Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Some People You Can’t Afford to Provoke
Chen Erya looked up and saw the other girl. Her eyes curved into a smile as she announced proudly,
"That’s right, Winter Flower. My brother came to pick me up today."
"Ohh~"
The young girl nodded.
"Erya, if your brother is picking you up, why aren’t you taking a carriage home? Why are you walking? Is it because your family doesn’t have a carriage?"
Hm!
The first part of her question was one thing, but the second part made Chen Ping’an’s eyes flash.
He looked up and saw the expression on the young girl’s face.
On the girl’s childish face was a hint of arrogance and ridicule.
This wasn’t the childlike innocence Chen Ping’an had expected. From the looks of it, she was deliberately trying to embarrass Chen Erya.
"That’s right, my family doesn’t have a carriage. But I think walking home with my brother is great. What’s wrong? Are you jealous because you don’t have a brother to come pick you up, Winter Flower?"
Chen Erya said with a smile.
Her words were a sharp counterattack.
"You!"
The young girl’s expression changed.
"A country girl like you? You think I’d be jealous of you? That’s hilarious."
"You’re getting upset!"
Chen Erya gave a small smile, revealing a row of pearly white teeth.
Just as the young girl in the carriage was about to erupt, a woman appeared in the window.
"You two, children don’t know any better. Please don’t take offense."
The woman looked at the pair outside the carriage, a smile not reaching her eyes.
Chen Erya’s smile didn’t waver.
"I’ve met plenty of people with no manners. I’m not offended."
"You..."
The young girl’s face was flush with anger, and she started to say something, but the woman beside her pulled her into an embrace.
"Watch what you say! An unchecked mouth invites trouble!"
The woman snorted softly and turned to look at Chen Ping’an.
"Control your kid!"
Chen Ping’an glanced at the woman.
"No need for your concern."
Rebuffed, the woman didn’t want to argue with them further. She left them with a couple of parting shots: "Country folk will be country folk!"
"A wild child born with a mother but never taught any manners!"
The carriage then passed them, leaving behind a trail of dust.
Chen Ping’an watched the carriage depart, a glint of coldness flashing in his eyes. He shifted his gaze to a shadow not far away and made a hand gesture.
Seeing her brother remain silent, Chen Erya thought Chen Ping’an was angry.
"Brother~ don’t be angry."
Chen Ping’an was taken aback. The little girl was comforting him instead.
"You silly girl..."
Chen Ping’an patted Chen Erya’s head.
"I’m not angry. They said all that to you, about you not having a carriage. Aren’t you angry?"
Chen Erya said, "I’m not angry. Cangsong Academy is a place for learning, not for comparing who has a carriage. Brother, let me tell you, the teacher praised me for being smart before, and Winter Flower was so jealous of me!"
Seeing the little girl’s cheerful demeanor, Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but smile and say, "So that’s how it is."
"Oh, right, Brother, there’s something I want to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
"When we’re outside, can you not call me Nannan anymore?"
Chen Ping’an asked with a smile, "Why not?"
"I’m a student at Cangsong Academy now. You can’t call me by my pet name anymore. If other people hear it, it’ll be so embarrassing."
"My little girl is all grown up, huh? Alright, I understand."
"..."
The brother and sister walked home, the moonlight stretching their shadows long, long...
...
"Mother, why did you stop me just now?"
In the carriage, the young girl called Winter Flower looked at the woman, a displeased expression on her face.
"Winter Flower, your father is a man of some standing. Arguing with them outside Cangsong Academy... even though there weren’t many people watching, there were a few. Whether we won or lost the argument, we would have lost our dignity."
"But Mother, I can’t accept it. She’s just a newcomer, but so many classmates at the academy like to play with her! And the teacher even praised her in class. Why does *she* get all that?"
"She’s just from an ordinary family. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to deal with her later; there’s no need to lose our dignity over it. Next time, at the academy, you can do this..."
Just as the woman was about to teach Winter Flower some underhanded tricks, the carriage suddenly lurched to a halt. Inertia threw them both forward.
"What happened?"
After steadying herself, the woman, her face full of displeasure, lifted the curtain. She was about to demand an explanation when she saw several men standing in front of the carriage, holding knives.
"Madam, this..."
The coachman looked nervous.
The woman was nervous too, but the thought that this was South City Lane calmed her slightly.
"Gentlemen, I’m family to the owner of the Lucky Tavern. Please, show some respect and clear the way."
The Lucky Tavern was quite famous in South City Lane. It was a relatively high-end establishment, and most of its patrons were people of considerable status. To be able to open such a tavern in South City Lane and protect that business, its owner was, to the common person, a powerful figure with connections on both sides of the law.
"Oho! The Lucky Tavern, you say? How impressive!"
The speaker was a young man. Compared to the men behind him, his build was rather slight. However, judging by their positions, he was clearly their leader.
"Do it!"
The young man waved his hand, and the two men behind him charged forward.
"Mercy, good sirs, mercy..."
The coachman was just an ordinary person; he had never witnessed a spectacle like this. Seeing the two men charge menacingly, he immediately covered his head and begged for mercy.
The woman’s forced composure instantly crumbled into utter panic.
"Don’t... don’t do anything rash... This is South City Lane..."
The woman babbled incoherently.
The two thugs paid her no mind. One kicked the coachman off the carriage, then stepped forward and grabbed the woman by her hair.
Their strength was extraordinary, and they didn’t hold back at all. The woman’s hair was pulled taut, her scalp feeling like it was about to rip.
"AH! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."
The woman cried out.
"AH!"
With another cry of pain, the young girl’s hair was also grabbed. Her face was now filled with terror, all traces of her earlier arrogance and ridicule gone.
"Boss!"
After restraining the adult and the child, the two thugs looked to the young man, awaiting further instructions.
The coachman was rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach. The thug’s kick had been incredibly powerful, leaving him unable to get up.
The young man leaped onto the carriage in two bounds, looking at the woman with a cold smirk.
"Do you know what this is about?"
The young man lightly patted the woman’s cheek.
The woman’s eyes were wide with terror. Her scalp felt like it was splitting, and though she wanted to shake her head, she couldn’t move it at all.
"N-no... I don’t know."
"You don’t know?"
SLAP!
The young man slapped the woman across the face.
In an instant, a bright red handprint appeared on her cheek.
The woman cried and screamed in pain.
"Quiet!"
SLAP!
Another slap landed on her other cheek.
"Now do you know?"
The woman’s screams grew louder.
"Still don’t know?"
SLAP!
The young man didn’t hold back in the slightest.
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
One slap after another landed until her cheeks were swollen high.
Seeing that any more might kill her, the young man shifted his gaze to the little girl.
By now, the girl was scared witless.
SLAP!
The young man stepped forward and slapped her.
The girl’s cheek swelled up instantly. This was only because the young man had held back; otherwise, her teeth would likely have been knocked out.
SLAP!
Another slap. Now a red handprint on each cheek made a perfect, symmetrical pair.
Just then, a noise came from the distance.
"Boss, someone’s coming!" one of the thugs warned.
"Mm."
They had made quite a commotion, which had evidently attracted the attention of the night patrol officers.
Before leaving, the young man spat on the woman’s face.
"When you’re out and about, watch your words! There are some people you can’t afford to provoke!"
"Let’s go!"
WHOOSH!
With a flash of movement, the men exited the carriage one after another and quickly vanished around a street corner.
By the time the Garrison Commandant’s Office night patrol officers arrived, all they found were the two in the carriage, faces swollen, having lost control of their bladders.
