Moonlit Calamity: The Dragon Girl's Life of Idleness is Broken

The shopkeeper was taken aback at first, then said with a troubled expression, "This..."

Seeing his hesitant expression, Ye Lingwei assumed he didn't want to talk, so she changed her attitude and said softly, "Shopkeeper, please don't misunderstand. It's just that the young lady gave us a pastry earlier, and she paid for it. We haven't had a chance to thank her yet!"

"Oh, I see!" The shopkeeper smiled and said, "However, it's not that I'm unwilling to tell you ladies, it's just that I don't know which family that young lady belongs to, and I've only seen her twice."

"That's really unfortunate." Ye Lingwei replied after hearing this, "Since the shopkeeper doesn't know, then we'll head back first."

The innkeeper smiled and saw them to the door. Watching their carriage disappear into the distance, his eyes darted around. He had worked in the teahouse for over a decade and had seen countless people. He knew that some young ladies from noble families were not as beautiful and gentle as they appeared on the surface.

In grand mansions, there are no simple people; it's all about survival instinct. Those without a shred of cunning don't fare well, and one wrong move could cost them their lives.

After all, which wealthy and powerful family doesn't have multiple wives and concubines? The legitimate children have an inherent sense of superiority, while the illegitimate children don't have a very good life and even have to depend on others and live cautiously.

Of course, there are families that don't pay much attention to these things and don't care so much about the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, so the family atmosphere is more harmonious and peaceful. However, in most grand mansions, there is intrigue and backstabbing, and it's just a matter of survival of the fittest.

After leaving the teahouse, Long Chuqing and her companions did not wander around elsewhere, but instead took a carriage and headed towards the Prince's Mansion.

As she crossed a moat, she heard a commotion. Unable to resist her curiosity, she lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. What came into view was a food street on the opposite bank of the river.

The snack street is very different from Xuanque Avenue. Xuanque Avenue is bustling and orderly, while the snack street is more like a noisy and lively market.

There were many vendors setting up stalls over there, constantly shouting and hawking their wares to attract customers, and a bustling crowd coming and going, some hurrying along, others stopping to browse and select items.

She heard a vendor across the street hawking roasted chestnuts; it was chestnut season.

She turned around happily and asked, "Ziguang, would you like to eat chestnuts? If so, go across the street and buy some to take home."

Ziguang's eyes lit up when she heard this. She leaned over to look out the window and, sure enough, heard shouts coming from the bustling market across the street. She loved chestnuts, but rarely went out from her residence and hadn't had them in a long time.

She nodded happily: "I want to eat it."

Long Chuqing told the coachman to stop by the bridge. She gave Ziguang some silver and told her to go buy some on the other side. Since the chestnut seller was right across from where the carriage was parked, she didn't go with Ziguang.

After receiving the silver, Zi Guang happily disembarked from the carriage and ran towards the direction from which the chestnut vendors' cries came.

Long Chuqing sat in the carriage and waited for a long time but did not see Ziguang return. She couldn't help but feel suspicious. She lifted the curtain again to look across the way, but at this time, she could no longer hear Chestnut's hawking.

She was worried and asked Uncle Chen to go check on him. Uncle Chen went and didn't return for a while, so she started to get anxious. Feeling uneasy, she got off the carriage and crossed the bridge to look for him.

She didn't see Ziguang or Uncle Chen on the other side of the bridge, nor did the chestnut seller. She walked forward for a while and found a commotion on the riverbank ahead, with a crowd of people watching the excitement.

The area was filled with stalls, and the vendors, as if afraid of being affected, moved their stalls away from the crowd.

Feeling uneasy, she hurriedly ran towards the crowd. The area was packed with onlookers, and as she got closer, she could hear bursts of laughter coming from inside.

"Hahaha... What a fool! He actually dares to go against me, ptooey..."

She forcefully pushed through the crowd of onlookers and squeezed her way in.

Zi Guang was badly beaten, lying on the ground unable to move, his clothes torn and disheveled. Next to him was Uncle Chen, whose face was bruised and swollen.

Seeing that they were covered in injuries, she rushed over in a panic: "Ziguang, Uncle Chen."

She took off her cloak and covered Zi Guang with it, then knelt down to check their injuries. She first took Zi Guang's pulse and found that she had internal injuries, bruises on her body and face, and was already somewhat unconscious.

Uncle Chen was in slightly better condition. He was stronger than Zi Guang, and although he had also been badly beaten, he was still conscious.

There were four assailants, all of them spoiled brats from the capital. The leader was Ye Linghan, the grandson of the Prime Minister and Ye Lingwei's brother. The ones who struck first were Cen Guwen, the son of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review; Meng Rui, the son of the Minister of Justice; and Lan Hao, the son of the Vice Minister of Works.

These few, relying on their family connections, were ignorant and incompetent, often acting arrogantly, bullying the weak, and harassing and insulting women.

Here's what happened: The chestnut vendor was hawking his wares across from the carriage, but by the time Ziguang ran over, the vendor had already gone far away. He was almost sold out and heading home along the riverbank.

Zi Guang chased after the vendor and stopped him. There was only one portion of chestnuts left. The vendor originally intended to take it home to eat, but seeing the little girl's eager look, he sold it to her.

Just then, the four playboys happened to pass by. They saw the chestnuts and wanted to eat them too, but there was only one serving left. Cen Guwen asked the vendor to sell them to him, but Ziguang had already paid and was holding them in his hand, so he didn't want to give them up.

Cen Guwen felt that there were still people who wouldn't give him face, so he looked Ziguang up and down: "The little girl is quite pretty, very pretty. Why don't you keep me company for a while?"

As he spoke, he reached out and touched Ziguang's face. Ziguang was startled and pushed him away. Seeing this, he grabbed Ziguang's sleeve, and with a strong pull, he tore Ziguang's sleeve.

Startled by his frivolous behavior, Zi Guang hurriedly threw chestnuts at his face.

Feeling humiliated after being slapped in the face, Cen Guwen retaliated by slapping Zi Guang hard, sending her sprawling to the ground. The other three burst into laughter.

Passersby dared not step forward to stop them, fearing they would be implicated and beaten along with them; they simply stood by and watched.

The other three started making a ruckus, which made Cen Guwen even more interested. He went over, grabbed Ziguang's hair, slapped her again, and then reached out to tear at her clothes.

Zi Guang was terrified and didn't know what to do. She struggled and screamed, crying and begging him to let her go. When Cen Guwen saw that she was crying, he became even more unscrupulous.

At this moment, Uncle Chen came looking for the sound and saw Zi Guang being humiliated on the ground. He angrily stepped forward, pushed Cen Guwen away, and then started fighting with him.

Seeing that someone had disturbed their enjoyment, Ye Linghan called on the other two to join forces and beat up Uncle Chen.

When Ziguang saw Uncle Chen being beaten by several people, he hurriedly got up from the ground and ran over to protect him. In the end, the two of them were surrounded and punched and kicked by the four spoiled brats.

Long Chuqing moved the two of them aside and asked Uncle Chen who the assailants were. Although Uncle Chen was seriously injured, he was still conscious. He pointed to the four assailants in front of him.