The General Seized Her by Force - Chapter 13

Feng Zhang was not in a pleasant mood today.

Outsiders felt that even though he did not rank in the First Tier of the Imperial Examination, he was a chuanlu (a title given to graduates of the Second Tier), which was glorious enough. After all, as a descendant of a count who benefited from his grandfather’s legacy, he could spend his entire life visiting flower houses and fighting crickets without worry; once he inherited the title, he would be given a sinecure and pass his days in peaceful comfort.

Even though he had more relaxed and comfortable choices, he chose to study hard and take the imperial examinations, ultimately making it into the Second Tier. This was sufficient to prove that he was not a “wine bag and rice sack” playboy. To other noble families in the capital, Feng Zhang was exceptionally promising. With the glory of his ancestors combined with his own academic rank, anyone who mentioned him had to give a thumbs up.

But Feng Zhang did not think so.

He had drunk quite a bit of wine that evening, so he leaned back in the sedan chair on his way home to rest with his eyes closed. The Qionglin Banquet was filled with powerful officials and nobles. He was neither the son of a duke or marquis, nor was he one of the top three of the First Tier. He was inconspicuous; whether it was his background, his ranking, or his appearance, he could not be ranked at the front. He drank cautiously, fearing that being drunk would cause trouble. To the young master Feng, this was a great humiliation, especially since he was full of ambition and resentment.

After the Qionglin Banquet dispersed, he called his confidant and close friends to continue the party at a restaurant.

His servant walked outside the sedan window, repeating the flattery of others to him. “Those young masters were all incredibly envious, but there’s nothing they can do about it. Who told you to have such a good background and be so studious? You just took the exam casually, and achieved a rank they couldn’t even reach if they chased you for a lifetime.”

The servant continued, “Among this year’s Third Tier, very few are as young as you. As for the Zhuangyuan (top scholar), he had to toil until he was forty or fifty, and I don’t know how many times he had to take the exam before he got lucky just once.”

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhang did not even open his eyelids. “The Tanhua (third-place scholar) of the First Tier, Wen Shu, is five years younger than me.”

His tone sounded unhappy. The smile on the servant’s face froze, and he hurriedly said, “So what? In terms of family background, he absolutely cannot compare to you.”

“Family background,” Feng Zhang repeated these two words in his mouth, chewing them slowly. His tone was light but disdainful, as if he had been poked at some shameful matter. He said viciously, “In the future, I will eventually be enfeoffed as a marquis and serve as a prime minister. At that time, a mere count’s title will be nothing to me!”

The servant said, “Naturally, Young Master will certainly be able to do it! Your father will definitely be proud of you.”

Mentioning his father, the Count of Si Nan, Feng Zhang’s face grew even darker. “It is precisely because I did not enter the First Tier that my father looks at me with such disdain. Today, I obtained the chuanlu title; for him, it might be even more unbearable.”

Having no hope at all is one thing, but being only one step away from hope and yet being unable to reach it no matter what is clearly more agonizing. After all, in the former case, one can persuade oneself that “fate is like this, what can human effort do?” But in the latter, it is a matter of “human effort being possible, but missing a bit of luck.” How can one not feel regret? That was why, during the procession, his father did not even stand at the window to look down at him.

“How is it that the one surnamed Wen is so lucky!” Feng Zhang gritted his teeth and whispered.

Feng Zhang was most unconvinced by Wen Shu’s Tanhua ranking. He felt that since he managed to get the chuanlu title, it proved he was not far from the First Tier. Therefore, Wen Shu must have been chosen as the Tanhua simply because he looked more delicate and refined, catching the Emperor’s eye, whereas he, Feng Zhang, was rugged and unpleasing, only to be relegated to the chuanlu rank.

The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt, and the angrier he became. Just at this moment, the steadily moving sedan stopped abruptly, almost throwing him out of the carriage!

Feng Zhang almost vomited inside the sedan. He urgently braced his hands against the sedan wall to steady his forward-leaning body. “What is going on?”

The servant lifted the window curtain. “Young Master, are you alright? There is a carriage and horses coming from the opposite direction, occupying the entire road.”

There was no curfew in this dynasty, and the night markets on the main street were even more bustling after dark. Some carriages could not pass that way, so they would take the side streets. The fact that the carriage and horses could fill the road meant the other party was not noble, and most likely they were merchants transporting goods.

Feng Zhang flicked the curtain and looked outside. As he guessed, there was only one horse in front, and behind the horse were all carts pulled by donkeys.

Feng Zhang dropped the curtain and said without thinking, “Tell them to roll away. This is not a road they are qualified to travel on.”

The servant got the order and immediately stood at the front. “Our young master says for you to roll away.”

When carriages met head-on on the road, generally, the party that was polite or lower in status would yield first, or the party with fewer people would move to the side to let the larger group pass. However, the servant felt that the other party’s status could definitely not be higher than that of a count’s mansion. Why should they yield to anyone? Even if there were many carts, they would have to back up and give way to his young master, the Second Tier chuanlu Feng!

Guan Lu was encountering such an arrogant person for the first time.

She immediately stood on the cart, hands on her hips, and said, “My master also said, if your young master rolls out and kowtows to admit his mistakes, she might let it go. Otherwise, don’t blame us for being impolite!”

When the servant saw that the person speaking was a young woman, his arrogance grew even more. He rolled up his sleeves, put his hands on his hips, and shouted, “Where did this merchant trash come from to be so rampant? Do you know who is sitting in this sedan!”

Women could enter politics and business. Seeing so many carts, the opponent did not look like someone on the career path of an official, so they must be merchants.

Feng Zhang’s stomach was churning and nauseous, and his already limited patience was now gone. He was already full of resentment and anger, and now he had finally found a vent for it. “What is there to talk about? Beat them up and flip the carts. Do I need to teach you such a small matter?”

The servant immediately became smug. “Yes.”

He called the four sedan chair bearers and the two servants following behind, pulled out the wooden poles from the sedan, and walked toward the opposite side.

Feng Zhang sat in the sedan, and within two or three breaths, he heard screams. The pent-up frustration in his heart dissipated by more than half, and he felt physically and mentally comfortable.

Until the screams sounded wrong, and vaguely, they sounded like his servant.

Feng Zhang’s expression changed drastically, and he immediately got out of the sedan. Who were these lowlifes who dared to fight back against his people?

Standing outside, Feng Zhang realized that the other party was not fighting back; rather, his servant did not even have the opportunity to fight.

In front of the black horse stood two women, a master and a servant. The mistress wore a deep red, waist-cinching, narrow-sleeved long dress, and the servant was in simple, light green tight-fitting gear. The group did not even have a lantern and stood in the dark blocking the road.

As for his men, they were currently lying in a heap, groaning pitifully not far from the woman’s feet.

Feng Zhang subconsciously took half a step back and shouted in a deep voice, “Who are you people!”

Could they be guards for a caravan?

Li Chu loosened her muscles, her tone casual. “Naturally, we are not troublemakers.”

She spread her arms, looking innocent. “It was your people who spoke rudely and made the first move. It was not me who actively provoked you; I was only acting in self-defense.”

Guan Lu nodded. “That’s right! We are the victims.”

The “victim” Li Chu stepped on the sedan pole on the ground with one foot. With a light flick of her shoe, she picked up the pole and held it in her hand. She weighed it lightly and walked toward Feng Zhang. “Speaking rudely, one should apologize.”

Li Chu thought to herself that she had just spoken in a four-character rhythm. Even that “Little Sheep” Wen said she was not a Confucian general. If she were not a Confucian general, could she speak with such reason?

When Feng Zhang heard this, he thought the other party wanted him to apologize to her and her maid, and he felt humiliated. Given his status, how could he apologize to a merchant!

Feng Zhang flicked his sleeves, put his arms behind his back, and asked loudly, “Do you know who I am?”

Li Chu replied, “I don’t care who you are.”

She did not give Feng Zhang a chance to declare his name; she swung the pole and smashed it toward his legs!

If he would not repent, he should pay with his flesh.

The sound of pain cut off Feng Zhang’s unfinished words, and instantly, there were only screams. He never expected the other side to be so brutal and unreasonable! They just started fighting!

He knelt on one leg, trying to raise his head and struggle. “I am—”

Seeing him still trying to speak, Li Chu broke his other leg.

Feng Zhang knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his palms, gritting his teeth. “I am—”

Li Chu raised her eyebrows slightly, lifted her leg, and stepped on Feng Zhang’s shoulder, forcing him to straighten his upper body as he knelt. “Say another word.”

This time, the tip of the pole was aimed at his crotch.

Feng Zhang’s face turned pale, and he trembled, not daring to make a sound. He looked up at her with red eyes. The woman looked down at him from above, her eyes showing the same disdain as a hunter looking at a pig waiting to be slaughtered; she did not treat his life as a human life at all.

He had met a hard nut to crack.

Seeing him become obedient, Li Chu withdrew her foot and signaled to Guan Lu. “Indeed, one should not waste breath on him. Just beat him up and flip the carriage. Such a small matter is not worth wasting your breath.”

As soon as the pressure was released, Feng Zhang collapsed onto the ground due to the pain in his legs. Hearing this, he gritted his teeth and thought bitterly: These were clearly his own words!

Guan Lu walked over, flipped the sedan, grabbed the servant by his hair to make him lift his head, and smashed a fist into his foul mouth. “Remember to think carefully when speaking in the future, and keep your mouth clean.”

Then she threw the servant on the ground like a sack, clapped her hands, and walked to Li Chu’s side, saying with a sweet and obedient tone, “I learned it. It’s been a few years since I accompanied you back to the capital; I didn’t realize that doing things in the capital these days is so simple and neat.”

Li Chu threw the stick in front of Feng Zhang, causing him to shudder in fear. “Although your lack of manners came first, I am not a tyrannical person. Consider this a lesson for today.”

Li Chu took off the thumb ring on her right thumb—the one that matched the silver arrow lost the previous morning—and tossed it onto him as if bestowing a reward. “Medical expenses.”

After beating people and flipping the carriage, Li Chu clapped her hands, mounted her horse, and rode away with a row of empty carts.

Feng Zhang knelt on the ground, picking up the ring with eyes full of hatred, trying to identify the other party’s identity. Meanwhile, far away in a peaceful and quiet home, Wen Shu was hesitating, asking her mother a question:

“Mother, when I was young, did I ever make any promises to anyone?”