Wang Qingyao, now pregnant, required Yin Zhu and Coral to accompany her when she went out, in addition to Zhen Zhu.
She alighted from the carriage, looking left and right as she browsed from one shop to another. The flowers in the stalls were mostly fresh, with bees buzzing around them. She bought any she liked, and before she had walked far, her hands, as well as those of her maids, were laden with large bouquets.
As she strolled along Feihong Bridge, she suddenly heard a commotion from a shop.
It turned out to be a flower stall. The fresh flowers had attracted bees, which had stung a customer. The customer was furious, refusing to pay for the flowers and demanding compensation from the shopkeeper.
This shop was the largest among those Wang Qingyao had visited, boasting a wide variety of flowers, many of which were not available elsewhere.
Wang Qingyao initially had no intention of meddling in other people's affairs, but she couldn't bear to part with the rare flowers. After listening to the shopkeeper and the customer bickering for a while, she interjected, "Can you two stop arguing for a moment so I can buy my flowers first?"
The one stung by a bee was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, whose hand had swollen up. She was pouting with tears in her eyes.
The ones arguing with her were her companions. Their group consisted of four men and six women, all young and bearing some resemblance to each other, suggesting they were a family.
The eldest man, around twenty-five, stood with his hands on his hips, blocking the shopkeeper. He was loudly demanding compensation.
"My sister is a precious gem, of noble status. Your shop's bees stung her, so you, the owner, must take full responsibility! I'm telling you, this matter won't be settled without fifty taels of silver, or I'll drag you to the authorities."
Other customers in the shop and a crowd gathered at the entrance heard this and glared at the man. "Tsk, how greedy! Why not just rob him directly?"
The shopkeeper was so angered he laughed. He was too lazy to argue with them any further. Hearing Wang Qingyao's words, he casually took out five taels of silver and tossed it to the man before turning to attend to Wang Qingyao's business.
The man was also angered and shouted, "Are you trying to dismiss me with five taels of silver like a beggar!"
Five taels was actually quite a sum, but the man was clearly not satisfied.
Despite his words, he didn't have the integrity to throw the money back at the shopkeeper. Instead, he pocketed it.
"Tsk, such character. He's clearly just extorting money."
The onlookers all showed expressions of disdain.
The other three men accompanying the first were clearly no better. Seeing their "elder brother" being "humiliated," they stepped forward to shove the shopkeeper, preventing him from doing business and trying to disperse the other customers.
Wang Qingyao stood close to the shopkeeper and was almost bumped. Fortunately, Zhen Zhu reacted quickly, using her sword hilt to block one of the men's arms.
The man turned to look at Zhen Zhu angrily. He paused for a moment, then saw Wang Qingyao and paused again. The anger on his face completely vanished, replaced by a lecherous gaze.
"Big brother, big brother, look! There are several beauties here."
The "big brother," the man who had taken the five taels, was likely a lecherous fellow in his daily life. Hearing this, he immediately looked over.
Wang Qingyao was dressed simply today, in a refreshing ancient smoke-patterned jade-green robe. Due to her pregnancy, she wore no jewelry, making her appear less ostentatious.
Her figure was slightly fuller than before, making her skin appear more radiant. Her features were gentle and alluring.
Because her clothes were loose and she was holding a large bouquet of flowers, none of them noticed her belly. They mistook her for the daughter of some minor official.
The "big brother's" eyes immediately lit up, his gaze sticking to Wang Qingyao's face like a slug.
"Oh, where did this young lady come from? Care to spend some time with me?" As he spoke, he reached out to stroke Wang Qingyao's chin.
With Zhen Zhu present, he couldn't even touch a single hair on Wang Qingyao. As soon as his hand reached out, Zhen Zhu kicked him away.
With a "bang," the "big brother" fell to the ground, his mouth full of dust.
"How dare you hit me, this great lord!" The "big brother," helped to his feet, roared at Zhen Zhu. "Do you know who I am? It's your good fortune that I fancy your young lady!"
In both her past and present lives, this was the first time Wang Qingyao had been harassed. However, since there was no physical contact, she didn't feel particularly bothered. After all, with Zhen Zhu around, she wouldn't suffer any loss!
Zhen Zhu didn't want to bother with this man. She signaled Yin Zhu and Coral to help Wang Qingyao away from this troublesome place.
But the "big brother" was relentless, ordering his men to block the shop entrance.
"Do you know who I am? You hit me and think you can just leave? I'll give you two options: either pay me five hundred taels of silver, or let this beautiful young lady spend the night with me..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhen Zhu's sword hilt struck him across the mouth.
A series of crisp "pa pa pa" sounds followed, and his lips immediately swelled into a sausage-like shape!
The "big brother" was enraged, his subordinates were enraged, and the accompanying girls were slightly enraged!
"How dare you! Do you know who we are? Who is my big brother?"
Zhen Zhu sneered, "Who are you?"
"Listen carefully, my big brother is Prince Qi's brother-in-law!" This was said not only to Wang Qingyao but also to the shopkeeper and the others.
Wang Qingyao blinked. She ran through it in her mind. Prince Qi's brother-in-law? Oh, it was Han Suqin's elder brother.