Chapter 2870 - 2871: Assaulting an Imperial Officer

Chapter 2870: Chapter 2871: Assaulting an Imperial Officer

With a bang, the Door was kicked open. Sun Zhou, the garrison officer of Xunyang City, jumped in fright. When he saw that the one entering was Bai Ruozhu, a look of triumph flashed in his eyes—seemed the people he’d sent had already succeeded.

"Lord Sun, hope you’ve been well." Bai Ruozhu’s voice carried a dangerous edge. She’d only met Sun Zhou once before, when she had entered Xunyang City together with the Emperor, and Sun Zhou had come to welcome the imperial carriage along with the other officials and aristocrats.

She knew who Sun Zhou was, but had never dealt with him, much less offended him. For him to act like this now was quite meaningful.

In Danliang Country’s officialdom, sending beauties was nothing rare, but that was usually when the man’s wife wasn’t around—send a maid or a singing girl to serve him. Many officials gladly accepted, their relationships edging one step closer and all that.

But she, Bai Ruozhu, was right there in the same entourage, also an Imperial Court officer. To send a singing girl to seduce her husband right under her nose—if that wasn’t a slap in her face, what was it?

Since someone had slapped her, she had to slap back.

"I wonder what brings Lord Bai here so suddenly?" Sun Zhou leisurely lifted his teacup and took a sip, looking completely at ease.

"Lord Sun, let’s not beat around the bush. What is the meaning of this?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

Sun Zhou set down his teacup. "What matter is Lord Bai referring to? I really don’t understand what you mean."

A Cold Light shot through Bai Ruozhu’s eyes. Had this man never heard of her vicious reputation, or was he just too confident in himself?

She slapped his teacup out of his hand. "I don’t have time to trade polite nonsense with you. If you can’t explain yourself clearly, I’ll just have to handle it by my rules."

Sun Zhou’s eyes went vertical with anger. "Lord Bai is nothing but a female officer—don’t push people too far."

"Heh." Bai Ruozhu let out a cold laugh, then suddenly swung a fist straight at his face. "Yes, I’m a woman. Today I’ll let you taste a woman’s fist."

Sun Zhou hadn’t expected her to suddenly strike. He didn’t even have time to call the guards before he was howling in pain again and again.

By the time the guards heard the commotion and rushed over, they were sent flying by Bai Ruozhu as well, and then she went right on beating Sun Zhou with fists and kicks.

"You should be grateful that today I only feel like using my hands and not my medicine." Bai Ruozhu was tired of hitting him. She tossed this line over her shoulder and walked off.

Sun Zhou was left clutching his Head and groaning. Furious, he snapped at the guards, "What’s the point of me keeping you around? Hurry up and help me up!"

The two guards had also taken quite a beating. Enduring the pain, they helped him to his feet.

"My lord, that Bai Ruozhu is not someone to mess with, you had better..." best not provoke her anymore.

Sun Zhou glared. "I don’t believe there’s no justice left in this world. I’m going to see His Majesty right now!"

He didn’t even bother to straighten his clothes and hair, charging off in this sorry state straight to Tang Yin’s residence.

"Your Majesty, your humble servant Sun Zhou has something to report. I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for your servant!" Sun Zhou cried outside the Door, his voice on the verge of tears.

Tang Yin, who was currently "convalescing," frowned. These local officials really weren’t as well-versed in etiquette as the aristocrats in the Capital. What was with the wailing? He was "resting to recover"—could they not let him have some quiet?

"Come in and speak." Tang Yin sighed and had someone let him in.

When he saw Sun Zhou, he was taken aback. How had he ended up like this?

"Lord Sun, to appear before the Emperor looking like this—your presentation is really quite lacking, isn’t it?" The Inner Servant at his side whispered a reminder.

Sun Zhou knelt and knocked his head to the floor. "Your Majesty, this servant is terrified. I beg Your Majesty to save me!"

"What happened to you?" Tang Yin asked.

"It was Bai Ruozhu who beat your humble servant like this, and she even threatened to poison me to death. I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for your humble servant." As Sun Zhou finished, he knocked his Head to the floor again before Tang Yin, looking utterly aggrieved.

Tang Yin was a bit surprised. "Why did Bai Ruozhu hit you?"

As soon as he asked, he regretted it a little. Calling Bai Ruozhu by her name like that sounded a bit too casual.

Still, Sun Zhou was after all an officer of the Imperial Court, and the local official of this Xunyang City. Even if Bai Ruozhu was going to hit him, she couldn’t do it so brazenly, and actually punched him in the face too. That was far too impulsive!

"This servant saw that she and Lord Jiang had suffered on the road and had no one to serve them, so I kindly sent a maid over. Who would have thought..." Sun Zhou sounded extremely wronged, but Tang Yin understood at once.

The matter of officials gifting women to each other was commonplace and nothing unusual. Most of the women sent were for warming the bed.

"I’m afraid it wasn’t just a simple maid, was it?" The corners of Tang Yin’s mouth curled slightly. "Bai Ruozhu is a female officer and also the leader of the Medical Alliance. Did you truly not know that, or were you deliberately slapping her face?"

"Your Majesty, isn’t sending a Dancing Girls a perfectly ordinary matter? Besides, what man doesn’t have three wives and four concubine? Lord Bai is far too jealous, isn’t she?" The more Sun Zhou spoke, the more indignant he became. "Even if she was angry, she could have talked it over with your humble servant. I would certainly pay attention in future. Instead she hit me without a word. That’s blatant disregard for the law."

Tang Yin couldn’t help but laugh. "Men under heaven may all have three wives and four concubine, but I’ll wager Jiang Yichun doesn’t dare. Sun Zhou, this time you’ve grabbed a tiger by the tail. Strictly speaking, this is a private matter between you. Settle it privately. I need to rest. Don’t disturb me over such trifles."

Seeing that Sun Zhou still wanted to speak, he deliberately hardened his tone. Sun Zhou’s expression shifted, but he was still somewhat unwilling.

"Your Majesty, the establishment of the Medical Alliance by Bai Ruozhu was originally a good thing, but now she’s monopolizing the doctor trade. Those doctors are extremely arrogant now. As soon as someone offends them, it becomes a problem just to get treated. If this continues, once Bai Ruozhu controls all the doctors in Danliang, won’t even the Imperial Court have to look at her face to act? Your Majesty, this is no private matter. I beg you to think it over carefully!" Sun Zhou said, his face full of righteous fury.

Tang Yin frowned slightly. Sun Zhou was exaggerating a bit. Danliang Country still had the Commerce Association, the grain-transport guild, and the escort guild, didn’t it? No matter which guild it was, even those that had existed for decades, none had managed to control the entire Country.

"Enough. I will send people to investigate the situation. You needn’t concern yourself with this further."

Seeing that he was growing impatient, Sun Zhou could only shut his mouth, salute, and withdraw.

Tang Yin sighed and ordered someone to summon Jiang Yichun.

"Who’d have thought even you, Jiang Yichun, would leave an opening for someone to exploit?" Tang Yin was holding back laughter, looking thoroughly amused at another’s misfortune.

"They didn’t manage to exploit anything!" Jiang Yichun bristled on the spot. The Emperor was absolutely here to tease him.

"Didn’t manage to exploit what? Your bed?" Tang Yin burst out laughing. "Your wife beat Sun Zhou’s face into a pig’s head. He’s already come to file an Imperial Decree. You two are really causing trouble for me."

Jiang Yichun curled his lip. "He should be grateful it was Ruozhu who hit him. If it had been me, I would have chopped his Head off on the spot."

"Sun Zhou is an Imperial Court official. How could he be someone you can just kill at will?" Tang Yin’s face sank.

"And whose fault is that, exactly? If you hadn’t insisted on seeing the Luo Family, would I have been running around worried these past two days? Otherwise I wouldn’t have been so exhausted in spirit that some naked woman managed to sneak into my Room and then get caught by Ruozhu right on the spot." Jiang Yichun said angrily.

"Pfft." Tang Yin couldn’t keep a straight face anymore. "So that’s all it took for Bai Ruozhu to get mad? You didn’t actually do anything, did you? We’re all men here. If you couldn’t keep your hands off her, I could understand."