Volume 6: Dream Record Chapter 416 Yuan Xudong is back
Hearing this, Zhao Pan'er raised her chin slightly and looked at the clerk who was arrogant at first but respectful later, and said with a proud look:
"Which other Xiao family could it be? In this huge city of Tokyo, the most powerful Xiao family is the Xiao family I'm talking about!"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er's arrogant expression, the clerk did not dare to act rashly. He asked cautiously and tentatively:
"Envoy Xiao?"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er nod slightly, the clerk was unsure and didn't know whether what she said was true or not, let alone going to the Xiao family to confirm it. At this time, Uncle De, who was standing next to him, immediately said:
"You, don't listen to their nonsense. They are all lowly women. How can they be from the Xiao family? Sir, please don't be fooled by them!"
As he said this, in front of everyone, Uncle De took out a small bag of gold and silver ingots from his sleeve and stuffed them into the clerk's pocket, saying with a smile:
"Sir, this is just a small token of my respect. The eunuchs from the palace will soon come to announce the emperor's decree. My husband will soon be appointed to an official position by the emperor. Please, Sir, drive these shrews out of the city, lest they offend the eunuchs from the palace!"
"Sure, sure!"
The clerk weighed the money bag in his hand and smiled with satisfaction. Then he looked at Zhao Pan'er and others with contempt and said with disdain:
"How dare you, a shrew, to accuse the top scholar for no reason, and even pretend to be from the Xiao family. Let me ask you, what is the name of the old lady of the Xiao family? How old is she this year? What is the name of the second son of the Xiao family?"
Zhao Pan'er and the others naturally had no answers to these questions. Seeing this, the clerk was completely relieved and waved his hand, saying:
"Someone, arrest them, parade them through the streets, and drive them out of Tokyo!"
"yes!"
A group of officials rushed towards Zhao Pan'er and others with hemp ropes in their hands. Several people fought back desperately, and Sun Sanniang even rolled over and threw a tantrum, saying:
"What are you doing? What do you want to do? You are a dog official. You accept bribes from others and oppress the innocent people. Is there any law under the feet of the emperor?"
"King's law?"
Seeing the tantrum of Sun Sanniang, the clerk walked up to her, raised his hand and slapped her in the face, saying:
"You shrew, you dare to scold me? I'll tell you what the law is. I am the law. Take me away!"
"Bah!"
After being slapped hard by the guard, Sun Sanniang was pinned down by the officers on both sides and could not move. She spat blood on the guard's face. The guard was so angry that he wiped his face fiercely and said angrily:
"Strip them of their clothes, parade them through the streets, and drive them out of Tokyo!"
"What do you want to do?"
Seeing that the officers were actually going to strip them of their clothes, Zhao Pan'er, Sun Sanniang, Song Yinzhang, and Yinping girl could not help but resist desperately and started fighting with the officers.
Zhao Pan'er was kicked to the ground and her forehead was broken and bleeding. Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl were so scared that they screamed continuously. Sun Sanniang was slapped and punched several times for them, and one side of her face was swollen.
In a short while, their outer coats were torn, and Uncle De, who was watching nearby, was so excited that he almost wanted to strip Zhao Pan'er and the others naked and humiliate them. Zhao Pan'er's eyes were filled with grief and indignation. At this moment, she hated the officials who humiliated her, the leading clerk, Uncle De who brought them here, and even more so, Ouyang Xu, the instigator!
At this moment, Ouyang Xu, who had been hiding in the dark for a long time, walked out of his yard and shouted at the officials who were bullying Zhao Pan'er and others:
"Stop it, don't be rude!"
"Stop, everyone stop!"
Hearing Ouyang Xu's order, the clerk quickly stopped his men. He covered his right cheek that was scratched by Sun Sanniang, walked to Ouyang Xu and said:
"Sir, to deal with such shrews, you have to humiliate them. Only when they lose face will they know what respect and inferiority are!"
"If you make things too difficult for them, it will also damage my reputation as an official. Give them some face and drive them out of the city!"
"Well, you are right, you are right!"
After talking to the clerk for a few words, Ouyang Xu saw Zhao Pan'er sitting on the ground in a rather embarrassed state with a wound on her forehead, so he bent down and tried to reach out to help her up.
"Pan'er, are you okay..."
Without waiting for Ouyang Xu to approach him, Zhao Pan'er sat on the ground and took a few steps back, slightly raising her chin. She said nothing but stared at Ouyang Xu fiercely. Seeing Zhao Pan'er's ferocious eyes, Ouyang Xu had to swallow the caring words he wanted to say. He stood up and saw that the clerk and his subordinates were all looking at him. He couldn't help but look down at Zhao Pan'er and said:
"Zhao, do you know your mistake? Today I want to tell you that you should not be greedy for things that are not yours. Leave Tokyo from now on, otherwise, this will be your fate!"
Seeing Ouyang Xu confusing right and wrong, Zhao Pan'er and the others could only stare at him fiercely. At this time, the clerk shouted:
"Someone, drag them out, parade them through the streets, and drive them out of Tokyo!"
"Go, get up!"
A group of officials forced Zhao Pan'er, Song Yinzhang, Sun Sanniang, and Yinping to leave. The clerk walked in front, and Zhao Pan'er was forced to walk at the back. Ouyang Xu called out to the officials who were holding Zhao Pan'er, and he took out his purse from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Pan'er, saying:
"Take these two gold ingots. This is all I can give you. Pan'er, go back to Qiantang. Tokyo is not suitable for you. I am doing this for your own good. I am sorry!"
"Pooh~~"
Looking at the hypocritical Ouyang Xu, Zhao Pan'er directly spat at him with disdain in her eyes. Ouyang Xu remained silent and let Zhao Pan'er be taken away by the officials. At this time, looking at Zhao Pan'er and others being taken away by the officials, Uncle De gloated:
"The evil is finally gone!"
"Shut up!"
Ouyang Xu shouted loudly, wiped the saliva off his face, looked at Uncle De and ordered:
"Pack your things and wait for my audience with His Majesty to be completed. I will leave Tokyo immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
…
On the other side, Zhao Pan'er and others, who were in a miserable state, were thrown onto an open donkey cart by the officials and paraded through the streets and alleys for public display.
Along the way, curious people stopped to watch the excitement. The clerk followed the donkey cart with his men, and there was an official in front who was responsible for ringing the gong to clear the way:
"Make way, parade through the streets!"
Although they didn't know what specific laws Zhao Pan'er and the others had violated, this did not prevent the kind-hearted and honest common people from throwing rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves at Zhao Pan'er and the others, while also pointing fingers and talking about them with disdain. In their simple ideas, since they were paraded through the streets by the officials, they must be bad people. Since they were bad people, they could throw rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves at them. The harder they threw them and the more excessively they scolded them, the more they were good people who hated evil. All bad people deserved to die, and long live the good people!
After suffering such a great humiliation, Zhao Pan'er and her companions were so ashamed and angry that they could only lower their heads as much as possible to hide their faces. Sun Sanniang and Yinping girl sat in the front of the donkey cart, blocking Zhao Pan'er and Song Yinzhang behind them. There were two torn sacks on the donkey cart, and Zhao Pan'er and Song Yinzhang each put one on their bodies to cover their heads and faces.
Through the messy hair, Zhao Pan'er saw the arrogant officials and the contemptuous people of Tokyo. At this moment, she couldn't help but miss Yuan Xudong. If Yuan Xudong was by her side, he would definitely not let Ouyang Xu bully him like this. Thinking of this, her eyes couldn't help but feel sore and tears rolled down.
"Sister, are you crying?"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er crying, Song Yinzhang was stunned. This was the first time she had seen Zhao Pan'er cry since she was a child. When she was in the Jiaofang Division, even when she was beaten, scolded, and starved by the manager, Zhao Pan'er never cried. Thinking of this, Song Yinzhang also cried sadly:
"Sister, it's all my fault. If I hadn't lent Fan Lang's gold medal to Zhang Haohao..."
As she spoke, Song Yinzhang was already sobbing. Seeing her like this, Zhao Paner couldn't help but persuade her:
"Okay, you are wrong, but it's not just your fault. I am also wrong, and Ouyang Xu is even more wrong. Just treat it as a lesson. It's actually no big deal!"
"Quiet!"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er and the others crying, the clerk could not help but snort coldly. Seeing that they all lowered their heads, ashamed to see people, he deliberately shouted at the common people who were standing there to watch the excitement:
"Look, look, they are all those wicked women who are trying to extort money from people!"
The clerk's words aroused the interest of the onlookers, and they threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at Zhao Pan'er and others on the donkey cart. Sun Sanniang and Yinping girl hurried to protect Zhao Pan'er and Song Yinzhang. Their heads and faces were immediately covered with egg liquid and rotten vegetable roots. Even Sun Sanniang, who was always hot-tempered, could not help but have tears in her eyes after such humiliation.
The girl Yinping cried like a tearful person. While crying, she protected Zhao Pan'er and Song Yinzhang. She was as pitiful as she could be.
For a moment, the four women on the donkey cart hugged each other and cried together, enduring the attack of the rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves. A group of children ran behind the donkey cart with windmills. As they ran, they imitated the adults and threw small stones and other things at the donkey cart. The windmills hit Zhao Pan'er and others, causing them unbearable pain and heartbreak.
After driving out of the city gate, the donkey cart slowly stopped. Zhao Pan'er and others were roughly pulled off the cart by several officials and thrown heavily to the ground. For a moment, they were in a very miserable state.
"Listen, if you dare to cause trouble in Beijing again, I will break your legs!"
After saying that, the clerk snorted coldly and drove his officers back into the city in a donkey cart. After they left, Zhao Pan'er and the others climbed out of the dust. They were so disheveled and dirty, and their hair was disheveled that passers-by looked at them sideways. The women were too embarrassed to see people, so they turned their bodies sideways to avoid the gazes of passers-by. At this time, Song Yinzhang looked at Zhao Pan'er and asked in a panic:
"Sister, what should we do now?"
Seeing Song Yinzhang, Sun Sanniang, and Yinping girl all looking at her, waiting for her to make a decision, Zhao Paner didn't want to make them worry, so she forced a smile and said:
"Don't worry, there is a post station not far ahead. If Fanlang returns to Tokyo, he will definitely pass by there. Let's go there and wait for him!"
"OK!"
When Yuan Xudong was mentioned, the girls instantly regained some of their spirits, and Yinping girl said viciously:
"When the young master comes back, I will teach that dog official a lesson, as well as the abominable Ouyang Xu and Uncle De, and make them parade on the streets as well!"
"that is!"
Sun Sanniang was also angry:
"That Ouyang Xu is so bad. And that Uncle De is such a disrespectful old man. How can he be so mean? And that dog official clerk blatantly accepted bribes from others. How can the officials in Tokyo be so bad?"
"All crows are black. He and Ouyang Xu are both officials, and they just protect each other!"
With a sigh, Zhao Pan'er said calmly:
"Let's go!"
"Um!"
Several women supported each other and walked towards the post station outside Tokyo City. After walking for a while, they all looked back at the same time. The towering gate of Tokyo City was still there, and the road under their feet was the same one they took to enter Tokyo. The difference was that they entered Tokyo City in the government's post carriage, but now they were driven out of Tokyo in the government's donkey cart. Everything had changed.
It was not until then that they clearly realized what it meant that the people should not fight against the officials. A small clerk was able to drive them out of Tokyo City in such a miserable way. If those real high-ranking officials, or nobles such as royal relatives, wanted to deal with them, it cake. After all, the officials have the final say on right and wrong.
Walking on the road in a daze, Zhao Pan'er passed by a tributary of the Yu River and saw the clear water. She didn't want Yuan Xudong to see her in such a miserable state, so she suggested:
"Sanniang, Yinzhang, Yinping, let's go to the river to wash!"
"OK!"
"Let's go!"
"I'm so dirty. These people in Tokyo are really bad. Throwing rotten vegetable leaves at people is fine, but they threw eggs at me. What a waste! It hurts when they hit me!"
"Just be content. Fortunately, it's not a stone or something!"
"I didn't kill anyone or set any fire, why did they hit me?"
After complaining, Sun Sanniang looked at Zhao Pan'er and said with concern:
"Pan'er , how is the wound on your forehead? Does it still hurt?"
"It's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore!"
Walking to the river, several women squatted down to wash. Zhao Pan'er washed her hands, and then used water to clean the dirt on her face and the blood stains on her forehead. She also tidied up her clothes and messy hair. After she looked less embarrassed, she looked at the wound on her forehead in the water. There was a slightly narrow scar between her eyebrows.
Although she said that it was okay, Zhao Paner couldn't help but worry. She didn't know whether the wound would heal or not, and whether it would leave a scar after healing. If it really left a scar, would it be ugly? Would Yuan Xudong dislike it? And so on. For a moment, she was confused.
"Pan'er, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er staring at the river in a daze, Sun Sanniang, who was closest to her, couldn't help but worry.
"fine!"
Hearing Sun Sanniang's voice, Zhao Pan'er hurriedly covered the wound with her hair. She looked at Sun Sanniang, Song Yinzhang, and Yinping Yatou, and forced a smile and said:
"Are you all done washing up?"
"I'm done!"
"good!"
Seeing that Sun Sanniang, Song Yinzhang, and Yinping girl had all finished washing, Zhao Paner stood up from the river and forced a smile and said:
"Let's go. We are still some distance away from the post station. We need to walk faster and get there before dark!"
"Okay, let's go !"
Zhao Pan'er and the others continued on their way. At this time, a group of people in bright clothes and on horses, with flags flying, came galloping from the official road in the distance. The sound of horse hooves was deafening, and yellow sand was raised all the way. The earth seemed to be shaking. Although there were only fifty or sixty riders, they were very powerful. These people were all dressed in black, with fine steel swords on their waists, and riding Ferghana horses that could travel 800 miles a day. They were like an army of thousands of horses, invincible, and still far away. Sun Sanniang pulled Zhao Pan'er, Song Yinzhang, and Yinping girl to the side of the road to get out of the way in advance and said:
"Hurry up , hurry up, these officials are really not good people, riding so fast on the official road, aren't they afraid of hitting someone to death?"
Zhao Pan'er and a few others stood on the side of the road to avoid the danger. As their outer coats were torn by the officials, they were too embarrassed to see anyone, so they lowered their heads and stood with their backs to the official road. Soon, the rumbling sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer.
The youngest, Song Yinzhang, has admired heroes who ride tall horses and fight bloody battles on the battlefield since he was a child. He fantasizes that one day in the future, his own hero will ride on his white horse to save him, take him away, and wander around the world from then on.
Because of this, whenever she saw someone riding a horse, she would involuntarily take a closer look. This time was no exception. When the sound of horse hooves was getting closer, she couldn't help but look back. She saw that the leader was riding a maroon horse, wearing a black suit, with a sword slung across his waist. His face was heroic, yet gentle as jade. It was Yuan Xudong, whom she hadn't seen for a few days. He finally came back from his hometown to visit his grave.
Seeing that it was Yuan Xudong, Song Yinzhang was so excited that he ran from the roadside to the middle of the official road to stop the horse, waved his hand and shouted:
"Fan Lang, I'm here!"
"Yin Zhang, come back!"
Seeing Song Yinzhang actually run to the middle of the road to stop the horse, Zhao Paner, Sun Sanniang, and Yinping girl were terrified. Yuan Xudong was also startled. He was galloping on his horse when someone suddenly ran out from the side of the road to stop the horse. It was Song Yinzhang. He couldn't help but shout:
"Get out of the way, get out of the way quickly!"
Song Yinzhang seemed to be frightened and stood there motionless. In a flash, Yuan Xudong suddenly pulled the reins, and the horse under his crotch neighed and stood up. When he was about to kick Song Yinzhang, Yuan Xudong bent down from the side of the horse. He held the reins tightly with his left hand and picked up the frightened Song Yinzhang with his right hand, pulled her onto the horse's back and held her in his arms. At this time, Yuan Xudong loosened the tightly pulled reins, and the horse under his crotch ran forward for a while before finally stopping. The Xiao family guards who had been following Yuan Xudong also stopped and were on guard around.
"Frightened silly?"
At this time, Yuan Xudong finally had the heart to look at Song Yinzhang who was still nestled in his arms. Seeing her looking at him infatuatedly, he couldn't help but yelled angrily:
"How could you be so stupid? You ran into the middle of the road to stop the horse. Are you looking for death?"
Only when she heard her "great hero on the white horse" scolding her did Song Yinzhang wake up from her fear and reverie. Looking at Yuan Xudong's angry face, she could not help but lower her head, not daring to look into his eyes. Her two tender white hands were tightly grasping the collar of his shirt, looking like a little girl who had made a mistake and was waiting for adults to punish her.
In fact, she was really young, and Zhao Pan'er had protected her so well over the years that she knew nothing except playing the pipa. Thinking of this, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but suppress his anger and asked softly:
"Why are you stopping me here, and you're in such a mess?"
