"Young Master Mao has jumped into the river!"
"Quick! Save him!"
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has killed someone!"
"Fellow gentlemen, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has insulted scholars and driven Young Master Mao to drown himself. Let us all sign this petition and ensure these people suffer a terrible end!"
"Seconded, I am willing to add my name!"
"Me too!"
Seeing Mao Xiang leap into the river, the surrounding scholars erupted in a frenzy.
When Fang Er had berated Mao Xiang earlier, it was as if he was berating them all. Now that Mao Xiang had attempted suicide, they all seemed to have found an opportunity.
Before long, someone had drafted a joint petition, and others flocked to leave their names.
Li Tai was bewildered. "Teacher, shouldn't these fellows be saving the man first?"
Everyone was lining up to sign the petition, and not a single person was making any move to rescue the drowning Mao Xiang.
Even the maids sent by Liu Rushi and the other eight beauties were stunned by the scene.
But at the very next moment, Mao Xiang surfaced from the water and quickly swam back towards the shore.
After he reached the bank, he wiped the river water from his face.
"Pfft ah~~"
"The water is so cold~"
Saying that, he actually began to shiver.
Li Tai: ???
Chong Lou: ???
It wasn't just them; even Fang Er was taken aback.
"Damn it! Is 'the water is too cold' not just Qian Qianyi's patent, but a custom of the Donglin Party?"
"Brother Mao is saved! Quick, take off your clothes and warm Brother Mao!"
"Come, come, Brother Mao, wear mine!"
"Brother Mao, this is the joint petition we just wrote. Please point out any flaws."
"Oh right, it would be best if Brother Mao's name was also added to this petition."
Seeing Mao Xiang standing on the riverbank again, the scholars swarmed around him, chattering incessantly.
Some held out clothes, others offered paper and ink.
"Damn it, these guys are shameless!"
Li Tai couldn't help but retort.
"This humble girl, Liu Rushi, pays her respects to you, sir!"
A bell-like voice drifted from the river.
Fang Er looked in the direction of the sound and saw a flower boat approaching from the river. A woman was standing at the bow, looking at him.
"River East Lady has appeared!"
"Wu Hu Wang Meng pays his respects to River East Lady."
"Shaoxing Zhou Deyuan pays his respects to River East Lady."
~~~
The scholars who had been surrounding Mao Xiang moments ago now flocked towards Liu Rushi like bees to a flower, announcing their names.
If not for the river separating them, these fellows would likely have crowded onto the boat.
The scene was no less exciting than modern-day idol chasing.
However, Liu Rushi completely ignored them and instead bowed gracefully towards Fang Er.
"This humble girl, Liu Rushi, pays her respects to you, sir!"
"What you said earlier, this humble girl deeply admires."
"It is just that this humble girl is unable to act on her own, so she can only offer her savings of these years to express her feelings."
"Please, sir, help this humble girl save more common folk, or provide some clothing for the border troops."
As soon as she finished speaking, a small boat moored by the bank sailed towards the flower boat. The maid on the small boat brought back a hundred taels of silver and presented it to Fang Er.
The next moment, the flower boats on the river all began to move towards the shore.
Upon docking, a woman stood at the bow of each boat. After saluting Fang Er, they stated their intentions.
"This humble servant, Chen Yuanyuan, also has wealth to entrust to you, sir, for the border soldiers."
"This humble servant, Dong Xiaowan, entrusts you to help the refugees."
"This humble servant, Li Xiangjun, wishes to donate her savings."
"This humble servant, Gu Hengbo, ~~~"
~~
All of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai had arrived, without a single exception.
This scene excited the scholars to no end. Some had already jumped into the river, wading through the water towards the flower boats.
Fang Er smiled, a loud, booming laugh.
"Hahahaha!"
"I, Fang Anzhi, on behalf of the soldiers of the Great Ming, thank you ladies for your generous contributions!"
"If those soldiers knew of your kind intentions, they would likely fight even more bravely in battle."
"Chong Lou, accept the funds!"
"Yuanyuan, don't believe this scoundrel. He is a lackey of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"
Seeing Chen Yuanyuan's maid handing the silver to Chong Lou, Mao Xiang, who was half-naked nearby, became anxious and quickly shouted at her.
The two had known each other, and Chen Yuanyuan had previously admired his talent.
However, after hearing Fang Er's words from a distance, she suddenly felt that Mao Xiang was not as impressive as she had imagined.
Now, seeing him standing half-naked in public and shouting, she found him somewhat unsightly.
"This humble servant believes that Mr. Fang's words were spoken with sincerity and that he is not after wealth."
"The autumn night is cold. Young Master Mao, please return and dress yourself quickly to avoid catching a cold."
"Oh, and in the future, please address this humble servant by her full name."
Her voice carried a hint of coolness, clearly showing her changed opinion of him.
Mao Xiang was not foolish. Under normal circumstances, if he had fallen into such a predicament, with Chen Yuanyuan's kind nature, she would have invited him onto the boat to escape the cold.
But now, she had directly told him to go back and dress himself, which was clearly a dismissal.
Sensing Chen Yuanyuan's shift in attitude towards him, his gaze towards Fang Er was filled with hatred.
With a beauty before him, this hatred fueled his courage, and he pointed at Fang Er and cursed him.
"Lackey! You are aiding and abetting evil! What is your intention in plundering the wealth of scholars!"
Fang Er's expression turned cold as he stared into Mao Xiang's eyes. "The last person who dared to speak to me like that has grave grass growing three feet high."
"You didn't want to jump in the river because the water was cold, did you? Chong Lou, lend him your Xiu Chun sword!"
"The reputation of Donglin scholars is paramount. To die by the Xiu Chun sword, others will surely spread rumors that you were persecuted to death by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which might even add to your fame. Come, let me see your integrity!"
"Self-immolation, that would still make you a man."
"Otherwise, you are a coward who fears death, and don't you dare use your empty rhetoric to embarrass yourself again!"
*Clang~*
Chong Lou directly drew his Xiu Chun sword and tossed it at Mao Xiang's feet.
Mao Xiang was instantly dumbfounded.
"Brother Mao, how can you tolerate such an insult!"
"Brother Mao, go ahead! We will surely seek justice for you!"
"That's right! Brother Mao still hasn't signed the petition. Later, I'll dip my brush in your blood to sign your name!"
"Donglin men must not flinch!"
"Brother Mao, rest assured. My family's ancestor has prepared a fine coffin, I'll send someone home to fetch it."
"Brother Mao, three inches below the left chest, just push in with force~"
The words of these scholars left Li Tai stunned.
"Teacher, are they in league? Why do I feel like they can't wait for this fellow to die?"
Fang Er let out a sigh, not answering his question. Chong Lou, on the other hand, said, "Your Highness the Prince of Wei, you may not know, but these people are indeed in league with Mao Xiang."
"But you are right, they truly can't wait for Mao Xiang to die."
"As long as Mao Xiang dies by the Xiu Chun sword, just as Duke Anguo said earlier, these scholars will use this incident later to criticize the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Upon hearing this, Li Tai looked at the scholars beside him with utter disgust.
"Imperial power and ministerial power have always been in conflict!"
He glanced at Mao Xiang and found that the fellow was still愣愣站着 (lèng leng zhàn zhe - standing there blankly), not picking up the Xiu Chun sword at his feet. He couldn't help but say,
"Hey, are you really a coward?"
"Do you need my help? Don't worry, dying by my hand, your friends here will still have reason to attack the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Saying that, he walked towards Mao Xiang.
Seeing this, Mao Xiang grabbed the Xiu Chun sword and held it horizontally in front of him, shouting nervously at Li Tai, "You, you, what do you want? Don't come here!"
"N-no need for your help, I, I will prove my integrity!"
He then pointed the tip of the sword at his left chest. The sharp tip had just touched his chest when the Xiu Chun sword fell from his hand to the ground.
"Ah~~ It hurts so much!"
Li Tai: ...........
"Damn it!"
"He didn't want to jump into the river because the water was cold, and now he's afraid of pain during self-immolation!"
"If I gave you poison, would you be afraid of it being bitter?"
Fang Er gestured for Li Tai to stop and stared at Mao Xiang, saying,
"The sword hasn't even hurt you yet, and you're already in so much pain?"
"The soldiers of the Great Ming fight day and night with the enemy, why aren't they afraid of pain? Do you really think they do it for that meager pay?"
As he spoke, he walked towards Mao Xiang step by step. With each step, his tone intensified, until finally, he was almost roaring.
Picking up the Xiu Chun sword from the ground, he suddenly drew it across Mao Xiang's left arm, leaving a gash about the size of a palm.
"Ah~~~"
"Ah~~ My arm, my arm can't move!"
"Y-you, you actually inflicted such a cruel blow upon me! I, I, "
Mao Xiang cried out in pain, clutching the wound on his arm.
But before he could finish his words, Fang Er interrupted him, "What about you? This wound, on the battlefield, is the lightest of them all! It's just broken skin, and your hand can't move anymore?"
"With such a timid spirit, how dare you claim the court is corrupt and the ruler does not recognize his subjects?"
"Well said!"
A crisp voice echoed from the flower boat beside them, spoken by Liu Rushi.
She continued, "Young Master Mao, this humble girl truly did not expect you to be this kind of person. It seems my sisters and I were mistaken before."
"From now on, please do not bother sister Yuanyuan again, because you, are unworthy!"