Chapter 51: The Pomegranate Blooms
Xiao Zhuang"s expression shifted at the man"s words. The next second he was on his feet and ready to fight. But Gu Xinglang simply pressed on his hand and shook his head.
Xiao Zhuang grew anxious. "Royal Son-in-Law, sire!"
"Now"s not the time to make trouble," Gu Xinglang replied.
"I…"
"His Royal Son-in-Law is right," Xiao Wei glared at Xiao Zhuang, the lowered his voice. "Are you afraid that Prime Minister Zhao won"t find more faults in our royal son-in-law and princess? You don"t think the princess has enough trouble already?"
Xiao Zhuang shut up.
"If I was Gu Xinglang, I would have ran into a wall and killed myself in the prisons already. Then I"d show everyone my high ideals with death." the bearded man didn"t shut up as he slammed the table. "The h.e.l.l"s up with relying on a woman to live? d.a.m.n it! I hate those types of b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, I–"
Xiao Zhuang hit the table in indignation. Hearing this, Big and Bearded glanced over at their table and said, "You"re Gu Xinglang?"
"Shut up!" Xiao Zhuang snapped at him.
"Well, lookie here," the man remarked, "You"re really the royal son-in-law? Your legs look fine, not lame at all."
Xiao Wei felt that it was unfair. This had to be the first royal son-in-law in history who was so maligned by others. Gu Xinglang simply kept his head down and continued eating his wontons. No one could see his expression.
The man looked at Xiao Zhuang. "Look at the Royal Son-in-Law with his eyes so wide. You wanna fight?"
This time, Xiao Zhuang hit the table and rose to his feet.
"Xiao Zhuang, what"s the matter?" Yu Xiaoxiao sauntered over with an empty bowl.
Seeing this, Xiao Wei only sensed a bad premonition. He wanted to stop Xiao Zhuang, but it was already too late as the other guard tattled, "Master, they"re cursing people out!"
Yu Xiaoxiao looked at the strong man and his three companions. "Who were they cursing?"
Xiao Zhuang hurried to her side and whispered, "They were cursing the Royal Son-in-Law."
Gu Xinglang took this chance to look up towards Yu Xiaoxiao. "Eaten your fill? If so, let"s go back."
"So you"re a wretch that relies on women too," Big and Bearded remarked as he saw Xiao Zhuang run to Yu Xiaoxiao. He stuck a hand on his waist and laughed out loud. "Hey, are all men of the capital such weak wussies?"
Yu Xiaoxiao arched a brow at Xiao Zhuang, who said, "They were cursing Royal Son-in-Law just like that a moment ago!" Then he repeated all the words for Yu Xiaoxiao to hear.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wei was muttering to Gu Xinglang, "Royal Son-in-Law, these four don"t look like officials. The fact that they dare to speak like this in the capital city is suspicious."
Hearing this, Gu Xinglang glanced at the four men, all tough and stocky types. It was clear that they"d practiced martial arts into their very bones despite their commoners" garb. Still, there was something about their uncultivated wildness that seemed familiar.
"They don"t look like good guys," Xiao Wei added.
"Who are you all?" Gu Xinglang asked.
The man glanced at Gu Xinglang"s bandaged legs and t.i.ttered in disdain, then looked askance at Yu Xiaoxiao. "Little wifey, who are you standing up for?" He then pointed at Xiao Wei. "Is it that trash, or–" He shifted his finger to Gu Xinglang, "This cripple?"
Xiao Zhuang felt like exploding. If they didn"t beat this jerk to death today, he wouldn"t forgive himself! But Yu Xiaoxiao was even faster. Before Xiao Zhuang could draw his sword, she had already reached the strong man"s table, picked up its bowls of wonton soup, and poured it over his head.
"……" the crowd fell silent.
Granny w.a.n.g"s wontons were very fresh and delicious, but that didn"t matter when they were dumped over someone"s head. The man gave an odd screech before he jumped off the bench. There was a lot of chili oil in the soup that had seeped into his eyes and made them red with tears. The crowd sucked in another breath. Compared to Yu Xiaoxiao, the man was a giant. He stood at 1.9m (6 foot 2) while, cough cough, the Princess Linglong was still short of 1.6m (5 foot 2).
"I don"t fight women," Big and Bearded told Yu Xiaoxiao. "Call your man over."
"Just how much does he want to die?" Xiao Wei muttered to Gu Xinglang. "Of all the people to pick on the street, he chose the princess?"
Xiao Zhuang didn"t step forward either, having full confidence in his princess"s combat skills. Gu Xinglang didn"t know how to describe his feelings. He wanted to speak to Yu Xiaoxiao, but wasn"t sure what he should say.
"Who hasn"t suffered losses in their lives before?" Yu Xiaoxiao asked him.
The man gave a start, never expecting his fierce face (that even his own mother couldn"t love) to fail in scaring off Yu Xiaoxiao from making small talk with him.
"The only cowards are those who seek death after failure, isn"t that right?" Yu Xiaoxiao hauled the man by the collar. "I hate chatty, gossipy men."
The strong man looked down to see Yu Xiaoxiao"s hand, which was less than half the size of his fist. "Let go," he growled. "Is your man dead? He"s letting a little wifey like you make a scene?"
Compared to words, Yu Xiaoxiao preferred action. She hauled him up and tossed him away. The crowd lifted their heads as they watched the stocky man sail in an arc through the sky before falling with a heavy splash into the river below.
The bustling bridge grew still. What just happened?
Yu Xiaoxiao didn"t forget the man"s companions, but tossed all three of them into the river as well. The people on the bridge fell further into silence.
"Another bowl of tangyuan, sesame flavored this time!" Yu Xiaoxiao told Granny w.a.n.g when she was done.
The old granny had already lost her wits as she stared at her. Yu Xiaoxiao was inept at reading faces, so she simply walked back to Gu Xinglang"s side. Today she was wearing a Tang Dynasty styled . As her quick steps met with a breeze, the skirt fluttered around her like a pomegranate in bloom, the red fabric lifting to show the pink inner dress beneath. Gu Xinglang felt something burn his heart in that second and leave it with a trace of pain.
He couldn"t help pulling her hand and saying, "I"ve told Xiao Wei to bring all the food to go. Let"s eat them at home."
Yu Xiaoxiao pointed towards the night markets. "There"s people singing over there."
Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei"s mouths twitched. You"re still in the mood to watch a play?
Gu Xinglang replied, "I"m a little tired. How about we come back tomorrow?"
His gaze and voice were both respectable as he spoke, but Yu Xiaoxiao shivered at them both. Alright, what"s this? Is he playing coy with me?!