The splendor of the Red Chamber, the power that reigns supreme.

Chapter 43 Dispute Erupts at the Dock

At the Qinghe County Canal Wharf, a foul stench filled the air.

As soon as the official boat docked, the gangplank creaked as it was placed on the stone steps.

The shore was bustling with people and carriages.

Xue Pan had already ordered his servants to carry the gilded trunks, and he himself jumped off the gangplank first. Dressed in brand-new sapphire blue sashes, he shouted, "Quickly help the old lady off the boat! These clueless servants, can't they see the gangplank shaking like a leaf?"

Madam Xue, supporting her two maids, Tongxi and Tonggui, slowly walked out of the cabin. Seeing the mess on the shore, she turned back and called out, "Bao'er, have you fastened your cloak? This river wind is making my bones ache."

She turned to Xue Baochai and said, "Tell the servants to be quick. Your uncle said he sent soldiers to pick you up, but they haven't shown up yet. This is a chaotic and unfamiliar place; I don't feel at ease without any soldiers protecting us!"

Xue Baochai wore a honey-colored cotton-padded jacket and a light yellow silk skirt, her plump figure was simple and elegant.

She calmly instructed the servants: "Carry the gilded chests first, they contain official kiln porcelain; then the mother-of-pearl inlaid cosmetic boxes, do not stack them; have the maids carry the large mahogany chests, they contain silk clothes."

Xue Pan, with his bloated belly, was cursing and kicking a servant who was carrying boxes: "You dog of a servant! How dare you shake my Doucai cricket jar? I'll skin you alive if you break it!"

The servant was as thin as a rake, and was kicked so hard that he staggered backward and crashed into Xiangling's back with a thud!

Xiangling cried out "Ah!" and fell to the ground!
The white porcelain bottle she was holding crashed onto the deck with a loud bang and shattered into pieces!
"You shameless, courting-death servant!" Xue Pan's eyes bulged! He didn't care that the servant had bumped into someone. He swung his palm, as big as a fan, and slapped Xiangling across the face!

"My white-glazed Yuhuchun vase with incised lotus pattern! This one alone is worth five hundred taels of silver!"

Madam Xue frowned: "Oh dear! I was originally going to give this to the old lady of the Jia family to adorn herself with plum blossoms."

No one paid any attention to Xiangling falling to the ground, her hair disheveled, and half of her face instantly swollen like a steamed bun! Blood mixed with tears streamed down from the corner of her mouth!

She curled up like a shrimp, her thin apricot-red shirt stained with blood, yet she bit her lip, afraid to cry out.

Xue Baochai frowned, just about to step forward to help Xiangling up.

Xue Pan was still not satisfied and kicked her in the head: "You damned whore! You're always a jinx! Ever since I met you, you've ruined all my fortune!"

"Stop!" A clear shout rang out like thunder! A young man strode forward, his iron-like hand gripping Xue Pan's ankle! Xue Pan felt as if his foot bones were about to crack, and with a cry of "Ouch!" he staggered backward!

"Where did this bastard come from!" Xue Pan rubbed his ankle and jumped up in anger: "I'm beating my own maid, what's it to you!"

The boy was about fourteen or fifteen years old, but his stature was as tall and straight as a pine tree. His washed-out coarse cloth shorts could not conceal his heroic spirit.

He shielded Xiangling behind him, clasped his hands in a fist and said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, please calm down. I saw with my own eyes that it was that servant who knocked down this young lady, causing her to accidentally break the porcelain vase. Your Excellency beat her to death without even asking why. Is this the behavior of a man?"

Enraged, Xue Pan laughed coldly, "Heh! You pedant trying to reason with me? This lowly servant was bought for a fortune! Even if I sliced ​​her to pieces and fed her to the dogs, it's none of your business! Get out of my way!" He lunged at Xiang Ling again, trying to grab her hair! The young man moved swiftly, blocking Xiang Ling's path. He seized Xue Pan's wrist with one hand, his fingers like iron clamps! Xue Pan struggled, his face flushed, but he couldn't move!

"Since you've spent money to buy this person, you should at least have some compassion." The young man's voice was as firm as metal: "Even if he has made a mistake, a reprimand is enough. Why resort to violence? Human life is at stake. Don't ruin your own life!"

Xue Pan's wrist felt like it was about to crack, and he grimaced in pain! Looking again at the young man's cold, fierce eyes, which seemed to carry the blood and guts of a warrior, Xue Pan felt a chill run down his spine! But he stubbornly insisted, "I am the eldest son of the Xue family of Jinling! My uncle is Prince Teng, the military governor of the capital garrison! You...you dare to touch me..."

The boy suddenly swung his hand!
Xue Pan stumbled back three steps and plopped into the fishmonger's rotten shrimp basket! He was covered in stinking, rotten fish!

The crowd burst into laughter!

"Don't say he's the nephew of the military governor." The young man flicked his sleeves and sneered, "Even if the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty were here, he would still have to abide by the law and the principles of heaven!" After saying that, he helped Xiangling up.

But Xiangling was too frightened to get up and hid from the boy's hand.

Madam Xue stamped her feet anxiously on the shore: "Rebellion! Rebellion! Why haven't Commander Wang's troops arrived yet!"

Xue Baochai, however, observed coldly and whispered to her mother, "Brother is being reckless. In full view of everyone, under the Emperor's nose, such reckless words only give others ammunition to criticize you."

She was referring to her brother, but she was subtly reminding herself that her mother shouldn't speak carelessly.

"That's your brother too!" Madam Xue screamed, clutching her handkerchief and disregarding her status. "Are you all dead?! Seize that little beast! Beat him to death!"

A dozen or so burly servants rushed forward, wielding clubs! The clubs whistled through the air, aiming straight for the back of the boy's head!

"Hmph!" A cold snort rang out!
The old man watching moved his white beard without any wind!
His withered hand grasped the long bamboo pole the fishmonger used to pick shrimp, and with a slight flick of his wrist—

"Buzz!" The bamboo pole suddenly shook, creating a sky full of green shadows! Like hundreds of venomous snakes emerging from their holes!

But then came a series of loud cracking sounds, like popping beans! More than a dozen servants felt excruciating pain in their wrists, and their clubs slipped from their hands! Some even felt a numbness in their knees and collapsed to their knees with a thud! In the blink of an eye, the ground was filled with groaning servants!

Xue Pan struggled to climb out of the rotten shrimp basket, his silk robes and satins covered in foul-smelling fish scales, looking just like a drowned toad.

He pointed at the backs of the boy and the old man and roared, "Get up and get this little bastard! Tear him apart and skin him alive!"

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves thundered from the riverbank!

A troop of armored cavalry swept to the dock like a whirlwind. The lead general reined in the black horse, which reared up and neighed loudly!

The man was wearing a phoenix-winged helmet, mountain-patterned armor, and a steel sword at his waist. His face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, and his beard was bristling. He was none other than Wang Biao, a centurion under Prince Teng!
"Young Master Xue! I am late!" Wang Biao's voice boomed as he dismounted.

Behind him, three hundred elite soldiers scattered in formation with a whoosh, their long spears forming a forest that surrounded the dock like an iron barrel!
(End of this chapter)