Chapter 206: Kneel Down and Speak

Suimian Street.

Xu Jiuxi, in a daze, had her upper body slumped in the chair, while her lower body hung down to the ground.

Why ‘hung’?

Because from the waist and abdomen down, it was a snake body extending over four feet.

The fine red scales shimmered with tiny pearlescent light under the sunlight, and the tip of the tail was coiled around the chair leg.

It was all thanks to the Soft Bone Whip!

It had actually whipped Xu Jiuxi into her true form.

Ding Suian crouched to the side, leaning in extremely close—all for the sake of academic research.

At the astonishingly slender junction of her waist and abdomen, her skin was gradually covered with fine scale patterns, resembling the intertwining dark patterns meticulously outlined by an embroiderer.

Eerie and bewitching.

The dark red scales were far larger than ordinary snake scales. Their shape and texture were extremely similar to the set of Molted Scale Soft Armor bestowed by Princess Xingguo.

But they were not as large as the scales on the Molted Scale Soft Armor.

Ding Suian extended a finger and poked Xu Jiuxi’s snake body—which he couldn’t tell was a drum or a thigh. Seeing she had no reaction, he applied a little force, wanting to pry off a scale to study.

“Mmm~”

A low groan of pain.

The tail tip coiled around the chair leg tightened instinctively.

“Snap~ Crack~”

The chair leg made of fine rosewood was instantly twisted with fine cracks.

“Have you seen enough?”

Her voice was slightly hoarse.

Ding Suian looked up, meeting Xu Jiuxi’s gaze from above. Her pupils were bewitchingly red, with vertical slits.

With a blink, as her eyelids closed and opened, the red vertical pupils had already returned to her usual flirtatious, alluring peach-blossom eyes.

“Heh, Headmaster Xu is awake?”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

Xu Jiuxi was quite surprised by Ding Suian’s calm demeanor, but her tail tip had already released the chair leg, and as if teasing or threatening, it gently wrapped around his wrist as he kept fiddling with the scales.

“What is there to be afraid of?”

Ding Suian’s fingertips still lingered on the gradient scale pattern; the touch was warm and cool like jade. “Plants grow towards the sun, streams flow to the sea. You take human form to seek the Dao and ask for techniques, while I study the ultimate principles of the Martial Dao. It is merely taking different forms to walk our respective paths of enlightenment.”

Insincere flattery, coming right off his tongue.

The tail tip wrapped around his wrist exerted no force. Ding Suian continued to fiddle with the soft and resilient big tail, looking here and there.

Xu Jiuxi was perhaps a bit unaccustomed to it; a very soft, very seductive, yet slightly cold-toned groan escaped her throat. “What are you looking for!”

Ding Suian finally stopped his rummaging, looked up, and said apologetically: “Headmaster Xu, I’m a bit curious. After your lower body turns into a snake, how do you, um, pee? This is an academic question, a very serious one.”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Xu Jiuxi straightened her body, pushed the long hair hanging over her chest to the sides, and offered two big waves of benefits for free.

She was about to say something, but stopped.

Both of them heard footsteps approaching from outside.

“Lord, Lord~”

It was the hurried voice of Make Do. “Someone sent word from the front; Princess Xingguo wants you to go to the Princesss Residence immediately.”

Princesss Residence, Wangqiu Hall.

The two little ones, along with Jiang Yuan, stood in a row in the hall with their heads lowered.

Zhao Wan stood beside her husband, her hands trembling uncontrollably, and her vision was going black in waves.

She really couldn’t understand how her daughter had simply hit someone, and hit the legitimate daughter of the Central Heaven Yu Clan at that.

Opposite, Yu Bowen sat on a chair, his face cold as ice.

Last night, his father was frightened, and after returning home this morning, he was bedridden with illness. Having just heard that his sister had been beaten at the Princesss Residence, he came to handle it on his father’s behalf.

Zhao Wan quietly tugged at Ruan Guofan’s sleeve, signaling her husband to do something.

Although Ruan Guofan was not as panicked as her, he was also having a massive headache. Finally, he bowed to Princess Xingguo at the head of the hall, then turned to Yu Bowen, his face wearing that typical merchant’s mercenary smile. “Young Master Yu, my daughter is ignorant and acted recklessly, offending the young lady of your noble house. I, Ruan, have failed to teach my daughter well. The Ruan family is willing to bear full responsibility for the damage caused by my daughter. We will not be stingy with the costs for nourishment and recuperation, only hoping to slightly compensate for the pain and fright suffered by the young lady of your noble house. I hope Young Master Yu and your noble house will be magnanimous.”

Behind, Lin Fuyao, sitting in the chair, was completely distraught. Hearing this, she hurriedly stood up and said: “Yes, yes, yes, my family is also willing to offer the medical expenses. I implore you, Sister-in-law, to see that we are all family and show mercy.”

Zhang, with reddened eyes, was holding the sobbing Yu Ruiyan. Hearing the address of’Sister-in-law’, she showed a clear expression of disgust, turned her head to the side, and ignored them.

Yu Bowen saw Zhang’s expression. With the typical arrogance and coldness of a noble family’s son, his gaze swept over the anxious Zhao Wan and Lin Fuyao, then looked at Ruan Guofan, saying disdainfully: “Owner Ruan, your family business is large, so you must be accustomed to using money to bully others and clean up messes, which is why you raised such a wild and unreasonable young lady. Although the Central Heaven Yu Clan is not as wealthy as Owner Ruan’s family, we have been noble for a hundred years. Today, my sister suffered such a great humiliation at the Princesss Residence; how can it be compensated by a little money or a few taels of medicine?”

The reason Ruan Guofan was willing to be patient and speak nicely was simply because the young lady of the Yu family was quite seriously injured, and furthermore, the incident happened at the Princesss Residence; he wanted to settle the matter quickly.

But hearing Yu Bowen call his daughter wild and unreasonable, he felt a bit displeased. “Then in Young Master Yu’s opinion, what should be done?”

Yu Bowen heard this, looked at the three, including Zhao Yan, and said coldly: “Since Owner Ruan has asked, I will speak plainly. The rules of my Yu family have always been simple: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

He raised his hand and pointed to his sister Yu Ruiyan’s bruised face. “My sister’s nose bridge was injured, her face is covered in bruises; she suffered the pain of fists hitting flesh. Then these three young ladies who committed the assault should suffer the same injuries and taste the same pain. Whoever beat my sister like this should have it returned in kind; that is what is called justice.”

Speaking to this point, Yu Bowen stood up and bowed to Princess Xingguo, saying painfully: “Your Highness, please discern! Yan’er has not only suffered physical pain but has also lost all face. The hundred-year reputation of my Central Heaven Yu Clan has also been insulted!”

He raised his head, his gaze burning. “Bowen knows well that Your Highness has always been fair and strict. I implore Your Highness to judge impartially, punish the culprits severely, to set the record straight, and to maintain the dignity of the Imperial Family and the Princesss Residence!”

Princess Xingguo pondered for a moment. “This matter occurred in the Princesss Residence; I will make my own judgment on the rights and wrongs. Just now, the young ladies said that there was a servant named Servants Name beside your sister; summon her.”

Halfway through her sentence, she saw Eunuch He leading a handsome young man walking in quickly from outside the hall. Princess Xingguo lowered her eyelids and simply stopped speaking.

Below, Yu Bowen waited for a moment and was just finding it strange when he suddenly heard a clear and resonant voice from behind.

“Brother Yu, what justice do you want? I, the Lord, will give it to you!”

“…”

Yu Bowen’s heart tightened, and he turned to look.

It was indeed that person.

Although he was instinctively afraid, he knew that at this moment he represented the entire Yu family and could not be cowardly—or rather, at least he couldn’t be so obviously cowardly.

When Ding Suian entered the hall, Yu Bowen tried his best to straighten his posture, his expression shifting several times between serious and gentle, finally settling on a relatively calm countenance. “Brother Ding, you’ve come just in time.”

Ding Suian walked straight past him, first glanced at Zhao Yan and the others, then bowed to Princess Xingguo. “Your Highness is right; isn’t there a Servants Name present? Summon her for questioning, and the truth will be determined!”

On the way into the residence, Eunuch He had already quickly told him the course of events.

Zhang was suddenly furious, slapped the table, stood up, and said: “It is my Yu Clan’s legitimate daughter who is injured right now! Where in the world is there a reason for the victim to be interrogated before they have obtained justice!”

The more she spoke, the more excited she became. She pointed fiercely at Jiang Yuan, her voice rising. “Furthermore, Jiang Yuan is merely born of a mistress. According to the State Religion’s etiquette and laws, children of mistresses have the status of servants! A mere servant, conspiring with others to beat the legitimate daughter of a noble family—this is insubordination, a heinous crime! According to the law, if a servant beats a master or relatives above the mourning grade of Simama, they shall be hanged!”

Beside her, Lin Fuyao was so scared she plopped down onto her chair.

“Madam Zhang of the Yu family! I, the Lord, considering your daughter’s injury, have allowed you some face, but you have become increasingly rampant! You keep talking about etiquette and hierarchy, so let me, the Lord, discuss this hierarchy with you!”

He stepped forward, his Aura suddenly released, scaring Yu Bowen into taking a sharp step back.

“I, the Lord, am the Duke of Chu County personally enfeoffed by His Majesty, and I hold a noble title! Your Yu family has no noble title and no official position. You, a commoner woman, how dare you slap the table, roar at me, and point fingers at me, the Lord? According to the law, what is the punishment for a commoner who is disrespectful to a Duke?”

As soon as Ding Suian finished speaking, Lin Hansu, who was gently patting Lin Fuyao’s back to comfort her, did not even lift her head and said: “Sixty strokes of the cane, two years of imprisonment.”

The voice was not loud, but in the quiet Wangqiu Hall, it was enough for everyone to hear clearly.

“You… you…”

Zhang’s face flushed with blood, her breathing was rapid, and her whole body trembled. She stretched out her arm, wanting to point at Ding Suian, but feared confirming ‘disrespect to the Lord’.

Subconsciously changing targets, she wanted to point at Lin Hansu, who was fanning the flames, but suddenly remembered that she was also a First-Rank Princess.

In the end, she could only point at Lin Fuyao.

Her lips trembling with anger, she said: “My Yu family has been noble for a hundred years…”

“A hundred years of nobility? You have not contributed a single inch to the country, nor have you benefited the people in the slightest. Where is your nobility?”

Ding Suian immediately added: “Madam Zhang of the Yu family, you kept talking about the State Religion’s etiquette and laws. Then I, the Lord, ask you: as a commoner woman, why do you not kneel when you see me, the Lord?”

“…”

Zhang was dumbfounded.

She was the sister-in-law of Prince Yinyang!

Even when seeing Princess Xingguo, she was often exempted from the kneeling ritual. You, a mere twelfth-rank Founding Baron, dare to make me kneel to you?

“Ding Suian!”

Seeing his mother defeated, Yu Bowen bit the bullet and wanted to perform a display of fury.

Ding Suian only glanced at him askance. “Kneel down before you speak to me, the Lord~”