Chapter 52

It turned out that when he came over to help, with the two mounted guards from his family, there was indeed nothing difficult in the southern part of the city. Unexpectedly, this young noble was really enthusiastic. Zhao Jin smiled and said, "It's already resolved, no need for help. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."

These words conveyed a sense of closeness, and Dong Bingfeng's face immediately lit up with a smile. He nodded, ran back, mounted his horse, and left, waving goodbye to everyone from atop his horse. The two guards behind him looked at Dong Bingfeng with encouraging and caring expressions.

Originally, the young men had no impression of the new arrival, Dong Bingfeng, and even felt some aversion because of his showy behavior. However, his enthusiastic gesture just now left a good impression, and they all waved goodbye to him.

Dong Bingfeng left with a smile, and everyone walked in silence for a while. The Chen Sheng brothers looked around carelessly, Sun Dalei kept waving his "big hammer," clearly proud of his ranking at noon. Shi Manqiang, Jixiang, and Liu Yong, the three young men from the southern part of the city, looked at Zhao Jin with a mix of respect and awe.

Wang Zhaojing's reaction when he arrived in the southern part of the city was different from the others. He seemed to be shocked by the poverty there, his face full of compassion. After seeing Zhao Jin's actions, he looked thoughtful, and as he walked, his face was full of questions.

After leaving Pengcheng Academy, the streets and buildings became much more orderly, and everyone's mood relaxed. Chen Sheng took a short stick and started playing with Sun Dalei, laughing and joking. Taking this opportunity, Wang Zhaojing walked up to Zhao Jin and asked with a smile, "Brother Zhao, those five ruffians were evil, why did you still plead for them and show them kindness? Shouldn't such villains be completely eradicated?"

As soon as he spoke, the young men fell silent and moved closer, showing that it wasn't just Wang Zhaojing who was curious and had questions.

Zhao Jin stopped and smiled, countering, "They were evil? What heinous deeds did they commit?"

Wang Zhaojing was taken aback, and the other young men, upon careful thought, realized that while the five ruffians were indeed annoying and feared, what they actually did was mostly just stealing food and making threats.

"Five slaps and fifty kowtows each day are enough to humiliate them. If they were just driven out of the city, these ruffians, who can only bully children and have injuries on their heads, how long could they survive?" Zhao Jin asked again.

The young men fell into deep thought, and the group fell silent. Zhao Jin continued, "To take several lives over a small matter is too harsh and unnecessary. Since they have been punished and know they were wrong, they should be given a chance to reform."

This set of principles was hard for the young men to fully understand, but Wang Zhaojing could follow, though he clearly did not agree. Zhao Jin smiled and continued walking, adding, "If a small matter drives them to desperation, what if they retaliate against us or our families?"

After hearing this, Wang Zhaojing was startled, his face showing realization. The other young men also understood this point. They might not know the idiom "do not pursue a defeated enemy," but they had all heard the saying "a cornered rabbit will bite."

If those ruffians were driven to desperation and did something reckless, there would be no way to guard against it.

Thinking about this, the young men looked at Zhao Jin with newfound respect and trust. Wang Zhaojing said repeatedly, "Brother Zhao, you have thought this through very well. I was too narrow-minded. Your approach of combining kindness and authority is truly remarkable."

After all this delay, they returned to Zhao Zhenxing's place much later than usual. Zhao Zhenxing's expression was very stern, and he said sternly, "Martial arts training cannot be slackened even for a moment. You have only been training for two months, and you are already so proud and complacent. What will you do in the future?"

Zhao Jin had no chance to explain and received ten lashes from a bamboo stick before starting training. He practiced for an extra hour in the evening.

Zhao Jin had no complaints. A strict teacher produces excellent students, and his uncle's strictness was for his own good.

Because the training was so late, Zhao Zhentang came to check on them. He also knew that martial arts training could not be slackened, so he did not disturb the training and waited until Zhao Zhenxing said it was over.

After the training, Zhao Zhenxing's face finally showed a smile, and he said to Zhao Zhentang, "Brother, Little Jin has a good temperament and can endure hardship."

Zhao Zhentang grunted noncommittally, tidied up briefly, and the three of them walked home together.

It was already dark, but the moonlight was bright, so they did not worry about tripping. However, Zhao Jin noticed that his father and uncle walked very carefully, protecting him in the middle.

In this era, there were no streetlights, and there was no light pollution. At night, one either used a lantern or torch, or relied on the moonlight, otherwise it was pitch black. There were many bandits and criminals who came out at night, and they were hard to guard against.

The journey was quiet, and everyone knew that the night was unsafe, so few people were out. As they approached their own street, Zhao Zhentang stopped, and Zhao Zhenxing reached out to grab Zhao Jin's shoulder, ready to pull him back if necessary.

Zhao Jin then saw that there were people at their doorstep. Before they could ask, the people at the door spoke first, "Big Brother Zhao, it's me, your little brother!"

This "Big Brother Zhao" was obviously not addressing Zhao Jin. The voice sounded familiar, but he could not immediately place it. Zhao Zhentang relaxed and coldly replied, "Who is your brother?"

As they approached, Zhao Jin finally saw who was at the door. It was the Mu family, father and daughter. Mu Shulan, whom he had not seen for several days, was standing there, looking timid. She was overjoyed to see Zhao Jin and ran over, letting go of her father's hand.

"Little brother has to go to Shandong for a while. I am busy and cannot take care of the child. I ask Big Brother Zhao to help look after her," Mr. Mu said with his usual indifferent expression, even when asking for help, he was not very polite.

Zhao Jin was surprised, thinking that to leave a child at someone else's house, especially during the most important time of the year, the Spring Festival, was not something a real father would do. However, looking at Mr. Mu and Mu Shulan, they clearly resembled each other, indicating they were father and daughter.

Before Zhao Zhentang could respond, Mr. Mu took out two silver ingots, which looked to be about twenty taels. Zhao Jin was surprised again. From what he had heard from his parents, a family of four with a moderate income spent less than ten taels a year, and Mr. Mu had taken out so much at once.

Mu Shulan usually ate the ordinary meals here with great enjoyment and dressed normally, leading him to think her family was average. Now he was not so sure.

"Big Brother Zhao will incur expenses. Please accept this silver," Mr. Mu said in a clear voice, but his expression still did not show much politeness.

Zhao Zhentang's face was indifferent as he took the silver, nodded, and turned to leave without saying another word. Mr. Mu was also direct; seeing the nod, he turned and left without even saying goodbye to his daughter.

Mu Shulan, who had not seen Zhao Jin for several days, was very excited. She grabbed Zhao Jin's hand and chattered away. Zhao Zhentang turned to look at the two children, shook his head, and called out to Mr. Mu, "I don't care what you do, but think about your daughter. She is innocent and you are her only relative..."

Mr. Mu turned and stopped, taken aback by Zhao Zhentang's words. He then slightly bowed his head and said, "I have no choice."

He turned again, but this time, before turning, he bowed to Zhao Zhentang. Watching Mr. Mu disappear into the darkness of the street, Zhao Jin could not help but shake his head, wondering why he did not even say goodbye to his own daughter.

Mu Shulan seemed not to mind her father's coldness, waving at his back with a smile and continuing to chatter with Zhao Jin.