Before long, the Hu Family's four servants limped in. All four had earned wounds of honor in that day's clash, but Liang Dazhuang had suffered the worst. His nose was bruised, his face swollen, his mouth crooked, and his eyes askew. He had been beaten into a pig's head.
The four servants entered the front hall and dropped to their knees with a thud, crying in unison, "We've been wronged! My lord, you must see justice done for us!"
Hu Buwei gave a cold snort, lifted his teacup, and continued drinking. He acted more like a bystander than anyone involved.
Hong Baiqi did not tell the servants to rise. "Listen carefully," he said sternly. "You will answer my questions honestly. If any of you dare lie or deceive me, I will punish you severely!" Out of habit, he reached for his court block, only to pick up his teacup instead. He realized his mistake after raising it and could only set it down gently, stealing a glance at Hu Buwei. Even when beating a dog, one had to consider its master. Hong Baiqi was putting on this stern display to give both sides the impression that he was impartial. Frightening a few servants should do no harm; toward Hu Xiaotian, the young master at the heart of the affair, he remained exceedingly courteous.
Naturally, Hu Buwei knew Hong Baiqi was putting on an act. He also knew that glance was a request for his approval. His expression remained indifferent, and he said nothing.
Hong Baiqi could only steel himself and continue questioning them. "Tell me honestly: why did Miss Tang fall into the water, and what happened afterward?"
With his mouth twisted, Liang Dazhuang said, "Your just and honorable lordship, that Tang girl was charging recklessly along Emerald Cloud Lake on a big red horse. We were accompanying our young master on a stroll beside the lake when we saw her galloping wildly. I wanted to protect him, but the horse came too fast for me to react. Just as her mount was about to run into our young master, she reined it in. We wanted to confront her, but our young master said a decent man doesn't fight with a woman. Since no one had been hurt, we should let it go. Who could have imagined..." Liang Dazhuang put on a sorrowful expression.
The fellow had been beaten into such a pig-headed wreck that any expression he made inspired no sympathy whatsoever. It only made him look even more ridiculous.
Hu Fo chimed in, "None of us expected that Tang girl to be so overbearing. She raised her whip and lashed straight at our young master's head! He lifted his arm to block it... and she split his skin open!"
Hu Xiaotian shook his head and sighed, rolling up his sleeve at precisely the right moment to show everyone the distinct whip mark on his arm.
Hu Buwei praised him inwardly. Well done, son. Silence speaks louder than words here. This is how you strike second and seize the upper hand. Let the Tang Family spout their lies first, then counterattack once they're finished, using hard evidence to expose them. Heh, you actually dared bully our Hu Family! Tang Wenzheng, oh, Tang Wenzheng, a sixth-rank horse keeper like you dares challenge my authority? Clearly, you no longer want a future in the capital.
Tang Wenzheng's heart jolted when Hu Xiaotian revealed that wound. No one knew a daughter better than her father; he was well aware of her spoiled, headstrong temper. Galloping through busy streets was already against the law. If these servants were telling the truth, then his daughter must have struck Hu Xiaotian first. Girl, oh, girl, you've poked a hole clear through the heavens!
Tang Qingxuan had been lying in Murong Feiyan's arms, pretending to be unconscious, but she could no longer remain silent. Her eyes suddenly flew open, startling Murong Feiyan. "You were the ones who did something to my horse and pushed me into the water!" Tang Qingxuan snapped.
Hu Xiaotian sighed inwardly. This little chick really has no decency. I wasn't going to hold it against you, but you keep turning black into white in front of everyone. No doubt that fainting spell was an act, too. You look so young and pretty, but who'd have thought you were this vicious inside? Damn it, are you really going to force me to play rough?
Hong Baiqi frowned. "Miss Tang, think carefully. Just now, you said your horse was startled and threw you off. Why are you now saying they pushed you into the water?" He was an old hand at this game, too. At heart, he sided with Hu Buwei, and he seized on the flaw in Tang Qingxuan's account, deliberately making more of it.
With tears in her eyes, Tang Qingxuan said, "My lord, please discern the truth. I was too ashamed to speak of it before. I wasn't galloping wildly beside the lake at all. This master and his servants saw that I had some beauty and harbored wicked intentions. They came up and harassed me. I'm only a helpless woman, and I was frightened, so I tried to ride away. But this wicked young master! He..." She pointed at Hu Xiaotian. Naturally, he was the wicked young master she meant.
Tang Qingxuan was clearly no easy opponent either. Her expression changed in an instant, and tears kept falling like pearls from a broken string. Where was her earlier ferocity and arrogance? Now she was the very picture of a frail woman, too weak to withstand a breeze, bearing humiliation in silence. "He... filled his mouth with filthy words and harassed me in every way... How could a helpless woman like me stand against five hulking men? In desperation, I used my whip to defend myself... My lord..."
Hu Xiaotian watched Tang Qingxuan coldly. You little bitch. Who'd have guessed you could lie so beautifully? Your acting isn't bad, either. If it doesn't deserve full marks, it's worth eighty at least. Using your whip in self-defense? **, more like. With your paltry tricks, you think you can set me up? You must be blind.
Tang Wenzheng's eyes widened with fury. His anger was genuine. In his view, Hu Xiaotian's side was naturally lying, while every word his daughter spoke was true. The Hu Family had gone too far in bullying them.
Hong Baiqi had originally hoped to play peacemaker, smooth everything over, and reach a happy ending without offending either side. But the affair had taken twist after twist, with fresh trouble at every turn. It was becoming genuinely difficult to handle. He comforted Tang Qingxuan. "Miss Tang, don't cry. Explain what happened first."
Tang Qingxuan walked up to Hu Fo and fixed her lovely eyes on him. "Were you the one who stabbed my horse with a staff?"
Hu Fo looked imploringly at Hu Xiaotian. He needed to know what his young master wanted.
Even now, Hu Xiaotian remained perfectly calm. "Just tell the truth," he said with a smile. "You're not a woman, so whatever you do, don't lie!" His implication was that everything Tang Qingxuan had said was a lie. Still, he was in no hurry to expose her. He wanted to see how this little chick would perform.
With his permission, Hu Fo had no further qualms. He nodded. "Yes. I saw her riding her horse straight at our young master, so I raised my constable's staff and thrust it into her mount's **!" These servants had little refinement to begin with, and their speech was crude and blunt. At those words, several people could not help laughing. Even Hu Buwei broke into a smile.
Tang Qingxuan's face flushed scarlet with shame. Even if she won this dispute today, she would have lost every scrap of dignity. She bit down hard on her cherry-red lip. "They frightened my horse. It bucked and leaped and threw me off, and that was how I fell into Emerald Cloud Lake. I can't swim. They nearly killed me... My lord, you must see justice done for me..." She began sobbing again.
Liang Dazhuang could not bear to watch any longer. "You're turning black into white!" he shouted. "After you fell into the water, our young master was the one who rescued you from the lake. Do you have any conscience at all?"
"You're the ones turning black into white!" Tang Tiehan said. "Didn't you take my sister hostage? Hu Xiaotian, didn't you hold a dagger to her neck and threaten us into handing over the horses, then carry her off and flee to the Minister's Residence?"
"You brought hundreds of men to surround and attack us," Liang Dazhuang said. "If our young master hadn't done that, you would have chopped us into mincemeat by now."
"We were trying to rescue her," Tang Tiehan said. "We never intended to kill you!"
Liang Dazhuang was about to say more, but Hu Xiaotian gestured for them to stop. "You may leave for now," he said quietly.
The four servants looked at Hu Xiaotian in bewilderment. They truly could not understand this young master. When he needed to defend himself, he said nothing. Was he really going to shoulder this black pot of blame?
Once the four had left, Hu Xiaotian walked slowly up to Tang Qingxuan and looked at her. "Miss Tang, you say I harassed you beside Emerald Cloud Lake?"
Seeing him approach and fix his bright eyes on hers, Tang Qingxuan could not help feeling a little flustered. She nodded. "Are you denying it now?"
"You do have some beauty," Hu Xiaotian said. "But do you think you're so beautiful you could topple cities and kingdoms, unequaled in all the world, that I couldn't contain my desire and simply had to harass you in the street?"
Naturally, Tang Qingxuan did not believe her beauty was unequaled in the world. Her long, dark lashes lowered. "What wicked deed wouldn't you do?"
Hu Xiaotian laughed heartily, then turned to Murong Feiyan. "Miss Murong, you're close to Miss Tang. She knows martial arts, doesn't she? And she's quite skilled, too. I know nothing about martial arts, and my four attendants are mediocre at best. In your opinion, could the five of us beat Miss Tang even if we joined forces?"
Why are you asking me? Murong Feiyan thought. She had personally witnessed the earlier melee and seen everything clearly. Hu Xiaotian certainly knew no martial arts. Tang Qingxuan was her close friend, and she knew her skills well; they were evenly matched. In a real fight, Tang Qingxuan could handle more than ten burly men without difficulty. "Miss Tang can't swim," she said softly. That was effectively an admission that, had Tang Qingxuan not fallen into the water, Hu Xiaotian and his men could not have beaten her. Even conceding every possible point, she would have had no trouble protecting herself if she could not win.
"After Tang Qingxuan fell into the water, she remembered nothing of what happened," Hu Xiaotian said. "I was the one who pulled her out. There were plenty of people watching. Finding witnesses won't be difficult."
Capital Prefect Hong Baiqi nodded slowly.
Hu Xiaotian continued, "Tang Tiehan said I put his sister's head against my ****. That did happen. But she had swallowed a bellyful of lake water. I pressed my knee against her abdomen and pushed on her back to force the water out. Tang Qingxuan, think carefully. Wasn't I wearing trousers at the time?"
**********The frequent edits are to deal with prohibited words. Good grief, there are so many! To avoid spoiling everyone's enjoyment, I have to keep revising things every day! Cast a vote for your hardworking Octopus!
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