Flower Stealing Master

The group was chatting as they walked into the Louwailou, when unexpectedly someone came rushing out from inside. Song Qingshu reacted immediately, but then remembered Jia Baoyu’s feckless, playboy nature. Since he couldn’t expose his martial arts, he had no choice but to pretend he hadn’t reacted in time and stood there dumbfounded.

Who would have guessed that Wanyan Chongjie’s attention was entirely focused on the two Xuanming Elders behind her? Added to that, she was running too fast. By the time she realized someone was in front of her, it was already too late—she slammed headlong into Song Qingshu’s chest.

If an ordinary person had been struck by her at that speed, they’d likely have broken a rib or two. But Song Qingshu had true Qi protecting his body, which instantly dissolved most of the force.

Afraid that the rebound might injure her, Song Qingshu instinctively reached out to steady her. But Wanyan Chongjie reacted quickly as well—feeling that she’d collided with someone, she instinctively shifted her momentum to change direction and run off to the side. Unfortunately, she ran straight into Song Qingshu’s outstretched hand.

The soft, intoxicating sensation transmitted from his palm made Song Qingshu’s expression turn strange: He’d had absolutely no intention of taking advantage this time. Who would have thought she’d deliberately throw her chest against his palm?

Wanyan Chongjie looked down at the “wolf’s claw” on her chest and nearly fainted from rage. A flash of murderous intent flickered in her eyes—then she heard the Xuanming Elders’ shouts behind her. A quick roll of her eyes and a plan formed.

“Help me, young master! These bad people are bullying me!” Wanyan Chongjie was a master of rapid mood changes. Instantly, she put on a pitiful, tear-streaked expression—her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, looking utterly pathetic.

Song Qingshu sneered inwardly, however. She speaks so pitifully, yet she’s secretly hiding behind me, using me as a human shield without me even realizing it. But her acting was so convincing that not a single person in their group saw through it.

That said, Song Qingshu wasn’t angry. By now, he had recognized Wanyan Chongjie. There was no way he would just stand by and let her fall into enemy hands. He was just wondering—what is this girl doing in Lin’an?

By now, the young gentlemen in the group had finally gotten a good look at Wanyan Chongjie’s face. Each of their expressions showed signs of being utterly captivated. This little girl is already such a calamitous beauty at such a young age—when she grows up, what then?

Feng Ziying and Liu Xianglian were relatively restrained, but Xue Pan nearly drooled at the sight. Hearing Wanyan Chongjie’s pitiful plea, eager to show off in front of her, he immediately grinned and said, “Don’t worry, little miss. Your big brother here will protect you.”

As he spoke, he stepped in front of the Xuanming Elders and declared arrogantly, “Hey, you two old farts—” Before he could finish, Lu Zhangke kicked him flying across the room.

If Lu Zhangke hadn’t been worried about causing a major incident in Lin’an, he would have greeted Xue Pan with a Xuanming Divine Palm instead.

Feng Ziying and Liu Xianglian were furious. Unlike the reckless Xue Pan, they had intended to first find out what was going on before acting. But seeing Xue Pan kicked aside and unable to get up, their anger flared. As scions of powerful families, they always stuck together. If one of them was humiliated and they didn’t stand up for him, how could they face their social circle in the future?

Feng Ziying threw a punch while Liu Xianglian drew his sword—both attacking simultaneously. One came from a military family, the other had loved swords and martial arts since childhood, and both had solid foundations in combat. Working together, they actually managed to temporarily hold off Lu Zhangke.

Song Qingshu shifted his gaze to Xue Pan, who had been kicked onto a nearby table. He now lay groaning amidst the splintered wood, his face swollen and bruised like a pig’s head.

Truly a “Stupid Tyrant,” Song Qingshu thought with a silent laugh. With a face like Zhao Yun but the recklessness of Zhang Fei—no wonder he had that nickname in the original story. [G: Reference to Zhao Yun (graceful, skilled) and Zhang Fei (hot-tempered, impulsive)—both generals from the Three Kingdoms period.]

But he had no time to worry about Xue Pan right now. Instead, he looked further inside. ‘The Xuanming Elders are always by that person’s side. Now that they’re here… where is she?’

This time, the heavens didn’t disappoint him. Watching Zhao Min—dressed in male disguise—sitting by the window, the corners of Song Qingshu’s lips gradually curled into a faint smile.

By now, the fight was winding down. Although Feng Ziying and Liu Xianglian were skilled, how could they compare to Lu Zhangke? And when He Biweng joined the fray, the two were quickly kicked onto their backs—sprawled on the ground in utterly undignified positions.

“Are you all blind?! Get them!” Feng Ziying’s father was the Divine Martial General—a heavyweight in the military—and he had never suffered such humiliation in his life. He immediately cursed at the attendants following behind.

The attendants, finally snapping out of their daze, shouted and charged forward.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Wanyan Chongjie quietly slipped toward the exit. Just as she was about to disappear into the crowd, she turned back and shot Song Qingshu a venomous glare, memorizing the face of the man who had taken liberties with her. Then, with a huff, she vanished into the sea of people.

Song Qingshu was completely aware of all of this, but he didn’t stop her. He was probably the only one in the room—other than those directly involved—who fully understood the enmity between Zhao Min and Wanyan Chongjie. He knew that if she fell into Zhao Min’s hands, she would be in for a very bad time. And he couldn’t openly intervene to save her.

A series of screams interrupted his thoughts. The attendants from their group had charged in with fierce momentum—only to be thoroughly thrashed by the two Xuanming Elders within the span of a few breaths.

Seeing that these were merely servants and underlings, the Xuanming Elders no longer held back. Many ended up with broken arms and legs, while the rest lay on the ground, unable to continue fighting.

Glancing behind Song Qingshu and seeing Wanyan Chongjie had disappeared, the Xuanming Elders turned back to Zhao Min to report, “This subordinate was incompetent, my lady. That girl got away.”

Zhao Min let out a cold humph. 

The two Xuanming Elders’ hearts trembled. Although her martial arts were far inferior to theirs, for some reason, both of them were deeply afraid of this stunningly beautiful commandery princess. [G: Commandery princess – junzhu, a title for daughters of princes below the highest rank.]

“Since this group is the reason that girl escaped,” Zhao Min said lazily, picking up her teacup, “break one leg from each of them.” Her words sent a chill through everyone in the room.

Feng Ziying was clutching his chest. Hearing this, he exploded in rage, “You’ve got some nerve! Do you know who our fathers are?”

Zhao Min smiled lightly. “I’m all ears.”

Everyone in the room felt their hearts skip a beat. Apart from Song Qingshu, the others all exchanged strange looks. Why do I think this man’s smile is so beautiful when I’m not even attracted to men?

Feng Ziying straightened up and pointed proudly at each of his companions in turn. “This is the son of the current Military Commissioner Jia. This is the son of Vice Minister of State Affairs Xue Ji. This is the son of the Censorate’s Investigating Censor Liu Chengda. As for myself—my father is the Divine Martial General Feng Tang!”

Gasps echoed through the restaurant. Those names were all thunderous—any one of them alone could crush an ordinary man. [G: Military Commissioner – Shumishi, a key post in the Song bureaucracy. Vice Minister of State Affairs – Canzhi zhengshi, deputy prime minister level. Investigating Censor – Jiancha yushi, part of the censorial system.]

That jade-like young gentleman had offended the most elite circle of powerful scions in Lin’an. He was surely in for it now.

But Zhao Min merely said indifferently, “So what?”

“Ah?” Feng Ziying was dumbfounded. Does this guy know who we are or doesn’t he? I’ve laid out all our backing and he doesn’t show the slightest hint of fear?

He rapidly ran through the list of princes and nobles in Lin’an in his mind—there was absolutely no one matching this description. Even the Crown Prince or Prince Yi would have given them some face. This pretty boy must be some clueless greenhorn from somewhere else.

Seeing the Xuanming Elders closing in, Feng Ziying finally panicked. He scrambled over beside Song Qingshu and shouted, “His father is Lord Jia Sidao!”

Worried he hadn’t made it clear, he emphasized it again. Jia Sidao’s name—even someone from another country couldn’t possibly never have heard of it.

Feng Ziying had already made up his mind: once he got back, he would summon all the experts from the Forbidden Army of the Four Divisions, beat this pretty boy to a pulp, and sell him to a male brothel—only then would his anger be assuaged.

Hearing Jia Sidao’s name, even the Xuanming Elders paused and turned to look at Zhao Min for instructions. After all, Jia Sidao was one of the most powerful figures in the Southern Song Dynasty. Even for Zhao Min, breaking his son’s leg in Lin’an would cause considerable trouble.

Zhao Min continued sipping her tea leisurely, not even glancing in their direction—not a single eyebrow twitching. As if she knew the Xuanming Elders were waiting for instructions, she finally parted her crimson lips. “What of Jia Sidao? Master Lu, Master He—let’s start with that young master Jia.”

She wasn’t a rash person. Recently, she had felt like all her strength was useless against the Southern Song court’s sticky, evasive tactics. Just as she was fretting over how to break the deadlock, this group of princelings had come knocking on her door. An idea stirred in her heart—she decided to use this opportunity to “shake the mountain and startle the tiger.” Perhaps it would let her break the stalemate.

As for beating Jia Sidao’s son… She was the commandery princess of the Mongol Empire’s Prince Ruyang’s residence. So what if I hit him? Would Jia Sidao dare to retaliate?

When Zhao Min said this, everyone in the room was stunned—even Feng Ziying gaped, at a complete loss for words.

Song Qingshu silently cursed all the female relatives of Feng Ziying’s household. What a useless teammate, a real pig. Watching the Xuanming Elders approach with sinister grins, he hurriedly put on a smile and said, “Young master, can’t we talk this over? After all, grievances have clear sources and debts have clear debtors. They were the ones who offended you, young master. I kept my mouth shut the whole time and did absolutely nothing. If you want to vent, young master, you should take it out on them.”

He couldn’t reveal his identity, but he also couldn’t just let the Xuanming Elders break his leg, could he?

The other diners cursed inwardly at this man’s shamelessness. Even Feng Ziying and Xue Pan were silently cursing him. But since Jia Baoyu’s family background was more powerful than theirs, they could only fume in silence.

Zhao Min was momentarily taken aback. She set down her teacup and turned to take a good look at him for the first time. Then she smiled and said, “Young Master Jia’s shameless demeanor is quite reminiscent of a friend of mine.”

Song Qingshu’s heart tightened. Zhao Min’s sixth sense is really sharp. He quickly said, “Right, right! Since it’s such a coincidence, why don’t we turn our swords into plowshares?” [G: Turn swords into plowshares – idiom meaning to resolve conflict peacefully.]

But Zhao Min abruptly dropped her smile, her voice instantly turning cold. “However—I dislike anyone else being like him. Master Lu, Master He—break both of his legs.”

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