Chapter 252: and translation of chapter title

Seeing Duan Qingqing crying and shouting nonstop, the faces of everyone around changed slightly; Zhao Lang showed no mercy to the Duan family at all.

As the eldest legitimate son of the Duan family, Duan Yun did not rush forward like his brother did; he coldly stared at Zhao Lang.

His younger brother, who had served as a deputy general in the army for a long time, though his martial skill was not as good as his, was not to the point of being beaten into this state by Zhao Lang with one hand.

Moreover, when Zhao Lang had just exchanged blows with him, he was still pulling his sister's arm; such strength made Duan Yun feel a chill, no wonder even Xiao Yin praised Zhao Lang without reserve—he is indeed a fierce general.

His gaze was icy as he looked at his own sister; she was truly not presentable.

Now the situation in Shang Jing has suddenly taken a turn for the worse; Xiao Yin obviously has already developed murderous intent.

This time the Third Prince suffered a setback, the Duan family's vitality was greatly damaged; under these circumstances his sister actually offended the Zhao family again—this is pushing the Duan family further into the fire pit.

To be frank, if they were not born of the same mother, he would not need Zhao Lang to act; he himself would go up to clean house.

"General Zhao, please release my sister first."

"After all, he holds the title of county lord bestowed by the emperor, a status far higher than that of your wife."

"She bears an imperial edict; if you do not let go, we will go to discuss this with the sovereign."

"It was your wife who first offended my sister; of course my sister's conduct was also wrong, but we cannot let the servant commit violence."

"At this point their hands have already been cut off by you, which counts as an explanation; if you still do not spare my sister, then your wife, as a commoner, offended a county lord bearing an imperial edict—according to the laws of Southern Qi, she would certainly deserve thirty strokes of the cane."

As soon as the words 'thirty strokes' came from Duan Yun's mouth, Zhao Lang instinctively loosened his grip on Duan Qingqing; Duan Qingqing fled in terror behind Duan Yun, her face deathly pale.

Duan Qingqing had always acted arrogantly in Shang Jing, but today she did not expect to encounter a tough opponent.

She burst into tears: 'Elder brother, you must help me avenge this; the Zhao family is lawless, acting like this—where does that leave our Duan family? This is a slap to brother's face!'

"Shut up!"

Duan Yun whispered a rebuke; Duan Qingqing sobbed but dared not say anything further.

The Duan family's matriarchs hurried over to support Duan Qingqing; at this moment half of Duan Qingqing's hair had been cut off by Zhao Lang's sword blade, leaving her with a yin-yang haircut.

That appearance was especially ridiculous; the noble ladies who had often been bullied by her all burst out laughing at the sight of Duan Qingqing like that.

Duan Qingqing hated him to death; she would certainly make her elder brother kill that bastard Zhao Lang.

Although Zhao Lang is highly skilled in martial arts, he is no reckless brute.

He understood the weight of Duan Yun's words just now; only the Second Miss of the Qin family and other noble ladies saw clearly what had actually happened between his mother, his wife Jinzhi, and Duan Qingqing earlier.

He also realized that having these noble ladies testify for his mother and Jinzhi was impossible; if the matter really reached the emperor, Jinzhi is mute, and although his mother is usually eloquent, even with ten mouths she could not make it clear.

Those noble ladies from the aristocratic families would certainly side with the Duan family; Jinzhi cannot speak at all—how could a poor little mute possibly have offended the supposed noble county lord?

Nevertheless, Duan Qingqing bears an imperial edict and is the legitimate daughter of the Duan Guo Gong mansion; although cutting off half her hair gave her a lesson, his heart still burned with anger.

Just now Jinzhi had almost died in the icy lake; if he had arrived a moment later, his useless mother would surely have jumped into the lake to rescue her.

And his mother cannot swim at all—that would be two lives lost! They are his dearest kin! At this moment Zhao Lang's eyes flickered with killing intent; if the other side were not shielded by the Duan family's status, he would have already launched a massacre.

At that final moment Zhao Lang finally came to his senses.

Beside him, Lady Zhao also calmed down, tightly gripping her son's arm, his hand trembling slightly.

Zhao Lang whispered: 'Mother, step aside; I have my own plan.'

After comforting his mother, Zhao Lang coldly looked toward Duan Yun.

Duan Yun gave a faint smile: 'General Zhao, a man of your stature actually makes things difficult for a young lady.'

"If you continue to treat her this way, word will get out and people will laugh; you owe the Duan family an explanation."

"Duan Feng, go back and report to Father, send a carriage over; we will take my sister into the palace to see the Noble Consort."

As soon as Duan Yun's words fell, everyone's faces changed slightly.

One must know that the Noble Consort Duan dotes greatly on this niece of hers; now that Zhao Lang has shaved her head, how will she ever hold her head up in Shang Jing?

If this matter reaches the Noble Consort Duan, that sharp-tongued, spiteful woman will certainly not let it rest; she will surely whisper something into Longqing's ear, and then Zhao Lang's future may well be ruined because of it.

Lady Zhao this time felt deep regret; she should not have acted so impulsively, not wanting to implicate her son.

Her son, having served in the army, does not know how much strength he has expended, how much blood he has shed, to achieve his present fame.

Madam Duan's eyes reddened slightly, she gave a light laugh, and slowly walked around Zhao Lang to stand before Duan Yun.

She lifted her head and gazed steadily at the tall, sturdy eldest son of the Duan family, then gave a light laugh.

"I have always lived in the countryside; perhaps I have not seen much of the world, I do not understand why some nobles in Shang Jing behave like this."

"So it turns out your women can slap people at will, hold life and death over others, while our slight resistance is considered an offense against the noble?"

"My son may have a somewhat hot temper, but this time he did nothing wrong; on what grounds do you bully people? Just because you are from the Duan family?"

"Although the Zhao family is of modest standing, we still reason."

"The Duan family's maiden struck first—not only did she slap my daughter-in-law, she also pushed her into the icy lake."

"If my son had arrived a step later, Jinzhi would have died here; is your daughter's life a life, while my daughter-in-law's life is not?"

"Yes, Miss Duan bears an imperial edict, but my daughter-in-law and my son were also just granted marriage by the Emperor; behind your backs you make groundless criticisms—who is actually defying the imperial decree? Who is disrespecting the sovereign's edict?"

A hint of bitterness welled up in Lady Zhao's heart: 'My daughter-in-law bore this disaster for me; she is not at fault.'

"My son stepped forward for my daughter-in-law and cut off the Duan maiden's hair; he too is blameless."

"These two wicked servants, relying on their influence, pushed my daughter-in-law into the water; they cut off both her hands—she deserves it!"

"But in this world we must still speak reason."

"Your Duan maiden has lost half her hair; I will compensate her with my own worthless life!"

When Lady Zhao spoke to the point of grief and indignation, she could no longer suppress her inner anger and leapt into the nearby lake.