At first, Zhou Xiao Jia had tried to buy a night with the man's daughter for two hundred gold coins.
Instead, the man had slapped him.
That slap had led to the caravan's people and goods being detained, and the father and daughter being brought here.
"Weren't you acting all tough before?!"
"Keep drinking now!"
"Drink!"
Zhou Xiao Jia grabbed the man's hair, shaking his head back and forth as he berated him.
None of the guests on the fourth floor dared make a sound. They all knew the Zhou Family was not to be trifled with. There had been a precedent: a wealthy merchant from the richest aristocratic household in neighboring Big Bird City. Zhou Xiao Jia had taken a fancy to his daughter, and simply because she refused him, this highly respected merchant had soon left the city with his entire family, abandoning all their businesses and taking their gold, silver, and jewels to some unknown destination.
The title Grand General of Swift Cavalry alone was enough to strike fear into anyone. Even imperial princes would not provoke unnecessary disputes with such a man or his family unless they had no other choice.
As the general's nephew, Zhou Xiao Jia naturally bowed to the strong and bullied the weak, tailoring his behavior to whoever stood before him. That was how he had survived until now without encountering anyone capable of putting him in his place.
He was the Zhou Family's second son. The eldest and youngest sons had both died, the former on the battlefield after joining the army, the latter in a fire. The general himself had never married and had no children, so he cherished his sole surviving nephew as though he were his adopted son. In a sense, his indulgence had made Zhou Xiao Jia