Blossom

Since ancient times, the people have never dared to oppose the officials.

Chen Xiaofeng’s expression darkened. “Miss, I’m afraid we’re in trouble—Pang Kunbai has likely secretly borrowed troops from the military garrison to help him…”

Since they’ve already acted, would the Pang family spare them if they surrendered now?

Dou Zhao’s anger burned even fiercer. “Can you guarantee you can detain them?”

Chen Xiaofeng hesitated. “We are all commoners…”

In other words, they were capable of detaining them but were restrained by the men’s official status.

“Then detain them all!” Dou Zhao decisively cut off Chen Xiaofeng’s words. “If they dare to be so audacious, what do we have to fear? If we can detain them all, the collusion between officials and bandits will be exposed. Even if Wang Xingyi is the Shaanxi Governor, he won’t be able to cover it up!” With that, she turned and strode outside. “I want to see who has the nerve to mobilize garrison troops for the Pang family’s private affairs!”

Seeing Dou Zhao’s confident demeanor, Chen Xiaofeng felt slightly reassured.

Perhaps to them, the Shaanxi Governor was an unreachable high official, but the Dou family didn’t even bat an eye!

For such a young lady of the Dou family to face trouble head-on—just this boldness alone made it worth helping her in this fight.

What a pity she was a young lady and not a young master!

Sighing inwardly, he followed Dou Zhao out of the hall.

In the courtyard, Uncle Duan and the others stood frozen, their expressions grave. Pang Kunbai and his followers lay sprawled on the ground, moaning in pain, utterly defenseless.

When Dou Zhao stepped out, all eyes turned to her.

“There’s no need to worry!” Dou Zhao stood straight on the steps, her demeanor calm yet commanding. “No matter who comes, colluding with bandits is a crime punishable by exile. As I’ve said, if anything happens, the Dou family will take full responsibility. All you need to do is ensure none of them escape.”

Despite her words, Dou Zhao was still a young woman, and many hesitated. However, Uncle Duan spoke up, “At this point, there’s only one path forward—to see it through. The more we hesitate, the more fear will paralyze us, and the less likely we’ll succeed. If we fail, our lives will be at stake. Let’s unite and overcome this crisis first. At worst, we can flee beyond the borders and hide for a few years.” He then joked, “Since Miss Dou has already paid us so generously, I doubt she’d mind sparing a few more taels for our families’ expenses. Isn’t that right, Miss Dou?”

Uncle Duan seemed to hold great authority among them. As soon as he finished speaking, the group burst into laughter, their tension easing.

“Naturally,” Dou Zhao replied with a smile.

Seeing that Dou Zhao valued his words, Uncle Duan volunteered to organize everyone for the impending confrontation.

The thunderous sound of galloping horses came to an abrupt halt outside the gate. With a loud crash, the door was kicked down, and several guards in dark clothing stormed in.

Dou Zhao froze.

Weren’t these Ji Yong’s attendants?

Ji Yong’s attendants were equally stunned.

Wasn’t the Dou family’s young lady supposed to have been kidnapped?But there stood Miss Dou, perfectly unharmed, surrounded by burly guards, with injured men groaning at her feet... This didn’t look like a kidnapping at all—more like she had used her influence to bully and beat someone up...

Dou Zhao quickly shouted, “Stop!”

Someone urgently pushed through the crowd of attendants in blue robes and rushed forward. “What’s going on? Why are you all just standing there? Where’s Fourth Sister?” The voice, though anxious, still carried an air of refinement.

It was Wu Shan’s voice.

Dou Zhao suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

But Wu Shan stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. “Wh-what on earth is happening?”

He looked up, bewildered, at Dou Zhao, who appeared completely unharmed. He couldn’t understand why so many unfamiliar guards had suddenly appeared around her. Even more baffling was how a delicate young woman like her had managed to escape unscathed...

“What’s wrong?” Dou Dechang and Ji Yong, who had been following Wu Shan, also squeezed their way in. When they saw the scene in the courtyard, they were equally dumbfounded!

※※※※※

“...At the time, I was so panicked that all I could think about was getting help as quickly as possible. I was afraid Su Xin wouldn’t be familiar with the household and might waste time finding someone, and since her senior brother works as a guard, I sent her to fetch Guard Chen. I didn’t think much beyond that.” Dou Zhao sat facing Wu Shan and Ji Yong, with Su Xin, Su Lan, and Su Juan standing to her left and Dou Dechang seated to her right. Nearly two hours had passed since the incident. The courtyard had been cleaned up, and Pang Kunbai—along with his surviving attendants—had been locked in the main hall. Chen Xiaofeng and Old Duan were patrolling the courtyard with the others, while Ji Yong’s attendants had yet to return with the physician. Seizing the opportunity, she recounted the events to Dou Dechang, Wu Shan, and Ji Yong. “...I was so furious that I ordered Guard Chen and the others to teach those kidnappers a lesson... Who knew Pang Kunbai would turn out to know them? When he started shouting about who he was, of course I didn’t believe him—I thought it was some trick by the kidnappers. Who could’ve guessed it was really Pang Kunbai!” She sighed. “Thankfully, Twelfth Brother, Fourth Brother Wu, and Cousin Ji arrived in time. Otherwise, if Pang Kunbai had been beaten to death, things would’ve gotten messy.”

Inwardly, though, she grumbled about why they couldn’t have arrived a little later—by then, not even divine intervention could’ve saved Pang Kunbai. She also complained silently about Old Duan and the others not hitting harder to finish Pang Kunbai off for good.

Outside, Old Duan sneezed several times in a row.

He muttered to himself, Who’s cursing me? Good thing I had the sense to hold back when Pang Kunbai started screaming—if I’d punched that bastard to death, we’d be in real trouble now! Still, that scoundrel’s skin is split, his bones are shattered, and it’ll take him three to five years just to walk again, let alone touch a woman!

The thought made him smirk with satisfaction.

Finally, he’d gotten to teach a lecher like that a lesson without restraint.

He rubbed his nose and straightened his posture, continuing his patrol with his head held high.

Inside, Dou Dechang and Wu Shan thought of Pang Kunbai’s unrecognizable state and found themselves at a loss for words.

The two stood dumbfounded, silent for a long while.

It was Ji Yong who finally spoke. “Two of the kidnappers are dead, two are injured, and six of Pang Kunbai’s attendants have been killed. What do you plan to do now, Cousin Dou?”

He looked at Dou Zhao, his eyes gleaming brightly.

Dou Zhao found his expression odd.After causing such a commotion, why wasn't this cousin from the Ji family thinking about how to help her clean up the mess? Instead, he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, as if watching an exciting show!

She recalled Sixth Aunt's words...

Could he be a hypocrite?

Dou Zhao declared firmly, "Naturally, it must be handed over to the authorities—it's a murder case!"

Ji Yong nodded repeatedly, adopting a serious expression. "Cousin Dou is right. Such a serious matter should indeed be handed over to the authorities."

"No! Absolutely not!" Wu Shan jumped up as if his tail had been set on fire, exclaiming sharply, "If we hand it over to the authorities, will Fourth Sister have to testify in court? Besides, the Dou family is in Zhen Ding, while the Pang family is in Ling Shou. If this goes to the authorities, the case will inevitably be tried in Zhen Ding Prefecture. If Fourth Sister's reputation suffers because of this, it would be better to settle it privately."

Dou Dechang also came to his senses and added, "Exactly! What kind of people are the Pangs? Just upstarts! We can't let this rat ruin Fourth Sister's reputation!"

"It seems you two cousins lack experience in handling such disputes," Ji Yong said with a smile, looking at Dou Dechang and Wu Shan, his tone exuding a sense of superiority and experience. "The Dou family has been an official lineage for generations, and Fifth Master Dou serves as a Vice Minister in the Ministry of Personnel. The Pangs are mere commoners—how can they compete with us? If we report this, the prefect of Zhen Ding will surely suppress the news first and consult Fifth Master Dou's opinion before making a decision. This way, we can both extricate ourselves from the murder case and gain favor with the prefect—after all, we are under his jurisdiction. Even if we don't hold him in high regard, we should still give him face. As for Cousin Dou's reputation, we just need to insist that we were all together at the time. How could they claim she was abducted alone by bandits? Even if the Pangs try to frame us, can't we defend ourselves?"

It sounded quite reasonable.

But why did it still feel off?

Dou Dechang and Wu Shan nodded, exchanging glances. Both saw doubt in each other's eyes and wanted to ask further, but Ji Yong had already waved his hand dismissively. "Just trust me on this! I'll testify for Fourth Sister when the time comes."

That's right!

Ji Yong was a Recommended Man.

With Ji Yong as a witness, how could Prefect Lu not believe them?

Blindly swayed by his status, the two nodded in confusion.

"Then it's settled," Ji Yong said, the corners of his lips curling into a pleased smile as he called loudly for his attendant, "Wang Pu! Take my name card and report this to the authorities."

Only then did Dou Dechang and Wu Shan realize—

They hadn't even consulted the elders about this!

"Wait!" Dou Dechang's face darkened as he shouted, "Cousin Ji, this matter concerns the Dou family's reputation. I think we should inform the elders before reporting it to the authorities...""Trust me, you won’t regret it." As Ji Yong spoke, he waved his hand. The man named Wang Pu bowed respectfully to Dou Dechang and immediately withdrew, leaving no chance for Dou Dechang to continue speaking. "Back home, I used to assist my grandfather in handling some minor affairs. This concerns Fourth Sister’s reputation and the Dou family’s honor—I wouldn’t act recklessly." He then joked, "If anything really goes wrong, not to mention my grandfather, even my aunt would skin me alive. You can rest assured!"

Really?

Dou Dechang and Wu Shan eyed Ji Yong skeptically.

Meanwhile, Dou Zhao, who had calmed down after venting her frustrations internally, stared at Ji Yong in surprise.

What was Ji Yong planning?

Bypassing the family elders and directly exposing the matter, forcing the Dou family to clean up the mess to save face, and making Pang Jia swallow the bitter pill even if they dragged Wang Xingyi into it—this had been her own plan. How did Ji Yong seem to read her mind?

Dou Zhao studied Ji Yong.

Ji Yong turned and smiled at her.

The smile was gentle, carrying the wisdom of a learned scholar yet mixed with the playful cunning of a child—like a spear and shield, strange yet harmonious, leaving a deep impression.