Chapter 53
My wife, why are you grabbing me?
In her panic, an arrow shot out and pierced Zhang Gui's bandaged hand.
The white gauze was instantly stained bright red. Zhang Gui grimaced in pain and immediately let go, allowing Hao Jingshi to catch his breath. He then coughed violently.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xuan Lan leaped forward and tackled Zhang Gui to the ground, subduing him. Zhang Gui's men immediately rushed to his aid, but were blocked by numerous guards who jumped down from the trees, and a fierce fight broke out among them.
Lu Qin rushed towards Hao Jingshi, knelt down and hugged him tightly, gently touching his neck: "Is my husband alright?"
Hao Jingshi shook his head and leaned against her for a while to recover. Zhang Gui, standing nearby, roared again, "Who are you! How dare you hurt me! I'll make you pay!"
"snort."
His threat only elicited a nonchalant laugh.
Lu Qin turned her head, and the onlookers, still in shock, looked at the person who was laughing. They saw that the person was standing with his legs wide apart, holding a gun in one hand and his other hand on his waist.
She wore a veil, her true face only partially visible, and even in a flowing purple pleated skirt, she couldn't hide her chivalrous spirit.
"You're asking for it!"
With the help of his men, Zhang Gui finally broke free from Xuan Lan. After seeing who it was, he stood up with one hand on the ground, his face full of wrinkles with anger.
Unexpectedly, within just two days, a second person dared to challenge him on the street, and this time it was a woman. He angrily ordered his men, "You lot, tie her up!"
"Yes!" The men got into position and attacked from all sides, preparing to capture the woman, but she was very agile and dodged them in a few moves.
She landed lightly under everyone's gaze and said, "Do you think I'm saving him? I'm helping you."
"A bunch of good-for-nothings!" Zhang Guiyu was still furious and wouldn't listen to her. He only wanted to save face, so he urged his men to arrest her again.
Seeing that he wouldn't listen to her, the woman decided to take action directly. Facing a group of menacing henchmen, she leaped up and stepped over their heads one by one, as if climbing a staircase.
His men, wincing in pain, half-squatted down, clutching their heads like flattened mushrooms. The woman then rolled over and stood in front of Zhang Gui, pacing back and forth.
"You don't appreciate kindness!" she said. "If you really strangle him, your whole family will suffer."
"Don't talk big! Do you even know who my father is!"
“I know, he’s the county magistrate.” The woman waved the dagger in her hand back and forth. “But the man in front of you, his maternal grandfather’s ancestor was the head of the imperial physicians, and his great-grandfather was the first-class Duke Jiazhong of the previous dynasty. Do you think your father can afford to offend him?”
Zhang Gui retorted stubbornly, "After all that talk, you've only been talking about the past. The current Duke Zhongjia doesn't even have the surname Hao!"
“He is indeed not surnamed Hao. That’s because his grandfather’s branch of the family was embroiled in rumors, and out of consideration for the entire Hao clan, he stopped stepping into the court.” The woman said solemnly, “The Hao family has not declined. He is the legitimate son of the main branch. If you strangle him in the street, you will be slapping the Hao family in the face.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Gui could not believe it, his previous arrogance diminished considerably, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
Everyone present was astonished. They looked the couple, who were still kneeling on the ground, up and down, and then at the small clothing shop.
Seeing that this person had revealed Hao Jingshi's family background in such detail, Lu Qin couldn't help but whisper to Hao Jingshi, "Who is she?"
Hao Jingshi was obviously puzzled as well. Feeling embarrassed to stare at her directly, he stood up from Lu Qin's arms, pulled her along, and moved her to the side of the door.
Seeing the group of people in front of her all looking surprised, the woman seemed to find it amusing and began to talk on and on.
"And another thing, I heard from people on the street that you even laid hands on that man's wife before. She's the only heir of the Lu family, and the legitimate daughter of his wife. Do you even deserve her?"
"The Lu family has been doing business for many years, donating money and grain to the imperial court to expand the national treasury. They have good relations with officials in various places, and their prestige is no less than that of the Hao family. If Master Lu knew that his precious daughter had been bullied by you, he would definitely chop you into mincemeat."
Seeing people's gazes directed at her, Lu Qin touched her face and covered it. If they weren't complete strangers, she would have rushed over and covered the woman's mouth.
How does this person know so much about her home...? Yesterday there was a huge scene, and today she's been scammed. It's so embarrassing!
The woman spoke with absolute certainty, and Zhang Gui, upon hearing this, finally showed fear on his face. He pointed at the woman, muttered "Wait," then tugged at his collar, his left and right legs kicking each other, and ran away in a cowardly manner.
Zhang Gui fled in disarray, and his men, naturally, dared not disobey, scrambling to follow him. Seeing this, the woman proudly put her hands on her hips, boasting to the crowd, "How about that?"
"Great!" People on the street applauded for her.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Lu Qin shifted her feet and nudged Hao Jingshi beside her with her elbow, signaling him to leave the scene quietly. However, Hao Jingshi did not understand and instead took her hand.
Damn, they're so out of sync. Lu Qin squeezed his hand and pulled him toward the door, but Hao Jingshi still didn't move.
Lu Qin couldn't help but look up and mouth a signal. When they looked at each other, she realized he was grinning mischievously, and she angrily bent her knees and nudged him.
Fortunately, the woman did not linger on the applause. She turned around and coaxed the crowd to disperse with a few words. Only after everyone had left did she turn around and face the couple in the corner.
"Oh my, how loving they are!" She chuckled as she saw the two holding hands. "It's been so long!"
"Young Master Hao, don't you intend to invite this princess in for a seat?"
...
After teaching Zhang Gui a lesson in the street, the princess was in high spirits, basking in the joy of being a hero. But soon a group of servants came and begged her to go back.
The princess refused, saying she wanted to catch up with her old acquaintances. She waved her hand and dismissed everyone, leaving only her personal maid by her side.
Upon learning that the visitor was a princess, Lu Qin immediately extended a warm invitation, not daring to be negligent. However, the princess was unexpectedly easy to get along with. She immediately put her arm around Lu Qin's waist and led her into the house, asking for her name and calling her "A Qin" repeatedly.
The two walked ahead, leaving Hao Jingshi behind. At first glance, it looked like two wealthy young ladies on an outing with a bodyguard following behind them.
Lu Qin was initially cautious in her speech and did not dare to ask the princess's name, but the princess noticed and cheerfully introduced herself, saying that she was the daughter of the Prince of Pingfan, the fifth child in her family, and named Chang Le.
Upon entering the room, Chang Le ripped off her veil and threw it on the table, revealing her chubby, round face with long, feathery eyelashes. She looked incredibly cute, a stark contrast to her earlier appearance as a masked female warrior.
While the two were talking, Hao Jingshi brought some snacks and placed them on the table, inviting the princess to sit down, while he himself stood against the wall to the side.
Seeing Hao Jingshi's respectful manner, Lu Qin didn't dare to sit down rashly. But when she saw Chang Le quickly sit cross-legged on the stool, demonstrating how to toss the snack into her mouth and beckoning to her, she cautiously went over and sat down.
She glanced at the princess, whose posture and eating manners were not very refined, and couldn't help but scratch her head.
Chang Le chewed and said, "Your clothes are quite novel. I've never seen them in the palace. I want to buy some to take back with me."
Lu Qin said, "If the princess likes it, she can take it. There's as much as you want, and I won't charge you any money."
"Really? Ah Qin, you're so kind!" Chang Le's eyes lit up. "At the palace banquet in a few days, I'll wear this dress and let the princes and nobles see it. They'll definitely like it. Then, I'll introduce you to them and let you earn ten or eight times more!"
Lu Qin was overjoyed: "If that's possible, that would be wonderful. Thank you, Princess!"
Chang Le chuckled again and asked about her experience opening the shop. Seeing that the madam was chatting happily with her and looked at her with admiration, Hao Jingshi felt a little awkward and couldn't help but cough lightly.
Their conversation came to an abrupt halt. Turning to look at the neglected Hao Jingshi, Lu Qin then smiled and said, "To be honest, Princess, these clothing designs were all created by my husband. He is very talented."
Hearing his wife praise him so readily, Hao Jingshi felt a little smug, but pretended to be nonchalant and turned his head away.
Chang Le looked at his smug expression and found it amusing. She crossed her legs and said, "I didn't expect you to suddenly become so charming. Your ears turned bright red as soon as you spoke to A Qin. Unlike before, when you would challenge anyone to a duel and even scared away four princesses."
"..." Hao Jingshi twitched the corner of his mouth, "I was young and ignorant back then, Princess, please don't laugh at me."
"Stop pretending, you arrogant and conceited fellow." Chang Le laughed heartily. "Back when you entered the palace with your grandfather, you caused trouble and angered the Imperial Concubine. If it weren't for this princess covering for you, the Emperor would have chopped off your head long ago."
"Princess, you have a bad memory. That day, you were the one who insisted on climbing the artificial hill to scare the Imperial Concubine, and you even threatened me with my entire family to force me to go with you." Hao Jingshi, having been exposed, also began to retort, "You tried to scare her but ended up falling flat on your face. The Imperial Concubine thought I pushed you and accused me of murdering the Princess. Am I innocent?"
"You're not dead, and your entire family is fine, so what's the rush?"
"Yes, it's all thanks to the princess's usual bravery and courage that the imperial concubine believed in my innocence and let me go. I heard that the prince originally had his eye on a marriage proposal that day, but the princess's actions scared him away. Is that true?"
"Nonsense! It's because I, the princess, don't think much of him! If you're still so smug, I'll dress Aqin up as a man and take her back to the palace to ask the Emperor for a decree to grant us a marriage!"
"This is my lawfully wedded wife, what are you trying to do with her!"
Having said all that, the two disregarded social etiquette and began to recount their old grudges, like two dogs tearing at each other apart, wishing they could grab the other and throw him into the street.
Lu Qin looked left and right, blinked, and gave an awkward laugh. Chang Le's personal maid felt increasingly embarrassed as she listened, and quickly called out "Princess" to interrupt. Xuan Lan also called out "Young Master" to remind him not to speak rashly.
The two, who had been fiercely arguing, finally came to their senses and stopped talking. Hao Jingshi apologized to Chang Le, and Chang Le lowered her leg that had been crossed over her shoulder.
"Uh, it's alright. It's natural to be a little excited when catching up with old friends... By the way, now that you've opened a new mansion and become the head of the family, your status is different. Why do your servants still call you 'Young Master'? Shouldn't they call you 'Master'?"
"Why are you calling me 'Master'? I'm still young."
"..."
The two couldn't continue their conversation, so Chang Le turned to Lu Qin and said, "Qin, I'll take you to the palace to play another day."
Lu Qin readily agreed. Seeing this, Hao Jingshi crossed his arms and walked behind her, standing there as if asserting his dominance.
"I was so busy catching up that I forgot to ask," he said seriously. "Your Highness's arrival is surely not just for the purpose of visiting my clothing shop, is it?"
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