Humiliation on the long street
Su Musong and Xiao Luochen spent two peaceful years at the Junior School before being promoted to the Scholars' School at the age of fourteen, becoming the youngest of the group. Unlike the Tongxue and Junior Schools, the Scholars' School was not as simple as the Tongxue and Junior Schools. Nine out of ten students in the Scholars' School would eventually become officials in the imperial court, so factional struggles within the court inevitably affected those in the Scholars' School.
Both Grand Tutor Wang and Prime Minister Xiao were prominent officials who had served in three dynasties, beginning with the reign of Emperor Shizu. However, Emperor Gaozong's empress, the current Empress Dowager, was from the Wang family. Because of this in-law relationship, Grand Tutor Wang always held superior status over Prime Minister Xiao. However, the current Emperor is not the Empress Dowager's biological son, and the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are vying for power. To consolidate his throne, the current Emperor has deliberately promoted members of the Xiao family to balance the power of the Wang family. The conflict between the two sides has intensified, affecting even Xiao Luochen, a student at the Academy.
Grand Tutor Wang had a grandson named Wang Zheng. Due to a sudden illness, he was unable to take part in the imperial examination this year and had to wait another three years in the scholar school. As a result, he became classmates with Xiao Luochen and Su Musong.
Wang Zheng had been at odds with Xiao Luochen's fifth and sixth brothers when they were still in the Imperial Academy. Seeing them pass the imperial examinations and enter the government offices of their choice, while he himself had to wait another three years, Wang Zheng was already resentful. And then, Xiao Luochen, the top scorer, was admitted to the Imperial Academy. So, Wang Zheng took out all his pent-up resentment on Xiao Luochen.
In recent years, the Wang family has become more powerful, and many scholars have attached themselves to the Wang family. Prime Minister Xiao has always forbade the Xiao family members to form cliques for personal gain. Therefore, even if the scholars do not attach themselves to the Wang family, they will not get close to the Xiao family. The only person Xiao Luochen can associate with among the scholars is Su Musong. He is alone and helpless, and his life is quite difficult.
The two of them were often bullied by Wang Zheng and his gang. Xiao Luochen didn't want to cause trouble and bring chaos to his father, so he rarely confronted them head-on. Su Musong took Xiao Luochen into consideration, and although he was resentful in his heart, most of the time he would endure it as long as Wang Zheng and his gang didn't go too far.
But the wind keeps blowing even when the tree wants to be still. The more Xiao Luochen tolerated, the more Wang Zheng and his followers perceived him as weak and vulnerable. But Xiao Luochen was, after all, the son of the Prime Minister. While Wang Zheng and his group often harassed him in secret and made things difficult for him, using sarcastic language, they didn't dare to take any direct action. However, things seemed to have changed recently. Xiao Luochen clearly sensed that Wang Zheng's targeting of him was even stronger than before. This might be related to the recent situation at court, where the power balance between the Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor had gradually begun to unbalance.
Xiao Luochen had been frail since childhood, and as he aged, his health hadn't improved. He had to be extra careful during the cold winter months, and if he caught a cold, he'd be bedridden for a long time. Su Musong, a longtime classmate of Xiao Luochen's, naturally knew what he endured during the winter months. Therefore, every year, Su Musong would prepare everything in advance, meticulously protecting Xiao Luochen from the cold.
The first heavy snow of this winter continued to fall for several days without any sign of stopping.
Xiao Luochen lifted the car curtain, and a cold wind mixed with snow rushed into the car, blowing on his face like a knife. Xiao Luochen shuddered, and hugged the heater tightly in his arms. He had no choice but to close the curtain a little more, leaving only a small gap for him to peek at the snow-covered street scene.
The usually bustling streets became quiet amid the howling north wind, leaving only a few sparse footprints of passers-by, just like the morning when Xiao Luochen and Su Musong first met.
Xiao Luochen wrapped his cloak tighter and a smile appeared unconsciously on the corner of his mouth. The sable fur that Su Musong had spent so much effort to obtain did not allow any wind to penetrate his body. It was as if he had several heaters hidden in his body. It was indeed warmer than ordinary fox fur.
"It's snowing so heavily, I don't know if he can make it back safely."
Xiao Luochen felt a little worried. The year-end competition would be held in two days. Su Musong was not in Kyoto at the moment, and he didn't know whether he could return on time.
Su Musong's uncle, Yuwen Qinyang, and his family had come from Shenghuang. For the past two weeks, the two families had gone to Tangquan Mountain together. Xiao Luochen hadn't felt lonely before, but without Su Musong's constant chatter and the interesting little items he'd pulled out of his pocket from nowhere, Xiao Luochen finally realized how lonely he was.
Xiao Luochen suddenly wondered what would have happened to him if Su Musong hadn't been with him all these years?
Of course, he would still be the seventh son of the Prime Minister's family, and of course, he would still be a genius praised by everyone. He would still advance from Tongxue to Shaoxue, and then to Shixue. However, the road he and Su Musong had walked together for all these years would probably leave him alone. After all, apart from Su Musong, there were probably very few people like him who were willing to become a freak who severed their school ties with him. If Su Musong were to be stripped from his memory, then Xiao Luochen's past six years would be like a broken luminous cup, which no skilled craftsman could repair.
The carriage suddenly accelerated, causing Xiao Luochen's head to hit the window hard. "What happened?" Before he could ask, he felt a dizzy sensation. When he came to his senses, he found himself lying in the snow, the heater in his hand nowhere to be found. The pain in his forehead quickly spread to his entire head, and he felt an itch in the corner of his eye. Xiao Luochen wiped his hand, which was stained with blood. His forehead must have been broken.
Xiao Luochen calmed himself down and tried to stand up. However, as soon as he moved, the severe pain in his right leg made him fall back heavily. It seemed that his leg was most likely broken.
"Sir, where are you hurt?"
The book boy, with a bloody head, stumbled over to help Xiao Luochen.
"I'm afraid he broke his leg."
His hands were numb from the cold, and his leg injury caused Xiao Luochen to sweat on his forehead. He responded to the servant with a trembling voice.
The driver fell down not far away and couldn't move, which showed that he was seriously injured. In this situation, if Xiao Luochen didn't ask for help, he would not be able to leave the snow.
As if waiting for something, a carriage happened to pass by the corner and stopped. A man stepped out of the carriage. He was wearing a black fox fur cloak and holding a gold-engraved hand warmer. His face was fair but he had a pair of slender triangular eyes. When he saw Xiao Luochen lying in the snow, a smug smile appeared on his lips.
"Hey, isn't this Young Master Xiao Qi? Why is he sitting here in the street in such a mess in the freezing cold?"
The sarcastic tone sounded very familiar. Xiao Luochen looked up and found that it was indeed an acquaintance. Who else could it be but his old rival Wang Zheng?
"What are you two standing there for? Why don't you go and help Young Master Xiao Qi up?"
The servant behind Wang Zheng made a gesture to help Xiao Luochen after receiving the order.
Xiao Luochen's servant hurriedly blocked the way
"What are you going to do?"
Wang Zheng had always been at odds with the young master, and he didn't believe this man would be so kind as to help him. Moreover, the reason the carriage had just crashed into the gatehouse and overturned was entirely due to this man's mischief. He could clearly see that it was Wang Zheng's men who had thrown rocks at the horses' hooves, startling them, and then plotted against the driver. Otherwise, the carriage wouldn't have lost control and crashed into the stone pillars of the gatehouse on the street.
Seeing the servant trying to stop him, Wang Zheng's expression suddenly changed.
"What's wrong with you servants? Can't you see that your master is injured? Get out of the way! You two, why don't you do anything?"
"Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Wang. I can handle this small matter, so I won't bother you any more."
Although Xiao Luochen didn't know that the previous disaster was caused by Wang Zheng, based on his understanding of Wang Zheng, he knew that this person definitely had bad intentions.
"You and I are classmates. If I don't help, the teacher will definitely scold me if he finds out."
Wang Zheng waved his hand, and the two attendants pushed the servant who was blocking the way to the ground, stepped over the servant and went forward to help Xiao Luochen up.
The servant's movements were rough, more like carrying than supporting, and he dragged Xiao Luochen to Wang Zheng's carriage, then let go of his hand.
Xiao Luochen lost his footing and fell to the ground again, as if someone had cut his flesh and broken his bones with a sharp knife. The severe pain from his legs instantly spread throughout his limbs. He didn't even have the strength to cry out in pain. He could only collapse on the ground and twitch in agony, looking extremely miserable.
"Alas, Young Master Xiao Qi is indeed delicate and frail. A romantic figure like you is lucky to have met me today. If you had met some bad guy, seeing your delicate and pitiful appearance, I'm afraid he would have bad intentions."
Wang Zheng bent down and looked down at Xiao Luochen, who was lying on the ground in pain and almost fainted, with a playful smile on his face.
"What do you think? If we sell this young master to a brothel, will he be the top prostitute?"
Although Xiao Luochen was in unbearable pain, he heard every word of Wang Zheng's humiliation. He was unable to move now, and it would be futile to say more. Moreover, if he stayed in this snowy and icy place any longer, not only would his cold flare up, but his leg injury would also worsen. If he wasn't careful, he would become lame. The best thing to do now was to find a way to escape.
However, both the servant and the coachman were injured, and Wang Zheng had a large number of people. There were few pedestrians on the street on such a snowy day, and Wang Zheng's carriage deliberately blocked Xiao Luochen. Even if someone passed by, they would not be able to easily discover what happened on the street corner. It seemed that there was nothing that could be done in this situation.
When Xiao Luochen was feeling depressed, he suddenly heard Su Musong's clear reply.
"Luo Chen is reserved. Young Master Wang is more adept at selling his smiles and entertaining customers. Only Young Master Wang can take on this top role."
Su Musong came at some point, with a smile on his face, but his pair of dark eyes stared straight at Wang Zheng, fighting back against his humiliation of Xiao Luochen.
Wang Zheng was obviously a few years older than Su Musong, but at this moment, being stared at by Su Musong, he felt a little scared. However, if he showed his fear at this time, it would be embarrassing if it got out. When people feel guilty, their voices will always get louder unconsciously.
"You dare to humiliate me like this? Do you know what the consequences will be?"
Su Musong snorted, glared at Wang Zheng, and ignored him. In a flash, he grabbed the two servants who were dragging Xiao Luochen. Before they could react, they were thrown across the street like a brick. Wang Zheng had never seen Su Musong in action before, and seeing how powerful he was, he didn't dare to act rashly.
Su Musong leaned over and saw Xiao Luochen's painful expression. He was afraid that he would hurt him again, so he did not dare to touch him.
"Luo Chen, where are you hurt?"
When Xiao Luochen saw Su Musong, his tense nerves relaxed, and his perception of pain became even clearer. The waves of pain made his already numb mouth even more speechless, and Xiao Luochen could only point to his right leg with his fingers, which could no longer be straightened.
Su Musong felt sad when he saw Xiao Luochen, whose face was pale, eyebrows were frosted, and lips were frozen purple. He hurriedly took off Xiao Luochen's sable cloak that was soaked by snow water, and then took off his own cloak to wrap him up.
Su Musong examined Xiao Luochen's leg injury and initially determined it to be a fracture. He took the scattered wooden strips from Xiao Luochen's carriage, tore off the curtain, and simply fixed the injured leg. He then carried Xiao Luochen to Wang Zheng's carriage and threw Wang Zheng's driver out of the carriage.
When the servant saw what Su Musong did, he roughly understood what he was going to do, and hurriedly helped the Xiao family's coachman onto the carriage.
Wang Zheng watched Su Musong seize his carriage but was powerless to stop him. His servant was thrown to the side of the street and couldn't get up. How could he be a match for Su Musong alone?
"Su Musong, what are you going to do?"
Su Musong lifted the curtain and threw a gold ingot at Wang Zheng.
"I have bought the carriage and horses. If you don't have enough money, you can come to my Anguo Mansion to get it."
After saying this, he lowered the curtain and ignored Wang Zheng. Xiao Luochen's servant said nothing, understood, whipped the carriage and drove away.
All of this fell into the eyes of a young girl. While Su Musong's abdication of the evil servant in the street was undoubtedly heroic, Xiao Luochen, humiliated in the snow, seemed to evoke even more pity. She had initially wanted to help Xiao Luochen, but Su Musong beat her to the punch. Furthermore, Su Musong's decisiveness left her no chance to intervene. It was a pity that they would not have the chance to meet again this time. Who knew when she would return to Yongjing City next time, and what kind of encounters would she encounter then?
In the carriage, Su Musong held Xiao Luochen's hands, breathing on them to warm them, and kneaded his arms to help his blood flow smoothly. Fortunately, Wang Zheng had placed a heater in the carriage, and Xiao Luochen gradually felt warmer.
The body feels warm and the mind starts to clear up.
"Mu Song, I don't want to go back to the Prime Minister's Mansion for the time being."
"Okay, I'll take you to my house."
Su Musong knew without asking why Xiao Luochen was unwilling to go home. His family would definitely question him if he went back in such a miserable state. However, there was no solid evidence for what happened today. If Wang Zheng refused to admit it, there would be nothing he could do. Therefore, telling the truth would only make things more difficult for his father. The Xiao and Wang families were already at odds with each other, and telling the story now would be like adding fuel to the fire.
Xiao Luochen trembled with pain, but he clenched his teeth and forced himself not to scream. Su Musong couldn't bear to see him in such pain, so he pressed his acupoints and made him fall asleep.
On the way, the servant boy explained the cause and effect of today's events to Su Musong clearly. Su Musong always knew what Xiao Luochen was thinking. After listening, he just told the servant boy not to make it public. After returning home, if others asked about Xiao Luochen's injury, he would just say that he accidentally got into a car accident because the road was slippery and snowy.
After returning to the Anguo Mansion, Su Musong settled Xiao Luochen in his own courtyard, changed Xiao Luochen into clean clothes, added enough charcoal fire in the room, fed him pain-relieving medicine, and sent someone to deliver a letter to Changsun Chenqian who was in Tangquan Mountain. Only after finishing all these did he have time to sit down and talk to Xiao Luochen.
"Musong, why did you come back alone?"
Watching Su Musong busy for a long time, but the Duke of Anguo and his wife did not show up, nor were the two little ones, Su Mufeng and Su Muliu, Xiao Luochen realized that Su Musong came back alone, but happened to meet Wang Zheng who was making things difficult for him. It was quite a coincidence.
"Dad and the others won't be back for another two days. I stumbled upon Warm Winter Grass while soaking in the hot springs. My uncle said it's incredibly rare, not even in his Flower Castle. Growing in the hot springs, it's incredibly effective in curing your cold. I was so excited I couldn't help but come back to show it to you."
When Su Musong thought of Wang Zheng's bullying of Xiao Luochen, his face suddenly turned red and he gritted his teeth.
"Who knew you'd run into Wang Zheng giving you a hard time? I really regret not beating him up just now. I should have beaten him to a pulp."
Su Musong seemed to be ready to kill him, but Xiao Luochen didn't want to make a big deal out of it.
"Let's just put this matter behind us. He can't be punished, and making a fuss about it will only make Father angry and give others something to talk about after dinner."
Su Musong was unwilling to go against Xiao Luochen's wishes, but he would not tolerate bullying of the people he cared about. After this incident, his tolerance towards Wang Zheng out of consideration for Xiao Luochen came to an end.
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