Chapter 5

Carefully, I rearranged my nightie and gave my new nightmares-in-law a full bow, kowtowing my head to the ground. Since he wanted all the ancient etiquette, I may as well give them the works.

"Elders," I said with my nose facing the carpet. "Please have a seat."

"Yina, what are you doing?" Jun Siming hissed at me from where he was standing by the tray of tea. He tried to pull me up but I shook him off. I wasn't going to let my new 'masters' have any chance to blame me for anything during this tea ceremony.

Come to think of it, they hadn't refuted me when I had said I had been sold to them as a slave and a baby making machine. So what? I had become a modern day illegal slave? Whose stupid idea was this? Don't tell me it was nightstud-in-law's. It was his idea, wasn't it? Had he been watching too many ancient dramas?

There was nowhere for the couple to sit and so they sat on the bed after a long pause. Once they were seated, I sat up on my knees and knee-shuffled over to the tea tray to pour two cups of tea.

Without raising my head, I walked on my knees to Uncle Jun and raised the first tea cup above my head and spoke the classic Chinese tea offering phrase.

"Uncle Jun, please have some tea."

I held the tea cup above my head and waited, but there was no movement. The tea was not accepted. Nobody else dared to speak when Uncle Jun made a rapid hand gesture to everyone else in the room that I couldn't see.

After a long moment, I lowered the cup, saluted it from my forehead upwards and tried again, saying, "Elder Master, please have some tea."

Surely he would be pleased with this ancient title. He had just told me that I wasn't properly married and would never be properly married. I was just his family's baby making property. In that case, there was no way I was going to call him 'Father' or 'Dad'.

I felt the tea cup being taken from me and then gasped and flinched back when the scalding hot cup of tea was dumped on my head. I wasn't the only person who gasped.

"Dad!" Siming exclaimed.

"Mr Jun!" said Dr Feng.

A blow struck my head and the cup was forced back into one of my trembling hands that had gone straight to my scalded scalp. Thankfully my hair protected my scalp from most of the heat of the hot tea, so it wasn't too bad.

"Rebellious girl," Uncle - no, Mr Jun seethed. He didn't deserve that title of respect anymore. From now on I'd call him formally as if I didn't know him. "You know what title you are meant to call me by."

"Master, please forgive your baby making slave, but this slave is not formally married," I replied. "This slave does not know what title the slave ought to call you by."

There was another blow to my head.

"'Dad'! You ought to be calling me 'Dad' like how Sihao does. And you are properly married, even if you didn't go through the formal and legal procedures. Don't take this tone with me and mock me like this. I'm warning you, Yina. I won't have it. Pour the tea again and do it properly. Wife," Mr Jun turned to Mrs Jun, "go and bring me the cane."

I saw my nightmare-in-law's legs tremble for a split second before she got up.

"Behave," she hissed to me before she left the room.

Obediently, I poured more hot tea into the empty teacup, and then kneel-walked back in front of the mean bully of a man. Once more, I saluted him with the cup from my forehead, raising the cup above my head.

"Father-in-law, please have some tea," I said, using the formal phrase for father-in-law rather than the word Siming and Sihao used to call their obnoxious pater.

The teacup was snatched from my hands, the tea poured on my head and the cup thrown. The teacup struck my forehead and I sat down hard with smarting tears in my eyes.

"You deadbeat slave girl!" Mr Jun roared in anger, striking my head with a heavy hand and kicking me over. In his anger, he had reverted back to Chinese. "You're provoking me on purpose! You want to see how angry I'll get?"

Mrs Jun returned to the room at that moment and Mr Jun snatched the cane from her hands. He hauled me up by the collar of my nightie and the thin material tore under his grip. Siming came to try rescue me but was kicked aside. Partially tossing me over the nearby desk, Mr Jun held my neck down and then caned me on the backside. I bit my lip and defiantly suppressed any cries.

The room was suddenly filled with noise and the sound of people rushing over.

"Dad. Dad, what are you doing? What's going on?" I heard Sihao shout. He wheeled himself over and pushed his father away from me. "Why are you caning Yina? What did she do?"

"This little upstart girl just wants to see me get angry," Mr Jun said in a voice still shaking with anger. "I'll show her how angry I can get if she doesn't settle down and be obedient."

"Father-in-law, please calm your anger," I said in a quivering, high pitched voice. "Allow me to offer you your tea."

"Get out of the way, son," Mr Jun pushed Jun Sihao out of the way. "Wife, you hold onto him. If I don't teach this little girl that we have family law here, she's going to challenge us both at every turn."

"Mr Jun," Dr Feng stood up to block Mr Jun, "don't do this."

"Wife, invite Nurse Geannie and Dr Feng down to the lounge room for a moment."

Mrs Jun obediently got up and forcefully ushered the doctor and nurse out of the room.

"Please," she said in a firm voice, almost pulling them out of the room. "This is a family matter. If you don't mind, please wait in the sitting room."

"Dad, please don't hit her," Sihao returned now that he had been freed.

In reply, Mr Jun's cane fell on Siming. Sihao retreated. Siming had wrapped his body around mine on the desk.

"The more you boys try to protect her, the harsher a lesson she's going to receive," Mr Jun warned. "I am going to teach her how to be obedient today or I am not your father."

Siming was pulled off me, beaten and kicked and then tossed into Sihao's lap. Sihao held his younger brother tight, checking to make sure he was ok.

"Aren't you worried the doctor will call the police or make a mandatory report that you are involved in illegal human trafficking and assault?" I asked.

A heavy blow to my cheek silenced me. I was then caned until I couldn't take it anymore. So he wasn't afraid then. Good to know.

"Uncle, I give up. I surrender," I said through my tears. "I'll be good. I'll do the tea ceremony properly."

"'Uncle' again. Now only you want to give up," Mr Jun hit me even harder with the cane. "How much easier and how much less painful would it be if you had just done things properly from the start? When are you going to learn your lesson?"

"Now. Right now," I sobbed. "I'm learning right now. I'll do it properly this time. I promise."

"Alright," Mr Jun released me and sat back down on the bed with his arms crossed and cane tucked in the crook of one arm. "Siming, go call your mother back up."

When Mrs Jun was back with us and seated on the bed, I once more kowtowed to them and then poured a cup of tea on my knees. I shuffled over to Mr Jun on my knees.

"Father," I said, still refusing to call him by the more intimate 'Dad', "please have some tea."

Mr Jun snorted but accepted the tea and drank it, returning the cup to me.

"The tea is cold, go refill it with hot water," he commanded me.

"Yes, Father," I bowed and took the empty cup back. Picking up the tray, I shuffled out of the room on my knees, not daring to trust my legs to stand on them.

"Walk properly," Mr Jun barked.

Sihao took the tray from me and I used the desk to help me climb up onto my feet. It hurt and my legs kept threatening to give way. Carefully, I took the tray.

"Don't help her," Mr Jun snapped at both his sons who were reaching out to try and help me and my precariously held tea tray. "Yina, drop or break anything on that tray and I will cane you until you can't sit for a week."