Chapter 37
The drunken young man broke free from the servant's support and rushed forward, about to hit Ling Huanchen. At that moment, a teacup suddenly flew past and hit the young man, sending him flying back. If it weren't for the servant's support, he would have fallen hard on his butt.
"Damn it! Who is plotting against me?"
The servants hurriedly helped the man up. The young man was still cursing, but when he glanced at Ling Huanchen, he suddenly grinned, "You've delayed my reminiscence with this beautiful lady."
Yu Xi had just thrown the teacup, but still felt it was not enough, so he kicked and knocked down a follower next to the man, drew the scimitar from his waist, and put it on the man's neck.
"Who do you want to catch up with?"
The man sobered up immediately, his neck stiff, not daring to move. He had been so lost in thought that all he could see was a beautiful woman sitting there, not noticing another woman sitting across from her.
"Please spare my life, my hero. I'm not looking for anyone. I recognized the wrong person. I recognized the wrong person."
As Yu Xi sheathed his knife, he inadvertently left several bloody marks on the man's body, causing him to cry out in pain. He actually wanted to destroy those shifty eyes, but thinking the situation wouldn't be good for Ling Huanchen, he gave up.
"Go away."
As soon as the man was free, he immediately changed his attitude, hid behind the servants, and threatened, "Don't leave if you dare! Wait until I come back, and you'll be in trouble!"
Putting aside their bold words, the group fled like stray dogs, bumping into everyone they saw and knocking over several pots of tea.
Yu Xi's expression was grim. It was a rare occasion for her to bring her little mermaid out, and for her to encounter such a disappointing incident was truly unlucky. Looking at Ling Huanchen, he softened his expression and said soothingly, "It's okay."
Ling Huanchen nodded. He was not scared, but just lamented that there were too many scoundrels in this world. Whether women or men, they had to be careful when going out.
"Should we wait for him to come back?"
Yu Xi raised an eyebrow when he heard this and said, "Huan Chen said to wait for us, so we'll wait."
Ling Huanchen actually thought that if they left, the man would call for help but not be able to find anyone, and he would inevitably vent his anger on the small teahouse. It would be better for them to stay and resolve the issue.
The man really did as he said when he left, and he came back. This time, the servants who came back with him were replaced by a group of burly men, and there were even official guards. They all had weapons in their hands, as if they were ready to rush up and fight at any time.
Such a large force should have been foolproof, but when they saw the situation on Ling Huanchen's side, their confidence was instantly shaken.
Just now, Yu Xi ordered the guards to stay on the first floor and not come up to disturb them. Even if they encountered troublemakers, Yu Xi could solve them in a few moves and there would be no need for them. But now, he specifically called the guards to his side, and when he had nothing better to do, he wanted to play a trick on this ignorant guy.
Seeing this situation, the rescuer called by the man nudged the man with his elbow and asked, "Are you sure it's just a businessman from outside the city?"
The man belatedly responded, "Ah? Yes, right?"
The official guard gritted his teeth and said, "Look carefully, those people behind these two are all martial artists. Not to mention them, I'm not sure about even one of the people sitting there. You're so desperate for beauty, you don't want to die. I want to."
The man grabbed the guard's sleeve and said, "Cousin, I was wrong, but your cousin was bullied. Look here, and here, they were all chopped by that guy. Can you tolerate this? Will we brothers still have a say in Xunzhou from now on?"
When the guard saw the injuries on the man's body, he didn't think twice and rushed upstairs out of brotherhood.
"You are the one who hurts people for no reason? Come, bring him to me..."
Before he could finish his words, he was dazzled by the blades that appeared one by one in front of him and forgot what to say next.
Yu Xi and Ling Huanchen exchanged glances and slowly stood up. "Your Excellency is wrong. How can you call it hurting someone without reason? It was clearly him who started the trouble. I was trying to save myself and had no choice." As he spoke, he casually took the guard's badge behind him and waved it in front of him.
The official guard's eyes widened immediately. He recognized the token; it belonged to the Imperial Guard. He didn't dare to imagine the identity of this person who could command the Imperial Guard at his command.
"Brother, what are you doing? Why don't you avenge me, your cousin?" The man was so anxious that he jumped up and down. "You, why are you kneeling down to them?"
The official guards pulled him down and knelt side by side. "I didn't know you were from Youwang City. I hope you can forgive me! My cousin didn't know the seriousness of the matter and offended you. I will go back and discipline him severely."
Yu Xi walked back and sat down. "Are you the guard of the Xunzhou prefect?"
"The little one, the little one is in charge of the granary."
Ling Huanchen was watching the show with great interest. A small guard who was in charge of the granary dared to help his cousin bully men and women outside.
"I think you're no longer a good teacher. You should be handed over to someone else. And you don't need to watch over the granary anymore. Go to the prison with your cousin and reflect on your mistakes."
Yu Xi gave a wink, and the guards immediately stepped forward to arrest all the people and took them directly to the prefect's house.
When the king arrived, Xu Zhifu had no time to greet him properly before he was given a huge gift. His new official uniform was soaked with sweat.
Without Yu Xi saying anything, Prefect Xu issued an order that each person would be punished with fifty lashes of the cane, and the guards who were in charge of the grain and his cousin would be punished with an additional thirty lashes. They would be thrown into the cell, and their life and death would be at the mercy of fate. It was uncertain when they would be released.
Ever since Yu Xi and the others entered the main hall, Prefect Xu had been kneeling on the ground, not getting up. Without waiting for his superiors to reprimand him, he began to scold himself, "It is my poor governance that has allowed these scum to bring disaster to the prefecture. I beg for a fine of one year's salary, to make an example of myself and to serve as a warning to others."
The prefect was indeed negligent in oversight of the matter, and Yu Xi remained silent on his request for punishment, which was considered as his tacit agreement.
"Xu Aiqing, please get up."
Magistrate Xu stood up shakily, as if he had been granted amnesty. "I have already ordered the wing rooms to be prepared for the reception of the King and His Highness tonight."
Yu Xi murmured, "Don't rush to welcome him. I have other things to ask you to do."
"Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I will do my best to fulfill my duties!"
Yu Xi discussed something with Prefect Xu, and worried that Ling Huanchen would be tired from the journey, so he asked him to stay in the side room first.
The group entered the backyard and passed the corridor. From a distance, they saw a boy of seven or eight years old waving a wooden sword in the yard. The fallen maple leaves on the ground made him kick out a circle.
The boy suddenly turned around and flew to the corridor with his clumsy light skills. He looked up and down at Ling Huanchen and his group, "Who are you?"
"Young Master!"
The servants in the palace hurried to pull the boy and whispered something in his ear. The boy suddenly realized what was going on and bowed formally, "Your Highness."
After the ceremony, the boy's pretended maturity disappeared, and he ran over to pull Ling Huanchen's sleeve, "Can you play with me?"
Ling Huanchen waved to the others and lowered his head and said, "What do you want to play?"
Seeing the boy trying to stand on tiptoe, he squatted down so that he could look the boy at eye level.
"I heard there's a circus show on the street today, but they won't accompany me out of the house. Can you go with me?" the boy whispered.
In the eyes of a child, he doesn’t have much understanding of his identity. He only knows that there is a handsome and gentle big brother in front of him, and he wants his brother to play with him.
But unfortunately, Ling Huanchen was also a newcomer and knew nothing about Xunzhou. He asked him to take a child to the street and didn't know who was taking care of whom.
"Why not wait until your father finishes his work and then have him send someone to go with you."
The boy took a step back angrily and said, "You are just like them. You won't accompany me!" Then he turned around and ran away.
The servants in the mansion hurriedly explained tremblingly, "Your Highness, please forgive me. The young master has a childish temper..."
"No problem."
Most children like to play, and he was a little envious of the boy for having such a lively childhood.
Yu Xi came to Xunzhou, in large part, for the so-called auspicious sign. He learned from Prefect Xu about the talented scholars of Xunzhou, and that they often discussed government affairs and exchanged poetry and paintings at Fengshuyuan. He specifically asked Prefect Xu to arrange for the two of them to visit them in casual clothes.
In the side room, Ling Huanchen had just sat on the chair for a while when he heard a noise outside. He asked Xiaoqi to ask and found out that the prefect's son was missing.
The housekeeper was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. "Everyone go out and look for him. If the young master is still missing when the master comes back, you and I will pack up and go home!"
Ling Huanchen remembered what the boy had said to him and called the butler over to ask, "Do you know where the street circus show is today?"
The housekeeper was stunned. "Slave, I will send someone to inquire about it right away."
Ling Huanchen thought for a moment and then said, "Have someone lead the way. I'll leave the mansion."
Seeing the child's expression just now, I'm afraid even if we find him, he won't be willing to return with the servants. His Majesty the King and Prefect Xu have important matters to attend to, so it's best not to disturb them. It would be better for him to go there in person.
Ling Huanchen left the house, followed by five or six people, even though he had requested a simple procession. They followed the prefect's servants through two streets and finally saw a circus stage at the corner, but the performance hadn't started yet; there was only an empty stage.
"Master, look, isn't that the young master of the prefectural government squatting there?"
Ling Huanchen looked in the direction Xiao Qi pointed, and sure enough, he saw Young Master Xu squatting beside the candied haws stall, staring at the candied haws eagerly.
Young Master Xu got tired of looking and just as he lowered his head, a string of candied haws appeared in front of him. He raised his head in surprise and saw that the person holding the candied haws was Ling Huanchen.
"Aren't you going to come out?" he said awkwardly.
Ling Huanchen smiled and said, "I changed my mind."
Young Master Xu turned his head and said, "Who wants to eat candied haws?"
Ling Huanchen stuffed the candied haws into his hand and said, "I understand." It's just that he wanted to eat candied haws but didn't bring any money. No one understood better than him.
Young Master Xu finally couldn't resist the temptation of the candied haws. He took a bite and suddenly looked up to find a few children at the foot of the wall looking at him, or more precisely, at the candied haws in their hands. They were dirty and looked like uncared-for children.
Seeing this, Ling Huanchen asked Yun He to take out some silver and said, "We'll buy all the candied haws here."
The vendor selling candied haws took the silver and smiled from ear to ear, "Young Master is a man of his word. He promised to take care of the business, and now he is here to take care of my small business. I wish you great wealth, peace and happiness!"
Only then did Ling Huanchen see clearly that the person opposite was the one who gave him the candied haws last time. He asked Yunhe to add a few more silver coins into the purse, then turned around and ordered the guards to distribute the candied haws to the children by the wall.
Young Master Xu watched from the side and said after a long moment of hesitation, "You, you are a very nice person."
Ling Huanchen rubbed his head, "That's true, thank you for the compliment."
At this moment, the sound of a gong reached his ears, and people quickly gathered around the stage. Young Master Xu tugged at his sleeve, "Hurry, the show's about to begin!"
More and more people gathered around, and Ling Huanchen didn't expect that Young Master Xu was such a show-off. The more lively the surroundings were, the more excited he became.
The performers on the stage performed fire-breathing, bowl-balancing, and even stone-breaking with their chests, which drew cheers from the audience.
"We're going to perform a magic trick for everyone now. We need someone to come up on stage with us. Who's willing to come up?"
Young Master Xu rode on the servant's shoulders and raised his hands high.
"It's this young master!"
As Young Master Xu cheered, Ling Huanchen whispered a few words to Yunhe and asked her to follow and see.
"You guys take good care of the master."
Xiao Qi patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Sister He."
Ling Huanchen watched as Young Master Xu was placed into a dark wooden box. When the box was opened again, Young Master Xu disappeared. Everyone held their breath, not daring to blink. The box closed again, and the performer spun three times left and three times right in front of it. When the box opened again, Young Master Xu leaped out, alive and kicking, to thunderous applause from the audience.
The magic show attracted about a street of people. Ling Huanchen didn't know who bumped into him. He turned around, but he couldn't see the familiar person.
"master!"
Xiao Qi was pushed and shoved by the crowd and was almost squeezed into a meat patty. However, what made him more anxious was that Ling Huanchen was missing.
The guards were scattered everywhere and couldn't gather together for a long time. So Tenglong leaped onto the stage. The people thought it was a special performance and cheered even louder.
Yun He had just brought Young Master Xu back. When she saw them, she thought to herself, "Where's the Master?"
"Gone."
Yun He turned around and looked at the people who were still performing in Taichung. His eyes suddenly turned cold. "Take down all these people."
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