Song Qingchao had never felt human nature to be so ugly.
Before she could reply,
The child was brought out by the car's owner.
Elder Chang stepped forward eagerly, "Pinghe, is this the young master?"
Chang Pinghe was exceptionally calm.
But Song Qingchao saw his red-rimmed eyes, thinking that this person must have been crying.
Chang Pinghe handed the child to Song Qingchao.
Song Qingchao merely glanced up at him before reaching out and taking the child.
"It is the young master, are you satisfied?" Chang Pinghe asked Elder Chang in a hoarse voice.
Elder Chang was so happy he forgot to lean on his cane.
Chang Pinghe gestured for Song Qingchao to leave with the child first.
However, Elder Chang, with his large group, surrounded Song Qingchao, who was holding the child.
"You can go, but you must leave the child behind!"
"These people are truly..." Song Qingchao couldn't help but roll her eyes.
She felt her hand tighten, and her shoulder felt the light touch of Bai You'an.
"What?" She turned her head to look at Bai You'an.
"Nothing, I suddenly wonder if bringing you here was the right or wrong decision."
A hidden complexity flickered in Bai You'an's eyes.
Song Qingchao pondered for a moment, then spoke softly, "Whether it was right or wrong, it doesn't matter anymore. Coming here was my own choice, wasn't it?"
Elder Chang was still spouting nonsense there.
"Leave the child, and I won't care where you go!"
"You people are truly amusing?" Chang Pinghe's voice was cold as he directly charged forward, "How much grievance and disdain did Wanwan suffer when she married in? Wasn't the bullying she endured daily enough? Now that she is gone, she cannot even rest in peace? You are snatching her child, where do you get the nerve?"
Elder Chang was so enraged he started to curse, "If it weren't for that woman, she wouldn't even be worthy of entering our family door?"
Lin Tingwan frowned, "I think you are the ones who are not worthy of her!"
"She, an orphan, how could she be worthy of a city guard? Our Chang family is a prominent clan!" Elder Chang scoffed.
Song Qingchao also chimed in perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, yes, I hope all your prominent clans can live."
She looked down at the little infant who couldn't even open its eyes, her heart softening.
But that old scoundrel Elder Chang, just had to come out and ruin the mood.
"Outsiders, this is our Chang family's domestic affair." Elder Chang winked.
Then, two women who appeared relatively well-built came out.
They stepped forward to snatch the child from Song Qingchao's arms.
Song Qingchao sidestepped, causing one to miss their grasp.
Bai You'an also helpfully extended his foot, tripping the woman, causing her to fall straight to the ground with a cry of "Aiyo."
He acted as if nothing had happened, leaned beside Song Qingchao, and pulled out a fan from his embrace, fanning himself, "I'll have General Chang compensate me for this fan."
Song Qingchao, having just kicked away another matron, looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Didn't you say this fan was very expensive, and custom-made? Where will you get a new fan from General Chang?"
Elder Chang kept banging his cane on the ground, "This is the bloodline of my Chang family, where are you taking him?"
Bai You'an nudged Song Qingchao's waist, "Someone is talking to you."
Song Qingchao gave him a direct glare and said without any politeness, "The child is not full-term, so of course, he should be taken to a wet nurse to be properly cared for."
She sized up Elder Chang from head to toe, saying very sincerely, "Do you have one?"
"You, you!"
"Me?" Song Qingchao tilted her head and asked Bai You'an, "What about me?"
Bai You'an stretched, "You are good-looking."
He tugged at Song Qingchao's clothes, "Let's go."
He didn't forget to turn and say to Chang Pinghe, "General, remember to owe me another fan."
Song Qingchao followed slowly behind, "Your fan is made of human bones, how can you get another one?"
Bai You'an's eyes swept indifferently over the crowd behind Elder Chang, and he raised his hand, "Aren't there a lot of people here? Take one rib bone from each person, and it will be just enough for me to replace my eighteen fan ribs."
As soon as he said this, the crowd instantly took a step back.
Whether it was a psychological effect or something else,
Song Qingchao also felt that the night had become a bit cooler.
"You are truly audacious!"
Elder Chang's white beard trembled, and his hands kept moving between Song Qingchao and Bai You'an.
Song Qingchao, still holding the child, was bickering with Bai You'an, completely disregarding Elder Chang.
"Guards, all of you, attack! The bloodline of my Chang family must not be allowed to flow out!"
Suddenly, with a "wa," the infant in Song Qingchao's arms wailed loudly.
Song Qingchao quickly patted him with her hand, but it was still ineffective.
She couldn't help but feel anxious. Glancing at the people rushing forward, she knew she could fight them, but it would be too time-consuming.
After taking down two burly men, she rushed directly to Elder Chang.
Holding the child in one arm, she held a dagger in the other and pressed it against Elder Chang's neck, "What is your Chang family's bloodline? Let me tell you, I am an attendant of the Eldest Princess. If you harm me today, when the Princess demands an explanation later, you will bear the consequences!"
She slowly leaned closer to Elder Chang, "Let's see how many of your Chang family's bloodline members are left!"
"The Eldest Princess?" Elder Chang was still defiant at this moment, craning his neck, "Would the Eldest Princess come to our little place?"
His eyes widened, and his cane struck the ground with a "dong dong" sound, "Here! Even dragons have to lie down!"
Song Qingchao couldn't help but find it amusing, "You truly have no fear of death!"
A cold smile played on her lips, and the knife in her hand was about to cut into Elder Chang's neck.
"Miss Song, wait a moment!"
The blade had just drawn a trace of blood.
Elder Chang suddenly became fearful, but when he saw Chang Pinghe blocking Song Qingchao, he immediately became arrogant again, "If you have the guts, then kill me!"
He even feigned a step forward, "Kill me! See if Chang Pinghe can spare you!"
Song Qingchao found it amusing. She raised her eyebrows and looked at the person approaching from afar without saying anything.
Chang Pinghe's expression was blank. He first bowed to the two of them to apologize.
Then he gestured for Song Qingchao to step back.
Song Qingchao complied.
If it weren't for heinous crimes, she wouldn't want to commit so much bloodshed.
Chang Pinghe looked back at the wailing child for a long time before uttering, "His eyes truly resemble Wanwan's."
After speaking, he sighed.
He faced Elder Chang and said, "I apologize, this is my child, and I cannot give him to you. Moreover, the child is weak, and this place is not suitable for him."
Song Qingchao shifted her body and handed the bloodstained dagger to Bai You'an, "To explain, you are all currently infected with the plague, and you have no means of treatment or prevention, so the child cannot be given to you. If you were given him, this child might not even live for two days. Do you understand?"
"We have a special medicine, and I can take care of the child if he stays here," Elder Chang still refused to budge.
Chang Pinghe did not indulge him this time.
"Can you stop us?"
As he finished speaking, soldiers suddenly swarmed in.
Elder Chang's group, like trapped wild dogs, only dared to act aggressively amongst themselves. They didn't even dare to bark at outsiders.
Chang Pinghe's eyes were unperturbed, "Miss Song and Mr. Bai, please leave first. I still have some matters to attend to."
He lowered his head to meet Elder Chang's cloudy eyes, "You are not qualified to refuse."
Elder Chang was rendered speechless by the questioning, his cane almost crushing in his grip.
Song Qingchao softly replied, "Are you coming with us?"
Chang Pinghe shook his head, "I still have things to do."
He sincerely bowed to Song Qingchao and the others, "I apologize for today's events. My son will still need to trouble you all for care. After the matters are settled, I will go to Guangji Temple to pick up my son and apologize together."