The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

After a round of drinks with the two young masters at the Zhen family's residence, Jia Jue left as dusk was approaching.

As he was leaving, Zhen Baoyu held his hand, reluctant to part, and urged him, "Come often in the future!"

Jia Jue calmly withdrew his hand and smiled, "Of course, of course."

With that, he nodded to Zhen Yu and left.

By this time, the servants who had come with Jia Jue to carry the boxes had left, and now only Qingfeng and Mingyue were by Jia Jue's side, along with the coachman.

After Jia Jue got into the carriage, he gave the order, "Let's go," and then closed his eyes to rest.

Halfway there, he suddenly heard a noisy commotion.

Stop.

He gave the order.

The coachman stopped the carriage, and Jia Jue lifted the curtain to look outside.

Two groups of people were fighting. One group was smaller and thinner, and they were being beaten; the other group was larger and stronger, and they were beating them with weapons.

Jia Jue, with his sharp eyes, noticed that among the group of people, there were two people dressed in extraordinary clothes, who seemed to be young masters from wealthy families.

Jia Jue alighted from his carriage, walked over to a bystander, instructed Qingfeng to give him a string of coins, and then asked, "What's going on here?"

The man, naturally beaming with joy upon seeing the money, stuffed the string of coins into his sleeve while explaining to Jia Jue with a smile, "This is nothing unusual. The group that got beaten up, sir, belongs to a wealthy family in Jinling City, surnamed Feng. This young master's name is Feng Yuan. His parents passed away long ago, leaving him a large inheritance. However, this Master Feng has a strange quirk: he's fond of men and treats women like dirt. A few days ago, I don't know what happened, he met a young maid, fell in love at first sight, and insisted on buying her, shouting that he wanted to marry her!"

When Jia Jue heard the name "Feng Yuan," he already understood what this matter was about, but he still smiled and said, "Isn't this a good thing? That little girl can finally escape her suffering."

"A good thing?" The man chuckled. "Well, it was supposed to be a good thing, but who would have thought that the man who bought the girl wasn't a good person!"

"Oh? What do you mean?" Jia Jue asked.

The man then said, "Young Master Feng gave him money and agreed to come and collect the girl on a certain day. But unexpectedly, this young man turned around and took money from the Xue family—saying that the Xue family's young master also took a fancy to this little girl—look, that's her."

He pointed, and Jia Jue looked in the direction of his finger. He saw a young man in brocade robes with a ferocious expression, throwing a punch at Feng Yuan. No one around dared to stop him.

"Sir, you look like you're from out of town. You don't know—" the man continued, "Although the Feng family is wealthy, they're no match for the Xue family. In Jinling City, there are four great families—the Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue families—and the Zhen family. They're the five most formidable families. The legitimate members of the Jia, Wang, and Shi families all live in the capital, not in Jinling. Only the Xue and Zhen families have their direct descendants here, making them the most untouchable."

"The Zhen family is alright; they're reasonable. But this guy in front of you—he's nicknamed 'The Dumb Tyrant'!"

"Dumb King?" Jia Jue laughed. "Why such a strange name?"

The man glanced at the crowd and then said, "This young master Xue is slow-witted and doesn't like to study, but he specializes in bullying men and women, which is why he has this nickname."

Jia Jue nodded and said "Oh".

The man continued, "If it were someone else, they could just say something and let it go, but this 'foolish tyrant' has never listened to anyone, and no one can control him. He just thinks the Feng family is trying to take his girl, so he brought people to beat them up."

Jia Jue smiled and nodded, then returned to the carriage.

He looked up at the crowd ahead. Two groups were locked in a fierce fight. Beside him was a middle-aged man, covered in filth and limping, huddled in a corner watching them with terrified eyes. Next to him was a young girl, fair-skinned and indeed pretty. Most striking of all, she had a red heart-shaped birthmark on her forehead, making her look like a little fairy.

Jia Jue knew in his heart that these were the boy and the girl.

This little girl is none other than the youngest daughter of Zhen Shiyin from Changmen in Suzhou. Her original name was Zhen Yinglian, and she was the first in the secondary register of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling. In the original story, she was bought by the Xue family and named Xiangling.

Logically speaking, this matter had nothing to do with Jia Jue. However, he was still a modern person with the soul of a modern man and possessed martial arts skills. He couldn't bear to watch someone be beaten to death right in front of him.

He stepped forward and said, "Gentlemen, why don't you stop? If you continue fighting, this young master Feng will be beaten to death!"

Although Jia Jue spoke in a calm and gentle tone, his voice was extremely penetrating, and everyone was stunned for a moment upon hearing it.

Upon hearing this, Xue Pan, the "foolish tyrant" who was in the middle of the beating, shouted, "Who's the blind fool?"

Looking up, he saw that it was Jia Jue.

Although Jia Jue was about to visit the Xue family mansion, he hadn't actually gone yet, and Xue Pan didn't recognize him.

However, this Mr. Xue is indiscriminate in his tastes; whether it's a man or a woman, as long as it looks good, it's a dish in Mr. Xue's heart.

Now, seeing Jia Juesheng's handsome and elegant appearance, he is the most handsome young man I have ever seen in my life. Thinking back to the young men I used to befriend, which one could compare to the man in front of me?

My emotions inevitably stirred.

Xue Pan strode over and laughed at Jia Jue, "If I want to kill someone, I'll kill them. What's it to you?"

Jia Jue remained unfazed and said, "Does Your Majesty disregard the law?"

"Laws?" Xue Pan laughed upon hearing this. In this city of Jinling, he was truly not afraid of any laws.

He suddenly remembered that Feng Yuan used to have a relationship with a man, and now that he was willing to risk his anger to speak up and stop him, this man must be Feng Yuan's former lover.

At this thought, who is Feng Yuan, and who is Xue Pan? Even Master Xue has never eaten so well, yet Feng Yuan has tasted it first. This is outrageous!

A feeling of resentment and jealousy arose in his heart.

At that moment, Xue Pan laughed and said, "I don't care about the law, but I'd be happy to release him, but you'll have to..."

As he spoke, he laughed, and his hands became restless, about to touch Jia Jue's face.

Jia Jue frowned, a chill running down his spine. Without thinking, he instinctively reached out to block and twist, causing Xue Pan to howl in pain.

The group of servants beside Xue Pan were outraged. They rushed over, ready to smash him down with sticks.