startled
Gift boxes were scattered all over the ground, new clothes were thrown out of the brocade box, and horse hooves trampled mercilessly over the pink brocade. The horse's owner raised his whip high and whipped it at Jingwan, who had fallen to the ground.
Bo Jun reacted quickly and hurriedly protected her, so the whip fell on the young man, causing him to grit his teeth and dare not make a sound.
Jingwan was still a little dazed and didn't react for a moment. Bojun pressed her back and taught her to kneel down like him, burying her head on the ground.
Bo Jun hurriedly said, "I didn't know you were the Left Army Lieutenant. Please forgive me for my rudeness."
Without the person speaking, he kept pressing down on Jingwan's back, not allowing her to raise her head.
The farce in the market startled the people in the shops. When Gao Yun came out, the first thing she saw was a man riding a tall horse. She ran over to him happily.
Although Jingwan couldn't see Gao Yun's expression at this moment, she could imagine how charming and innocent the girl, who had grown up in a sweet environment, must be just by hearing that sweet voice.
Gao Yun struck up a conversation with him, and the man on horseback calmed down somewhat from the anger of his startled horse. He stopped looking at the two people kneeling on the ground, exchanged a few polite words with Gao Yun, and then rode off at full speed.
Jingwan listened to the voice, but felt it was far too effeminate for a man.
Only when the sound of horses' hooves could no longer be heard did Bo Jun let go of her hand. Looking at Jing Wan's forehead, which was red from kowtowing, he felt guilty and quickly took out a handkerchief to gently wipe the small pebbles off her forehead.
"Jingwan, I'm so sorry."
Bo Jun rarely showed such an embarrassed expression. Jing Wan pretended not to notice and hurriedly thanked him for saving her life.
The horse never stopped its swift pace. If Bo Jun hadn't arrived in time and rolled her to the side of the road, she might have been injured by the horse's hooves today.
Gao Yun turned around and saw their aggrieved expressions. She immediately snorted coldly, rolled her eyes, and then lifted her skirt and went back into the shop.
Shi Jun, who was originally standing at the door, subconsciously took a step back to let her go first.
The most esteemed legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion seemed to be a head shorter than her at this moment.
After exchanging a glance, the siblings went inside.
Bo Jun withdrew his gaze and said forlornly, "That person just now..." He stopped halfway through his sentence, only shaking his head, as if speaking to Jing Wan, but also as if consoling himself: "He probably didn't remember the two of us. In any case, we won't see each other again."
He seemed to still be in shock, and Jingwan noticed that his hands were trembling slightly inside his long sleeves.
She thought that since Gao Yun knew him, they must have some kind of relationship, so why was Bo Jun so afraid?
Perhaps feeling that he had been rather pathetic just now, Bo Jun forced a smile and said, "Are we going back now? Or would you like to stroll around with Shi Jun some more?"
Having encountered such a thing so soon after leaving home, how could she continue playing? She nodded and said she wanted to go back.
Bo Jun was probably very satisfied with this answer, and instructed his servant to escort Jing Wan back to her residence.
The crowd dispersed at the shop entrance, unaware that the scene in the bustling city had already been witnessed by others.
On the left side of the street was the famous Drunken Immortal Pavilion, a three-story building. Lu Chang was standing by the window on the third floor, without saying a word.
Anyone standing next to him would be frozen by this December ice.
There was another man in the private room, about twenty years old. He had completely shed his youthful immaturity and had a resolute face. He was not the fair-skinned and handsome type that was popular at the time, but rather had more of a manly air about him.
He was also dressed in a green robe with a green jade pendant at his waist, indicating he came from a wealthy family.
He was Li Zheng, the Prince of Qinghe, a member of a collateral branch of the Li family. After his father, the Prince of An, died, he was brought to the capital and raised by the palace concubines. He was just an idle prince.
Li Zheng finally couldn't sit still any longer. After filling the wine glass, he stood next to Lu Chang and handed it to him.
“What’s there to be angry about? These days, eunuchs are in power. Even if a horse bumps into us, we should learn from your younger brother, get up quickly, kowtow, and beg for the forgiveness of the Left Army Lieutenant.”
Lu Chang remained silent for a long time, and only he knew the turmoil churning within him.
I had only come to the restaurant to chat with a friend when I glanced casually out the window and saw a familiar little figure on the road.
I thought I was seeing things, but after looking at her a few more times, I was certain it was her.
Before he could even rejoice at meeting Jingwan, he heard the sound of hooves growing louder and louder. Looking at the rider, he saw that the horse was still whipping the horse and galloping forward without any sign of stopping. It looked like he was about to crash into the simple-minded girl...
In a moment of panic, Lu Chang was about to jump down from the building to save the person, but his friend stopped him, saying, "No!"
Li Zheng rarely showed a stern expression: "But you must reveal that you know martial arts!"
Lu Chang was stunned for a moment, gripped the railing tightly with both hands, but did not move again.
Looking further down, in a short while, another person rushed over, grabbed Jingwan and rolled away, thus avoiding the horse's hooves.
Lu Chang's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
He slowly closed his eyes, calming the panic that hadn't surfaced in many years.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw my cousin pulling the little boy to kneel on the ground, as if he had committed a heinous crime and was waiting to be executed.
Yes, they had indeed committed a heinous crime, daring to disturb the horse of that Left Army Lieutenant in the street. Let alone a whip, even a beheading would not be a big deal.
How many noble souls have died under the blade of this lieutenant in the Left Army?
My cousin did the right thing. This was the only correct way to offend the Yang family: kneel down, kowtow, and admit your mistake.
As Li Zheng said, even a member of the royal family like himself had to admit his mistake before speaking to the Yang family.
But... but why did it make him so sad! So indignant!
He suddenly recalled the past, when he was still in the Northwest Army. His father had ordered the execution of a military supervisor in front of all the soldiers, and the head was hung on the city gate for three days.
The supervising officer, like the current Left Army Lieutenant, was a eunuch, yet he held military power and dared not allow anyone to look down on these rootless people in the slightest.
But his father was different. It was one thing for a eunuch to boss him around by taking advantage of the emperor's power, but he even dared to extend his reach into his army.
How could he tolerate it? He chopped off the head with a single stroke.
Later, the emperor successively sent three military supervisors, and none of them dared to show off their power in front of their father.
He was only nine years old at the time, but he had already witnessed the life and death of the battlefield. He had personally seen soldiers behead the supervising officer and watched the soldiers on the field, their eyes wide, strike shields with swords as if they were fighting enemies on the battlefield, shouting "Kill! Kill! Kill!" to cheer each other on.
The flying yellow sand did not blind him.
Only pride!
At that time, he was just like his father, thinking that as long as he was loyal, he would not be afraid of rumors and gossip, and the emperor would understand the precious loyalty of the Lu family army.
Looking back now, it seems so naive.
The shopkeepers came out after buying their things, and Bo Jun followed behind his two younger sisters, seemingly a little impatient.
Lu Chang recalled the scene from earlier.
The fifteen-year-old boy, who was granted the title of heir apparent and whose father had passed away but who held the title of Duke, was so frightened by a eunuch that he knelt on the ground and dared not utter a word.
He showed no hint of sarcasm whatsoever.
He had asked himself countless times how he should conduct himself if he were to one day be on the opposite side of these eunuchs.
Those who refuse to compromise their principles will face execution, and may even implicate the Gao family.
If they had also knelt down and begged for forgiveness, perhaps the way the descendants of the Lu family had lost their father's dignity would have amused the eunuchs and given them a chance to survive.
Li Zheng didn't know what Lu Chang was thinking, but seeing his solemn expression, he knew he was still upset about what had just happened.
He silently returned to his seat and began drinking alone.
Good! It's good that he can still get angry! I'm afraid he'll be indifferent.
Jingwan returned to her courtyard, closed the door, and hugged herself tightly on the bed.
She was timid and easily frightened. Now that she had calmed down and thought about what had happened on the street, she guessed that she must have offended some important person, which was why Bo Jun was so scared that he knelt on the ground with her.
If it weren't for saving her, how would this matter involve Bo Jun?
Jingwan became increasingly frightened as she thought about it, and couldn't help but bite the blanket repeatedly.
I wish I hadn't gone out.
This matter was far from over. When the news from the market reached the ears of the Duchess, she immediately summoned her beloved son into the hall, had him lie on a bench, and had two servants take turns beating him with a cane.
When Bo Jun was tortured, everyone in the Gao family was present.
The servants were changed, but the Duchess did not stop. She gritted her teeth and hardened her heart as she looked at her son's pale face.
Jingwan knelt beside Bojun. She probably had never kowtowed so many times in her life. The sound of her head hitting the ground was loud. Before long, her forehead was completely red, and blood was seeping out from her flesh.
Looking at Bo Jun again, he was about to faint. Jing Wan couldn't hold back any longer and tried to shield him, but the Duchess ordered her men to pull her away.
Before Lu Chang even entered the hall, he heard Jing Wan crying. He rushed in and saw her desperately kowtowing, while the person on the bench gritted her teeth and endured it without uttering a sound.
When the board came down again, Lu Chang caught it with one hand, took it from the servant's hand, and threw it heavily on the ground.
He glanced at Bo Jun and said calmly, "Even if someone commits a heinous crime, the authorities will punish them. This ends here today!"
Although he was speaking to the Duchess, he was actually looking at Lady Wang.
Madam Wang casually put down her teacup before saying leisurely, "After all, he is a junior, and my sister-in-law's punishment was indeed too severe. We should quickly find a doctor to examine Bo Jun!"
Having spoken, the Duchess said nothing more. After watching Wang leave, she had Bo Jun carried back to his room.
The crowd dispersed.
Before leaving, Shi Jun, her eyes red with resentment, said to Jing Wan, "You wicked devil!"
In the empty hall, Jingwan covered her face, half of her body kneeling on the ground, tears welling up and dripping from between her fingers.
Fortunately, it was just a superficial injury and no bones or tendons were damaged. After the doctor examined me, he prescribed several boxes of ointment and instructed me to apply it three times a day.
After Lu Chang came in, he personally applied medicine to his cousin, Bo Jun, who had already fainted from the pain and was unconscious.
The inner room was quiet, with only the two of them inside, but the sounds from the outer hall could still be heard.
With no outsiders present, the Duchess could not hide her grief and wept uncontrollably. The old lady could not be too harsh in criticizing her, but she also felt sorry for her grandson who had been innocently implicated.
"A few lashes would have been enough; why make him suffer like this?"
The Duchess also cried, "She doesn't speak, so how dare I ask them to stop? I'm afraid she'll be unhappy, and that will bring trouble to our Lord Bo in the future."
The old lady sighed heavily, but couldn't utter a single word of blame.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
