Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

"Sir, it's almost time. We should head to Ouyang Xu's residence."

The next day, just as the sun rose, Zhou Feng was woken up by Chen Xiao.

According to the plot's progression and Lin Yin's real-time monitoring of Ouyang Xu's residence, the story is about to move to the point where Ouyang Xu sends that old servant to invite officials to beat up Zhao Pan'er and the other two women!

Although Zhou Feng also felt that Zhao Pan'er should be taught a lesson so that she wouldn't underestimate the officials in this world.

But after all, she was the woman he had his eye on. It was Zhou Feng's business how he wanted to teach her a lesson, and he would chop off the hands of anyone else who dared to lay a hand on her.

Zhao Pan'er, Sun San Niang, and Song Yin Zhang arrived at Ouyang Xu's house early, along with a group of ruffians and his henchmen from the Chi family.

Because of Zhou Feng's intervention, Chi Yanei also came here, but out of consideration for face, he did not personally go to call out, but simply followed behind Zhao Pan'er and the others with an umbrella.

"Get out of the way! Arrest them all!"

A group of constables rushed over behind Uncle De, and the old man pointed directly at Zhao Pan'er: "It's her! That woman is the ringleader, the one in charge!"

Although these ruffians were usually good at wrestling and fighting, they didn't dare to use their strength to directly confront the yamen runners, even though they had some power. They were all knocked down by the yamen runners with their water and fire sticks.

"Hey! Which government department do you work for? Why are you attacking people like this?"

Seeing his men being beaten so badly they couldn't fight back, Chi Yanei glared and charged over.

"Yes, we were just collecting debts legally. We don't know which law we broke?"

Zhao Pan'er's expression was also somewhat unpleasant. Sun San Niang and Song Yin Zhang had already been captured by the other party's men. The reason they hadn't directly attacked her was because Su Xiao Ya was protecting her.

The latter had already learned from the earpiece that Zhou Feng would arrive soon, which is why he didn't use excessive force.

Although the group of people in front of us are just low-level law enforcement officers, they are still officials. If we use too much force, the consequences could be quite serious.

After all, she was just an ordinary person and had no official relationship with Zhou Feng.

The newcomer carefully sized up Su Xiaoya and Zhao Pan'er for a few moments before sneering, "I'm the magistrate of the east wing of the city. In this area, all matters of theft, robbery, and evasion of household registration are decided by me! You say Young Master Ouyang owes you money, do you have any IOU?"

"I have the IOU, but I don't have it with me. I have witnesses."

Upon hearing Zhao Pan'er's words, Sun San Niang and Song Yin Zhang immediately stepped forward, only to be scorned by the official: "Without any evidence, just your words? I could say you owe me 100 strings of cash! He's the witness!"

As he spoke, Uncle De proudly raised his chin.

Whether in Qiantang or Tokyo, he and his master had suffered enough at Zhao Pan'er's hands. Now that the tables have turned, he was quite pleased to see Zhao Pan'er getting the short end of the stick.

"My lord, I am Chi Pan, the head of the twelve guilds of Tokyo. Today's events are indeed the fault of Ouyang Xu. Whatever amount they offered, I will pay three times that, and I will vouch for him. What do you say?"

After watching for a while, Chi Pan understood the current situation.

Although he was a playboy, he wasn't stupid.

It's clear now that Ouyang Xu's servant paid a local official from the east wing of the city to use his power to intimidate people.

If it's something that can be solved with money, then it's not a problem for him.

"Chi Pan? I've heard of your reputation, but merchants should just do their business. This is none of your business! If you dare to obstruct me again, I'll take you with me!"

A cold smile appeared on the official's face.

He was well aware of Chi Pan's reputation and knew that the man had many connections in Tokyo.

But so what?

The person who asked him for a favor is Ouyang Xu, the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, a disciple of Prime Minister Ke Zheng, and the son-in-law of Observer Gao, who was betrothed by the Virtuous Consort!

With these three identities, the officials that Chi Yanei could come into contact with were insignificant.

To put it bluntly, officials who can be bought off with money have no connection with these three and dare not say anything to them.

"you…"

Chi Pan was now at a loss.

He certainly has a position in the business world, but if the local officials don't give him face, there's nothing he can do.

In a situation where "officials kill civilians," no matter how rich someone is, they cannot defy proper legal procedures unless they hold a legitimate official position with real power.

At most, they'll just remember this grudge and find someone to get revenge later.

"Madam Zhao, where is Master Zhou? I can't protect you in this matter anymore; only he can handle it."

Chi Pan whispered a few words to Zhao Pan'er, then obediently stood aside, but the look in his eyes as he looked at the official was quite unpleasant.

Although he only intervened because of Zhou Feng, he was still a well-known figure in the capital city of Tokyo. It would be strange if he didn't hold a grudge against a mere local official for making things difficult for him!

The official didn't provoke Chi Pan any further. He had come specifically for these three women, so it was best if Chi Pan left.

Seeing that Chi Pan had also been driven aside, Sun Sanniang, in her anxiety, shouted towards the gate, "Ouyang Xu, have you no shame? Get out here!"

"What are you shouting for! Where are you from?"

"Qiantang..."

Zhao Pan'er and Sun San Niang did not speak, but Song Yinzhang, who was already ashamed because of his lowly status, felt a little guilty when the clerk stared at him and replied.

"Ha...outsider..."

Upon receiving this news, the official's disdain deepened.

These mere outsiders dare to cause trouble in the capital city and offend the current top scholar. If he doesn't make these three women suffer, he'll be letting down the money the top scholar sent him!

Although he was just a minor official, he also had a desire to improve himself!

"Do any of you three have official documents issued by Qiantang County? Without such documents, you are considered vagrants. Do you know that illegally entering Tokyo is a serious crime?"

Hearing the clerk's reprimands of Zhao Pan'er and her two companions, Uncle De, standing to the side, also became agitated, pointing at Zhao Pan'er with a ferocious expression: "They're all lowly women who sell their smiles in brothels, coming all the way to Tokyo to extort money!"

"You still have such a foul mouth!"

Unable to contain her anger, Sun San Niang charged directly at Uncle De, only to be slapped across the face by the official.

Without hesitation, his subordinates also slapped Zhao Pan'er across the face.

puff--

A dull thud rang out, and a spray of blood immediately appeared on the shoulder of the official's subordinate.

At the same time, Su Xiaoya made her move, kicking the other person to the ground.

She didn't have time to stop Sun San Niang's actions, so she let it go.

If Zhao Pan'er were to be beaten in front of her, that would be her greatest dereliction of duty.

"Do you...do you intend to violently resist law enforcement?"

Seeing his subordinate clutching his arm and groaning on the ground, blood flowing onto the floor, the official couldn't help but swallow hard.

But he was an official after all, and he was certain that the other party would not dare to lay a hand on him.

"Who do you think you are?"

Zhou Feng ran quickly over from a distance.

It wasn't that he deliberately timed his arrival to be a hero and save the damsel in distress; it was just that the carriage was going that fast.

Tokyo is incredibly prosperous, and although the streets aren't exactly packed with people, they are still bustling with noise.

They have already done it at the fastest speed possible without affecting the street vendors and shoppers.

Even so, they still watched helplessly as Sun San Niang was slapped.

So when the other side was about to attack Zhao Pan'er, Zhou Feng decisively ordered Chen Xiao to fire.

This time, it wasn't a tranquilizer gun, but live ammunition, which pierced the guy's shoulder.

Upon noticing Zhou Feng's appearance, Chi Yanei, Zhao Pan'er, and the other two women breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from the scene at this moment, if Zhou Feng hadn't shown up, they would definitely have suffered a great loss.

Who are you?

The official tilted his head and looked at Zhou Feng.

There are too many high-ranking officials and nobles in this city of Tokyo.

He was just a low-level official, and he was afraid of encountering people he couldn't afford to offend.

"My lord, he...he is Zhao Pan'er's...adulter...he's from Qiantang!"

When Uncle De saw Zhou Feng and Chen Xiao standing beside him, his eyes were practically overflowing with anger.

Because of these two people, he has lost almost all of his teeth!

At this age, expecting your teeth to grow back is simply wishful thinking.

In other words, because of these two people, he will have to live on liquid food for the rest of his life!

"He never learns his lesson! Break all his teeth and take off one of his arms!"

Zhou Feng's indifferent voice startled everyone present.

The next second, Chen Xiao and the others made their move without hesitation.

The officials and their men who stood in their way were all taken down immediately.

Apart from martial arts masters like Gu Qianfan, these ordinary yamen officials were no different from ordinary people in front of Chen Xiaotie Jianguo and others.

"You...you..."

Snapped--

"What the hell are you talking about? Get out of the way! I'll take this to the Prefect of Kaifeng later!"

The official who had been slapped was about to retaliate, but after hearing what Zhou Feng said, his eyes widened and he silently stood aside.

The fact that the other party could so casually bring up the Prefect when things had escalated to this point proves that there must be a powerful figure behind them, perhaps even more influential than Gao Guancha and Ke Xiang behind Ouyang Xu.

In this kind of situation where gods are fighting, it's best for a lowly official like him to keep a low profile and stay out of the way. Blindly stepping forward will only get him crushed.

Although Zhou Feng's gaze was fixed on Uncle De, he clearly remembered the face of the official standing to the side. In the original story, this guy not only ordered his men to beat Zhao Pan'er and the other two, but also tried to strip them of their clothes.

Although Zhou Feng's presence prevented this from happening, it's never a bad thing to be prepared.

The grudges from the original story can also be avenged in this world!

Compared to the local official who might face retribution from Zhou Feng later, Uncle De was in a much worse situation.

After Chen Xiao and the others dealt with the yamen officials blocking their way, they directly subdued Uncle De, shoved the wooden stick the yamen officials used to beat people into his mouth, and stirred it around a few times.

The few remaining teeth fell out instantly, and blood flowed from his mouth.

Before Uncle De could even groan in pain, Chen Xiao had already lifted one of his arms, and the white wolf swung the wooden stick around, slamming it heavily onto his upper arm.

With a snap, the arm and the wooden stick broke off simultaneously.

For Tie Jianguo, who works as a bodyguard, it was always difficult to bring himself to use excessive force in such matters. However, for people like Bai Lang and Chen Xiao who frequently carried out missions, the people in front of them only had two identities: enemies or teammates.

For them, slapping someone and breaking their hand is already a very lenient approach.

Inside the room, Ouyang Xu listened to the cries of pain and screams coming from outside the courtyard. He paced back and forth in the room for a long time before finally unable to restrain himself and walking towards the door.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. Stop... that..."

Ouyang Xu was taken aback when he saw the situation outside after pushing open the courtyard gate.

The scene was completely different from what he had imagined—the suffering and expulsion of Zhao Pan'er and the other two. Instead, a group of people in yamen uniforms were lying on the ground groaning, and the worst off was their Uncle De.

The old man's arm was at a strange angle, and he was groaning on the ground with his mouth full of blood!

"Uncle De, what's going on? What's the situation? This is going too far!"

With trembling hands, Ouyang Xu bent down and carefully helped Uncle De up.

Even if he was dissatisfied with the old servant, he had served him for so many years and there must have been some affection between them. Now that Uncle De had been beaten like this, he was filled with resentment.

A dignified third-place scholar has been surrounded and verbally abused by several people for so many days, and now his old servant has been beaten into a cripple right at his own doorstep.

Who could stand this?

With red eyes, Ouyang Xu glanced around at the people around him, wishing he could fight them to the death right now. He decided to ask Observer Gao for help.

"Sir, I am Ouyang Xu, the third-ranked scholar in this imperial examination. These three women are audacious and reckless, falsely accusing officials and even leading a group to violently resist the law. Why don't you arrest them? Or must I go and complain to that official?"

The Gao family was Ouyang Xu's last trump card, so he couldn't use it casually. Now he could only command the officials of the East City Ward who were present.

Unfortunately, the official on the other side sighed softly upon hearing this, but did not make any move.

You, a mere third-place scholar, only mentioned being able to become an official, while that official was willing to invite the Prefect of Kaifeng over with a single word!

These are not even in the same league!

Since he had already decided to stand aside and not participate in this matter, he naturally would not obey Ouyang Xu's orders. Instead, he waved to his subordinates, and everyone hid to the side.

Seeing this, Ouyang Xu turned his gaze back to Zhou Feng.

The official here seemed to be protecting himself, so he was definitely not afraid of Zhao Pan'er, but rather this person.

However, he had been operating in Tokyo for many days but had never seen Zhou Feng. Even when the emperor personally conferred the title of Tan Hua (third-place scholar), no one in the court appeared.

What exactly makes him so feared by the local officials?

Ouyang Xu's face was gloomy. Uncle De, whom he was supporting, couldn't help but groan. His arm was still shaking, which looked very creepy.

"Please wait a moment, Scholar. I am having difficulty making a decision on this matter. I have already reported it back to the Kaifeng Prefecture. The higher-ups will make the decision then. Please wait a moment."

Sure enough, not long after, a group of constables from Kaifeng Prefecture arrived at the scene.

Zhou Feng gave Zhao Pan'er a reassuring look, and the four of them boarded his carriage and headed to the Kaifeng Prefecture with the constables.