Chapter 12

Not long after, the four servants of the Hu family limped up, having all sustained honorable injuries in today's clash; the worst off was Liang Da Zhuang, his nose bruised, face swollen, mouth askew, eyes crossed, beaten until he looked like a pig's head.

The four servants came to the front hall, thudding as they all knelt down, and in unison cried: "We've been wronged, Sir, please give us justice!"

Hu Buwei gave a cold snort, lifted his teacup and continued drinking tea; his demeanor instead made him seem like an outsider.

Hong Baiqi also did not let these servants rise, speaking in a deep voice: "Listen clearly, you must answer my upcoming questions truthfully; if you dare to lie and conceal, I will certainly punish you severely!" He habitually reached for the gavel but grabbed the teacup instead; after raising it he realized and could only gently set it down, glancing furtively at Hu Buwei. As the saying goes, to beat a dog you look at its master; Hong Baiqi's stern demeanor is to give both sides the impression of his impartiality—scaring a few servants is nothing, but he is quite courteous toward Hu Xiaotian, the main party.

Hu Buwei naturally knew Hong Baiqi was putting on an act, and also knew that Hong Baiqi's gaze toward him was to solicit his opinion; he remained expressionless and silent.

Hong Baiqi could only steel himself and continue asking: "Tell me honestly, how did Miss Tang fall into the water, and what happened afterward?"

Liang Da Zhuang twisted his mouth and said, "May I report, Your Honor, at that time the Tang family miss rode a big red horse, galloping wildly along the Cuiyun Lake shore; we were accompanying the young master as we strolled by the lake, seeing her spur the horse into a frantic run. I at the time wanted to protect the young master, but the horse came too suddenly, leaving no time—just as I saw our young master about to be struck by her mount, she promptly reined in the horse. We originally wanted to go up and reason with her, but the young master said, a decent man does not fight a woman; since no one was hurt, let this matter drop—but we never expected…" Liang Da Zhuang made a sorrowful expression.

That fellow, beaten until he looked like a pig's head, now making any expression would not elicit any sympathy but instead look utterly ridiculous.

Hu Fo followed up, saying: "None of us expected that Tang family miss to be so spiteful; she raised her whip and lashed our young master across the head and face—he raised a hand to block… and was struck until his skin split and flesh tore!"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head, sighed, rolled up his sleeve just right, and displayed the clear whip mark on his arm to everyone.

Hu Buwei secretly praised, "Good son! At this moment silence speaks louder than words—this is striking after the enemy moves. First let your Tang family spout nonsense; wait until you finish, then launch a counterattack, using facts and evidence to prove your lies. Heh heh, who would have thought they'd dare to bully our Hu family. Tang Wen Zheng, Tang Wen Zheng, you, a sixth‑rank horse groom, dare to challenge my authority—I see you don't want to stay in the capital any longer."

Seeing Hu Xiaotian reveal that wound, Tang Wen Zheng's heart leapt in shock; as the saying goes, "knowing a daughter is knowing her father," he of course knew his daughter's spoiled and willful nature—galloping a horse through the market is itself a violation of the law. If what these servants said is true, then his daughter must have first whipped Hu Xiaotian. Miss, miss, you've kicked up a huge storm!

Tang Qingxuan had been lying in Murong Feiyan's arms feigning a faint, but hearing this she could no longer stay silent; she suddenly opened her eyes, startling Murong Feiyan, and angrily declared: "It's entirely your doing—you messed with my horse and shoved me into the water."

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed, "This little lass is really ungrateful—I hadn't planned to quarrel with you, but you keep twisting black and white in front of everyone; no need to ask, your earlier faint was obviously an act. I see you look youthful and lovely on the outside, yet I never expected such a vicious heart inside. Mom, I'm really about to be forced to strike you hard!"

Hong Baiqi furrowed his brows and said, "Miss Tang, you need to think clearly—just now you said the horse was startled and you were thrown off; how can you now claim they shoved you into the water?" Hong Baiqi is also an old slickster; deep down he sides with Hu Buwei, latching onto the error in Tang Qingxuan's words and intent on magnifying it.

Tang Qingxuan, tears in her eyes, said, "Sir, please see clearly—I was just too shy to speak; I certainly wasn't galloping wildly by the lake. It was these master and servant who, seeing I had some looks, harbored ill intent, stepped forward and humiliated me. As a weak woman I felt frightened, tried to flee on horseback, but this rascal—" She pointed at Hu Xiaotian; the rascal certainly referred to Hu Xiaotian.

Tang Qingxuan is clearly no pushover either; her facial expression changes in an instant, tears falling like a broken string of beads nonstop. Where is the earlier ferocity and unreasonableness? She is now a frail woman, weak and helpless, enduring humiliation: "He… spews filthy language, all kinds of **… how could a lowly girl like me stand against five burly men? In desperation I only whipped in self-defense… Sir…"

Hu Xiaotian stared coldly at Tang Qingxuan, a little vixen—really can't tell her lies are so beautifully spun; her acting isn't bad, not full marks but about eighty. Whipping in self-defense? More like self-pleasure. With just your little bit of skill you still want to trap me? You've really blinded your own eyes.

Tang Wen Zheng glared, eyes wide with anger; he was truly furious. In his view, everything Hu Xiaotian's side said were naturally lies, while his daughter's words were undoubtedly true—this Hu family is really bullying too much.

Hong Baiqi originally wanted to be a peacemaker, smooth things over, make everyone happy and offend no one, but seeing how the situation developed—one twist after another, problems galore—it really wasn't easy to handle. He comforted Tang Qingxuan: "Miss Tang, don't cry, first explain the matter clearly."

Tang Qingxuan stepped before Hu Fu, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, and asked: "Was it you who stabbed my horse with a single staff strike?"

Hu Fu looked pleadingly at Hu Xiaotian, needing to see the young master's intention.

At such a time Hu Xiaotian remained calm as ever; he smiled and said: "Just speak the truth—you're not a woman, so don't lie!" Hu Xiaotian's implication was that Tang Qingxuan's entire account was lies, though he wasn't in a hurry to expose it, just waiting to see how this little/wench would perform.

Having received his assent, Hu Fu had no more scruples; he nodded and said: "Yes, at that time I saw her galloping her horse to crash into our young master, so I raised the Water Fire Staff and thrust it straight into the horse's rear end beneath her!" These servants originally lacked refinement, speaking crudely and bluntly. As soon as he said that, many couldn't help laughing, even Hu Buwei couldn't help but smirk.

Tang Qingxuan's face flushed crimson with shame; even if she could regain her dignity today, her reputation was ruined. She bit her cherry lips hard and said: "My horse was startled by them, rearing up and throwing me off, that's how I fell into Cuiyun Lake. I, a lowly girl, don't know how to swim, and I was nearly killed by them… Sir, you must grant me justice…" She began to sob again.

Liang Da Zhuang couldn't stand it any longer and shouted: "You're completely turning black into white! After you fell into the water, it was our young master who pulled you out—do you have any conscience?"

Tang Tiehan said: "You're the ones distorting black and white! Wasn't it you who kidnapped my sister, Hu Xiaotian? Didn't you press a dagger to her throat, threatening us to hand over the horses, then you seized my sister and fled to the Minister of Revenue's residence?"

Liang Da Zhuang said: "Back then you brought several hundred men to besiege us; if the young master hadn't acted that way, we would already have been chopped into mincemeat by you."

Tang Tiehan said: "We only wanted to save people; we never thought of killing you!"

Liang Da Zhuang still wanted to say something, but Hu Xiaotian made a gesture to stop them speaking, and said softly: "You may step down first."

The four servants looked at Hu Xiaotian, their eyes full of bewilderment—truly couldn't fathom this young master; when he ought to be clarifying things, he remained silent, as if truly intending to take the blame for this black pot.

After the four left, Hu Xiaotian slowly approached Tang Qingxuan, looked at her, and said: "Miss Tang, you claim I ** you by the Cuiyun Lake?"

Seeing him approach, Tang Qingxuan's bright eyes locked onto hers, her heart involuntarily fluttered, and she nodded, saying: "You're not admitting it now?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "You do have some looks, but do you think your beauty has reached the level of toppling nations, unparalleled in the world, enough to make me unable to restrain my desire, forcing me to ** you in the street?"

Tang Qingxuan certainly didn't consider herself unmatched in beauty; her long black lashes drooped as she said: "What evil deed can't you do?"

Hu Xiaotian burst out laughing, then turned to Murong Feiyan and said: "Miss Murong, you and Miss Tang are on good terms; she ought to know martial arts, and quite well at that. I know nothing of martial arts, and my four attendants are only mediocre. In your view, even if the five of us joined forces, could we defeat Tang Qingxuan?"

Murong Feiyan thought, "Why are you asking me?" Having just personally experienced that melee, she saw clearly that Hu Xiaotian definitely didn't know martial arts; Tang Qingxuan was her close boudoir friend, and she understood Tang Qingxuan's martial arts—about equal to her own. If they really fought, Tang Qingxuan could handle more than a dozen brawny men without issue. She whispered: "Tang Qingxuan doesn't know how to swim!" This statement amounted to an implicit admission that if Tang Qingxuan hadn't fallen into the water, Hu Xiaotian's gang couldn't beat her; even if Tang Qingxuan couldn't win in self-defense, it wouldn't matter much.

Hu Xiaotian said: "After Tang Qingxuan fell into the water, she no longer remembers what happened; I pulled her out of the water, and there were many onlookers, so finding witnesses is not difficult."

Prefect of Jingzhao Hong Baiqi nodded slowly.

Hu Xiaotian added: "Tang Tiehan said I stuffed her sister's head between my thighs, which indeed happened, but at the time she had swallowed a bellyful of lake water; I pressed my knee against her abdomen, squeezing her back to expel the water from her stomach. Tang Qingxuan, think carefully—was I wearing pants then?"