Chapter Thirty-Four: Childhood Sweethearts

“Let me ask you this: your horse was startled and nearly injured a passerby. As the owner, instead of checking if anyone was hurt, you insisted they compensate you for the horse. Shouldn’t you be punished for that?”

Li Pingyang stood up, and the young lord quickly followed suit. Seeing Li Pingyang raise his hand as if to slap him again, the young lord was so frightened that he immediately crouched down, covering his face with his hands, terrified of another hit.

With a face full of grievance, he explained that his legs had gone numb.

The young lord, with his fierce features paired with such a pitiful expression, struck Li Pingyang as quite amusing. Seeing that the young lord didn’t seem to be pretending, Li Pingyang nodded in agreement and allowed him to stand.

The young lord stood up, rubbing his sore face, muttering to himself, “Is this man even human? Why does his slap hurt so much more than anyone else’s?”

Little did he know that Li Pingyang had added a touch of domineering force to his slap—not only did it sting, but it also had a psychological impact.

Rubbing his face absentmindedly, the young lord finally replied, “I deserved it. But that horse of mine is a rare and valuable breed.”

Seeing Li Pingyang lift his hand as if to strike again, the young lord hastily changed his tune: “Honestly, I never liked that horse anyway. It deserved to die! You did the right thing! If you hadn’t done it, I would have.”

Li Pingyang, satisfied, lowered his hand and continued, “So, do you still expect compensation? If so, I’ll pay you.”

The young lord thought, “That would be great,” but quickly said aloud, “No, no need! The horse wasn’t worth much. It’s dead, that’s all. As long as no one was hurt, that’s what matters.”

As he spoke, the young lord reluctantly pulled a money pouch from his clothes and tossed it to the woman and her daughter.

The moment she saw the pouch, the woman turned pale and refused to take it, no matter what. For embroidered on the pouch was the character “Su.”

The Su family was the foremost household in Cangzhou; not a soul in the city didn’t know their name. Su’s Tofu was renowned, its business reaching all the way to the imperial palace, where even the highest ministers were regular customers.

In other words, the Su family had powerful backing. By slapping the young lord, Li Pingyang had offended them.

Since her daughter hadn’t been hurt and the young lord had not pursued the matter, this was the best possible outcome. How could she dare accept the money? She bowed deeply to Li Pingyang in gratitude, then quickly pulled her daughter away. As they hurried off, the girl kept looking back, only to have her mother pinch her arm in admonition.

“Well… can I go now?”

Having offered compensation—though the other party dared not accept—the young lord asked Li Pingyang for leave. Li Pingyang waved his hand, motioning for him to be off, and at his signal, the servant who had been feigning death on the ground scrambled up to help the young lord away.

Passing through the street and turning into a deserted alleyway, the young lord pulled his servant aside and whispered, “Don’t tell my father anything about what happened today! Pretend you saw nothing.”

The servant nodded immediately. The young lord continued, “Find out everything you can about that boy. Look for an opportunity—get someone to kidnap him. I want to deal with him myself.”

Rubbing his face, the young lord’s anger only grew; his eyes bulged with indignation. No one had ever dared strike him before—not even his own father.

The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, until tears began to fall. The servant, at a loss, gathered the young lord’s plump body into his arms and patted his back in consolation. The young lord only wept harder, his sobs growing louder and louder.

Splash!

A basin of foot-washing water suddenly came pouring down from above, drenching them both to the bone. A shrewish woman thrust open a window and shouted, “Are you trying to die? Stop that racket! If you want to wail for the dead, do it somewhere else!”

The young lord reached up and touched his face—what a stench. He spat twice in disgust, then, infuriated, grabbed a stone from the ground and prepared to hurl it. Seeing this, the servant wiped his own face with his sleeve and hurried to stop him.

“Fat hag! Why don’t you come down here if you dare? I’ll beat you to a pulp!” The servant held him back as he shouted up at the window, spitting wildly.

The fat woman planted her fists on her hips, eyes bulging. “Who are you calling a fat hag? With my slender waist, which eye of yours sees me as fat? You pig!”

The insult struck a nerve, and the young lord’s spirit was crushed. Instantly, he rolled up his sleeves, cupped his hands around his mouth, and began shouting “fat hag” over and over like a broken record.

The fat woman’s face turned purple with rage; she looked as if she might leap from the window and flatten him in a single blow.

“You stay right there! I’ll deal with you myself today!”

Gnashing her teeth, the woman started to close the window and head downstairs. Suddenly remembering something, she looked down and called, “Doughball, get them!”

A dark shadow ambled over. The two men turned to see a large dog sitting behind them, tongue lolling, staring intently.

Sensing the situation, the young lord quickly dropped the stone and smiled at the dog, spreading his hands to show he was unarmed.

The servant followed suit. Unfortunately, as the stone fell, it landed squarely on his foot, crushing his shoe and freezing his smile in place. He opened his mouth to cry out, but the young lord clamped a hand over his mouth, muffling his pain.

The big dog didn’t seem interested in attacking, merely lying down but never taking its eyes off them.

“Run!”

“Young master, wait for me!”

Seeing the dog unmoving, the young lord shouted and took off at a sprint. The servant hobbled after him, and only then did the dog give chase, barking madly.

…

Meanwhile, after the young lord’s departure, Li Pingyang found himself hoisted aloft by the crowd and tossed into the air amid boisterous cheers.

Many among the crowd had suffered at the young lord’s hands but dared not speak out due to fear of the Su family. Today, Li Pingyang had avenged them.

After being tossed twice, Li Pingyang, from the edge of the throng, caught sight of a woman with a vegetable basket. She was staring at him, rooted to the spot.

With a crash, the basket fell to the ground and the woman cried out, “Young master!”

Once set down, Li Pingyang realized she looked very familiar and began searching his memory. Drawing on Li Gou Dan’s recollections, he remembered her as Little Dragonfly, a childhood playmate.

Little Dragonfly was an orphan, taken in by Li Gou Dan’s mother, but she was proud and refused to accept charity without working, so she had lived with the Li family as a maid.

She was fresh-faced and delicate, looking even younger than Li Pingyang, perhaps just about his age or even younger.

In Li Gou Dan’s memory, Little Dragonfly had always been as flat as a boy, but now, she had blossomed, her figure more mature than her years.

Picking up her basket, Little Dragonfly approached, circling Li Pingyang and peering at him closely. Leaning in, she whispered, “Young master, who is this?”

“He…”

Zhou Li pricked up his ears, and before Li Pingyang could answer, he interjected, “My name is Zhou Li. You’re truly beautiful! If you don’t mind, you can call me Brother Zhou.”

Li Pingyang rolled his eyes. “Look at you around a girl!” Placing a hand on Zhou Li’s shoulder, he ordered him to fetch the horses so they could head home.