Lin Qingdai looked down at the tassel of the knife he was gripping on her belt.
She wanted to take it away.
But if you do that, the knots on the ears of grain will come undone.
She had just braided this tassel the night before last; it took her half an hour.
Lin Qingdai didn't move.
She simply turned her face away and looked out the window.
The base of the ears changed from white to pink, and then from pink to red.
Gu Moran held Su Yao's fingertips, which she had just pulled back but had hooked again, with his left hand, while his right hand was wrapped around Lin Qingdai's knife tassel. The sweet taste of the honeydew melon that Shen Ling'er had fed him still lingered in his mouth.
Downstairs, Chen Qing was carefully wrapping the peanut in a handkerchief and tucking it into her inner pocket.
Zhao Wuxu was still lying in the mud, unable to get up.
Gu Moran thought the weather was really nice today.
The sun is shining brightly.
Prince An used his own money to beat people, the Son of Destiny was beaten, and he didn't spend a single penny.
It's so much fun to watch the drama unfold.
He couldn't suppress the smile playing on his lips.
Su Yao turned her head and glanced at him.
What are you laughing at?
"Settle the accounts."
What account?
" Prince An provided funds to maintain the army. The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's men came to cause trouble, but they were beaten by Prince An's soldiers," Gu Moran said slowly. "You help me calculate, who lost out in this deal, Prince An or the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner?"
Su Yao stopped writing again.
She looked up at Zhao Wuxu lying in the mud outside the window, then at the thirty thugs eating steamed buns at the alley entrance.
"... Everyone loses out," Su Yao said. "Only you don't lose out."
"My dear consort, you are so eloquent." Gu Moran smiled and brought her fingertips to his lips, gently touching them together.
Su Yao pulled her hand away.
He lowered his head to write, the tips of his hair brushing against the paper.
Her ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
Stop joking around, let's go check out the Brocade Clothing Workshop.
Zhao Wuxu lay prone in the mud and water for half an incense stick's time.
He, Zhao Wuxu, spent ten years giving massages to those old women in the backyard of his family!
Having finally crawled out of that dilapidated cave, he used the technique of "pushing the palace and transferring blood" to gain the recognition of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's wife as his godmother, and was about to step onto the pinnacle of power.
Today, he changed into this brocade robe and brought twelve armed guards. He originally came to crush an ant that had stepped on him and, incidentally, to take over the shop.
And the result?
It was beaten to death in the street with a tin bar.
"Unforgivable... Absolutely unforgivable..."
He took a deep breath, gathering the last bit of his remaining internal strength, and tried to use his hands to support himself on the ground and lift his head out of the mud pit.
He was about to say something harsh.
We must preserve the dignity of the scions of noble families in front of these peasants.
He exerted force with both hands, causing the veins on the back of his hands to bulge.
He managed to lift his head an inch with difficulty.
Zhao Wuxu had just lifted his head an inch above the water.
His lips moved slightly, preparing to utter the words, "You're all dead."
The next moment.
A foot wearing a thin-soled cloth shoe, as light as a falling leaf, yet with an absolutely irresistible downward force, landed precisely on the back of Zhao Wuxu's head.
"Excuse me, make way!"
It was accompanied by a clear and polite voice.
Using the barely perceptible force of her step, Yun Shuyue rose another foot or so in mid-air, steadily clearing the chaotic crowd and even avoiding the soldiers wielding iron bars, before landing gracefully on the steps of Mixue Ice City.
And the moment she stepped down.
Zhao Wuxu, who had already lost his balance, was pressed down heavily by the force that acted directly on the back of his head.
His hands could no longer support him.
"Bang!"
This time, landing face-first was even more gruesome than before.
Two extremely crisp cracking sounds exploded in my mouth.
His two front teeth were knocked off by the bluestone slab.
The extreme humiliation made Zhao Wuxu temporarily forget the pain.
With one eye covered in mud and blood, he stared intently at the figure that had just landed.
Yun Shuyue didn't even look back at the "stone" she had used for leverage on the ground.
She carefully placed the wooden tray on the counter, ripped off the ridiculous snowman hat, fanned herself with it, and called out to Batuer in her clear voice:
" Shopkeeper Ba! Five extra-large cups of snow milk tea, delivered! Not a drop spilled! Including the previous ones, that makes six deliveries in total!"
Sunlight shone on Yun Shuyue's face, which was smeared with soot, and she smiled extremely happily.
Zhao Wuxu opened his mouth.
Mixed with mud and broken front teeth, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of bright red, black blood.
Zhao Wuxu was carried back to the main hall of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's residence by two guards.
His face was swollen like a pig's head. His left cheek was bulging high, and there was a dark red scab hanging from the corner of his mouth.
"Godmother..." Zhao Wuxu rushed to Lady Wang's feet, his knees slamming heavily against the bricks, his voice muffled, "Son... son almost died out there."
Lady Wang was leaning against a soft couch in the flower hall, drinking ginseng tea.
Before she could even put down her teacup, seeing Zhao Wuxu's appearance, she flicked her wrist, spilling the scalding ginseng tea onto the hem of her skirt without even bothering to wipe it away.
"Who did this?!"
Zhao Wuxu lifted his bloodied and mangled face, tears mingling with blood as they streamed down his swollen cheeks.
"In the west of the city... there's a tea shop. My son took some men to investigate, but before they could even announce our household's name, they... they started attacking."
He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with broken teeth, his voice trembling.
"More than thirty people, wielding tin bars, beat him mercilessly. They even broke the guards' knives."
Lady Wang sat up straight immediately.
She saw that Zhao Wuxu was followed by guards.
One was clutching his left arm, his sleeve torn to shreds; the other was limping on his right leg, half his face bruised.
"Bring me your broken sword."
With trembling hands, the head nurse placed a broken sword on the table.
Lady Wang stared at the broken piece. It was a fine iron horizontal sword, a proper weapon crafted with silver from the manor. The cut was clean, clearly broken by something harder.
Her temple throbbed.
"A tea shop?"
Zhao Wuxu lay on the ground, his shoulders heaving violently.
He lowered his face even further, so that Lady Wang could not see the coldness in his eyes. His voice, however, was choked with emotion at just the right moment.
"My son didn't believe it either. But they were indeed arrayed, carrying round iron shields, and their clubs were even thicker than standard military ones. My son simply said, 'Routine inspection by the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner,' and the leader immediately gave the order to attack."
Lady Wang's expression changed.
The provincial judicial commissioner's badge was hanging on his waist; he gave his name and yet he was still beaten?
This isn't a thug.
The thugs didn't dare.
Lady Wang's lips were pressed into a thin line.
The hall was silent for three breaths.
Zhao Wuxu knelt on the ground, his peripheral vision catching Lady Wang's fingers gripping the teacup tightly.
The fish took the bait. He continued to sob, his shoulders shaking even more violently.
"Godmother... your son isn't afraid of pain. Your son just feels he has disgraced the family."
"For the next few days, your son will be unable to relieve your worries."
Lady Wang slammed the teacup heavily onto the table.
" Steward Zhang!"
"Exist."
"Send thirty men. Arm them with fine iron clubs, put on armor, and lasso the horses." Lady Wang stood up, tearing off the fox fur cloak draped over her shoulders. "Prepare a sedan chair."
Steward Zhang was taken aback for a moment.
"Madam, are you going in person?"
"With the master not in the manor, am I, the mistress of the house, not even able to keep a tea seller in check?" Lady Wang glanced at Zhao Wuxu's broken teeth. "He beat my son, he damaged my people, and you won't even let him go?!"
Zhao Wuxu lay prone on the ground, his nose pressed against the cold brick surface.
The broken tooth at the corner of his mouth rubbed against the tip of his tongue, causing a tingling, painful sensation.
But that pain couldn't compare to the humiliation of Yun Shuyue stepping on the back of the head.
Just wait and see.
That barbarian, that shop, that woman who stepped on his head.
His godmother will pave the way for him. After she smashes up the shop, he can slowly clean up the mess.