Chapter 283: Squashed by the door
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"No? Okay then... I’m going off first!" Ping Yang seemed to expect this reply from the Ninth Prince. She turned and prepared to leave.
"Hang on!" The Ninth Prince blocked the exit in a hurry. "Sister, don’t leave just yet, let us discuss it!"
"Bang!"
Just at this moment, the door to the room was kicked open.
The Ninth Prince did not manage to dodge in time. He felt the door crash into the back of his head. The force flung him towards the wall. Then, he fell to his knees.
"Surprise!" A voice rang out from outside the door. Then, a figure in a blue long sleeved shirt sauntered in.
...
Fang Zhengzhi thought that he would be giving the occupants of the room a huge surprise.
However, he did not expect to be surprised to see someone kneeling on the floor the moment he entered.
And...
Oh?
Ping Yang!
Fang Zhengzhi could not react in time.
Shouldn’t the servant be here? Why is it Ping Yang and a kneeling youth? Is he proposing?
"I’m sorry for disturbing!" Fang Zhengzhi prepared to turn and leave.
"Stand right there!" Ping Yang was surprised. She never expected anyone to disturb her breakfast at Fragrance Restaurant. More importantly, the person who disturbed her was Fang Zhengzhi.
How did this shameless guy manage to come in?
"What’s wrong?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped.
"You want to leave after injuring someone? I don’t think it is that easy. Furthermore, do you know who you injured?" Ping Yang smirked as she looked at the kneeling Ninth Prince.
"Who is it?" Fang Zhengzhi was looking at the Ninth Prince’s back, so he did not recognize him.
Even if Fang Zhengzhi saw his face, he may not recognize the Ninth Prince. After all, they had not met officially before.
"The Ninth Prince, Lin Yun!" Ping Yang beamed as she announced. She wanted to see the fear on Fang Zhengzhi’s face when he found out who he had injured.
However...
Fang Zhengzhi was expressionless.
"What did you say? I couldn’t hear you properly... it’s early in the morning, what’s wrong with my ears? How strange!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured. Then, before Ping Yang could reply, he bolted out the door.
He left Ping Yang and the Ninth Prince in the room. They looked at each other...
...
Inside an ordinary room beside the Fragrance Restaurant.
Su Ping looked at the crowd. He had a cup of piping hot tea in front of him.
"Your honor, it has all been done!" At this point, a servant dressed in black jumped in from the window and knelt in front of Su Qing.
"Mm." Su Qing nodded and picked up his tea. He took a sip expressionlessly.
"Your honor, you have great foresight! Fang Zhengzhi really followed me to the Fragrance Restaurant!" The servant continued.
"How much did you sell the Sun Shooting Bow for?" Su Qing ignored the praises as he continued to enjoy his tea.
"About that..." The servant’s expression changed.
"What happened?"
"Fang Zhengzhi is indeed shameless. He really lives up to that name! I only got five coppers for it!"
"Five coppers?!" Su Qing was stunned, the cup in his hand shaking slightly. The tea spilled over the side and onto his hand, causing him to frown.
"Your honor, please save me. If King Duan knew about this, he would punish me severely."
"Forget it. It is not your fault anyways. If Fang Zhengzhi was so easy to take down, he would not have lived till today. I will handle King Duan. You can leave now!"
"Thank you your honor! I will repay your kindness with my life!" The servant leapt out the window and disappeared into the distance.
"The Sun Shooting Bow for five coppers... how can someone be this shameless? Even if you knew it was a conspiracy, you could have given at least 500? He probably has at least 50? Five coppers... how can a Sword Envoy only give five coppers? It is no wonder he is a lowly villager!" Su Qing muttered to himself. Then, he looked in the direction of the Fragrance Restaurant, "It’s a pity the Sun Shooting Bow is not so easy to get!"
...
Fang Zhengzhi decided to run whilst he still could.
However, he forgot one detail. He was in the Fragrance Restaurant, and the waiter had brought along some backup.
As such...
He was unsurprisingly stopped at the stairway.
Everything else happened naturally. The Ninth Prince bellowed at the guards to back off, then led Fang Zhengzhi back into the room.
All of them looked at each other.
"I am sorry for disturbing your breakfast." After a moment of silence, Fang Zhengzhi decided to break it. Then, he reached for a snack.
He stuffed it into his mouth.
"These are mine!" Ping Yang fumed and pouted. However, she did not stop Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, she looked on in anticipation.
"Oh come on, you can spare one! Oh, this snack is quite nice!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured to himself as he grabbed a handful.
"I knew you never had it before. Is it good? Do you want more?" Ping Yang was happy to see Fang Zhengzhi gorging himself.
"You have more?" Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes brightened.
"Of course we do. Ninth Brother?" Ping Yang looked at Lin Yun.
"If Official Fang likes it, I can get someone to bring more to you." Lin Yun looked at Fang Zhengzhi.
"Okay, that’ll be great!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then poured himself a cup of tea. He gulped it down and his eyes glimmered, "Good tea!"
Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not know how to appreciate tea...
One did not need to know the art to know that this was superior tea. Its sweetness and aroma were dead giveaways.
"Tell me, do you have something that you need my help with?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi haughtily.
"Will you believe me if I told you that I went into the wrong room?" Fang Zhengzhi filled his cup again.
"Wrong room? Such a coincidence?" Ping Yang did not believe it.
"It is quite a coincidence. The snacks are almost finished, I’ll take my leave if there’s nothing else." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the empty plate and prepared to leave.
"You want to leave after injuring someone? You injured the Ninth Prince, my brother. You hit his head with the door. Do you really think you can leave so easily?" Ping Yang knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.
She was not going to let Fang Zhengzhi get away so easily. She was going to use this to make him beg for his life.
"I am sure Official Fang did not do it on purpose, we can..." The Ninth Prince waved her off. Even though he still felt a little faint, to harp on this incident made him look petty.
Furthermore, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang’s relationship was not ordinary. As such, he did not want to put Fang Zhengzhi in a difficult position.
"Ninth Brother, do you want to borrow the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?" Ping Yang interrupted the Ninth Prince.
"Of course!" The Ninth Prince was instantly excited.
"As such, do you think that we should pursue this matter?" Ping Yang smirked.
"Yes, of course we should!" The Ninth Prince instantly understood. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi apologetically, "Official Fang, how about you pay me 1000 silvers?"
"1000 silvers?!"
Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were both in shock.
"Are you trying to rob me?!"
"How can you let him off so easily?!"
The first one was by Fang Zhengzhi, the second one was by Ping Yang.
Then, they glared at each other, flames burning in their eyes. Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were both furious.
"I don’t care. Unless he pays at least 10,000 silvers, you can forget about borrowing the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion. Furthermore, he has to come and be a servant at my residence for 10 days. He will serve me to atone for his mistake!" Ping Yang ordered.
"Is your brain damaged? I didn’t hurt you, why should I be your servant?" Fang Zhengzhi was infuriated.
This was bullying.
As someone with dreams, intellect, and courage, Fang Zhengzhi would never accede to such a request.
"I just want you to come and be my servant!" Ping Yang insisted.
The Ninth Prince began to sweat. Their relationship is indeed complicated. Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have just scolded Ping Yang?
Most importantly...
Ping Yang was not angry?
What’s going on?
Has Ping Yang changed? The Ninth Prince did not think that Ping Yang had changed for the better. Furthermore, he had just experienced how unreasonable she could be.
There could only be one reason.
The person who scolded her was Fang Zhengzhi.
"What if I don’t admit to... injuring him?" Fang Zhengzhi questioned.
"You want to deny it? Oh please, the injury is so obvious. Furthermore, I was witness to the incident together with so many waiters. With so much evidence against you, you can forget about denying it!" Ping Yang said confidently.
Fang Zhengzhi was silent.
Denying his actions was not going to work. Furthermore, according to the rules of this world, injuring a prince could have massive consequences.
At best, it was a misunderstanding.
At worst...
It could be seen as disrespect for the royal family and an intent to rebel.
F*ck this.
He had really entered the wrong door!
Fang Zhengzhi felt wronged. He had been in a hurry to get to the bottom of his case. As a result, he ended up causing himself more trouble.
Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at the Ninth Prince.
He had injured the Ninth Prince. Ping Yang was simply leveraging the fact that the Ninth Prince would listen to her. However, what if the Ninth Prince didn’t?
What did Ping Yang say just now?
Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?
The Ninth Prince must have wanted to borrow the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion. That was why he was listening to Ping Yang.
What if he helped the Ninth Prince get the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion back?
Hmm...
Once he thought about the guards in Ping Yang’s residence, he realized that it would be too much of a risk. Since he could not do it covertly, he had to snatch it from her now.
To deal with Ping Yang was easy.
However, he had to know why the Ninth Prince wanted to find Ping Yang to borrow the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion.
"May I know why the Ninth Prince would like to borrow the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to the Ninth Prince, ignoring Ping Yang.
"Official Fang should have heard about the hunting competition that the Emperor is hosting?" The Ninth Prince answered.
"Yes, I do." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
Before every examination, all of the talents would have a gathering. Ever since Fang Zhengzhi exposed Yun Qingwu’s veil, he had been known as a pervert.
As such, he rarely attended these gatherings.
"There is a horse race in the competition. The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion is my ride, as such..." The Ninth Prince sulked.
Fang Zhengzhi had an idea of what was happening.
Ping Yang probably stole the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion from the Ninth Prince.
Now, things were easier. All he had to do was take the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion back from Ping Yang and everything would be settled.
How was he going to do it?
Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, he scanned Ping Yang’s face...
"What are you looking at? If you don’t come and be my servant, I will never lend the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion to the Ninth Prince. If you can, you can try snatching it from my place!" Ping Yang saw Fang Zhengzhi’s scheming expression and replied arrogantly.