Weaving through the crowd, Yun Ye felt incomparably lonely. All sounds seemed to recede far away. He seemed to be in a dream—everything appeared both distant and near. He struggled to grasp that thread of real feeling, within reach yet unattainable. Spear and shield kept slashing at each other endlessly. This made him grow angry. Did he not have control over his own body and thoughts?

He held a pale yellow vase in his hand, squeezing it until it creaked. He was struggling to control himself, to not lose composure, to not let chaotic negative thoughts interfere with normal thinking.

He felt Yiniang hiding behind him. What was she afraid of? Before he could figure it out, a brocade-robed man with a cleanly shaved bluish-green chin reached out to grab Yiniang. Yun Ye raised his arm and blocked those dirty hands.

“Little wretch, daring to find a lover…” Before the words finished, the vase in Yun Ye’s hand smashed into his face. There was no scream. Both hands covered his face as blood flowed out from between his fingers, whimpering sounds coming from his mouth.

Yiniang trembled with fear. Yun Ye turned and gently embraced her, patting her back. “Don’t be afraid. Big brother is here. Hold Daya tight and turn around. This will be over soon.” His voice was calm and unwavering.

The brocade-robed man’s servant cried out: “Murder! Murder! The second young master has been killed! Someone come quickly!”

Zhuang Santing and Liu Jinbao grabbed the servant and knocked out all his teeth with one punch.

The incident happened too suddenly. The surrounding crowd rushed over with a whoosh. Chang’an people’s habit of watching excitement had never changed in thousands of years.

Someone who recognized the brocade-robed man shouted: “Ah, brother, run quickly! This is Old Second from Internal Palace Clerk He Renan’s family. He’s used to being tyrannical. You hit him—you’re in trouble! Run quickly!”

Yun Ye paid no attention. Internal Palace Clerk? Even the Crown Prince had been robbed by me. What does a clerk amount to? Is he so impressive?

He returned to the ceramics stall and grabbed two handy brush washers. These things were solid and shouldn’t break easily. He said to the cowering shopkeeper: “The vase from earlier and these two brush washers—I’m buying them.” After speaking, he tossed the shopkeeper one tael of silver.

He came before the groaning and wailing Old Second He. Yiniang grabbed her brother to explain: “He wanted me to accompany him for drinks before…”

Yun Ye covered Yiniang’s mouth with his hand: “The Yun family doesn’t need a reason to beat this kind of scum, let alone that he bullied you before. Take good care of your sisters. You don’t need to worry about this matter.”

Yun Ye stepped on Old Second He’s right hand with his foot and raised the brush washer, heavily smashing it on Old Second He’s hand. A heart-rending scream made the hearts of all the spectators tighten. The scene quieted down. This lord was a ruthless person! Old Second He had really hit a streak of bad luck encountering this lord.

The various roaming gallants living in Chang’an who fought fiercely—people had seen plenty of them. They had seen scenes ten times more miserable than this, but never had they felt such chilling fear. It wasn’t how miserably Old Second He screamed, but the expression of the perpetrator—not a trace of change. The brush washer smashed again and again on his hand, blood and flesh flying, yet his face remained expressionless as if he were smashing stone.

After continuously smashing seven or eight times, Yun Ye was surprised to discover that one finger was still intact. This made him lose face. The brush washer shattered. Old Second He fainted. The servant, mouth full of blood, stared wide-eyed with fear at Yun Ye. The entire market was silent. Trading voices, haggling voices, noisy voices, cursing voices—all had gone somewhere unknown.

Yun Ye searched around for a handy tool. Seeing a steelyard weight, he was pleased—this was it! He lifted the weight to smash the last finger flat. At this moment, the constables arrived. The crowd parted, making way. Just as they were about to rush forward, they were stopped by Zhuang Santing and Liu Jinbao.

Local tyrants had local tyrants’ advantages. Seeing that Zhuang and Liu were full of killing intent, gripping regulation sabers with no fear on their faces, they knew the perpetrator before them was no ordinary person and naturally stopped advancing. Just as they were about to speak, Zhuang Santing stopped them.

“Don’t go forward. Wait until the lord has vented his anger enough, then he’ll naturally stop.”

“Lord?” The head constable’s legs went weak. Throughout the capital, this was the first lord to personally beat someone himself. He didn’t think the lord was an impostor. Impersonating a lord in Chang’an meant exterminating three generations—no one dared do such a thing. He could only wait for the lord to finish venting.

Yun Ye contentedly smashed the last finger flat, stood up to examine his work, unsatisfied looking left, unsatisfied looking right, always feeling something was missing. Seeing this fellow’s soaking wet crotch, he finally remembered he hadn’t removed the root. Using his hand to grab the weight and smash felt somewhat disgusting. Seeing a sturdy rope tied to the weight, he had an idea. He swung it twice—it had a bit of a meteor hammer feel. Whirling it in a full circle, he smashed it into the middle of Old Second He’s crotch. There was a slight cracking sound. The unconscious Old Second He curled up like a shrimp, bouncing on the ground, gave a gurgling sound, and moved no more.

The men present unconsciously clenched their legs together, their crotches feeling chilly. Women covered their faces, whispering to each other with heads together.

Letting out a long breath, Yun Ye did two chest-expanding exercises. He pulled the Left Militant Guard waist token from his waist and tossed it to the constable. He took Daya from the frightened Yiniang’s hands and put her on his neck. Yiniang grasped Yun Ye’s sleeve and wouldn’t let go. Runiang, foolishly bold, kept giggling, holding several younger sisters and sliding down to the ground. The children showed no sign of fear, looking at their brother with faces full of admiration.

Xiao Nan waved her little arms, laughing the loudest: “I knew big brother was the most powerful! Last time that bearded uncle pinched the fat young master’s dog to death, knocked out the fat young master’s teeth, and even gave me the dog skin for a blanket—so warm! He said big brother was the most powerful.”

The head constable examined the waist token. Upon seeing the words “Left Militant Guard Grain and Fodder Supervisor, Marquis of Lantian County Yun,” he held the token with both hands and respectfully returned it to Yun Ye.

Yun Ye didn’t take it. He spoke gently to the constable: “This marquis was overwhelmed by anger today, and my behavior was somewhat improper. Although this fellow brought it upon himself, acting this way ultimately doesn’t conform to Great Tang law and has made things difficult for you. The waist token is in your hands, which will give you something to report to your superior.”

“Your lordship is too kind to this humble one. Old Second He’s offense to your lordship was his crime first. Your lordship’s angry retaliation came after. This humble one will naturally report truthfully and dare not disturb your lordship’s journey. As for the waist token, there’s no need.” The constable had never dealt with such an exalted person and bent his waist even lower.

Yun Ye nodded and took back the waist token. He lifted his sisters one by one onto the carriage. Together with Zhuang Santing and Liu Jinbao, he turned and left. There would be no more shopping today.

The Chang’an County yamen was in chaos. County Magistrate Zuo Kui was utterly overwhelmed. Matriarch He’s finger was almost pointing at his forehead. Old Second He, wrapped up like a zongzi dumpling, lay on a stretcher, occasionally letting out a miserable howl. He Renan wore his official robe, the green robe wrapped around his body, constricting him like a silkworm. He paced back and forth in the great hall, very uneasy.

From the moment he received his family’s report, from blazing fury to the anxious unease upon hearing the perpetrator was a marquis, these two sentiments struggled endlessly in his heart. If his son had merely had his hand crippled, he wouldn’t have made such a big fuss over the matter. The physician said his son’s future descendants were now in jeopardy. His fierce wife at home immediately made endless noise, entangling and fighting with him until the matter was brought to the yamen.

Looking at his ceaselessly clamoring wife, a sense of desolation surged in his heart. What karma had he created? Not only did he have a fierce wife, but also a shameless unworthy son. Nearly thirty years old and still constantly seeking flowers and asking willows. He, a堂堂Internal Palace Clerk, couldn’t find him a suitable match. Whenever the He family’s second young master was mentioned to others, they all retreated three steps away.

Now he had provoked tremendous trouble. A marquis—was a marquis easy to provoke? He heard he was even a great general in the military, under the command of the notoriously fierce Duke Cheng. Even if this case were brought before His Majesty, they wouldn’t win. After all, this unworthy son had been disrespectful first. Hearing his wife still clamoring endlessly, nameless fire rose. He shouted loudly: “Enough! You foolish woman! In normal times, you don’t properly educate our son, letting him create this monstrous disaster. Now danger threatens over a hundred people in our entire family, yet you still clamor endlessly. Will you only be happy when you force me to death?”

The woman had never seen her husband shout at her so loudly. She felt somewhat timid in her heart. Although her expression wasn’t good, she stopped making noise.

He Renan cupped his hands toward County Magistrate Zuo Kui: “Today’s matter was entirely brought upon himself by my unworthy son and blames no one else. This old man will withdraw the complaint now. How about that?”

Zuo Kui let out a long breath. This one had finally seen the situation clearly. Withdrawing the complaint was good—no one would have trouble. All under heaven at peace.