Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Capital City Nobility (2)
“Brother!” Everything happened so fast Jiang Jiang barely understood it.
She had seen the child. She’d had no idea what to do.
But her brother—her brother had rushed in.
Jiang Jiang’s heart lurched.
Brother, this was the kind of righteous, noble-versus-powerful scene the leads did. Because they had plot armor.
People like them—random passersby—did not.
[This is bad.]
And yet her legs still carried her forward, instincts dragging her to Jiang Chao Sheng’s side.
“Poor scholar,” the man on horseback snarled, yanking his whip back. “Do you want to die?”
“Inner City forbids riding horses through the streets,” Jiang Chao Sheng said, lifting his gaze. His eyes were steady, righteous, and unflinching as they locked onto the man’s face.
For a split second, the noble young master’s heart jolted.
That look… it felt strangely familiar.
And somehow frightening.
Then the feeling vanished as quickly as it came.
“Do you know who I am?” the man barked, chin raised. “I’m from the Meng family! So what if I ride in the capital? Who dares stop me?”
The Meng family.
Jiang Jiang grabbed Jiang Chao Sheng’s sleeve hard.
The capital’s four great noble houses were the Liu family, the Chu family, the Meng family, and the Dong Ping family.
This wasn’t just any noble brat.
This was the kind who lived at the top of the food chain.
“So what if it’s the Meng family?” Jiang Chao Sheng’s voice rang out, strong and clear. “Chancellor Gu reformed the laws. Even if the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he is guilty like any commoner!”
The words drew more onlookers.
Jiang Jiang wanted to cover her face. Brother, at a time like this, you’re still reciting your idol’s reforms?
Young Master Meng’s mouth twisted into a cold smile.
The person he hated most in this world was Gu Yan Qing.
“Who saw me riding a horse in the capital’s streets, huh?” he snapped. “Right now I only see you blocking my way with bad intentions. Today, this young master will beat you to death. Let’s see what crime the Da Li Court dares give me!”
He raised the whip again.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Jiang Jiang stepped forward, small body, huge voice. “My brother is this year’s examinee—a disciple of the Son of Heaven! You dare kill an exam candidate in the capital? Someone come! Everyone come look! This man is using his status as nobility to beat scholars to death in the street!”
Right now, the most common creature in the capital wasn’t pigeons.
It was scholars.
At her shout, scholars poured in from every direction, faces darkening as they stared at the man on horseback.
With the list about to be posted, Young Master Meng couldn’t afford a public scandal in front of a crowd of examinees.
He lowered the whip, his glare poisonous as it cut between Jiang Chao Sheng and Jiang Jiang.
“This young master will remember you.”
He yanked the reins and turned his horse away, riding off with stiff, ugly pride.
“You—” Jiang Chao Sheng took a step as if to chase him.
Jiang Jiang clung to him with both hands. “Brother. Better to have one less problem than one more. Besides… you’re not Gu Yan Qing.”
Gu Yan Qing could slam into nobles head-on because he was noble now too, backed by the ruler of the Qing Yun Kingdom.
But Jiang Chao Sheng?
What did he have?
A scholar’s pride and reckless courage.
Jiang Chao Sheng stopped, emotion rolling through his eyes.
At that moment, the surrounding scholars crowded in, voices eager and admiring. Even though literati loved to look down on each other, seeing someone stand up to nobility still stirred the blood.
Jiang Jiang was squeezed to the side.
And there, she spotted the little girl her brother had saved.
The child had no idea how close she’d come to death. She only stared at the candied hawthorn on the ground and wailed, “Waaah…”
In a child’s world, that stick of candied hawthorn really was the most important thing.
Ignorance… could be a blessing.
“Don’t cry,” Jiang Jiang said, crouching down. She offered her own candied hawthorn and gently wiped the child’s tears. “Here. Take mine.”
At the far end of the long street, a luxurious carriage rolled away.
Inside, Gu Yan Huan lowered the curtain and turned, eyes bright as she stared at her brother. “Brother… that scholar just now looked so much like you.”
Even from a distance, that scholar’s presence had reminded her of Gu Yan Qing when he first entered officialdom years ago—sharp, fearless, unbending.
Gu Yan Qing didn’t answer.
His gaze slid to the Capital Gazetteer resting beside him.
Today, he’d remembered that the diary’s owner planned to enter the capital. On a strange impulse, he’d come to the streets near the gate.
And he’d been rewarded with quite a show.
The Meng family.
These titled nobles really did think they were the law.
Cloudcoming Inn.
Jiang Jiang and Jiang Chao Sheng rented a cheap room. The moment they got inside, Jiang Jiang grabbed his hand and started cleaning the wound. The cut wasn’t deep, but the blood made it look worse.
“Brother…” Her voice trembled. Her eyes shone with tears.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Chao Sheng said quickly, softening at the sight of her. “It’s a small injury. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried about your hand,” Jiang Jiang snapped, voice breaking. “Don’t you know you just caused a disaster?”
She sucked in a breath, panic spilling out in a rush.
“The Meng family is powerful. If that man really remembers us, what then? If you pass and enter court someday, he’ll come after you. If you fail… that’s even worse. We’re commoners. We can’t fight someone like that. Our whole family will have to run!”
She wasn’t exaggerating.
This was a novel world. Aside from the male and female leads, most nobles weren’t decent people. In stories like this, powerless commoners who offended the powerful didn’t get “small consequences.”
They got ruined.
And sure, the protagonists might show up later to deliver justice—standing on the highest moral peak, shining like sunlight…
But by then, her family would already be dead.
What use was late justice to a corpse?
Jiang Jiang didn’t want revenge. She didn’t want glory.
She just wanted her family to live.
Jiang Chao Sheng didn’t argue with her this time. He knew she was right.
His fingers curled into a fist.
Fresh blood seeped from the wound.
“Brother—your hand!” Jiang Jiang cried.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Chao Sheng said, gaze going deep and dark. “Jiang Jiang, don’t worry. I’ll handle this. No matter what it costs.”
He paused, and something flickered in his eyes—something Jiang Jiang didn’t recognize.
In truth, he had a plan for this trip to the capital.
A plan he hadn’t told anyone.
He wasn’t willing to be ordinary.
Even if he failed the exam, even if the list didn’t carry his name… he still wanted to stay in the capital.
And do something big.