Chapter 194 Either kneel down! Or report to the authorities!
His gaze swept quickly between the two boys, then without hesitation, he shunned the simply dressed Xiao Yi, and with a beaming smile, approached the well-dressed boy, bending down slightly.
"Young Master Li, what's wrong? Who was so inconsiderate as to offend you?"
"Him! This wild kid from who-knows-where! He bumped into me and dared to talk back! He got my clothes dirty, I'm going to make him pay for it! If he can't pay, I'll teach him a lesson!"
Li Shang pointed at Xiao Yi without hesitation.
Xiao Yi felt a pang of pain in her heart when she heard the word "wild child." She immediately retorted, "You bumped into me first! You were running too fast!"
Seeing this, the bookstore clerk immediately stepped forward, forcefully pulled Xiaoyi's arm, and sternly stopped him:
"What nonsense! This is Young Master Li, the Prefect of Kyoto. Young Master Li is well-educated and reasonable. How could he have bumped into you? You were the one who was blind and ran into him!"
The shopkeeper immediately frowned: "What's going on? Who gave you permission to bring food in?!"
The waiter immediately realized what was happening and, to avoid being punished by the manager, quickly glared at Xiao Yi and raised his voice:
"Who let you in? I've never seen you before. Oh, were you trying to sneak in and steal something? You're a thief!"
He noticed that Xiao Yi's cloak was made of good material, but the clothes underneath looked like those worn by poor people.
With his sallow complexion and malnourished appearance, it was obvious at a glance that he wasn't from a wealthy family.
They could shift all the blame onto him so they wouldn't have to pay their own wages.
The shop assistant immediately said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, I didn't let him in. He must have come in to steal something. Report it to the authorities immediately!"
Before Xiaoyi could even object, he was convicted in just a few words.
Xiao Yi had never seen anything like this before; her face turned deathly pale, and her eyes instantly reddened.
"I didn't! I'm not a thief! I didn't hit him, he hit me!"
Seeing that he wouldn't confess, the man became even more aggressive and continued to pressure him:
"Stop talking! If you break something, you have to pay for it. Judging from your appearance, you can't afford it. Quickly take off that cloak you're wearing to pay off your debt!"
As he spoke, he reached out to pull off Xiaoyi's clothes.
Little Wing struggled fiercely, clutching the cloak's straps tightly, crying out:
"No, this was bought for me by my sister, I did nothing wrong! I won't give it to her!"
Li Shang glanced at his shabby appearance and said disdainfully, "Who wants his stinky clothes! I want him to pay me back, or I'll throw you in jail!"
The pageboy behind him also shouted arrogantly, "Did you hear that! Pay up! Or you'll go to jail!"
Li Shang threatened the shopkeeper, "Don't forget whose property you're located on. If this makes me unhappy, believe me, I'll make sure your shop goes out of business tomorrow!"
The shopkeeper, in his thirties, could only bow before this twelve or thirteen-year-old child.
"Yes, yes, yes. Young Master Li, please be patient. I will handle it immediately and give you a satisfactory explanation."
When he turned to Xiaoyi, his eyes instantly turned fierce, and he cursed inwardly: Where did this wild child come from, always causing me trouble!
"Why waste time arguing with him! Just hand him over to the authorities!" the shopkeeper ordered sternly to his employee.
The waiter immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"
After saying that, he pulled on Xiaoyi again, trying to drag him away by force.
Xiao Yi clung to a bookshelf, refusing to let go: "I'm not going! I did nothing wrong! I didn't steal anything!"
People immediately gathered around, some whispering among themselves:
"That's Li Shang, the only son of the Prefect of Kyoto. I heard that the Prefect's wife dotes on him."
"This child is probably in for some trouble; he's offended the son of the Prefect of Kyoto."
At this moment, Xiao Ran, who was in a corner on the second floor, also heard the commotion.
He peeked out and was shocked to find that Xiao Yi was the one surrounded in the middle. He immediately put down the book in his hand and rushed downstairs.
"Stop!" He stepped forward, pulling Xiao Yi from the waiter's grasp and shielding her behind him.
“This is my younger brother. He came looking for me. He is not a thief.”
Seeing that Xiao Ran, though young, was composed and had a certain air of authority, the waiter dared not touch her again. He looked to his manager for help.
The shopkeeper saw that Xiao Ran was calm and composed, fearless in the face of danger, and had a touch of scholarly integrity.
I can't figure out his background, and I shouldn't offend him.
He then pretended to be a peacemaker and said, "So you came looking for the young master, then it must be a misunderstanding. But your younger brother brought food into the bookstore, bumped into Young Master Li, the Prefect of Kyoto, and even dirtied Young Master Li's clothes. How should we settle this score?"
Xiao Ran looked at Xiao Yi with a questioning gaze.
Xiao Yi immediately spoke up: "I didn't bump into him. I was walking slowly, and he bumped into me. He even broke my sugar figurine."
Xiao Ran looked down at the broken sugar figurine on the ground and immediately understood.
It doesn't matter who bumped into whom now; it was Xiaoyi's sugar figurine that dirtied someone else's clothes.
Bookstores don't allow food in the first place, as the smell of food will attract mosquitoes and insects that will damage the books.
He first bowed respectfully to the young master, his tone neither humble nor arrogant:
“Young master, I apologize. My younger brother is young and didn’t see where he was going. He didn’t mean to bump into you. We will compensate you for the dirt on your clothes. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against him.”
He adopted a very humble stance, making no attempt to defend Xiaoyi. He simply wanted to settle the matter as quickly as possible.
Li Shang sneered, "Compensate? Do you know how much this clothing costs? Enough for you country bumpkins to live on for ten years!"
Xiao Yi was so angry that tears were about to fall. He wanted to argue, but Xiao Ran quietly squeezed his hand, signaling him to be quiet.
Xiao Ran looked up at Li Shang, her eyes calm: "We are indeed from an ordinary family and don't have much money, but we know that we should compensate for damage to other people's property."
Then, he took out all the silver he had on him, a little over two taels in total, and presented it with both hands.
"I wonder if this silver is enough to compensate for the clothes on your clothes, young master."
Li Shang scoffed, standing in the middle of the stairs with his arms crossed, looking down at them with an arrogant expression.
"That's all? You think you can get rid of beggars? Fine, judging by your poor appearance, you probably can't afford to pay for it. I don't need this one piece of clothing. Here's what we'll do: you, take your brother, kneel down and kowtow three times to me, and loudly say: 'Young Master Li, we were wrong. I'll pretend this never happened. Otherwise, you can expect to go to jail!'"
Xiao Ran's face darkened, and her hands, hidden under her cloak, clenched into fists.
Seeing this, the page behind Li Shang immediately stepped forward, taking advantage of the situation, and urged him sternly:
"Did you hear that! Our young master is kind and has given you a chance! Hurry up and kowtow! Don't dawdle, our young master's time is precious, he doesn't have time to waste here with you!"
Xiao Ran was struggling internally, almost overwhelmed by humiliation and anger, but she kept recalling what Mr. Fu and Grandpa Zhao had said.
Just as he was about to compromise, a familiar voice sounded from the doorway.
"Or should I kowtow to you? Let's see if you can handle that?"
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