Chapter 106: Are you in trouble?
He was a beggar squatting in the corner begging. He probably saw that Pei Jinghong was dressed elegantly and thought that the jewelry in the brocade box must be very valuable, so when Pei Jinghong turned his head to talk, he jumped up, snatched the brocade box and ran away!
"Stop!" Pei Jinghong shouted angrily and started chasing after him.
It wouldn't be a big deal if his purse was lost, but he had spent the whole morning carefully selecting this pearl hairpin, and he was going to give it to his cousin to apologize at noon. How could he let someone snatch it away?
The beggar looked quite old, but he was extremely agile. He went into the narrow alleys with many twists and turns, and it was obvious that he was familiar with the streets of Shengjing.
Although Pei Jinghong had some basic martial arts skills, he was left half a street behind by him.
Just as the beggar was about to turn into a deep alley, a young man suddenly rushed out from the alley entrance, pounced on him, and knocked the beggar to the ground!
The brocade box fell to the ground with a clang, and the two of them rolled into a ball on the bluestone slab.
The beggar was furious and stood up, pinning the boy down tightly. He swung his palm like a palm leaf fan and started beating him: "Little bastard! How dare you meddle in your grandfather's business!"
"stop!"
Pei Jinghong arrived just in time and kicked the beggar, making him stumble back. He glared at him, "You stole property in broad daylight, and you even dared to assault people? This young master will send you to the authorities today to answer for your crime!"
The boy took the opportunity to get up from the ground and hid to the side.
When the beggar heard that Pei Jinghong was going to report him to the police, his previous arrogance instantly disappeared. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed vigorously: "Sir, please be kind. I was so hungry that I had no choice but to steal your things! Please be kind and let me go!"
At this time, Qing He also chased over breathlessly, "Master..."
Pei Jinghong picked up the brocade box, opened it and took a look. Fortunately, the things inside were not damaged.
He said to Qinghe, "You've come just in time! Send this old man to the government office!"
The beggar immediately burst into tears and said, "My dear, I have a grandson at home who is dizzy and starving. I rely on begging to survive. If I go to jail, my grandson will starve to death!"
The young man next to him seemed to feel sympathy and whispered, "Sir, I think this old beggar is quite pitiful. Why don't you teach him a lesson and let him go?"
Pei Jinghong then turned around and looked at the young man who helped him knock down the beggar.
The boy was wearing a patched coarse cloth suit. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was thin and looked very fragile.
Seeing Pei Jinghong looking at him, the young man timidly brushed off the dust on his body, and nervously twisted the corners of his clothes with his fingers, looking honest and timid.
The old beggar was still kowtowing hard, and in a blink of an eye, blood was oozing from his forehead.
Qing He couldn't help but say, "Master, why don't you just forget it? Anyway, the things are not lost. If this beggar keeps knocking hard, I'm afraid..."
Pei Jinghong waved his hands impatiently, "Get lost! If I run into you and try to steal something again, I won't let you go!"
"Yes, yes, I won't dare to do it again!" The beggar got up from the ground and ran away.
When Pei Jinghong looked at the young man again, his eyes softened.
Seeing that his coarse clothes were full of patches, the cuffs were frayed from washing, and he was standing there at a loss, twisting the corners of his clothes with his fingertips, I guessed that he might have just come from the countryside to Shengjing to make a living with his relatives.
He pulled a small piece of silver from his purse and handed it over, saying gently, "Thanks to you for stopping him just now, otherwise the things would have been stolen. Please accept this little bit of silver as a thank you gift."
The young man suddenly pulled his hand back, his face flushed, and his voice trembled: "No, I don't dare to take it... I just heard you shouting "Catch the thief" and saw him frantically holding the brocade box in his hand, so I thought he must have robbed you... I just stopped him, it's not a big deal..."
As he spoke, he felt his stomach rumble with hunger. The boy hurriedly covered his stomach, looking even more uneasy.
Qing He couldn't help but said, "Young Master gave it to you, just take it, you can go buy something to eat."
The young man looked up at Pei Jinghong, bit his lip hesitantly, and suddenly knelt down with a thud.
"You look like a young man from a wealthy family. Could you please take me in as a handyman? I can endure hardship and do any kind of work! I don't want much money, just food to eat!"
Pei Jinghong said: "I just came to Shengjing to visit my relatives, so I can't take you in."
He took out another piece of silver from his purse and handed it to the boy, "This should be enough to sustain you for a while. You should find another place to live."
The young man shook his head repeatedly, "You gave me too much, I can't accept it..."
Pei Jinghong stuffed the silver into the boy's hand and said, "Just take it. I have something else to do, so I have to leave first."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, the boy fainted and the silver in his hand rolled to the ground.
Qinghe hurriedly helped the man up, and while doing so, she accidentally pulled the boy's sleeve, revealing the scar underneath.
The scars were shocking, and it was obvious that they were caused by a whip.
Qing He was shocked: "Sir, it seems that this young man has just been beaten and has fainted!"
He looked at the thin young man and sighed, "No wonder he wanted to be taken in by the young master. He must have met a black-hearted boss..."
Pei Jinghong frowned. If he were in Linzhou, he could bring the boy back home to do odd jobs.
But now that he was staying in the Marquis's Mansion, he naturally couldn't take anyone back with him.
So he ordered Qinghe to carry the boy to a nearby clinic, and then left some silver and returned to the marquis's mansion.
It was already noon, and when he returned home, he saw Ruan Yunbo planning to send someone out to look for him.
"Cousin, where have you been? I thought you wouldn't be back at noon."
Pei Jinghong apologized: "Sorry, cousin, I went out to buy some things, and something happened on the way, so I was delayed."
The two of them walked towards the dining hall together. Just as they sat down, Ruan Yunsheng came over.
Pei Jinghong quickly placed the brocade box in front of Ruan Yunsheng: "Cousin, I was impulsive yesterday and shouldn't have fought in the Marquis' Mansion. This pearl hairpin is my apology. I hope you won't be angry with me."
Ruan Yunsheng glanced at the dark corners of Pei Jinghong's mouth and felt that his attitude yesterday was a bit cold and hard.
She smiled lightly: "Cousin, there is no need to spend money. Since it is just a misunderstanding, it is over."
Ruan Yunbo followed up, "Yeah, it's not a big deal, everyone, don't take it to heart."
As he spoke, he ordered the servants to serve the food quickly and said with a smile, "Eat quickly, I'm hungry."
Pei Jinghong said, "It's my fault for being out for too long. Next time, if I don't come back in time, my cousin and I don't have to wait for me."
Pei Jinghong is such an important person, Ruan Yunbo would not send anyone to look for him under normal circumstances.
But a few days ago, the marquis' mansion was broken into by an assassin and the perpetrators were never caught, so he was worried that Pei Jinghong might be in danger outside.
Ruan Yunbo said, "By the way, my cousin just said that something went wrong on the way. Is he in trouble?"
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