spoiled brat

Chapter 74, Section 73: Flying White (Part 3)

This is a matter that could cost you your life, not a simple recommendation.

Zhao Zhao fell silent. In the suffocating darkness, she worried about her life, her family, and her friends. If she wasn't careful, her whole family would be killed.

But what good is it to just muddle through? To survive, one must turn oneself into a plaything for others' amusement, living in constant fear and trepidation, in order to gain some wealth and glory by abusing one's power.

"Sister Liu'er, there's something very important I need to tell you now."

She said that Xiu Yi had been looking for Shi Gang, hoping to use the river issue to bring down Xu Feng.

“I told him that Shi Gang has been secretly helping you, and that you can go to him first and use his influence to seek justice.”

After hearing this, Wang Liuer remained silent for a long time.

After a moment of silence, she said, "Zhaozhao, do you know that Minister Wu is behind Xu Feng? Even if the Prince of Ning's Mansion has something on Xu Feng, they can only escort him to the capital. The high-ranking officials protect each other and have long formed an iron wall. Xu Feng's oppression of the common people is no different from crushing ants. How could the Ministry of Justice's punishment possibly hurt him?"

The rain stopped, and the moon peeked out from behind the dark clouds. A ray of moonlight fell into Wang Liuer's eyes, cold as ice: "What I want is to kill my enemies with my own hands."

After thinking for a while, Zhao Zhao replied, "Sister Liu'er, I'll help you."

A series of footsteps approached from afar, and Wang Liuer quickly found a place to hide.

The door was pushed open, revealing a thin maid who had gotten up late at night by lamplight. Still half-asleep, she asked Zhao Zhao, "Miss, can you hear someone crying?"

Just as Zhao Zhao was about to say no, she heard a few sobs by her side. Upon closer listening, she realized they weren't sobs, but screams of agony.

She checked her surroundings: "Who lives to the west?"

The thin maid suddenly became more alert: "It's the master."

Xu Feng is messing with women again.

The screams grew increasingly agonizing, making one's teeth ache and bones tremble, sending chills down one's spine.

The thin maid swallowed hard, bid farewell to Zhaozhao who was hanging from the roof beam, and left while chanting the Great Compassion Mantra.

After the person had gone far away, Wang Liuer looked at the sky and saw that it was already the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Before leaving, she told Zhao Zhao the address of the courtyard and said briefly, "I will wait for you. You will bring Xu Feng here, and Shi Gang will help you leave. You will then seek protection from the Prince of Ning's mansion and work together to seek justice for the suffering people."

-

It wasn't until dawn that Zhao Zhao learned that the woman who screamed last night was Sister Jinlian.

The thin maid secretly put Zhao Zhao down and stammered, "I heard from the people in the master's courtyard that she was serving him very well and making him laugh, but then she accidentally said something wrong, and the master said her tongue wasn't clever enough, so..."

She couldn't bear to continue, saying, "It's better not to mention it; the person was already thrown out a long time ago."

Zhao Zhao shoveled at her food: "What a pity. She was so patient. If she had entered officialdom as a man, what chance would Lord You have?"

The thin maid found Zhao Zhao's words strange, as they sounded like she was scolding You Ming: "By the way, Miss, your godfather is coming to the mansion for lunch." Zhao Zhao put down her chopsticks, paused for a moment, and then suddenly laughed: "Good sister, please go and tell our master that I'm almost clean and would like to serve him at the table at noon."

She was ambitious, and the thin maidservant couldn't be happier with her.

At noon, Zhao Zhao was indeed called to the table to play the pipa, while two other girls sang songs beside her, their voices sweet and languid, creating a decadent atmosphere.

You Ming came to discuss serious matters. He respectfully poured wine for Xu Feng, not daring to sit down, and stood aside to serve him food: "Godfather, last night that kid mobilized soldiers from outside the city into the city, and they turned the city upside down. I don't know what they were searching for... What do you think of this?"

Zhao Zhao guessed that Xiu Yi probably hadn't found Wang Liuer, which was why he resorted to this drastic measure.

Xu Feng snorted coldly: "Let him make a scene! I've already written the memorial to be sent to the capital. I'm curious to see just how arrogant he can be!"

You Mingxian answered with a few "yes, yes, yes," then swallowed hard: "...My son is afraid he'll investigate the river embankment."

Xu Feng's hand, which was holding a glass, suddenly stopped, slowly sank, and slammed it on the table with a thud, startling You Ming.

He quickly knelt down and hurriedly said, "It's my fault! I handled this all by myself, it has nothing to do with you, how could I have said it to upset you?"

Xu Feng found his flustered appearance amusing and twitched his lips: "I've used you for more than half a year, and only now do I realize you're a fool."

You Ming was drenched in sweat, his head pounding on the ground: "I don't understand, please enlighten me, Godfather!"

Xu Feng rose from his seat, picked up a piece of pigeon meat with his chopsticks, and fed it to the parrot on the perch. He said slowly, "What's there to be afraid of investigating about the river embankment? The people all say it's a good project. Would he dare to go against the will of the people and dig it up? Even if he finds out about the group of people who were killed before, he won't be able to make a ripple. He thinks he can bring me down by using the fact that he oppressed the people? He's dreaming!"

You Ming understood what he meant, but was still apprehensive: "But if it gets out, it won't look good..."

Xu Feng seemed not to hear him, focusing solely on feeding the parrot: "Eat."

The parrot seemed to have a spirit; it could smell that the piece of meat on the chopsticks belonged to its kind, and it desperately twisted its head to avoid it. It even tried to fly away, but the small gold chain on its leg was tied to the bird stand. In desperation, it pulled on the gold chain to escape from Xu Feng, scattering the food and water from the bird stand all over the ground.

You Ming watched this scene and silently lowered his head. Sure enough, a sharp bird cry rang in his ears.

"That kid is all arrogance and ruthlessness, but he can't shake off his scholarly habits. He's so naive, thinking that by exposing the shameful things, he can win the hearts of the people against us. How ridiculous! The common people are all minding their own business. Who would jump up and cause trouble for a bunch of dead people? We're not even chewing their bones, so who would take it seriously? It's just like this bird. It doesn't usually eat the flesh of its own kind, but if you force it, it'll swallow it."

You Ming nodded in agreement. As he looked up, a parrot chained with gold came into view.

It was already dead, swaying back and forth. It had indeed swallowed the piece of pigeon meat, along with two chopsticks, which had pierced through its throat from head to tail.

You Ming knew that Xu Feng was in a bad mood and was venting his anger.

Yesterday's events had spread among the servants of the Xu household, and You Ming had also heard about them. He glanced sideways at Zhao Zhao, who was playing music beside him, and asked cautiously, "Godfather, if this girl isn't well served, I'll get you a more obedient one."

Now that we've finished talking business, it's time to get on with the women.

Xu Feng looked at Zhao Zhao, pointed with his short, stubby finger, then, remembering that Zhao Zhao's menstrual period hadn't completely ended, he gestured to a girl singing: "Come here."

The girl tiptoed over and was pulled onto Xu Feng's lap. She was clean and pretty, and Xu Feng groped her all over, making her feed him wine mouth-to-mouth. The two were all lovey-dovey, but Xu Feng kept staring at the embroidered shoes on Zhao Zhao's feet.

“Your goddaughter is pretty, but it’s a pity she’s a bit old and her body is dirty.”