Chapter 6

Hu Buwei finished arranging all this, then turned to Tang Wen Zheng and whispered lowly: "Brother Tang Wen Zheng, I will definitely get to the bottom of this matter; you need not worry." What he said was to get to the bottom, and he did not say he would give you an explanation.

Tang Wen Zheng cursed in his heart, "What to investigate? The matter is right before our eyes; not worry—how could I not worry? My daughter has been kidnapped by your bastard son, and now I don't even know how she is. Thinking of this, a surge of grief and anger choked my chest, and he said angrily: 'Sir Hu, we had better hurry back and take a look!' Despite Hu Buwei's high rank, even if he was furious he had to forcibly suppress it."

The carriage and horses started up again; Hu Buwei's purpose in letting Hu Tianxiong rush back first was to clarify the ins and outs of the matter. If what Tang Wen Zheng said is true, see if he can stop his foolish son from doing foolish things. Abducting a good family's young lady, and not just any common girl but the daughter of a court official—if this blows up, it will be of no benefit to the Hu family at all; even if the Emperor favors him, the reasoning is ultimately not on their side, and Hu Buwei is well aware of this in his heart.

At this moment the scene at the Secretariat Manor was already extremely chaotic; Tang Tiehan had originally brought over twenty people, and his second brother Tang Tiecheng, after hearing about this, had rallied more than fifty brothers and friends, rushing over in haste. Although Tang Tiehan was the eldest in the family, when it came to the three brothers' boldness, Tang Tiecheng was undoubtedly the foremost. After Tang Tiecheng arrived, he led his brothers to the rear gate, clenched his fists and fiercely struck the gate ring.

Tang Tiehan said to Tang Tiecheng: "Second brother, I've been pounding for half a day, but the door just won't open!" To say the quality of the Secretariat Manor's main gate is indeed not bad.

Tang Tiecheng glared angrily at his elder brother, and upon hearing this he flew into a rage, cursing loudly, even dragging his elder brother into the tirade—Tang Tiehan had brought over twenty people yet stood by helplessly as Hu Buwei's foolish son abducted his sister; this was sheer stupidity, the utmost stupidity. Tang Tiecheng waved his hand and shouted: "Chop the trees, ram the gate open!" His men immediately turned to chop trees nearby, while another group went to fetch ladders.

Tang Tiehan came to his second brother's side and whispered: "Second brother, is this the Secretariat Manor?"

Tang Tiecheng's pent-up fury was ignited, and he roared: "What's the Secretariat Manor to me? Even if the Heavenly King and Old Father dared to abduct my sister, I'd still chop him down!" The three Tang sons each have a worse temper than the last; when they flare up they don't recognize kin. Tang Tiehan hurriedly covered his mouth, for if these words got out it would be disastrous.

Tang Tiecheng broke free of his big hand and shouted: "Listen, people inside—if you provoke me, I'll set your Secretariat Manor ablaze in one go!"

More than ten guards of the Hu family had gathered at the rear gate; hearing the tumult outside, they were all extremely uneasy. Liang Da Zhuang stepped on a ladder and climbed the wall, seeing that outside the rear gate a crowd of over a hundred had gathered, with many people chopping trees there, and in the distance a few people were carrying ladders toward this side. Liang Da Zhuang hurriedly climbed down and told the surrounding guards: "Bad news—they've borrowed ladders, felled a large tree, and it looks like they're about to launch an attack."

Hu Fu wrung his hands anxiously: "What can we do?" The master had not returned from court, and the mistress had just gone back to her natal home; recently all big and small affairs in the Secretariat Manor were managed by the old steward Hu An, but Hu An happened to be bedridden today, and as for the troublemaking young master, he might be enjoying himself right now— the whole Secretariat Manor is in a state of leaderless chaos.

While a few people were discussing plans, the outside had already ladders placed against the wall; Liang Da Zhuang led several guards, swiftly climbing the wall, using the sticks in their hands to block those trying to climb over, and Liang Da Zhuang together with another guard jointly pushed over the ladder leaning on the courtyard wall, throwing the two men on it screaming as they fell to the ground.

Tang Tiecheng's eyes blazed with fury; at that moment a large tree had been felled, and over a dozen men hoisted the tree, shouting in unison as they charged toward the Secretariat Manor's rear gate.

Hu Fu led more than ten guards, using various tools to brace the rear gate.

Clang! A huge bang, the rear gate shook dust flying; two guards, unable to withstand the shock, fell with a thud. Tang Tiehan's ferocity was also infected by his brother; this guy took off his upper garment, revealing a bulging musculature, rushed forward to hoist the tree trunk, and bellowed: "Damn his old lady, give me a ram!"

Liang Da Zhuang already saw the situation turning bad; this fellow stumbled down from the ladder, his face full of panic, and said: "I... I'll go protect the young master."

A group of guards looked at this fellow with utter contempt, thinking of fleeing like a dog—could they find a more shameless excuse?

Clang! The second tremendous boom came earth-shaking; with everyone working together, the thick tree trunk's end slammed hard into the Secretariat Manor's rear gate; the solid, heavy door panels could no longer withstand such force, the bolts snapped, the door panels toppled in the smoke and dust, pinning three guards who couldn't escape, and the site echoed with continual cries of anguish.

Tang Tiehan and Tang Tiecheng, bare-chested, walked out from the swirling smoke and dust like iron towers; in the guards' eyes they were practically two deities descending to earth. Behind them followed nearly a hundred vigorous, high-spirited brothers, appearing at first glance like heavenly troops descending. The two brothers' eyes were blood-red; today they would certainly make the old Hu family give us justice!

Although Hu Xiaotian lived in the inner court, with such a huge commotion outside he could not have failed to hear it; he carried Tang Qingxuan back to his own room, and just as he laid her on the bed, the little girl woke up.

Among the Tang siblings, when it comes to temper and boldness, Tang Qingxuan is the fiercest. She opened her eyes to see herself bound like a zongzi, soaked all over, lying on an unfamiliar bed; frightened, she let out a scream, but the moment her voice escaped, Hu Xiaotian clapped his hand over her mouth, then flashed the gleaming dagger in his hand before her eyes and said: "If you scream, I'll slash your face!" It was a threat, absolutely a threat; even if he really did slash, he might not bring himself to do it.

Nevertheless the threat was quite effective—what girl in this world doesn't care about her looks? To say ruining her appearance is more effective than killing her, Tang Qingxuan bit her lip, her eyes flickered, seeing Hu Xiaotian slowly move his palm away, she finally dared not scream loudly, and whispered softly: "What do you want?"

Hu Xiaotian gave a hehe laugh, sat in the master's chair opposite the bed, propping one leg on it; this fellow hadn't even had time to put on clothes, and as soon as he lifted his leg he noticed Tang Qingxuan suddenly close her eyes, her pretty face turning crimson, showing endless shyness and becoming especially alluring.

Only then did Hu Xiaotian realize that after abducting someone he had been sprinting all the way, not even having time to change clothes; that unintentional movement just now risked exposure, and he coughed, saying: "That's a stupid question—you brought me here, you tell me what I want." Hu Xiaotian felt he wasn't that vile; he clearly wanted to say some vicious things, but in the end he couldn't get them out.

Tang Qingxuan opened her beautiful eyes, glaring angrily at Hu Xiaotian and said: "You want to abduct me for marriage? Let me tell you, my father is a court official, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport, Tang Wen Zheng; if you dare to be rude to me, be careful my father will impeach you before the Emperor and have your whole clan executed and property confiscated!"

Hu Xiaotian looked at this lass, thinking inwardly, "You're vicious—what have I done to you? You want to exterminate my whole clan? Which bastard tied you up like this? Bound with distinct bumps and clear outlines, quite professional—this kind of tying I've only seen in Japanese AV."

Tang Qingxuan, seeing him stare at her, couldn't help but feel a little flustered; even if she were bold, after all she's a girl, and now she's bound like a zongzi, utterly unable to resist.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport that important? Isn't it just a horse‑herder?"

"You…"

Hu Xiaotian was about to deflate Tang Qingxuan's arrogant spirit when he heard Liang Da Zhuang's panting voice from outside: "Young master… bad news… things have gone badly…"

Hu Xiaotian pulled the dagger from the table, stepped out and reflexively closed the door, only to see Liang Da Zhuang bent over, his arms resting on his two thick legs, panting heavily: "Kill… they've killed… they've come in…"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the Tang brothers leading nearly a hundred sturdy men, their aura fierce, charging into the garden.

Liang Da Zhuang's face turned ashen with fright; he immediately turned to run, but after two steps he remembered his duty—if he fled now, once this affair passed the Hu family would have no place for him left. Weighing pros and cons, he immediately drew his waist knife, mustered his courage, and stammered: "Young… young… young master… you flee first… I… I will cover you."

Hu Xiaotian looked at him with some contempt; this fellow trembled from eyelashes to fingertips, his courage nearly shattered, yet he still talked about protecting himself. Hu Xiaotian said: "Do you even know what 'suspending action for fear of harming others' means?"

Liang Da Zhuang shook his head.

"Do you even know what 'unrestrained and reckless' means?"

Liang Da Zhuang shook his head again.

"Damn! Truly uncultured—people are in our hands, what are you afraid of?" Hu Xiaotian couldn't stand this fellow's pathetic demeanor and let out a curse.

One sentence woke the dreamer; Liang Da Zhuang hearing this instantly puffed out his chest again: "No… afraid… not afraid! I fear nothing!" This fellow let out a wild roar that rang in Hu Xiaotian's ears like a buzz: "Hey, a servant is just a servant! Damn it!"

Hu Xiaotian waved his hand and said: "Go, bring the little lass out and hold a knife to her throat."

Liang Da Zhuang nodded repeatedly, turned and came to the door, then this fellow suddenly remembered something: "Young master, is she… wearing clothes?"

Hu Xiaotian realized this guard was also a piece of work—supposed to be smart at times but isn't, and yet he overthinks things he shouldn't; thus he gave a hehe laugh and said: "Stark naked, it's your lucky day!"

Gulp! Liang Da Zhuang swallowed saliva, the image of the little lass's delicate skin and tender flesh flashed before his eyes; before he could think further, Hu Xiaotian slapped his head hard: "Damn, you dare to fantasize about my woman?" Please recommend, please collect!