The whip was swung very hard and landed on the ground with a crisp sound, mixed with the screams of a cat, and dust rose up in all directions.

Jiang Rao turned her head back.

The girl behind him was wearing a bright red satin dress with feathery tulle on the surface. The red dress was dazzling, and her hair was casually tied into a high bun.

Although he was dressed as a woman, his sleeves were tied up like the arrow sleeves that men wear when hunting. When he moved, the bells around his waist jingled.

On the second floor of the restaurant, the Seventeenth Prince slammed his fist against the wall and stared at the person who suddenly came out, "Whose girl is that?"

The attendant glanced outside and said, "She is dressed like this, so she can only be General Hu's daughter."

At this time, Hu Tang picked up the black cat on the ground with one hand, threw it to the maid behind her, and glanced sharply at the second floor of the restaurant.

The seventeenth prince made eye contact with her, took a step back to the left and hid.

The scene that Hu Tang just glanced at could not be erased from his mind.

The girl in red is as flamboyant as a spark that has fallen into the mortal world.

It's such an eyesore.

"Miss Hu?"

Hearing Jiang Rao calling her name, Hu Tang turned around and said anxiously, "Wait for me."

She put away the whip in her hand, stepped into the restaurant, went straight to the door of the private room where the seventeenth prince was, and kicked him.

"If you have the guts to backstabber me, come out now!"

However, when the Seventeenth Prince saw Hu Tang walking into the restaurant, he realized what Hu Tang was trying to do and hurriedly walked out of the room. At this moment, he was hiding behind the corner on the third floor.

But when he saw Hu Tang kick the door open, his eyes were full of disbelief. How could there be such a rude girl in the world?

After Hu Tang kicked the door open, he saw that no one was in the room. His face immediately darkened. He angrily clenched his fingers around the whip and cursed several times, "You cowardly thing, you short-tailed bastard!"

Jiang Rao followed and held Hu Tang's hand, "Miss Hu, let's go."

Just now, she went to find the restaurant owner, gave him some silver, and wanted to ask who booked the private room that Hu Tang kicked out, but the owner looked embarrassed and avoided the question. This was enough to make her understand that the person who booked that private room was not an ordinary person, and even the restaurant owner was protecting him.

This confirmed Jiang Rao's guess.

She had recognized the black cat.

That time when the Seventeenth Prince broke into Rong Ting's mansion, she hid in Rong Ting's study and watched the Seventeenth Prince come in holding a cat.

The black cat in the Seventeenth Prince's arms was the same one that had just tried to scratch her face.

Jiang Rao's sight

She glanced around vaguely. Although she didn't see the Seventeenth Prince, she knew he was nearby. She raised her voice slightly to speak to Hu Tang, "I know who released the cat. Let's go back first."

The Seventeenth Prince's body trembled, his fists clenched, and he watched Jiang Rao and Hu Tang leave. He slowly stood up from his hiding place, but a force behind him grabbed his collar and dragged him into a room, and the door slammed shut.

The seventeenth prince met Rong Ting's gentle smiling face and his eyes were shocked.

He quickly turned his head to look outside the door and saw that the follower he brought with him today was restrained by Rong Ting's men.

The seventeenth prince moved his arms to try to break free, but Wu Que stood behind him, holding him tightly and not letting go.

He was about to ask loudly when he suddenly realized that there was someone else in the room.

"Master Chen?"

He had never expected to see Chen Bing here, and his face turned from anger to shock.

He glanced at Chen Bing and Rong Ting, unable to believe it.

Rong Ting will join the Ministry of Works in the autumn. His mother has been looking for opportunities to win over those in the Ministry of Works who can be won over so as to contain Rong Ting's power. Chen Bing from the Du Shui Qing Li is among them. However, no matter what they try, Chen Bing remains unmoved.

"Your Highness the Seventeenth Prince." Chen Bing greeted the Seventeenth Prince politely.

"Master Chen, I have something to discuss with my Seventeenth Brother."

Rong Ting spoke at this time.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Bing said, "I will take my leave first."

It seemed as if he was not curious at all as to why Rong Ting and the Seventeenth Prince seemed to have a bad relationship.

The seventeenth prince gritted his teeth.

When did Rong Ting meet Chen Bing?

Chen Bing's attitude clearly showed that he and Rong Ting were in the same party. The two men met on the third floor of the restaurant, and it was unknown what they were discussing in secret.

The seventeenth prince couldn't understand it and couldn't help but spit on Chen Bing in his heart. What was there to help a disabled person? The old man has no eyes and is really ungrateful.

As Chen Bing was here, he couldn't get angry. As soon as Chen Bing left, the Seventeenth Prince glared at Rong Ting. Just as he was about to speak, Rong Ting slowly pushed the wheelchair in front of him. The sound of the wheels rolling over the wooden boards stopped abruptly when he raised his eyes, "Huai Qing, close the door."

He stretched out his right hand, like an eagle's claw, and grabbed the back of the Seventeenth Prince's head. The force of his fingertips sank down, pressing his head down onto the table.

The power in his palm was incredibly strong, and with one hand he pinned the Seventeenth Prince so that he could not break free.

"You should just stay under the protection of your mother and be a little bird that has never experienced the wind and rain. Why are you so restless?"

He pondered, and then he added more strength.

A few points.

The pain as if his skull was about to shatter made the Seventeenth Prince, who was pressed on the table, thrash around like a live fish lying on a chopping board about to be slaughtered.

But in his heart he hated this cripple!

"Hasn't Brother Jiu been acting gentle and kind since he came back from Yecheng? Why, you don't want to pretend anymore?" He endured the pain and sneered, "Don't think you can marry the person you want just by pretending to be a kind person. The whole of Jinling knows that Fourth Master Jiang wants to marry his daughter to Pei Shaoqing!"

Rong Ting's eyes were red as he pulled the Seventeenth Prince's hair and lifted him up. He still looked gentle and smiling, but his eyes gradually became stubborn and vicious. "She is no longer herself after marrying someone else, right?"

He bit his back teeth, his jawline was extremely tight, his eyes were as dark and gloomy as if covered by a cataract, and he continued to smash the Seventeenth Prince's head against the wall, "Even if she marries someone else, she is still the one I want and want to protect. Do you have the right to interfere in our affairs?"

…

After stepping out of the restaurant, Jiang Rao seemed to hear some noise. She felt something strange and looked up at the restaurant.

All the windows on the third floor were closed.

Jiang Rao retracted her gaze, thinking that she was being overly suspicious, and looked at Hu Tang beside her, "Thank you Miss Hu for your help."

Hu Tang rolled up the whip in her hand and fluttered her eyelashes gently. The fierceness she had in kicking the door and slapping the whip just now disappeared. She looked at Jiang Rao carefully and said slowly, "I owe you a thank you in return."

Jiang Rao knew she was talking about the last banquet, so she smiled calmly, "Yesterday's events are yesterday's events."

She was not angry with them that time. She just thought that if Hu Tang and Hu Li were determined to think that she was not good, then she would not make things difficult for herself by getting close to them. But Hu Tang had just saved her once, and he hadn't done anything rude. Why should she dwell on the unpleasantness that occurred when they first met?

Hu Tang's pupils lit up. From what she said, it was clear that she wanted to let bygones be bygones.

The haze in her heart was swept away, and she finally laughed, "Then don't call me Miss Hu from now on, just call me by my name."

Jiang Rao said "hmm", "Then you can call me by my name too."

She looked around, but couldn't see Hu Li. "Where's your sister?"

Hu Tang replied: "My sister has gone to Mobei to look for my father. Mother is tired and can't travel far. I will stay in the capital with her."

Jiang Rao nodded. "Are you going to the palace banquet? If you are alone, why not come with me?"

Hu Tang nodded heavily and followed Jiang Rao like a little tail. Jiang Rao deliberately slowed down so that she could walk beside her.

She felt like she was holding a little tiger with its claws and fangs smoothed out. The girl who had just rushed into the restaurant with a whip in her hand and looked domineering, now stood beside her, silent as if she didn't dare to speak.

"You use the whip very beautifully," she exclaimed sincerely.

Hu Tang's eyes lit up, "Not only am I good with the whip, I can also use the sword and the saber, and I'm also good at horse riding..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually became softer. Judging from the way Jiang Rao was dressed, one could tell at a glance that she was a well-behaved, obedient, gentle and polite girl. But what she knew were all things that girls were strictly forbidden to do in the female training and rules. She had been laughed at countless times by other noble ladies in Jinling. Hu Tang drooped his shoulders somewhat dejectedly and hid the rolled whip behind him. However, a sigh came from the side, "That's great."

Hu Tang raised her eyes and saw Jiang Rao smiling brightly, she was slightly stunned.

Jiang Rao was really envious, "It's great to know Kung Fu. It can protect both yourself and others."

Just as they were walking outside the palace, Hu Tang stopped and asked, "Do you want to go with me?"

Jiang Rao touched the red and green feathers of the golden myna in her arms and asked curiously, "Why not?"

Hu Tang curled his lips, "If you stay with me, people will talk about you. If you keep company with me, people will talk about you. I don't respect etiquette and don't follow the rules. If they see you and me together, people will also say that you..."

"What's that?" Jiang Rao glanced at her sideways. "If you hadn't made your sleeves lighter, the whip wouldn't have been so sharp. If you had followed the rules, I would have been disfigured."

The sky is clear and blue. Hu Tang finally put aside his worry that she would be looked down upon by his wife, and brought the long whip from his back to his front.

The two little girls sat down at the table together. Hu Tang had never been with such delicate-looking girls before, and he had just met Jiang Rao, so he was a little reserved and did not dare to reveal his true nature too much. He sat more upright and honestly than ever before.

Jiang Rao glanced around, carefully looking for the figure of Shen Xiuying in her dream. Finally, she was found in a corner near the palace wall.

The color of Shen Xiuying's clothes was similar to what she had dreamed of, but she hadn't been able to see it carefully in her dream. Now she could see the dust on the front of her clothes. Her face was pale, as if she had just come out of a mud kiln.

It was just like in her dream. She had just met Empress Jiahe and was punished by her.

There was a commotion on the palace road.

Jiang Rao didn't care at first until she heard some idle chatter nearby: "It seems that the seventeenth prince was beaten up."

Only then did her eyes move slightly, she became curious and looked towards the palace road.

A dozen guards in fine clothes walked along the palace road. The seventeenth prince, with a white cloth tied on his forehead, followed angrily at the end.

She hadn't figured out a way to punish the Seventeenth Prince, and he got his retribution?

It came a little fast.

Jiang Rao suddenly felt itchy and wanted to know who had hit someone.

The sound of wheels rolling over the ground was mixed with the footsteps.

Jiang Rao inexplicably developed a bad intuition in her heart. When she looked through the gaps between the dozen or so guards and saw the figure who was trapped and moving forward, she was stunned for a moment.

Rong Ting?