There weren't many pedestrians on the street to begin with, but the sudden turn of events caused people to frantically flee in different directions. Vendors and pedestrians alike were filled with fear, and the long street quickly descended into chaos.
Those nearby seemed to be in danger if they hesitated even slightly, while those further away, like Ah Hao, were still trying to understand what was happening, many of them peering out. But as the crowd surged forward, in no time at all, those with better eyesight could see that many people were wielding long knives, indiscriminately hacking and killing innocent civilians on the road.
Sensing something was wrong, Ah Hao wanted to retreat back into the shop to avoid it, but a tall figure appeared beside her, grabbed her arm and said urgently, "Go! We can't stay here any longer!" Then the person pulled her and ran with the flow of people.
Ah Hao was carrying quite a few things and was practically being dragged forward. She stumbled along behind Zhao Jian, turning her head to look at the street corner, only to see people lying in pools of blood. Some shop assistants who had reacted grabbed long sticks and rushed to help, while others quickly closed their shop doors to avoid the disaster.
The old man who came to pick her up today was over sixty years old and an elder of the Song family. He had been very kind to her since she was a child, and had always cared about her situation after she entered the palace. Ah Hao was worried that the old man might encounter danger, or that he might be afraid to escape alone if something happened to her. It would be easy for her to run away, but what if the old man was still thinking of looking for her?
Trying desperately to break free from Prosecutor Zhao's grip, but to no avail, A-Hao was once again enraged by Prosecutor Zhao's unreasonable and domineering behavior. Although she rarely raised her voice, A-Hao, unable to bear it any longer, still shouted angrily, "Please let go!" But Prosecutor Zhao remained unmoved. In desperation, A-Hao pulled out the gold hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into the back of Prosecutor Zhao's hand.
A sharp pain on the back of his hand made Zhao Jian instinctively release Ah Hao's arm. The situation was critical, and he hadn't expected Ah Hao to react this way. He hadn't been following anyone; he was just planning to go to a nearby teahouse for tea and to meet a friend when he stumbled upon this unexpected disaster and saw Song Shuhao.
Thinking that Song Shuhao had resisted him to this extent, preferring to face danger rather than be saved by him, Zhao Jian looked at her silently. Shuhao, however, only glanced at Zhao Jian's hand, which was covered in large beads of blood, and said, "I'm sorry," before turning and walking away without hesitation.
His Majesty the Emperor had arranged for people to protect her secretly, and their absence at this moment likely meant they had gone to prevent the situation from escalating further. Ah Hao thought to herself, and her mind calmed down slightly.
The shop she had just been in wasn't far from where the carriage had stopped. Since the incident had happened, the old man would likely go to the shop to look for her. Even just a glimpse would be enough, Song Shuhao thought, as she went against the flow of people to find the shop.
Some people, in order to escape, disregard the safety of others and complain that others are blocking their way. They will push away vulnerable people such as children and the elderly, even if they fall to the ground.
Ah Hao was also shoved haphazardly, but at least she managed to keep her balance and didn't fall. Another little girl, only seven or eight years old, wasn't so lucky. As the crowd surged forward, someone cruelly stepped on the little girl's hand, causing her to cry loudly in pain. Those behind her couldn't see what was happening and continued to step over her.
Unable to ignore it, fearing the little girl would be trampled to death, Ah Hao struggled to squeeze through and pull her up from the ground. What would normally be a simple task proved difficult, and it took considerable effort to complete.
The little girl had barely steadied herself when she looked up at Song Shuhao. Before a smile could even appear on her face, terror replaced it. She was too frightened to speak, only trembling as she raised her hand to point behind Ahao. Noticing her expression, Ahao slightly turned her face, but a cold, sharp glint seemed to flash before her eyes.
Unexpectedly, the assailant closed in on her. Ah Hao raised her arm, intending to use what she was carrying to block the attack before escaping. Just then, Prosecutor Zhao, who had just gone his separate ways with her, reappeared. He shielded Ah Hao from behind, forcefully taking the blow with his bare hand, then disarmed the assailant and swiftly took his life.
"Hurry up!" Seeing Song Shuhao standing there in a daze, Prosecutor Zhao urged her on, pushing her forward.
The little girl thanked him and ran away. Ah Hao suddenly came back to his senses, but what he was thinking about was the blood gushing from Zhao Jian's palm and the blood-stained long knife. He felt a chill run down his spine.
Chapter 55 Soft and Hard
When Zhao Jian took Song Shuhao away again, she didn't resist, showing her stubborn nature and responsiveness to gentle persuasion. The old man was indeed looking for Song Shuhao, and fortunately, the brief delay allowed him to spot her and quickly catch up. Song Shuhao no longer needed to worry about the old man's safety.
The thugs, whom they thought only lurked on the corner of the long street, turned out to be lurking in all directions, making escape difficult. Fortunately, Zhao Jian's men arrived shortly afterward and protected them, allowing them to escape successfully. Soldiers were already on the long street maintaining order, and because Zhao Jian's injured hand was still bleeding, they didn't linger in the vicinity.
After asking the old man to lead the way, they found a nearby clinic, and Ah Hao accompanied Prosecutor Zhao to treat his wounds. Prosecutor Zhao's clothes and demeanor were quite out of place in a clinic usually frequented by ordinary people.
When the doctor at the clinic saw him, his attitude unconsciously became respectful. Perhaps knowing that he was an important person, he immediately called his unmarried daughter to clean the wound on Zhao Jian's palm.
The young girl was shy and cautious, diligently focusing on her work. However, Zhao Jian was so eye-catching that he couldn't be ignored, and the girl still couldn't help but steal glances at him frequently. Although Zhao Jian didn't look like a young gentleman, the maturity and composure he exuded added to his charm, making him just as attractive to young girls as a young gentleman.
Perhaps it was the girl's gaze that displeased him; Zhao Jian frowned slightly, but out of respect, he said nothing. A-Hao stood quietly beside him, wiping away the blood, making the wound on Zhao Jian's palm even clearer before her eyes.
The flesh directly clashed with the sharp blade, resulting in a deep cut. The young woman at the clinic couldn't help but gasp several times. Zhao Jian, however, showed no pain; his expression was gentle and calm. The water in the wooden basin was stained red. Having finished her task, the young woman carried the items away.
A short while later, the doctor came over with medicine to bandage Zhao Jian's hand. Seeing Song Shuhao staring at the wound on Zhao Jian's hand with a pale face, he still advised, "If Madam is afraid, it's better not to look at it, so as not to feel uncomfortable in the future."
The doctor at the clinic mistook Song Shuhao for Zhao Jian's wife. Zhao Jian, who was twenty-four years old, looked at Song Shuhao with gentle eyes, while Song Shuhao, who was nineteen years old, kept looking at the injury on Zhao Jian's hand with concern. With the old servant also there, it seemed that no one could be blamed for the misunderstanding.
Zhao Jian actually liked the incorrect way the doctor addressed him, and even though Song Shuhao immediately denied it and the doctor hurriedly apologized and corrected himself, it didn't stop his mood from instantly improving. After the bandaging was finished and he came out of the clinic, the staff were very generous with the money, and Ah Hao didn't have to pay for the treatment.
"Let me take you back. I don't know if you're safe, and what if you encounter danger on the way?" After walking a few steps from the clinic, Zhao Jiancai said to Ahao.
The old man said it would only take a quarter of an hour to get back to the mansion from the clinic, and since the soldiers had intervened, there was probably nothing seriously wrong. Ah Hao shook her head and said, "Thank you for saving me, Your Highness. I will thank you properly another day. It's not too much trouble for you today. It's not far to get back to the mansion from here. I can go with you, old man."
However, not long ago, she had injured Prosecutor Zhao, so such words would inevitably seem heartless and ungrateful. After a pause, realizing that it was inappropriate, Ah Hao had no choice but to let the old man go first, leaving her to speak with Prosecutor Zhao alone.
“This servant has never understood what His Highness is trying to do. Why did he suddenly appear in my house, in my room, or just now… As a servant, I have no right to point fingers at His Highness, but I am indeed troubled by these things.”
"In fact, many times, I can handle things myself and do not need to trouble Your Highness. I feel guilty for Your Highness's injury, but I cannot take the blame for you. Your Highness seems to value me, which should be my blessing, but as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. I feel trembling with fear and walking on thin ice."
Zhao Jian listened attentively to Song Shuhao's words, but it was impossible to tell whether he took them to heart. After she finished speaking at length, Zhao Jian slowly said, "Although I can't say it now, you'll understand in the future. I don't expect anything in return from you, so you don't need to be so cautious. If you really want to thank me..."
Ah-hao listened intently to Zhao Jian's words, only to hear him say, "I remember you're a good cook, so this is a good way to thank you." Ah-hao didn't know how he "remembered" this, and then she heard him say again, "If you think there's no problem, we can consider ourselves even from now on."
·
As news of the chaos in Lin'an reached the Xuanzhi Hall, Zhang Yu also learned that Song Shuhao had almost been in danger, but Zhao Jian had saved her. The guards he had assigned to protect Song Shuhao had prioritized preventing the situation from escalating further, rather than staying with Song Shuhao, who was still in the shop.
Zhang Yu was not entirely satisfied with this, but at that time, many people were facing a critical situation, and such a judgment could not be considered wrong. However, even so, it could not cover up the fact that they had not followed his orders. Now that Song Shuhao was safe, what would they do if something had happened to her?
"what else?"
Zhang Yu pondered silently, not immediately issuing a judgment, but only asking again. The people below then spoke of the clinic and the later incident of Inspector Zhao accompanying Song Shuhao back to the mansion. Hearing those things, Zhang Yu couldn't help but sneer twice, making a plan in his mind, but he knew he had to deal with the immediate situation first.
"Let Xiao Shi and Lord Xia come in." Zhang Yu calmed down and summoned Prince Ning and Xia Mingzhe into the hall to discuss the sudden chaos.
Several counties near Lin'an City were hit by snow disasters, and the victims fled. Upon receiving the news, he had already instructed his men to properly resettle the victims. The troublemakers this time are precisely these same victims who should have been appeased; it seems someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Choosing to create trouble at a time when he had already released a group of his own people into the court makes his treacherous intentions all the more obvious. Those ordinary people who suffered calamities for no reason, being injured or losing their lives, were utterly innocent.
Zhang Yu's thoughts shifted slightly, and Prince Ning and Xia Mingzhe had already quickly entered the hall together. He suppressed these thoughts, exempted the two from the formalities, and offered them seats again. He went straight to the point and asked, "Why did those disaster victims suddenly cause trouble? Who is in charge of appeasing the disaster victims?" He immediately began to discuss the matter with Prince Ning and Xia Mingzhe.
·
Zhao Jian and Ahao returned to the Song residence together. By lunchtime, news of what had happened on Zhuque Street had spread. The refugees who had suffered from the snow disaster were dissatisfied with the court's compensation and wanted better conditions.
After a highly respected village headman proposed to draw the court's attention through a protest, he quickly gained the support of dozens of others. Thus, they gathered together and caused this disturbance.
Hearing this, Song Shuhao couldn't quite understand these people's thoughts. It wasn't that she couldn't understand their dissatisfaction with the court's compensation, but rather that she couldn't understand why their way of protesting involved harming innocent and unrelated people.
However, she also found it strange. Regardless of how difficult the times were, most people just wanted a peaceful and prosperous life. If they were unfortunate enough to encounter a natural disaster, they would generally be content as long as they had food and shelter. It was hard to believe that dozens of people rioting together, and that it had escalated to this point, was truly their own idea.
Ah Hao stayed by the bedside until Xu Shi fell asleep, unconsciously analyzing the day's events. After regaining her senses, she looked at her sleeping mother and a slight smile appeared on Ah Hao's lips.