhao JingShi looked at Xing ZhiYan. They grinned and shared a high five. Good job throwing the little bro to the wolves.

Zhao JingShen remained kneeling, patiently looking at the play his bros put on. In his head, he vowed, ‘I’ll kill you both. I’ll kill you both. I’ll poison your food and put daggers in your beds.’

His beloved mother hit him again. “Don’t try to kill them with your eyes. You are wrong! How can you bully a little girl?”

He was so aggrieved, he couldn’t help mutter his true thoughts. “If I don’t bully her how can she become your daughter-in-law?”

“You!” His mother moved to hit him again.

“Ma!” He quickly covered his shoulder before the blow landed. “Everyday I get beaten at work and you want to beat me at home too? Don’t you care about me anymore?”

From his mother’s side, his father’s laugh was mocking. Zhao JingShen ignored him.

“Incompetent,” His grandfather mumbled clearly. His brothers nodded.

“Tell us about our daughter-in-law,” The Old Lady commanded. “Don’t say anything and I will beat you again.” She raised her feather duster.

Zhao JingShen was hardly intimidated by a feather duster. However, he took the chance to promote his family’s daughter-in-law. Don’t look at them so eager for him and his bros to marry. There were high requirements for the Zhao Family’s Daughters-in-law. Not in terms of wealth or family connection, but character.

His girl was the best and he finally took the opportunity to show off.

“She’s a new medical intern. She graduated two months ago from the medical school and started work at the hospital. Do you know,” he glowed with pride as he looked up at the Old Lady. “She graduated high school at 16 and went to medical school. Now she became a doctor at twenty. Isn’t she amazing?”

“Amazing,” said the Old Lady whose eyes had begun to shine during his speech.

Proud, he nodded and beat his own chest. “Leave it to your grandson, Grandma. I will bring you this outstanding daughter-in-law.”

He was having such a good moment but the aunt of his family began to immediately ruin it. “Didn’t you say she is twenty-one? How is she now twenty? You’re imagining a daughter-in-law for us?”

The old lady’s eyes narrowed and the feather duster rose.

Zhao JingShen blocked his body with his hands. “No!” He said quickly. “Not imagining! She graduated at twenty. Now is is twenty-one. Last month was her birthday!”

The feather duster didn’t fall.

“Outstanding,” The Old Man proclaimed. “Come, Brat, no more jokes. When will you bring her home?”

“She went to H City for a medical conference for a month. It will be at least three weeks before she comes back. But...” He still had to convince her. They were still in that state of ambiguity and she was still angry with him.

When he didn’t continue, his mother, who guessed what he didn’t say, delivered the killing blow. “When did you meet her? How?”

“Er...” He avoided gazes. He couldn’t answer this. If they knew he had robbed them of a daughter -in-law for a whole year they would use something heavier than a feather duster to beat him with.