Jinyi Spring

Chapter 125 Teasing
The beggar in the lead grinned, revealing a set of uneven, yellow teeth, and his cloudy eyes brazenly darted around Feng Chuchen.

"Oh my, where did this fairy fall from? Tsk tsk, look at that little face, so tender it's like you could squeeze water out of it. Let me touch it..."

As he spoke, he reached out his dirty hand to pull Feng Chuchen.

Peony kicked him, yelling, "You son of a bitch, I'll kick you to death!"

"Hey, you little wench..."

Caught off guard, the man was kicked by the peony and fell over.

Two other men rushed forward, shouting, "I love little firecrackers! Come on, play with me, I guarantee you'll be as happy as a god..."

They swore and entangled Peony on the left and right, while another pounced on Feng Chuchen.

Just as the filthy fingers were about to grab her clothes, Feng Chuchen's eyes sharpened, and she was about to make a move when a dark shadow shot towards her like an arrow.

A large foot wearing a black boot slammed into the man's side, sending him flying into the Bai Cang River, splashing water high into the air.

The person who arrived was none other than Guo Hei.

Without pausing, he turned around and, together with Shaoyao, beat the other two men until they cried for their parents, completely powerless to fight back.

The two men knelt down and begged for mercy, "Sir, spare our lives! Sir, spare our lives..."

More and more people gathered to watch the spectacle, and discussions arose among them.

Just as things were getting out of hand, Ming Shanyue led several Flying Eagle Guards through the crowd and strode over.

His face was ashen, and his gaze swept over the two people kneeling on the ground and the person struggling to get up from the river with an icy blade, finally landing on Feng Chuchen's calm and unwavering profile—his clothes were neat, his hair was not messy, and he was not affected in the slightest.

He felt a little relieved.

He shouted in a deep voice, "Insolence!"

His voice was not loud, but it carried a suffocatingly cold aura: "Today, Her Highness the Eldest Princess and the two Princesses came to the nunnery to offer incense and pray for blessings. How dare you cause trouble here? Are you trying to spy on their whereabouts or assassinate a member of the royal family?"

With just a few words, a dispute outside the nunnery was escalated into a serious crime concerning the safety of the imperial family. In this way, these people could be brought back to the imperial prison to deal with the person behind them severely, while also avoiding pointing the finger at Feng Chuchen and causing her more trouble.

The men were terrified, crying out, "Your Honor, we're innocent! We're innocent! It was a young woman in a green dress who gave us five taels of silver to harass her. We were blinded by greed, we'll never dare to do it again, please have mercy, Your Honor..."

Ming Shanyue was furious. How dare that girl, so pure and innocent as the morning sun and the bright moon, be so wantonly desecrated?

He stepped forward and kicked the three men several times, knocking them to the ground. He was about to hit them again when Guo Hei stopped him.

"Why should such filthy things dirty my hands? If you want to beat them, let me do it."

Ming Shanyue turned to Song Xian, "Take them all down and bring them back to the imperial prison for rigorous interrogation. Find the woman in green and her accomplices, and arrest them all."

The Flying Eagle Guards responded in unison, bound the three wailing and wailing figures tightly, and roughly dragged them toward the Purple Cloud Nunnery.

Guo Hei shouted at the onlookers, "Go back to what you were doing. If you stay here, you'll be treated as accomplices."

The crowd dispersed quickly.

Ming Shanyue looked at Feng Chuchen, her eyes expressionless. "Miss Feng, this is not a place to stay any longer. Please go back and be careful on your way."

An oxcart had already pulled up.

Feng Chuchen's eyes flashed coldly. "Lord Ming, what happened just now was instigated by someone, wasn't it?"

She didn't believe it was a coincidence that she first encountered Kong Xiyan and then was harassed by a thug.

Ming Shanyue nodded slightly. "I'm sorry, Kong Xiyan was probably involved. That girl is truly incorrigible; I will teach them a lesson."

Feng Chuchen sighed softly, "I also have to thank Lord Ming and Master Guo for arriving in time."

She boarded the oxcart, with Peony following closely behind.

Before the wheels rolled, Peony finally couldn't resist. She gently lifted a corner of the carriage curtain with her fingers, her gaze passing over Ming Shanyue's cold profile and landing on Guo Hei, who stood silently behind him.

She really wanted to say "thank you" for helping her so much the second time.

But she was too embarrassed to say it out loud, and quickly pulled down the curtain, shutting out the world outside the car.

All of this came to Feng Chuchen's attention.

She said softly, "Uncle Guo has helped us many times. Next time you see him, please thank him for me."

Peony's cheeks were still flushed. She nodded gently and murmured an "Mmm."

The oxcart rumbled along and crossed the stone bridge.

Ming Shanyue looked up at the top of Qingmiao Mountain, seemingly lost in thought, but her peripheral vision followed the slowly moving oxcart.

The oxcart disappeared into the mountains and forests, and he whispered a few words to Guo Hei.

Guo Hei accepted the order and hailed another mule cart to ride in, which followed the oxcart in front at a distance.

Feng Chuchen lifted the car curtain and looked at the trees on the hillside swaying outside the car. The sudden conflict just now seemed to have been crushed by the wheels and dissipated in the dust. Her thoughts involuntarily returned to that late night fifteen years ago...

After about an hour and a half, they arrived at the reed marshes.

The oxcart is slow; if an adult walks quickly, they can arrive within an hour.

Feng Chuchen got out of the car and gazed at the vast expanse of reeds before him. As the wind blew, the reed fluff rose and fell, like a flowing sea of ​​snow, and an indescribable sense of destiny washed over him.

Looking beyond the layers of reeds, one can vaguely see the towering "Mother of a Thousand Infants" archway in the distance.

Is this a return to familiar places?

As if in the dark, in accordance with Aunt Cai's long-cherished wish, on that dark night, the little baby was brought here from Zixia Nunnery, and was fortunate enough to be saved by the skilled physician Feng, so that he could take root, sprout, and grow up safely on this land...

She walked slowly into the reed marsh. The wind rustled through the reeds, making the small world seem even more vast and solemn.

Beneath the old plum tree, Feng Chuchen stood for a long time, gazing intently at the small grave below, the place where that little life was first buried...

Looking around, every small grave was exceptionally clean, clearly because Aunt Wang had cleaned it carefully.

The setting sun, like blood, spilled its last rays across the land, casting a tragic and desolate halo over every reed and every small grave.

A solemn atmosphere, both awe-inspiring and unsettling, permeated the world.

Feng Chuchen took out three incense sticks and lit them. Wisps of smoke rose, carrying the distinctive scent of sandalwood that blended into the twilight. She placed the incense sticks in the center of the open ground, clasped her hands together, lowered her eyes, and softly recited the *Rebirth Sutra*…

They emerged from the reed marshes and saw a mule cart half-hidden among the trees, with a man resembling Guo Hei standing beside it.

This was because they were afraid something might happen to them again, so they followed them all the way here.

Feng Chuchen was inwardly grateful. If Guo Hei and Ming Shanyue hadn't appeared in time, those three disgusting beggars would have really taken advantage of them. She nodded slightly in that direction, and Guo Hei clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Peony saw it too and curtsied to him.

Guo Hei returned the greeting with clasped hands.

Now that we're here, we should invite him to our home to sit down and show him hospitality. But Feng Chuchen is in a bad mood right now, so let's do it another day.

Guo Hei's gaze swept across the reeds, and he saw the two figures walk to the archway before lightly jumping into the car and leaving.

As soon as Feng Chuchen entered the old house, Aunt Wang said with a smile, "Young Master and Shuping were invited to Changfu's house for lunch, and they haven't returned yet."

She was happy that her son was respected.

He added, “Old Mrs. Wang died yesterday. It is said that when her daughter-in-law was changing her burial clothes, she saw that her uterus was still exposed, and it had turned black, smelly and foul... That old woman was so resilient, with such severe vaginal prolapse, yet she still lived to be over sixty.”

Feng Chuchen didn't know which old lady Wang was at first, but later she remembered that she was the shrewish and foul-mouthed old lady.

He said, "Uncle Wang and his wife, and Uncle Wang and his wife are both good people. Aunt Wang, go and deliver one hundred copper coins."

Before long, Feng Buji returned with Wang Shuping and Xiao Mozi, and also brought back half a basket of cherries given by Feng Changfu.

Feng Changfu's family has a cherry tree, and they can earn a lot of money selling cherries every year.

Feng Buji sat down next to his sister. "I told my aunt that we've moved. We have more and more houses, and the clinic is getting bigger and bigger. I asked her and my great-grandfather to come and see me in my dreams. I also went to kowtow at the graves of my great-grandfather, father, and mother. Their graves were very clean, and the Feng family members also swept their graves..."

The little boy's eyes shone with pride.

Feng Chuchen praised, "My younger brother is becoming more and more capable."

Feng Buji shook his head and sighed like an old man, "I'm not that capable. My sister is almost sixteen and still no marriage in sight. When I talk to my aunt, father, and mother, this is the only thing I can't bring myself to say, for fear of making them anxious."

This remark amused everyone.

Feng Chuchen laughed and said, "My marriage is not settled because I am useless. What does it have to do with my brother?"

"I'm the head of the family, so of course it's related to me."

He rolled his eyelids up to the roof, his little face full of worry. "My sister is so capable, she deserves an even more capable man, but I only know a limited number of people. Brother Shangguan is very good, but my sister doesn't want him. Lord Ming... he is capable, but he's not suitable to be my brother-in-law... I'm so worried."

A light rain began to fall without her noticing. Gazing at the fine drizzle outside the window, Feng Chuchen's memories of the original owner's time in this home resurfaced.

My aunt, my adoptive parents who died young, and my frail little son who was barely clinging to life...

This family, though battered by storms, provided the young owner with endless love and support.

From the living room came Feng Buji's loud voice, "Sister, dinner is ready. It's your favorite shepherd's purse and mutton dumplings."

The original owner's favorite food was shepherd's purse and mutton dumplings.

Feng Chuchen didn't like eating mutton in her previous life, and she doesn't really like it after transmigrating.

Today, just like the original owner of the body, she found the dumplings to be fresh, fragrant, and not greasy, with no gamey smell at all, and ate a whole plate by herself.

At dusk, a light drizzle began to fall.

Ming Shanyue returned to the Ming residence from the Northern Garrison Office with his personal guards, followed by a carriage carrying several maids.

In the afternoon, not only were the three beggars and the maid in green who had paid for the murder arrested and imprisoned, but all the servants who were present at the time were also taken there.

As for the two directly involved parties, due to their special status, they each went home with their mothers.

Upon hearing this, Deputy Commander Xue, fearing that Ming Shanyue might be biased and favor Kong Xiyan, hurriedly went to the imperial prison and sent someone to invite Commander Xie.

Because the case involved both the Xue and Ming prefectures, Commander Xie presided over the trial. Deputy Commander Xue and Ming Shanyue avoided involvement in the interrogation and only listened in.

The three beggars and the girl in green were whipped as soon as they entered, and they were beaten until they screamed and their skin was torn and bleeding.

The servants who went with them were all teenage girls, and they were so frightened that their souls left their bodies and their bones went limp.

Everyone told the truth, and their stories were consistent.

Miss Xue and Miss Kong were unhappy with Feng Chuchen's self-proclaimed status as the most beautiful woman and a divine doctor. Fearing Princess Yanghe and the two princesses, Xue Yan'er said she would secretly deal with Feng Chuchen. Kong Xiyan then suggested that they spend money to hire someone to ruin Feng Chuchen's reputation.

Because Ming Shanyue was in the nunnery and his personal guards were nearby, Kong Xiyan dared not make a move. Xue Yan'er, to stand up for the handkerchief, bribed three beggars with five taels of silver…

In terms of guilt, Xue Yan'er is more guilty than Kong Xiyan; she was the one who actually instigated the incident.

However, Xue Yan'er is the legitimate daughter of Minister Xue, the niece of Consort Xue, and the direct cousin of the Second Prince and the First Princess. Kong Xiyan, on the other hand, is merely a goddaughter of the Ming family and the descendant of a disgraced official.

Finally, Commander Xie determined that Xue Yan'er and Kong Xiyan were equally guilty.

Because Feng Chuchen did not cause any substantial harm, the case was hastily concluded with "severe punishment of the servants and stricter control over Xue and Kong within their residences."

To prevent the three beggars from talking too much in the future, they were imprisoned first and soon to be sent to the salt field for lifelong hard labor.

Commander Xie appeared to be giving equal blame to both sides, but his words revealed a clear bias towards Xue Yan'er.

"To preserve the reputations of both young ladies, this matter should not be made public. The elders of both families must strictly discipline them. Miss Kong is young but of questionable character and malicious intent. If she is not properly guided, she may cause great trouble in the future. As for Miss Xue, she must never be so reckless again, always standing up for others..."

Ming Shanyue was both angry at Kong Xiyan and Xue Yan'er for their malicious intentions and knew that involving Feng Chuchen too deeply would be detrimental to her. She needed to place this matter within the conflict between the Xue and Ming families, ignoring Feng Chuchen, so she had no choice but to feign a few words of defense for Kong Xiyan.

"Lord Xie, you are mistaken. Regardless of whether you were standing up for someone or not, instigating someone to do such a vicious thing cannot be simply dismissed as 'reckless.' I will not cover up for anyone's wrongdoing. Cousin Kong did indeed have evil intentions, but Miss Xue committed an evil act, which is far more serious."

Deputy Commander Xue sneered, "Your Ming Prefecture prides yourselves on being a benevolent and righteous family, spouting all sorts of charity, kindness, and love for the people like your own children. It's all talk and no action. Look at the girls you've raised—vicious and insidious, capable of even conceiving such outrageous ideas. What will become of them after they marry?"

Ming Shanyue's face turned ashen. He said no more, turned and strode away.

The group dismounted at the east gate of the Ming Mansion. The gatekeeper bowed and smiled, "Sir, the old Duke, the old lady, and the Duke have been waiting for you at Furong Hall for quite some time. They want you to come over immediately after you return to the mansion."

Ming Shanyue tossed the horse's reins to Song Xian and hurried off to Furong Hall.

The main rooms were brightly lit, and the hall was filled with a heavy and oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.

Not only the elderly couple and the Duke and Duchess of Mingguo were there, but also Madam Xia, Kong Xiyan, and Ming Shanfeng were all present.

Kong Xiyan's makeup was ruined from crying, and her hair was disheveled. Xia's eyes were red and swollen, and she kept wiping away tears.

Upon seeing Ming Shanyue enter, Madam Xia stood up and asked, "Shanyue, what was the course of action?"

His voice was urgent and choked with sobs.

Ming Shanyue remained silent, walked straight to Kong Xiyan, and glared at her angrily, her eyes seeming to spit fire.

Kong Xiyan stood up in fright, her nose reddening, her eyes brimming with tears, her voice trembling, "Big Cousin..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ming Shanyue raised his hand and slapped him across the face.