"Who cares whose carriage it is! This is Yongding City, right under the nose of the Son of Heaven. Which fool dares to act so recklessly..."
Before the scolding voice died down, the carriage that hadn't managed to run far suddenly hit something and came to an abrupt halt!
"Whoa!"
In an instant, the neighing of the horse seemed to reverberate throughout the entire street. At the same time, a child's heart - rending cry echoed.
"Ah!"
"Brother Yue!"
A faint smell of blood spread along with the woman's shrill and high - pitched scream, permeating through the crowd that had rushed over and surrounded the carriage tightly.
It reached Bai Zheng's ears as she was walking nearby.
Seeing the two figures that had been following also squeeze into the on - looking crowd, Bai Zheng curled her lips slightly and turned into the teahouse beside.
By now, the carriage had completely stopped. Only then could people clearly see that the carriage was not only huge but also extremely luxurious in decoration.
The whole carriage was made of high - quality wood and scented with incense, emitting a refreshing fragrance.
A young man in gorgeous clothes was sitting casually on the front of the carriage, on the seat where the coachman should have been.
He had one leg bent and stepped on the seat. One hand held the whip, while the other was casually placed on his leg. His gaze was cold and his expression was arrogant. He didn't show the slightest change because of this accident.
"Isn't this the younger brother of the current Crown Princess, the Second Young Master of the Duke of Chen's Mansion?" someone whispered.
Unlike Chen Yanzhi, the young master of the Chen family who was proficient in poetry, painting, chess, and calligraphy, the second son of the Chen family was a well - known playboy in Yongding City. He had a bad temper and was unreasonable, and everyone tried to avoid him.
Hearing the identity of the driver, the people who were about to point fingers immediately subdued their arrogance. They only looked sympathetically at the mother and son wailing on the ground, waiting for the young man to speak.
Bai Zheng walked into the teahouse and specifically asked for a private room overlooking the street. Just as she sat down, she heard the sarcastic words of the Second Young Master Chen downstairs penetrate through the thick crowd.
"Are you blind or deaf? There's such a big road. Why did you have to run in front of this young master's carriage? Now this young master's horse, which cost 3,000 taels of silver, is frightened because of you. How do you plan to compensate?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.
The child seemed to be in great pain and just kept crying. He didn't hear what the Second Young Master Chen said.
But the woman, upon hearing this, was so frightened that she stopped crying. She sobbed and retorted, "Y - young master, it was clearly you who didn't drive the horse properly and injured my son. Why are you blaming us instead?"
"This young master didn't drive the horse properly?" The Second Young Master Chen raised his voice and asked rhetorically with full confidence. "Which eye of yours saw that this young master didn't drive the horse properly? This young master has been fine all the way. Why did I hit your son and no one else?"
Seeing that the Second Young Master Chen not only didn't repent after hitting someone but also filed a complaint first, even though the on - lookers were afraid of him, their sense of justice burst out and they began to point fingers.
"This young master hasn't even asked you to compensate for these two precious horses, yet you're crying here trying to extort money from me?"
After saying that, the Second Young Master Chen said to the on - lookers who were blaming him impatiently, "You peasants just want to blame this matter on this young master, don't you?"
Seeing the Second Young Master Chen's unrepentant attitude, the woman didn't know how to refute. She could only hold her wailing child and shed tears silently.
"Fine, fine. Just consider this young master unlucky!"
Annoyed by the crying, the Second Young Master Chen simply took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and casually threw it on the ground as if he were dismissing a beggar.
"Here, ten taels of silver. It's enough to treat your little brat. Once you take this money, we're even. From now on, whether your little brat breaks a leg or can't survive, it has nothing to do with this young master!"
"Your words are wrong, Second Young Master Chen."
Suddenly, a steady male voice came from the crowd.
"What, there's someone meddling in other people's business." The Second Young Master Chen frowned impatiently and then looked up.
He saw a middle - aged man slowly squeezing out of the crowd.
The man looked ordinary, with a square face. He was wearing a simple cotton cloth robe and was inconspicuous in the crowd.
"Who are you? Do you think you can meddle in this young master's business and tell whether my words are right or wrong!" The Second Young Master Chen raised his eyebrows.
The man bowed and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This low - ranking official is Zhang Kui, a secretary in the Ministry of War. Greetings to the Second Young Master Chen."
"A secretary? Hahaha..." Hearing this, the Second Young Master Chen burst into laughter. "A mere secretary also thinks he can meddle in this young master's business?"
"Not to mention that this low - ranking official receives the imperial salary and should work for His Majesty to protect the safety of the common people. Even if I were just an ordinary person, when encountering such an unjust thing today, it's only right to speak up and advise the young master.
Second Young Master Chen, there are many people in Yongding City. You shouldn't have galloped your horse here in the first place. Now that you've injured someone, you should sincerely apologize and send the injured to the doctor. To correct one's mistakes is a great virtue..."
"Who asked you to meddle?" The Second Young Master Chen interrupted him directly and impatiently waved his sleeve. "This young master was in a good mood while driving the horse. Now it's really bad luck!"
"Second Young Master Chen..." Zhang Kui still wanted to persuade him earnestly. But then he saw the Second Young Master Chen suddenly raise his whip without hesitation and whip directly at the mother and son who were still crying motionlessly in front of the carriage. "Get out of the way, all of you! Why don't you leave after taking the silver?"
This sudden change caught Zhang Kui off guard. The on - lookers were so frightened that they quickly ran to the side. But the mother and son didn't react in time and watched helplessly as the whip was about to fall on them.
At this moment, another figure rolled out nimbly and blocked in front of the mother and son, taking the whip for them.
"Pop!"
After seeing who it was, Zhang Kui's face instantly turned as white as a sheet. He rushed towards the figure in a hurry: "Liu Zhang!"
In the chaos of the crowd, no one noticed that a dark figure quietly slipped away.
The Second Young Master Chen frowned and looked at the middle - aged man who had suddenly appeared and taken his whip. "You took this whip on your own. This young master didn't mean to hit you!"
"You!" Zhang Kui beside him was furious upon hearing this and was about to reason with him, but was stopped by Liu Zhang.
Liu Zhang took a deep breath, endured the pain on his shoulder, and forced a smile. "The young master is right. I got this whip because I was careless."
Liu Zhang had long and slender eyebrows and an upturned lip. When he smiled, he looked very amiable.
The Second Young Master Chen had been holding a lot of anger. Now that he finally met someone who spoke to his liking, he felt very comfortable. He nodded and said, "Finally, there's someone sensible."
"I'm very honored to meet the Second Young Master Chen of the Chen family today. I was a bit excited for a moment and accidentally got in the way of the young master's whip. Please forgive me, Second Young Master Chen." Liu Zhang looked very sincere.