spoiled brat

Chapter 127, Section 126: The Sharp Arrow (Part Six)

Although she had guards to protect her, Zhao Zhao was just a thin girl, and her cold face was not intimidating.

Wu Jiu didn't take her seriously, and most of the other rich kids did the same, eating and drinking as usual, as if she didn't exist in the hall.

Zhao Zhao gestured slightly behind her, and the poor student with a bruised and swollen face stepped forward, pointed to a person at the table, and said timidly, "Miss, it's him."

"Are you even being reasonable?" The man being accused was half-drunk and slammed down his wine cup. "It's true that I took my anger out on you, but I also gave you several tens of taels of silver for medical expenses. You've turned misfortune into fortune, made a fortune, and are still not satisfied. You're trying to extort me with this little woman? You've really turned black into white!"

Seeing the poor student blushing, Zhao Zhao said, "Give the silver back."

The poor student clutched the heavy money bag, somewhat reluctant to part with it: "Miss, if I return this money, will your Prince Ning's Mansion compensate me?"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent for a moment, then erupted in uproarious laughter, laughing at the poor student for lacking backbone and at Zhao Zhao for doing a good deed in vain.

Suddenly, an angry shout rang out: "Spineless coward!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Xie Xiaoqing slamming his fist on the table and standing up, saying with exasperation, "They're just playing with you, and you don't even consider yourself human. They can manipulate you with a bag of money, so what if they could piss on your head with two bags of money? If the price is right, you'd probably sell your own mother!"

After finishing his tirade, Xie Xiaoqing realized he was still sitting among the young masters, with countless meaningful gazes fixed on him.

There was a hint of surprise at seeing something different, mixed with a subtle appreciation, like discovering a wolf in a pack of dogs.

"Brother Xie, you have guts."

Wu Jiu smiled and pressed Xie Xiaoqing back to his seat, poured two cups of wine, and had his attendant serve them to Zhaozhao and the poor student.

“Girl, it’s nothing. We’ll all be classmates from now on, there’s no need to make things so tense.”

"Let's settle our score with a cup of wine and call it quits."

The poor student, who was worried about having no way to back down, gulped down the wine in one go.

Zhao Zhao didn't take the cup, but pointed to the dozens of poor young men at the table below and asked, "Young Master Wu, if they beat you in the future, can you settle your score with a cup of wine?"

"Insolence!" Someone immediately jumped out and cursed, "You ungrateful wretch! Do you even know who my brother Wu is? He's the Imperial Concubine's younger brother, the second son of Minister Wu—"

“No need for your introduction.” Zhao Zhao interrupted coldly: “Do you think I wouldn’t know who borrowed 100,000 shi of grain from my royal palace?”

The hall fell silent. Everyone knew that the Wu family owed the Prince of Ning's mansion a debt of gratitude, and with this debt in place, Wu Jiu couldn't use his power to oppress others.

"Young lady, I'm a little curious." Wu Jiu squinted at Zhao Zhao, "What does this person who got beaten have to do with you? Why are you so determined to stand up for him?"

“He is already on the roster, an official student,” Zhao Zhao replied. “My family’s prefectural school director is the head of the academy, and the young master is the supervisor, teaching both literature and martial arts. It is only right and proper for them to care for their students. If they are just going through the motions today, how will they supervise the school after it opens?”

It turned out to be the brother and sister's personal dog. Wu Jiu smirked, "In that case, we'll be seeing each other all the time from now on."

"I'm hosting the banquet today, young lady, could you please give me face and allow me to find a way to settle this matter?"

Zhao Zhao gestured for him to speak.

Wu Jiu patted the person next to him, who was the instigator: "Li Er, wake up."

Li Er was so drunk that he didn't respond to any slapping.

“My friend is dead drunk and weak, can you see that clearly, young lady?” Wu Jiu smiled. “I’m putting righteousness above family ties and handing him over. The victim can take any revenge he wants.”

Without waiting for Zhaozhao to reply, he signaled his attendants to throw the person into the open space in the hall.

Li Er, drunk and flushed, slammed onto the stone floor, the pain jolting him back to his senses. He groggily opened his eyes and saw a trembling figure standing before him—none other than the poor student who had been beaten.
He asked, dazed, "Did you throw me on the ground?" The poor student turned pale and quickly waved his hand, saying no.

Li Er got up and saw that there were people watching the show all around him. He realized that he had been made a scapegoat. He was both ashamed and angry, but he didn't dare to curse Wu Jiu. He could only try to get back at Wu Jiu by acting tough.

In a flash, Li Er threw a punch. The poor student raised his hand to block it, but heard a cracking sound from his arm bone, and he slid far away in an instant!
Before he could even recover, a barrage of punches and kicks rained down on him. The poor student rolled on the ground, covering his head and dodging, shouting, "Brother Li, I was wrong! I was wrong!"

He was truly no match for them, but the other poor men watching assumed he was afraid to fight because of his power and shouted encouragement: "If you're a man, stand up! Don't let them look down on us!"

If there's even the slightest chance to fight back, who would want to be beaten to a pulp?

The poor student was in excruciating pain and could no longer dodge Li Er's punches and kicks. Just as he was wondering when he would be kicked to pieces, he suddenly heard a voice above him: "Let him go, and I'll fight you!"

Through his swollen eyes, the poor student saw a figure that wasn't very tall in front of him.

They had been sheltering from the rain together a few hours earlier, and the man's surname seemed to be Xie.

“Young Master Li, my friend is frail and no match for you.” Xie Xiaoqing’s shadow was stretched long by the lamplight as he said firmly, “I will take his place.”

In truth, they could hardly be considered friends. And wasn't he just as thin and frail?

Li Er had mostly sobered up, but still harbored some anger. He sneered, "Very well! You value loyalty, then I won't hold back!" With that, he pounced on Li Er and pressed him down.

When you see injustice on the road, draw your sword to help!

Xie Xiaoqing silently recited these eight words, dodged the incoming fist, and said with a sigh of relief, when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, as if he had been hit by an iron ball. He instantly bent over, knelt down, and dry heaved, vomiting bitter water.

Li Er's voice rang out from above: "Are you coming or not?"

Xie Xiaoqing wiped his mouth clean, stood up shakily, and bit out a single word with his pale lips: "...Come!"

Seeing his backbone, Li Er put away his contemptuous attitude and waited for him to get into position before they started fighting seriously.

Having been beaten once, Xie Xiaoqing learned his lesson and became more careful in his defense. But how could his thin arms, fed on cabbage and bran, withstand the robust physique that Li Er had raised on a diet of fish and meat?
After only a few moves, he began to lose ground. A punch came straight at him, and there was no way to dodge it. He closed his eyes and waited for death, but then he heard a thud. Before the pain even arrived, he heard Li Er's scream.

Xie Xiaoqing opened his eyes and saw Zhaozhao standing in front of him, having just raised her scabbard to block the punch.

Even flesh and bone cannot be as hard as refined iron. Li Er clutched his fist and rolled on the ground, crying out in pain.

Zhao Zhao wasn't much better off; her drooping hand trembled incessantly, and two lines of blood dripped down her cheeks.

She seemed oblivious to the pain, her voice calm and composed as she addressed Wu Jiu, who sat at the head of the table: "Young Master Wu, let's leave it at that. Farewell."

If this continues, it will be difficult for both sides to resolve the situation. Zhao Zhao understood this, and so did Wu Jiu, who smiled and said, "Please take care, young lady. We'll meet again sometime."

This incident further exacerbated the already strained relationship between the two groups. The poor boys who had initially harbored ambitions to curry favor with the powerful saw the situation clearly and realized that the officials did not treat them as human beings, so they all wanted to follow Zhaozhao.

Zhao Zhao nodded in agreement and was about to lead the people to a cheaper place to stay when she saw flames shooting into the sky outside the inn, and the dense sound of horses' hooves and the clatter of armor could be heard, clearly indicating that soldiers were coming.

The Wu gang members seemed to have guessed who the newcomer was, and they all looked at Wu Jiu in alarm, saying, "Old Jiang's dog is here!"

Jiang? Zhao Zhao's eyelids twitched. Just as she was thinking of that beast Li Qingwen, she heard someone shout downstairs:
"The Jingzhao Prefecture is apprehending traitors! Those inside, show yourselves immediately!"

How could there be so many rebels in the world? Zhao Zhao suddenly understood that Minister Jiang was probably too well-informed and had specially sent someone to clean up the mess.

Wu Jiu stood up and left his seat, and the playboys followed him. As he passed Zhao Zhao, he glanced at her coldly and said, "Thanks to you, we'll be spending the night in jail."