When Da Li got back, Fang Zichen asked a few more questions. It turned out nothing serious had happened—the maidservant just got her hands slapped a couple of times. Fang Zichen muttered that they'd gotten off easy.
Zhao Ger said, "Forget it. It wasn't a big deal. If we'd beaten them up and gone too far, we'd be the ones in the wrong. People might say our son was bullying others with his power."
The maidservant had her hands slapped, and people outside figured she deserved it, so no one said much.
Fang Zichen thought it over. His son hadn't grown into his looks yet—still a little dumpling, short, with a babyish voice, the kind that looked easy to pick on. Unlike him, who oozed tough-guy energy. With his shades on and a gold chain around his neck, he looked like he ran with the underworld, and no one would dare mess with him. Remembering what Guaizai had asked for, he immediately gave an order.
"Da Li."
"Here."
"Go find someone to make a token."
Zhao Ger reminded him from the side, "Your son said he wants two."
Fang Zichen paused. "Isn't one enough? Is he going to hang them from both ears?"
"He wants one for Liuliu too."
Liuliu seemed to have good character, so it wasn't a problem to give him one.
In Da Xia, tokens varied by material. From high to low rank, they were mainly made of three materials: ivory, metal, and wood. The Imperial Guard, being the Emperor's men, were of higher status and used ivory.
The Emperor's own token was made of solid gold.
For officials of the first, second, and third ranks, the tokens were also made of ivory, but the carvings on them differed according to rank, just like the patterns on their official robes.
The Emperor had dragons. Civil officials had birds embroidered on their robes—cranes for first rank, golden pheasants for second, peacocks for third.
Military officials had beasts—kirins for first rank, tigers for second, lions for third.
There were strict rules about all this. Ordinary iron shops weren't even qualified to make them—otherwise, tokens would be everywhere. If caught, it was a crime punishable by death.
Fang Zichen himself had one, made by the Imperial Household Department. Having someone else make one now was technically against the rules. Not just anyone could wear such tokens—officials' family members generally weren't entitled to them. If they truly needed one, they'd have to use their father's.
But he'd already made big promises, and the kids loved the idea, so he had to follow through. It was just a toy to keep them happy.
Da Li could only take the design draft and find someone to make two copies. Regular shops didn't have precious materials like ivory, so Da Li had the craftsman use iron instead.
Since they were small items, it didn't take long—just over one shichen (2 hours). Soon after Da Li left, the iron shop owner's son wiped the sweat off his brow. "Dad, we made tokens... will that be a problem?"
His father gave him a glance. "Relax. Nothing will happen. That's not even a real token."
It looked like a token, sure, but carved on it was some kind of Ultraman. When he'd looked at the drawing earlier, he'd thought the figure looked odd and asked about it. Da Li had said "Ultraman." The iron shop owner had never seen or heard of it. What kind of token would have something like that carved on it?!
The token was about the size of an egg. When Guaizai got it, he was beyond thrilled—he kept hopping up and down, his little face flushed pink. He thought his token, with its super powerful Ultraman, was even cooler than his father's token and could command all the heroes.
Guaizai climbed onto Fang Zichen, wrapped his arms around his neck, and said in a sticky, sweet voice, "Father, Guaizai loves you so much!"
He had so many things that no one else had—all made by his father. Even the princes didn't have them, and they were all jealous!
Fang Zichen found it amusing. "How much do you love me?"
Guaizai stretched out his arms to show. "So, so much! Guaizai wants to kiss you—loving means kissing!"
Liuliu was happy too, practically jumping for joy. After thanking Fang Zichen, the two little ones immediately hopped on their horse and rode straight for the city gate.
The soldiers at the gate didn't stop them when they left. But as soon as they were out, Guaizai turned his horse around and came right back. The soldiers instinctively moved to block them. Guaizai was busy holding the reins, and Liuliu, who couldn't ride yet, had one arm around Guaizai and the other fishing out his token, excitedly holding it up.
The soldiers: "..."
If it had been anyone else, they'd have jabbed their spears forward without a second thought. What the hell was this junk they were trying to pass off? Did they think they were stupid? At least make it look real.
Civil officials had birds, military officials had beasts—the soldiers knew that much. What was this supposed to be?
Clearly fake.
But this time, they recognized the young master of the prefect's household.
They'd seen him when he entered the city last time.
Besides, no other young master in town was this small and could already ride a horse.
Most families were too protective—afraid the kids would fall and get hurt. Moreover, the boy's horse was tall and powerful, with a glossy coat, completely different from ordinary horses. And the saddle was inlaid with gold trim—clearly worth a fortune. Even if they didn't recognize the boy, what ordinary family's child would be riding a horse like that?
The soldiers at the gate respectfully greeted him and immediately stepped aside.
Guaizai and Liuliu rode into the city, giggling.
Then the soldiers saw them ride out again, and then come back again. They didn't want to stop them, but the young master had said they had to treat everyone equally and not slack off on duty!
So they stopped them. And Liuliu pulled out his token again.
They did this back and forth a few times, the two little ones thoroughly delighted. Once they saw more townsfolk coming into the city, they stopped—not wanting to hold up the soldiers—and finally headed home.
The guards at the gate watched them leave, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
The news from the cloth shop spread fast. Within half a day, the head of the Huang family, Huang Zheng, had already gotten wind of it. Huang Bingzhong had just stepped through the door with his wife when a servant attending Huang Zheng came over. "Young Master, the Master says to go to the study as soon as you're back."
Huang Bingzhong knew right away what it was about.
The moment he opened the door, a teacup flew at his face.
"Father." He dodged, and the teacup shattered on the floor with a clatter.
"You still have the nerve to call me Father!" Huang Zheng was seething with rage.
Earlier, he had warned his son to be careful outside and not to cause any more trouble. His son had already gotten into conflicts with the sons of the Cui, Cheng, and Wei families, and now those three families weren't on good terms with the Huang family. Still, they weren't as powerful as the Huang family, so Huang Zheng hadn't taken it too seriously. But now—he'd told him to stop provoking people, and his son hadn't listened. This time, he'd picked a fight with someone big.
Huang Bingzhong had just been humiliated at the cloth shop and was already in a foul mood. "Father, it's not that big a deal. Why are you so furious? Is it really worth it?"
Since Huang Zheng hadn't really laid a hand on him, Huang Bingzhong figured his father probably didn't dare to. The new prefect must be somewhat wary of the Huang family—so there was nothing to fear.
Huang Zheng looked at his son upon hearing this, and the disappointment in his heart only deepened.
"Do you even know what's going on in this household?"
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