spoiled brat

Chapter 118 117. It’s hard to calm down (seventeen)

Several attendants stepped forward to help Li Fu up. His hair was disheveled, and he managed to give a weak bow: "...Welcome, Your Highness."

Xiu Yi glanced at Yuan Zhen and his group, who were surrounded by the capital's soldiers, but did not see Zhao Zhao. However, there was an arrow wearing a sable hat on a wooden sign not far away.

Having roughly guessed what had happened, he instructed He Bi, "Go and fetch the hat."

"Yes." He Bi dismounted and retrieved the sable hat from the arrow. Xiu Yi took it, leaned slightly from his horse, and casually placed it on Li Fu's head, saying, "Old Li is old and frail, and should not be overworked. Find a warm place to wait. I will lead the troops to confiscate the property."

“But…” Li Fu hesitated.

Before he could even react, Xiu Yi had already spurred his horse forward. The light cavalry followed swiftly, disappearing into the wind and snow.

Li Fu stood there dumbfounded. Several minor officials surrounded him, patting his hat and saying, "You are a palace person, after all. It's a bit much for the young master to be so impudent..." They rambled on, their tone becoming sarcastic.

The same words that Li Fu had previously found agreeable now sounded like mockery.

He didn't even dare to ask too many questions about that arrow that almost killed him, so how could he have the temper to gossip about others behind their backs?

He slapped several people across the face, yelling, "Stop talking nonsense! Why aren't you leading your troops and following them? Make sure to keep a detailed record of everything you confiscate, not a single grain of rice is missing!"

The minor officials nodded in agreement and led their troops in pursuit.

Yuan Zhen led the group away, deliberately slowing her pace. After passing several streets, a figure emerged from the alleyway and naturally followed behind her.

"Are you out of your mind?" Yuan Zhen frowned, turning to look at Zhao Zhao: "You dare to shoot the chief eunuch of the palace?"

"Who knew the young master would arrive so conveniently? I was afraid that eunuch would really let someone capture you." Zhao Zhao, carrying a bow on her back, said confidently, "Don't worry, I can hit the target within fifty paces. I won't shoot an arrow if I'm not sure."

As they spoke, they arrived at the gate of one of the wealthiest households in the city. Zhao Zhao remembered that this family was in the silk business. Three generations of merchants had amassed a five-courtyard house with high walls, but they still couldn't block out the mournful cries from inside.

The two walked in amidst the cries, only to find the doors dilapidated and the ground littered with debris. In each room, soldiers from the capital were ransacking chests and boxes, occasionally stealing things.

Yuan Zhen stopped the few soldiers from the capital who were slacking off, tied them up, and threw them into the courtyard.

Immediately, the military leader in charge of this mansion appeared and respectfully bowed: "Miss Zhen."

Upon recognizing them as his own men, Yuan Zhen retorted without hesitation, "You brought so many soldiers here for nothing? You can't even control some outsiders? They're stealing things right under your nose!"

The soldier gave a bitter laugh and pointed to the backyard where the people were being held temporarily, saying, "Just now, in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the lady and young lady of this household were dragged to a secluded place and raped. The head of the household was so angry that he banged his head against the wall and died... I left a large number of men in the backyard to protect those women."

"Ha, so that's why the capital agreed so readily. Turns out they didn't send anyone to assist, but to stir up trouble." Yuan Zhen sneered, kicking one of the bound soldiers on the ground.

Zhao Zhao frowned and said, "If all those who come are beasts like this, there will probably be chaos in every mansion. Wouldn't we have to divide up the troops to manage them all? The young master brought quite a few soldiers into the city, but not enough to kill everyone."

Yuan Zhen nodded and instructed the soldier leader, "Don't let them enter the inner courtyard to confiscate things. Just move things around outside." He looked at Zhao Zhao and said, "Good sister, quickly make a decision."

Zhao Zhao hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the group of capable servants following behind him and said, “Going door to door is too slow. Why don’t we split up and each go to a wealthy household to pick up the family members and women and take them to the market to watch over them together.” He added, “This way we can avoid wasting manpower, and with more people in one place, it will be easier for me to play the bad cop.”

“Excellent!” Yuan Zhen immediately divided his servants into several groups, and each group set off to lead the people.

Zhao Zhao didn't linger and set off immediately. After finding out Xiu Yi's whereabouts through a few soldiers, she went over to explain her purpose and asked a squad of soldiers to come to the market to keep watch.

One by one, the female relatives of each household were drawn in, all weeping and wailing. The crowd gradually grew, and the cries of grief became a continuous chorus, each more heart-wrenching than the last.

As she cried, she began to curse, cursing Heaven for being blind, cursing the treacherous officials for holding power, and cursing the Prince of Ning's mansion for failing to distinguish between good and evil and for wrongly accusing good people in order to raise funds.

The soldiers standing guard on both sides couldn't help but smile bitterly, wishing they could also cry out for justice. The commander glanced at the high platform and saw Zhao Zhao using a tree branch to count something on the spot, occasionally looking up to look down, as if she was counting the number of people.

About half an hour later, the families and female relatives of the criminals in the city arrived.

Zhao Zhao jumped down from the high platform and said to the soldier in charge, "There are a total of 756 men. I would like to trouble you to send someone to the west of the city. There is a family named Li whose property was confiscated. They are in the cotton cloth business. Take 20 bolts of coarse linen from their property and use them to build a fence in this open space to block the wind."

He then pointed to two streets away and said, “Send more people over there. I remember a restaurant that was raided had thirty stoves in its kitchen. It’s a waste to leave them empty. They could be used to boil water. It’s cold today, and they must be tired from crying. Let them have something hot to warm their hearts.”

The commander was very astute and realized Zhaozhao's intention. He asked, "Miss, would you like some more food? So that they will be grateful."

Zhao Zhao shook her head: "If you overdo the acting, it won't feel real."

The commander awkwardly agreed and immediately set about doing it. Before long, the burlap tents were set up, and a dozen oxcarts carrying wooden buckets full of hot water arrived.

The group of people, who were huddled together and crying, stared blankly as bowls of hot water were handed to them, so stunned that even their tears stopped flowing.

After a moment of silence, someone suddenly said, "They just ransacked our house, and now they're trying to win people's hearts!"

The incident caused a huge uproar. Everyone was indignant, and the first bowls of hot water that were handed to them were smashed, leaving the ground littered with broken tiles.

The situation descended into chaos, and the soldiers were forced to draw their swords. Unexpectedly, a man shouted:
"Kill me if you want, torture me if you want! Anyway, all our property has been confiscated, so there's no point in living!" With that, he charged towards the knife.

Just as blood was about to splatter on the spot, a cluster of arrows suddenly shot out, and the man was hit by an arrow and fell to the ground, clutching his leg and howling in pain.

Everyone stared in fear in the direction the arrow had come from, only to see the soldiers part to reveal a little girl carrying a bow.

She stepped over the shards of porcelain and looked down at the man: "You'd better stay alive. Slitting your throat is much more painful than being shot with an arrow."

The man was carried away for treatment, and his cries of pain gradually faded into the distance.

The room fell silent, hundreds of eyes fixed on Zhao Zhao's youthful face. For every step she took forward, the crowd retreated the same number of steps. Even though she was just a teenager, her smile revealed two adorable canine teeth.
"It's late and the wind is chilly. Wouldn't you all like to have some hot drinks to warm yourselves up?"

She tucked the bow behind her back, and the crowd stopped retreating. A middle-aged man stepped forward and said angrily, "A slap followed by a treat! Who cares about your petty favors? Everyone can see you're like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken."