"Stop! Do not harm them!"
Hearing the shouts and killing sounds from behind, the eunuchs were instantly enraged. After all, they had been acting with impunity in Bianliang City for so long, and had never suffered such an insult. A dozen young, hot-headed eunuchs grabbed tables, chairs, and benches from the ground and immediately charged towards those behind them.
However, before they could get far, Gong Jiu recognized a few of the approaching individuals and quickly shouted.
"What are you doing? Are we just going to stand by and let them bully us like this?"
As soon as Gong Jiu finished speaking, Li Fu, the eldest of his godson apprentices, retorted directly.
"What am I doing? I think you're the one who's gone mad. Open your eyes and see who those people are! The one charging at the front is the Heir Apparent of the Prince of Yue's mansion! The one on the left is the young duke of the Duke of Jiang's mansion! And the ones behind them, can you see them clearly?"
Upon hearing this, the eunuchs were immediately struck with terror.
Among those who had just rushed out, they recognized two young princes and seven or eight young dukes!
Although the families of these young dukes were starting to decline, they were, after all, true imperial relatives. Some of them, with higher seniority, would even have to call the current Crown Prince "uncle" if they were to count by generation.
The subordinates under their command had been heavy-handed when they acted. If even one or two of them were injured, let alone them, even Li Yan would have a hard time dealing with the consequences.
In the entire Great Song Dynasty, there were actually three groups that were the most troublesome. The first was the civil official group, who held the discourse power in the court. History had repeatedly proven that anyone who dared to infringe upon the interests of the civil official group ultimately met a tragic end.
The second group was the martial general families. Despite the court's repeated attempts to suppress them, they still maintained their influence. Even when the court's military funds were tight, they could only appease them.
The third group were these imperial clan descendants. Whether they were from the lineage of Emperor Taizu or Emperor Taizong, if these clan members truly united, even the Emperor would have to retreat three steps.
Even the once powerful Wang Anshi could not completely resolve their issues in the end. If they dared to beat people today, by tomorrow morning, there would likely be dozens of dukes and princes weeping and complaining outside Xuande Gate.
"All of you, stop! Stop!"
Hearing Li Fu's voice, the young eunuchs, although they didn't know what was happening, quickly stopped their actions.
But while they stopped, these young dukes and princes would not let them off. In almost an instant, the dozen or so young eunuchs who were charging at the front were all knocked to the ground.
"Have our people quickly retreat, as far as possible."
Seeing that they had started to act, Zhe Wanchun immediately called out for his people to retreat.
"Damn it, they're bullying us right on our doorstep! Don't they know this is our property?"
As the Heir Apparent of the Prince of Yue's mansion, Zhao Youyi was truly spirited and invincible at this moment.
After kicking over a young eunuch, he stepped on the eunuch's head and stood his ground. His demeanor was somewhat reminiscent of Emperor Taizu of Song, who once wielded his saber on horseback.
"Young Prince, isn't there some misunderstanding here?"
With the situation having escalated to this point, Li Fu no longer dared to be presumptuous and quickly approached with a fawning smile.
It was not a problem to bully common folk, but to bully these princes and dukes was simply preposterous.
"Misunderstanding?"
"Slap—"
Before Li Fu could finish speaking, Zhao Youyi slapped him across the face.
"What the hell do you think you are? A bunch of dog slaves dare to bully me? Is this also a misunderstanding?"
Seeing Li Fu being beaten, the other eunuchs who had followed behind immediately cowered.
This person's status was too high, and it was really difficult for them to make a move.
"Young Prince, we are merely acting under orders. We beg Your Highness to show us some dignity!"
With a wry smile, Gong Jiu could only steel himself and step forward to bow.
"Show you dignity? Did you show us dignity? Do you know where this is? This is Bianliang City! This is the empire built by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong. You dog slaves are bullying us imperial clan members. Do you think we are easily bullied?"
Seeing these eunuchs being beaten, the common people who had suffered their bullying on a daily basis now began to cheer in unison.
Under the admiring gazes of the crowd, Zhao Youyi even felt a bit elated.
"That's right, this matter cannot end just like this. So many things have been broken, we can't just let them leave like this! Brothers, escort them to the Kaifeng Prefecture!"
With Zhao Youyi taking the lead, the remaining young princes and young dukes also began to assert themselves. They called out to their men and, without any explanation, they stepped forward and tied up all the eunuchs.
"Shopkeeper Zhe, leave these fellows to us. You just focus on your business. If anyone else dares to cause trouble, I'll dig up their ancestors' graves! Others may fear him, Li Yan, but we don't! At worst, we'll go cry at the Tai Miao! Let the world see how these lawless dog slaves are bullying the descendants of the Zhao family!"
Seeing that his subordinates had gained control of the situation, Zhao Youyi swaggered up to Zhe Wanchun and patted his chest.
"Thank you, my young princes and young dukes. My wife has already instructed that for this installment, our Zhe family will not charge any fees, and it's all yours!"
Since Zhao Youyi was being so cooperative, Zhe Wanchun naturally reciprocated. Furthermore, he didn't engage in superficial pleasantries and immediately offered a substantial benefit.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Youyi's heart was filled with joy.
It should be known that there were still two days left until the competition date. Based on past performance, the net profit for this installment would be at least over a million strings of cash. Although the Zhe family only held a twenty percent share on the surface, considering the enormous base, this would amount to at least 200,000 strings of cash for them. Even if the people present today were many, and divided according to each family's proportion, each person would receive at least several thousand strings of cash. Even for members of the imperial clan, this amount was quite substantial! After all, the annual stipends provided by the court could at most ensure they didn't starve, but to maintain a comfortable life, they had to find their own ways! However, the problem was that these pampered lords of leisure were none of them willing to lower themselves to do business with others. Before the formation of the Cuju General Association, the monthly allowance for the Heir Apparent of the Prince of Yue was only a mere 200 strings of cash, let alone those young dukes!
"This is just a small gesture. How can we possibly accept this?"