Fool Overlord Takes a Fancy to Beauty; Qin Jingqing Meets His End

Sun Shaozong vaguely remembered that there was a martial training ground at the northeast corner of Rongguo Mansion. He had assumed he would be teaching martial arts and archery there, but after leaving Rongxi Hall, Xing'er instead led him toward the back residence in the Northwest Corner.

"You may not know this, Second Master Sun, but that area has all been enclosed for the Imperial Visit Villa. Even our master and Aunt Xue's family from Pear Fragrance Courtyard have moved to the northwest." Xing'er explained animatedly, "So Second Madam arranged for another courtyard to be cleared out in the Northwest Corner for the masters to practice martial arts."

Tsk~

They had torn down the martial training ground left by their ancestors, only to make a great fanfare over some Imperial Visit Villa—looks like there really was no need to take this teaching assignment too seriously.

This Aunt Xue should be Xue Baochai's mother, then?

He wondered what the other lead in this love triangle looked like.

"Hey!"

Just as Sun Shaozong was sketching Xue Baochai's appearance in his mind, a thunderous shout came from the side. Following the sound, he saw a hulking man with a simple, brutish face striding toward him. Judging by his build, he was scarcely any smaller than Sun Shaozong.

When he drew near, the man cocked his eyes and gave Sun Shaozong a disdainful once-over before asking bluntly, "You're that Prefect Sun, right? Tell me—how much silver will it take for you to let me have that red-haired Madder Fragrance Beauty?"

The man had abruptly blurted out this utterly unprompted remark, and Sun Shaozong's face immediately darkened.

Xing'er had followed Sun Shaozong all the way from Yangzhou to the capital and naturally knew of his relationship with Ruan Rong. He hurriedly stepped forward to intervene. "First Master Xue, don't make jokes like that..."

This simple, brutish man was none other than Fool Overlord Xue Pan, Baochai's elder brother.

"Who's joking?!"

Xue Pan did not appreciate the intervention. He shoved Xing'er aside with his arm, then brazenly continued, "Is three thousand taels enough? How about five thousand? Ten thousand taels ought to do it, right?! If that's still not enough, I'll throw in the Concubine from my household as well. Surely that'll work? That Xiang Ling, back when I—"

Xue Pan was still babbling nonsense when, without warning, Sun Shaozong took one swift step forward. His left hand seized Xue Pan by the collar, his right slipped between the man's legs, and with a light exertion of force, he lifted him high over his head!

Before Xue Pan could react, he felt his body drop first—then an immense force surged through him, hurling him high into the air, more than two zhang away!

"Watch out!"

"No!"

Several women screamed from beneath the shade of the trees. Xue Pan flailed wildly in midair, but where could he find anything to brace against?

As the force of his flight faded, Xue Pan plunged headfirst like an inverted scallion. The bluestone pavement was fast approaching, and in the blink of an eye he would be smashed to a pulp. At that moment, a line from an opera suddenly came to him—Alas, my life is finished!

Yet just then, Sun Shaozong suddenly stretched out both hands and caught him by the ankles, forcibly halting his fall!

Then, with a gentle shove, Xue Pan became a rolling gourd, tumbling a long way before stopping at the feet of several women who had rushed over.

"Brother!"

"First Master!"

Several women hurried forward in alarm to check on Xue Pan. Yet among them, one woman approached Sun Shaozong with a smile and gave him a Wanfu Greeting. "Please forgive the embarrassment, Second Master Sun. My brother has always been rash, but he truly harbors no crooked intentions. I hope you will not hold it against him."

After a pause, she added, "With me keeping watch over Miss Ruan, not a single hair on her head will be harmed."

Only then did Sun Shaozong return her salute, saying politely, "What are you saying, Sister-in-law? Young Master Xue and I were merely exchanging a little joke. How could one speak of 'holding it against him'?"

The woman who had come forward was none other than Wang Xifeng, Second Madam of Rongguo Mansion.

Her fair face carried the bloom of spring, and her brows held a flirtatious charm, yet her Phoenix Eyes revealed an intimidating fierceness. She was tall and well-proportioned, while her round, raised hips stretched tight like a peach, a slender cleft running down between them. In sheer scale, they seemed no less impressive than Li Wan's.

While Sun Shaozong and Wang Xifeng were smoothing things over, Xue Pan finally came to his senses. Still unwilling to let the matter drop, he sprang to his feet, heedless of the dust covering him, and yelled at the top of his lungs, "You damned Prefect! You only got me because you caught me off guard! Don't think I'm afraid of you! If you've got the guts, draw a line and face me one-on-one—"

Crack~

A sharp sound cut off Xue Pan's challenge. A poplar tree by the roadside, as thick around as a bowl, had been snapped cleanly in two at waist height and crashed down with a rumble.

Sun Shaozong withdrew his sweeping right leg and smiled calmly. "A duel is fine, Young Master Xue. But we should sign a life-and-death agreement first. Once we start fighting, I may not be able to hold back my strength."

Xue Pan was so shocked that his eyes went wide and his tongue tied. How could he dare utter any more nonsense about a duel?

Wang Xifeng gave Sun Shaozong a few astonished glances, then suddenly covered her mouth and laughed. "Enough, enough. Why waste your time tangling with this fool? Hurry and attend to your proper business—your Second Master Lian and Baoyu are probably already waiting impatiently."

As she spoke, she flicked the handkerchief in her right hand toward him, and waves of fragrance washed over his face.

Sun Shaozong instinctively drew in a deep breath, then immediately realized it was improper. He hurriedly bowed and followed Xing'er away.

Wang Xifeng watched until he disappeared at the end of the passageway before turning and poking Xue Pan in the forehead. She scolded, "You plague-ridden fool, of all people to provoke, you had to provoke Second Master Sun?! Not to mention a dolt like you—even a hundred or so salt smugglers who licked blood from their blades were beaten into complete submission by him! Thank heaven he knows restraint. If he had truly lost his temper and torn you to pieces, who in this manor could have stopped him?!"

Xue Pan scratched his head stupidly and asked in confusion, "Wasn't it Captain Sun who fought the salt smugglers on the river? What does that have to do with this damned Prefect?"

Before Wang Xifeng could respond, a woman beside them said indignantly, "Brother, why do you always only listen to half of what people say? Captain Sun now holds a civil post as well—he is already a prefect of Shuntian Prefecture."

"My mother!"

Xue Pan slapped his forehead and said with lingering fear, "If I'd known it was him, how would I have dared to act so recklessly?"

But as he spoke, he grew excited again. Struggling to his feet, he tried to chase after Sun Shaozong while shouting, "How can I let a hero like that slip by? I must go make his acquaintance!"

Wang Xifeng, Xue Baochai, and the others were all caught between laughter and tears. They scolded and shoved him, and only with great difficulty did they finally persuade Xue Pan back to his own courtyard.

Nothing more need be said of what mischief Fool Overlord got up to after returning.

Sun Shaozong had walked quite a distance, yet still felt displeased. He had assumed a great household like Jia Manor would place the utmost importance on the separation between men and women. Who would have thought someone would set their sights on Ruan Rong's beauty?

For a moment, he considered having Ruan Rong visit Rongguo Mansion less often in the future.

But on second thought, Ruan Rong was unfamiliar with everyone in the capital, and Lin Daiyu was her only sworn younger sister with whom she could confide her feelings. So he changed his mind and decided that, upon returning home, he would assign Ruan Rong a few more old women and maids. If any conflict arose in the future, she would at least not be left at a disadvantage.

No sooner had he made up his mind than he heard a noisy commotion ahead. Someone was weeping uncontrollably: "Jingqing, Jingqing, how could you bear to leave just like this?! Boohoo... Jingqing!"

Was this Rongguo Mansion or an opera house?

Why were absurd troubles cropping up one after another?!

Thanks to reader "Alley Kitten" for the donation.