Chapter Twenty-Four: Sweeping Star

  Inside the city of Shazhou, on Fengxi Street, every shop was bustling with activity, but this only made the house on the east side of the street seem even more desolate. Although it was summer, the garden in the west courtyard was always shaded by greenery and couldn't let in a single ray of light, making it the coolest place in the house.

  At this moment, an old man and a young boy were in the garden, the youngster sitting comfortably in a rattan chair with his eyes closed, suddenly opening his fan with a "whoosh" sound and gently fanning himself. Lei Yi looked at the fan with the words "Thousand Years of Elegance" written in Liu's calligraphy and sighed inwardly. His master often said that those who indulged in literary tricks were useless to the country, and he looked down on scholars who only knew how to show off their eloquence.

  But the young master had a fondness for this sort of thing. If he weren't of such a high status, if his delicate and youthful face could have a few more human expressions, perhaps he would live a happier life.

  "I heard that the Crown Prince has already followed Miss Liu to Zhuxian Town, and Chui Feng has gone too, so please don't worry, Young Master. However, I thought that considering how you treated Miss Liu that day, you would also go to join in on the fun." Although the Young Master was still young and lived alone in the villa on Shazhou Island, none of the maids or servants dared to even glance at him, let alone speak jokingly in front of him. But Lei Yi was an exception. It wasn't that he relied on his master's status in the capital, but rather that Lei Yi had also gained the Young Master's favor in the Shazhou villa. However, Lei Yi always felt that such a mature demeanor didn't suit the Young Master at all."

  "Let the fallen moon follow, the one living in the Cloud City is a madman, and it's hard for Chui Feng to deal with him alone." The young man picked up a green grape from the fruit plate on his left hand and slowly put it into his mouth. His movements seemed slower than usual, but everything looked pleasant in the summer courtyard. He lightly spat out the grape skin and leaned back in his rattan chair, "How can that place compare to the comfort of our mansion? As for what's in the madman's hands, I'm sure the Crown Prince will bring it back himself. We're all one family, after all. His troubles are mine too." At this point, even Xia Riyan's back couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Can some things be shared among family members? Like power, like the throne in the great hall?

  。。。。。。

  On the first day in Zhuxian Town, Qi Xie seemed to have a good time. Meeting old friends in his hometown was an exciting thing, although many of the other person's behaviors were not particularly pleasing to him. However, considering that all expenses were covered by the other party, he didn't bother to argue with him. At the same time, Qi Xie also learned what it means to have someone backing you up in official circles. Of course, this matter wasn't exaggerated, but it made Qi Xie understand a principle: rules and regulations become useless when faced with the children of officials. Initially, Ah Guan went to the government office to handle the travel permit, as he was familiar with these matters and knew the unwritten rules. However, that corrupt official still refused, saying that recently the higher-ups had ordered an investigation into Western Qin spies within the borders, and the travel permit could not be issued under any circumstances, unless they waited for some time until the alert was lifted.

  When Ah Guan returned, Zhu Chengxun was also there. So this young master handed over the gold-inlaid jade waist card on his body to Yan Xiao Yi, and let him run to the government office again. When Yan Xiao Yi came back, he already had a pass, it seemed that the waist card "made a fortune". However, with Zhu Chengxun as a scapegoat in front, everything went smoothly. Zhuxiantown was still a place where two countries intersected, and some buildings in the town already had an exotic style.

  The houses in Eastern Jin often used bluish bricks as materials to build and repair, with a simple style that gives people a sense of solemnity. The tea house across the street also used bluish bricks, but added a gatehouse at the entrance. Traditional Eastern Jin-style mansions do not have gatehouses, which must have been introduced from Western Qin. The pillars of the gatehouse were made of high-quality white jade, and the carvings on top were either flying celestial maidens similar to those in Dunhuang or auspicious objects often mentioned in folk tales. After wandering around Zhu Xian Town for a day, I was no longer surprised by such things. If it was an ordinary residence across the street, the people living inside must be wealthy, and their eagerness to show off to the world was already evident in the exterior decorations of the mansion's gate.

  Qī Xié was a person who liked to join in the excitement, and she found that when a man wearing an old linen shirt walked up to the gate of the mansion, many servants rushed out from inside, holding wooden clubs, seemingly waiting for their master's order to beat the poor-looking man in front of them into a pulp. A hint of anger flashed across Qī Xié's eyes - no matter who that person was, he shouldn't be beaten by a group of people.

  "What's the hurry, don't you even want to see who's right or wrong before rushing over?" Zhu Chengxun glanced over there with a faint smile, looking at Qi Xian, this guy was really stupidly lovable, like him, so weak and thin, didn't he think that maybe in a moment he would be beaten into a pig head by those strong men? His mother had said that people who are pitied must have done something to deserve it, and he didn't know what this person had done to end up in such a state.

  The teahouse and that house are not far apart, so the quarrel that took place there was heard clearly over here.

  "Brother Sweeper Star, what are you doing wandering around during the day? Today is our ancestor's birthday, don't come and stir up trouble for the Song family."

  "Oh no, what bad luck! Of all days, I ran into Sweep Star on the way out. Sweep Star, hurry up and leave!"

  From the mansion, not only did the servants with ugly faces rush out, but also the relatives of the three aunts and seven uncles followed. They pointed at the young man outside the door, talking about him as if he was the "Sweeping Star" they mentioned. Why would they give someone such an unlucky name? The family members didn't seem to be blind followers either. However, the young man's face didn't show any anger, but instead looked like a child who had done something wrong, hanging his head and muttering: "I knew today was Grandma's birthday, so I wanted to come and pay my respects."

  "I'm only worried that your mother can't take it, you know you're a jinx and bring bad luck to people, so try not to go out on the streets during the day. Just yesterday, Uncle Dong from next street had just treated you to a bowl of tea water, and then he fell down from the mountain and broke his leg! I'm begging you, please don't harm any more people!" The middle-aged man with a face full of disgust said to the young boy, in his eyes, the child was like a plague.

  "Second Uncle, about that piece of land you took over from me last year, can't you return it to me? I'm already eighteen this year. When Father passed away, you said it was just temporary custody and would be returned to me when I turned eighteen. We're all members of the Song family."

  "What land? What land are you talking about, you good-for-nothing rascal? Who doesn't know that I, Song Dafu, have plenty of money and land? You'd better not try to swindle me with your few broken plots of land. If you keep pestering me, I'll make sure to send you to see the magistrate."

  "We're all from the Song family, Second Uncle, why must you make things difficult for me?"

  "A member of the Song family? When did our Song family produce a jinx like you?" Song Dafu pretended to think for a moment, then suddenly realized and said, "Although Third Brother broke with the family because of that cheap woman back then, he is still a member of my Song family after all. But everyone knows that women from brothels are always unclean, who knows whose child you are, probably not even she herself remembers! The heavens are watching, that woman's spawn killed her own parents, it's karma!"

  "Alright, let's go see the official. You can refuse to let me kowtow to my grandmother, you can refuse to return the fields to me, but you cannot deny that I am a member of the Song family. My mother may have had a humble background, but she was deeply devoted to my father, and it's not like what you said - that she was despicable." The young man, who had been timid and reserved, could endure the cold ridicule and sarcastic remarks from others, but when someone spoke ill of his mother, he would become furious. Qiuniang felt sympathetic towards him, but thought that even if they went to see the official, it wouldn't do much good. In ancient times, wasn't blood recognition the most popular method? Unfortunately, this child's father was no longer alive. Theoretically, as long as his father's remains were still around, he could prove his identity. However, in this era, this would be considered a great disrespect to the dead, and for a wealthy family like theirs, it should be a taboo thing to do.

  Because the young man was making a big fuss in front of the mansion, the evil slaves who were originally surrounding him also rushed over and beat him up. The young man looked malnourished to begin with, how could he withstand such a brutal beating? That fat guy named Song Da Fu just snorted coldly and led his family back into the mansion. Qi Mei had always been afraid of death, but she couldn't bear to watch this young man being beaten to death by those evil slaves.

  "Stop it, all of you!" The teahouse and the mansion were only a few steps apart, and those thugs also stopped their hands due to this loud shout. The onlookers cast their eyes towards the man standing outside the teahouse in his magnificent attire, while Qiuli took a step forward to help up the young man who was lying on the ground.

  "Hair hasn't even grown yet and you dare to interfere with the Song family's affairs, be careful or you'll get beaten up too." Those wicked slaves were extremely arrogant, stopping their hands was only temporary, soon those clubs fell like raindrops again, Qiuli only felt a sharp pain in her waist but still instinctively protected the young man.

  "You still don't know the law, do you? In broad daylight, you dare to treat me as if I'm transparent." Just then, the prefect, dressed in his red official robes, appeared before Zhu Qian like an angel. Actually, some of the onlookers who had been watching with growing unease but didn't dare to step forward and advise them had already run off to report the incident to the authorities. The prefect had just learned from the waist plaque that a noble was in Zhuxiantown and was thinking of going to curry favor when this happened, so he took advantage of the situation. He first glared at them, then bowed his head like a hound dog: "I apologize for startling you, young master. It's my fault." This prefect was also a cunning person who naturally knew that those princes and young masters were traveling incognito because they didn't want to be recognized, so he used this form of address, which would surely please the other party.

  Although he was beaten with a few sticks, fortunately, there were no injuries or accidents. Qi Xian secretly felt relieved that the pig had come in handy at the critical moment.

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  Commercial break, friendly recommendation:

  "Emperor's Brocade" Wu Fei

  ISBN: 978-7-5442-1763-61

  The Emperor's mighty reign is but a jest, while brocade is reduced to ashes, washed away by the passage of time.

  The legend of a fallen country's imperial princess in a chaotic world