spoiled brat

Chapter 79, Section 78: Flying White (Part 8)

"How much money did he ask you for?" Xiu Yi asked.

The tea farmers didn't answer immediately. They looked at each other, then huddled together with their eyes before daring to whisper, "He said that a tea tree can produce at least half an ounce of white down, which is worth three hundred taels of silver at market price, and he wants us all to pay that price."

As they spoke, the tea farmers began to report their losses, saying how much they had lost.

Why bother adding up the money they lost? He sneered, "Minister Wu is truly powerful! He can send out any dog ​​and it can rake away tens of thousands of taels of silver from Yunzhou!"

The retainer raised his head and glared at He Bi with hatred: "Guard He, it doesn't matter if you look down on me, but my superiors are..."

Before he could finish speaking, He Bi kicked him, without holding back at all, making him groan in pain. The soldiers tried to intervene, but Xiu Yi glared at them, and they sheepishly retreated. Once He Bi had his fill of beating, he grabbed the retainer's head and asked, "Are you trying to say that it was Minister Wu and His Majesty who ordered you to harm the people and extort money?"

The retainer's face was bruised and swollen, his nose blood mixed with mud, a complete mess. He mumbled something, but Xiu Yi didn't hear it clearly, nor did he care to: "Find out the silver he stole."

Why bother cleaning him up completely? He pulled out a stack of silver notes from his silver pouch, wide-sleeved inner shirt, and shoe soles, totaling a staggering 500,000 taels: "This bastard has been swindling his way from north to south!"

It was a common occurrence, and Xiu Yi was fed up with it: "Give the money back to the bullied people, let's go."

Losing his life is a small matter, but returning empty-handed is a big deal. The retainer staggered to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of bloody froth with teeth, and hissed at Xiu Yi, "Young Master, it's fine if you make things difficult for me, but it's also fine if you ruin your own future! You're deceiving the heavens!"

"Deceive Heaven?" Xiu Yi sneered, then took a dagger, cut off a piece of fabric, and wrote some flamboyant characters on it with his fingertip blood. He handed it to his retainer: "The letter of apology is ready. Take it back."

The retainer wanted to assert his authority further, but when he saw the characters on the fabric that were identical to those in the imperial book, his mind went blank. Only then did he remember that Xiu Yi's calligraphy had been personally taught by the Emperor.

Only the former crown prince and Xiu Yi had received this honor, but he was more fortunate. When Xiu Yi was young, the emperor was superstitious about Taoism and believed that the two dragons could not meet. He poured all his overflowing fatherly love into Xiu Yi, teaching him to read, write, discuss Taoism, and make tea. The emperor even secretly lifted him onto his shoulders, laughing and warning Xiu Yi not to tell outsiders that he was riding the emperor like a horse... The past is gone. The uncle and nephew, who were once as close as father and son, have finally come to this.

The retainer picked up the piece of fabric, looked at Xiu Yi with trepidation, and could not utter another word.

The matter was settled; the officers and soldiers, having lost ground, gave way with ashamed faces.

Just then, a fast horse galloped up to the officer in charge, and the hot-headed scout shouted, "We've got a lead! Those two thieves are in the East Fourth Ward of the city!"

The officer in charge's eyes lit up immediately: "Quickly gather all the men in our battalion! If we catch them, it will be a great achievement!"

More than a dozen whistling arrows shot into the sky, their sharp cries tearing through the quiet night. Countless soldiers, carrying torches, gathered in the East Four Wards of Yunzhou City, like a surging flood, threatening to engulf the fleeing Shi Gang and Zhao Zhao.

-

The tunnel was deep and mysterious, concealing many secrets. They had prepared clean clothes and a pass to leave the city, leading directly to the bustling market near the city gate. According to the plan, Zhao Zhao and Shi Gang were supposed to disguise themselves and escape into the deep mountains. However, after the incident, the city gates were sealed off faster than the wind. Those outside the city were trapped inside, subjected to thorough questioning one by one, unable to move an inch.

Tonight will not be peaceful.

Zhao Zhao and Shi Gang squatted under the stone bridge, dressed in coarse old hemp clothes, carrying a basket of new firewood on their shoulders, pretending to be woodcutters going to town to sell firewood.

The underpass was crowded with stranded vendors, who whispered among themselves, their words filled with fear and resentment.
"That was terrible. He didn't even have a penny to his name before he got a beating and nearly killed..."

Zhao Zhao looked towards the middle of the road. A mother and daughter lay paralyzed in the rain. The woman was covered in wounds, and the little girl knelt beside her, crying loudly. All the rain in the world poured down on their thin bodies, and a streak of crimson blood flowed from the stone road to the outside of the bridge arch, accumulating into a pool of blood in a short time.

The crowd gathered under the bridge sympathized with their plight, but no one dared to offer help. It wasn't indifference, but rather the extraordinary circumstances at hand; a single misstep could lead to the destruction of their families.

A clap of thunder boomed, and the rain intensified, shrouding Yunzhou City in a misty drizzle.

Zhao Zhao lowered her straw hat, about to get up to help the mother and daughter in the middle of the road, but Shi Gang grabbed her hand. He said calmly, "Don't do good deeds indiscriminately."

Amidst the sound of wind and rain, the little girl's mournful sobs rang out, hoarse and as if her tears were almost dried up. Zhao Zhao looked over again and met the little girl's gaze. In those eyes, besides pleading, there was also a trace of resentment; it was unclear who she hated.

Zhao Zhao felt a chill run down her spine, silently lowered her bamboo hat, and ultimately did not move.

The rain pattered down, and the vendors under the bridge began to talk about the assassination of Xu Fengyouming.

"I heard that those two assassins were highly skilled in martial arts, able to scale walls and become invisible..."

"Nonsense! You've been reading too many storybooks; you're just spouting nonsense!"

"If they didn't possess extraordinary skills, how could they have gotten close to Lord Xu and Lord You? You should know that they were escorted by thirty-six masters and protected by twenty-four Vajra warriors!"

"Come on! If he truly possessed supernatural powers, how could Lord Xu only be seriously injured?"

Upon hearing this, everyone crowded around, asking, "How do you know they're not dead? Everyone outside is saying that Lord You lost an arm, and Lord Xu fared even worse; when he was pulled from the fire, he was practically roasted, sizzling and dripping with oil..."

"No matter where I heard it from, in short, Lord Xu is very lucky and blessed by the heavens. Not only did he not die, but he also caught a female assassin."

The dangerous situation suddenly became more alluring when a woman was involved, and the crowd laughed, "A female assassin?"

Zhao Zhao and Shi Gang remained silent. If you looked closely, you could see that their bodies were trembling slightly, whether from resentment, fear, or anger... Their crude plan had failed and had even implicated Wang Liuer. As long as she had a breath left, the interrogator would not let her die. With thirty-six cruel tortures, what words could not be extracted?