The kidnapped girl was only twelve or thirteen years old. As if seeing a lifeline, she broke free from the two burly men, knelt before Jiang Suihuan, and cried out, “Kind sir, please save me! I don’t want to be sold to a brothel!”
“You wretched girl! Your mother took twenty taels of silver from us and sold you to us. You have no say in where you go!”
One of the burly men, built like a tiger, slapped the girl hard across the face, causing blood to trickle from the corner of her mouth.
The other man had a palm-long scar on his face and looked fierce and menacing. He pointed at Jiang Suihuan and cursed, “I hate pretty boys like you the most! Mind your own business!”
Li Xueming frowned and said, “I’ve vaguely heard people say that these two brothers are notorious local bullies on this street. They make a living by trafficking people, and because they look so intimidating, no one dares to provoke them.”
“Such people exist right under the emperor’s nose?” Jiang Suihuan slammed her chopsticks heavily on the table, picked up her teacup, and splashed the contents out the window, dousing Scarface’s face.
Scarface wiped the tea from his face, furious, and tried to charge into Yuefang Lou to confront Jiang Suihuan but was stopped by the restaurant’s waiter.
Yuefang Lou was the premier restaurant in Jingcheng, and Scarface didn’t dare to barge in recklessly. Still, he couldn’t swallow his anger. Fuming, he looked up and shouted, “Pretty boy! If you have the guts, come down here!”
“Fine.” Jiang Suihuan’s face was cold as she headed downstairs.
Li Xueming, afraid she might get into trouble, quickly followed her.
As Jiang Suihuan descended, Scarface saw her and rolled up his sleeves, striding toward her. “How dare you splash water on me! Let’s see how I deal with you today!”
Li Xueming stepped in front of Jiang Suihuan. “A gentleman uses words, not fists. Let’s talk this out calmly.”
“Oh, another pretty boy!” Scarface burst into laughter as if he had heard a hilarious joke. “A gentleman? I couldn’t care less about being a gentleman!”
Passersby, noticing the commotion, quickly gathered around, forming a circle.
Scarface looked Li Xueming up and down and sneered, “You’re as skinny as a monkey. Are you trying to take a beating in place of that pretty boy behind you?”
Li Xueming, having just recovered from a serious illness, was naturally slender. Compared to the burly man, he appeared even more frail.
He paid no mind to Scarface’s words and said sternly, “If you dare lay a hand on anyone in broad daylight, I’ll report you to the authorities and have you arrested!”
“Hahaha! Do you know who’s backing me? Go ahead and report me! Let’s see which one of us ends up in jail!” Scarface’s tone was utterly arrogant.
“Oh?” Jiang Suihuan raised an eyebrow slightly. “Who’s backing you?”
Since Scarface was so brazen, the person behind him must be someone of considerable influence. Now was the perfect time to pry the information out of him, so they could take down the entire operation and see if he would still act so lawlessly in the future.
“The person behind me…” Scarface started, then suddenly spat, “Why should I tell you? All you need to know is that this is someone you can’t afford to mess with!”
The other burly man had been eyeing Jiang Suihuan shrewdly since she appeared. Ignoring the girl on the ground, he tugged at Scarface’s sleeve and said, “Big brother, look at this pretty boy’s outstanding looks. If we sell him to a male brothel, we’re sure to get a good price for him!”
Scarface stroked his chin and looked Jiang Suihuan over from head to toe. “You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that?”
The two men rubbed their hands and closed in on Jiang Suihuan step by step. Scarface leered, “Young master, if you come with us, we’ll let this girl go. How about that?”
The maid lying on the ground had nearly been knocked unconscious by a slap earlier. She suddenly clung to Scarface’s leg and shouted at Jiang Suihuan, “Run! Don’t worry about me! Get out of here!”
Scarface kicked her away. “Get lost! Damn woman, always in the way!”
Before his words faded, Jiang Suihuan struck. She punched Scarface in the eye, then spun around and delivered a powerful kick to the other thug’s groin. In less than five moves, the two arrogant brutes were writhing on the ground, howling in pain.
For a moment, the onlookers who had been watching the spectacle were stunned. Who would have thought this seemingly frail young master could take down two burly men like that?
Even Li Xueming widened his eyes, murmuring in disbelief, “Incredible…”
Jiang Suihuan dusted off her hands and slowly helped the girl on the ground to her feet, asking with concern, “Are you alright, young lady?”
“Thank you, young master…” The maid fainted before she could finish.
Jiang Suihuan checked her pulse and frowned. “She has internal injuries. She needs to be taken to a medical clinic.”
Just then, someone emerged from the crowd, arms crossed and sneering, “Well, if it isn’t Jiang Suihuan, the foolish daughter of the Marquis family? I saw all the commotion outside Yuefang Lou from afar and wondered what was happening. Turns out it’s you causing trouble again.”
Jiang Suihuan looked up to see Meng Qiao, Meng Qing, and Jiang Meier standing at the front of the crowd. The one who had mocked her was Meng Qiao.
“Why are you dressed in men’s clothes today? Do you think you’re not fit to be a woman?”
At Meng Qiao’s words, the surrounding crowd grew even more astonished. This remarkably skilled young master was actually a woman—and the Marquis family’s daughter at that!
Jiang Suihuan couldn’t be bothered to respond to Meng Qiao. She pulled twenty taels of silver from her sleeve and tossed it at Scarface. “Since you paid twenty taels for this girl, I’ll repay it on her behalf. Take the money and get lost. If I catch you harassing her again, the consequences will be far worse than today.”
Scarface and the other thug snatched up the silver, scrambling onto their carriage in a panic. Once seated, Scarface shot a venomous glare at Jiang Suihuan before quickly driving away.
With the spectacle over, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Meng Qiao, ignored after her remark, grew irritated and strode over to grab Jiang Suihuan’s arm. “Hey! I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?”
Jiang Suihuan expressionlessly twisted her arm backward, making her cry out in pain. “It hurts! Let go of me!”
Jiang Meier stepped forward to scold, “Sister, Meng Qiao is General Zhen Yuan’s granddaughter and the Chancellor’s daughter-in-law. If Mother and Father find out you treated her like this, they won’t let you off easily. Let her go now!”
Jiang Suihuan glanced up slightly. “So what if she’s General Zhen Yuan’s granddaughter? She’s just a Shu Nu.”
At the words “Shu Nu,” Jiang Meier’s face paled, a flash of hatred in her eyes.
“Let go of Meng Qiao!”
Meng Qing rushed forward to slap Jiang Suihuan, but Li Xueming stopped her. “Miss, hitting people is wrong.”
Meng Qing was initially somewhat apprehensive, but upon discovering that Li Xueming wasn’t the son of some high-ranking official, her attitude instantly turned hostile. “Oh, defending Jiang Suihuan so fiercely—could it be you’re her lover?”
Li Xueming, being a scholar, never engaged in arguments with women. Hearing Meng Qing’s words, his face flushed crimson, unsure how to refute her.
Meng Qing intensified her mockery, sneering, “It seems Jiang Suihuan isn’t as foolish as she appears. Barely divorced from Prince Nanming, and she’s already found her next target.”
Jiang Suihuan released Meng Qiao’s arm and slapped Meng Qing across the face, her expression dark. “I wondered whose mouth was so foul—turns out it’s yours.”
This being the first time Meng Qing had ever been slapped, she covered her cheek in disbelief. “How dare you strike me? I’m the legitimate granddaughter of the Zhen Yuan Old General! How dare you lay hands on me?”
Jiang Suihuan flexed her wrist. “Today, I’ll discipline you on behalf of the Zhen Yuan Old General, lest your uncontrollable tongue lands you in prison without you even knowing why!”
“According to the laws of Dayuan, slandering noble descendants warrants thirty cane strikes for minor offenses or imprisonment for severe cases. Since you claim Young Master Li is my lover, either produce evidence immediately, or I’ll report this to the authorities right now!”