Upon hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, Master Xu endured the pain and pointed at her. “You, you dare?!”
“What, are you threatening me?” Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows, crouched down to meet Master Xu at eye level, and a mocking smile appeared on her lips.
“Do you know who my father is?” Master Xu gritted his teeth, moving back a few steps, intending to escape when Mu Yunjin wasn’t paying attention. However, Huaying seemed to know his intention and had already positioned herself behind him, blocking his escape route.
Mu Yunjin curled her lips. Was he going to play the family background card?
“Who is your father? Tell me.” Mu Yunjin smiled lightly.
“My father is the renowned merchant Xu Liangjiu of this imperial city. Most importantly, he and the current Imperial Preceptor are sworn brothers. When the Imperial Preceptor sees my father, he addresses him as ‘sworn brother,’ and I respectfully call the Imperial Preceptor my godfather.” Master Xu raised his chin proudly as he mentioned this.
In this South Courtyard Kingdom, who hadn’t heard of the Imperial Preceptor’s reputation? Since this woman dared to offend him, she shouldn’t expect to have an easy time.
Mu Yunjin really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Godfather?
…
…
Did the Imperial Preceptor know he had such a godson?
It seemed this guy had been using the Imperial Preceptor’s name to do bad deeds outside. This couldn’t be tolerated.
“So you’re the Imperial Preceptor’s adopted son.” Mu Yunjin’s attitude softened, and her tone became much gentler.
Master Xu thought he had intimidated Mu Yunjin, and immediately became arrogant again. “You better understand that. Today, you broke this young master’s wrist, and this young master will not let this matter go. You will come with this young master to see the authorities now!”
“See the authorities? Fine, let’s go now.” Mu Yunjin looked calmly at Master Xu, walked forward a couple of steps, and with a flick of her wrist, her Phoenix Tail Whip extended and wrapped around Master Xu’s wrist, dragging him outside.
Mu Yunjin realized that lately, her divine weapon, the Phoenix Tail Whip, had become a tool specifically for binding people.
Master Xu hadn’t expected Mu Yunjin to remain so overbearing, not only binding him but deliberately binding his injured wrist. At this moment, waves of excruciating pain emanated from his wrist, causing his face to turn pale, nearly bringing him to the point of fainting.
After Mu Yunjin dragged Master Xu away, Huaying pulled out both the pharmacy shopkeeper and Master Xu’s servant, following behind Mu Yunjin.
On the main street, many commoners looked at this scene with surprise…
“Hey, look, who is that woman? How dare she bind the Xu family’s young master?”
“That woman looks somewhat familiar. I seem to have seen her a few times recently, but I don’t know her background, how she dares to drag Xu Jin through the streets.”
“This Xu Jin, relying on his wealthy and powerful father, has bullied us common folks a lot. He should be taught a lesson this time.”
After Mu Yunjin had dragged Xu Jin some distance away, someone from the crowd exclaimed, “I remember now! This woman is the Princess Consort of Prince Ning from the Western Yuan Kingdom. She’s a friend of Crown Prince Yun and Imperial Preceptor An, and also the daughter-in-law of our sovereign.”
With these words, the crowd erupted into a chaotic uproar.
…
After dragging Xu Jin to the entrance of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion, Mu Yunjin happened to meet Chu Li, Huang Yan, and others who were returning from the imperial prison.
Seeing Mu Yunjin pulling a man back, Chu Li frowned, approached, and asked, “Huan’er, what are you doing?”
“I broke his wrist, and he insisted on reporting it to the authorities. He also claimed to be the Imperial Preceptor’s adopted son, so I brought him here to the Imperial Preceptor.” Mu Yunjin smiled at Chu Li, staring at his features for a moment, and found that her husband still looked the most pleasing to her eyes.
Hearing this, Chu Li glanced at Xu Jin behind Mu Yunjin. Just as he was about to ask Ding Xian to take the man into the mansion, Huaying spoke with a sinister tone, “This man also harassed my master, saying he wanted her to go home with him.”
Upon hearing this, Huang Yan raised his eyebrows, waiting to enjoy the show.
Chu Li’s eyes flashed, his brows knitted together, and with a light wave of his sleeve, he sent Xu Jin’s body flying through the gates of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion.
“Thud…”
“Ah…”
One sound was of a body hitting the ground, the other a scream of agony.
Imperial Preceptor An had rested for half an hour before returning to the main hall to play chess. At this moment, seeing a person suddenly flying in from outside, he quickly rose and walked out of the hall towards the open courtyard.
Walking down the steps, he saw Chu Li, Mu Yunjin, and others entering the gates. Imperial Preceptor An frowned and looked over at the person moaning on the ground.
“What’s this…?”
Xu Jin had been struck hard by Chu Li’s palm. When he fell, he instinctively used his hands to support himself on the ground, forgetting that his right hand was already broken. Now, as he extended his right hand to support himself, combined with the force of the fall, almost all the bones in his right arm were broken.
“How is it that you go to the imperial prison, take a stroll in the market, and come back with another mess?” Imperial Preceptor An looked at the lavishly dressed man on the ground with some resignation, then turned to Mu Yunjin and Chu Li.
Mu Yunjin pouted, looking at Imperial Preceptor An. “We caught this man in a pharmacy asking the shopkeeper for prohibited drugs, intending to harm the Miss Yuchun we met today, so I decided to be cautious.”
“Oh? If it’s that kind of matter, you could have taken him to the prefect’s office. Why bring him to my Imperial Preceptor’s mansion?” Imperial Preceptor An was too lazy to deal with such trivial matters.
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin suddenly smiled. “Originally, we should have taken him to the prefect’s office, but this man claimed to be your adopted son, and his father your sworn brother. I was afraid of mistakenly arresting one of your people, so I brought him here first for you to verify.”
“If he’s one of your people, then we’ll let the matter go without making it public,” Mu Yunjin added, her smile growing deeper.
Xu Jin, lying on the ground, was trembling severely, either from the pain of his injury or from fear. He lay prone on the ground, not daring to raise his head to look at the scene before him.
This woman knew the Imperial Preceptor…
No wonder she was so arrogant.
Imperial Preceptor An originally didn’t want to deal with this trivial matter, but upon hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, he immediately became unsettled.
Who was this shameless person claiming a connection with him? Adopted son, sworn brother? How presumptuous! Why not claim to be his ancestor while at it?
“Raise your head.” Imperial Preceptor An kicked Xu Jin’s shoulder, his tone mixed with anger.
Hearing this, Xu Jin slowly raised his head, trembling as he said, “Imperial… Imperial Preceptor, it’s me, I’m Xu Jin, my father is Xu Liangjiu.”
“Xu Liangjiu…” Imperial Preceptor An murmured this name.
“Yes, yes, yes, Xu Liangjiu, I’m his son!” Xu Jin said excitedly.
Imperial Preceptor An rolled his eyes. “Who is Xu Liangjiu?”
“…” The smile that had just appeared on Xu Jin’s lips froze.
From the side came several snickers.
“This doesn’t seem right. Didn’t you just say that your father and the Imperial Preceptor are sworn brothers? And that you address the Imperial Preceptor as godfather? What’s the situation now? Could it be that there’s another Imperial Preceptor in South Courtyard Kingdom?” Mu Yunjin pretended to be very confused.
Such street bullies, who knew how many innocent women they had harmed? Without a good lesson this time, her anger wouldn’t be quelled.
Imperial Preceptor An had understood the situation now, his expression becoming serious. Since Mu Yunjin had gone to such lengths to bring this person, he must be someone she found intolerable.
“Guards, go and arrest this so-called Xu Liangjiu he speaks of,” Imperial Preceptor An commanded the mansion guards.
Several guards received the order and rushed out.
…
One cup of tea later, in the main hall of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion.
“Father, father, save me, please save me!”
As soon as a middle-aged man entered, Xu Jin, as if gone mad, lunged at him, grabbing his robe, refusing to let go.
Xu Liangjiu was initially delighted to hear that the Imperial Preceptor was looking for him, but upon seeing his son’s pale face and drooping right hand, his eyes revealed surprise, and he had an ominous premonition.
“Xu pays respects to the Imperial Preceptor.” Xu Liangjiu bowed to Imperial Preceptor An.
After Xu Liangjiu entered, Imperial Preceptor An recalled that he had indeed met this person before. At that time, Xu Liangjiu, as a merchant, often came to his mansion to present gifts, eager to curry favor. Later, he did receive him once, but only because the palace was organizing an event that needed the support of merchants. He had met Xu Liangjiu once and exchanged a few words, nothing more.
How had this suddenly transformed into them being sworn brothers?
“Rise,” Imperial Preceptor An said to Xu Liangjiu.
Xu Liangjiu thanked him and stood up straight, looking at the people seated on both sides, all exuding nobility, clearly individuals of high status.
“Imperial Preceptor, what offense has my son committed?” Xu Liangjiu asked, somewhat frightened.
“It’s like this, I heard…” After Imperial Preceptor An leisurely explained the cause and effect of the matter, Xu Liangjiu had already knelt on the ground, trembling even more severely than Xu Jin.
“Imperial Preceptor, please spare our lives!” Xu Liangjiu kowtowed several times. “This humble one has never said such things, it was all fabricated by this unfilial son. Even with a hundred lives, this humble one would not dare to say such things outside!”
“Father, you…” Xu Jin was at a loss for words, his uninjured hand gripping Xu Liangjiu’s sleeve tightly.
Xu Liangjiu gave Xu Jin a stern look. “Shut up!”
Imperial Preceptor An massaged his temples with a headache and said to a guard captain beside him, “Go find people to investigate how many benefits these Xu father and son have extorted using this Imperial Preceptor’s name, and how many evil deeds they have committed. Report everything to me clearly, don’t miss even the slightest detail.”
“Yes, sir.” The guard captain, upon hearing this, led a group of people out.
After the guards left to investigate, Imperial Preceptor An spoke to the remaining guards, “Take these two and confine them in the mansion’s dungeon for now.”
With these words, the Xu father and son began wailing simultaneously.
…
After the Xu father and son were dragged out of the hall, the entire hall immediately fell silent. Mu Yunjin took a sip of water and suddenly realized that the matter had been escalated again.
“By the way, who is this Miss Yuchun you mentioned earlier?” Huang Yan looked toward Huaying, recalling what they had said to Imperial Preceptor An when they first entered the mansion.
Upon hearing this question, both Mu Yunjin and Huaying instinctively looked at Imperial Preceptor An.
“Why are you looking at me? I have no connection with that woman!” Imperial Preceptor An turned away, feeling uncomfortable under their gaze.
Mu Yunjin smiled lightly, moved closer to Chu Li, and played with her fingernails with an air of indifference. “Earlier, at Jinghua Temple, while divining for marriage, Crown Prince Yun’s destined ‘fair maiden whom a gentleman would admire’ had already appeared. As for our Imperial Preceptor’s ‘love at first sight, heart in full bloom,’ it seems…”
Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows but didn’t continue.
Chu Li and Huang Yan immediately understood, and their gazes toward Imperial Preceptor An took on another meaning…