compensation
The wind blew slowly, swirling up the fallen leaves on the ground, pile after pile, spinning around in a whirl.
A group of servants excitedly trampled over the leaves, crushing the windmills and breaking the fallen leaves into pieces, heading straight for a tea garden.
The four large characters "Huajia Mingyuan" on the tall gate plaque of the tea garden have accumulated a thick layer of dust.
A black metal lock on the reddish-brown gate isolates it from the world.
"Men, smash it!"
The leader of the group pointed at the door and the lock, and gave a fierce order. He was Hua Lingteng's lackey, Hua Xiao.
Two servants stepped forward and smashed the lock open with two loud bangs of hammers. Hua Xiao kicked the door open with a thud, and thick dust fell in a flurry. The rich aroma of tea followed immediately.
Once the dust settles, a lush green garden comes into view.
Hua Xiao kicked the door open and entered the garden, arrogantly declaring, "The patriarch has ordered that everything here be smashed, nothing left!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a dozen servants rushed in, brandishing clubs and swords, hacking and slashing at the tea tree, leaving it in pieces.
What are you doing?
Guard Zhao leaped forward, kicking the servants who were vandalizing the tea plantations to the ground, and escorted them to the tea trees, shouting, "This is a tea garden, how dare you act so recklessly!"
Hua Xiao stepped forward and sneered, "Zhao Yi, the tea garden belongs to the Hua family. The master can do whatever he wants with it. You are just a servant who has been expelled from the family. You have no right to interfere."
"Oh, where's the young master? Is he too scared to come out?"
Hua Xiao, puffing out her chest, was about to go inside when Zhao Yi blocked her way with his sword: "Don't go too far."
Hua Xiaofeng tapped the back of the sword with her little finger and said disdainfully, "Do you dare to touch me?"
Zhao immediately turned his sword and aimed it at Hua Xiao's neck, saying, "If you dare to try, I dare to move."
Hua Xiao looked down on Zhao Yi, but dared not ignore the sword hanging over her neck. Her face flushed red, and she shouted loudly at the bamboo house behind the tea tree: "Fine, if you have the ability, then kill us all and let the world see the great power of the young master."
"Zhao, you must not be rude."
The bamboo door slowly opened, and Hua Lingchen stepped out of the house. Her crescent-shaped green robe accentuated her beautiful face, making her appear exceptionally elegant and unparalleled.
He waved his sleeve, signaling Zhao to leave.
Hua Xiao looked at the once-glorious young nobleman who had now become a weak and vulnerable scholar, and suddenly became arrogant.
He asked arrogantly, "The patriarch kindly ordered us to clean up the tea garden. Does the eldest young master have any objections?"
Hua Lingchen said amiably, "Please go ahead."
"Young master, they..."
Zhao was eager to reason with him, but Hua Lingchen shook his head, signaling him not to interfere.
"The eldest son is indeed sensible."
Hua Xiao pushed Zhao Yi aside without any hesitation, raised her hand and beckoned, and the servants scattered throughout the tea garden with sticks, chopping down the tea trees.
The lush tea bushes swayed, resisting the falling branches and leaves, and crunched as they were trampled on.
Hua Lingchen watched coldly, without uttering a word. Zhao was so anxious he almost tore his sword apart. Each and every tea tree had been carefully cultivated by Hua Lingchen.
Seeing that Hua Lingchen remained unmoved, Hua Xiao then said to the bamboo house, "The patriarch said that the eldest young master's residence should also be thoroughly cleaned up."
After saying that, he lifted his foot to step onto the bamboo corridor.
"This is absolutely outrageous!"
Zhao was furious. He grabbed Hua Xiao by the back of the neck and threw him far away.
Hua Xiao landed heavily on the cobblestone path, crying out, "Ouch! You little brat, you've really gone too far! Someone, teach him a lesson! You've been eating at other people's houses for a few years and you've forgotten who gave you your life!"
The servants, already harboring resentment over the kick they had just received, swarmed over to seek revenge without waiting for Hua Xiao's prompting.
Zhao's martial arts skills were not low, so why should he be afraid of these petty villains? At this moment, Hua Xiao shouted, "Young Master, if Zhao causes trouble and it reaches the head of the family, you will not escape responsibility either."
Upon hearing this, Zhao stopped drawing his sword. He couldn't implicate Hua Lingchen.
With a "smack," Zhao was struck on the back of the neck. Zhao winced in pain, clenching his fists and forcing himself not to retaliate.
The servants, having gotten the better of him, all raised their sticks and began to beat him. The sticks fell incessantly, striking his body with a crackling sound.
Zhao stood straight, not uttering a single word.
Hua Lingchen's expression turned cold as he said to Hua Xiao, "Zhao has been reckless, and it is my fault for failing to teach him properly. Let him go, and I will take the punishment in his place."
Hua Xiao waved her hand and laughed, "Young Master, you are too kind. This person is rude and unruly. If he is not disciplined, it will be bad if he offends you in the future. I will discipline him on your behalf."
As he spoke, he broke off half of a thorny branch, and the smug man strolled up behind Zhao Yi, raising his hand to strike.
Suddenly, a "thud" was heard, and a pebble came flying at high speed, hitting Hua Xiao's hand holding the tree branch hard.
Hua Xiao suddenly felt a sharp pain, clutching her hand and crying out, "Who? Who ambushed me?"
"Hey, who's so bold as to hit one of my men?"
On the west wall, Gu Jinning straddled it, holding a slingshot. She aimed it at Hua Xiao's head, squinted one eye, and said, "Look at this black-hearted head. Should I smash it open and make you into a brain flower, or crack it open and roast it like a chestnut?"
Hua Xiao was surprised, "Princess Jin Ning, what are you doing here?"
"How rude of you." Gu Jinning yanked and released with her left hand, and the pebble flew out with a "thud," hitting Hua Xiao's knee.
Hua Xiao fell to her knees with a "thud," landing face-first in the dirt.
"You dare not kneel before me, the princess? You've given me too much face!"
Gu Jinning flipped over and jumped off the wall, clapped her hands, put them behind her back, and strode over.
The other servants had heard of Gu Jinning's reputation, and seeing that the young lady had been humiliated, they all knelt down, not daring to act rashly.
"Brother Hua, it's been a few days. How come there are rats in the garden?"
Gu Jinning swaggered up to Hua Lingchen, raised an eyebrow at him, then walked around to Hua Xiao, kicked him, and asked, "What did you just say? Who are you going to discipline? Zhao Yi is my man, who gave you the guts to touch him?"
Hua Xiao prostrated herself and cried out, "Princess, Zhao has been in the Hua family for a long time, and I forgot that he has now come to serve you."
Gu Jinning clicked her tongue and shook her head, deliberately saying, "A bad memory makes it difficult to do a good job. Since Patriarch Hua isn't here, I'll make the decision for him."
“Zhao Yi,” Gu Jinning stepped back behind Zhao Yi and ordered, “cut off his pig brains.”
Zhao, having failed to obtain what he desired, truly drew his sword and attacked.
"stop!"
Hua Lingteng stepped into the tea garden with a dark expression.
Gu Jinning seemed to only then notice the broken door and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear, so the door was open! You should have said so earlier, otherwise I would have had to climb the wall and get my new clothes dirty."
She patted the dust off her dress with a pained expression, and as soon as Hua Lingteng arrived, she pulled Zhao Yi over to demand an explanation.
"Master Hua, look at the state my men have been in! You must stand up for me!"
Hua Lingteng, already frustrated by his misfortune at the teahouse, came looking for trouble with Hua Lingchen, so he couldn't possibly give Gu Jinning a friendly look.
He snorted, "Princess, you must be mistaken. This is the Hua family's tea garden. He caused trouble in my Hua family's tea garden and is an old servant who was expelled from my Hua family. It is perfectly reasonable for the Hua family to teach him how to do things."
"But you," Hua Lingteng's gaze swept between Hua Lingchen and Gu Jinning, "you stood up for Hua Lingchen at the teahouse, and now you're rushing here to back him up. And you still dare to claim innocence?"
Gu Jinning pouted.
“First of all, Zhao is now my bodyguard. He is working as my assistant in the tea garden on my orders. You vandalized the tea garden for no reason, and he stood up to protect you. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
"Secondly, Brother Hua and I are close friends. If you can't beat me, you come after him, which is a slap in my face. If I don't come, people will look down on me."
Hua Lingteng snorted, "I don't care how eloquent you are. The rumors in the teahouse are already everywhere. The fact that you dare to show up here today confirms that the rumors are true."
“Even if you’re not afraid of angering the Prince of Jin, you should still consider the reputation of the Gu family and that of this young master Hua.”
It was just past noon, and the sun was blazing overhead. Gu Jinning raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun and pulled Hua Lingchen and Zhao Yi to the pavilion to escape the heat.
Hua Lingteng was about to enter the pavilion when Gu Jinning blocked his way with her foot.
"Hua Lingteng, stop beating around the bush. If you want to settle accounts, then let's settle the score from the martial arts tournament three years ago."
Hua Lingchen was slightly surprised that she would bring up the martial arts tournament. Hua Lingteng, however, suddenly felt a sense of fear.
What are you trying to say?
Gu Jinning leaned against the pillar, arms crossed, and slowly said, "Everyone lamented Young Master Hua's defeat. If they knew the real reason for his narrow defeat, I wonder how they would react?"
Hua Lingteng asked urgently, "What do you know?"
Gu Jinning shrugged. "That depends on what you want me to know. After all, my mouth has only one hobby—talking."
It's not bad to talk nonsense, but it's bad if there's a bit of truth in the nonsense, and then, through repeated misinformation, it becomes the whole truth.
Hua Lingteng was well aware of Gu Jinning's ability to fabricate lies and didn't want to get entangled with her. Besides, she had come today and the tea garden had been destroyed, so he had achieved his goal and didn't want to get into trouble.
"You just want to stand up for him, right? Fine, you win."
Hua Lingteng glared fiercely at Hua Lingchen, then turned and walked away.
Gu Jinning called out to him, "Is that all? Look at the broken branches on the ground, look at the wound on Zhao Yi's back, and you're just leaving?"
Hua Lingteng asked, "What do you want?"
Gu Jinning raised her index finger and drew a circle with it towards Hua Xiaozhong, "I want each of them to kowtow to Zhao Yi and admit their mistakes."
"Master." Hua Xiao rushed over, wanting Hua Lingteng to support him, but Hua Lingteng shook him off and cursed, "Useless thing, go apologize now."
Hua Xiao had no choice but to lead the servants to kowtow to Zhao Yi.
Hua Lingteng's face turned a deep liver color. "Princess, is that enough?"
Gu Jinning nodded in satisfaction and said, "Look, you've ruined all the good tea in the garden. How are you going to make up for it? This is Brother Hua's hard work over the past few years."
Hua Lingteng sneered, "These tea leaves are just being pruned and discarded when they get old, what's the big deal?"
Gu Jinning smiled at him, then suddenly stood up, put her hands behind her back, and headed out.
"Oh dear, if others knew that the eldest young master did not request to cultivate the tea garden on his own initiative, but was instead sealed off by the head of the Hua family and left to his own devices for three years without any attention, and was even frequently found to cause trouble, destroy things, and beat and kill servants, the Hua family's reputation for benevolence would be in jeopardy."
For a prominent family, reputation is more important than life itself. The Hua family, a martial arts clan, had struggled to gain entry into the imperial court, and thus placed even greater emphasis on their reputation.
The Hua family's reputation over the past decade or so is all thanks to Hua Lingchen. Even though Hua Lingchen has fallen from grace and become a cripple, he is still a force to be reckoned with.
This is also why Hua Lingteng only dared to imprison Hua Lingchen in secret, but dared not kill him.
Hua Lingteng was forced to compromise, "Fine, what kind of compensation do you want?"
Gu Jinning had just reached the main entrance when she grabbed the dangling padlock and shook it twice before walking back and saying, "Since the lock is broken and the door is open, why don't we all compromise and leave the door wide open so we can each go our own way?"
Hua Lingteng suddenly laughed. He pointed to Hua Lingchen sitting upright in the pavilion and said sarcastically, "Ask him. Does he dare to go out?"
Whether he goes out or not is his business, and whether he locks the door or not is also his decision. You have no right to interfere with his freedom.
Gu Jinning took a step closer and solemnly repeated, "Everything in the tea garden has nothing to do with you or the Hua family. So? Do you dare? Or are you still afraid..."
"What a joke!" Hua Lingteng was successfully provoked. "Why would I be afraid of a cripple like him! Fine, as you say, the tea garden will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the Hua family."
"I want to see how he can put aside his pride and beg from the world. And how long can you protect him?"
Filled with resentment and provocation, Hua Lingteng viciously glared at Hua Lingchen, only to be calmly blocked by Hua Lingchen's detached demeanor. Hua Lingteng angrily flung his sleeve and stormed off.
Gu Jinning waved and called out, "Take care, and don't come back to see me off."
The throng of people followed Hua Lingteng and disappeared, leaving behind a ground littered with broken leaves and branches.
Gu Jinning breathed a sigh of relief, returned to the pavilion, and snapped her fingers. "All done. From now on, this tea garden is free. Congratulations, Brother Hua."
Hua Lingchen smiled slightly and shook his head indulgently, "I really can't do anything with you."
Hua Lingteng was right; he seemed to have lost the courage to face the world. But he was truly grateful to Gu Jinning for the freedom she had fought for him.
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