Before Xu Liu could react, the Houfu servants began to clamor: “You’ve got a death wish!”
“Daring to kick our young master—your Yujia—”
“Beauty…” Xu Liu was only in his early twenties, yet he already had dark circles under his eyes and a pale, sickly complexion, clearly the result of excessive indulgence.
At the sight of Yu Sheng, he seemed to lose his soul, his eyes fixed and unblinking as he stared at her, muttering in a daze, “How could anyone be so rude to such a beauty?”
The arrogant servants had barely started their clamor when their master stopped them.
As if completely oblivious to Yu Sheng’s look of disgust, Xu Liu gazed at her with infatuation and sighed, “Now this is true beauty! Who would have thought… that Yujia would be a nest of beauties!”
Yu Sheng thought to herself: This one’s a real lecher.
After being kicked flying, the first thing he said upon getting up wasn’t anger, but this kind of reaction.
Disgusted and furious, her expression grew even colder and more striking. She tightened her grip on the silver whip in her right hand and immediately took a step forward.
Having been caught off guard and kicked earlier, this time, as soon as Yu Sheng raised her foot, the arrogant servants rushed to shield their master, fearing she would kick Xu Liu again.
Yu Sheng, however, had no intention of kicking him again. She only asked in a low voice, “Xu Liu, I’m asking you a question.”
“Be-beauty, you were speaking to me just now?” Xu Liu seemed to snap out of his trance. “What did you say?”
The Houfu servants dared not repeat what Yu Sheng had just asked their master and began to speak evasively.
Yu Sheng frowned in annoyance and spoke again, “Was it you, this useless waste, who injured my father and tried to force my sister to become your concubine?”
Xu Liu flared up at the word “useless waste,” but such a peerless beauty was truly rare, so he could temporarily endure it.
“Where does ‘force’ come from? And injuring your father is even more absurd.” Xu Liu raised his hand and patted the footprint on his chest, twisting the facts: “Clearly, it was your sister who seduced me!”
A servant at his side chimed in, “Our young master had already agreed to take her as a concubine. It was Master Yu himself who came to our young master, saying that Yujia daughters don’t become concubines. How ridiculous—trying to drive up the price with a mere minor daughter!”
“Where did our young master injure him!” another servant added. “It was Master Yu who, failing to reach an agreement, threatened our young master with suicide. Who knew he would fake it so convincingly that he actually fell from the third floor…”
These cunning servants twisted the truth, absolving Xu Liu of all blame and casting all the dirt onto Father Yu and Yu Xuan.
“That’s exactly how it happened.” Xu Liu nodded repeatedly, putting on an aggrieved expression. “Your father jumped from the building over a mere disagreement. Not only did he frighten me, but he also tarnished my reputation.”
His eyes fixed greedily on Yu Sheng. “How about this—both you and your sister marry me.”
Xu Liu grew more pleased with the idea the more he thought about it. “You as the principal wife, her as the concubine. Once we become husband and wife, I’ll turn a blind eye to what happened before and let bygones be bygones.”
By the end, he even assumed an air of magnanimity.
“You really dare to dream!” Yu Sheng laughed in extreme anger and raised her hand, lashing Xu Liu hard with her whip.
Right across the face.
Instantly, the skin split and flesh tore.
“Ahhhhhhh!” Blinded by lust, Xu Liu had never expected her to suddenly use the whip. Clutching his bloody face, he screamed in agony.
After whipping him across the face, Yu Sheng was still unsatisfied and lashed him several more times in succession.
Since this matter couldn’t be resolved peacefully anyway, she might as well whip them to her heart’s content.
Her silver whip whistled through the air, leaving bloody marks on several burly servants who rushed forward to protect Xu Liu.
Bystanders on the street, fearing they might get caught in the crossfire, cried out in alarm and backed away.
“House guards! Where are the house guards?” Xu Liu, both in pain and rage, shouted furiously, “Are you all dead? Go! Seize this ungrateful wretch who doesn’t know her place!”
After a few lashes, the beauty had become a wretch.
Behind the burly servants of the Houfu were several dozen house guards, originally prepared to storm in and seize Yu Xuan by force if the Yujia family didn’t hand her over willingly.
The sudden appearance of Eldest Miss Yu had disrupted their original plan.
Now, hearing their master’s furious curses, the several dozen house guards at the back immediately charged forward. The four at the forefront worked together, swinging their blades to hack at the silver whip in Yu Sheng’s hand, while the rest instantly filled the steps.
Seeing this, Xu Liu shouted arrogantly, “Yu Sheng, you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! I was willing to let you be the principal wife earlier, but you refused. Once my men capture you, you’ll have no choice but to become a concubine alongside your sister!”
“In Lizhou, no one dares defy my will!”
“So what if I pushed your father off Qianzhen Lou? Today, I’ll take both you and your sister as concubines. Who would dare say a word? Who would dare… huh?”
Xu Liu’s shouts grew louder and louder, his gaze sweeping over the bystanders as if he were practically wearing the words “I am the local tyrant of Lizhou” on his forehead.
Yu Sheng could bear it no longer. She retracted her whip, nimbly dodging the house guards’ attempts to seize her, and retreated two steps until her back was against the threshold.
“Watch me dare!” She lashed out with her whip, sending several house guards stumbling and reeling.
Then, over a dozen young and strong guards from the Yujia family rushed out, wielding clubs to forcefully hold off the encircling attack of the Houfu house guards.
Although the numbers were lopsided, and the Yujia guards with their clubs were at a clear disadvantage against the Houfu house guards with their real blades, Yu Sheng’s long whip struck like a fierce dragon. For a moment, the Yujia side not only held their ground but even seemed to gain the upper hand over the Liyang Houfu.
Among the watching commoners, some gasped in shock, while others sighed, “Eldest Miss Yu actually dared to whip Young Master Xu Liu. The Yujia family is finished now!”
“Fighting for momentary pride—what will they do in the future?”
“The Yujia family has always been kind and charitable. How did they end up offending the Liyang Houfu…”
Just then, an eagle’s cry suddenly echoed from mid-air.
Yu Sheng, who had been ignoring all surrounding sounds, seemed to sense something and looked up.
A Haidongqing eagle cut through the wind, circling overhead.
At the same time, from the far end of the long street, the thunderous sound of galloping hooves approached rapidly.
Hundreds of black-armored soldiers appeared as if descending from the heavens, their imposing presence startling everyone. In an instant, they forced the surrounding crowd to retreat to both sides of the street.
A whirlwind of dust swept up fallen leaves and petals as the cavalry reined in their horses and halted before the gates of the Yujia residence.
A young general in a golden round-collared robe rode forward from the ranks. A Tianzhi Jiaozu, with the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix, he appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen, his features extraordinarily handsome. Even before he spoke, his presence commanded awe, sharp and imposing like an unsheathed sword.
The Haidongqing, having circled several times in the sky, swooped down and perched on his right shoulder, looking down at the surrounding crowd with an air of pride.
Both the Yujia guards and the Houfu house guards were so stunned they seemed frozen in place, maintaining their fighting stances rigidly, not daring to move an inch.
The once bustling crowd now fell into dead silence.
Xu Liu was so frightened his legs trembled, while the Houfu’s arrogant servants dared not even breathe loudly.
A rare and untamed fierce bird, a young general in splendid attire atop a spirited steed, and hundreds of brave cavalrymen.
Yu Sheng retracted her long whip and slowly straightened up.
The young general looked down at Yu Sheng from his high vantage point, a faint smile curling at the corners of his thin lips as he said, “My name is Shengshi, courtesy name Huaijin. I am the rescue you spent ten thousand taels of gold to summon.”