The woman frantically scread and struggled against the soldiers dragging her, crying uncontrollably: "You beasts! My husband only wanted to steal back the body of the King of Hancheng, yet you caused his death, and now you want to kill and my daughter! Oh, heavens! Open your eyes and see! The current Official Governnt doesn’t stand up for the people but oppresses them! The Emperor of Zhou has never considered us, the old subjects of Daliang, as his own citizens, has never treated us as human beings!"
Seeing the young girl with blood covering her head, the woman unable to break free, the hot-blooded n from the coast couldn’t hold back. They rushed forward and started grappling with the Governnt Officials, risking everything to save the woman who cried out for justice for her husband, and to call for fairness for the King of Hancheng.
Amidst the crowd, soone shouted: "Everyone, don’t act rashly! We need to demand that the Official Governnt retrieve the body of the King of Hancheng and give an explanation to the righteous n! We are not here to fight to the death with the Official Governnt!"
But that voice was drowned in the blood-thirsty roars of the people.
The woman was soon rescued by the crowd from the hands of the Governnt Officials. She almost crawled out of the crowd to see her daughter, holding her daughter and covering the wound on her head, crying heartbrokenly.
The woman’s hair was disheveled, her body in disarray. She protected her daughter with her body, looking blankly and fearfully at the angry crowd fighting with the Governnt Officials. She hadn’t expected things to escalate to this extent.
The conflict between officials and civilians worsened. Soone led the charge, snatching the sword from the waist of a Governnt Official, and started slashing at the Official. The n, full of righteous indignation, saw blood and beca even more uncontrollable, raising their swords to rush toward the Governnt Office.
The Governnt Officials, helping their wounded colleagues, held up their swords but kept retreating until they were almost against the door panels of the Governnt Office, as if the life-and-death clash between officials and civilians was about to erupt.
Bai Qingjue, leading a team of incognito imperial guard with Xie Yuchang, arrived on horseback at the gate of the Governnt Office just as the people started rushing in. The Governnt Officials were slamd against the door panels, unable to resist.
He shouted sternly: "Stop!"
But Bai Qingjue’s voice was drowned out by the cries of the people rushing in.
Seeing this, Xie Yuchang turned and shouted to the soldiers in combat attire: "Arrest them all!"
"No!" Bai Qingjue hurriedly stopped him, pulling the reins tightly, "Go, get so buckets of cold water! Splash them!"
"Yes!" Xie Yuchang turned around and ordered.
During this ti of public outrage, intervening to stop these people would only embolden them further.
Out of the corner of his eye, Bai Qingjue saw Bai Qingyan riding up. He turned his horse and looked at Bai Qingyan, serious on a white horse: "Eldest Young Lady... I was still a step too late!"
On the way here, Bai Qingyan heard many people talking about the events at the tavern yesterday, with much dissatisfaction towards the Official Governnt and the Zhou Dynasty, and even toward Bai Qingyan as the Emperor of Zhou. She asked an old man about the incident at the tavern, and soon the shop assistant and the small vendors at the tavern entrance gathered to criticize the Zhou Dynasty.
Before they could finish speaking, news ca that the butcher who had stabbed the soldier last night died in jail. His wife went to the Governnt Office crying for justice, and soon there was news of a disturbance outside the Governnt Office.
Many people, upon hearing that the butcher who intended to steal the body of the King of Hancheng died in jail, assud it was an Official Governnt conspiracy. They believed the Governnt was afraid that if the butcher succeeded, it would lead to conflict between Dongyi Kingdom and Zhou at a ti when Zhou was gambling the fate of the country. The common view was that the death of the King of Hancheng and the coastal people ant nothing compared to the fate of the nation, so many ca either to watch the excitent or demand justice.
Bai Qingyan feared the situation would worsen and sent Bai Qingjue ahead with so n. After speaking with the people, she followed quickly, only to find that Bai Qingjue had arrived first but still was a step too late.
Seeing the civilians knocking the Governnt Officials to the ground with cries of pain, her horse stamped its hooves restlessly. Bai Qingyan turned to Bai Jinzhi beside her, pointing with her whip to the whip on Bai Jinzhi’s waist: "Fourth Sister!"
Bai Jinzhi understood, drew the whip from her waist, and swung it...
The long whip cracked through the air with a loud and solemn sound, seeming to touch the hearts of the people. Instantly, those who were blinded by rage and didn’t know why they were charging into the Governnt Office ca to their senses, turning their heads to look back.
In front of them, atop a white horse, stood a woman draped in a black cloak, her eyes dark and deep, her attire simple yet agile, exuding an uncontainable aura of nobility.
The sun cast a golden glow, outlining the woman’s bright and commanding features and form. She appeared to stand in the midst of flas, yet the fire could not burn away her steadfast spirit, making it impossible for anyone to feel any sense of disrespect due to her otherworldly beauty, only sensing her lofty presence as if a God had descended.
Flanking the woman were... a tall, refined, and handso young man and a spirited girl wielding a whip.
On horseback, Bai Qingjue held the reins with one hand, controlling his horse, his sharp eyes scanning the embarrassed, wounded Governnt Officials. He asked solemnly and sternly, "With this chaos outside the Governnt Office, where is the County Magistrate? Where is the County Magistrate?"
Xie Yuchang dismounted, pulling up a nearby Official, tossing him a command badge: "Hurry, tell your County Magistrate, His Majesty has arrived!"
The Official, holding the heavy badge in shock, felt his legs weaken, not daring to gaze at Bai Qingyan, hurried and flustered, he rushed inside to find his County Magistrate.
Bai Qingyan thought that the soldiers and civilians of the Coastal Navy might be angered by the death of the King of Hancheng, but she hadn’t anticipated the situation escalating so quickly!
If she had not arrived at the coast today, and the people stord the Governnt Office, the Governnt would have had to request reinforcents from the garrison... and then a bloody conflict could erupt and beco uncontrollable.
She saw the woman crouching under the stone steps of the Governnt Office, disheveled, protecting her daughter...
"Mother..." the young girl nestled in her mother’s arms, choked out, "Mother, don’t cry, I don’t hurt, it’s okay!"
Seeing the blood-stained letter clenched in the woman’s hand, Bai Qingyan guessed she was the wife of the butcher who died in jail.
Bai Qingyan dismounted, tossing her whip to Xie Yuchang, and walked toward the mother and daughter, helping them up. She pulled a kerchief from her sleeve and handed it to the woman, instructing: "Send soone to take the young girl and the lady to the dical clinic imdiately!"
"Yes!" Xie Yuchang responded, gesturing, and the well-trained imperial guard stepped forward, helping the teary-eyed young girl who was in pain.
Reviews
All reviews (0)