When Murong Feiyan saw what had happened, she felt not disappointment but heartfelt relief. Hu Tianxiong's intervention had pulled everyone back from the brink of a monumental disaster. Although her sword was no peerless divine weapon, it was forged from fine steel and far superior to ordinary blades. Tang Qingxuan had practiced martial arts since childhood and possessed extraordinary arm strength. With all her strength behind that furious, humiliated throw, the sword carried tremendous force. Had it struck Hu Xiaotian, he would have been gravely wounded, if not killed.
Hu Tianxiong was the finest martial artist in the minister's residence, and his arrival immediately changed the situation. He stamped his right foot hard against the white marble lotus finial on the railing, then sprang into the air. His movements lacked the graceful elegance of Tang Qingxuan's and Murong Feiyan's, but his somersault was high and soaring nonetheless. He flipped forward and twisted in midair, landing protectively in front of Hu Xiaotian. His saber traced a flourish of icy light before him. With one hand lifting his outer robe and the other holding the saber horizontally, blade facing outward, he struck the classic pose of a hero making his entrance. Thrusting out his chest, he declared in a powerful voice, "Ha! Insolent vermin! With Hu Tianxiong here, who dares harm my young master!"
Hu Xiaotian had initially been full of gratitude for the fellow's timely rescue. But after seeing his pose and hearing the smug declaration-as though he feared someone might not realize that he, Hu Tianxiong, had saved him-Hu Xiaotian thought, For fuck's sake, would it kill you not to show off?
Tang Qingxuan did not care who he was. All she wanted now was to kill Hu Xiaotian. She tried to charge forward again, but Murong Feiyan caught her. This time, Murong Feiyan had learned her lesson. Tang Qingxuan was seeing red and might well attack her too, so she simply wrapped her arms around Tang Qingxuan from behind and whispered, "Qingxuan, stop this!"
Tang Qingxuan struggled but could not break free. By then, her two elder brothers, Tang Tiehan and Tang Tiecheng, had both arrived. Seeing that their sister had been rescued, the brothers no longer had any reservations. Tang Tiecheng roared, "Brothers, attack! Kill this lecher and get justice for my sister!"
Spurred on by him, the hundred-odd men they had brought regained their courage and shouted together, "Kill the lecher! Avenge Miss Tang!" More than a hundred voices raised at once made no small commotion. Their cries could probably be heard clearly for a full li in every direction.
Although Hu Buwei had sent his personal guard, Hu Tianxiong, ahead and appeared as composed as ever, inwardly he was quite uneasy. He had little confidence in his son Hu Xiaotian's intelligence. Half a year ago, his son had miraculously recovered his senses and suddenly begun speaking, but Hu Buwei had always found the development suspicious. Who could say whether his condition might relapse? Thus, when Tang Wenzheng told him what had happened today, his first thought was that his son might have suffered another episode.
Sitting in Hu Buwei's carriage, Tang Wenzheng felt as though his heart were being scorched by fire. Although the carriage was already moving fast enough, he still wished wings would sprout beneath his ribs so he could fly straight to the minister's residence and rescue his precious daughter. On his way to find Hu Buwei, he had learned that his two sons had already gone to the residence, one after the other, to rescue her. Tang Wenzheng had sent men to stop his sons from causing trouble while he personally sought out Hu Buwei. In his heart, he wished he could kill Hu Buwei's idiot son. But they were, after all, officials serving the same court, and Hu Buwei was the Minister of Revenue, far above him in rank. Deep down, he had many misgivings. At this moment, Tang Wenzheng hardly dared think further. If Hu Buwei's idiot son had violated his precious daughter and sullied her innocence, what was he to do?
When the two men arrived outside the gates of the minister's residence, they happened to hear the cries for blood shaking the heavens.
"Kill the lecher! Avenge Miss Tang!"
Tang Wenzheng heard every word and went pale with shock. Alarm rang through his mind. Has my daughter already fallen victim to that lecher? Heaven help us! If anything has happened to my Qingxuan, I, Tang Wenzheng, will stake my life and everything I own to demand justice from you, Hu Buwei!
The cries also made Hu Buwei's heart pound with fear. He had only this one precious son, who had spent sixteen years in a witless daze, unable even to speak. He had regained his senses only half a year ago, yet now he had caused such a calamity. What worried Hu Buwei most was not how much trouble his son had caused, but whether he was safe.
For a moment, the crowd's fury surged, and the situation threatened to spiral out of control. Hu Tianxiong might be a formidable martial artist, but two fists could not fend off four hands. Seeing things take a dangerous turn, the servants of the minister's residence had all fled to who knew where.
Just as the Tang siblings and their hundred-odd friends were preparing to kill Hu Xiaotian and relish the deed, Murong Feiyan recognized the danger. Holding Tang Qingxuan tightly, she called out, "Everyone, hear me out! Hu Xiaotian has flouted the law and committed wrongdoing, but the authorities will punish him. You must not act on impulse!" On the surface, she was stopping the Tang siblings and protecting Hu Xiaotian, but in truth she was thinking of the Tang family's welfare. As someone employed by the authorities, Murong Feiyan understood something of the stakes involved.
Even under these circumstances, Hu Xiaotian showed not the slightest fear. Still smiling, he nodded in agreement. "Chief Constable Murong is right. Impulse is a demon. Great Kang has its own laws and statutes. The authorities will decide who is right and who is wrong!"
Murong Feiyan shot him a vicious glare and cursed him inwardly. This wastrel is utterly shameless! After doing something so disgraceful, he still has the gall to say that? If you dare invoke the laws and statutes, then you broke the law with full knowledge of it!
By now, Hu Xiaotian had spotted his father at the courtyard entrance, accompanied by a dark-skinned, powerfully built middle-aged man. Both wore official robes, and their attire clearly showed the difference between them. The emblem on Hu Buwei's chest was a peacock, while his court hat was topped with a ruby beneath carved coral. Tang Wenzheng was a sixth-rank official. His chest bore an egret, and his court hat was adorned with a small sapphire beneath a giant-clam-shell finial.
Compared with a cormorant, a peacock was clearly more distinguished, imposing, and refined. As for the jewels on their court hats, Hu Buwei's ruby was at least four times the size of Tang Wenzheng's little sapphire. As the saying went, compare people and you would die of envy; compare goods and you would throw the inferior ones away. Put a third-rank official beside a sixth-rank official, and the difference became immediately apparent. In terms of height alone, Tang Wenzheng stood eight chi tall, over 1.8 meters. Hu Buwei was of average stature, barely seven chi, but his official boots had soles a full seven centimeters thick, giving him a very noticeable boost. Combined with his naturally commanding presence, this allowed him to completely outclass Tang Wenzheng in every respect as they stood side by side. However one looked at him, Tang Wenzheng seemed shabby.
Surveying the chaos before him, Hu Buwei first located his precious son in the crowd. Once he saw that the boy was unharmed, he relaxed at once and gave a cold snort. "Utter nonsense!" His voice was not loud, but it was powerful, and his arrival had already drawn everyone's attention.
Tang Wenzheng's concern was for his daughter. Seeing both his sons and his daughter standing there unharmed, he too breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief and shouted, "All of you, stop!" His shout proved effective. After all, everyone there who wanted to fight belonged to the Tang side. At the sight of their father, the Tang siblings immediately calmed down. Tang Wenzheng commanded great authority at home. Now that the head of the family had arrived, no matter how serious the trouble, they had to leave its handling to him.
When Tang Qingxuan saw her father, her eyes reddened. She twisted free of Murong Feiyan's embrace, cried, "Father!" and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms. In an instant, her tears fell like rain. She was normally fierce and unyielding, and seldom wept in front of others. But after the humiliation Hu Xiaotian had inflicted on her today, she felt wronged beyond measure. Now that her father was here, all her hurt and bitterness surged into her heart at once, and her tears poured down like a torrential rain that would not stop.
Seeing his daughter cry so bitterly, Tang Wenzheng felt his own eyes redden. He said softly, "Don't cry, my dear daughter. Even if the sky falls, your father will see justice done for you!" As he spoke, he cast a cold glance at Hu Buwei, making his meaning unmistakable: Look what your son has done, Hu Buwei. Today, I will have justice!
Tang Tiehan and Tang Tiecheng came over as well. Neither of the two was particularly clever. Tang Tiehan said in a rough voice, "Father, that lecher Hu Xiaotian actually abducted my sister! We can't let him get away with it!"
Hearing the young man's disrespectful words, Hu Buwei frowned slightly. He said nothing and walked slowly toward Hu Xiaotian.
Seeing the Minister of Revenue approaching, Murong Feiyan hastily lowered her head, bent at the waist, and hurried forward with short steps. This was called showing respect by hastening one's steps. When she was about seven chi from Hu Buwei, she held both hands before her chest, slightly bowed her head, moved her hands, and bent her knees. This was called a woman's bow. She was merely an eighth-rank armed guard; before a third-rank dignitary of the court, she had to observe every formality.
Watching Murong Feiyan's every movement, Hu Xiaotian realized that Great Kang's etiquette differed little from that of ancient China. His knowledge of traditional Chinese learning was extensive, and as he watched their gestures, he unconsciously compared the two.
Murong Feiyan said respectfully, "Murong Feiyan, a guard serving under Lord Hong of the Capital Prefecture, pays her respects to Lord Hu!"
Hu Buwei nodded slightly, his expression mild. "I never expected a domestic matter between the Hu and Tang families to attract the attention of the Capital Prefecture!" Hu Buwei was a crafty old fox. Although he had not rebuked the young female chief constable before him, his casual remark touched on two key points. First, he had defined today's conflict as a domestic matter. Under that premise, the Capital Prefecture's intervention amounted to meddling in other people's affairs.
Murong Feiyan said, "Lord Hu..."
Hu Buwei did not listen to her explanation at all. He stepped past her, plainly considering a mere chief constable of the Capital Prefecture beneath his notice. His gaze fixed on his precious son, Hu Xiaotian, and his expression and voice instantly turned stern. He roared, "You wretched boy! I'll settle accounts with you later!" An ordinary person would almost certainly have asked what had happened, but Hu Buwei would never make that mistake. Everything before him suggested that the Tang family was most likely in the right, and he had no intention of drawing out the truth in full view of the crowd. If his son's abduction of a young woman were established before so many witnesses, the situation would only worsen. Should the other side insist on pursuing the matter, he would be forced onto the defensive, riding a tiger with no way to dismount.
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