The Qin fourth miss had been able to indifferently watch the fight off to the side due to her complete faith in Silver Mask competency. But when the two groups actually met in battle, she rose with a frown on her face.
Despite the domineering and brutish manner of Minister Cheng, he actually possessed superior martial skills. The four guard had to fight in tandem to just barely contain the minister.
Wide-eyed with a ferocious look of fury, Minister Cheng looked like he wanted to eat Qin Yining alive.
The n.o.ble scions brayed with laughter to see the minister so savage. They called out encouragement, but it wasn"t apparent whether they wish to curry favor or further enrage Minister Cheng. The catcalls and insults to Qin Yining grew even more depraved.
A flabbergasted Sir Zheng watched chaos unfold in his office. Tables and stools were wrecked and porcelain tea wares smashed, the pieces scattering all over the ground.
Though Qin Yining"s guards were highly skilled, given previous experience, they didn"t dare harm an official. That hobbled their fighting while the minister rampaged like a berserk beast, striving all he could to reach the Qin fourth miss.
If things continued this way, Sir Zheng would be in for a world of hurt if the girl was injured. One injured Cheng Yue already put him at his wits end.
Minister Cheng possessed a boorish personality, which made his mind easier to guess. The warden risked running afoul of the wily Qin Huaiyuan if Qin Yining was hurt. Sir Zheng wouldn"t know a day of peace if that happened!
His thoughts traveling to this point, Sir Zheng quickly summoned his men and waded in as well, physically pulling the two sides apart and mouthing every conciliatory word he knew.
Sweating profusely from his exertions against Jingzhe and the others, Minister Cheng pointed at Qin Yining and roared furiously, "You b.i.t.c.h! I want your life for you commanding your men to hurt my son! Ram yourself dead right now if you know what"s good for you! That"ll leave you a full corpse in death. If not, I"ll separate your head from your body!"
The man"s enraged shout rang like a bell, vibrating painfully in his audience"s ears. Lian Xiaozhou was white as a ghost and clutching Bingtang for a.s.surance. Jiyun s.h.i.+elded her mistress behind her. Though there was no fear on the guard"s face, her expression was exceedingly ugly.
Completely calm, Qin Yining responded, "Though Minister Cheng loves his son greatly, you can"t slander innocent people like this, without knowing right from wrong. Why would my guards have leapt into action if it wasn"t Sir Cheng steering his galloping horse in my direction and threatening my life? My family"s just arrived in the capital and I don"t know Sir Cheng. I really don"t understand why he"d threaten my life!"
"F*ck you, motherf*cking b.i.t.c.h! My son charged his horse at you because you say so huh? How about it"s more like you"re not satisfied after getting a kid exiled last time—you"re out for more revenge! None of you Qins are anything good. Your father"s written the book on craftiness, and you"re no pure, good girl either. Still looking to talk yourself out of this? Dream on!"
"Watch your words, Minister Cheng. Setting aside the fact that I haven"t done anything today and have been hit by disaster out of nowhere, even if I"d committed a crime, there"s a place called the yamen in the Great Zhou capital, and the emperor even higher than that. Or is Great Zhou a lawless wilderness that you can deploy troops and kill as you wish?"
"You! That"s just perverted logic!" Minister Cheng had nothing to say when questioned about his use of troops.
Qin Yining continued coolly. "I"m sure His Majesty will make his own judgment on whose logic is perverse here. I was just wondering if I should beat the Pet.i.tioner"s Drum again and lodge an imperial lawsuit. But it looks like that"s not needed. With the minister"s personal use of the army, I"m sure the emperor will look into this matter quickly enough and deliver justice."
"You"re the daughter of that fox alright, with your glib tongue! You"re a baby fox, a vile vixen!"
Minister Cheng"s infuriated form looked like a fighting rooster in Qin Yining"s eyes. She couldn"t be bothered arguing with someone like this, so stopped talking after she"d made her points.
Meanwhile, the rest of the n.o.ble sons and Sir Zheng off to the side were stunned by Qin Yining"s valiant act. It was only then that some of the boys recalled that whether it was faced with charging horses or requested to testify at the warden"s office, the Qin fourth miss had remained calm all along. It was as if nothing in the world was worthy of her attention.
It was that she was different, but that she was greatly self a.s.sured. That she could keep her composure in such an ugly situation meant that either her blind courage was too great, or that she was much too shrewd.
Looking at her now, it was obviously that the latter was more true.
An awkward silence descended on the scene.
Having let loose with offensive, vile insults, panic crept in after Minister Cheng reflected on his impulsive actions in deploying the troops for his personal use.
His son was important, but so too was his t.i.tle!
If it wasn"t for the black gauze cap, a manifestation of the trappings of office, who would protect his family?
What had happened to the last fellow to privately send out troops was still fresh in his mind. Even someone as formidable as the Faithful Prince of the First Rank had to docilely hand over his position as the Valiant Tigers commander when charged with his crimes!
Sir Zheng took a look at the quiet n.o.ble scions and contemplative Minister Cheng, finally able to breath a sigh of relief. He really had to acknowledge the girl"s skill. She"d used just a few cantankerous words to smooth over a fight waiting to break out.
Though the situation was chaotic, the standoff continued.