As the young girl raised her voice, those vicious servants also halted their actions, wielding clubs as they formed a semicircle in the courtyard.
Lines of sight landed on the mother and daughter of the Zhao family, wandering with ill intent.
"Where's Zhao Douan? Call him out." Zhang Changji's eyes lit up when he saw the two women, but he quickly feigned looking for someone.
You Jinhua forced herself to remain calm, stepping forward to pull her daughter behind her. She tried to squeeze out a smile, slightly bowing with trepidation, and said,
"My husband is not at home today. I don't know what brings you here, but I can pass on the message for you."
At this time, women often bore children early in life. Although You Jinhua was a mother, her figure was still at its peak, even more voluptuous and beautiful than her daughter's.
At this moment, she wore a dark green silk dress, which further accentuated her fair skin.
As she bowed, her beautiful neck slightly lowered, like the curve of an ant's waist.
"Damn it, why does the whole Zhao family have to be so good-looking..." Zhang Changji's envious heart twisted as he lied through his teeth,
"Zhao Douan owes me a thousand taels of silver, and he has been late in repaying. Today I've come to collect the debt. Since he's not here, I guess I'll have to ask the two madams instead."
"Mother, he's lying..."
Zhao Pan widened her eyes, furious.
Zhang Changji's performance was so poor it was as if "I'm spouting nonsense" was written all over his face.
"Don't talk!" You Jinhua stopped her forthright daughter. The beautiful lady, with a troubled face, asked,
"In that case, where is the IOU?"
Zhang Changji lazily said, "I didn't bring it."
You Jinhua replied apologetically,
"All the household funds are with my husband. Would you please return first, and once my husband comes back later..."
Zhang Changji let out a "Huh" and said,
"Come back? Do you really think Zhao Douan will be able to come back alive today?"
You Jinhua's face went pale!
Zhang Changji, delighted with himself, sneered,
"The whole Capital knows that Zhao Douan has caused a disaster. Both the civil and military officials of the court have impeached him. Wasn't he taken to the palace for questioning this morning?
It's already this late, and he hasn't shown up. I'm afraid he's already been thrown into the Imperial Prison, and soon officials might come to confiscate your property. At that time, what will you do about the money he owes me?"
The hearts of the Zhao family mother and daughter both sank!
For the past three days, Zhao Douan had not returned home.
At first, they were relieved, for if Zhao Douan came back, they would inevitably have to suffer his orders, with their dignity utterly destroyed.
But gradually, rumors began to spread.
The two women had also learned about Zhao Douan's impeachment, loss of the Empress's favor, and imminent imprisonment as a criminal. Their hearts were already filled with extreme unease!
Zhao Pan, who had a strong character and couldn't bear Zhao Douan's insults, had her own ideas.
She kept consoling her mother, saying that if worse came to worst, the two of them could sell the family assets, move to a small place, buy a small house, and live on their own.
Even if life were miserable, it would still be better than living at the mercy of others, being emotionally manipulated every day.
But You Jinhua, who had seen the world's coldness and knew the difficulty of survival, understood that her daughter was too young and naive.
If Zhao Douan truly met his end, where could they escape the ensuing retribution?
Their fate might be a hundred times more painful than death.
But what could You Jinhua, a weak woman, do in the face of such political struggle?
She could only pretend to be calm, stabilize the emotions of her household servants, and hope that her family could escape this calamity.
Yet, before the sentence for Zhao Douan was even decided, a creditor, smelling an opportunity, had already broken into their home.
"This young master," You Jinhua clenched her daughter's hand, her knuckles nearly turning white as she tried to maintain her composure and said,
"I'm not sure where you heard these rumors, but I..."
"Young master, don't waste words with them," chimed in one of the Zhang family's vile servants,
"People like these usually won't shed tears without seeing a coffin."
With that, the group tightened their encirclement with clubs in hand.
The beautiful lady's face lost its color, she stepped back, and her voice almost broke,
"What do you want to do?!"
Zhang Changji sneered, "Search with me!"
He then strode forcefully toward the mother and daughter.
The delicate young girl Zhao Pan suddenly stepped out, shielding her mother with her extended hand. A dagger slid out from her sleeve and she gripped it in her hand, pointing it forward.
Her eyes bore into him fiercely:
"Come any closer and I'll kill you!"
Zhang Changji looked at her with scornful eyes. With his martial arts cultivation, would he be afraid of this?
With a flick of his finger, a burst of force shot out, shaking the slender wrist of the girl. She winced in pain and the dagger clattered to the ground.
You Jinhua was shocked and once again embraced her daughter, both women falling to the ground and sitting there with desperate, despairing eyes.
Just at this moment, Zhang Changji's ears twitched slightly, hearing the rapid sound of horse hooves coming from outside the courtyard.
Along with it, the unique sonic boom emitted by a martial artist's mighty presence as it shook the air.
Zhang Changji's expression changed slightly, and relying on a martial artist's intuition, he abruptly turned to look behind him.
He saw a dark shadow suddenly leap up outside the towering gates of the Zhao family home.
Like an eagle spreading its wings and blotting out the sun, Zhao Douan's expression was somber. Mid-air, he desperately threw a string of copper coins with each coin breaking off from the hemp rope and whistling through the air, engulfing Zhang Changji.
Zhang Changji was startled and lost his composure, too late to think as his body instinctively dodged. The copper coins thudded into wooden pillars with astonishing force—it was already a lethal method.
It wasn't that Zhao Douan deliberately wanted to kill, but he had just advanced to Middle Grade and had not yet adjusted to the expanded power.
Attacking in anger at this time, he only felt a fiery sensation in his dantian and as though his blood was almost boiling, an overbearing will naturally surfaced.
Zhao Douan shouted angrily, his toes touching the rooftop, cracking the roof tiles into fragments, which scattered like machine gun bullets in a fan shape across the courtyard.
"Young master... save me..."
A group of servants holding clubs screamed in agony, their bodies bleeding profusely as they collapsed in heaps!
Zhao Douan then used his legs to push off, diving down like a large bird, and kicked the servant who had suggested the assault flying.
First, he glanced at the trembling aunt and stepsister huddled together on the ground, made sure they were mostly unharmed, then his gaze immediately locked onto the main perpetrator.
"Zhao Douan! How could you have returned?"
Zhang Changji's pupils shrank sharply, his voice filled with disbelief.
Wasn't he supposed to be imprisoned?
Wasn't today his trial day?
His elder brother had clearly said...
Zhao Douan's expression was cold as frost, squinting his eyes as he said:
"Surprised that I could come back?"
Perhaps influenced by the lingering memories of the original host, the mix of old grudges and recent injuries made him loathe the man before him intensely.
Zhang Changji's face turned unsightly, realizing there must have been some unexpected change.
But he still didn't think the Zhao thief could be without troubles, especially since his elder brother was confident just yesterday.
Plus, considering his own family's powerful background, he wasn't overly concerned.
Now calmer, he coldly smiled:
"Consider yourself lucky, but I came to visit out of kindness, and this is how you treat your guest? That's unreasonable."
Zhao Douan frowned, looking towards a group of servants who had been frightened silly, and pointed out one he recognized:
The appointed old steward's nose twitched as he spoke:
"Master, you have finally returned. These people barged in claiming to collect a debt, yet couldn't produce any IOU. When the lady and miss tried to stop them, they resorted to force to seize...
He stumbled through the description of the events.
After hearing it, a fire kindled in Zhao Douan's heart, and he stared at Zhang Changji with an emotionless voice:
"Is this what you call a visit?"
The Colonel from the Capital Camp, his loose short garments slightly open at the chest, seemed not to care:
"So what if it is? So what if it isn't? Zhao Douan, with those little skills of yours, do you dare to raise a hand against me? If you're so capable, hit me!"
As a mortal of Middle Grade and a genuine martial artist from the army, Zhang Changji's actual combat ability was a whole lot higher than Zhao Douan's.
Just recently advanced to Middle Grade, and suspected of having inherited part of the "Martial God" legacy from the Imperial Family and acquiring a mysterious martial skill, Zhao Douan's expression became odd. Without any warning, he lunged with a punch:
"I've never heard such a strange request before, but let me oblige you."