Chapter 421 The current emperor is a woman
Taohua County is only a hundred miles from the capital, and it takes only half a day to get there.
"I never imagined that a place so close to the capital could be driven to banditry by these so-called local officials."
Shen Ruzhi was furious; she hadn't thought about these things much before.
Nowadays, there are always some memorials on her desk, detailing how many people suffered and died, and how much silver was embezzled by so-and-so.
"It's darkest under the lamp," Jiang Wanning said.
"However, this is exactly what no one expected."
Shen Ruzhi and Jiang Wanning were both dressed as men, and neither of them brought any guards or maids with them.
There were bodyguards following nearby the whole time.
Furthermore, Shen Ruzhi wanted to travel incognito, and if she made too much of a fuss, it would inevitably attract attention.
The two were strolling down the street, which appeared peaceful and no different from other places.
Jiang Wan Ning saw a vendor selling candied hawthorns and thought she would buy one to cheer up Chen Ru Zhi, as it was her favorite treat.
I had just paid and my hand touched the candied hawthorn to take it off...
Then we heard a commotion ahead.
Jiang Wan Ning withdrew her hand and went to see with Shen Ru Zhi. A tall, thin man was yelling at a mother and daughter on the ground.
The woman held the little girl tightly in her arms.
The man lashed the woman with his whip.
"Damn it, it's a blessing for your daughter that my young master has taken a liking to her, and you're still not willing?"
"Who in Peach Blossom County doesn't know the consequences of going against my young master?"
The woman simply held the child tightly in her arms, crying and begging for mercy, "Please spare my life, please spare my life."
“My daughter is still very young. She is my only daughter, and she is only twelve years old. She doesn’t know anything yet.”
"If she doesn't know, my young master will naturally teach her so she can know. Don't worry, in this Peach Blossom County, following my young master, even the empresses in the palace can't compare."
"Oh, by the way, the current emperor is a woman."
"Then her harem must have many men, hahaha."
"This empress sleeps with different men every day; how is she any different from a woman in a brothel?"
The man laughed heartily with his companions as he spoke, showing no sign of discussing the emperor's anxiety.
"Although your daughter is young, she is with my young master and is only loved by him. Isn't that good?"
"Does your daughter want to be like the Empress? But it seems your daughter is not destined to be an Empress; she can only end up in a brothel."
"If you want your daughter to go to a brothel, that's not impossible, but her first time must be with my young master."
Despite the man's many words, the woman on the ground could only hold her child and cry, begging for mercy. The twelve-year-old girl in her arms was thin and had a very well-behaved appearance.
Tears streamed down his face as he nestled in the woman's arms, sobbing.
"Why aren't you letting go?" the man said, cracking the whip again.
Shen Ruzhi didn't say anything, but just watched coldly from the side.
Jiang Wan Ning glanced at him sideways and said, "Zhi Zhi, if this were before, you would have rushed up and dealt with that man without a second thought."
Shen Ruzhi said softly, "This man is just a servant who is bullying others. If we deal with him and something happens, people will naturally say that he is a servant who is bullying others."
"The masters don't know."
"Even if the emperor himself comes, it won't do anything. The people in this area won't dare to stand up and point out the wrongdoing, for fear of being punished in the end."
"All we can do now is wait."
Shen Ruzhi said, "Wait for their master to appear."
Jiang Wan Ning smiled as she looked at Shen Ru Zhi's logical analysis, "That man must be getting impatient."
The two of them looked at the carriage not far away at the same time.
A dark-skinned, tall and thin man got off the carriage and snatched the horse from the horse merchant's hands.
The Malaysian businessman wanted to speak up but didn't dare, so he could only accept his fate.
The man mounted his horse, ignoring the crowd blocking his way, and spurred the horse's flanks, giving it a hard slap on the rump with the reins.
Startled, the horse neighed loudly and began to run towards the crowd.
Most people in the crowd seemed to be familiar with this scene, and everyone ran away before the horses could dismount and start running.
In the middle of the road, only the woman and the girl in her arms remained, unable to dodge in time, and seemingly unwilling or even thinking of dodging.
Besides the woman, Shen Ruzhi and Jiang Wanning, who were standing motionless to the side, were also present.
The horse charged toward the woman. Jiang Wan Ning was about to make a move when Shen Ru Zhi was about to give an order to the hidden guards.
Suddenly, a figure rushed in from the side and pierced the horse's neck with a sword. The horse fell to the ground, and the man's leg was trapped under it.
"Ah—" the man roared in pain.
Jiang Wanning and Shen Ruzhi then recognized who had come.
"Scarface?" Jiang Wan Ning called out, "What are you doing here?"
The scarred man turned around, looked at Jiang Wan Ning, and scratched his head sheepishly, "His Majesty has given me the opportunity to change my name and start anew."
"So what's your name now?" Jiang Wan Ning asked.
The scarred man scratched his head and said, "Li Chongxin."
Jiang Wan Ning...
Sinking like a branch...
Only after the scarred man saw Jiang Wan Ning clearly did he notice Chen Ru Zhi standing next to her.
Just as he was about to kneel down to pay his respects, Shen Ruzhi gave him a meaningful look.
The scarred man then refrained from bowing, but simply became more polite to the two of them.
"How dare you kill our young master's horse?"
The man holding the whip lashed it towards the scarred man's face.
The scarred man dodged to the side, saying, "He committed violence in the street, I wanted to kill him too!"
"What arrogance! Someone in Peach Blossom County actually wants to kill our young master. Don't you even bother to find out who our young master is?"
The man proudly raised his chin, "Our young master is the son of the county magistrate."
"Stop your damn nonsense and get my leg out of the way!" the man trapped under the horse shouted.
The man quickly called for his men to rescue his master from under the horse, shouting, "Go and fetch a doctor for the master! Bring all the doctors!"
"If you can't cure my leg, I'll break their legs!"
"Yes, yes, yes." The man readily agreed and turned to instruct the men following him to find a doctor.
Only then did the man trapped under the horse have the time to endure the pain and deal with the person who killed his horse.
"Who are you?"
The scarred man said, "Li Chongxin."
"He used to be a bandit, now he's the leader of the Taohua County garrison."
"Who did I think it was? Turns out it's just the newly transferred garrison commander. Who do you think you are?"
"You were just recruited by that woman in the palace and given a title. You've only been here a few days and you already want to offend me?"
"So what if I offended you?" the scarred man said coldly. "Not only have I offended you, I also have a grudge against your Zheng family."
"Hahaha, there are plenty of people who have grudges against me, but so far all those who wanted revenge have gone to hell, while I'm still alive and well."
"Today you killed my horse and injured my leg. If I, Zheng Cailiang, let you go, I'll be your grandson."
"I'll deal with you after my leg heals!"
"The garrison commander, I'd like to see just how high a rank he is."
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