Qin Zheng was shocked: "Su Qingtian? Why is he here!"
He heard from the subordinates of Prince Lian that recently a child had been constantly opposing His Highness, a little girl the general's wife had recently brought to the capital.
Could it be...
"Not good! Hurry and make this dead girl shut up, and all irrelevant people withdraw!"
The people arranged for the sale didn't know what was happening, but seeing Qin Zheng's panic, they quickly retreated.
As soon as they left through another alley, Su Qingtian stepped in.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Su Yunmo shouted from the cage.
Su Qingtian looked up and saw her, his heart almost stopping.
The little person was crouched in the corner of the cage, shrinking herself.
A tiny ball, her two tender little paws clutching the cage bars tightly, her eyes red from crying, brimming with tears.
Someone nearby was desperately pinching her arm and pulling her, trying to stuff a piece of rag into her mouth.
Qin Zheng stepped forward and cupped his hands: "General Su, this official..."
"Get lost!" Su Qingtian shoved him aside, leaped onto the carriage, and kicked the servant who was pulling Su Yunmo, making him vomit blood.
He gripped the lock of the cage with both hands, gathering internal energy.
With a 'snap', he forcefully pried open the iron lock.
The child was still huddled in the corner of the cage.
Su Qingtian waved his large hand, pulled the child out, and leaped to the ground.
"Daddy, Momo's hands hurt so much, woo woo..." Su Yunmo held up her little paws to complain.
Su Qingtian saw that her hands were red and raw, almost broken, and a piece of her clothes was torn, revealing small, tender arms with scratch marks.
A surge of anger shot straight to the crown of his head, like a volcanic eruption!
His glaring tiger eyes suddenly turned crimson: "Didn't I tell you not to run around! You're not allowed to eat tonight! If you don't listen and run around again, I'll break your legs!"
Su Yunmo was stunned by him, forgetting even to pretend to cry.
This was the first time she had ever seen General Su so enraged.
"Don't just stand there! Do you hear what your father is saying? Answer me!" Su Qingtian gritted his teeth and shouted.
Su Yunmo, for some reason, suddenly felt a little scared, a primal fear of her father.
She instinctively snuggled into the man's embrace, nodding in fright.
Su Qingtian's anger subsided slightly. He held her tightly in his arms, breathing heavily.
Fortunately, she was alright. Fortunately.
Su Yunmo could hear his heart beating very fast, thundering, and the arms holding her were trembling.
"Daddy..." she lowered her eyes, clasped his clothes with both hands, and buried her head against his chest.
"General Su, your actions are perhaps not appropriate." Qin Zheng had been pushed and hit the wall.
Su Qingtian's anger had considerable force.
Qin Zheng's back still hurt, so he naturally didn't have a good expression.
Su Qingtian looked up at him when he spoke, and his expression darkened further when he recognized him.
"This is what I should be asking you. What mistake did this child commit that you had to lock her in a cage?!"
If he had been a moment later, this girl might have lost her life!
Qin Zheng naturally couldn't say that Su Yunmo had let the women he was trafficking escape: "This official was carrying out orders today, and this girl's willfulness disrupted the task. Should she not be punished?"
Su Qingtian sneered: "Task? What kind of task requires it to be conducted in this dilapidated alley?"
This place clearly had experienced chaos earlier. Simply handling a task wouldn't result in this. Did he really think he was stupid?
Qin Zheng lowered his eyebrows, knowing that although the other party had been on the battlefield in previous years, he was by no means easy to fool.
"The official's business is confidential. General Su's persistent questioning is overstepping authority."
Su Yunmo sneered inwardly. Did this man think he could gloss over this with a few words?
It wouldn't be that easy!
"Daddy, this uncle... uncle wanted to hit Momo, and Momo saw it..." she sobbed, her words a little slurred.
Yet, it still made Qin Zheng nervous, his entire face tensing up.
Su Qingtian sensed something was amiss and gently patted Su Yunmo's back: "Don't be afraid, tell Daddy what you saw?"
"Momo saw the cage..."
"General Su!" Qin Zheng gritted his teeth, clenching his fists tightly: "A child's words are perhaps not to be taken seriously, right?"
"Whether it's taken seriously is my business." Su Qingtian cast a cold glance at him, then turned to Su Yunmo, signaling her to continue.
Su Yunmo changed the subject: "The cage is very big and fun. Momo wanted to play, and the uncle grabbed me and asked my name."
Su Qingtian frowned: "And then?"
He felt that this matter was not so simple.
"The uncle said he knew who Daddy was, and Daddy hit him, so he wanted to hit Momo too."
Su Qingtian's face immediately turned grim.
Qin Zheng had served under him in the army before. At that time, he had committed a disciplinary offense and was beaten twenty military strokes and expelled from the army.
It was only after that that he entered the court and, with the help of a patron, rose to the position of Zhonglang General.
He thought the matter had long passed, but he didn't expect him to still hold a grudge from that year and resort to harming a little girl!
"Qin Zheng! You must give this general an explanation today, or this general will immediately tear down the Zhonglang General's mansion!"
Qin Zheng's eyes flickered, and he glanced at Su Yunmo with a frown.
He couldn't figure out why Su Yunmo wasn't telling the truth. Perhaps she didn't want to escalate things, or perhaps she didn't want Su Qingtian to know her true capabilities.
But no matter the reason, her not revealing the trafficking incident was his great fortune.
Compared to being involved in trafficking, the crime of harming the General's daughter out of personal grievance was lighter.
At least it wouldn't blow up into a major incident.
"This official admits that there were some misunderstandings with General Su, but I was merely trying to scare your daughter just now and didn't actually do anything."
This statement admitted that he had indeed taken action, and it was out of personal grievance.
Su Qingtian's anger became even harder to suppress: "You say you were just scaring her when you already took action? Then would it be just a scare if I took off one of your arms?"
He was about to make a move on Qin Zheng.
Although Qin Zheng had also been on the battlefield, his martial prowess was inferior to Su Qingtian's, and he instinctively retreated.
Servants stepped forward to block him, but Su Qingtian kicked them away one by one.
Seeing that he was truly going to fight him, Qin Zheng gritted his teeth in anger.
"Su Qingtian, don't push your luck too far! We are both officials of the court now. Assaulting a court official, aren't you afraid of..."
"I'm not afraid!" Su Qingtian punched him, knocking Qin Zheng unconscious to the ground.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, and a tooth came out with it.
"Sir!" The servants quickly surrounded Qin Zheng, trying to help him up.
Qin Zheng pushed them away, staring fiercely at Su Qingtian, gritting his teeth: "Su Qingtian!"
Ever since that incident in the army when he had been publicly humiliated, his impetuous nature had only grown worse in court.
When Prince Cheng ascended the throne one day, he would definitely repay these old and new debts!
Su Qingtian snorted coldly: "Minister Su is injured, so he cannot complete his official duties today. It would be best to return to his residence early."
He glanced dismissively at the person on the ground, completely unconcerned about having just assaulted a court official, and turned to leave.
As he leaped over the cage, he glanced up but said nothing more.
Su Yunmo was carried out of the alley and into the carriage to return home.
Su Qingtian placed the child on the ground and looked at the little person opposite him, who was only up to his thigh.
"What was in the cage? You can tell me now."
Although this child was occasionally willful, her actions always had a reason. She wouldn't provoke court ministers for no reason.