Chapter 123: Do You Even Deserve to Talk About Future Prospects With Me?

“Hate the sky without a ring, hate, hate the earth without a handle, alone, alone I charge.”

At the Honglu Temple Ward Military Patrol Post, Li Si leaned against the doorframe, gasping, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Ding Suian, sitting by the fire, looked at him strangely. “Old Li, get to the point.”

Li Si finally gave up and said directly, “Dutou, Third Master wants to snatch the Dutou’s, his two ladies.”

He finished in one breath, then immediately started gasping again.

Inside the Military Patrol Post, which had been boisterous moments before, a sudden silence fell. Ding Suian had already stood up.

Snatch my two ladies?

When did I ever have two ladies?

The confusion flashed through his mind—only Zhao Yan constantly had ‘husband’ on her lips.

Although he didn’t know what had happened, seeing Li Si’s state, he knew it was urgent.

“Where are they?”

“Yulin Street, opposite Nixia Silk Shop.”

No sooner had Li Si finished speaking than Ding Suian, saber in hand, leaped out, landing directly on the street more than ten feet outside the Military Patrol Post, and immediately began to run wildly.

Inside the Military Patrol Post, Wang Xigui, Chest Hair, and others, who had reacted a few breaths slower, exchanged glances and rushed out in unison.

“Someone’s snatching our sister-in-law! Brothers, help the Dutou get her back!”

“By my sister-in-law’s tits! The last few who dared to snatch women from our chief, their grave grass is already a foot high!”

“Gongye, why are you bringing a bow and arrows? It’s not bandit suppression, damn it!”

Dozens of Elite Cavalry Soldiers, sabers clanking, ran in a noisy rush, making quite a commotion.

Some bewildered neighbors, thinking a military rebellion had broken out, quickly closed their doors.

But more people, seeing the Elite Cavalry suddenly mobilize, quickly followed to watch the excitement.

Only then did Li Si, still gasping by the door, finally gather another breath. “Dutou, your round-faced lady broke Third Master’s arm.”

The Elite Cavalry’s figures were already out of sight.

A few hundred steps away, Ding Suian turned into Yulin Street and already saw a group of bare-chested men surrounding Ruan Ruan and Zhao Yan.

Although these men hadn’t made any overtly offensive moves, Ruan Ruan was clearly on guard, shielding Zhao Yan behind her.

Ding Suian’s steps were swift and silent. Upon approaching, he said nothing, simply picked one, and kicked him from behind, sending him flying.

This fighting style wasn’t elegant, but it was satisfying.

His companion was ambushed, letting out a cry of surprise. The other ruffians all turned back, their street-fighting instincts driving them to immediately surround him.

But seeing the Vermilion Bird Army uniform on Ding Suian, they hesitated for a moment.

Just then, Wang Xigui arrived on the battlefield with the main force from behind.

“Wait!”

Seeing that the other party meant trouble, Lai Sanhu, whose right arm had been partially

But Chest Hair, who rushed forward, wouldn’t give him a chance to speak. He grabbed Lai Sanhu’s left wrist and punched him in the face. “By your sister-in-law’s tits! You dare to bully the chief’s woman!”

Like autumn winds sweeping fallen leaves, a dozen or so people were instantly caught in the fray, with none escaping.

The neighbors, seeing that the ones being beaten were Lai Sanhu and his gang, who had extorted’street-cleaning fees’ from everyone for years, dared not applaud or cheer, but secretly reveled in schadenfreude.

The battlefield had no tactics or formations; it was simply a dozen or so ruffians being surrounded and kicked by thirty to forty Soldiers.

Ding Suian was even squeezed out.

He turned and walked towards Ruan Ruan and Zhao Yan. “How did you two get here?”

“I, I made pan-fried lamb.”

Ruan Ruan, still under the psychological impact of breaking someone’s arm, mumbled this, then subconsciously looked back at Zhao Yan.

Who knew… Zhao Yan was gone.

Probably feeling she had caused trouble, Ruan Ruan stammered, “Brother Yuanxi. I, I broke that man’s arm. I, I didn’t know he was so vulnerable to electricity.”

“Oh?”

Ding Suian turned and squatted, but in his line of sight, besides the Elite Cavalry’s chaotic kicks, he couldn’t see any victims.

And Zhao Yan… had already joined the fray.

“Brother Gong, let me kick a few times too.”

Gongye Ni turned his head, saw it was Zhao Yan, immediately made space for her, and with a pull of his hands, Zhao Yan squeezed in.

Bang, bang, two kicks.

The regret of not having been able to fight earlier was now satisfied.

The little fox was content.

Wang Jar, bruised and swollen, came up to Ding Suian and explained what had happened.

About a hundred breaths later.

Wang Xigui, worried about causing fatalities, dissuaded his comrades and dragged Lai Sanhu and the others, like dead dogs, to the wall by the street.

To avoid obstructing traffic.

The ruffians groaned and moaned, many with broken arms and legs.

Ding Suian walked over to Lai Sanhu. He had been left alone, and he was also the most severely injured; not only was half of his right arm missing, but his left wrist seemed dislocated, his nose was caved in, and he had lost at least three teeth.

Ding Suian slowly squatted down. “Old friend, do you remember me?”

Lai Sanhu slumped against the wall, one eye swollen shut. He could only look at him with his left eye and said, “You, you are Ding Suian.”

“Oh, you’re not even willing to call me Dutou Ding.”

Calling someone by their full name is very impolite.

He didn’t expect Lai Sanhu to be so unyielding even after being beaten like this.

This made Ding Suian’s heart pound—of course, it was pounding with murderous intent.

Originally, the plan was to corner Lai Sanhu and his gang on Yulin Street, beat them up, and make them afraid to come back.

By a strange twist of fate, it had come to the same conclusion.

“Heh heh, Dutou Ding, I, Lai, admit defeat this time. I won’t report it to the authorities. We’ll have ample opportunities in the future.”

Oh, you want to have ample opportunities with me, do you?

Ding Suian was surprised again and again.

Without bragging, I’m considered a rising star in the military now. Do you, a mere ruffian, really deserve to talk about ample opportunities?

“Aren’t you afraid of death?”

This wasn’t a threat, but genuine curiosity.

“Heh heh~” Lai Sanhu spat out a mouthful of blood, tilted his head to glance at Ruan Ruan, who was twisting her fingers not far away, then looked at Ding Suian and said, “You, you can’t kill me.”

“Why?”

“Because I am~” Lai Sanhu’s swollen face twitched as he forced a smile at Ding Suian. “I work for Prince of Linping. I am the Prince’s man.”

Prince of Linping, the Fourth Imperial Grandson. By age, he was second only to Prince Anping, the Second Imperial Grandson, and a few years older than Chen Yi.

Ding Suian thought for a moment, then stood up, drew his Kunwu saber, and slowly pressed its tip downwards, directly above Lai Sanhu’s heart.

Lai Sanhu’s upward gaze first showed shock, then a flicker of fear, but then disbelief.

He had already revealed his master. Even if Ding Suian was a rising star, Lai Sanhu didn’t believe he would dare to offend an imperial descendant.

“Jar~”

Ding Suian called out, and Wang Jar quickly stepped forward.

“Just now, did you report the Imperial Guard’s name, and they still wanted to beat you to death?”

“Uh, yes!”

“Great Wu Law: Attacking the Imperial Guard is akin to treason. Traitors can be executed by anyone!”

These words were still not a threat, but a declaration of his crime.

But Lai Sanhu, at this moment, already fully understood Ding Suian’s sincerity in killing him. He quickly used all his strength and shouted again, “I am Cha—”

Ding Suian’s hand on the hilt pressed down hard. Flesh, like rotten leather, offered no resistance, and the blade tip pierced the pericardium.

Lai Sanhu’s unfinished words turned into a mouthful of blood spray. His body slowly slumped to the ground, twitching uncontrollably. In his remaining consciousness, a hint of regret suddenly arose. If he hadn’t been so arrogant just now, would he have lived?

“Don’t tarnish the reputation of an imperial descendant. You’re just a ruffian. How would Prince of Linping know you?”

Ding Suian thoughtfully instructed. Lai Sanhu’s body slowly slumped to the ground, twitching uncontrollably. In his remaining consciousness, a hint of regret suddenly arose. If he hadn’t been so arrogant just now, would he have lived?

This fellow was probably beaten silly.

Since he had invoked the name of Prince of Linping, Ding Suian could only pretend not to know. And to pretend not to know, he had to kill him.

“Dutou, what about the rest of these people? Should we send them to the yamen?”

“Send them to the yamen for what? Send them to Commander Li and tell him that a group of people conspired to rebel and attacked Imperial Guard Soldiers, and the ringleader, Lai Sanhu, has been killed.”

Wang Xigui immediately replied, “Understood!”

The curious neighbors finally witnessed a great spectacle this time.

A moment later, Ding Suian, holding his blood-stained saber, sat on the threshold of the Cai Ji Rouge Shop. He looked back and said, “Old Cai, lend me a cloth.”

Manager Cai, who had unconsciously retreated to the corner, quickly grabbed a rag and walked over. But when he reached behind Ding Suian, he worried that Ding Suian would find the rag dirty, so he tore off the hem of his clothes with a ‘rip’ and offered it with both hands.

Ding Suian placed the Kunwu saber across his knees and carefully wiped the blade. A drop of blood from the blade tip fell onto the bluestone slab in front of the rouge shop, forming a small puddle of blood.

He looked up and saw that the neighbors still seemed to be in a state of shock.

They were happy to watch Lai Sanhu get beaten.

But no one expected him to actually kill the man!

“This is also the first time you’ve all seen a traitor publicly beating and killing an Imperial Guard Soldier, isn’t it?”

Ding Suian shouted loudly, then waved to everyone. “Everyone, come over, I have something to say.”

The neighbors hesitated for a moment, but still slowly gathered.

It was then that Ding Suian said, “I heard that our street-cleaning fee needs to be collected by a highly respected person in the ward. What do you folks think of me?”

“.”

“Hmm?”

Seeing no one speak, Ding Suian let out an ambiguous sound from his nose.

Manager Cai, who was closest to him, wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly said, “Good! Dutou Ding is highly respected!”

“Uh, Dutou Ding is highly respected.”

After a chorus of agreement, Ding Suian nodded and said, “Then I’ll reluctantly take on the role. From now on, the street-cleaning fee for each shop will be reduced by 10%, and small vendors will no longer be charged.”

“.”

“Ah! Dutou Ding, highly respected!”

“Highly respected!”

After a brief silence, there was another chorus of ‘highly respected’.

But this time, it was clearly much more sincere than before.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Li Baicheng was the first to arrive at the scene.

In his opinion, this was not a big deal.

The Military Patrol Post was already tasked with apprehending thieves and bandits. Which year didn’t they beat to death a few petty thieves or troublesome ruffians?

Putting aside their private relationship, just the fact that these ruffians were publicly harassing women, and even harassed the family of an Imperial Guard Dutou—if Ding Suian were punished for such a minor matter, wouldn’t his subordinates be disheartened?

“You write two official documents about the Yulin Street ruffians assaulting the Imperial Guard; one for the yamen, and I’ll help you submit the other.” Li Baicheng said, then, perhaps worried that Old Six wasn’t familiar with official document formats, waved his hand. “Never mind, I’ll have the record keeper write it for you.”

After Li Baicheng finished speaking, he was about to give a few more instructions when he suddenly saw a small sedan chair, surrounded by several palace attendants and guards, approaching.

He couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “Eh?”

The sedan chair was nothing special, but the guards were carrying a phoenix banner. This was the Princesss Residence’s emblem.

However, that low-key sedan chair was clearly not the ‘Zhai chariot’ that Your Highness should be riding.

Yulin Street was less than a li in a straight line from the Princesss Residence, so Li Baicheng naturally didn’t believe anyone would dare to falsely display Your Highness’s banner.

A moment later, the sedan chair landed, and his confusion was answered.

“Li Baicheng, Commander of the Vermilion Bird Army, greets Princess Consort of Lanyang!”

Li Baicheng had seen Lin Hansu in Lanyang before, but this time, he appeared even more respectful.

After all, Lin Hansu now had the title of ‘Female Chancellor of the Princesss Residence,’ and the phoenix banner behind her represented Your Highness.

“Commander Li, you may dispense with the formalities. Just now, Your Highness heard that under the Son of Heaven’s feet, in this most virtuous place, there were ruffians attacking the Imperial Guard. She specifically sent me to inquire about what happened.”

Lin Hansu’s hands were clasped within her wide sleeves, her demeanor refined, dignified, and authoritative.