Chapter 345
Qian Shipeng snorted coldly, pointing his folding fan at Zhan Feiyu. "Guards, throw this ignorant little brat out!"
It was noon, and a heavy rain was pouring outside. The inn's main hall was filled with dining guests, and everyone had overheard the conflict between Zhan Feiyu and Qiu Jingyuan.
The two girls were young and clearly pampered young ladies from prominent families. Although they had exchanged a few words over the two upper rooms, it wasn't a major issue.
However, Qian Shipeng's arrogant and bullying words immediately drew the ire of some hot-tempered guests.
"You, a grown man, bullying a young girl!" A middle-aged man put down his chopsticks and frowned at the self-important Qian Shipeng. "This young lady was here first, and she's willing to give up a room as Manager Zhu suggested. Don't push your luck!"
"Well said." A scholar in a blue padded jacket stood up and spoke righteously to Qian Shipeng, "A gentleman does not act without purpose, and his actions must be proper. How can you, sir, bully others with your status? This is not the behavior of a gentleman!"
A burly man with a full beard at the next table didn't understand the scholar's words but slammed his fist on the table and loudly agreed, "Even though I didn't understand what that pretentious scholar said, I can't stand seeing a grown man bully a young girl!"
The other guests chimed in. It was one thing for two girls to bicker, but for a grown man to get involved and act so high and mighty was a disgrace to all men!
"All of you, shut up!" Qian Shipeng roared in anger, grabbing a heavy abacus from the counter and hurling it at the burly man. "Who do you think you are, to speak out of turn here? Can't you keep your mouths shut even when you're eating? If you keep yapping, I'll knock all your teeth out!"
As Qian Shipeng lost his temper, the Qian family guards behind him swiftly drew their sabers, glaring menacingly at the guests who had spoken up. Their posture clearly indicated they were ready to resort to violence.
"Speak up, are you all mute? Weren't you quite vocal just now?" Qian Shipeng swaggered over, tapping the scholar's face with his folding fan. "Not the behavior of a gentleman? I've always believed in acting rather than speaking!"
"You!" The scholar's face flushed red, but looking at the arrogant Qian Shipeng and his menacing guards, his lips trembled. He was pulled back into his seat by his companion, no longer daring to speak.
The other guests also feared the Qian family guards and lowered their heads. They had spoken up out of indignation, but no one wanted to offend these spoiled young masters for the sake of a girl they didn't know. If they were injured or disabled, they would regret it.
Qian Shipeng chuckled smugly, his chin held high with undisguised contempt. "All cowards!"
He didn't bother speaking to these commoners any further. Qian Shipeng turned around, pointing his folding fan at Zhan Feiyu with a triumphant air. "Little girl, I'm in a good mood today. If you and your people leave obediently, I'll pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Zhan Feiyu didn't even glance at Qian Shipeng. Instead, she asked the tense Qiu Jingyuan, "Is he also from the third branch of the Qiu family?"
First Qiu Jinyu turned out to be a barbarian spy, then Qiu Feng, the madman, appeared, and Qiu Zongzhang, who relied on his seniority, was also troublesome. Now, another simpleton had shown up. Zhan Feiyu was beginning to suspect that the third branch had bad feng shui.
From the moment Qian Shipeng spoke, Qiu Jingyuan had become uneasy. Dong Yan, the martial maid beside her, also became wary. Both had witnessed Zhan Feiyu's ferocity firsthand, and they were aware of He Sheng and He Nuan's skills.
Even if Qian Shipeng brought more than just a few guards who looked good but were ineffective, they would still be beaten.
Seeing that Zhan Feiyu ignored him, Qian Shipeng, feeling his face lost in front of Qiu Jingyuan, his expression darkened, and he angrily shouted, "You lowly girl, I'm speaking to you, are your ears deaf?"
His wild words were one thing, but Qian Shipeng reached out with his hand, intending to strike Zhan Feiyu's head with his folding fan.
Qiu Jingyuan and Dong Yan's expressions turned to horror. If Qian Shipeng wanted to die, he shouldn't drag them down with him!
No one saw when He Sheng made his move. The crowd in the hall only heard a pig-like scream. Qian Shipeng was already howling in pain, clutching his right wrist, his folding fan dropping to the ground.
"He's not a Qiu family member; he's from the Qian family!" Qiu Jingyuan quickly said, even taking a step back, fearing being implicated by Qian Shipeng.
"He is the illegitimate son of the Qian family, born to Concubine Huang. He has no relation to our madam!" Dong Yan also hurriedly explained. After Qiu Feng went on a killing spree in the Qiu mansion, the madam wished she could sever all ties with the third branch of the Qiu family.
However, Qiu Jingyuan still referred to Madam Qian as her great-aunt. Moreover, the third branch had not yet fallen, so Madam Qian dared not go too far. As the saying goes, it is better to offend a villain than to offend a petty man! If the third branch retaliated, the Qian family, being mere merchants, could not withstand it.
Therefore, Madam Qian did not send her own son to escort Qiu Jingyuan back. Qian Shipeng, being the illegitimate son of Concubine Huang, sought to curry favor with Qiu Jingyuan after learning of her status.
This led Concubine Huang to use all her charms to attend to Old Master Qian, and the task of escorting Qiu Jingyuan back was "snatched" by Qian Shipeng.
Concubine Huang and Qian Shipeng also found reasons to dismiss the Qian family guards, leaving only those loyal to Qian Shipeng. They then hired two martial artists from a security firm at a high price to escort them, ensuring they wouldn't be sabotaged by Madam Qian along the way.
"You lowly maid, shut your mouth!" Qian Shipeng, his illegitimate status exposed, roared in rage, his gaze towards Dong Yan filled with murderous intent.
Dong Yan, that lowly maid, was a confidante of that old hag. Before they departed, his mother had specifically instructed him to find a way to kill this maid, thereby cutting off one of the old hag's arms!
Dong Yan cast a cold glance at Qian Shipeng. He brought this upon himself; he couldn't help himself! Why should she bother with a dead man!
Qiu Jingyuan disliked Zhan Feiyu from the bottom of her heart, but she despised Qian Shipeng, born of a concubine, even more. If she hadn't been eager to return to Qianzhong Dao, Qiu Jingyuan would have driven Qian Shipeng away. How dare such a lowly scoundrel try to woo her!
Even if he wanted to kill Dong Yan, he couldn't do it in front of everyone. After all, no matter how arrogant Qian Shipeng was, he knew that Madam Qian was the one in charge of the Qian family. He planned to have someone impersonate bandits and attack them during an outdoor encampment once they left the Youyou Dao territory, killing Dong Yan amidst the chaos. This way, even if Madam Qian investigated, she wouldn't find anything.
His expression contorted fiercely. Qian Shipeng couldn't deal with Dong Yan at the moment, so his anger naturally turned towards Zhan Feiyu. Especially since his right wrist was still throbbing with pain, which made Qian Shipeng even more furious. "Arrest them! I'll reward each person with ten taels of silver!"
The guards brought by Qiu Jingyuan did not move. They wouldn't dare to. It was the security firm's martial artists who took action. They were accustomed to living by the sword, and upon hearing the promise of an extra ten taels of silver, over ten of them immediately lunged at He Sheng.
As for Zhan Feiyu and He Nuan, one was a young girl, and the other was a senior maid. They didn't take them seriously, planning to deal with them after capturing He Sheng.
"Please, calm down, esteemed guest... no fighting... my tables... oh dear, that's a blue and white porcelain vase..." Manager Zhu wailed. His inn was being damaged as soon as they started fighting.
Money makes the world go round! But as soon as He Sheng made his move, the security guards knew they had encountered a tough opponent. Unfortunately, it was too late to regret it. After a few exchanges, the guards were beaten. Fortunately, He Sheng avoided vital points, or they would likely not be able to get up.
Qian Shipeng, clutching his wrist, was stunned. He probably hadn't expected seven or eight guards to be beaten down so quickly. This made Qian Shipeng's face turn extremely ugly.
Especially the guests who had retreated to the corner, they all wore expressions of schadenfreude, which made Qian Shipeng even more enraged. His gaze swept over Zhan Feiyu, who stood to the side, and a sinister glint appeared in Qian Shipeng's eyes.
Dong Yan, protecting Qiu Jingyuan, also retreated to a safe corner. Noticing Qian Shipeng's movement, Dong Yan revealed a mocking cold smile. This was courting death!
...
The two girls were young and clearly pampered young ladies from prominent families. Although they had exchanged a few words over the two upper rooms, it wasn't a major issue.
However, Qian Shipeng's arrogant and bullying words immediately drew the ire of some hot-tempered guests.
"You, a grown man, bullying a young girl!" A middle-aged man put down his chopsticks and frowned at the self-important Qian Shipeng. "This young lady was here first, and she's willing to give up a room as Manager Zhu suggested. Don't push your luck!"
"Well said." A scholar in a blue padded jacket stood up and spoke righteously to Qian Shipeng, "A gentleman does not act without purpose, and his actions must be proper. How can you, sir, bully others with your status? This is not the behavior of a gentleman!"
A burly man with a full beard at the next table didn't understand the scholar's words but slammed his fist on the table and loudly agreed, "Even though I didn't understand what that pretentious scholar said, I can't stand seeing a grown man bully a young girl!"
The other guests chimed in. It was one thing for two girls to bicker, but for a grown man to get involved and act so high and mighty was a disgrace to all men!
"All of you, shut up!" Qian Shipeng roared in anger, grabbing a heavy abacus from the counter and hurling it at the burly man. "Who do you think you are, to speak out of turn here? Can't you keep your mouths shut even when you're eating? If you keep yapping, I'll knock all your teeth out!"
As Qian Shipeng lost his temper, the Qian family guards behind him swiftly drew their sabers, glaring menacingly at the guests who had spoken up. Their posture clearly indicated they were ready to resort to violence.
"Speak up, are you all mute? Weren't you quite vocal just now?" Qian Shipeng swaggered over, tapping the scholar's face with his folding fan. "Not the behavior of a gentleman? I've always believed in acting rather than speaking!"
"You!" The scholar's face flushed red, but looking at the arrogant Qian Shipeng and his menacing guards, his lips trembled. He was pulled back into his seat by his companion, no longer daring to speak.
The other guests also feared the Qian family guards and lowered their heads. They had spoken up out of indignation, but no one wanted to offend these spoiled young masters for the sake of a girl they didn't know. If they were injured or disabled, they would regret it.
Qian Shipeng chuckled smugly, his chin held high with undisguised contempt. "All cowards!"
He didn't bother speaking to these commoners any further. Qian Shipeng turned around, pointing his folding fan at Zhan Feiyu with a triumphant air. "Little girl, I'm in a good mood today. If you and your people leave obediently, I'll pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Zhan Feiyu didn't even glance at Qian Shipeng. Instead, she asked the tense Qiu Jingyuan, "Is he also from the third branch of the Qiu family?"
First Qiu Jinyu turned out to be a barbarian spy, then Qiu Feng, the madman, appeared, and Qiu Zongzhang, who relied on his seniority, was also troublesome. Now, another simpleton had shown up. Zhan Feiyu was beginning to suspect that the third branch had bad feng shui.
From the moment Qian Shipeng spoke, Qiu Jingyuan had become uneasy. Dong Yan, the martial maid beside her, also became wary. Both had witnessed Zhan Feiyu's ferocity firsthand, and they were aware of He Sheng and He Nuan's skills.
Even if Qian Shipeng brought more than just a few guards who looked good but were ineffective, they would still be beaten.