The carriage hasn't even left Qin County yet, why has it stopped?
When Zhan Xinjia lifted the curtain, she saw that someone was causing trouble ahead and blocking the road.
"You old codger, you're so old and you're still stealing. Don't you know that being old and not dying makes you a thief? Doesn't anyone at home take care of you? You've come to steal from my shop. If it weren't for your age, I would have broken your hands today."
At the entrance of a pastry shop, a shop assistant was shoving an old man while cursing.
The old man was dressed in rags, with tangled white hair, his fingernails full of grime, and his face so thin that it was just skin covering his bones. His eyes were sunken and dull.
If you don't look closely, he almost looks like a wild man.
He was pushed to the ground and instinctively cowered and curled up in an attempt to protect himself, clearly having been beaten countless times.
Beside him lay a piece of white sugar cake, now crumbled into pieces and covered in mud.
The waiter spat viciously.
"You old beggar, you want to eat pastries? Go eat mud! You don't deserve it! It would only dirty my hands to hit you."
More and more people gathered around to watch the spectacle, and the guy continued to hurl insults and curses.
The dazed old man helplessly covered his head, as if embarrassed, and hid his face with his dirty sleeve. His dry, cracked lips opened and closed silently, as if he were constantly muttering something.
In fact, Zhan Xinjia could understand, since if something went missing in this kind of shop, the clerk on duty would usually have to compensate for it.
But she clearly saw four or five old copper coins covered in mud on the counter. A piece of white sugar cake cost at most three coins. This old man hadn't stolen anything, yet he was being humiliated and cursed on the spot.
No, their manners are just awful!
Even someone as virtuous as her has always helped elderly people cross the street since she was a child. How could there be such a heartless beast in the world? Damn it, I should just stab him to death!
Cui Wanzhao had obviously also noticed the copper coins on the counter, but as soon as she pointed them out, the shop assistant gave a few disdainful sneers.
"Who would accept such dirty and old money! It might have been dug out of some grave by this old geezer. It's bad luck. Judging from your clothes, you're a wealthy young lady from a prominent family. Don't waste your kindness on such a scoundrel."
Even though the other party paid, this guy still spouted a bunch of foul language.
Cui Wanzhao was so angry that she was about to order her servants to teach the man a lesson, but before she could even open her mouth, another one had already exploded.
Cui Wanzhao didn't even see Zhan Xinjia's afterimage clearly. She only felt a gust of wind rush past her, and the next second, her little sister's big hand had already slapped the shopkeeper across the face.
With a loud "smack," the guy was caught off guard and spun around like a top several times before finally stopping.
The crowd gasped. Upon closer inspection, they saw that the man's left cheek was swollen high, several teeth had been knocked out, and he had vomited blood all over the ground.
"you!……"
The guy, who was in so much pain he was almost doubled over, covered his face with one hand and pointed at the little girl in front of him with a trembling hand, unable to believe it.
He wanted to say something, but his cheeks were so swollen that they blocked his tongue and he couldn't speak. In a fit of anger, he could only glare at her.
Zhan Xinjia idly patted the dust off his palms.
"This uncle has already given you money, and you keep calling him a thief and slandering his money as dirty. How do you know so much? Are your parents dead? Did you see this coin dug out of your parents' grave with your own eyes?"
"You little brat, you just wait... I'll sell you to a brothel later, you little slut!"
The guy was so angry he was trembling all over.
Even though every word he uttered caused a sharp pain in his mouth, he couldn't bear it any longer. But before he could finish speaking with a slurred tongue, he received another solid slap on his right cheek.
This slap sent the guy spinning so hard he fell to the ground, almost losing all his teeth.
At a glance, the ground was covered with his teeth.
The onlookers started jeering, "Go ahead and curse! Why aren't you cursing now?"
The man remained silent, only vomiting blood.
Under the terrified gaze of the waiter, Zhan Xinjia stepped forward, stepped on his wrist, and smiled with her eyes crinkling.
"I remember I already gave you face just now."
She had a smiling face, and just by looking at her, she seemed like a gentle, harmless, and cute little girl. But those two honest slaps were so powerful that they almost sent her to the underworld.
Not only passersby, but even Cui Wanzhao was stunned.
Oh my god, oh my god, if my godmother is so brave, why was she acting all whiny before?!
With the matter mostly resolved, Zhan Xinjia used the tip of her shoe to grind the waiter's fingers hard until he let out a piercing scream before she finally let go, satisfied.
"Why are you even looking for work? You might as well grow mushrooms in your cellar. Of course, if you don't have a cellar, then forget it."
After saying that, she turned around and got into the carriage without looking back.
A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd.
This guy was known for cheating people out of their money and taking advantage of honest folks. He also had a bad reputation for beating his wife and children, and was a gambler and womanizer. Nobody in the village could stand him.
Now he's finally gotten a taste of the harsh realities of society, which is incredibly satisfying.
On the ground, the old man, with his frail body, struggled to his feet with the help of kind-hearted people.
His cloudy eyes slowly moved as he knelt shakily on the ground, trying to pick up the piece of white sugar cake that had fallen, despite everyone's attempts to stop him. With trembling hands, he gathered all the crumbs into his clothes, muttering "Nannan" repeatedly.
The carriage curtain was pulled back again, and this time Zhan Xinjia handed the old man a whole, clean piece of white sugar cake wrapped in oil paper.
"Don't pick up what's on the ground. If you eat something dirty that's fallen on the ground, you'll get sick and have a stomachache, you know? Here, take this."
This was bought for her by Master Shen before. She originally planned to keep it on the road as a keepsake to remember him, but now it seems she should give it to someone who needs it more.
Sensing that the old man was somewhat embarrassed, it seemed he must have been a respectable person in the past. After all, even in his current state, he still knew to pay for things he bought.
Zhan Xinjia thought for a moment, then smiled and took the badly broken piece of white sugar cake from his pocket, and spoke to him in a gentle voice.
"How about you trade this for this? I like eating it in small pieces."
The old man seemed a little confused, but he still nodded blankly. It took him a long time to stiffly extend his hand, which looked like withered tree bark, to take the whole pastry. Then he hugged it tightly to his chest as if it were a treasure.
On his wrinkled face, two streams of hot tears suddenly flowed from his gray eyes.
"For Nannan, for Nannan..."
"Is Nannan your granddaughter? Where do you live, and what's her name?"
Cui Wanzhao couldn't bear to watch and couldn't help but speak up.
This old man looks like he's been homeless for a long time and isn't mentally stable. If she sends someone to find out that this old man was abandoned by his child, she'll make sure his father arrests and imprisons that little beast who doesn't even want his own father!
An older woman selling vegetables in the crowd chimed in.
"That old man went mad a long time ago. In my memory, he seems to have been wandering around this area. Sometimes he would go to the next county, and sometimes he would head towards Yaozhou City. I don't know where he lives or where his family is. Sigh, he's a pitiful man."
Another woman selling handkerchiefs pondered for a while.
"Hey, isn't his surname Meng? I remember he used to call himself Meng when he wasn't as crazy as he is now."
Regardless of his surname, he is, after all, a resident of Qin County, and Cui Wanzhao couldn't just ignore him after running into him.
She waved her hand, signaling the accompanying guards to take the old man back to the yamen. They could then place him in the Fushantang (charitable institution) to care for him in his old age and see him off in his final days; after all, the Fushantang was for orphans and elderly people living alone.
After encountering such a thing, Zhan Xinjia and Cui Wanzhao felt quite heavy-hearted, and they spoke much less along the way.
Once the carriage left Qin County and headed towards the mountain road, Cui Wanzhao tugged at Zhan Xinjia's sleeve.
"Hey, Sister Zhuo, have you always been this fierce? You wouldn't be so arrogant and slap people across the face in the capital, would you? This is the capital city, right under the emperor's nose!"
In an instant, several faces that she had slapped flashed through Zhan Xinjia's mind: the heir of a marquis's family, the grandson of the Grand Secretary, the eldest son of the Minister of War, and even Yan Huishi...
She felt guilty for a moment, then coughed a few times to try and remain calm.
"I've fought some."
"..."
Cui Wanzhao was filled with awe.
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