Une jeunesse errante

Chapitre 193

Has Zhou Jie gone far away?

No.

They exited the main kitchen and came to a main road. A group of men and women, carrying various gifts, were walking in a neat line. Seeing this, Du Ping, along with the four simple-minded, naive, and foolish boys, stopped. Their intention was clear: to wait for the gift-carrying group to pass. However, they never expected that a girl carrying an antique vase would stumble and bump right into Xiao Long. The vase shattered on the ground, instantly going from a priceless treasure to worthless.

Everyone froze.

Lu Liang roared like a monkey, "Idiot, useless thing! This is a birthday gift that the young master prepared to give to the great-grandfather, and you smashed it! You couldn't afford to pay for it even if you sold yourself!"

The girl's face turned as white as a sheet of paper with fright. In her panic, she pointed at Xiaolong and desperately tried to deny it, saying, "It was him, he bumped into me."

Lu Liang glared at Xiao Long. Xiao Long revealed a pure and innocent smile, seemingly unafraid, whether from naivety or something else. While he wasn't afraid, Zhou Jie broke out in a cold sweat and said with a smile, "Brother Lu, the child is just being naive, please forgive him this time."

“Brother Zhou, it’s easy for you to say that when you’re not the one suffering the consequences. This vase is worth a fortune, and you’ve just broken it like this. How am I supposed to explain this?” Lü Liang asked.

"This? This?" Zhou Jie looked troubled.

Du Ping witnessed all of this. He couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward, saying, "Lü Liang, you're being incredibly unreasonable. It's clear that the girl broke the vase herself, and out of fear, she's deliberately framing this child."

In Lujiabao, Lü Liang was a notorious troublemaker who loved to fight and acted unreasonably. Du Ping's interruption immediately drew his attention; Lü Liang raised his thick eyebrows, put his hands on his hips, and arrogantly declared, "Du Ping, this kid is your subordinate, isn't he? He broke the antique vase my young master was going to give to my great-grandfather. Tell me, how are you going to compensate him?"

Du Ping's face turned green. "Are you even being reasonable?"

Lu Liang cursed, "Go to hell! I'm telling you, if you can't explain this to me clearly, I'll dump both of you in the latrine and feed you shit."

Du Ping was so angry that he trembled all over.

Zhou Jie said urgently, "Brother Lü, please give me some face, please give me some face."

"Go away, go away, it's none of your business." Master Lu slapped him away.

Zhang San cried out, "Injustice, Steward Du! It wasn't Xiao Long who broke the antique vase. The girl accidentally bumped into Xiao Long and broke it. I saw it all."

Li Shazi said in a simple-minded manner, "I saw it too."

"Yes, yes, I saw it too."

Zhang San nodded vigorously, while Lu Si twisted and turned.

Du Ping said smugly, "I heard that, but no one is wronging her. Even if we go to see the Chief Enforcer, we'll say the same thing."

Lü Liang got angry, "You old bastard, are you saying I lied?"

He was angry, but Du Ping was even angrier. "You old bastard! So many people have testified, and you still insist on blaming Xiao Long. What are you thinking? I know, you're having an affair with her, aren't you?"

The girl covered her face and burst into tears.

Lu Liang was furious. He grabbed the man's nose and yelled, "You two old bastards, I'll pull your nose off, then you'll never be able to face anyone again!"

Du Ping didn't hesitate either, stretching out both hands and grabbing his ears, twisting them hard. "If I twist your ears off, you won't be able to show your face to anyone."

Seeing that the two were about to fight, everyone present was terrified. They tried to pull each other apart. Zhou Jie was extremely anxious. What kind of behavior was this? If this were to reach the ears of the Grand Lord and Steward Du, they would both be punished.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves came from afar, and in an instant, a group of people arrived. The lead horse, a snow-white steed, let out a long neigh and suddenly reined in. Then someone shouted in a loud voice, "What's going on? Why are you blocking the road here? Make way, make way!"

The crowd quickly parted to make way for a wide path. Several iron cavalrymen carrying valiant Lu Family Fort warriors escorted a magnificent, snow-white steed, as handsome as a dragon, as it slowly approached. Seated atop the steed sat a handsome and beautiful young man, with a golden-eyed white fox, full of elfin charm, in his arms.

As his dashing figure on horseback drew ever closer, everyone present seemed to be illuminated by a beam of light, and they all thought the same thing: It's Young Master Jianyue!

The snow-white steed came to a stop. Kiyomi Tsuki looked down from his horse at the two men who were pulling his nose and ears, and couldn't help but smile. His smile was warm and radiant, and infectious, causing those around him to smile as well.

"Are you fighting? I only know that women like to pull hair when they fight, but I've never seen men pull noses and ears when they fight."

The people present burst into laughter.

Lü Liang and Du Ping quickly released each other, their faces flushed, and said, "Your humble servants pay their respects to you, young master."

"There's no need for an audience. What caused the fight? If you two accidentally lose your noses and ears, turning into two big duck eggs that someone will fry and eat, that would be a serious problem."

Kiyomi Tsuki made a humorous remark.

The onlookers burst into laughter, gathering around to form a large circle.

Lu Liang said angrily, "Young master, please uphold justice. This is the boy who is Du Ping's subordinate." He pointed at Xiao Long, "He smashed the antique vase that our young master was going to give to our great-grandfather as a birthday gift. Not only did Du Ping not punish him, but he also framed the girl." He then pointed at the girl who caused the trouble, who shrank back and didn't dare to lift her head.

Before he could finish speaking, Du Ping immediately interrupted, "You're making baseless accusations. Young master, this is what happened. This girl broke the vase but framed Xiaolong. If you don't believe me, I have witnesses: Li Shazi, Zhang San, and Lu Si all saw it." He pointed at Xiaolong, Li Shazi, Zhang San, and Lu Si.

Kiyotsuki looked at the four of them, who nodded earnestly, looking quite pitiful. Kiyotsuki's gaze swept over their faces twice before finally settling on Xiaolong.

This person appeared to be just an ordinary and simple young man, but the aura surrounding him was extraordinary. As for what made him extraordinary, it was hard to say for a moment.

"You old bastard, you're talking nonsense!" Lü Liang cursed again.

Du Ping said angrily, "Fine, if I'm talking nonsense, please ask Zhou Jie, young master."

Zhou Jie stepped forward, cupped her hands, and said, "Young Master."

Qing Jianyue laughed and said, "Zhou Jie, you're here too? Why didn't you stop them from fighting in the street? If word got out, wouldn't the Grand Lord and Steward Du be furious?"

Zhou Jie said with a wry smile, "Young master, they should listen to our advice."

Kiyoshi chuckled and said, "Someone as good-tempered as you is a perfect match for Little Sparrow."

Zhou Jie's face flushed red.

Qing Jian Yue then looked at Lü Liang, who felt somewhat uncomfortable. Qing Jian Yue smiled slightly, "This vase is truly resourceful; even Leader Li of the Sky Eagle Sect has to admit defeat. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Countless mouths cried out in inquiry.