Chapter 12 The Poor Birth of a Poor Child
"You have to burn incense to pray to Buddha and Bodhisattva? Do you think we two brothers are your father or your mother?"
"My mother needs to get her medicine every day, and the doctor said she might not survive the month if she stops taking it. I have no other choice..."
“Eighty years old, he should have died long ago.” One of the officers said disdainfully, “He’s a useless piece of trash even if he’s alive.”
"I advise you to just roll it up in a straw mat and throw it away."
“You poor people are all born of the poor and lowly. You should all die. You are a waste of your lives.”
He glanced at the cart and said to his companion, "This piece of junk is only worth about one or two taels of silver."
Seeing that he doesn't have the money to redeem it, why don't we, brothers, buy it now?
“I think so!” another person chimed in with a laugh.
"Do you think there's no law at all?!" the man roared.
The officer turned around, as if he had heard a funny joke, and said, "I'll tell you."
Is this your first time living here?
"The law? What is the law?" the official scoffed. "Do those high-ranking officials and nobles have time to care about the lives of ants like you?"
“My official is the law for all of you.”
"Your lives are in the hands of the officials."
"If you want to see the officials, you'll have to get past us brothers first."
"So tell me, what is the law?"
The burly man lowered his head, his shoulders trembled, and his hands clenched into fists. "Since you don't want me to live, then nobody else will!"
As he spoke, he pulled out a kitchen knife from the stall and stabbed at one of the constables.
The man stood up and rushed forward.
Jiang Wan Ning then noticed that although the man was burly, he had a limp.
"Damn it, how dare you hurt me?"
The officer looked at his bleeding thigh, drew his sword, and stabbed at the man.
"In broad daylight, you dare to lay a hand on an official. Once we're in jail, I'll teach you a lesson."
As she spoke, she thrust her longsword toward the man's arm.
"stop!"
The officer's hands did not stop moving.
Jiang Wan Ning lashed out with her long whip, striking the officer's wrist.
The longsword in the officer's hand fell to the ground with a 'clatter'.
With his other hand gripping his injured wrist, he looked at Jiang Wan Ning, who was holding the whip, and said, "Damn it, do they all want to die?"
"Dare you interfere with my business?"
Seeing this, another officer stepped forward and drew his sword, shouting, "How dare you injure an officer? You have some nerve!"
"Hurt you?" Jiang Wan Ning's eyes were cold. "What harm would it do if I killed you?"
"Peddlers and laborers selling food and drink from carts are perfectly normal."
"He was just forced by circumstances. How many people on this street are struggling to make a living like this?"
“You take advantage of your status to exploit them while looking down on them and trampling on their dignity at will.”
"I'd like to ask, did either of you gentlemen have any high-ranking officials in your family?"
"If he weren't a high-ranking official, why would he look down on people with similar backgrounds? And if he were a high-ranking official, why would he do such a thing, abusing his power?"
"Also, I seem to remember that starting from the 25th year of Tiande, anyone who sets up a stall on this street, as long as it does not obstruct traffic, can do so."
"No stall fee is required."
The official remained unperturbed upon hearing this, saying, "Where did you come from? Mind your own business."
"I advise you to go back to where you came from."
"These are the instructions from above, but how they are actually implemented is up to us adults."
“Sir, let me think, is his name Sun Gui?” Shen Ruzhi stepped forward and said, “A minor prefect.”
"How dare they be so arrogant."
"How dare you call someone by their name so casually?" the officer said, trying to step forward.
But because of the long whip in Jiang Wan Ning's hand, she took a step back. "Since you want to stand out, then let you stand out to your heart's content."
As he spoke, he pulled off the whistle from his waist and started blowing it.
Officials patrolling the surrounding streets heard the whistle and rushed over.
Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, seven or eight officials had already arrived.
Seeing that they outnumbered the officers, the two officers immediately became more aggressive and ordered, "Take them all to the prison."
"Severe punishment will be imposed!"
"You need to detain me." The man stepped forward and stretched out his arms to protect Jiang Wan Ning and Shen Ru Zhi.
“I’m going back with you to be punished. This has nothing to do with these two girls. Let them go.”
"Leave?" The officer tilted his head and stepped forward, slapping the man hard across the face. "You think you can leave?"
"You also want to boss me around?"
"None of you are leaving here!"
The officer glanced around at the onlookers again. "Anyone else want to step forward?"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding people shrank back and shrugged.
"You bunch of scoundrels who rely on their master's power! You dare to arrest the Princess of Langya? How many heads do you have to chop off?"
Jiang Wan Ning glanced at Chen Ru Zhi, and the corner of her mouth twitched violently.
Shen Ruzhi leaned closer and whispered, "My father won't let me go out using his name, not even to do good deeds."
“There are several marquises in the capital, but there’s only one Prince of Langya. He has the most prestigious reputation, so it would be better to use him.”
The name of the Prince of Langya is known even to the children on the street.
Everyone was shocked and looked at Shen Ruzhi and Jiang Wanning.
The officers were taken aback at first, then one of them laughed loudly: "Of all people to impersonate, why impersonate the Princess of Langya?"
"Everyone in the capital knows that nowadays the entire Prince's Mansion consists of only the Prince of Langya and his heir."
"Where did this Princess Consort of Langya come from, and why is she so young?"
"Could it be that you're saying you gave birth to the Prince of Langya?"
Shen Ruzhi clasped her hands in a fist and said, "I dare not say that, but the woman beside me is indeed the mother and stepmother of the Prince of Langya!"
The officers looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Nonsense! We have never heard of the Prince of Langya taking a wife. On the contrary, the Prince of Langya's heir is engaged to the daughter of the Marquis of Ningyuan."
"I think you've misheard the rumors and are just impersonating someone else."
“Why waste words with them?” one of the officers said. “These two are dressed in fine clothes, but they don’t have any maids or servants with them.”
"Maybe these clothes were stolen. Let's take them to the authorities and give them a severe beating. They'll confess then!"
Shen Ruzhi put her hands on her hips and said, "How dare you disrespect the Princess of Langya? Do you have a death wish?"
Jiang Wan Ning stood behind, shaking her head and sighing slightly. Only a day had passed; if the wealthy and noble families were well-informed, they would surely have known by now.
But where can these people go to listen all of a sudden?
The head constable looked Shen Ruzhi up and down, then stroked his chin. "Whether it's stolen or not, we'll know once we strip it naked."
"If they can steal the outer clothes, I don't believe they've changed the inner clothes too."
"Go and strip them both naked!"
As he spoke, four or five officers behind him rolled up their sleeves, their eyes gleaming with lust, and walked toward Shen Ruzhi and Jiang Wanning.
Across from them was a group of government officials, and even if the onlookers had grievances, they dared not speak out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com