Chapter 436: Bumbutai

"Young master."

At this moment, Wei Chao came to Zhu Youxiao's side and called out softly.

Clearly, continuing to stare at the girl at a time like this was somewhat inappropriate.

If His Majesty liked her, he could simply take her back directly. That was what Wei Chao was thinking.

But now the other party had come looking for them—what should be done next? That still required His Majesty's instructions.

Wei Chao couldn't help but call out to his master, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Wei Chao could ask Zhu Youxiao for instructions, but some people didn't need to—like Qi Yuangong and his men. Their task was to ensure Zhu Youxiao's safety, and they didn't need orders at all.

Now that someone was approaching, Qi Yuangong and the guards went straight up to meet them, spreading out in several directions and placing Zhu Youxiao squarely in their protective center. No one could do anything to Zhu Youxiao.

Seeing this, the people on the other side narrowed their eyes slightly, realizing that Zhu Youxiao's group was not to be trifled with. Just from the attire of these Ming men alone, they were clearly wealthy and noble; and looking at these guards, they were obviously no ordinary escort either.

At this moment, Zhu Youxiao also snapped back to his senses. He shook the folding fan in his hand and walked over with a smile.

The one leading the opposing group was a burly man with rough, rugged features, yet his gaze was sharp. One could tell he was a man of intelligence, not some dull-witted fool.

Zhu Youxiao found it rather interesting and asked, "And how might I address you?"

"No need for pleasantries. I came to tell you—stop staring at my little sister, or I won't be polite with you." The burly man said directly, his tone laced with heavy menace.

"A fair maiden is a gentleman's pursuit. Your sister is so beautiful—what's wrong with a look?" Zhu Youxiao said in a frivolous tone, just like a rich young master toying with a girl.

As he spoke, he glanced once more at the young girl in red hiding behind them.

Hearing this, the burly man was thoroughly enraged. Glaring at Zhu Youxiao, he said, "Look again, and I'll gouge your eyeballs out!"

"This is Ming territory. I can look at whatever I want. This isn't your grassland—here, what you say doesn't count." Zhu Youxiao looked at the burly man provocatively and said, "If I wanted to, none of you would be able to leave this place."

"You'd best not provoke me, or the consequences will be severe. If you provoke me, I'll kill every one of you, then snatch your pretty little sister away. By then, it'll be too late for regrets."

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao smiled smugly.

Zhu Youxiao's arrogant demeanor made people want to punch him twice on the spot.

The burly man's face flushed bright red.

The men behind him were even angrier, each one itching to roll up their sleeves and charge forward.

But at this moment, quite a few strangers emerged from the surroundings. These people stood quietly in various corners, yet their gazes were fixed tightly on this spot.

If anyone made a move, they could rush over at any moment.

An old man standing at the back saw this and his pupils contracted slightly. He walked over to the burly man and said softly, "We can't make a move. This person's status is out of the ordinary—we must not stir up trouble."

The burly man gave a cold snort, his heart still seething with rage.

At this moment, the little girl in red walked out. Her big eyes darted around, and with a mischievous, clever look she glanced at the burly man and said, "Brother, we came here to get things done. Let's go."

The burly man shot a glare at Zhu Youxiao, gave another cold snort, and led his people around Zhu Youxiao's group, walking off into the distance.

The group of people around Zhu Youxiao felt quite helpless.

What was His Majesty's act supposed to be about?

Did the dignified Emperor of the Great Ming really need to assert his presence in such a manner?

If one had to sum it up in a modern phrase, it would be: "With your status, showing off like this is just too low-class."

But such words could only be kept in their hearts—they would never dare say them aloud.

Zhu Youxiao didn't look at them. What these people thought didn't matter at all. He beckoned to Chen Hong and said, "Send someone to follow them and see where they settle down."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong quickly acknowledged.

Although he didn't know why his master wanted someone to tail these Mongol merchant caravans, since His Majesty had ordered it, then follow they must.

Chen Hong said nothing more and went straight to arrange the men.

"Alright, we've strolled about enough. Let's head back." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile on his face. Compared to just now, his mood had improved by no small margin.

Zhu Youxiao's expression had shifted from the initial boredom to one of having spotted something interesting.

The group quickly departed.

And among the crowd, several people also slipped away.

One person circled around a few times before arriving at the back door of the Fan residence. He knocked softly four times, and the wooden door opened quickly.

Soon, he met with Fan Si and reported everything he had overheard to him.

After receiving the intelligence, Fan Si immediately went to find Fan Yongdou.

"What did you say? They've made contact with those people?" Fan Yongdou stood up, his expression turning grim. "How did they come into contact? Tell me in detail—what exactly happened?"

Fan Si dared not be negligent and recounted the entire sequence of events.

After hearing the full account, Fan Yongdou's expression grew even darker. After a long while, he said, "You mean to say, that man has taken a fancy to the little girl they brought along. Is that it?"

Fan Si nodded somewhat awkwardly and said, "Yes, Master."

"Then this matter is troublesome indeed." Fan Yongdou let out a sigh.

Though he didn't know the other party's background, the fact that they could field such a large caravan and behave so arrogantly and disdainfully toward everyone was proof enough of one thing—they had backing behind them.

The other party had come from a place like the capital, so they knew very well how to put on airs. If one was careless in a place like the capital, one could easily end up making a fool of oneself.

If the other party held power and influence in the capital, then they were not someone to provoke lightly. Even for the sake of pride, it wasn't worth it.

Didn't the other party want face?

Just give it to them, then.

But who could have imagined the other party would pull such a stunt? Could they not be comfortable without stirring up trouble?

If the two sides continued to clash, things would get messy.

They needed to think of a way!

Fan Yongdou paced back and forth in the room, but for the moment, he couldn't come up with any particularly good solution.

Just then, a servant walked in from outside, went straight to Fan Si's ear, whispered a few words cautiously, then respectfully withdrew.

"Master, news just arrived. Those people want us to investigate the identity of that young man." Fan Si looked at Fan Yongdou, a note of worry in his voice. "They don't seem willing to swallow this insult—I'm afraid they're planning to stir up some trouble."

"No, absolutely not!" Fan Yongdou said angrily, and he was also very tense.

Fan Yongdou's expression shifted unpredictably.

After a long while, looking at Fan Si, Fan Yongdou said: "Tell them to absolutely not act rashly. This matter is not that simple. Tell them all to stay put."

"They said that our Fan family is mighty and prestigious in Zhangjiakou, and there's nothing we can't do." Fan Si said somewhat helplessly: "The other side also promised that if we can capture that person and hand him over for them to deal with, they're willing to raise the payment by ten percent."

After hearing this, not only did Fan Yongdou's expression not become happy, it grew even more gloomy.

Plopping down into a chair, Fan Yongdou said with a bitter smile: "It really is true — whatever you fear most is what comes knocking."

"In business, the worst thing is running into reckless hotheads. Who could've thought two hotheads would suddenly show up on my doorstep. One side feels wronged and won't back down, wanting to save face. Ten percent of the payment — does he even know how much ten percent is? He's certainly generous!"

After saying this, Fan Yongdou let out a helpless sigh, raised his head and looked at Fan Si: "That young man isn't going to stir up trouble, is he?"

"Didn't he already bully someone today?" Fan Si asked with some confusion: "What else could he do? Surely he won't keep pressing the matter — that would be going too far, wouldn't it?"

"That's not what I'm talking about." Fan Yongdou said with irritation: "What he's got his eye on is the other man's sister — a woman. Do you know what that means? When a man sets his sights on a woman, what rationality is there left?"

"I wouldn't even be surprised if he sent men to snatch that woman tonight. From what you've said, this master has clearly been used to throwing his weight around in the capital. With several dozen guards around him, could he be an ordinary person?"

"Someone used to bullying others in the capital — do you think he'll restrain himself when he comes to a place like ours? He'll only be even more unscrupulous. In their eyes, snatching a Tartar woman — how big a deal is that?"

"No. Send men to keep an eye on them. Nothing can be allowed to happen. If that young man tries to seize the woman, you must stop him at once and report to me immediately."

"Yes, Master." Fan Si hurriedly agreed.

"As for the rest, we'll discuss it when we meet tomorrow. I hope we can find out the other side's identity tomorrow, then talk it over and try to suppress this matter as quickly as possible." Fan Yongdou said helplessly: "Tell those people over there — under no circumstances should they act rashly."

"Rest assured, Master. I'll have men watching both sides." Fan Si hurriedly patted his chest in assurance.

"Good, good." Fan Yongdou said: "What a mess this all is."

Meanwhile, in an inn within the city of Zhangjiakou.

A burly man was looking at the girl in red before him, saying: "Bumbutai, rest assured, I will definitely get this off your chest. I won't let them bully you for nothing. I'll make those Ming people pay the price!"

The girl called Bumbutai glanced at the burly man and said: "Elder Brother, I think we shouldn't stir up unnecessary trouble. This time we've come to do something important. If we mess it up, we won't be able to go back and answer for it."

"Besides, the other party merely glanced at me — it's nothing serious. Even if he was somewhat arrogant, he was right — this is the Great Ming, and there's really not much we can do here."

"And judging by his bearing, his status is probably not ordinary. Offending people for no reason is not something we should do. Elder Brother, let's just let it go."