Chapter 287

Tang Tiehan shouted angrily: 'Yo! Shameless eunuch, you really make me furious!' He raised a fist the size of a vinegar bowl and smashed it at Hu Xiaotian's face. He thought one punch would give Hu Xiaotian a bloody face, but in a blink Hu Xiaotian vanished, his punch went to waste, and looking again Hu Xiaotian stood unharmed at his right, smiling narrowly: 'Actually your sister isn't bad-looking either.'

Yo! I'll kill you, lecher!' Another punch came; Hu Xiaotian side-stepped again, shook his head and said: 'Your aim is way off, it's strange—you three brothers look like cow dung, yet your sister is as delicate as a fresh flower; could she really be from the same mother?'

Eunuch, I'll curse your ancestors!' Tang Tiehan lifted his leg to kick.

Hu Xiaotian, however, lifted his leg to meet it at that moment; legs clashed hard, with a thud! Tang Tiehan felt as if he had kicked an iron rod, pain almost splitting his bones, he limped back on his right leg, his expression shocked—he never expected this guy to suddenly know martial arts.

Hu Xiaotian gave him no chance to react; as Tang Tiehan retreated, Hu Xiaotian rushed forward and kicked him hard in the chest with a vicious solar plexus kick; Tang Tiehan's huge body flew up like a broken kite, soaring over three zhang high before crashing down, landing flat on his face in the mud in a classic dog-eats-shit move.

The four followers of Tang Tiehan were all stunned; after regaining their senses, they simultaneously spurred their horses toward Hu Xiaotian, intending to knock him down with their mounts.

At the instant the four steeds lunged at the central target, Hu Xiaotian leapt into the air, broke out of their encirclement, turned mid‑flight, and landed outside the circle in the Plucking Goose from Flat Sand stance.

The two horses couldn't stop in time and collided; the horses let out terrified whinnies, and the two riders on their backs were flung off by inertia.

A carriage appeared not far away. It was Gao Yuan who had followed their tracks here; he shouted loudly: 'Brother Tian, get on!'

Hu Xiaotian had no intention of lingering; he ran over quickly, leapt onto the carriage, and before he could steady himself, Gao Yuan whipped the horses and the carriage surged forward at full speed.

Hu Xiaotian sat down in the carriage, looked back and saw Tang Tiehan and his companions far behind; he couldn't help feeling delighted and burst out laughing. But his laughter didn't last long—up ahead on the road, about a dozen horsemen came riding toward them, forming a line that completely blocked the way. It was Tang family's second son, Tang Tiecheng, who had heard the news and rushed over to seek revenge.

Hu Xiaotian saw the situation turning bad and hurriedly told Gao Yuan: 'Little Yuan, don't worry about me—just get away. I'll handle this side.'

No!

Hu Xiaotian snapped: 'Listen, I'm after all a palace person—they wouldn't dare do anything to me.' He lifted the carriage curtain and jumped down.

Gao Yuan refused to leave him alone, reined in the horses and also stopped.

Seeing this kid so stubborn, refusing to leave, Hu Xiaotian could do nothing about him for the moment. With the enemy pressing in, the only thing to do was first deal with the immediate danger.

The three Tang brothers are all brave but reckless. Tang Tiecheng is even more hot‑tempered than his elder brother Tang Tiehan; today he came to the horse market with his elder brother, but they split up to pick horses, so he heard the news a little late—fortunately he happened to intercept Hu Xiaotian just before the latter fled.

When they were still twenty zhang from Hu Xiaotian, Tang Tiecheng's gang all brandished short sticks. Inside Huangcheng they wouldn't dare kill outright; today they had decided to give Hu Xiaotian a sound beating.

Hu Xiaotian stood there, his clenched fists slowly opening into the shape of an eagle's claw; today he would see just how powerful the Profound Dark Yin Wind Claw really was.

Gao Yuan took a wooden stick from the carriage, jumped out and stood shoulder‑to‑shoulder with Hu Xiaotian. Vowing to share weal and woe, this child, though young, was loyal and righteous, full of heroic spirit. As the situation teetered on the brink, a sharp, thin voice rang out from afar: 'Hold it! Everyone, hold it!'

In the distance three riders came galloping like the wind, all dressed in court attire; the leader, a man in his thirties with fine brows, long eyes, fair skin and no beard, was none other than the Deputy Director of the Imperial Stables, Fan Zongxi; behind him followed two young eunuchs on horseback, one of whom was actually the little eunuch Fugui who had once guarded the gate of the Cheng'en Palace.

Fan Zongxi intercepted Tang Tiecheng's gang before they could get close to Hu Xiaotian and snapped angrily: 'Tang Tiecheng, what are you doing? How dare you show disrespect to Lord Hu!'

Hu Xiaotian didn't know Fan Zongxi, but hearing him call out his surname showed he had learned it from Fugui; Fugui stood with his back to Hu Xiaotian, quietly moving his hand behind him, apparently signaling him to stay silent and just watch their arrangements. This little eunuch looked honest on the surface, but in fact he was a piece planted by Quan De'an in the palace—indeed, appearances can be deceiving.

Although Tang Tiecheng hated Hu Xiaotian to the bone, he still feared the Imperial Stables staff; never mind that his father was a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport, he still had to watch the looks of these eunuchs. Tang Tiecheng stepped forward, cupped his fists and bowed: 'Lord Fan, I offer my respects; you may not know, this person is an enemy of my Tang family…'

Before he could finish, Tang Tiehan's shout came from afar: 'Second brother, whatever you do, don't let that eunuch get away!'

The speaker meant no harm, but the listener took offense; although Fan Zongxi knew Tang Tiehan's words were aimed at Hu Xiaotian, eunuchs most dread hearing the word 'eunuch', and his face instantly turned cold.

As Tang Tiehan was about to come near on horseback, Fan Zongxi's body sprang from the saddle, flipped several times in mid‑air, and dove straight at him. Tang Tiehan startled, hastily reined in his horse, and before he could brace himself, Fan Zongxi raised his right hand and delivered a crisp slap to his face, knocking him heavily from his mount.

Fan Zongxi tapped the horse's back with his toe, flew back to his mount, seized the reins, and coldly gazed at Tang Tiehan on the ground: 'Are you cursing me?'

Only then did Tang Tiehan clearly see that the one who struck him was the Deputy Director of the Imperial Stables, Fan Zongxi; his face turned completely purple, he dared not speak back to Fan Zongxi, though he realized he had misspoken.

Tang Tiecheng hurriedly said: 'Lord Fan, my elder brother certainly didn't mean you…'

Fan Zongxi gave a cold snort: 'Out of respect for Sir Tang, I won't hold today's incident against you—get out of my sight at once.'

Tang Tiehan crawled up from the ground in a sorry state: 'Lord Fan…'

Hmm… do you really want Zajia to report today's affair to the Emperor?

Hearing Fan Zongxi say that, the Tang Tiehan brothers dared not say another word; they hurriedly grabbed their men and fled in disarray.

Seeing them all gone, Fan Zongxi turned his gaze to Hu Xiaotian, who was quick‑witted and undoubtedly owed Fan Zongxi a favor; he hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed: 'Your humble servant Hu Xiaotian pays his respects to Deputy Director Fan!'

Fan Zongxi smiled slightly, leaned forward while holding the reins, and said: 'We're all palace people; naturally we won't let outsiders bully us at will, especially since you are Fugui's benefactor.'

Hu Xiaotian glanced at Fugui; obviously this kid had deliberately fabricated a lie. Besides Fugui, hardly anyone in the palace knew he had been sent in by Quan De'an; Fugui appeared honest and simple, but he was clearly no ordinary person—he must be an important piece planted by Quan De'an in the palace.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Thank you, Deputy Director Fan, for the trouble.'

Fan Zongxi replied: 'We're our own people, no need for courtesy.' His gaze fell on the little horse behind the carriage; his narrow eyes instantly narrowed to a slit—this thin, long‑haired colt clearly didn't interest him, and he turned to Hu Xiaotian: 'Zajia is leaving first!'

Fugui also didn't linger, gave Hu Xiaotian a meaningful look, and followed Fan Zongxi away in a swirl of dust.

Hu Xiaotian boarded Gao Yuan's carriage, which Gao Yuan drove to the vicinity of the Hall of Jade; Shi Xuedong and the others who had gone to check prices had already returned and were waiting at the agreed spot. Hu Xiaotian said nothing about what had happened today, but inside he began plotting a harsh lesson for the Tang brothers.

Good news stays at home, bad news travels far—Hu Xiaotian had just returned to the Office of Imperial Gardens when Liu Yuzhang summoned him; Liu had already heard of his clash with the Tang brothers at the horse market, and he called Hu Xiaotian over not to blame him but out of concern.

Hu Xiaotian briefly told Liu Yuzhang what had happened today, though he omitted why he had gone to the horse market.

After hearing it, Liu Yuzhang couldn't help sighing: 'As long as you didn't suffer a loss, that's fine; I'll greet the Imperial Stables and have them give the Tang family a warning.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed: 'Lord Liu, it's just a trifle, no need to trouble you; actually it was Deputy Director Fan Zongxi of the Imperial Stables who rescued me today, and I'm thinking of preparing a gift to send him.'

Liu Yuzhang said: 'Fan Zongxi likes his drink, go to the wine cellar and pick some fine wine to send him.'

Hu Xiaotian chuckled: 'Does this count as using public office for private gain?'

Liu Yuzhang hearing this also laughed: 'Once we regard this place as our own home, what's public, what's private—who can tell the difference?'

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help slapping the table in admiration; Liu Yuzhang's explanation was truly marvelous. Since we already treat the palace as our home, why bother distinguishing public from private? He sighed: 'It's a pity that Ji Feihua has turned the wine cellar into a mess, ruining much of the aged vintage down below.' In fact, Quan De'an also helped wreck the cellar, but Hu Xiaotian blamed it all on Ji Feihua.

Liu Yuzhang said: 'The scarcer the stock, the more precious it is.'

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