Qi Younian had been waiting for the governnt officers to co. Hearing Ye Xinyan’s question, he frowned and said, "When these people ca in causing trouble, I sent Yuan Shang to report to the officials, but so much ti has passed and no one has returned."
Ye Xinyan’s complexion wasn’t good either. The disturbance here had lasted quite a while, and so many people had gathered on the street. Normally, those officials who would appear instantly to collect ’tea money’ from both parties in such situations were nowhere to be seen, which really defied all reason.
Guangsha Construction had only eight guards, and though skilled, there is a saying: "Two fists can’t beat four hands, and even the brave can’t stand against the many." The opposing side had clearly co prepared, and the eight guards were at a disadvantage in this chaotic lee with a mix of people around.
The craftsn employed by Guangsha Construction were still nowhere to be seen, which was probably making these people anxious. If their impatience led them to burst into the backyard and beat people up, leaving them injured or crippled, whether the construction business could smoothly hire people in the future was a real question.
Ye Xinyan regretted not bringing Guan He with her. Guan He wasn’t that demanding in terms of material comforts—a dish of pickled soybeans and a pot of wine were sure to keep him contentedly watching the street scene from the construction site.
She had been negligent, wanting to handle affairs, but indeed "danger lurks everywhere."
Just as the screams beca more frequent and the situation even more chaotic, and the guards from Duke An’s Mansion could barely hold back, Ye Xinyan noticed that among the onlookers pushing to get out the door, soone was making their way against the flow, which was quite conspicuous.
The person was slender and slippery, dodging fists and feet, and made their way to the leader. After poking him and whispering sothing, the leader began to move through the crowd, followed by several others discreetly making their way toward the door.
Before long, of the dozen or so strong n who had first co in, nearly ten had left, leaving behind only seven or eight, as well as the craftspeople who had been caught up in righteous indignation seeking justice—their fillers. The density of people in the room had considerably decreased.
Qiao Shan and his n quickly gained the upper hand and noticed the shift in the situation. He was about to command his subordinates to block the last two trying to leave when Ye Xinyan called out to him.
Today’s circumstances were too strange; it was better not to entangle with them any further and to prioritize the safety of their own people.
"Send four n to guard the backyard, beware of them scaling the wall and causing trouble back there," Ye Xinyan instructed.
Not long after the guards had left for the backyard, the situation in the front hall stabilized. Most of the ones moaning in pain on the ground were those craftspersons who had not understood the situation but had wanted to get involved.
Qi Younian looked at these people with so helplessness. These people were lying in the Qi Family Construction Business premises; to ignore them wouldn’t be right, but neither did it seem appropriate to just throw them out.
Qi Younian walked among those sprawled on the ground, and finding no one with severe injuries, he said, "Report your nas, and I’ll have soone verify your identities, then we can get a doctor to see to your injuries. Those of you with valuables can pledge them at Guangsha Construction, and the doctor will treat you first."
The whining and moaning imdiately turned into condemnations, mixed with cries of pain—quite the ruckus.
With an indifferent expression, Qi Younian said, "If you are unwilling to give your nas or pledge your valuables, you may leave now and find a doctor on your own. You ca to our shop to cause trouble; it’s obviously not possible to treat you for free. For your own health’s sake, best you rid yourselves of the notion of waiting here, expecting Guangsha Construction to pay for your doctor."
As soon as he finished speaking, laughter ca from outside, "Old Master Qi really is getting shrewder by the day. Look at how this is being handled, not willing to lose out even a little, are you?"
It was the voice of Jinrong.
Qi Younian saw Jinrong co in and quickly bent down to pay his respects, saying, "I have seen His Highness Prince Yu," then smiled a bit awkwardly, "If people who make trouble in our little shop get hurt by soone else’s hand, we still have to take care of their injuries and even provide them with food and lodging. I’m afraid there will be crowds of people coming here to cause trouble. I can’t afford to support so many people."
Jinrong walked further in while laughing, "Old Master is right, that’s the principle. Such evil behavior cannot be tolerated."
After saying that, he turned his head and instructed Hongzhi, "Ask around why, with such a disturbance here, the governnt officers have not co to stop it. And have them co over and deal with these people’s injuries and whether they should stay or leave, so that so many people don’t co here to extort silver from the Qi family."
Most of the people lying on the ground were unaware of the inside story, but that doesn’t necessarily an they were innocent.
Those who rushed in during the chaos were generally looking to fish in troubled waters. Although there were indeed craftsn genuinely worried that the opening of a construction business at the entrance of Jishui Lane would affect their livelihood, the fact that they could follow the loud crowd and confront or even smash up the shop really did not speak well for their character.
Now, those lying on the ground weren’t all unable to get up, most of them were lying there want to get so advantage and demand an explanation.
Originally when they heard soone coming in, they were wondering about the situation. Then they saw the owner of Guangsha Construction pay his respects to this person, calling him His Highness Prince Yu.
His Highness Prince Yu responded while also rembering to order his servants to call the governnt officers to clean up the aftermath.
Upon hearing this, the people could no longer stay lying down. They realized Prince Yu and the owner of this business were old acquaintances. With such a firm backing... was there still a chance to extort money or goods?
These people instantly fell into deep self-doubt.
They knew their own affairs well and had co here to cause trouble. If governnt officers were brought in and asked detailed questions, there would be no good outco for them. It would be more sensible to slip away before the officers arrived.
As Qi Younian was accompanying Jinrong towards the rear hall, and Hongzhi was leading a young servant outside, the people lying in the front hall got up without the slightest bit of sha and hurried out.
Qiao Shan and Prince Yu’s Guard did not try to stop them. Just as Jinrong was about to step forward, he glanced back and asked Ye Xinyan with a smile, "Why aren’t you stopping these people? Wouldn’t it be better to keep them and find out what they have to say?"
Ye Xinyan gave him a look, "Does Sixth Master think I’m a fool? Those in the know have already slipped away. Keeping these people would only cause more trouble and waste more ti."
She had been observing from the side. Of all the troublemakers, only a few really knew what was going on. The others were just following orders, and as for the purpose and goals of their mission, these cannon fodder surely had no clue.
What’s more, the cannon fodder left behind were there to mislead their own companions.
Jinrong looked at Qi Younian and Ye Xinyan with a smile, "You two seem to take it easy, to be so calm and composed even after such a disturbance. It’s quite rare. This isn’t Miss Ye’s usual style of handling things."
Ye Xinyan glanced sideways at Jinrong, thinking about how this man would soon bring three won into his mansion, quite resentful of such scoundrel behavior. She was tempted to sting him with a few words, but then she rembered the rumors from years ago about Jinrong avoiding Han Yufang.
Marrying a woman one does not wish to marry is indeed not a joyful matter, and she, Ye Xinyan, was not the kind to take actions that hurt others without benefiting herself.
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