At this moment, Uncle Dou was utterly devastated.
Someone had asked him to stop this young woman on the street and chat her up for a bit. He figured he could gain some benefits and take advantage of a woman, so naturally, he couldn’t resist the opportunity.
But no one had told him that this young woman would die by hitting a wall after merely having her hand touched!
Dying from hitting a wall… The thought was truly ominous.
As Uncle Dou shouted, the constables who were about to subdue him paused and looked towards their leader.
The lead constable sneered, “How absurd. You claim to be Prince Yan’s wife’s uncle, but do you think that makes it true? I encounter several people a day who try to falsely claim such connections!”
The Five Cities Command was specifically responsible for patrolling and catching thieves in the capital. With the capital being full of officials and nobles, many ne’er-do-wells tried to claim connections to them.
“Am I lying?” Uncle Dou retorted righteously, shouting, “If you don’t believe me, you can go and ask around. My sister is currently staying at Prince Yan’s residence…”
The lead constable began to hesitate.
Uncle Dou smirked coldly, “Hmph, I am Prince Yan’s wife’s uncle, which makes me Prince Yan’s uncle as well. If you dare arrest me, Prince Yan will surely have you thrown in jail and beaten!”
The Empress Dowager listened silently, her face extremely displeased.
Princess Rongyang lowered her gaze, concealing the amusement in her eyes.
Such a person, though utterly worthless, could be quite useful at critical moments.
It wasn’t uncommon for young rakes to harass respectable women, but for the harassed woman to die by hitting a wall in front of everyone, the situation had escalated significantly.
Even if the authorities didn’t pursue the matter, the spectators would spread the news.
After today’s commotion, no matter how Prince Yan and his wife tried to salvage the situation, Princess Yan’s reputation would be ruined.
By destroying Princess Yan’s reputation among the common people and her standing in the eyes of the Emperor and Empress Dowager, Princess Rongyang’s move had not been in vain.
Princess Rongyang had considered dealing with the child in Jiang Si’s womb but ultimately decided against it.
Since becoming pregnant, Princess Yan rarely left the house, and infiltrating Prince Yan’s residence was no easy task. Eliminating the child in her womb would be quite difficult.
Moreover, the child in Princess Yan’s womb wasn’t as valuable as the one in Princess Qi’s womb. Getting rid of it would at most cause Princess Yan to grieve for a while. Given Princess Yan’s age, she might conceive again after a few months.
Princess Rongyang couldn’t be bothered with a strategy that required so much effort but had little impact on her opponent.
Ruining someone’s reputation was much easier, and the effects would linger for years, potentially even leaving a mark in historical records.
Princess Rongyang coldly observed the commotion, feeling refreshed.
A child’s voice rang out: “Sister—”
Soon, a boy of seven or eight pushed through the crowd and ran towards the fallen woman.
Immediately, a wave of discussions arose among the crowd.
“What a tragedy! This child lost his parents at a young age and has been living with his married sister. Now that his sister is dead, how will he survive—”
“Where is this young woman’s husband?”
“Her husband is a traveling merchant, he hasn’t returned from his journey yet…”
The boy wept over the woman’s body, then suddenly got up and charged at Uncle Dou.
“Give me back my sister, give me back my sister!” The boy lowered his head and bit Uncle Dou’s wrist.
Children’s teeth are sharp, and he used all his strength, immediately causing Uncle Dou’s wrist to bleed profusely.
Uncle Dou cried out in pain and violently flung the boy away.
Although the boy was not short for his age, he was very thin. He was thrown quite far and fell to the ground.
The spectators could no longer stand by and watch and began to curse.
“Does being Prince Yan’s wife’s uncle mean you can drive people to their deaths? Is there no justice?”
“That’s right! Even when princes break the law, they’re punished like common people. How can a mere uncle of a princess’s wife do whatever he wants?”
“Remember Yang the Imperial Uncle? He did whatever he wanted to, and look how that ended. He died a horrible death…”
The major cases from last year were still popular topics of discussion among the common people.
There’s safety in numbers, and the spectators grew increasingly agitated as they spoke.
Uncle Dou, clutching his wrist, jumped up and down cursing, “Who said that? If you have the guts, step forward, and let’s go say it to Prince Yan’s face!”
The crowd fell silent.
Uncle Dou’s brazen attitude made the lead constable hesitate to act.
To be so confident at this point, he might not be one of those falsely claiming connections. He might be Princess Yan’s uncle.
The lead constable had heard of Prince Yan’s glorious deeds.
Daring to roll up his sleeves and beat the Crown Prince, and coming out unscathed while the Crown Prince was deposed not long after…
Tsk, tsk. People like them wouldn’t dare provoke Prince Yan; their lives wouldn’t be enough to pay for it.
The lead constable softened his tone, “Come with us first!”
“I’m not going anywhere. If we’re going somewhere, it’ll be to Prince Yan’s residence. If you don’t have the guts to go there, then let me go!” Uncle Dou shouted.
The lead constable almost couldn’t resist slapping Uncle Dou.
How could anyone be so stupid?
“Brother, come with us first. We can talk about this when there’s no one around…” the lead constable whispered.
Uncle Dou paused, hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
In the carriage, the Empress Dowager, with a stern face, instructed her attendant: “Call the guards over.”
Soon, a young man in civilian clothes came before the Empress Dowager and respectfully said, “This humble official serves under Commander Han. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty.”
The Empress Dowager was taken aback for a moment, muttering, “The Emperor is…”
She then composed herself and instructed, “Very well then. Go tell the Five Cities Command to bring that man to me…”
The young man immediately went to carry out the order.
“Wait a moment.”
The lead constable, who was about to take Uncle Dou away, turned to look.
The young man raised his hand, flashing something.
Seeing the token in his hand, the lead constable’s expression changed dramatically. He cupped his hands and said, “What are your orders, sir?”
The young man raised his chin slightly and said coldly, “I’m taking this man with me.”
The lead constable breathed a huge sigh of relief and eagerly pushed Uncle Dou towards the young man.
It was for the best that this Brocade-scaled Guard official could take away this fool. It saved him from a difficult situation.
With a death involved, releasing the man would invite criticism from the public, but not releasing him might offend Prince Yan. It was a lose-lose situation.
The Brocade-scaled Guard was truly formidable, daring to arrest even royal relatives, let alone their relatives.
A man following the young official immediately came forward and grabbed Uncle Dou.
“Who are you people? Let me go!” Seeing the young man’s cold, intimidating demeanor, Uncle Dou turned to the lead constable for help, “Aren’t you constables? This man is trying to kidnap me, why aren’t you doing anything?”
The young man said calmly, “Brocade-scaled Guard, conducting an investigation.”
Uncle Dou was dumbfounded, “B-Brocade-scaled Guard?”
Having lived in the capital for quite some time, he was well aware of the Brocade-scaled Guard’s reputation.
Hearing that it was the Brocade-scaled Guard conducting an investigation, even the onlookers didn’t dare to speak up. The scene suddenly became quiet, with only the boy’s cries echoing incessantly, sounding extremely pitiful.
The Empress Dowager instructed her attendant again: “Provide some silver to have that woman buried and send the child back home. Have the carriage change direction.”