Ashes to Crown

Chapter 109: Chapter 68: On the Street

Zhang Gu was shoved around, stumbling so much that he nearly dropped the bundle in his hand.

”Boss, who’s this important person passing by?” a new recruit asked curiously, craning his neck to see. ”Is it an Imperial Uncle? Back in my village, I heard that when Imperial Uncles pass by, the streets are paved with flowers—”

Zhang Gu spat. ”If you don’t want to get sent back to the countryside, then shut your mouth. This is the Capital City. Keep spouting nonsense and you’d better watch your hide. What rubbish, ’Imperial Uncles’—”

The new recruit stuck out his tongue. He had gone through great trouble to get from a countryside post station to the Capital City. Although this was still a thankless job, perhaps even less comfortable than his quiet life back home, he was young and craved adventure. He couldn’t bear the thought of returning—

He didn’t dare push forward anymore and was shoved to the back, but from there, he managed to overhear a lot of chatter.

”It’s a young master from the Xie family.”

”The Dongyang Xie Family. The one the Crown Princess Consort belongs to.”

The new recruit was delighted. ’The Xie family! So the Xie family members are Imperial Uncles, too. That means there *are* lots of Imperial Uncles now, and Mr. Zhang said I was spouting nonsense.’

”Third Young Master Xie?”

”Of course not. It’s his brother, the one who got into huge trouble. A lot of people died.”

Hearing this, the new recruit was startled again. Forgetting all about seeing the Imperial Uncles, he squeezed his way toward the people talking to listen intently.

”One of the young masters of the Xie family was escorting his shop’s goods through Han County when he got drunk and started a fire. It burned down an entire village—everyone, down to the last dog, was killed.”

”My heavens! Th-that’s murder.”

”What if it is? Is a Young Master Xie really going to pay for it with his life?”

The new recruit’s heart pounded with fear. But it was just as the stories in his village claimed: Imperial Uncles could get away with murder and arson. He couldn’t help but squeeze forward, wanting to see for himself what an Imperial Uncle who could get away with such crimes looked like—

Zhang Gu failed to hold him back and stomped his foot in frustration. ”You little rascal! You just came from the countryside, how are you already as disobedient as Ah Jiu?”

To keep the ignorant, fearless country boy from causing trouble, he had no choice but to follow.

A commotion rippled through the crowd ahead.

”Here they come! Here they come!”

The new recruit had already squeezed his way to the very front. He didn’t even need to stand on his tiptoes to see a group of people approaching. There were no magnificent carriages and horses as the new recruit had imagined; instead, it was a group on foot, led by a young man.

The young man’s chin was raised, his expression arrogant and dismissive of everyone around him. He wore no lavish clothes; instead, he was stripped to the waist, with thorn branches tied to his back.

’What’s going on?’

”Mr. Xie, Xie Yanlai—”

a middle-aged man behind the young man announced in a loud voice.

”His conduct, improper! His character, flawed! He has taken human lives!”

He raised the whip in his hand and swung it. With a sharp CRACK, it landed on the young man’s bare back, drawing gasps from the surrounding crowd.

The whip struck the thorn branches, making them bounce and press into his skin. Beads of blood immediately welled up, glistening in the sunlight.

The new recruit clutched at his chest, so tense he could hardly breathe.

’So Imperial Uncles can get beaten, too!’

...

...

”So that’s Xie Yanlai.”

In a restaurant overlooking the street, a group of young men stood by a window. At their head was Liang Qiang, a wine cup in his hand. He gazed down at the whip marks on the young man’s back, his expression a mixture of satisfaction and hatred.

”He’s the one who said my sister is ugly and isn’t good enough for him.”

The other young men looked down at the street. Though they were far away and could only get a glimpse of the young man’s features, they couldn’t help but think—’He wasn’t exactly wrong, though.’

Liang Qiang frowned and sneered. ”Even if he was right, what kind of gentleman humiliates a woman for her appearance?”

A companion beside him nodded. ”That’s right. He’s certainly no gentleman. Look at all this he’s done.”

”After he humiliated Miss Liang, Third Young Master Xie was furious and punished him by sending him away from the Capital City to escort goods. And what was the result?” another companion sneered. ”This time, he didn’t just humiliate someone—he took human lives.”

Liang Qiang’s servant boy eagerly chimed in, ”He burned dozens of people to death, and the dozen or so survivors are all scarred beyond recognition. An entire village is finished. Not only did he not save anyone, he even tried to sue the village for compensation for his goods.”

How horrifying.

Utterly heartless.

The acts of a beast!

”How could Han County let him go! They should have beaten him to death right then and there!” the young masters declared one after another.

”He very nearly *was* beaten to death,” the servant boy said with relish. ”Unfortunately, Eldest Young Master Wei of a prominent local clan intervened. Eldest Young Master Wei spent a great deal of money to bury the dead and treat the injured, and that’s the only reason Xie Yanlai was able to leave Han County.”

”The Han County Wei Family, ah...” The young masters all nodded. ”We have long heard of their reputation.” ”Now *that* is the demeanor befitting the young master of a great house.”

Liang Qiang sneered. ”He’s just afraid of the Xie family, playing the peacemaker.”

”Now that’s a bit harsh,” the others laughed. ”Don’t say that. Eldest Young Master Wei had no other choice.” ”Xie Yanlai is a son of the Xie family, after all. If he really came to harm in Han County, it would reflect poorly on the Wei Family as well.” ”Isn’t it far better to hand him over to the Xie family for punishment?”