Chapter 15: Special Treatment for Disobedience
Every day Zhang Qing and Tang Ying split up into two groups and went out to gather information. With his honest and simple appearance and the sincere eyes of a countryman who was eager to learn, he won the enthusiastic support of many gossip lovers in the capital. They found out that the most popular person in the city now is the second prince Yuan Lang, born to the Imperial Noble Consort, who has overshadowed the long-sick prince; the most untouchable people are the people of the Forbidden Cavalry Division. The commander of the Phoenix Department, Fu Chen, is ruthless and cruel. He is a sharp knife in the hands of the emperor. Whoever he points at will be in trouble; the ninth princess Yuan Shu, who is in charge of the Phoenix Department, is the apple of the Imperial Noble Consort's eye and the most favorite daughter of His Majesty. As long as this lady is praised, everything will be fine.
There is also a rumor circulating in the market that the Ninth Princess is in love with Fu Chen, and she joined the Forbidden Cavalry Division to win her lover. Just because she is close to him, she has the upper hand. This has caused all the young girls in the capital who were attracted by Commander Fu's icy face to retreat - who dares to compete with the royal princess?
The Fu family was considered a prosperous family in Beijing, but Commander Fu's father, Fu Xian, was a man who would rather die than bend. When he was young, he reported his cousin's corruption as an aide, and was expelled from the Fu family. He went into business out of anger, but this affected his son's career. It was said that Commander Fu was very talented and could have been selected as the top scholar, but he was removed from the imperial examination because of the impeachment of the imperial censor. He immediately joined the Imperial Cavalry Division, and with his meticulous thinking, loyalty and ability, he rose all the way to the position of commander.
The gossiper was talking about something happy. He spat out a mouthful of thick tea leaves and leaned close to Zhang Qing and whispered, "Recently, someone has opened a bet on the marriage between Commander Fu and the Ninth Princess, but it's fifty-fifty. Some people think that Commander Fu will definitely agree to this marriage, while others think that he might be like his father, who would rather break than bend, and may not be willing to marry a royal princess. I bet that the marriage will be successful, brother, do you want to bet too?"
Seeing that the gossip was turning into gambling, Zhang Qing touched the pouch on his waist and smiled shyly: "Brother, I... I have to go back first."
"Your wife is keeping a close eye on you, right?" Brother Gossip regretted that he failed to gain an ally, but he still had a lot of fun today. He even commented on some shrews in the community: "The world is really going downhill. Some women are more arrogant than their husbands. They didn't marry a wife, they married a grandmother. They even dare to control their husbands' purses. It's really outrageous!"
"Girl! It's my sister waiting for me at home."
Zhang Qing had his head full of gossip and interesting stories about the capital, but when he returned to the inn he was stopped in the lobby by the waiter.
The shopkeeper had a face full of resentment and some regrets: "Miss Zhang, you even dared to offend the people from the Forbidden Cavalry Bureau. Our shop is small. If we anger the people from the Forbidden Cavalry Bureau and they smash our shop, where will I go to make a living?" He winked and the waiter took out the bag that had been packed for the brother and sister from the counter and handed it to them.
Zhang Qing was shocked: "The people from the Cavalry Prohibition Department came to find my sister?"
The waiter was still a little scared at this moment: "Yes, judging from their clothes, they should be from the Phoenix Tribe. There are more than a dozen of them. They blocked the door of the inn and took Miss Zhang away, saying that they wanted to find a place to fight."
More than ten people beat up Miss Zhang, and it is not known whether she is still alive.
Under the guidance of the waiter, Zhang Qing chased after them in the direction they left. The waiter wiped the counter and felt sorry for Miss Zhang, wondering how could she be so careless at such a young age and offend the Cavalry Banning Division.
An hour later, when it was almost dark, Zhang Qing finally reached the site of the former Prince Cheng's Mansion.
He had no relatives in the capital and was barely able to find his way around the streets. It took him a lot of effort to find his way here, and he was sweating profusely. From a distance, he saw a group of women gathered together, and Tang Ying was slumped on a horse ten steps away from them. In front of her stood two young men, looking down at her. No matter how he looked at her, it seemed that Tang Ying had been badly bullied.
"Don't be so bullying!" Zhang Qing looked around and found a few blue bricks piled up on the side of the road. Maybe they were left over from the house renovations of the people next door. Without saying a word, he picked up two blue bricks and rushed over, intending to smash Fu Chen's head.
At this moment, he no longer remembered Brother Bagua's advice that he must not offend anyone from the Forbidden Cavalry Division, otherwise he would be stuck in a dilemma.
His loud shout, coupled with his fierce and determined attitude of fighting to the death, woke Ah Rong up from his dream: "Oh no, Zhang Ying's brother is here!"
"Is her brother very powerful?"
"As a brother, he must be better at fighting than his sister." A Rong panicked and was the first to hide behind Fu Chen, and all the girls followed him to hide behind Fu Chen.
Lord Shen was standing side by side with Fu Chen at the moment. There was no one behind him who prided himself on being a romantic. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: These young ladies really wasted their big watery eyes. Can't they even tell who is more gentle and considerate to women?
Zhang Qing came close, and the brick was about to hit Fu Chen's nose. Tang Ying stopped him in time: "Brother, wait a minute, it's a misunderstanding!"
"They are a group of people bullying you alone, and you still say it's a misunderstanding?"
"Really not." Tang Ying stretched out her hand to him: "Pull me up, and then we'll talk."
Zhang Qing threw the brick in his left hand, glanced at Fu Chen defensively, pulled Tang Ying up and hid her behind him, still holding a brick in his right hand and not letting go: "What do you want to do?"
Ah Rong and others: "..."Brother, what do you want to do? !
Tang Ying recovered her strength and hurriedly grabbed the blue brick in Zhang Qing's hand: "Brother, it's really not them who bullied me." She whispered: "Maybe I am the one bullying them." Can't you see that they all look miserable?
Zhang Qing glanced at the girls, then turned back to look at the embarrassed Tang Ying, still not quite believing her words: "Don't be afraid, sister, with big brother here, no one can bully you! No matter who it is!"
"Can I let anyone bully me?" Tang Ying didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She snatched his brick and threw it on the ground. She shamelessly recommended herself to Fu Chen: "Commander Fu, is your family still in need of a groom? A professional groom who can train horses, treat horse plague, walk horses, and nail horseshoes. He can take care of all matters. He can also run errands, deliver mail, and clean the yard part-time." She pushed Zhang Qing in front of Fu Chen: "By the way, he can even take on the work of a gardener. He has multiple jobs and his monthly salary is not high, but he doesn't eat much and works a lot. Would you consider it?"
The corners of Fu Chen's mouth slightly curved upwards, but he quickly suppressed it. He looked at the beaten Mustang King on the ground with a questioning look, "Did you take care of him like this?"
Tang Ying rushed over and touched the wild horse king's mane flatteringly. She used her five fingers to comb the horse's mane, trying to make it look more respectable. She quietly kicked its front hooves and whispered, "Brother, hurry up."
The wild horse king neighed loudly and actually stood up. He even stretched out his big head, which had been beaten to an extremely ugly state, and rubbed it against Tang Ying's head affectionately.
Tang Ying immediately gained confidence: "Look, look, we are professional horse trainers and can cure all kinds of disobedience. Commander Fu, you have hired us brothers and sisters, and you really did not suffer any loss!"
She knew clearly that if she had offended those domineering women in the Huangzi Department of the Forbidden Cavalry Division, she would never be able to enter the Forbidden Cavalry Division again. But she could save the country in a roundabout way and join Fu Chen's school. Not only would it ensure the safety of her and Zhang Qing, but it might also open up another way to success.
Shen Qian had never seen such a fierce girl before. Not only was she fierce in a fight, but she was also incredibly thick-skinned when applying for a job. He laughed out loud: "Little girl, don't brag. Be careful that Commander Fu takes it seriously."
Fascinated, he moved closer to touch the Wild Horse King, but as soon as he got close, the Wild Horse King snorted at him in disgust and wanted to kick him angrily, but Tang Ying raised her fist and shook it in front of it threateningly: "Behave yourself!" It reluctantly took two steps back and refused to let Lord Shen touch it.
Tang Ying couldn't help but laugh at him: " It's okay for me to brag, but you better be careful, sir. The beast doesn't understand human language, and it can kill people if it kicks them."
Shen Qian had never seen such an unpleasant young lady before, and he immediately encouraged Fu Chen: "Hire her to groom your horses. I want to see how capable she is."
"Commander, you can't do this!" A Rong hurriedly stopped him.
In Fu Chen's house, even the people who cook in the kitchen are men. I heard that there is no woman in the mansion from inside to outside. Although this girl is going to be a groom, there is no guarantee that she will not develop from the stable to the study. Wouldn't this cause trouble for the princess?
"The people in the Princess' Mansion don't need to worry about the affairs in my mansion." Fu Chen said calmly, "Let's go."
Tang Ying: “…” Is that it?
Zhang Qing: “…”
The eldest daughter of the Tang family works as a groom and servant for someone else's family?
He felt uncomfortable and wanted to stop Tang Ying, but when he saw her winking at him and motioning him to look at the women from the Forbidden Cavalry Division behind Fu Chen who had been beaten by her, he finally understood what she meant.
Tang Ying walked slowly behind Fu Chen, and the Wild Horse King followed behind her, rubbing its head against her affectionately from time to time. This guy simply had Stockholm syndrome, and after being beaten, he stuck to Tang Ying instead. Even the jealous Weibei Marquis refused to let him touch him, and was only very affectionate to Tang Ying. Even Zhang Qing who wanted to walk side by side with her was bumped to the side by it.
The servant watched the Wild Horse King follow Tang Ying forward. He followed with an empty carriage and asked Fu Chen: "Commander, where is the carriage?" The carriage was borrowed from the Imperial Stables in the palace. The Wild Horse King gave it to Fu Chen as a reward, but there was no news that he was given the carriage as a reward as well.
"Send him back to the palace."
Fu Chen's house is not small. It has three courtyards in the capital city where every inch of land is valuable, and each courtyard is deep, spacious and lofty. It can be seen that the rumors that he is quite favored by the emperor are not false.
However, there were not many servants in such a big house, and it seemed that they had a close relationship with the master. He brought two newly hired grooms and the onlookers, Lord Shen, back to the house. The servants in the house who got the news gathered in the front hall, and it was not known whether they came to watch the newly appointed grooms or the only woman in the Fu house, but they all gathered.
Lord Shen had been to the Fu residence many times, but this time he witnessed the grand welcome ceremony at the Fu residence. He even waved his hand proudly and said, "I come here often, so you don't have to come to greet me together."
Fu Chen: "They probably...are not here to greet you."
