Chapter 12

Not long after, the four servants of the Hu family limped up. They had all been injured in today's conflict, the worst being Liang Dazhuang, who was bruised and swollen, his face distorted, looking like a pig's head.

The four servants came to the front hall and knelt down with a thud, shouting in unison, "We are wronged, Your Excellency must do us justice!"

Hu Buwei snorted coldly, picked up his teacup, and continued drinking tea, acting as if he were an outsider.

Hong Baiqi did not let these servants rise, and said sternly, "Listen carefully, you must answer my questions truthfully. If any of you dare to lie or deceive, I will punish you severely!" He habitually reached for the wooden block used to bang the table, but grabbed the teacup instead. Raising it, he realized his mistake and gently put it down, glancing at Hu Buwei. One must consider the master when punishing the dog. Hong Baiqi's sternness was to create an impression of impartiality, to intimidate the servants. However, he was quite courteous to Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Buwei, of course, knew that Hong Baiqi was putting on a show and that he was seeking his opinion. He remained calm and silent.

Hong Baiqi had no choice but to continue, "Tell me truthfully, why did Miss Tang fall into the water, and what happened after she fell?"

Liang Dazhuang, with his mouth twisted, said, "Your Excellency, at the time, that Tang girl was riding a large red horse, galloping wildly by Cuiyun Lake. We were accompanying Young Master for a walk by the lake. Seeing her galloping wildly, I wanted to protect Young Master, but the horse was too fast, and there was no time to react. Just as Young Master was about to be hit by her horse, she pulled the reins in time. We wanted to argue, but Young Master said, 'A real man doesn't fight with a woman.' Since he wasn't hurt, he let it go. But we didn't expect..." Liang Dazhuang put on a pitiful expression.

This fellow, beaten to look like a pig's head, made any expression he tried look ridiculous rather than pitiful.

Hu He followed, "None of us expected that Tang girl to be so arrogant. She raised her whip and lashed Young Master across the face. Young Master raised his hand to block... and was beaten until his skin was torn!"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head, sighed, and rolled up his sleeve at the right moment to show the clear whip mark on his arm to everyone.

Hu Buwei inwardly praised his son. At this moment, silence was better than words. This was called striking back after the opponent had made their move. Let the Tang family speak their lies first, and then counter with facts and evidence to expose their lies. Heh, to dare bully the Hu family, Tang Wenzheng, a mere sixth-rank stable master, challenging my authority, I see you don't want to stay in the capital anymore.

Tang Wenzheng was startled when he saw Hu Xiaotian reveal the wound. Knowing his daughter's arrogant nature, he understood that if the servants' account was true, his daughter must have lashed Hu Xiaotian first. "Daughter, daughter, you've really caused a huge mess!"

Tang Qingxuan, who had been pretending to faint in Murong Feiyun's arms, could no longer remain silent. She suddenly opened her eyes, startling Murong Feiyun. Tang Qingxuan angrily said, "It was you who tampered with my horse and pushed me into the water."

Hu Xiaotian inwardly sighed. This girl was really unscrupulous. He didn't plan to hold it against her, but she kept distorting the truth in front of everyone. Clearly, she had been pretending to faint. He thought, "You look so young and beautiful, but your heart is so evil. Damn, are you really trying to force me to take drastic action?"

Hong Baiqi frowned and said, "Miss Tang, think carefully. You said your horse was startled and you were thrown off, but now you say they pushed you into the water." Hong Baiqi, a seasoned official, was biased towards Hu Buwei, seizing on Tang Qingxuan's inconsistencies to amplify them.

Tang Qingxuan, with tears in her eyes, said, "Your Excellency, I was too embarrassed to say it. I wasn't galloping by the lake. They, master and servants, saw me and had evil intentions. They tried to assault me. I, a weak woman, was afraid and tried to escape on my horse, but this villain!" She pointed at Hu Xiaotian, who was the "villain" she referred to. "He... spewed filth and tried to assault me... How could I fight against five strong men? In a panic, I lashed out in self-defense... Your Excellency..."

Hu Xiaotian coldly looked at Tang Qingxuan. "You little vixen, you can lie so convincingly. Your acting is pretty good, maybe not perfect, but at least eighty out of a hundred. Lashing out in self-defense? More like self-pleasure. With your level of skill, you can't even trick me. You must be blind."

Tang Wenzheng glared, truly angry. He believed that Hu Xiaotian was lying and that his daughter was telling the truth. The Hu family was really overstepping.

Hong Baiqi originally wanted to mediate and make everyone happy, but the situation had taken unexpected turns, making it difficult to handle. He comforted Tang Qingxuan, "Miss Tang, don't cry, just tell the truth."

Tang Qingxuan approached Hu He and stared at him, "Wasn't it you who hit my horse with a stick?"

Hu He looked at Hu Xiaotian, waiting for his cue.

At this moment, Hu Xiaotian remained calm and said, "Just tell the truth. You're not a woman, don't lie!" His implication was that Tang Qingxuan was lying, but he didn't rush to expose her, wanting to see how she would perform.

With Hu Xiaotian's permission, Hu He had no reservations and nodded, "Yes, I saw her galloping towards Young Master, so I raised my cudgel and poked it into her horse's rear!" The servants were not refined, and their words were crude and straightforward. Many people couldn't help but laugh, even Hu Buwei smiled.

Tang Qingxuan blushed with shame. Even if she won this argument today, her dignity was lost. She bit her lip and said, "My horse was startled and threw me off, and I fell into Cuiyun Lake. I don't know how to swim and almost died... Your Excellency, you must do me justice..." She sobbed again.

Liang Dazhuang couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "You're distorting the truth. After you fell into the water, it was our Young Master who saved you from the lake. Do you have any conscience?"

Tang Tieshan said, "You're the ones distorting the truth. Didn't you kidnap my sister? Hu Xiaotian, didn't you hold a dagger to her neck and threaten us to give you the horse, then escape to the Shangshu Mansion?"

Liang Dazhuang said, "You brought hundreds of people to attack us. If Young Master hadn't done that, we would have been chopped into pieces."

Tang Tieshan said, "We were trying to save her, not kill you!"

Liang Dazhuang wanted to say more, but Hu Xiaotian gestured for them to stop and said softly, "You can go now."

The four servants looked at Hu Xiaotian, puzzled. They couldn't understand why he remained silent when he needed to defend himself. Was he really going to take the blame?

After the four left, Hu Xiaotian slowly approached Tang Qingxuan and said, "Miss Tang, you said I assaulted you by Cuiyun Lake?"

Tang Qingxuan, seeing him approach, felt a bit nervous under his piercing gaze and nodded, "You're not admitting it now?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "You are indeed beautiful, but do you think your beauty is so extraordinary that I couldn't control my desires and had to assault you in public?"

Tang Qingxuan, of course, didn't think she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and her long black lashes drooped. "What bad things can't you do?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed and turned to Murong Feiyun, "Miss Murong, you and Miss Tang are close friends. She is skilled in martial arts, and quite good at it. I know nothing about martial arts, and my four servants are not very skilled. Do you think the five of us could defeat Miss Tang?"

Murong Feiyun thought, "Why are you asking me?" She had witnessed the fight and knew clearly that Hu Xiaotian was not skilled in martial arts. Tang Qingxuan was her close friend, and she knew her martial arts were on par with her own. In a fight, Tang Qingxuan could handle more than ten men. She whispered, "Miss Tang doesn't know how to swim." This indirectly admitted that if Tang Qingxuan hadn't fallen into the water, Hu Xiaotian's group couldn't have defeated her. Even if they couldn't win, she could at least defend herself.

Hu Xiaotian said, "After Tang Qingxuan fell into the water, she doesn't remember what happened. I saved her from the water, and there were many witnesses."

The Prefect Hong Baiqi nodded slowly.

Hu Xiaotian continued, "Tang Tieshan said I put his sister's head between my legs. That did happen, but at the time, she had swallowed a lot of lake water. I used my knee to press on her abdomen and squeezed her back to expel the water. Tang Qingxuan, think carefully, was I wearing pants at the time?"