Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1032: The Little White Rabbit and the Big Bad Wolf

The woman had a rosy face and peach-like cheeks. Although dressed as a young married woman, her every move exuded the shyness of a young girl. She was none other than Cheng Yaojia, who had recently been released from the Daotai Yamen (local government office).

It turned out that when Song Qingshu led Qing soldiers to search Yuqing Temple, Lu Guanying recognized him and gave his wife a severe scolding upon returning home. After all, in his view, this corrupt Jin official had just released them, and now he was back at their door. Few knew that such a coincidence was possible.

He was already resentful about his wife’s loss of modesty, but considering her usual gentle and docile nature, and the fact that this was due to unforeseen circumstances, he suppressed his anger.

It wasn’t until the events of that night that Lu Guanying finally snapped. In his eyes, his wife’s loss of modesty wasn’t entirely unforgivable, and she shouldn’t have kept it from him, much less reveal the Southern Song envoy’s hiding place to the Jin people.

He even suspected his wife might have developed feelings for the Jin man; otherwise, why would she have told him such a secret?

Cheng Yaojia naturally felt utterly wronged and vehemently denied it. However, the more she denied it, the more suspicious and furious her husband became, eventually slapping her.

Cheng Yaojia had always been the apple of her family’s eye, and her shy and gentle nature meant she had never argued with her husband even after marriage. This time, however, she had received a solid slap.

Filled with resentment and anger, Cheng Yaojia ran crying out of the Yuqing Temple. Lu Guanying, in his rage, didn’t chase after her. She ran further and further away, her heart growing increasingly heavy, until finally, she wept silently under a tree by the river.

Seeing her weeping, her face streaked with tears, Song Qingshu felt a surge of pity and was about to go and comfort her when he suddenly noticed something and had to stop.

“Before, I didn’t believe them when they told me Jiangnan was wonderful, but after coming to Yangzhou, not only is the water sweet, but even the women are so pitiful.” 

A group of people passed by nearby. The young man at the head of the group, recognizing Cheng Yaojia’s appearance, had his eyes light up and hurriedly led his men towards her.

Song Qingshu looked over and saw that the leader was dressed in a mismatched manner. He looked like a young nobleman, but his clothes and accessories were rather rough, definitely not those of a Han aristocratic family. At the same time, his style of dress was very different from that of the nomadic peoples of the grasslands; after all, Song Qingshu had seen quite a few nomadic peoples recently.

Looking at the group’s attire, only one thought remained in Song Qingshu’s mind: With the current turmoil in Yangzhou, various forces were coming here to fish in troubled waters. Judging from their appearance, they were probably bandits from some remote area.

Noticing the large group surrounding her, Cheng Yaojia panicked and quickly stood up, wiping away her tears as she looked at the people before her, her face flushed. “Who are you people?” she asked.

“Who are we? We’re men, of course,” the young man at the head whistled, his tone laced with frivolity.

Cheng Yaojia blushed and hurriedly turned to leave, but the young man immediately blocked her way. “Young lady, why are you crying here so late at night? What grievance have you suffered? Tell your brother, and your brother will stand up for you.”

Although Cheng Yaojia was shy by nature, she was, after all, a disciple of Chongyang Palace. Seeing the man deliberately flirting with her, her face hardened. “Get out of my way!” she snapped.

“Oh, young lady, you’re quite fierce,” the young man said, reaching out to hook her chin.

“What can you do if I don’t let you have your way?” Cheng Yaojia’s expression changed instantly. She drew her sword and thrust it at him, but being kind-hearted, she deliberately avoided vital points, aiming only to repel the enemy and not to harm him.

The young man dodged her sword easily, then reached out to touch her face. However, Cheng Yaojia, from a prestigious family, though not highly skilled in martial arts, had a solid foundation. She quickly turned her head, narrowly avoiding his hand.

Seeing that he had missed, the young man was somewhat surprised: “It seems young lady is reluctant to let me t0uch your delicate face. But I have a strange temper; the more you don’t want me to t0uch you, the more I want to t0uch you.” He then reached out again, avoiding other areas and focusing solely on her face.

Cheng Yaojia was both angry and anxious, hastily wielding her sword to defend herself. One used vulgar attacks, the other dodged in all directions. After a dozen or so exchanges, Cheng Yaojia’s movements became unsteady.

Song Qingshu frowned. Cheng Yaojia was no match for this young master. Just as he was about to intervene, a sudden change occurred.

“Where did this scoundrel come from? In broad daylight, under the clear sky, how dare he harass an innocent woman!” An old man leaped out from a distance, shouting at the young master.

The young master froze, instinctively looking up at the sky, then he flew into a rage: “Where did this old geezer come from? Are you blind?!”

The old man’s face flushed. He had never done anything like rescuing a damsel in distress before, and being a first-timer, he was inevitably a bit clumsy, blurting out some slogans he’d heard before.

To ease his embarrassment, he quickly pointed: “Hey! Release this young lady, and I might spare your lives.”

Song Qingshu, watching from afar, had a strange expression. Finding things increasingly interesting, he didn’t rush over. Instead, he crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, waiting to see how things would unfold. He recognized the old man; in fact, they were acquaintances—Lu Zhangke, one of the two lackeys of the Xuanming Elders in the Prince Ruyang’s Palace.

‘I really didn’t expect this! This lecherous deer actually came out to play the hero?’ Song Qingshu chuckled inwardly.

Hearing Lu Zhangke’s words, the young master’s men cursed loudly: “You old ba$tard, do you know who our young master is? How dare you spout such nonsense!”

“Who is he?” Lu Zhangke was taken aback, a little uneasy. Having worked for the Prince Ruyang’s Palace, he deeply understood the power of the government. If the other party was truly the son of some high-ranking official, he would have to think twice.

“Our young master is Zhang, the young general of the Loyal Army of Dabie Mountain…” The henchman tried to continue, but the young master slapped him hard across the face: “Shut up, you useless thing! Didn’t we say we couldn’t reveal our identities on this trip?”

“Young General, this subordinate deserves to die, deserves to die!” the henchman hurriedly admitted. 

Lu Zhangke was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter: “What kind of bullsh!t Loyal Righteous Army is this? They’re just a bunch of murderous bandits from the Dabie Mountains!”

Having followed the Prince Ruyang’s Palace, his knowledge and experience far surpassed that of ordinary martial artists.

Song Qingshu nodded secretly. He had also heard of this Loyal Righteous Army. When the Jin and Qing dynasties rose to power, their rapid expansion prevented them from effectively consolidating many territories, leading to numerous uprisings in the Central Plains. The Southern Song court was happy to see this, hoping these rebels would cause more trouble for the Jin and Qing. Therefore, they appointed some Song dynasty officials to positions held by the rebels—empty promises, after all—and the Southern Song court didn’t care. The rebel leaders gained legitimacy, and both sides got what they wanted.

However, as the Jin and Qing dynasties stabilized, these ubiquitous rebel armies were gradually eliminated, leaving roughly three prominent groups: the Golden Serpent Camp in Shandong, the Red Coat Army in Henan, and the Loyal Righteous Army in the Dabie Mountains. Of these three, the Golden Serpent Camp was the strongest, followed by the Red Coat Army, while the Loyal Righteous Army was the weakest, yet still a force to be reckoned with. Moreover, it was rumored that the Loyal Righteous Army had close ties with the Southern Song court.

Upon hearing Lu Zhangke’s words, the young general flew into a rage, waving his hand and ordering, “Kill him!”

“Yes!”

His followers drew their longswords, clearly extremely brave and fierce.

Unfortunately, this was not a battlefield, and they had encountered the top-tier expert Lu Zhangke. Lu Zhangke moved swiftly through the crowd, and soon screams of agony filled the air.

The young general exchanged only one blow with Lu Zhangke before feeling a chilling, bone-deep internal energy surge into his body. Terrified, he hastily jumped out of the fray, knowing the old man’s martial arts far surpassed his own.

Watching his men fall one by one, he realized that if he lingered any longer, he might perish there that night. Daring not to stay any longer, he hurriedly fled.

Perhaps realizing his actions were rather dishonorable, he shouted and cursed, “You old ba$tard, if you have the guts, leave your name! We, the Loyal Army, will settle this score with you another day!”

Lu Zhangke flew into a rage, killing the last soldier beside him with a single palm strike: “Your grandpa, I don’t change my name, I am Lu Zhangke!”

He originally intended to pursue and eliminate any remaining enemies, but a glance at the pretty Cheng Yaojia standing to the side made him stop. After all, that stinky man was no match for such a beautiful young woman.

“Young lady, are you alright?” As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Zhangke noticed her hair bun and couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed; she was already married.

However, he quickly cheered up again. So what if she was married? This young lady was so beautiful, in no way inferior to Han Ji, the prince’s favorite concubine. Just thinking of Han Ji made him grit his teeth in hatred for the Ming Cult.

“I’m fine, thank you for saving me, senior.” Cheng Yaojia gave a graceful bow, her tone full of gratitude.

Lu Zhangke quickly reached out to help her up: “Where do you live, young lady? Why are you out alone so late at night?”

Seeing him holding her hand, Cheng Yaojia blushed slightly and quickly withdrew her hand. Although she felt strange, she didn’t think of anything else, because although this man wasn’t exactly a sage, he was older than her father.

Song Qingshu sneered inwardly from a short distance away. I’ll see what tricks this disrespectful old man has up his sleeve. He knew that approaching at this moment was not a good idea. In Cheng Yaojia’s mind, he was probably more terrifying than he was. Even if he told her that Lu Zhangke was a lecherous thief, she probably wouldn’t believe him.

“I had a small argument with my family, so I’m going back now,” Cheng Yaojia said, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. Although she still harbored some resentment towards her husband, being by his side was better than being bullied by some thugs outside.