The person who was speaking foul language just now was not someone else but Wang Xin, who was sitting at the table next to her and had ridiculed Hao Cheng earlier. Of course, she was not the only one in the crowd who said this, but her voice was louder and her tone was too sarcastic, so she was whipped by this young master of noble birth and used as a chicken to scare the monkey.
Wang Xin was a martial artist. When the broken whip suddenly swung at her, she subconsciously tried to catch it. However, the wind from the whip tail still tore a big hole in the fabric of her shoulder.
The clothes were in such a state, not to mention the hand holding the whip. Although Wang Xin's hands were covered in calluses, the whip still had barbs, and in an instant, blood was flowing from his hand.
As a bystander, Hao Cheng was terrified. He saw Wang Xin get angry and grab the whip, but the young man stood firmly in place. He pulled back, but Wang Xin staggered, felt a sharp pain, subconsciously let go of the whip, and almost fell to the ground.
The young master put away the whip, but the tail wind was enough to split the table in front of Hao Cheng in half, which shows how powerful the whip was.
If this had happened on TV, she would have applauded the young man and admired his superb kung fu. But now that it was happening right in front of her, Hao Cheng felt her legs go numb. She felt sympathy for Wang Xin, but also a little relieved that she had not been affected.
There were all kinds of people in this inn. He was so ruthless that a young woman dressed in a long gown and scholarly attire could not stand it and said, "You hit someone just because you don't agree with him. You really have no respect for the law!"
The inn had already fallen silent because of the whip, but after the scholar's words, the inn became even quieter, so quiet that even the sound of an embroidery needle dropping to the ground could be heard.
Qiao Yu raised his eyebrows: "Which eye of yours saw me hurting people?"
When he said this, the outsiders were fine, but the locals all looked at the scholar with sympathy. Qiao Yu was the third child and the only son of the city lord.
The mayor of Mingzhou City is famous for being afraid of her husband and loving her children. Qiao Yu has been spoiled by his parents since he was a child, and has been pampered by his two capable sisters. He is arrogant and difficult to serve. His most obvious advantage is that he does not bear grudges, because he usually takes revenge in person.
Qiao Yu's name is well-known throughout Mingzhou City. Locals and outsiders who often come to Mingzhou for business know him. This scholar is also stupid. It's okay to say whatever he wants behind his back, but to say it to his face, isn't that courting death
The scholar's legs felt a little weak, but he still stiffened his neck and said, "I saw it with both my eyes, and everyone here saw it too!"
To everyone's surprise, Qiao Yu did not get angry immediately. Instead, he glanced around and said, "Then why don't you ask, besides you, who else saw it?"
The scholar looked around for help, but no one dared to say a word. Most of them turned their onlookers' eyes away and started chatting among themselves.
The scholar was sweating profusely. Even though it was a cool day, her sweat had soaked all her clothes.
Qiao Yu expected everyone's reaction. Seeing the scholar's nervous look, he said, "Look, no one present saw me hurt anyone. It's just something you imagined. How can you say you are disregarding the law?"
He paused, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, his eyes and words revealing a bit of sarcasm: "But you, who claim to be a scholar, wantonly slander others and destroy the reputation of an innocent man. What is disgraceful? You are the one who is disgraceful!"
After he said this, the scholar trembled all over, of course not because of fear, but because of anger. Although she was a scholar, she was upright, otherwise she would not have stood up for Wang Xin.
Unfortunately, she was not good at verbal arguments. She always felt that what the man said was wrong, but she couldn't tell what was wrong. She could only stammer, "Even if someone said that to you, you shouldn't have beaten him like this."
Before Qiao Yu could say anything, the ladies who came with him became impatient: "You, you, you, what are you talking about? If you keep talking nonsense, I'll take you to the government office and sue you for slander. I hate poor scholars who can't explain themselves and can only talk nonsense."
Qiao Yu chuckled: "If you can find someone to speak for you, I won't bother with you. If you can't find one, let's go to the officials and discuss what crime it is to slander others and judge their right and wrong."
It was obvious that he was not just saying this to the scholars, but also to those who had just been talking about him.
The scholar cast his eyes first at the victim, Wang Xin, but she was pulled back by her companions in the caravan: "He is the son of the city lord. You don't want to stay here anymore. We worked hard to come to Mingzhou City, and we still have to do business. We have a family to support."
Wang Xin had caused trouble for the caravan because of her bad mouth. If she left the caravan, the money she could earn in a year would definitely not be enough to support her family. At this time, she thought of her husband and daughter at home, and sat down reluctantly, not daring to meet the scholar's eyes.
The scholar cast his eyes on the innkeeper again. The innkeeper, who was hiding under the cabinet, poked his head out and said something that made the scholar even more desperate: "This table is broken by itself. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
In a small inn like theirs, if things were smashed, the young masters and ladies would basically compensate for it privately. It was just a little shock but no actual loss.
But if she had to argue with them on the spot and not give them face, let alone compensation, she might even lose her business.
He stepped forward himself, but he didn't expect these people to react like this. The scholar, who had nowhere to turn to, asked around, but no one was willing to speak for him.
Those who talk about other people's gossip behind their backs are just people who know how to talk big. Naturally, they will not sacrifice their own interests to speak for scholars.
The scholar pointed at several people who looked kind-hearted, but they all turned their heads away and said nothing, or waved their hands repeatedly and said they didn't know. She turned around and her eyes fell on another person dressed like a scholar in the inn.
She pointed her finger at Hao Cheng: "Ask her, ask her!"
Hao Cheng was applauding the scholar's courage and was secretly impressed by the sharp tongue of the young master of the city lord's family. As a result, the scholar took his anger out on her.
Everyone in the inn focused their attention on Hao Cheng's face. Facing the extremely pitiful look of the scholar, she still spoke the truth: "I saw it just now. The wounds on that man's body were indeed caused by the young master. This table was also cracked by the whip in the young master's hand."
The scholar was so pitiful, and the whip in the young man's hand was stained with dark red blood and sawdust. She couldn't go against her conscience and lie.
The scholar felt relieved, and almost collapsed to the ground. When Hao Cheng said this, all the pressure was transferred to her.
Seeing that the people around him looked at him strangely, Hao Cheng quickly made amends: "It's just that, in my opinion, what this lady said is also wrong."
In a world like the one she lives in, some people are really mean-spirited and want others to tear their mouths off. However, in a society ruled by law, people should be civilized and polite. If a person is particularly mean-spirited and meets someone fierce and fierce who makes him suffer, those who are insulted by him will only feel happy.
In this world, a man's reputation is very important. If a thin-skinned young man was said like this, he might be ashamed to death. But if Qiao Yu was a lady from a noble family, she would never go to such a place and be mocked by Wang Xin.
She pointed at Wang Xin who was shrinking his head and said, "The one who flirts first is a lowly person. A man's reputation is important. She was the first to offend, so you are naturally qualified to teach her a lesson. But you also did something wrong."
Qiao Yu looked at her with a half-smile: "Since you said she should be taught a lesson, then what did I do wrong?"
"She offended you because she couldn't control her mouth. You sent someone to slap her a few times to make her realize her mistake. Her shoulders and clothes are innocent. You are kind-hearted. It is wrong to hurt them with a whip."
She looked earnest, and said this as if it was supposed to be so.
Qiao Yu didn't say anything, and Hao Cheng was sweating. A lady next to her was shouting, "It's sunny outside, and there's a rainbow outside!"
Seeing that the rain had stopped, Qiao Yu picked up his whip and walked out of the inn with the young ladies. Before leaving, he looked at Hao Cheng meaningfully.
Hao Cheng changed to a table far away from the group of people. The scholar came over to thank her again: "Thank you, sister Xian, for helping me out. I was so scared just now."
Hao Cheng only said two sentences in a low voice: "I advise you not to talk about other people's right and wrong. And if you want to stand up for someone, you have to see if she is worth it." The scholar has a good temper, and she will not regret speaking for her at the risk of her life. But Wang Xin will only make people feel disappointed.
This is not a place where everyone is equal. If it was a noble man, such as the emperor, Wang Xin might lose his life, not to mention a whip. Being whipped like this can make Wang Xin remember it for a long time, which is actually a good thing for her. Otherwise, next time, if he is so ignorant, she will not know how to lose her life.
After admonishing the scholar, Hao Cheng's heart was not as calm as she appeared. She still had to take root in Mingzhou City. She seemed to have offended the son of the city lord the day before. She hoped that the other party would not bear a grudge.