what ever
The two stared at each other for a moment, then Wei Ran suddenly laughed. "It seems that people in the capital have forgotten the pain once the wound has healed, and have spread such ridiculous rumors. The young master has come all this way just to make fun of me."
Yue Jia's belief in Wei Ran's character does not mean he believes that this matter is unrelated to Wei Ran's subordinates.
Yue Jia waited for him to finish speaking, then looked at him quietly for a moment.
Wei Ran realized that Yue Jia was not joking, and his smile faded.
Yue Jia then spoke, "This morning, I sent my steward to the Jin family. The steward returned and reported to me that two thieves had broken into the Jin family, attempting to steal their young daughter. Fortunately, the Jin family members fought desperately to stop the thieves, preventing them from succeeding." Yue Jia then changed the subject, asking, "When I arrived, I observed that your camp was strictly governed by law. If this was done by someone from your army, how would you punish them?"
Wei Ran vehemently denied it, "Impossible! My subordinates would never break into a private residence to steal someone!"
“One of my men has been wounded in the arm. Since you trust your subordinates, why don’t you go and verify it?”
Wei Ran's expression was displeased. "Your Highness, I cannot agree. Soldiers also have dignity; without evidence..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yue Jia offered a tempting offer: "If I'm wrong, I'll give you ten fine horses as an apology."
Wei Ran's remaining words caught in his throat. Ever since that incident three years ago displeased His Majesty, his superiors had openly embezzled his military pay, making his life difficult and barely enough to support the entire army through bandit suppression. He found it hard not to be moved by Yue Jia's apology.
Seeing that he was softening, Yue Jia continued to add chips, "plus fifty sets of armor."
"make a deal."
With both sides reaching a consensus, Wei Ran immediately ordered the entire army to assemble.
After everyone had assembled, Wei Ran gave the order again, "Show your right arm."
As soon as the order was given, the soldiers unhesitatingly unbuttoned their outer garments, revealing their bare right arms. Without clothing to cover them, their right arms were covered in a dense rash of small goosebumps, but they all stared straight ahead with normal expressions.
Yue Jia instructed the guards, "Check their right arms for any new wounds."
The guard obeyed and left.
The guards returned after checking and reported, "Your Highness, there is nothing."
Yue Jia nodded slightly. "I understand."
Wei Ran turned his head and asked him, "Your Highness, should we investigate further?"
"No need."
Wei Ran then turned to face the soldier and said, "Straighten your clothes."
Yue Jia watched the soldiers tidying their clothes and suddenly asked, "Is anyone absent from the camp today?"
Wei Ran answered truthfully, "Two captains are on leave and not here." He paused, then asked, "Does the Crown Prince suspect them?"
Yue Jia said meaningfully, "I only believe what I see with my own eyes."
Wei Ran knew Yue Jia's temperament; if he didn't see Zhang and Zhou today, he would come again tomorrow. Furthermore, he trusted that his men wouldn't do what Yue Jia had suggested, so he readily agreed, "Since the young master wants to see them, then I will send someone..."
Before he could finish speaking, a cheerful voice came from behind him, "Boss, with such a big commotion, is there a war going to be fought?"
Wei Ran shouted, "Zhou Wen, get over here!"
"Hey! They're here."
Before Zhou Wen and Zhang Mu arrived, a guard behind Yue Jia suddenly pointed at Zhang Mu and said, "Your Highness, it's him!"
Zhang Mu clearly recognized the guard who had pointed him out. Just as he was about to quicken his pace to explain what had happened that morning, Zhou Wen struck him hard on the side with his elbow.
Zhou Wen parted his lips slightly, "You are not allowed to speak. I will explain."
"All right."
Zhou Wen came to Wei Ran and knelt down with a thud. "Boss, we haven't been back to the capital for three years. Today, we had some free time to tour the city but got lost. Since there was no one around and we couldn't find anyone to ask for directions, we jumped onto the roof to look for our way. Unfortunately, this brother saw us and mistook us for bad guys, so we got into a fight. Brother, I'm so sorry, I'm really so sorry."
The guards had never seen someone as uncouth as Zhou Wen before, and were momentarily stunned, forgetting to speak.
Wei Ran kicked him hard, "Zhou Wen, how dare you jump onto a private residence without permission!"
Zhou Wen was kicked ten feet away, and when he looked up again, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
Zhou Wen readily admitted his mistake, saying, "I know I was wrong, General, please punish me."
Wei Ran coldly replied, "Fifty strokes."
As soon as Wei Ran finished speaking, soldiers wielding wooden sticks came over to carry out the execution.
In an instant, only the heavy sound of wooden sticks striking flesh remained on the training ground.
Yue Jia watched quietly until the execution was over, then he spoke up to remind Wei Ran: "General Wei, don't forget about the abduction of young girls."
Zhou Wen frowned, awkwardly got off the wooden stool, and knelt down in front of Wei Ran again with a pained expression. "General, this is also a misunderstanding. The thing is, I saw that the child had extraordinary bones and wanted to teach her martial arts, so I took her to jump onto the roof to experience it. But she was unwilling to learn, so I did not force her and handed her over to her family. After that, I left."
Yue Jia said calmly, "Is that so?"
With just those two simple words, Zhou Wen's back, which hadn't gotten wet from the beating, was instantly soaked with sweat.
Zhou Wen remained silent.
Wei Ran's anger surged, "You bastard! Give him another hundred lashes!"
The sound of "slap slap slap" rang out again.
After Zhou Wen finished his one hundred strokes of the cane, Wei Ran shouted, "I bear the responsibility for this oversight. One hundred strokes! Guards! Execute him!" With that, he lay down on the stool.
The drill ground was completely silent.
Zhou Wen snapped out of his daze, laboriously moved to kneel before him, and said, "General! This has nothing to do with you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Wei Ran shouted sternly, "Execute him! This is a military order!"
The soldiers, wielding wooden sticks, stepped forward to carry out the execution, but Yue Jia suddenly spoke up to stop them, saying, "Wait!"
The soldier's hand, holding the wooden stick, paused. Wei Ran remained silent for a moment, then waved his hand, signaling the soldier to leave. He stood up and looked at Yue Jia, "What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Yue Jia said, "My purpose in coming here is very simple: to take the two of them to the Jin family to apologize to the frightened child. As long as she forgives them, this matter will be over."
Wei Ran pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhou Wen and Zhang Mu, "Do you have any objections to the Crown Prince's proposal?"
Zhou Wen shook his head repeatedly, "No, no objection!"
So, there were two more people in Yuejia's carriage.
Upon arriving at the Jin family's gate, the guard reported, "Master, we have arrived at the Jin family's residence."
Zhou Wen and Zhang Mu helped each other off the carriage, and the guard who was driving pulled the reins and drove the carriage away.
Zhou Wen glanced at the guards left to monitor them, then limped forward to request an audience.
The gatekeeper had been instructed not to let anyone in today. Therefore, he politely declined, saying, "My master is not receiving guests today. Please come again tomorrow."
Zhou Wen turned to the guards and asked, "Did you two hear that?"
The guard scoffed, "If you truly want to apologize, what's wrong with waiting a day?"
Zhou Wen paused, "I'll wait then!"
The sun sets, and the moon hangs high in the sky.
Their buttocks burned with pain, and the moonlight falling on them was as cold and piercing as frost. Zhou Wen and Zhang Mu felt uncomfortable all over their bodies, and wished they could faint.
Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.
The sound grew closer, and Zhou Wen, arms crossed and trembling, looked up and, in the moonlight, saw his general's cold and stern face.
"General."
Wei Ran dismounted and saw them standing outside the door, their faces pale. He frowned and asked, "Why are you standing outside the door?"
"His family is not receiving guests today."
"Not here?" Wei Ran's expression turned cold. He strode to the front door and began pounding on the door knocker like a torrential downpour.
The guards patrolling the Jin family's residence heard the urgent sounds outside the door and all looked towards Guard Chief Lu.
Chief Guard Lu selected two people, saying, "You two come with me to take a look; the rest of you continue patrolling."
"Squeak—"
Lu Qing stood behind the gatekeeper, facing Wei Ran, who had an unfriendly expression.
Lu Qing gripped the sword hilt. "What brings you here so late at night?"
Wei Ran pointed at Zhou and Zhang, "My men have been standing outside the door all day, why should I let them in?"
Lu Qing turned his head to look at the gatehouse.
The gatekeeper remembered Zhou Wen saying, "I reminded them that the host is not receiving guests today; please come again tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Wei Ran decided not to press the matter further and instead asked, "They are injured; could we let them come in and warm up?"
Lu Qing immediately refused, "No."
Wei Ran then offered a compromise: "Can we just stay here inside the gate and avoid the dew, instead of going into the courtyard?"
Lu Qing refused again, "No."
Wei Ran stopped wasting words and was about to force his way in.
Lu Qing drew his sword and pointed it at him, "Sir, stop."
Wei Ran raised his foot and kicked the sword away.
"Stop him!"
One against three, Wei Ran failed to break through.
While the three men were locked in a fierce battle, the Jin family courtyard was brightly lit.
Jin Xiaoxiao and Xin Yi stared intently at Ji Jun's arm, holding their breath.
Fifteen minutes ago, they confirmed the safety and dosage of penicillin through Ma, and then Xinyi injected penicillin into Ji Yun's forearm at the most sensitive spot.
Time passed slowly, and after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, there was no obvious redness or swelling on Ji Jun's arm.
Jin Xiaoxiao's eyes reddened. "That's great."
Xin Yi let out a deep breath. "Did it work?"
Jin Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up, "It's a success! Ji Jun is saved! Quick, give him the injection!"
Xin Yi dared not delay and quickly gave him the injection.
Jin Xiaoxiao felt relieved, but then she heard a flurry of footsteps outside.
Jin Xiaoxiao stepped out the door and stopped a servant, "What happened?"
"Miss, someone has come to the door."
Jin Xiaoxiao glanced back at the sleeping Ji Yun, then followed the servants toward the main gate.
Wei Ran was, after all, a general who had experienced the battlefield, and Lu Qing and the other two gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.
Remembering Jin Xiaoxiao's orders, Lu Qing shouted to the gatekeeper during a break in the battle, "Go and call for help quickly."
The gatekeeper misunderstood and summoned a servant.
Seeing that all those rushing over were servants, Lu Qing and his two companions panicked, and their coordination faltered. Wei Ran seized the opportunity and flicked his wrist, knocking the swords of the two men away.
The battle turned into a one-on-one fight, and Lu Qing was no match for Wei Ran. After three moves, Wei Ran pointed his sword at Lu Qing's throat.
Wei Ran stopped asking Lu Qing's opinion and directly said to his subordinates who were about to collapse, "Zhou Wen, Zhang Mu, come in."
The servants knew Jin Xiaoxiao's request, and upon hearing Wei Ran's words, they tacitly formed a human wall to block people.
When Jin Xiaoxiao arrived, this was the scene she saw.
Recognizing the swordsman among the gaps in the human wall as Wei Ran, he exclaimed in surprise, "General Wei?"
Hearing Jin Xiaoxiao's voice, the servants parted to make way for her.
Wei Ran turned his head and met Jin Xiaoxiao's dark and bright gaze.
Wei Ran paused for a moment, then sheathed his sword.
"Miss Jin."
Jin Xiaoxiao looked around at Wei Ran and his men, finally settling on Guard Yue Jia.
"Brother Guard?"
Seeing that Jin Xiaoxiao recognized him, the guard raised an eyebrow in surprise and respectfully clasped his hands in greeting, "Miss Jin."
What are you doing here?
"Reporting to Miss, the master learned that you were kidnapped today, and personally found the kidnappers and ordered his subordinates to supervise them in apologizing to you."
Jin Xiaoxiao followed his gaze to Zhou Wen, her expression turning cold.
"Were you the one this morning?"
Zhou Wen was in a daze, and Jin Xiaoxiao's voice seemed to come from a distance, so he couldn't hear it clearly.
Wei Ran slightly turned to shield him from the cold wind. "Miss Jin, after he was punished with two hundred lashes, he waited outside your mansion for a full six hours."
Jin Xiaoxiao sneered, "So what?"
Jin Xiaoxiao made a very good first impression on Wei Ran, so much so that Wei Ran was taken aback by her difficult demeanor.
After regaining his senses, he asked, "He only wanted to teach you kung fu. He didn't force you even though you didn't want to. Why do you hate him so much?"
Jin Xiaoxiao scoffed, "Can't you tell from such a clumsy excuse?"
Wei Ran's expression softened. "Zhou Wen has already paid the price for his actions. Let's leave it at that."
Jin Xiaoxiao and the others had a good impression of Wei Ran because he had saved her brother, but now, seeing his domineering manner, they had no good feelings towards him anymore.
Just as Jin Xiaoxiao was about to explode, "Is this the end?" she suddenly remembered something and changed her tone, "It's not impossible, unless you agree that this matter will offset the debt of saving my life last time."
Wei Ran said expressionlessly, "Whatever you say."
Jin Xiaoxiao's temper flared up upon hearing this. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"
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