Qiu Zhigao limped over. Seeing men from the Capital Prefecture naturally gave him a good deal more courage. He pointed at Hu Xiaotian and said, "You villain! Shameless, vulgar, filthy..."
Hu Xiaotian suddenly threw a punch, knocking Qiu Zhigao to the ground again right in front of Murong Feiyan. He might not know martial arts, but all that grueling exercise had paid off. Against a pale-faced scholar like this, he could finish the job in minutes. You fucking unrepentant bastard, still running your mouth at me? Scum like you are exactly who I beat up.
Murong Feiyan had never expected him to be so brazen as to strike someone openly in her presence. Furious, she snapped, "You..."
"You heard him. He insulted me. This is self-defense!"
Murong Feiyan said, "Men, take them all back!"
Hu Xiaotian looked into the distance, only to discover that Huo Xiaoru had left without his noticing. He was briefly taken aback. Huo Xiaoru, that's hardly decent of you. I'm here fighting to right a wrong on your behalf, and the moment the officers arrive, you dust off your backside and leave without a word. Where's your loyalty?
Murong Feiyan pressed harder, hurting Hu Xiaotian's breastbone and forcing him a step back. He cursed inwardly. You're thrusting into me today? One day I'll thrust back twice as hard! Aggression! More aggression! I never used to have such a temper, did I? Hu Xiaotian was genuinely puzzled. It seemed this journey through time had affected his disposition to some degree, bringing considerable changes without his even noticing.
Once a first impression had formed, it was difficult to change. In Murong Feiyan's eyes, Hu Xiaotian was an official's son who stopped at no evil: molesting women, bullying the weak with his power. Such a man was a rotten apple that spoiled the barrel and had to be dealt with severely. Of course, she understood his background. She knew that even if she took him back to the Capital Prefecture, convicting him would be difficult. Given his extraordinary family connections, even the Capital Prefect would not dare do much to him. In all likelihood, the matter would ultimately be dropped. Even so, Murong Feiyan could not let him swagger away unchecked. She wanted every watching citizen of Great Kang to see that evil could not triumph over righteousness.
Her scabbard suddenly barred Hu Xiaotian's chest. With a shing!, the sword sprang from its sheath, its icy blade barely two inches from his throat. Hu Xiaotian jumped in fright.
Murong Feiyan said quietly, "You'd better behave. Don't force me to act!"
Hu Xiaotian raised both hands and smiled. "Chief Constable Murong, I'll give you my full cooperation."
Murong Feiyan snorted coldly, shoved him around, and bound his hands behind his back with rope. Hu Xiaotian said, "Is that really necessary? I wasn't planning to run. Chief Constable Murong, we do know each other, after all. I know you're in a difficult position. Arrest me, and you're afraid your superiors will blame you. Don't arrest me, and you're afraid the common people will say you fear the powerful. What a dilemma!"
Furious, Murong Feiyan gave the rope a vicious tug. Hu Xiaotian frowned in pain, sighed, and said softly, "We only need to go through the motions. You'll have an answer for everyone and keep your righteous, fearless image, while I won't hold you responsible. That way, we can still be friends in the future."
Murong Feiyan shoved him. "Move. Spare me your nonsense!"
Just then, an elegant carriage returned to the entrance of the Misty Waters Pavilion. Xu Zhengying, Vice Minister of Revenue, had come back. After leaving, he had grown increasingly uneasy. Although the Hu Residence's servants had arrived, he was still the one who had brought Hu Xiaotian out. If he simply left and something else happened, the responsibility would remain his. He had therefore told the driver to turn back, only to arrive at the Misty Waters Pavilion and find this scene before him.
Xu Zhengying climbed out of the carriage and cried in alarm, "Stop!" Hitching up his long robe, he hurried over at a trot. Clothing in this era really was cumbersome. Unless he held up his robe, he could easily step on it while running and trip himself.
Seeing Xu Zhengying, Vice Minister of Revenue, arrive gave Murong Feiyan a headache. There was no need to ask: he would certainly protect Hu Xiaotian. Hu Buwei was his immediate superior. It would have been strange if he did not speak up for Hu Xiaotian.
Xu Zhengying reached Murong Feiyan, panting, and demanded sternly, "What exactly is going on? What crime has Young Master Hu committed for you to treat him like this?"
Murong Feiyan glanced at the scholars standing nearby with bruised faces and swollen noses. "Perhaps you should ask them, Lord Xu."
The brothers Qiu Zhigao and Qiu Zhitang said miserably, "Lord Xu, you must see justice done for us!"
Hu Xiaotian laughed inwardly. Justice? Fuck your justice. These Qiu brothers really are bookworms, and their emotional intelligence is abysmal. They know perfectly well that Xu Zhengying and I are on the same side, yet they still ask him to uphold justice. What idiots.
The Qiu brothers were not stupid, either. They felt they had suffered a great wrong today, and they had some prior acquaintance with Xu Zhengying. Their purpose in saying this was to make it awkward for him to stand up for Hu Xiaotian.
At first glance, Xu Zhengying actually failed to recognize the brothers. Only when they spoke did he realize they were the Qius. Seeing the pair looking like pig-headed buffoons, he could not help feeling some sympathy. Hu Xiaotian, oh, Hu Xiaotian, weren't you a little too heavy-handed? I'd barely stepped away before you stirred up this enormous mess. Still, Xu Zhengying did not have much affection for the brothers. They had arranged for Wu Jingshan, Minister of Rites, to attend without telling him beforehand, allowing the man to steal all his limelight and leaving him humiliated in front of so many people. People like these deserved a beating.
Xu Zhengying spread his arms, draped them over Qiu Zhigao's and Qiu Zhitang's shoulders, and asked quietly, "How did you manage to provoke him?"
Qiu Zhigao said aggrievedly, "Lord Xu, he charged up with his servants and started hitting us without distinguishing black from white. We had no idea who he was!"
Xu Zhengying asked, "You really didn't know?"
Both brothers shook their heads.
Lowering his voice, Xu Zhengying said, "Hu Xiaotian, son of Lord Hu, the third-rank Minister of Revenue!" There was really no need for such a detailed introduction. Xu Zhengying had revealed the father's rank to frighten them, hoping the two would recognize the difficulty and retreat.
Only then did Qiu Zhigao and Qiu Zhitang learn Hu Xiaotian's true identity. Both shuddered almost simultaneously. The Qiu brothers were no fools; they had both heard of Hu Buwei. Their real purpose in constantly organizing literary gatherings was not purely to exchange ideas about literature. They wanted to use these occasions to cultivate connections with people in high places, laying a foundation for their own eventual entry into politics. Their father, Qiu Qingshan, might possess five cartloads of learning, but he was poor at dealing with people. Even now, he was merely a Grand Historian of the Subordinate Fifth Rank Lower.
Xu Zhengying continued, "Young Master Hu's future father-in-law is Lord Li Tianheng, Military Commissioner of Jiannan Xichuan and Duke of Xichuan..." He stopped there. His meaning was already clear enough; the brothers could ponder it themselves. With Hu Xiaotian's background, how could the two of them afford to offend him? If he had beaten them, they had only their own blindness to blame. Who had told them to provoke him? If they had him hauled before the authorities over their dispute today, they would probably be the ones who suffered in the end.
Qiu Zhigao and Qiu Zhitang exchanged a look. Almost instantly, both made up their minds. They turned and cried in unison, "An injustice!"
Hearing them cry injustice, Xu Zhengying nearly burst a lung with anger. Fuck! I've spelled it all out, and you're still refusing to see reason? If you insist on courting death, who else can you blame?
Murong Feiyan had already finished binding Hu Xiaotian, and her four constables had tied up his six servants as well. Since Hu Xiaotian had instructed the servants not to resist, there had been no conflict throughout the arrest.
Hearing the Qiu brothers cry injustice, Murong Feiyan turned back. Her clear, bright eyes rested on the pair as she said, "Don't worry. Come with me to the Capital Prefecture, see His Lordship, and explain the entire course of events clearly. His Lordship will see justice done for you!"
Qiu Zhigao said, "Chief Constable Murong, Young Master Hu has been wronged!"
His words left not only Murong Feiyan stunned, but Hu Xiaotian gaping as well. Fuck! Could you have a shred of fucking shame? You're a scholar! Even if you have no backbone, you ought to preserve a little dignity. Calling you shameless would be paying you a compliment!
Murong Feiyan's face flushed crimson with anger. What sort of people were these? They had plainly been beaten until their faces resembled pigs' heads, yet now they were speaking up for the man who had hit them. Had the beating addled their brains so badly that they could no longer tell friend from foe? Murong Feiyan asked, "You're crying injustice on his behalf?"
Qiu Zhigao nodded. Beside him, Qiu Zhitang chimed in, "Chief Constable Murong, why are you arresting Young Master Hu for no reason? What crime has he committed?"
Murong Feiyan looked at Qiu Zhigao with contempt. "Then what happened to your face?"
Qiu Zhigao said, "I fell!" Wonderful. Afraid of offending the Minister of Revenue's son, he had thrown every scrap of shame away. Qiu Zhitang nodded along. They truly had been born of the same mother; the brothers did not even need to confer. Qiu Zhitang said, "I missed a step on the stairs and rolled down, too. Luckily, Young Master Hu caught me, or I would have broken my leg! I really ought to thank him for saving my life!" Even Qiu Zhitang admired himself as he spoke. I truly am no ordinary man. I can endure humiliation and shoulder the burden, bend myself to preserve the whole. A gentleman can wait ten years for revenge. When I rise in the world one day, I'll wash away today's disgrace.
Murong Feiyan fixed her eyes on Qiu Zhigao. "I clearly saw him punch you just now!" Qiu Zhigao chuckled. "We were joking around, just playing. We're good friends, so we often joke like that. Isn't that right, Young Master Hu?"
Hu Xiaotian inwardly applauded them. The Qiu brothers really had taken shamelessness to its ultimate extreme. He laughed heartily and said, "Yes, we're good friends. We arranged to compose poems and exchange couplets at the Misty Waters Pavilion. You have no idea how close we are. As the saying goes, blows are affection and curses are love. On the surface, you saw me punch him, but in truth, the depth of my love was what made his pain so keen. The blow landed on his face, but the pain struck my heart. How could you women understand such a great friendship between men?"
The Qiu brothers cursed inwardly, wishing they could charge forward and bite the bastard to death. But they had a thief's intentions without a thief's courage. Today, they had no choice but to swallow this loss.
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