Chapter 257 Twenty strokes
When Changning arrived in the city that evening, he was amazed by the dazzling array of night markets. This was the first time he had gone out at night since coming to this world.
Lifting the curtain of the carriage, one could see shops and vendors lining both sides of the road, selling all sorts of things.
Lin Changning saw almost everything – food, drinks, toys, and household items – her phoenix eyes sparkling as she looked around at the shops.
Seeing Lin Changning's somewhat excited expression, Gao Huan asked, "Young Master, if you'd like to go, you can go down and have a look around. It's been a long time since you've been out and about, hasn't it?"
Lin Changning lowered the curtain, turned her head, and felt a little embarrassed, as if she were a country bumpkin.
"I was sickly as a child and rarely went out. I've lived in this border town ever since I grew up, and I've never seen anything so prosperous."
A hint of affection flashed in Gao Huan's eyes: "We'll be staying at Zhenlou tonight. If you'd like to go, you can come down and take a look around when we get there. You can also buy some things if you need them."
Gao Huan stroked his beard and chuckled, "The brokerage firm at Zhenlou will be setting prices tomorrow night. I'll give you 200 taels of silver. Go out and spend some money, go shopping, and buy some things you like."
Lin Changning nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Thank you, Uncle Gao."
She loves company-funded trips the most.
Gao Huan smiled as he looked at the somewhat excited boy, thinking to himself that he still had some youthful spirit. He had been too composed before, like an old man, and there was always a murderous aura surrounding him.
Now, by letting go of his true nature, being both composed and lively, he is more in line with the image of a young master.
The two were chatting and laughing in the carriage when it suddenly stopped, and the driver hurriedly reined in the horses.
Lin Changning was jolted and stumbled, but quickly regained his balance and turned around to support Gao Huan.
"Uncle Gao, are you alright?"
Gao Huan was also jolted awake by the jolt, but luckily Lin Changning lent him a hand and helped him up.
Otherwise, I would have been stuck to the ground.
Gao Huan shook her head, her eyes filled with wariness, and gave Lin Changning a wink. The two of them then got off the carriage together.
The coachman hesitated, looking at the carriage ahead and a scholar beneath its horses' hooves: "Young master, there seems to be..."
Before the words were finished, a bright and beautiful young woman jumped down from the carriage in front, glaring coldly at the scholar beneath the horse's hooves.
"Chen Zhao! What are you doing here, trying to scam people again?"
The scholar, limping from beneath the horse's hooves, suddenly cried out in anguish, "This is outrageous! Outrageous! Now that your Yuan family is successful, you've abandoned me, your childhood betrothed! I can't even get justice, and you expect your groom to run me over while he's out shopping? Yuan Qingqing, how cruel you are!!!"
Lin Changning raised an eyebrow: "Wow, this is quite a show."
Gao Huan was no longer in a hurry. He ordered the carriage to stop and prepared to watch the excitement. The long street was only so big, and now more and more people were gathering around, so they couldn't get through.
Let's stop and take a look.
The girl called Yuan Qingqing stomped her feet, her face turning red with anger. She waved her sleeves, ready to grab the man and beat him. Chen Zhao was beaten and ran away with his head in his hands.
"I'll teach you to talk nonsense! I'll teach you to talk nonsense! We were just neighbors for a few years when we were kids, how dare you slander my innocence like this?"
Ignoring the girl's pleas, the scholar continued to shout, "The Yuan family is bullying us! Miss Yuan is going to murder her fiancé in the street!!!"
The young girl's chest heaved with anger. Pointing at Chen Zhao, she was almost out of her mind. She snatched the riding whip from her coachman and lashed it straight at Chen Zhao.
"I'll teach you to talk nonsense! I'll teach you to talk nonsense!!!"
Lin Changning stood with his arms crossed next to Mr. Gao Huan, watching the spectacle with a smile. The young girl was so angry, yet the scholar didn't defend her but only cared about tarnishing her reputation.
It's unclear what deep-seated hatred these two people harbored.
Seeing that Yuan Qingqing was serious, the scholar wielded his horsewhip with great force and quickly rushed towards Lin Changning, followed by a girl waving a horsewhip.
Lin Changning raised an eyebrow and was about to step aside to make way when he saw the scholar leading the girl straight toward him, a whip whistling through the air aimed directly at Mr. Gao Huan beside him.
Lin Changning snatched the riding whip from her coachman and lashed it at the girl's whip. Her strength was far beyond what the girl could match, and with one lash, she knocked the riding whip from the girl's hand.
Lin Changning turned to look at Mr. Gao Huan: "Uncle Gao, are you alright?"
Gao Huan glanced at the scholar hiding behind her with lingering fear, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes.
He shook his head: "It's nothing."
The girl was stunned when she realized she had struck the wrong person in her anger. Seeing the whip that had been flung away, she quickly composed herself, looked at Lin Changning's handsome face, and bowed apologetically: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you two. I was just angry and I meant to strike Chen Zhao. I'm really sorry, you two were frightened."
Lin Changning nodded slightly to the girl, then grabbed the scholar who was trying to escape from behind them, threw him by the collar, and left him in front of everyone.
He disliked the scholar who shifted the blame even more than the hot-tempered girl.
When the girl saw Lin Changning take action and drag Chen Zhao out and throw him on the ground, she was furious. She stormed over and kicked the scholar repeatedly.
The scholar continued to wail, trying to tarnish the girl's reputation.
The girl was furious, but she didn't know what to say to prove her innocence. Seeing the increasingly strange looks from the people around her, she was on the verge of tears.
Lin Changning couldn't stand it any longer, so he took a few steps forward, looked down at the scholar on the ground, and said, "Stop howling. I have a few questions for you."
The scholar thought Lin Changning had come to stand up for him, so he immediately jumped up from the ground, patted his robe, and said, "Please ask me."
Lin Changning looked at the girl whose eyes were already brimming with tears and said coldly with her arms crossed, "Since you say that the two of you are engaged, do you have a marriage certificate and tokens? Do your parents know about this?"
The scholar was about to lie when Lin Changning narrowed his eyes, exuding an imposing aura, and coldly stared at the scholar: "I advise you to tell the truth. You used my uncle as a shield, causing my uncle to suffer from chest pains. Sending you to the authorities is justified."
The scholar's gaze shifted to Gao Huan. As soon as Lin Changning said this, Gao Huan clutched her chest and cried out in pain. The scholar's face darkened. Just now, this gentleman hadn't been clutching his chest and saying where it hurt.
The young girl, however, ran directly to Gao Huan and asked if she needed to be taken to a hospital.
The scholar snorted coldly: "There was no marriage certificate or token; it was just something our parents discussed in private."
Lin Changning scoffed: "Will Yuan's parents acknowledge him?"
The scholar cursed, "The Yuan family has broken their promise; of course we won't acknowledge them."
Lin Changning smiled at the scholar: "What about your parents? They might be able to produce evidence."
Someone in the crowd burst into laughter, pointing at the scholar and shouting, "His parents died long ago, what evidence do you have? It's just talk!"
Lin Changning gave a meaningful "Oh": "Oh? No marriage certificate, no betrothal, no parents' knowledge, no matchmaker to witness it, so in that case..."
Someone in the crowd chimed in, "I think that guy surnamed Chen is just trying to get a piece of the pie now that the other family is doing well. That's why he's slandering their women like this. Ugh! He's a filthy scoundrel. He hasn't even passed the imperial examinations in all these years. Doesn't he even know if he's worthy of it?"
Seeing the growing murmurs in the crowd, the scholar surnamed Chen's expression changed several times, but he still refused to leave. Lin Changning glanced at Yuan Qingqing, who was showing concern for Gao Huan, and coughed lightly to remind her, "Miss Yuan, this person is defaming your reputation. According to the laws of Da Xuan, he can be handed over to the authorities, with a minimum penalty of twenty strokes..."
Before Miss Yuan could react, the scholar darted into the crowd and scrambled away, running towards the distance as if afraid he would be arrested and taken to the authorities if he was too late.
By the time Miss Yuan realized what was happening, Chen Zhao was already far away. Miss Yuan was sensible and gave Chen Zhao a resentful look as he walked away.
He bowed to Lin Changning again and said, "Thank you for your help, young master. It was my fault for frightening you today. Please come to the clinic and have a doctor take a look at you so you can feel at ease."
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