Chapter 20: Big Sister, Hit Them Down Below

Old General Su returned to the General’s Estate after court.

The old man was in high spirits today.

When he saw Tang Chaoyang enter the room with a bowl of freshly boiled medicine, he snorted at the smell.

Tang Chaoyang was helpless. Her grandmother cooperated well with her efforts to improve their health, but her grandfather disliked medicine and was less cooperative.

“Chaoyang, just leave it there. I’m busy—I’ll drink it later,” Old General Su said.

“You should drink it while it’s hot; it won’t taste good once it’s cold.” Tang Chaoyang sat down and smiled.

When did medicine ever taste good?

Still, her expression said clearly: If you don’t drink, I’m not leaving.

Old General Su shot her a glance and changed the subject. “Fei Yan was beaten yesterday, and today he retaliated by reporting several ministers’ unruly sons in court.”

He only brought it up casually.

Tang Chaoyang tapped her finger on the table thoughtfully. “What kind of punishment did His Majesty give to those young men?”

Old General Su sneakily pushed the bowl of medicine aside. “His Majesty had the ministers beaten and warned them to discipline their households.”

“That’s it?” Tang Chaoyang pushed the medicine back toward him. “Drink up. His Majesty wouldn’t let them off that easily. Did he do anything else?”

The general had originally intended to use Fei Yan’s misfortunes to distract his granddaughter from watching him drink medicine.

He never expected her to see right through it—and even deduce that the Emperor had further plans.

He stared seriously at Tang Chaoyang. This girl is unusually sharp about court matters.

“You weren’t always this clever,” Old General Su said slowly. “Your whole mind used to be wrapped up in chasing a man.”

“…” Tang Chaoyang flashed a sweet smile. “Drink your medicine.”

Eventually, Old General Su gave in and downed the bitter brew in one gulp.

Once he finished, he said, “His Majesty established the Embroidered Guards.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Tang Chaoyang’s face. She hadn’t expected the fearsome Embroidered Guards to be formed this early in this life.

She had delivered that anonymous tip to the Censor, but she hadn’t anticipated all this follow-up.

The new emperor had seized the opportunity to crack down on the capital’s growing corruption and immorality and had even formed the Embroidered Guards.

Did that mean… some of the tragic events from her previous life might be avoided?

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Later that day, after sending her son to school, Tang Chaoyang went out alone.

She sat at a street-side wonton stall.

She wore coarse cloth clothing. Her face was painted sallow, dotted with black spots—she looked like nothing more than a plain, middle-aged woman.

The stall owner was a widow.

The widow had a pair of twin daughters, around thirteen years old. They looked alike and were strikingly pretty.

Tang Chaoyang glanced at the younger sister, Liu Erniang, who was cheerfully serving customers and handling money.

In her previous life, this very day was when the twin sisters were forcefully taken by men from Prince Cheng’s residence. Their mother had collapsed from heart failure and died.

That second young master had a twisted liking for young girls. The next day, the elder sister was dead, and the younger sister—Liu Erniang—was disfigured and beaten within an inch of her life before being thrown out.

Tang Chaoyang had rescued Liu Erniang then, and the girl had stayed by her side ever since, both out of gratitude and to seek revenge.

This time around, Tang Chaoyang hoped Liu Erniang wouldn’t suffer again. She wished the whole family could live safely through this troubled era.

Though the Emperor had already warned Prince Cheng to rein in his sons, Tang Chaoyang wasn’t sure whether this incident would still occur.

To put her mind at ease, she decided to come check personally.

“Customer, here are your wontons,” Liu Erniang said cheerfully, her eyes bright as she smiled at Tang Chaoyang.

Tang Chaoyang paid. “Thank you.”

“Please enjoy,” Liu Erniang said happily and ran off to give the money to her mother.

Tang Chaoyang had only eaten half of her wontons when five men approached the stall aggressively.

They carried wooden clubs and immediately began smashing tables and chairs.

Thankfully, Tang Chaoyang reacted quickly and avoided being splashed with hot soup.

Other customers fled in panic. The nearby townsfolk screamed and scattered—only a few braver onlookers lingered from a distance.

“You owe our master money and won’t pay up? Then your two daughters will do as payment!”

The leader of the group was dressed better than the average citizen. With an arrogant wave, he ordered his men to seize the twin girls.

Tang Chaoyang watched as the widow clutched her daughters, shielding them tightly.

The mother grabbed a kitchen knife and stood protectively in front of her children.

Driven by maternal instinct, she swung the knife.

“Don’t come any closer! When did we ever owe your master money? You’ve got the wrong person!”

She was furious and terrified, brandishing the knife wildly to keep them at bay.

“Isn’t Liu Zhi your family? He borrowed five hundred taels!” the man sneered. “Debts must be repaid!”

The widow’s eyes nearly popped from her head. “He’s my father-in-law! If he borrowed money, go find him!”

“He’s already given us his granddaughters as payment,” the man replied and gestured for his men to move in.

The widow swung her knife again, keeping them at bay.

But then, clutching her chest, she suddenly collapsed to the ground. The knife fell from her hand.

“Mother!” the two girls cried out and knelt beside her.

The men seized the opportunity to grab the sisters.

“Stop!”

“Stop!”

Two voices rang out simultaneously—Tang Chaoyang’s and a man’s.

A young man appeared, grabbing the wrist of the man who had seized Liu Erniang and swiftly breaking his arm.

No one could react in time.

Meanwhile, Tang Chaoyang picked up a pole and charged at the rest like a whirlwind.

“Ahhh! Who is this crazy woman?! I’ll kill you all!”

“We’re from Prince Cheng’s estate! Stop! Stop now!”

While striking, Tang Chaoyang shouted, “Pah! I’m your grandmother, you bastards!”

Ling Gurong—disguised—placed his foot on the man with the broken arm and leisurely watched the feisty woman beating people with a pole.

“Big sister, aim for their lower parts,” he offered helpfully.

Tang Chaoyang reflexively swung toward their nether regions, but quickly caught herself and changed direction.

She couldn’t ruin their roots in public—that would get her hauled off to the yamen. If her grandfather had to bail her out, he might die of anger.

The men had only been caught off guard at first, which was why they got beaten. Once they recovered, they tried to use their superior strength to snatch the pole from her.

Tang Chaoyang quickly ducked behind Ling Gurong, poked her head out, and shouted angrily, “Prince Cheng’s household is committing murder in broad daylight! Prince Cheng’s estate is killing people! Prince Cheng is murdering people!!”

Her shouting was strategic.

The Emperor had just warned Prince Cheng to discipline his household yesterday. If news spread today that Prince Cheng’s people were committing murder in public, the newly formed Embroidered Guards would definitely get involved.

Ling Gurong’s body tensed slightly. He normally didn’t let strangers get near his back.

But remembering that he was in disguise and protected by hidden guards, he relaxed.

Sure enough, after Tang Chaoyang’s outburst, the men froze.

The second young master had just been warned by Prince Cheng last night, and now they’d stirred up trouble again.

They had originally intended to quickly snatch the girls to entertain their young master, but things had spiraled out of control.

The leader glared at Tang Chaoyang and Ling Gurong. “Let’s go.”

He memorized their faces. Busybody scum—just you wait!

Tang Chaoyang finally looked up at the young man beside her. “Thank you—”

But before the word “thank you” fully left her lips, the man turned and gave her a cool, sidelong glance.

His eyes were as deep and dark as ink—enough to send a chill down her spine.