Chapter 356 You're so dense, think fast!

"A hidden weapon the size of an index finger was unearthed. The person who shot that weapon must have been a burly, rough man to have such amazing arm strength."

The man spoke with great enthusiasm, as if he had witnessed it himself.

The people around listened with great interest; the story was so thrilling, it must be true.

Someone asked curiously, "Who is that burly man?"

The man was stumped by the question. He raised his hand to stroke his beard, closed his eyes slightly, and slowly shook his head. "This... cannot be said."

"What's there to hide? Just tell me, and I'll treat you to this meal."

The man never expected that his fabricated words would bring him such benefits.

Stop being so dense, think faster!

His eyes darted around, then he looked at the roof. Hey, I've got it!

He pointed his finger at the sky, "He is... a heavenly soldier and general, who transformed into a god of death and assassinated Lord Pu with a powerful hidden weapon, just like when thunder strikes, a bolt of lightning from the heavens shoots through Lord Pu's forehead."

"Great! Well said, that's brilliant! We initially suspected it wasn't man-made, but everything has been confirmed. Brother, this meal is on me."

Lu Wenzhong cupped his hands in greeting to the man, "That's wonderful! I was just saying a few words, brother, you're too kind..."

"A gentleman's word is his bond. Shopkeeper, put that gentleman's table on my tab."

After serving a bowl of noodles to a customer, Wang Youcai listened intently to Lu Wenzhong's fascinating story, holding a tray as he stood by. Hearing their conversation, he cheerfully replied, "Alright!"

Everyone was preparing to sit down and continue enjoying their meal.

Suddenly someone slammed their hand on the table and stood up, "Bang!"

The guy trying to fool people picked up a piece of noodles with his chopsticks, then jumped in fright, broke the noodle, and slurped it back into the bowl.

The man was dressed as a foreign traveler, with a plain turban wrapped around his head, a thick beard, and sharp, hawk-like eyes set in his deep-set, high-nosed face. He wore a brocade robe embroidered with gold and a jeweled curved sword hung at his waist.

He sternly rebuked in broken official language, "Nonsense! All nonsense! Lord Pu was clearly killed by people sent by your court."

Lu Wenzhong retorted, "The imperial court? What evidence do you have? What do you foreigners know? Don't slander my Great Zhou imperial court so easily. If the imperial court wants to kill an official, do you need to make such a fuss? Just issue an imperial edict to summon the person back to the capital and behead them, wouldn't that be enough?"

"Do you know who that person is? Speak!" The other party glared angrily, his chest heaving, his muscles bulging beneath his brocade robe, as if he were about to draw his sword at any moment.

"So what if he's a celestial being from heaven?"

"Don't blame us for being impolite if you don't reveal the mastermind behind this."

"Hmph! You're welcome. Go ahead and hit me if you dare! Hit me if you dare! Even the gods in heaven can't stand you foreigners causing trouble on my Great Zhou's land, so they sent a great immortal to deal with you."

The two foreign merchants, unable to bear the provocation any longer, rushed over, grabbed the man by the collar, and punched Lu Wenzhong in the face. "Bang!"

Lu Wenzhong reacted quickly, grabbing the other man's collar and throwing a punch back, "Bang!"

Suddenly, another foreign merchant pounced on him.

Two against one, Lu Wenzhong only has a rudimentary set of skills, which he can barely handle one of them, but he can't withstand another.

He was kicked hard in the ribs and sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the square table with a loud bang!

The desktop split in two.

Lu Wenzhong clutched the spot where he had been kicked and rolled on the ground.

He lunged forward again, kicking and stomping violently, demanding, "Speak! Who killed Lord Pu?"

Lu Wenzhong stubbornly insisted, "It's the gods in heaven who are here to punish you foreigners on our behalf..."

He had long disliked these barbarians. He had heard that the man surnamed Pu's ancestors were also barbarians, and that they became citizens of the Great Zhou through marriage with the locals.

No matter how they change, they still have barbarian blood flowing in their veins. On the surface, they are siding with the Han people, but behind their backs, they are siding with the barbarians.

The common people were completely fooled and thought he was a good official.

Those who saw through Pu's true colors clapped and cheered upon hearing the news of his death, saying, "Well done!"

"Still being stubborn even when death is imminent."

The two foreign merchants kicked and punched Lu Wenzhong viciously, while the people around them just stood by and watched without offering any help.

Yun Zhaoxue was curious and beckoned a waiter over to ask him questions.

The waiter, a nephew of Wang Youcai, knew Yun Zhaoxue and asked respectfully, "Princess, what are your orders?"

Why are all the people around just standing by and not helping?

"According to those guests, the local people and the foreign merchants had a large-scale brawl. The government, the same Pu who was killed last night, stipulated that if the foreign merchants beat someone, they had to pay the beaten person a large sum of money. The spices, ivory, and medicinal herbs that those foreign merchants brought from their countries were sold at exorbitant prices. Over time, the local people clashed with them. In order to get compensation, they would not fight back even if they were beaten."

The barbarians could beat people at will, and over time, the local people became their slaves.

"Stop hitting me! Do you know who my nephew is? My nephew is Lu Zheng, the judicial officer of the county government."

"So what if you're a judicial officer? You're the one who conspired with others to murder Lord Pu. We're here to avenge Lord Pu. Prepare to die!" The foreign merchant drew his sword and raised it to strike him.

The onlookers only realized then that these two were incredibly audacious to kill someone in public, and they tried to stop them, shouting, "Stop! You're just hitting people, but you dare to kill someone? Do you have no respect for the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

The foreign merchant ignored him and brought his knife down on Lu Wenzhong's head.

Lu Wenzhong raised his hand to protect his head, shouting anxiously, "Mother! Help!"

A pair of chopsticks struck the arm of the foreign merchant who was holding a knife.

"ah!"

Yun Zhaoxue braced herself against the overturned table with one hand, spun around, and kicked a foreign merchant in the head.

After the other merchant dropped his knife, he threw a punch at Yun Zhaoxue.

Yun Zhaoxue dodged by bending over to the side, and at the same time, the knife in her hand slashed through the meridians on his wrist.

"Ah!" He was in so much pain that he was powerless to fight back. Taking advantage of the situation, Yun Zhaoxue grabbed his arm and twisted it backward, then kicked him in the back of the knee.

They forced him to kneel on the ground, but he still tried to resist.

He stomped on their backs again, then kicked one of them away. Shards of broken porcelain pierced his body, causing him to scream in agony, "Ah! Ah!..."

Everyone stared in disbelief. Good heavens, a female knight-errant!

Lu Wenzhong had almost met his end and was still in a state of terror. He got up and hugged Yun Zhaoxue's leg, crying and wailing, "Mother, help me! Your son almost died at the hands of these barbarians!"

Yun Zhaoxue kicked the person away, "Get lost! I don't have a son that big. Wipe your tears and stop embarrassing yourself."

"Alright, my dear mother." Lu Wenzhong sat down on the ground and wiped away his tears with the corner of his clothes.

The foreign merchant, clutching his wound, watched with apprehension as Yun Zhaoxue shuffled backward on the ground. "Who are you? We foreigners are honored guests of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The imperial court treats us with utmost courtesy. How dare you hit us? We will report you to the authorities, have you arrested, imprisoned, and have your head chopped off!"

"We welcome you to do business in Great Zhou, as it is mutually beneficial. However, we will never allow you to bully the people of Great Zhou!"

Wang Youcai was the first to applaud, saying, "Well said! We are the masters of this land, and you are just guests. We should respect each other. You are the guests. If you act arrogantly and bully your hosts, you will be our enemies."

Lu Wenzhong raised his fist in agreement, "That's right! Fellow villagers, we must not let these barbarians ride roughshod over us. We must beat them to death!"

The two foreigners helped each other to their feet. "You, you gang up on us! Just you wait!"

Yun Zhaoxue kicked the bench next to her foot away.

The two fell down again. "Ouch! You bad woman, we won't let you get away with this!"

"You have no chance. They attempted murder but failed. Take them to the authorities."

Wang Youcai found two ropes and tied the two men up tightly.

Lu Wenzhong tied one up roughly, causing the foreign merchant who had just tried to kill him to scream in pain, "It hurts! Ah! My hand is going to be ruined! Let me go! You can't grab me!"

“I am not from your continent, you cannot arrest me, I want to see our chieftain.”

The chieftain was also a person from their country, appointed by the government to specifically manage them.

He will surely side with them, acquit them, and forgive them.

In the corner, there was another table where several people dressed as foreign merchants were sitting.

Seeing the Han Chinese inside raising their fists to attack the foreign merchants, they looked at each other in bewilderment, placed their copper coins on the table, and left the noodle shop furtively with their heads down.

Lu Wenzhong was helped up before he could see Yun Zhaoxue's face clearly.

Good heavens! She's just a teenage girl, old enough to be his daughter. No wonder she gets angry when I call her "mother."

He bowed to Yun Zhaoxue, "Mother... oh no, heroine, I was so grateful for your help just now, otherwise I would have lost my life long ago. If there is anything you need from me in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Let's talk about it later. First, send them to the government and make them pay the price. If they are released without charge, it will only discourage the people."

Lu Wenzhong waved his hand and said, "No, no, I will definitely keep a close eye on them. Besides, my nephew is a judicial officer who specializes in catching these bad guys. I will definitely have my nephew lock them up and torture them severely. Not with private torture, but according to the law."

Yun Zhaoxue said, "That's good! A life for a life, that's the rule left by our ancestors."

Throughout history, countries that have allowed foreign powers to tyrannize and oppress them have never fared well. At best, they have been invaded and had their resources plundered, and their local people have been oppressed and enslaved. At worst, their people have been wiped out.

Lu Wenzhong agreed, nodding vigorously, "You're right. We can't let them set this precedent; we must make an example of them."

Yun Zhaoxue pointed to the mess on the ground, "Shouldn't we pay for this?"

Wang Youcai said, "No need to pay compensation, it's all a small matter, we can just clean it up."

"Of course I don't need to pay compensation. They are the ones who should pay. Shouldn't the shopkeeper do the math and make them pay back the money?"

“Oh, right, my shop is newly opened, the tables are all new, and so are the bowls and stools.” Wang Youcai took the abacus from the counter and started calculating quickly, “Ten taels of silver in total.”

The less seriously injured foreign merchant protested, "Ten taels? You're ripping me off! It's not that expensive. Five taels of silver is already too much."

Yun Zhaoxue continued, "We also need to factor in the costs of cleaning up, the delays in serving customers, and the lost wages for not being able to accommodate the next wave of customers."

They're rich, aren't they? They like to throw money at people, so let them bleed a little.

The customers in the store nodded, "Yes, that's right."

Wang Youcai suddenly realized that he had secretly calculated that it was twice as much, but he did not expect that Princess Zhaoxue was even more...wise.

But that suits him perfectly, hehe~~