bullyxtreme Chapter 17 Xiangling
Chapter 17 Xiangling
After seeing off the eldest son of the Wang family, Liu Feng returned to the third hall, picked up the bowl of slightly cool tea, and gulped down a large mouthful.
Young Master Wang came to pay tribute to the Zhen family in Jiangnan, and also to deliver a message to Lin Ruhai: the salt industry in Lianghuai had been divided up by the imperial family.
Apart from the Wang family, whose backing was the Zhen family, which was under the control of the retired emperor, the other families were all coerced and lured into defecting, abandoning the gentry and officials of Jiangnan, and turning to the imperial family.
Having their purses stolen, the gentry and officials of Jiangnan would certainly not swallow this insult. They dared not seek revenge against the imperial family, so they would undoubtedly vent their anger on Lin Ruhai.
Jiangnan is their territory!
"That's such an unseemly way of eating!"
Liu Feng slammed the teacup down on the coffee table, got up, and walked towards the back courtyard.
This matter must be told to Jia Min immediately, and another letter should be written to Lin Ruhai to remind him to be careful. It would be best to also persuade him to submit a memorial to the court and voluntarily go to the north to serve as an official...
With just two simple sentences, "Thunder and rain, all are the grace of Heaven," and "Gentlemen and civil officials, their influence spreads throughout the north and south," Jia Min revealed the truth of officialdom.
This also made Liu Feng realize that his previous idea was too naive.
Sigh, all we can do is hope the emperor will be a decent human being!
Liu Feng shook his head and walked out of Jia Min's courtyard. The officialdom is more dangerous than the battlefield, and it's damn corrupt!
"Prison Warden Liu!"
Liu Feng turned around with a smile, and Xueyan ran over with a grin.
"What is it?" Liu Feng asked.
"Are you going out today?" Xueyan asked him a little shyly.
"I'm not going out..."
Seeing the little girl's face fall instantly, Liu Feng smiled and said, "But if you have anything you want to buy, I can make a special trip for you."
"Really?" Xueyan's eyes lit up immediately.
Liu Feng laughed angrily: "When have I ever lied to you?"
Xueyan stuck out her tongue, took out a piece of paper from her sleeve, and handed it to Liu Feng: "Try these snacks and dried fruits listed on it for us first. If they're good, we'll buy them."
Liu Feng took it and immediately burst out laughing.
They wrote down more than a dozen different kinds of text; these two, master and servant, are truly little foodies!
Hmm, Lin Daiyu's handwriting is really beautiful!
Unlike him, who crawls around like a dog.
Liu Feng folded the paper and put it in his pocket: "I've bought it. I'll have my wife deliver it to you."
"Mmm." Xueyan skipped away.
"This little girl..." Liu Feng shook his head and turned to go to the accounting office to withdraw money.
His meager salary couldn't withstand the combined efforts of the mistress and servant; they could squander it all in just a few times!
......................
February in Nanjing is the time when spring vegetables are at their freshest, river shrimp are at their tenderest, and snails are at their fattest, and the streets and alleys are filled with the aroma of cooking.
Liu Feng, accompanied by two prison guards, ate his way along the Qinhuai River, his mouth watering at everything he saw.
Osmanthus cake, soft fragrant cake, water chestnut cake, square cake, fermented rice cake... all kinds of fragrant and tempting. The three of them walked and bought as they went, their hands full. Later, they couldn't carry any more, so Liu Feng simply bought a basket for each of the two jailers to carry.
Later, I turned into a small alley and bought dried fruit, candied fruit, and roasted nuts.
Liu Feng had already planned everything out in his mind. He would go to the market later to pick out some fresh produce, have the kitchen stew a pot of crucian carp soup, then stir-fry shrimp, snails, and braise a fat chicken. Finally, he would serve two refreshing vegetarian dishes, and in the evening, he could warm a pot of wine. How wonderful that would be!
"Don't hit me, I'll never do it again..."
A series of pitiful and frightened pleas for mercy abruptly shattered Liu Feng's sweet dream. He looked towards the alley and saw several curious villagers peeking into a courtyard with its gate half-open.
The two jailers behind him laughed and said, "Sir, you don't need to pay attention to it. It's just a husband and wife bickering and fighting. It's very common."
Liu Feng frowned, and was about to leave when he heard someone say, "...What father and daughter? That man is a kidnapper!"
kidnapper?
Liu Feng hated this kind of person the most and strode over.
"My lord! My lord..." The two jailers hurriedly chased after them.
When the onlookers saw that Liu Feng was followed by two officers with swords, they were so frightened that they immediately ran home and slammed the door shut.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
"Please spare me..."
Hearing the pitiful pleas, Liu Feng's anger flared up, and he kicked open the half-closed courtyard gate.
In the courtyard, a young girl huddled on the ground, trembling with fear, while a man with a pointed face and monkey-like features was whipping her with a willow branch, cursing under his breath.
"Which blind bastard is tired of living?!"
The man, halfway through his rant, suddenly turned around. Upon seeing that it was an official, he was so frightened that he dropped the willow branch with a "thud" to the ground. He immediately put on a fawning smile, bowing and scraping as he approached: "Gentlemen, how...how did you grace this humble place with your presence? Please don't dirty your esteemed feet..."
The two jailers looked at Liu Feng, but Liu Feng didn't say anything. He walked straight to the girl who was still cowering on the ground, trembling with fear.
The man hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Sir, this is my daughter, she's young and doesn't know any better..."
"Slap him!" Liu Feng said without even turning his head.
The two jailers skillfully struck the man with a single blow, leaving him dazed and confused.
The man stumbled and fell to the ground, screaming, "What right do you have to hit people?!"
With a "slap," another slap landed on his face, and he immediately fell silent.
Hearing that the man was being beaten, the girl shakily raised her head, her face pale and tears streaming down her face, looking utterly pitiful.
Liu Feng sighed softly. This little girl looked to be only ten years old, the prime of her life, yet she had suffered such abuse...
He suddenly paused, his gaze falling on the rouge mark between the girl's eyebrows. Xiangling?!
Seeing Liu Feng staring at her, the little girl, like a frightened rabbit, hurriedly lowered her head.
Seeing this, Liu Feng stepped forward, trying to keep his voice gentle: "I'm from the Provincial Surveillance Commission. I've heard this person is a kidnapper, is that true?"
Upon hearing that they were government officials, the little girl timidly raised her head, her eyes brightening for a moment. But when she caught a glimpse of the man's fierce gaze, she immediately lowered her head again.
Liu Feng saw this and raised his hand.
The two jailers immediately put down their baskets and kicked the man, who had just stood up, back to his knees. One grabbed his left wrist and twisted it forcefully behind his right shoulder, while the other grabbed his right wrist and twisted it sharply behind his neck. The two wrists tightened around his neck, shoulders, and back, and the cracking sound of their knuckles grinding together was clearly audible!
At first, the man could still scream pitifully, but later he couldn't even make a sound. His whole face turned red and purple, his eyes looked like they were about to bulge out, and sweat poured down his face like rain.
"Who's causing trouble?"
Just then, a man dressed as a constable burst in. He paused for a moment, then forced a smile and quickly stepped forward: "May I ask which government office you three are from? I am a gatekeeper from the Jinling Prefectural Government, and this residence is my private property..."
The two jailers ignored him and continued to call out to the kidnapper.
Liu Feng recognized him at a glance; this was the doorman who gave Jia Yucun advice in the TV series.
This person recognized Xiangling's identity long ago, but pretended to be deaf and dumb, watching her suffer. Like Jia Yucun, he was an ungrateful person.
Liu Feng stared at him: "This house, is it yours?"
"Yes, it is I." The doorman bowed hurriedly.
"Are you a government official?"
"Yes." The doorman was completely bewildered, not understanding Liu Feng's intentions.
Liu Feng abruptly changed the subject: "Since you're a government official, why are you harboring human traffickers?"
The doorman's face turned deathly pale. He instinctively glanced at Xiangling, assuming she had confessed everything, and immediately knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! I only recently noticed something was wrong, but I wasn't sure... I even asked Miss, but she's terrified of being beaten, and only said the kidnapper is her biological father... I had no other choice!"
As he spoke, the doorman scrambled to Xiangling's side, tears and snot streaming down his face: "Miss! Miss, please speak up for me! I beg you! I have elderly parents and young children to support, they all depend on me for survival... Please have mercy!"
They kowtowed repeatedly.
Liu Feng was slightly taken aback. Had he tricked him into revealing his secret?