Five Years After My Death, the Mad Emperor Still Summons My Spirit

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Young Master Xu’s Abilities

The moment the whip cracked through the air, Jiang Yuchuan had already pulled Cai Jie into his arms.

Even if they had some prior understanding of Qin Lingzhi’s character, they never expected her to be this arrogant and tyrannical. To strike out in front of so many people, on a whim, without the slightest hesitation.

"Ouch—!"

In the end, Qin Lingzhi’s whip didn’t land on Jiang Yuchuan or Cai Jie, but the tip still grazed the back of Young Master Xu’s hand as he made his timely appearance.

Ming Lingyi stood not far away, watching the scene. She couldn’t help but grab Ming Chengyu’s sleeve and use it to cover her eyes.

’This young master’s acting is just too over-the-top.’

’I’m starting to wonder if Ming Chengyu found the wrong person.’

’I can barely watch.’

Xu Qian theatrically plopped onto the ground. He usually went out with a large retinue, and today was no exception.

In an instant, the servants Xu Qian had brought with him surrounded everyone, including Qin Lingzhi.

"Where did this shrew come from!" Xu Qian sat on the ground, glaring at Qin Lingzhi. "Assaulting people in public! Don’t you know this is Shangjing City? Who do you think you are? Do you have any respect for the law?!"

When Qin Lingzhi had lashed out with her whip, she hadn’t considered if there were any bystanders or if any innocent people might get hurt. She only wanted to teach a lesson to this country girl, Cai Jie, who dared to disrespect her, and she wanted to put Jiang Yuchuan in his place.

’She wasn’t someone just anyone could bully!’

She just hadn’t expected a real "unlucky sod" to actually get hit by her whip and end up on the ground.

Qin Lingzhi glanced at the Xu Family guards surrounding her, then at Xu Qian on the ground. She frowned impatiently. "You’re the one who wasn’t watching where you were going. You ran into my whip, and you’re still not getting up? If you keep spouting nonsense, watch out. Next time, my whip won’t land on your hand, but on your face!"

Evidently, Qin Lingzhi paid no mind to the guards currently surrounding her.

Throughout all of Shangjing City, there weren’t many who dared to lay a hand on her.

She was used to running roughshod over everyone. Even if she was in the wrong this time, she would never compromise easily.

Xu Qian was considered a "big shot" at the Imperial College—not for bullying others, but for the sheer spectacle of his presence.

Every time the young master went to his studies, he was followed by a whole entourage, making it clear he was no ordinary person.

At home, he was a spoiled young master. When had he ever met someone like Qin Lingzhi, who not only disrespected him but even threatened him?

Although Young Master Xu had a very high opinion of his own poetry, he had also been raised on the classics and had a strong moral compass. Now, faced with someone who had attacked him, who was now twisting the blame back on him so brazenly, the young master was truly having his eyes opened.

Hearing Qin Lingzhi’s words, he was so angry he laughed. Xu Qian clutched the back of his hand, which was only slightly red, and his almond-shaped eyes went wide and round, making him look just like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"*I* wasn’t watching?" His voice rose, dripping with his signature aristocratic tone. "You... you savage! In broad daylight, you were the one brandishing a whip, nearly injuring Lord Jiang beside you! I, a mere passerby, was dragged into this unexpected disaster, and now you’re blaming me?"

The more he spoke, the more he felt he was in the right. At home or at the Imperial College, no one had ever dared to twist the facts like this. He allowed his page to help him up, rising slowly. Then, with great ceremony, he brushed off the nonexistent dust from his robes, striking a perfect pose.

"I, Xu Qian, have been walking the streets of Shangjing City for many years, and this is the first time I’ve seen someone more brazen than me." He took a step forward. "For what happened today, you must apologize to me, to the frightened Lord Jiang, and to Lord Jiang’s... hmm, I presume this is Lord Jiang’s fiancée? You must apologize to all of us!"

He deliberately emphasized the word "must." The young master’s stubborn streak was showing. He believed in reason, but he valued his pride even more. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, if he let some barbaric woman get away with this, where would he, Young Master Xu, put his face?

If before he had only wanted to help Zhang Sifan, and then have Zhang Sifan sit down with him for a proper "discourse"—a discourse on poetry, of course—now, after confronting Qin Lingzhi, Xu Qian’s temper was flaring up.

’Even if the person I admire hadn’t asked for my help today, I’d still be taking her on!’

’I’ve never been threatened like this before!’

’Absolutely unreasonable!’

Qin Lingzhi crossed her arms, tapping her whip idly against her palm, her face a mask of undisguised mockery. "Apologize? Who do you think you are, to deserve an apology from me?" Her gaze swept over Jiang Yuchuan and Cai Jie, who was sheltered behind him. She snorted. "They offended me first, so it’s only right that I teach them a lesson! You’re the one who got in the way. You’re lucky I didn’t whip your hand to shreds, and now you’re pushing your luck?"

"You!" Xu Qian’s chest heaved with anger at her twisted logic. "You’re being completely irrational! How did Lord Jiang offend you? And how did Lord Jiang’s fiancée offend you? It’s clear you’re the one who started this for no reason!"

During their argument—or rather, from the moment Qin Lingzhi had drawn her whip to teach Cai Jie a lesson—they had already attracted the attention of many worshippers who had come to offer incense.

This was, after all, a place of peace for the Buddhist Sect. Someone as unruly as Qin Lingzhi had already subtly drawn the displeasure of many people.

"The greatest offense is that I can’t stand the sight of her!" Qin Lingzhi lifted her chin, pointing the tip of her whip at Cai Jie. "A country bumpkin from who-knows-where dares to put on airs in front of me? And you." She pointed at Xu Qian. "Surrounding me with this group of losers. Are you planning to make a move? Just you try and lay a single finger on me."

The situation reached a stalemate.

Xu Qian looked at Qin Lingzhi’s arrogant "what can you do about it" expression, and that noble temper of his was thoroughly ignited. He couldn’t use force, so he’d use a soft approach... no, he would use "reason"!

He suddenly wasn’t angry anymore. Instead, he straightened his clothes, cleared his throat, and adopted the posture of someone from the Imperial College about to debate the classics. In a clear voice, he declared, "Fine, fine! Miss Qin, is it? Then let us debate the reasoning of this matter!"

He held up one finger. "First, brandishing a whip in a Buddhist Sect holy site and disturbing pedestrians is a violation of Article Seventeen of the Shangjing Law! That is your first crime!"

He held up a second finger. "Second, you attempted to injure someone. Though you failed, the intent itself is damnable! This is a failing of virtue and goes against the teachings of the sages! It is also not the behavior of a well-bred lady!"

A third finger went up. "Third, you slandered another, twisted right and wrong, and refused to admit your mistake! This is a sign of poor character!"

He listed her faults one by one. His enunciation was perfect and his arguments were well-referenced. Though he had the affected air of a young man trying to sound mature, his logic was clear, stunning the onlookers. Even Ming Lingyi peeked out from behind Ming Chengyu’s sleeve with one eye, looking at Xu Qian with a hint of surprise.

’She hadn’t expected the young master to actually list out so many of Qin Lingzhi’s faults instead of just "throwing a tantrum" as planned.’

"In conclusion," Xu Qian finally summarized, his gaze burning as he stared at Qin Lingzhi, "by law, by reason, and by sentiment, you are in the wrong! And since you are wrong, you must apologize! I, Xu Qian, demand that you apologize. It is reasonable, sensible, and lawful!"

This barrage of "reason" rained down on Qin Lingzhi, who had clearly never encountered this kind of tactic before. She was used to people either fearing her family background and swallowing their anger, or being rendered helpless by her incessant pestering. When had she ever been "judged" like this, point by point, in public?

’Oh, wait, it has happened once before.’

’And last time, I made the other person pay a terrible price.’

’To think that after all these years, another equally annoying person would appear.’

However, this time, she had heard of the man before her, Xu Qian.

A notorious dandy from the Imperial College.

’He wasn’t the kind of young master she could just have someone beat up on a whim.’

Qin Lingzhi’s face paled and flushed in turns. Her grip on the whip tightened as she stared at Xu Qian’s face, so earnestly lecturing her, finding it an incredible eyesore.

"Apologize." Seeing that Qin Lingzhi wasn’t responding, Xu Qian urged her impatiently. "If you don’t apologize, then we’ll all take a trip to the Jingzhao Mansion today and argue it out properly."

Xu Qian thought for a moment. In truth, he couldn’t care less about the conflicts between Shangjing City’s old families and its new money. But now, seeing Qin Lingzhi acting like a common bandit—devoid of all reason and morality—he couldn’t help but sneer. "It’s no wonder. It’s always the country folk who care most about a person’s birth. You kept calling Lord Jiang’s fiancée a country girl, so I imagine you must be much the same. Otherwise, how could someone from Shangjing City be so ill-mannered? It’s truly a disgrace."

Listening from the side, Ming Lingyi couldn’t help but look at Xu Qian with a newfound sense of admiration.

’She had no idea how this young master managed to precisely step on every one of Qin Lingzhi’s nerves with each sentence.’

’Those words would probably make Qin Lingzhi furious enough to start stomping her feet.’