"Ah! My jade lotus flower!"
The fat man heard the sound and turned around to see this scene. Shocked and flustered, he hurried over to the servant's side. Staring at the pile of shattered jade pieces and realizing it was beyond repair, anger rose within him. He viciously kicked the servant's stomach several times.
"Useless thing! What's the point of keeping a worthless fool like you? Can't even handle such a simple task..."
The servant didn't dare resist at all, curling up his body as much as possible while crying out, "Young master, please spare me!"
This spectacle drew the attention of several onlookers, but the people around seemed to recognize this fat man. They just watched from afar, even their discussions deliberately hushed.
"That Zhu Yuxuan is so cruel to his subordinates! Beating someone in the street, he's really too arrogant and domineering..."
"Well, his father is the Minister of Rites. Being a late-in-life only child, of course he grew up spoiled. It's no wonder he turned out this way..."
Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning heard these words clearly, understanding that the person before them was of noble status. Most importantly, he should have met Nangong Ling before.
To avoid further trouble, Liu Ming'an took Jiang Ning's hand and started walking towards the exit of the lantern festival. But after just two steps, a sinister voice sounded from behind: "Did I say you could leave?"
The servant holding the flowers, anticipating his master's thoughts, immediately ran in front of Jiang Ning and Liu Ming'an to block their path. Bullying them with his borrowed authority, he spoke: "You dare to walk away after breaking the young master's things?"
Jiang Ning turned back to look at the fat man called "Zhu Yuxuan", her eyes somewhat cold.
The servant who had been kicked to the ground quickly got up. Though clearly in pain himself, he put on an act of utmost loyalty, shouting at the two with feigned indignation: "You two lowly commoners! Do you know how precious this jade lotus flower was? How dare you break it! Even if you forfeit your worthless lives, you can't compensate for it!"
After speaking, the servant immediately turned to look at Zhu Yuxuan, his face piling on a fawning smile, his voice tinged with grievance: "Young master, that lotus flower was safely placed in its brocade box. Even if it hit someone's head, it shouldn't have shattered. It's all because this wench kicked it..."
Hearing these words, the people around secretly sighed, thinking this unfortunate couple was in for trouble.
Sensing the unfavorable environment, Jiang Ning ignored how the master and his two servants might react and tried to leave with Liu Ming'an.
"You still dare to leave?" Zhu Yuxuan, seeing himself being ignored, became furious and shouted at the servant holding the flowers, "Old Ninth, stop them!"
In fact, even without Zhu Yuxuan's order, Old Ninth knew he couldn't let these two go so easily. Otherwise, when they returned to the mansion, he wasn't sure if he'd live to see tomorrow.
Old Ninth threw the flowers to the ground and reached out to grab Jiang Ning's arm.
When picking on someone, always choose the easier target. The man next to her was a head taller than him, so grabbing the woman was the correct choice - this was what countless experiences had taught him.
Unfortunately, sometimes experience can also be a mental constraint.
Old Ninth never dreamed that he had picked the wrong soft target.
Before his outstretched hand could touch Jiang Ning, his arm was suddenly seized, and a violent pain shot through his stomach. The next moment, his body was airborne, and he was thrown out. He thought he would crash heavily to the ground, but instead, he seemed to be caught by something soft and squishy.
Just as Old Ninth was feeling relieved, Old Seventh pulled him up with a terrified expression, then anxiously called out to the person lying on the ground: "Young master! Are you alright?"
Old Ninth's face instantly turned ashen. That damned woman had thrown him onto Zhu Yuxuan!
Zhu Yuxuan was seeing stars from the impact. His nose had been hit, and bright red blood stained his entire chin, dripping onto his chest, making him look utterly disheveled.
"I'll kill both of them!"
Zhu Yuxuan's eyes flashed with intense hatred as he gritted his teeth and spoke, staring in the direction the two had left and ordering: "Chase them!"
"Ah Ning..." Liu Ming'an, being pulled along by Jiang Ning, kept looking back, his eyes filled with undisguised worry.
There were far too many people, and coupled with their unfamiliarity with the area, the two couldn't move quickly. Jiang Ning knew the three would catch up soon. Her expression darkened, but she still said to Liu Ming'an without looking back: "Don't worry, I'll protect you."
The son of a minister was a big trouble. They absolutely couldn't act rashly. They had to think of a foolproof plan to eliminate any future problems!
While pondering this, Jiang Ning pulled Liu Ming'an towards the less crowded, secluded alleys. She deliberately slowed her pace, waiting for the master and his two servants to catch up.
Not knowing the way, Jiang Ning just kept ducking into small alleys where there were no voices. When they walked into a certain dead-end alley with high walls on both sides, she knew this place was the best choice.
"Ah Ning, what are we doing here? Shouldn't we hurry back? To avoid causing more trouble," Liu Ming'an, who had been letting Jiang Ning lead the way, suddenly stopped, feeling uneasy.
Jiang Ning raised her hand to caress his face, soothing and deceiving him: "Let's lay low for a while, then leave later. This way we won't be caught by them."
However, as soon as she finished speaking, the sound of clapping came from the entrance of the alley, followed by Zhu Yuxuan's sinister laughter: "Hahaha... You two really picked a good place to lay low!"
Liu Ming'an's heart jumped in alarm, and he stepped forward to shield Jiang Ning behind him.
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow. Although it was unnecessary, this gesture was still quite precious.
Zhu Yuxuan looked around, his expression growing increasingly smug: "Hmm, no village in front, no shop behind, not bad at all!"
Old Seventh stepped forward, smiling ingratiatingly as he showed off: "Young master, if we go a bit further ahead, we'll be near Master Jia's place - you know, the one that caused such a stir recently. Ever since the Jia family was killed by their enemies - over ten people murdered - the locals in this area have all moved away. So, nobody will come here, hehe..."
"Hahaha... Good! Very good!" Zhu Yuxuan wiped the nosebleed from his chin with his sleeve, his eyes flashing dangerously as he looked at Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning. "You two ignorant fools! How dare you break my jade lotus flower and then throw me down? Old Seventh, Old Ninth, first break that man's arms and legs, and then..."
Zhu Yuxuan looked at Jiang Ning behind Liu Ming'an with a lecherous grin: "You two force yourselves on that stinking woman in front of this man, hahaha..."
Hearing this, Liu Ming'an was furious. Forgetting his usual composure, he cursed: "You're a real beast!"
"You dare to insult me? Then I'll have your tongue cut out too!" Zhu Yuxuan glared and shouted.
"You-" Liu Ming'an was about to say more when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. His vision went black, his consciousness scattered, and his whole body fell uncontrollably towards the ground.
Jiang Ning reached out to catch him, propping the unconscious Liu Ming'an against the wall to sit.
Zhu Yuxuan and his two servants were visibly stunned by Jiang Ning's actions. Why did this woman knock out her own companion? What was going on?
"Young master, has this woman gone mad?" Old Seventh and Old Ninth prided themselves on having seen all sorts of situations while following Zhu Yuxuan, but this was truly a first for them.
Zhu Yuxuan thought for a moment, then said smugly: "This woman must not want her man to see her being violated, hahaha... How self-deceptive! Remember to wake that man up later..."
After settling Liu Ming'an, Jiang Ning stood up and stared at Zhu Yuxuan's face, which was piled with fat, her eyes full of mockery: "You look like a dead pig, and you talk and act like a stupid pig too."
Zhu Yuxuan had always hated being called a "pig" more than anything. Hearing this, he trembled with rage, pointing at Jiang Ning and cursing: "You filthy woman, how dare you talk about me like that? You think covering your face like Miss Kongfang makes you as beautiful as her? You ugly freak! Trying to imitate your betters! Ugly people always cause trouble! I'll make sure you beg for life but can't live, beg for death but can't die..."
Jiang Ning curled her lips, her eyes filled with murderous intent, and coldly uttered two words: "Stupid fool!"