She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 479 - 477: Oblivious to Death

Chapter 479: Chapter 477: Oblivious to Death

As Bai Jingtang and his companion quickly withdrew their heads, they heard the voice of Yin Xiaocheng rise from within the room, "Go back and tell your Lord Shen that wanting to get promoted and ascend through the ranks is not wrong, but it should be done on one’s own merit. To think of using a woman to climb up the ladder—after serving as an official for so many years, it’s simply a disgrace to manhood."

Following the end of his speech, Yin Xiaocheng, with a sullen face, emerged from the private room. And from the room behind him, the cries of Shen Yongzhen continued, accompanied by the sobs and calls of Shen Yongzhen’s servants.

Yin Xiaocheng swept a cold glance at Bai Jingtang, Xiao Cheng, and the young servants beside them, snorted contemptuously, and turned to walk out along the corridor.

The two burly men guarding the door stared with a chilling gaze as a warning to Bai Jingtang and his servants before striding to follow Yin Xiaocheng. When they reached the corridor entrance, two more men sprang out, meeting up with the two door guards and following behind Yin Xiaocheng, disappearing from the sight of Bai Jingtang and the others.

The two hastened to rush into the private room. At this moment, the manager and waiters of Hongen Pavilion quietly appeared at the end of the corridor, moving towards the private room.

In a very short time, Shen Yongzhen, already beaten out of shape, curled upon the ground, trembling all over without the ability to stir. As Bai Jingtang and his companion rushed to Shen Yongzhen’s side, intending to lift him up, the moment they touched his body, Shen Yongzhen’s weakened cries resurged like a pig being slaughtered.

Startled, they quickly withdrew their hands and, filled with doubts, turned to look at Shen Yongzhen’s two young servants, only to bizarrely discover that Shen Yongzhen’s servants were relatively unharmed, although one had a swollen half-face and the other walked with a limp, they could move without restrictions.

Xiao Cheng hurriedly examined Shen Yongzhen again. Shen Yongzhen seemed okay from the exterior, aside from a pale complexion and being drenched in cold sweat without any visible wounds. However, the continuous trembling of his curled body exposed the immense pain Shen Yongzhen was enduring.

"What... what should we do?" Xiao Cheng asked with a trembling voice, turning to Bai Jingtang.

Bai Jingtang was clueless himself. Seeing the manager and two waiters enter timidly, he barked sternly, "You sly tavern owner, a thug commits violence in your establishment and you hide away instead of stopping it, nor do you report to the Border Patrol Department. I will go to the Yamen and file a complaint against your tavern for colluding with the thug to commit violence."

The manager bowed, carefully explaining with an apologetic tone, "This establishment is at fault, I offer our apologies to you sirs. It’s truly not that we didn’t want to intervene, but the guest warned us—if you sirs are keen on this matter and don’t want to escalate it, let me protect the dignity of the young masters."

What a joke? The general often patronizes this tavern; when has he ever bullied others with his power? If a few young masters get beaten up—no, it’s this young master curled on the ground getting beaten up—there must be a reason for it. Even if the general hadn’t sent a message, he wouldn’t have stepped forward to interfere.

Seeing that the manager spoke with respectful and careful mannerisms, but showed little concern or fear, Bai Jingtang exchanged glances with Xiao Cheng, as if only then remembering, and asked in a low voice, "I heard Brother Shen cry out about a general earlier; could it be the perpetrator is a general?"

Xiao Cheng didn’t respond but instead said to the manager, "Regardless, Young Master Shen has been injured in your tavern and needs to return home for medical treatment. But the young master can’t move at all right now; manager, what do you suggest we do?"

The manager bowed hurriedly, "I have already sent for a stretcher."

Bai Jingtang, Xiao Cheng, and Shen Yongzhen’s servants clumsily carried the immobile and weakly moaning Shen Yongzhen to Shen Qixiang’s temporary residence.

When Shen Qixiang saw his son being carried back, he was initially startled, then after seeing his son’s pale face and sporadic convulsions, and being unable to speak, he realized his son’s injuries were severe.

Without taking the time to ask for the reasons, Shen Qixiang quickly sent for a doctor. As he laid his son, who was now half-unconscious, on the bed, Shen Qixiang anxiously paced back and forth; only after glancing at Bai Jingting and Xiao Cheng did he think to inquire about the cause.

Bai Jingting scanned Shen Yongzhen’s servants and, preempting them, began to recount the whole incident in detail.

Shen Qixiang’s face grew increasingly ashen as he listened, especially when he heard the words his son spoke later. He cursed his son inwardly for being clever about trivial matters but naive about important ones, daring to utter such remarks. Hearing Yin Xiaocheng’s final few warnings, he felt a mix of shame and anger.

Now it was over; they had been considering a marital alliance with Duke An’s Mansion, which would have been a great, unexpected boon for both father and son. And if the future daughter-in-law could manage Prince Fu’s properties, that too would represent an avenue to the heavens. He never expected his usually composed son to botch things up so badly.

It was rare enough for his son to speak such taboo words, and to make matters worse, Yin Xiaocheng had overheard them. Could there be anything more coincidental in this world?

Shen Qixiang’s suspicious gaze turned to Bai Jingtang and his companion, "Did you two noble nephews and Yongzhen decide to have a drink today on a whim, or was this prearranged?"

Bai Jingtang, sensing something amiss in the question, changed complexion and hurriedly said, "I bumped into Brother Xiao at a cultural gathering. Finding it dull without Young Master Shen, we spontaneously decided to leave and join Young Master Shen for a drink."

Xiao Cheng, standing next to Bai Jingtang, knew the gravity of the situation and quickly chimed in with a pained expression, "Lord Shen, it truly was a spur-of-the-moment decision. People at both the cultural gathering and the tavern can testify. Once Brother Shen awakes, you can ask him, and you’ll know."

Shen Qixiang’s eyes swept over the faces of Bai Jingtang and Xiao Cheng, then glanced at their attendants, finding nothing out of the ordinary. Indeed, these two were gallants who had come to the capital to take the exams.

Even so, the gloom and loathing on Shen Qixiang’s face did not diminish by the slightest. If it weren’t for these two fetching Yongzhen, how could such an incident have occurred?

Shen Qixiang then looked at his son, who was writhing in pain on the bed, and once again directed his anxious gaze out to the courtyard. He was unsure how serious his son’s injuries were, but the marriage was certainly off the table. He had dealt with Yin Xiaocheng for many years and knew his temperament well—in these circumstances, there was not the slightest chance for marriage.

A failed match with Duke An’s Mansion was something Shen Qixiang could still work around, possibly seeking other means or relying on his own talents to slowly accrue seniority. But how could he explain a mishap concerning Prince Fu’s important affairs? Falling out of favor with Prince Fu was truly the greatest loss.

Truly, trouble comes from the mouth. He understood his son’s thoughts and even agreed with them, but such ideas should not be voiced! As long as those words remained unspoken, even if the Ye Family’s young mistress never bore a son or daughter, his son would still stay loyally by her side, treating her with mutual respect. Living like that for the rest of their lives, it might even be considered a beautiful tale.

No matter how it was evaluated, it was an excellent match now lost.

Shen Qixiang pondered every possibility but never considered seeking trouble with the Protectorate General.

Even if Marquis Zhongyong and the Protectorate General held high ranks, if they had beaten his son senselessly without any good reason, he would never let them off.

However, today’s incident was too disgraceful. It not only suggested that he and his son were social climbers but more fatally, his son had mentioned His Highness Prince Yu in the end. His son’s few words insulted not only the Ye Family’s young mistress but also demeaned His Highness Prince Yu. Whether or not Prince Yu held power was immaterial, what mattered was that Prince Yu was a prince, the emperor’s son. For those words alone, taking his life wouldn’t be considered an exaggeration.

...

Jinrong, at this time, was unaware that Shen Yongzhen had been so recklessly outspoken.

At noon today, Yin Xiaocheng and a few friends entered the private room arranged in advance by their attendants. As the dishes began to be served, a boy selling fruit in the tavern quietly departed, turned two streets, and while delivering fruit to a customer, who happened to be Hong Wu, he reported back, "It’s all settled."