Chapter 28
Then Go Ahead and Report Me
Even those idle young nobles who had originally come just to watch the spectacle now looked rather stiff. Surely not—they’d only meant to teach Ying Jiuque, a woman who didn’t stay obediently at home to “serve her husband and raise children,” a little lesson. How dare she become a Patrolling Censor, and worse, clearly come after them? But they’d only wanted to make her look bad, not to get their own legs broken by their families!
If Ying Jiuque actually filed a memorial to the throne and lodged a formal complaint, who knew if their legs would still be attached to their bodies afterward?
Of course, this idea hadn’t occurred only to Ying Jiuque. Several previous Patrolling Censors had thought of doing the same thing—but they hadn’t dared. After all, they still wanted to keep serving in the Great Jing court; they could provoke these playboys themselves, perhaps, but not necessarily the powerful elders backing them.
But Ying Jiuque didn’t care about such things. She had once saved the old emperor’s life, which was as good as holding an imperial pardon from death. As long as she didn’t overstep too far, the emperor would protect her. And if he ever truly turned against her—well, could she not simply run? The world was vast, and she had long wanted to see it.
“All under heaven belongs to the Emperor”? She could just sail out to sea!
Hmm. Perhaps it was time to start looking for a reliable fleet.
Just as both sides were locked in a standoff, one of the nearby children watching couldn’t help but let out a frightened wail, startling the young dandy who’d been picking a fight. Yet, having to bow his head before a woman he despised—in public, no less—would have been worse than death.
“You just wait for me!” he snapped. “This young master’s name is Yang Linyuan, and I don’t change my name or my seat! Don’t think you can trick me. I know the law—you can’t arrest me for just talking! Hmph! That’s impossible!”
Ying Jiuque had half-expected something more menacing from this supposedly fearsome “Third Young Master,” but this was all? How boring.
Then his next sentence left her momentarily speechless.
“A woman like you—this young master wouldn’t marry you even if I stayed single for life! You can just wait to rot away in a nunnery!”
“…What did you just say?”
Ying Jiuque’s expression darkened. A moment ago, she’d looked like a smiling tiger—innocent-faced but quietly dangerous. Now, she was like a jade-faced demon, beautiful and terrifying.
Yang Linyuan swallowed the insult that had been about to leave his lips. But with so many people watching—not just commoners but also his usual drinking companions—how could he back down now?
“I said,” he shouted, “even if I stay single forever, I’d never marry a shrew like you! Heard me this time?”
Ying Jiuque took a deep breath. Normally, she couldn’t care less about things like “reputation,” but being publicly insulted like that by some spoiled brat she’d never even met was another matter.
Seriously? Who do you think you are? Even if someone should be disgusted, it should be me disgusted with you, not the other way around. What, two cups of wine and you’ve forgotten what peanuts look like?
She glanced around for something to use as a weapon. Unfortunately, the street sweepers had been too diligent—there wasn’t a pebble in sight. So she simply untied her money pouch. Thankfully, before leaving home, she’d filled it with plenty of heavy copper coins and bits of silver, “just in case.” It felt satisfyingly weighty in her hand.
Swinging the heavy pouch lazily, she gave Yang Linyuan a gentle smile.
“Master Yang, I suddenly realized I’ve made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
Ying Jiuque’s face was truly bewitching when she smiled; even the foolish Yang Linyuan was momentarily dazzled.
Well… she’s a bit wild, sure, but not bad-looking. If she learned her place, maybe I could even take her as a concubine—
His fantasy was abruptly cut short by a sharp whoosh through the air, followed by a blinding flash of pain across his face. His vision exploded into a rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—and his head spun. Someone seemed to be screaming nearby, but the sound came from very far away.
After a long while, he dimly heard his servant wailing as though mourning his parents.
“Third Young Master! Are you all right? Can you hear me? Oh heavens, this is terrible! The Patrolling Censor has assaulted my master in broad daylight! She’s killed him! He’s not moving! The lord and madam will kill me! You can’t leave, my lady—you’re the one who did this! What will my young master do if you run away?!”
Yang Linyuan’s head was pounding, and his stupid servant’s crying only made it worse. His vision went black, and nausea rose up—
“Urgh—”
He vomited up everything he’d eaten earlier at the “Worldly Pavilion,” the lavish banquet he and his friends had just enjoyed. The stench was horrific.
Only then did he start to come back to his senses. He’d been hit—by Ying Jiuque, who just moments ago had been smiling sweetly at him!
His next thought was sheer outrage: other than his father, no one had ever dared to hit him!
How dare she?!
He tried to stand up and retaliate, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. His useless servant was still bawling and not helping in the slightest.
Ying Jiuque, for her part, hadn’t actually meant to hurt him that badly. She’d only given him a light tap with her money pouch—but apparently the pampered fool went down like a sack of rice, bleeding all over the place.
“Uh… you’re not dead, are you?” she asked.
Yang Linyuan, halfway to his feet, nearly fell over again from sheer fury. Of all the things she could have said—how could she ask if he was dead?
“Ying Jiuque! You did that on purpose! Just wait—I’m going to report you to the Emperor!”
“Oh,” she said casually, dusting off her sleeves. “By all means. While you’re at it, be sure to tell His Majesty everything that happened today—how the noble Third Young Master jumped out of nowhere, knocked the bun from my hand, shouted at me, a sixth-rank officer, and disrupted official duties. And when that didn’t work, resorted to insults meant to ruin my reputation.”
She smiled serenely.
“Please include all of that in your complaint. I don’t mind in the least. In fact, if you’re not sure how to word it properly, I can even help you write it myself—fair and impartial, without bias.”
