Chapter Seventy-Three: Whose Servant Has Been Hung Upon the City Wall

“Whose servants are hanging from the city wall? Hurry and come claim them!”
“Whose servants are hanging from the city wall? Hurry and come claim them!”
“Whose servants are hanging from the city wall? Hurry and come claim them!”
...
Damn it!
Aren’t those his own men?
Deng Qianhua could hardly believe it. He had sent out over ten subordinates—not all martial arts experts, but at least they were seasoned wanderers of the underworld. How could those few little guards serving a young lady from a noble family be so strong?
“Young master! Young master, you’ve come! Please, save us!”
Deng Qianhua had intended to slip away, but unexpectedly one fool hanging on the wall recognized him and immediately called out!
Damn it!
How utterly humiliating!
The crowd had already gathered for the spectacle; when the people hanging from the wall suddenly spoke, everyone closed in for a better look!
Deng Qianhua: ...
Damn, no escaping now!
What pig-headed subordinates are these!
“Hey, you there! These are your servants, aren’t they?” The bailiff quickly approached Deng Qianhua, pulling out a sheet of paper. “Consider yourself lucky. After such brazen behavior, you’re fortunate Her Highness the Virtuous Consort doesn’t pursue the matter. Sign here to confirm those hanging up there are your servants, and we’ll release them to you. Take them away—and don’t let it happen again!”
Deng Qianhua stared at the paper in his hand, glanced at his dangling subordinates, and looked at the crowd gossiping around him. His face flushed and paled in turns. Damn it! That young woman really has such powerful backing? No wonder not a soul dared breathe word in the jewelry shop that day!
She deliberately hung his men on the wall, deliberately had someone call out—though not physically painful, it was a humiliation of the highest order!
That woman... truly a wretch!

---

“Wuwuwu, young master!”
“Get lost!” Deng Qianhua snapped, furious. “What a disgraceful bunch!”
They couldn’t even handle a woman! And now, thanks to them, he’d been publicly humiliated by her! She could easily have had them executed on the spot, but instead left them for him to collect—no kindness there, only calculated disgrace!
What a cursed day—how did he end up crossing paths with such a person?
“Ah!”
Near midday, the streets had thinned out, so running into someone at a corner was rare. Yet, it happened just as Shen Fuyu had predicted, and the tearful Shen Tangyu collided with someone at just the right moment.
“Who goes there?”
The other party’s servant spoke first, but the leading man gently raised a hand to stop him. He reached out to Shen Tangyu: “My servant was rude. Did you fall, Lady Shen?”
Shen Tangyu lifted her tear-stained face, biting her lip in a way that made her look both pitiable and stubborn. Once she recognized him, she quickly wiped her tears and curtsied, “I was reckless and failed to recognize Your Highness. Please forgive me.”
“No harm done.” Qin Zhiqingxu helped her up, then asked, “But what has happened to you, Lady Shen? Has someone wronged you? Tell me, and I will see justice done.”
“No one has bullied me,” she replied, but the moment the words left her lips, Shen Tangyu felt even more aggrieved. She shouldn’t have been bullied by Shen Fuyu in the first place—she couldn’t swallow the insult!
“You say no one, yet look at your eyes.” Qin Zhiqingxu handed her a handkerchief. “Please, speak freely. I will stand up for you!”
The reigning emperor had many siblings, but only King Jing, Qin Zhiqingxu, still enjoyed wealth and status in the capital as a respected brother. The rest had met tragic ends: some dead, some imprisoned, some demoted and exiled, or sent early to desolate fiefdoms. Qin Zhiqingxu was the sole brother living well.
“It’s really nothing,” Shen Tangyu replied, feigning indifference, though she had already formed a plan in her heart. The emperor still valued King Jing; if she could align herself with him, he might speak for her, and perhaps the emperor would take notice!
“You say nothing, yet your eyes are swollen from crying.”
“Your Highness, please don’t concern yourself with me,” Shen Tangyu wiped her tears with the handkerchief and turned away. “It’s simply someone I cannot afford to offend. Who would care for my feelings? Let me cry a while—it’s no trouble. Forgive me for disturbing you; I must take my leave.”
“How can I ignore you in this state?” Qin Zhiqingxu reached out and stopped her. “While I am here, no one will bully you by virtue of their power!”
At these words, Shen Tangyu began to sob even harder. A beauty’s tears tugged at the heartstrings—even King Jing found it hard to resist her wiles.
“Your Highness... you truly shouldn’t offend Fourth Sister for my sake...” Shen Tangyu choked back tears, leaving her sentence unfinished. “It’s not such a big matter in the end.”

---

“Did the Virtuous Consort upset you?” Qin Zhiqingxu held Shen Tangyu back, his heart aching. Shen Tangyu was famed throughout the capital for her talent and beauty, a woman of noble birth—an ideal match for him. Seeing her in tears, how could he stand by?
“Your Highness... truly, it’s nothing. I’m sure Fourth Sister meant no harm. It’s my own pettiness.” Shen Tangyu skillfully shifted the blame onto herself.
Her self-effacing demeanor only strengthened Qin Zhiqingxu’s resolve to seek justice for her. Without further ado, he dragged her back with him to confront Shen Fuyu!
Along the road, Shen Tangyu half concealed and half confessed, telling Qin Zhiqingxu everything she ought and ought not to say. Not only did she leave him with the impression of a woman who suffered in silence for the greater good, but she also painted Shen Fuyu in his mind as a sharp and venomous character.
Meanwhile, Shen Fuyu was happily dining with Shen Liyu, feasting in a restaurant, completely unconcerned about Shen Tangyu.
By the time Qin Zhiqingxu barged into the private room, Shen Fuyu was nearly finished, currently wrestling with the last piece of pork knuckle.
“Her Highness the Virtuous Consort is in fine spirits, abandoning her own sister in the street while she herself indulges in food and drink. Tomorrow in court, I will memorialize my royal brother, so he may see what a venomous woman he favors!”
Shen Fuyu swallowed her meat and looked up, “Who are you?”
“I am King Jing, personally titled by the emperor!” Qin Zhiqingxu was furious—he hadn't expected Shen Fuyu not to recognize him upon his challenge, and the insult made him all the more irate.
“Oh.”
Shen Fuyu nodded. Another opportunity to harvest anger points.
What a lucky day!
“Does Her Highness not intend to give me an explanation?” After a moment’s silence, Qin Zhiqingxu spoke again.
“Why should I explain anything to you?” Shen Fuyu was puzzled. “If I bully her, what does it have to do with you?”
“Or are you planning to be my elder sister’s father? Well, that would make sense. If not father and daughter, who else would meddle in such matters?”
“You! Such shameless nonsense, utterly without propriety!” Qin Zhiqingxu slammed the table in rage. “You abandon your sister in the street and insult me—this, I will not let pass!”