Chapter 94 Xie Lingjiang: Think about what your senior brother would do
Inside the private room.
After Liu Ziwen gave his instructions in a casual manner, the atmosphere instantly fell silent.
The people at the table had different expressions, but no one spoke.
In this silent environment, Yingniang's reaction was unusually loud, attracting everyone's attention.
"Master...Master, please spare me! I'll do anything you say, I'll serve you like a slave..."
Yingniang rushed over and hugged Liu Ziwen's trouser leg, sobbing and crying.
Liu Ziwen stared at the wine glass, his brows furrowing slightly. The lame servant standing quietly to the side noticed this and immediately stepped forward, taking out a short sword.
He drew his sword; the blade was two feet long, thin and gleaming coldly.
A soft "bang".
It was casually tossed onto the Persian carpet next to Yingniang.
The lame servant whispered to her:
"Let go and offer a toast to our distinguished guest."
Hu Ji was on the verge of collapse. She trembled as she got up, swallowed a few times, wiped her face haphazardly with the silk sleeves her masters had used to decorate her, picked up the white porcelain cup with both hands, and walked forward shakily.
This woman from the Western Regions is very clever.
There were two distinguished guests in front of her. She glanced timidly at the handsome young man with a calm expression, then quietly walked around him and approached the woman with her lips tightly pursed and her eyes downcast.
Ouyang Rong's immobile aura seemed to frighten Yingniang, so she wisely avoided him and chose Xie Lingjiang, who had once kindly saved her.
Because this woman is a good person.
"Sister Xie, please...please have a drink."
Yingniang spoke weakly to Xie Lingjiang, who kept her eyes down, seemingly avoiding eye contact.
Xie Lingjiang remained motionless.
Ouyang Rong glanced under the table and saw her two fists, which were pressed against her knees, tremble silently.
With a "plop," Yingniang knelt down in front of Xie Lingjiang. Her face was sorrowful, and she held a cup in both hands. Her red eyes rolled upwards as she tried to meet the gaze of the downcast woman.
The woman pleaded bitterly:
"Sister Xie, Master Liu has really bought me back this time. If I can't offer him a toast, he'll really kill me. Please, please, Sister Xie, have a drink and save my worthless life."
Not far away, Liu Ziwen observed Xie Lingjiang's expression with great interest.
He had heard it said that someone who has helped you once is more likely to help you again than someone you have helped.
On the other side, Ouyang Rong was also paying attention to his junior sister's movements.
At one moment, he noticed his junior sister's trembling fist on her knee; the back of her hand, already clenched tightly, was pale and bloodless.
Although the junior sister had previously said she wanted him to discipline her, how easy is it to change a person's character and behavior, especially in such a short time?
After a moment's hesitation, Ouyang Rong silently reached out his right hand under the table, as if out of pity and reluctance, wanting to offer her some support.
The long, slender right hand was extended halfway before stopping in mid-air.
He withdrew his hand.
Although he is the senior disciple, this is not his previous life; the separation between men and women is more important than preventing a river from overflowing.
But Ouyang Rong did not expect that a delicate hand would suddenly reach out from under the table and grab his right hand, which he was about to withdraw.
Xie Lingjiang gripped Ouyang Rong's right forearm tightly through the fabric of his sleeve.
The latter was speechless, feeling the trembling and struggling in his junior sister's hand. He did not pull his hand away, but silently let her hold it.
At this moment, Xie Lingjiang did not look at the wine cup offered by the pitiful yet hateful Hu Ji in front of her. Instead, she turned her head and glanced at Ouyang Rong's profile.
Imagine what the eldest brother would do.
Xie Lingjiang murmured to herself.
Then she turned around and suddenly uttered a single word:
"roll."
The entire room fell silent.
Not to mention Liu Ziwen and the others, whose eyes showed surprise.
Even Yingniang, who was kneeling and begging, choked up her sobs and looked stunned.
When she finally came to her senses, she wailed and grabbed at Xie Lingjiang's robe, her face streaked with tears, pleading desperately.
"Sister Xie, I was wrong. I was so afraid of dying, I only wanted to live and did such a thing. I'm so sorry, I'm begging you... Sister Xie, please, just one sip, just one sip..."
Hu Ji kowtowed frantically, hoping that the kind-hearted woman in front of her would soften her heart and drink the wine.
Xie Lingjiang remained silent.
She held tightly to her senior brother's hand, and at a moment she kicked Hu Ji away.
Yingniang, who had fallen to the ground, stared blankly at Xie Lingjiang's stern face, her tear-streaked face blank.
She glanced back at Liu Ziwen, who was squinting slightly. The lame servant was bending down to pick up a blade and walking towards her.
The Western Region woman screamed and retreated, seemingly on the verge of collapse as he relentlessly approached.
"Wait, isn't there still one person?"
Just then, Ouyang Rong, who had remained calm and silent throughout, suddenly asked a question.
Xie Lingjiang and Liu Ziwen both turned around in surprise, and the lame servant stopped in his tracks.
"Okay, okay!"
Yingniang, as if grasping at the last straw, crawled towards Ouyang Rong with the wine cup in her hands. Reaching his feet, she knelt and presented the cup, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
"Sir, please...please have a drink."
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes, stared at her for a while, and gently shook his head: "It's not me."
He pointed a finger at Liu Ziwen across from him and said gently, "Bring him the wine and make him drink it. If he doesn't, just throw it in his face."
Liu Ziwen's expression changed slightly.
Hu Ji was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly shook her head: "How can this be? Please, sir, drink it! Please..."
Ouyang Rong gently reminded him, "Go over and offer a toast."
Hu Ji dared not provoke Liu Ziwen, and she tried to rush forward to cling to Ouyang Rong's leg and beg, but the next second, a loud shout erupted throughout the entire arena:
"I'm telling you to go over and offer a toast!"
The young county magistrate suddenly stood up.
A flash of cold light.
Xie Lingjiang drew her long sword from her waist.
With the sword tip pointing downwards, he gripped the hilt with both hands, angrily slamming it down as if in a bow.
With a "clang".
A long sword was thrust straight and powerfully into the floor between the kneeling Hu woman's legs.
At the same time, the cold, sharp blade pierced through the cavity between her hands holding the cup and her chest, making it seem as if the orchid was embracing the blade.
A few strands of brown hair drifted slowly to the ground in the air.
"ah--!"
Seeing the sword tip only a millimeter away from her nose, Hu Ji screamed in despair.
Xie Lingjiang stared blankly at the calm young man beside him, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He slowly squatted down, his face close to the frightened Hu woman, as if examining her carefully. He then uttered words, one by one:
"You think good people don't have swords? You're afraid of that short blade, but what about this long sword?"
"I am a seventh-rank official and a Jinshi graduate. Even your Master Liu has to bow down to me. How dare you force me to drink?"
"And my junior sister."
Ouyang Rong pointed to Xie Lingjiang standing to the side:
"Her family has been a prominent clan for nine generations. In the historical records of previous dynasties, everyone with the surname Xie was her relative, and most of those who didn't have the surname Xie were also her relatives."
"Her father was a highly respected scholar who could not even be invited to court by the current emperor. He was also the legitimate daughter of the direct line of the Xie family of Chenjun in Jinling. Her family was famous for its forbidden marriages, and even the son of the current prime minister could not marry into her family."
"What Dragon City Liu family? They're just playing games their family played back then... You forced her to drink?"
"The Liu family's swords are sharp, but my junior sister's and my swords are no less formidable!"
The entire room fell silent.
The young county magistrate, who was crouching down with his sword in hand, pointed again to the area around the Hu woman's chest and nodded, saying:
"I have heard that it is possible to pierce the heart effortlessly by going through the xiphoid process between the ribs. Before tonight I had only heard it from others, but after tonight I can tell others about it."
Hu Ji looked at Liu Ziwen in fear.
Ouyang Rong seemed to have expected this, and said directly:
"You think that if I kill my private servant without authorization, it will damage my reputation and give the Liu family something to hold against me, so you won't do it? Ha, then you think too highly of your Master Liu and have misjudged the situation today."
He turned his head and said to Liu Ziwen:
"Today you dare to order your servant to commit suicide in front of me. You certainly won't be foolish enough to bear the crime of forcing your servant to death. Some of the evidence against this servant has already been prepared, right? After the person dies, it can be submitted to the government first thing tomorrow morning to clear his name."
Ouyang Rong nodded and calmly gave the order:
"Alright, it's mine. Hand it over first, then we can talk."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ziwen couldn't help but sigh.
I dare not refuse.
The orchid stared blankly.
Ouyang Rong drew his longsword and glanced at her.
Completely desperate, Yingniang hurriedly turned around and crawled to Liu Ziwen's side.
The woman bowed her head deeply, but raised her hands high, offering the "toast" cup, which was now only half-empty.
Inside the private room, the situation changed again.
Ouyang Rong ignored Liu Ziwen's grim expression, turned around and went to Xie Lingjiang, bowing his head to sheath the sword back in her hand.
Xie Lingjiang looked up, staring blankly at her senior brother's face as he focused on sheathing his sword.
So that's how the senior brother did it.
Good people are not bullied; only the weak are.
Why was a 'good person' being held at gunpoint?
Because either you're empty-handed or you have a gun but don't draw it, who else would the bad guys point at if not you?
On the other side.
In front of the young county magistrate and the noblewoman of the Xie family.
Liu Ziwen remained silent for a moment, then accepted the white porcelain cup with delicate stems presented by the Hu woman, tilted his head back, and drank the "toast" he had poured for himself.
(There will be another chapter at midnight) Suddenly realized there are only 28 days in this month, damn it...
(End of this chapter)
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