Chapter 112: The Gentle Gentleman Zhu Yitao (Bonus Chapter for the Patron

"You fucking whores, are you trying to rebel against heaven?!"

Xiao Yu finally saw the legendary Zhu Yitao in person.

He looked decent enough.

Wearing official boots, he stood nearly one meter ninety tall, with a square face, broad mouth, thick eyebrows, and—well, right now his expression was furious, eyes bulging wide, though they weren’t actually large.

His beard was neatly trimmed, his appearance imposing and dignified.

Upon learning of the brothel matriarchs’ army arriving at Qingshui Bay, he wasn’t frightened—he flew into a rage, grabbed the hem of his official robe, and sprinted alone out of the government office straight to Aunt Liu, screaming insults.

"You lowlife scum, you’ve openly assaulted official officers bearing signed warrants, stolen the warrants signed and sealed by your master, and now dare to gather a mob to storm the county government office—have all your balls grown into your guts?"

Zhu Yitao looked every bit the nobleman, but the moment he opened his mouth, his tongue was even fouler than Aunt Liu’s.

In front of so many people on the street, he cursed openly, with vulgar language, and he felt not the slightest shame.

Xiao Yu glanced around: aside from Aunt Liu, whose face flushed crimson with rage, everyone else seemed unfazed.

No wonder—being cursed by him was listed among the “Seven Great Bowls of Zhu Yitao,” alongside being beaten with the clamp or the paddle.

"Your Honor, show some decency!" Aunt Liu thrust her waist out and retorted sharply: "Maybe we lowly whores once sat in high seats, held ministerial ranks, and were fawned over by the Five Ministries and Six Departments—but because we spewed filth from our mouths, the King of Hell cut off our balls and rebirthed us in brothels as whores meant to be cursed."

Zhu Yitao’s eyes rolled back in fury as he pointed at Aunt Liu’s nose: "You wicked hag—if I were to curse you back on the street, it’d make me look powerless!"

"Guards! Lock up this bitch! Give her fifty slaps first!"

The guards behind him hesitated, dared not disobey their superior, yet feared the dark sea of brothel matriarchs behind Aunt Liu.

"Zhu Lingjun, on what grounds do you arrest me? On what grounds do you strike me? If you want to wield official power, give us whores a proper explanation!" Aunt Liu cried.

Immediately, one of the matriarchs behind her echoed: "Exactly! You can call us lowly whores all you want, but if you use your signed warrants to slap us, show us the Shu Kingdom law that permits it!"

"Zhu Yitao, you’ve broken the rules of the Jiaosifang—we’re going to Yingxiang Prefecture to file a complaint with the Prefect!"

"Zhu Yitao, you bully the common folk—the City God will take you soon!"

"Zhu Yitao, we refuse to accept this!"

Anyone who became a brothel matriarch had a tongue sharper than five hundred ducks.

Over a hundred matriarchs now focused their fury on Zhu Yitao.

Zhu Yitao’s temple veins visibly throbbed: "You refuse, do you? Lock them all up! Today I’ll show you what ‘Zhu Yitao’ really means!"

The clerk, drenched in sweat, shoved through the crowd and whispered urgently into Zhu Yitao’s ear: "Master, soften your tone a bit—they’re too many."

Zhu Yitao snapped: "Are you an idiot? These whores are rebelling, storming the government office—and you want me to be gentle? Do you think I’m dough?"

Aunt Liu frowned slightly and raised her hand: "Sisters!"

At her command, the entire army of matriarchs fell silent.

Even Zhu Yitao was startled, glancing over in surprise.

Aunt Liu locked eyes with Zhu Yitao and continued: "Sisters, today we have truth and law on our side, while the Lingjun has broken the law without reason."

"So we must fight this case properly."

"We can’t let some people muddy the waters and make outsiders think we’re rioting mobs!"

Zhu Yitao sneered: "Fine, fine, fine—I’ll give you a chance. Let’s see how this whore proves her case."

He flung back his robe hem and barked: "Bring in the court!"

Zhu Yitao sat coldly behind the desk; Aunt Liu curtsied but did not kneel.

"Lingjun, look—this is the official document for Hongxiu Fang’s purchase of Xu Huier."

Aunt Liu handed the document to a guard, who placed it on the magistrate’s desk.

"When Hongxiu Fang bought Xu Huier, she was already registered as a Jianji —she was already a brothel girl."

Zhu Yitao glanced at the document once, without reading it closely.

"I don’t need to look. You old matriarchs have been doing this for years—how could you possibly slip up on paperwork?"

"I won’t even ask you about forcing virtuous women into prostitution."

"You assaulted Tong Shuisheng, Tong Huowang, and other officers bearing signed warrants—that’s fact."

"You gathered a mob to disrupt order and intimidate the county magistrate—that’s fact."

"You publicly insulted me—that’s fact."

"With just these three charges, I can sentence you, old whore, to wear the cangue in public and receive thirty strokes with the iron rod. Do you accept this?"

Aunt Liu pulled out another document: "Is this warrant signed by you, Lingjun?"

This time Zhu Yitao read it carefully: "Now it’s clear—you stole the warrant, undeniable proof!"

Aunt Liu said: "Don’t rush to convict me. First, ask Chief Tong how he enforced the warrant."

Zhu Yitao frowned: "Where is Chief Tong? This old whore wants to confront him!"

"Master, both Chief Tongs are in the back room bandaging their wounds!" a guard replied.

Zhu Yitao sighed: "Don’t blame me for being heartless—this old whore clearly plans to file a false complaint against them, then accuse me of unjust enforcement."

The guards bowed and withdrew. Soon, the two Chief Tongs arrived, their heads wrapped in white gauze.

Aunt Liu looked at the Chief Tongs: "Though we walk different paths, we both understand the rules of our trade."

"Today, we didn’t break the rules—it was you who forced us into this corner."

Then she recounted how the guards took silver, bid internally for warrants, then extorted money from suspects’ families.

"Lingjun, look—the warrant only authorized the redemption of Xu Huier. The Tong brothers didn’t pay to redeem her, yet they threatened to beat me with the paddle."

"You know Hongxiu Fang—it belongs to the Jiaosifang, under imperial authority, not my private business."

"Three hundred strings of cash? They’re the emperor’s money, the state’s money!" Aunt Liu cried out passionately.

Zhu Yitao’s expression twisted as he turned to the Tong brothers: "Is she lying?"

"Liu Gugu is lying! We never said we’d beat her—it was the Hongxiu Fang whores who screamed on their own!" Tong Lao Da hurriedly said.

His face and mouth were wrapped in gauze; every word made his cheeks twitch with pain, his voice muffled.

Zhu Yitao sighed: "Perhaps the whores screamed on their own—but you didn’t deny it, and you didn’t immediately produce the warrant. Each of you gets thirty strokes—recorded, to be carried out after your wounds heal."

Aunt Liu immediately smiled: "Your Honor is wise."

"Of course I’m wise. You’re registered as a Jianji —you struck an officer. No matter the reason, it’s a grave crime."

"Choose: twenty strokes, or thirty slaps," Zhu Yitao said.

Aunt Liu’s face froze: "It was Tong Huowang who drew his blade first. The Hongxiu Fang guards used no weapons—only bricks to strike him."

Zhu Yitao’s face twisted again as he turned to the Tong brothers: "I only sent you to redeem her, and you faced a group of whores—how could you possibly draw your blades?"

Tong Huowang cried out: "We didn’t draw!"

Under Zhu Yitao’s cold, piercing gaze, he shrank back and whispered: "We just gripped the hilt... pulled halfway out..."

Zhu Yitao threw down two bamboo tally sticks: "I withdraw my mercy. Now—right here, beneath the danchi—thirty strokes. Not one less!"

"Master~~!" the Tong brothers wailed.

"Scream again, and I’ll give you the ‘Seven Great Bowls’!" Zhu Yitao barked.

The Tong brothers fell silent.

Seeing Aunt Liu’s smug smile, Zhu Yitao said coldly: "Old whore, choose again: fifteen strokes, or twenty-five slaps!"

Aunt Liu’s smile vanished: "I’m innocent—why should I be beaten?"

"You cursed me to be reborn without balls and become a whore again—that deserves a beating!" Zhu Yitao said.

Aunt Liu argued: "You insulted me first!"

"I’m your master. You’re a whore. I curse you—it’s natural. You curse me—it’s a heinous crime."

Seeing Aunt Liu’s face flush with rage and about to shout again, Zhu Yitao waved his hand: "Stand aside for now. Watch how I judge the others. Perhaps by then, you’ll be calmer!"

He then threw two bamboo tally sticks to the floor: "Take my official order to the City Defense Camp and find General Zhang Shoucheng. Tell him: the Shanghao and Busigui establishments harbor criminals plotting to kill officials and rebel."

Aunt Liu’s expression froze; her fury was replaced by shock and absurdity.

—Zhu Yitao’s gone mad. It’s just another counterfeit silver case—happens every year. Why summon the City Defense Camp?

And “kill officials and rebel”?

Everyone knew that due to the Thousand-Handed Bandit Saint, the City Defense Camp had already been taken over by General Chen Taiping and the Feathered Forest Guards.

"Go, hurry!"

Seeing the guards prepare to leave with Zhu Yitao’s handwritten order, Zhang Dama grabbed Xiao Yu’s hand and pushed through the crowd toward the exit.

"Auntie, are you going back?" Xiao Yu asked, puzzled.

Earlier, when the guards beat the Tong brothers, Zhang Dama had cheered along with the crowd, clapping and shouting: "Good! The Tong brothers got what they deserved! Beat them hard!"

When she saw Aunt Liu about to be slapped, her eyes had gleamed with anticipation.

Zhang Dama pushed forward, speaking fast: "The drama inside the government office is over—for now."

"Do you believe me? Zhu Yitao will soon retreat to the back quarters for tea and a nap."

"The real show will begin at Hu the Merchant’s house—we can’t be late."

"And after watching Hu’s show, we’ll follow the City Defense Camp back to the government office to see how Zhu Yitao tortures them—heehee!"

Xiao Yu looked up at the sky—it was overcast, gray, with not a single star visible.

But she guessed it was nearly eight in the evening.

"Auntie, it’s so late—won’t this delay your sleep?" Xiao Yu asked.

Zhang Dama laughed: "Unlike other places where people sleep as soon as night falls, Tianmen Town is the foremost prosperous city in the West—even at night, every street glows with lanterns, so we often stay up very late."

She sighed deeply: "Little Fengxian, you missed the best time."

"Before the Thirty-Six Kingdoms invaded our Great Shu, foreign merchants filled every corner of Tianmen Town—that’s what true prosperity looked like."

Suddenly she stopped, glanced around like a thief, and whispered: "Little Fengxian, you can fly, right? You’ve watched all day’s drama—you must be tired. Can you carry me? Like you carried Wang’s courtyard mistress the other day?"

—You really are trendy, knowing how to take a “flying taxi.”

“Close your eyes,” Xiao Yu said, holding her arm.

“I won’t close them—how else will I see the show? Don’t worry, I trained at a martial arts school too, I just wasn’t as gifted as you,” Aunt Zhang said.

Xiao Yu gripped her arm and leapt upward with all her strength, soaring seven or eight zhang high; a roaring wind whipped past her ears, tossing Aunt Zhang’s white hair wildly.

“Oh no, slow down! So high! I’m terrified~~~”

Seeing Aunt Zhang clutching her chest and crying out, Xiao Yu chuckled softly, then gradually slowed her speed and lowered her altitude.

“Hey, Aunt Zhang, look—someone ahead is using lightness skill to travel, and they seem to be going the same way as us.”

She dropped the showmanship, using only ordinary lightness skill, leaping like a great bird across rooftops and tree branches, gliding like a ghost, silent and unseen.

Ahead, the noise was loud—whistling winds rattled roof tiles and snapped several tree branches.

“Aunt Zhang?” Xiao Yu received no reply; she turned her head and saw Aunt Zhang had quietly closed her eyes.

“Aunt Zhang, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, no need to panic. Our Tianmen Town is blessed with talent and spirit—many people train at martial arts schools,” Aunt Zhang said.

“But his direction seems to match ours!” Xiao Yu said.