Chapter 20

I'm telling you to say less.

Hao Jingshi heard Lu Qin's wailing as he was at the door. When he rushed in, he saw the servants lying haphazardly in the clothing shop, Xuan Lan with his cross-eyed eyes, Ling'er trembling, and Lu Qin kneeling in front of a burly man wielding a knife, crying helplessly.

His mind went blank for a moment, and in a fit of anger, he pushed these people aside, came to Lu Qin, and pulled her up with one hand.

Why should I kneel before him?

Those who had been brutally pulled apart were stunned. When Lu Qin saw Hao Jing suddenly rushing over, she felt a sense of relief, as if she had been given a chance to escape a desperate situation, and her eyes lit up.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she rushed over and clung tightly to his arm, refusing to let go: "Waaaaah, my husband..."

Hao Jingshi didn't bother to push her away and angrily shouted at the big man, "Trying to cause trouble, huh? Who are you trying to scare with that broken kitchen knife? Come and talk to me if you dare!"

The burly man with the knife was immediately provoked. He weighed the cleaver in his hand and said, "Hey, who do you think you are? Who do you think you are, calling yourself 'young master'? You're just a brat who hasn't even grown his hair yet!"

"Don't you recognize who I am? Go get your eyes checked if you're blind!" Hao Jingshi was even angrier, and he cursed impatiently, "You dare to bully my people? You're tired of living?"

"Your people?"

The big man laughed heartily after hearing this, his mustache twitching.

He looked at Lu Qin and said sneer, "This is your husband? You said you'd have him treat your illness?"

"Pah! I was going to let you off the hook, but not anymore! This little brat, treating people's illnesses? I don't trust him! He has to pay me back!"

The burly man grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, repeatedly raising and lowering the cleaver. Seeing this, the crowd behind him began to echo, "Pay up! Pay up! Pay up!"

"Utterly despicable! How dare they do business!"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense again. Listening to the chaotic shouts around her, Lu Qin sniffed, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Good news, a powerful backer has arrived.

The bad news is that the mountain behind her is an active volcano, which reignited the fire she had just extinguished.

A group of people were shouting in his ears, and the big man was making sarcastic remarks. The "active volcano" could no longer bear it and was about to erupt. Lu Qin hugged him and could clearly feel the muscles in his arms bulging.

She quickly and weakly said, "Um, please, just say less, please say less..."

"Now you know to keep your mouth shut?" The big man laughed again, still pressing on, "Too late, I'm done! My son's still in bed, and I'm going to get my revenge today!"

He glared at them, puffed out his beard, and shouted, "You brat, you think you're so capable? You want to be a hero? Come on, today I'll show you what's what!"

"Brothers! Let's give this guy some revenge and teach that unscrupulous seller a lesson!"

"Don't……"

Before Lu Qin could finish speaking, the men brought by the big man rushed over like a swarm of bees, shouting "Pay up!"

The people who squeezed in were aggressive, their footsteps shaking the clothes rack and almost stomping holes in the shop floor.

Amidst the rising and falling sounds, Hao Jingshi casually grabbed a clothes hanger, his fingertips turning white from pinching it.

The sunlight outside climbed high into the sky, passing the window and shining behind him, casting a shadow on the ground.

How familiar this scene is!

When Hao Jingshi pushed her away, Lu Qin backed away, closed her eyes, and sighed weakly:

"Big brother."

"I just wanted you to say less..."

She then fell into Ling'er's arms, where Ling'er steadily supported her. The two huddled in a corner, watching a group of people fight fiercely.

In the chaos, Xuan Lan regained her senses and quickly joined the battle. Everything in the clothing shop became a weapon: tables, chairs, clothes racks, candlesticks, and even clothes were thrown everywhere.

A short while later.

"ah!"

One person flew to the left, foaming at the mouth. Ling'er and Lu Qin turned their heads to the left and trembled.

"Ouch!"

The two fell to the right, piling up on top of each other like a human pyramid. Ling'er and Lu Qin turned their heads to the right and trembled again.

"Wow!"

The three of them fell to the doorway and tumbled down the stairs. Ling'er and Lu Qin turned their heads toward the doorway and trembled again.

"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"

A series of screams echoed through the clothing shop. As expected, the group was defeated. The big man lay on the ground, unable to straighten up, clutching the kitchen knife and cursing under his teeth.

Those who had just been echoing the call to "return the money" slunk away, crowding the door as they tried to leave as quickly as possible.

Xuan Lan, who had been bumped and knocked repeatedly, fell to the ground, coughed several times, grabbed the table leg of the rest area to get up, and then collapsed onto a stool to rest.

Hao Jingshi tossed aside the clothes hanger, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his finger, walked up to the big man, and touched his face with the tip of his shoe.

"I hate people like you the most. You're useless, all you do is cause trouble. Do you think causing trouble will cure your son's illness?"

He pulled his leg back and gave a cold laugh.

"Get out of here now with your men, and come to apologize to me in person tomorrow. I'll take pity on you and cure your son. Do you hear me?"

"You..." The big man raised his head, glaring at him angrily, clearly unconvinced.

He was panting heavily, feeling increasingly unable to swallow his anger, when suddenly he exerted his strength and threw the kitchen knife in his hand.

Lu Qin and Ling'er were both so frightened that they stood up.

"Husband!" "Young Master!"

"careful!"

With a "whoosh," fortunately, the big man was lying on the ground and didn't throw accurately. Hao Jingshi dodged to the side, and the kitchen knife just missed him and hit the signboard behind him.

With a clatter, the kitchen knife fell to the ground. Lu Qin, who had been frowning, breathed a sigh of relief and loosened her grip on her wrinkled clothes.

Hao Jingshi glanced back at the kitchen knife, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Are you never going to stop?"

"You little brat..." The big man slowly got up, his eyes full of competitive spirit, seemingly wanting to continue his contest.

Hao Jingshi crossed his arms and scoffed.

He ignored it and took a few steps back. At that moment, the signboard suddenly wobbled and made a clattering sound.

Then it fell straight down.

Just as the plaque was about to smash down on Hao Jingshi's head, Lu Qin panicked and rushed over without thinking: "Hao Jingshi—"

With a "bang".

Lu Qin forcefully tackled Hao Jingshi to the ground, and the two of them fell to the ground, causing the plaque to crash down heavily at the same time.

Hao Jingshi felt a jolt throughout his body, as if he were about to fall apart. When he came to his senses from the shock, all he could see was the frame of the plaque.

It froze for a moment.

Ling'er screamed at the top of her lungs, "Young Madam!"

Hao Jingshi realized something and immediately reached out to move the plaque aside, where he saw Lu Qin lying on his chest.

Bloodstains were visible on the plaque, clearly belonging to Lu Qin. Her hair was wet, and a stream of bright red blood slowly flowed down, growing longer and longer until it gradually stained his white robes.

Seeing that Lu Qin had stopped moving, Hao Jingshi suddenly sat up while holding her and patted her cheek.

"Deer antler scutellaria... Deer antler scutellaria!"

Lu Qin closed her eyes, her head moved slightly, but she didn't react at all, as if she had fainted.

She leaned softly against his chest, and Hao Jingshi was momentarily flustered. He trembled as he checked her pulse.

Seeing that she was still breathing, he didn't care about anything else, picked her up and carried her to the clinic.

Ling'er trotted over to follow, and Xuan Lan, after a moment of surprise, quickly ran over to help as well.

The burly man was dumbfounded. Seeing the pool of blood on the ground, fear finally gripped him. He slowly moved his stiff body and fled as if he were running away.

...

Hao Jingshi frantically tried to stop the bleeding and bandage Lu Qin, while Ling'er assisted him. Xuan Lan, not daring to cause any trouble, hid in a corner and sighed.

Lu Qin was already weak, and now her lips were deathly pale, and her face was lifeless, like a withered flower, dry and withered.

Seeing Hao Jingshi tenderly stroking Lu Qin's forehead, Xuan Lan cleared her throat: "The young mistress is truly devoted to you, acting as if she doesn't care about her life, just rushing straight at you."

After hearing this, Ling'er wiped away her tears and said, "Yes, young master, please forgive me for speaking out of turn, but even if you are angry with the young mistress, you can't stay away from the manor for several days in a row. The old lady is unhappy, and the young mistress can't sleep well every day. I really can't stand it."

Xuan Lan chimed in, "That's right, young master. Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things. Look at how this clothing shop suffers every time you and the young mistress quarrel."

The two of them spoke in unison, one sentence after the other. Hao Jingshi paused, his hand moving as anxiety, guilt, and self-reproach welled up in his heart. Annoyed, he said, "Shut up."

Xuan Lan knew he had taken it to heart, so she glanced at him and then pursed her lips tightly.

But Ling'er didn't listen. Instead, she became agitated and threw the blood-stained handkerchief hard onto the ground.

She shouted, "Even if you beat me to death today, I will still speak out!"

“I heard everything you said that day, young master. How do you know that the young mistress is not sincere? Even though the young mistress is unwilling to take a concubine, she still tries her best to arrange it for you. Even I can see that she is sad!”

"If others bully the young mistress, the young master will also suspect her. What kind of man are you? You don't even trust your own wife!"

After saying all that, Ling'er stomped her feet in anger and ran out like a rabbit.

From a young age, she often saw her father suspicious of her mother, and the two would quarrel and part on bad terms. Her father would leave home in anger. When she saw her mother crying, she would secretly run out to find her father, hoping to reconcile them. However, she encountered human traffickers on the way.

If it weren't for her father's actions, she wouldn't have been sold into the Hao family as a slave.

She hates men who stay out all the time when they're angry! They all deserve to die!

Young Master deserves to die too!

"..."

Hao Jingshi was stunned by her scolding. Ling'er used to serve her mother and was the most clever and tactful. Today, she dared to talk to him like this, as if she had taken the wrong medicine.

He looked up at Xuan Lan blankly: "Is what she said true?"

"Yes." Xuan Lan quickly answered, "These past few days, I have secretly returned to the manor and have indeed often seen the old lady reprimanding the young mistress, mostly about the matter of taking a concubine. Moreover, the matter of taking the second young lady of the Lu family was arranged by Aunt Zhao herself, and the young mistress was unaware of it."

"Everyone in the household says that ever since the clothing shop opened, the old lady has been quite dissatisfied with the young mistress, especially regarding offspring. So she has repeatedly asked the young mistress to arrange for a concubine... In my opinion, the young mistress is also unwilling. She had no choice but to test the young master, but that day the young master suddenly relented..."

Why didn't you tell me sooner!

Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi blurted out as if struck by a thunderbolt.

He misunderstood Lu Qin! He thought Lu Qin and Aunt Zhao were in cahoots, first tricking him into opening a clothing shop, then giving him Lu Ping as a concubine so they could steal money from his family!

Xuan Lan looked like she was about to burst with frustration: "Young Master, you...you won't listen to me! I've said it before, I've wanted to say it so many times, but you get angry as soon as I mention the Young Madam, and you even tell me to get out..."

"Get out!"

"…………"

Helpless, Xuan Lan glanced at the exasperated young master and obediently climbed up the tree.

"This servant is out."