As the youngest brother in the family, although the older brothers did not treat Chang Yan as gently and attentively as Jiang Sheng, they sincerely loved him from the bottom of their hearts.
Hearing his miserable cry now, nevermind if there was a conspiracy, even if it was a sea of swords and flames, they had to go.
"Fifth brother!"
Jiang Sheng cried out, grabbing two dried bean pods and rushing out.
Fang Heng picked up the cleaver he carried with him and closely followed behind his sister.
They opened the door and charged out unhesitatingly.
After that, it became quiet outside.
The eight servants looked at each other, hesitating for just a moment before jumping out as well.
They were servants trained by Fang Heng, little soldiers brought up with an iron fist. Although they knew it might be a trap, since the third young master had gone, they had to go too.
This was training, this was ingrained in their bones to follow.
But when they really rushed outside, they were dumbfounded.
Jiang Sheng holding the bean pods and Fang Heng holding the cleaver were also stunned.
There was no scene of Chang Yan being injured by someone, not even Chang Yan himself. Only a mess on the ground, over a dozen injured and groaning strangers, and a gaunt and cunning middle-aged man.
He seemed to enjoy the shocked expressions of the children very much. Suddenly he opened his mouth and gave an uncannily accurate imitation of Chang Yan's voice calling out, "Third brother."
It was Chang Yan's voice and tone, but not the actual person.
Jiang Sheng stared wide-eyed, thinking she was seeing a ghost.
Fang Heng suddenly recalled something he read when he was young, "There are skilled vocal mimics in the capital..."
They've been tricked, this was a conspiracy.
Fang Heng reacted swiftly, rushing forward to grab the gaunt middle-aged man. But the man noticed and immediately turned to run away.
Leaving only a mess behind, along with over a dozen injured and groaning people.
Some passersby who saw this were frightened and hurried away covering their mouths, not daring to make a sound.
It seemed they couldn't wash themselves clean of this fight.
Fang Heng's face darkened, angry with himself for being too impulsive and giving the opponent a chance.
Jiang Sheng noticed this and gently shook his sleeve, "It's alright third brother, fifth brother said, only thieves can go a thousand days without being caught, there are no guards who can defend against thieves for a thousand days."
If Prefect He wanted to convict them, he would find a chance sooner or later.
Whether it was today, tomorrow, or the day after.
Fang Heng's expression was gloomy, and he didn't get a chance to speak before tidy footsteps sounded.
Looking up, he saw Prefect He bringing over a dozen yamen runners to the Hairpin Courtyard, expressionlessly staring at the mess on the ground.
At the lead was the yamen runner Yuan they were familiar with. Seeing this scene he kept winking, as if hoping they would go find help.
But under the laws of the Dayu Dynasty, no one could be their savior.
Rules were rules, laws were laws. People who made mistakes had to accept punishment and bear the consequences of their errors.
The corner of Fang Heng's mouth suddenly hooked up into a disdainful smile.
"Do you know your crimes?" The master brought by Prefect He angrily shouted, "Brawling in the city, injuring so many people, do you know your crimes?"
"What is the sir saying, I don't understand." Fang Heng looked up in surprise.
The master's expression darkened, pointing at him, "Obstinate commoner, with clear evidence yet still denying it. Fighting openly in the streets, this is a serious crime!"
"I don't quite agree with the sir's words," Fang Heng smiled slightly. "We were only checking our own doorstep, how does that count as open brawling?"
The master didn't expect these youngsters to resist so stubbornly, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. "Who checks their doorstep carrying blades? How can it be such a coincidence, you opened the door blades in hand, and outside just happened to be a pile of injured people?"
"Yes," Fang Heng looked puzzled. "I'm also very curious about this."
The master, "......"
Seeing the conversation growing more and more skewed, Prefect He coughed and interrupted them.
"Sir, these obstinate commoners openly brawled yet still deny it. Let's take them back to the prison for slow interrogation," the master suggested with cupped fists.
Prefect He's face was gloomy as he nodded.
Seeing over a dozen yamen runners about to rush up and seize them, Yamen Runner Yuan's face was full of regret yet he was helpless.
"Wait."
Fang Heng wasn't afraid of them at all. He called for the runners to stop, then questioned, "Sir, on what basis have you determined that we were brawling? We were only exercising, we didn't fight anyone, and we didn't injure these people either."
Having said this, Fang Heng threw the cleaver in his hand onto the ground. "Sir, if you don't believe me you can examine them. See if our blades can cut such sharp wounds."
The master was taken aback, Prefect He's expression darkened.
Neither of them were fools, on the contrary they were very smart. The instant Fang Heng threw down the blade, they realized these youngsters must have taken precautions.
But the master didn't give up. He rushed forward to pick up the long blade, testing it with his hand, sleeve, and even hair. None were damaged at all.
This long blade was clearly unsharpened. It might be able to bludgeon someone to death relying on its weight, but it definitely wouldn't cut sharp wounds.
The master looked around at the dozen or so gruesomely bleeding injured people on the ground. He loosened his grip and the long blade rang as it fell to the ground again.
Making a clear, pleasant sound.
"Sir, you are the parents of this county. You do things for the Emperor in Heaven. You must find solid evidence, you cannot casually harm innocent commoners," Fang Heng cupped his fists respectfully.
As he raised his head, his gaze met Prefect He's directly and without fear.
At the side, Yamen Runner Yuan's face was full of admiration, he was on the verge of jumping up and applauding. What a spectacle, truly a spectacle!
The only ones with heavy feelings were the master and Prefect He.
The eight-foot tall parent official looked Fang Heng up and down, and suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Very good, very good."
He originally thought this would be a simple task, he didn't expect it to be so thorny.
But this was good too. Life suddenly seemed to have meaning again.
"Let's go," Prefect He waved his hand and turned to leave.
The master hesitated and looked back at the injured on the ground. "Sir, these innocent commoners..."
"Take them all away, send them to the medicine hall," Prefect He said indifferently.
The group came in grandeur, and left in grandeur as well.
Peace returned in front of Hairpin Courtyard.
Fang Heng bent down to pick up the unsharpened long blade, twirling it in a beautiful move. "Let's go, back home."
Jiang Sheng's face was full of admiration. "Third brother, how did you suddenly become so smart, you're almost as good as big brother now."
Fang old three, "......"
Praise me if you want to praise me, why do you have to compare?
Fang Heng reached out and deliberately ruffled Jiang Sheng's head.
Although it messed up her neatly tied braids, the texture really was nice. No wonder second brother liked rubbing his sister's head so much.
"Third brother!" Jiang Sheng was furious, and threw the dried beans pods at him.
Fang Heng lightly dodged.
"Third brother, don't run, how did you learn to be bad like second brother..."
The siblings laughed and played as they returned to Hairpin Courtyard one after the other.
That night, the brothers gathered together.
When Fang Heng mentioned Prefect He's reaction, Xu Mo drank a sip of tea and said lightly, "He won't give up easily."
"If he doesn't give up then he doesn't give up," Zheng Ruqian's face was indifferent. "Meet move with counter move, fear nothing."
That's what he said, but being stared at constantly was still uncomfortable.
Xu Mo didn't speak, Chang Yan furrowed his brows.
Just as the older brothers were seriously considering this, Jiang Sheng rested her cheek on her hand and muttered, "It'd be great if we could keep him busy with other things."
