Chapter 67 Market Official Arrogant, Severely Taught a Lesson

Chapter 67: The Arrogant Market Supervisor Gets a Lesson

"Second Younger Sister." As soon as Qin Han reached Qin Jiao, she grabbed his sleeve. "Are you hurt?" The young girl's hands were still trembling a little, her hair, once neatly styled, was now a mess, and though her clothes were tidy, they showed signs of being pulled.

"Brother, I'm okay, but Luo Yiqi is injured." Qin Han stepped back, revealing Luo Yiqi beside her.

Qin Jiao looked down and saw a deep cut on Luo Yiqi's palm, nearly to the bone.

Before he could ask how Qin Han and Luo Yiqi ended up together, Qin Jiao called over a guard from the Marquis of Pingning's estate, "Someone, quickly take him to a medical clinic!"

The guards from the Marquis of Pingning's estate were assigned to protect Jiang Qingrong, who was now easily taking down the Market Supervisor. They just stood by and watched.

"What are you standing around for? Go!" Jiang Qingrong barked.

A guard carrying a sword stepped forward and said to Luo Yiqi, "Follow me."

"Thank you," Luo Yiqi replied, then glanced at Qin Jiao. Qin Jiao urged him, "Go have that wound bandaged." Luo Yiqi was a craftsman who relied on his hands; this injury couldn't be delayed.

"Alright, thank you, Young Master Qin." Luo Yiqi bowed to Qin Jiao, shot the Market Supervisor one last meaningful glance, and followed the guard away.

After Luo Yiqi left, Jiang Qingrong turned back to continue beating the Market Supervisor. Qin Jiao didn't stop him but instead turned to Qin Han: "How did you and Luo Yiqi meet? Where's Qin Ji? Wasn't he with you?"

The Qin family had split up to view the lanterns that day. Qin Jiao and Jiang Qingrong were together, while Qin Chaole and Concubine Yin followed Qin Yuanshan and Yu Shuhan. Before leaving, Qin Jiao had overheard Qin Ji saying he found it too restrictive to view lanterns with Qin Yuanshan and had dragged Qin Han along as siblings.

So where was that unreliable second brother now?

Qin Han answered sheepishly, "The lantern festival was crowded, and I got separated from my second brother."

Qin Jiao's face darkened, and Qin Han quickly changed the subject to divert his attention: "After I got separated from Second Brother, I came here and saw that Market Supervisor bullying Luo Yiqi and the boat owner. I couldn't stand by, so I stepped in to say a few words. And then... then..."

Qin Han stammered, her face flushed with shame. Seeing this, Qin Jiao pointed to Wenlan and said, "Wenlan, you tell me."

Wenlan was quick-tempered and had been fuming over her young mistress's humiliation. Now that Qin Jiao asked, she spilled everything:

"And then that Market Supervisor saw how beautiful our young miss was and actually tried to grab her! Young Master, that corrupt official was completely drunk, wouldn't listen to anyone. Even showing our identity didn't work. He said all sorts of insulting things, even said... he wanted to take our young miss back to his mansion and lock her up!"

Qin Jiao's face darkened with each word. This was the capital, right under the emperor's nose. How dare this Market Supervisor be so arrogant!

The onlookers, clearly long-suffering under this Market Supervisor, muttered with satisfaction as they watched Jiang Qingrong beat him black and blue:

"Serves him right! Give it to him! Someone should have taught him a lesson long ago!"

"It's not just him; that sidekick of his, Liu Yao, needs a beating too! Speaking of which, why isn't that crony here with the dog official today?"

"Right, Liu Yao is no good either. Luo Yiqi had already gone outside the city to sell his goods, and he still chased after him to beat him up!"

"Every single one in the Market Inspectorate is the same—all they see is money, they freeload and extort everything."

"Exactly. What a shame about Luo Yiqi's Exquisite Hundred-Flower Palace Lantern..."

From the crowd's murmurs and Wenlan's fragmented account, Qin Jiao gradually pieced together what had happened.

It turned out that after Xie Nai had dragged him away, Lin Wen and Xie Xuanran had left ten taels of silver as compensation. The Exquisite Hundred-Flower Palace Lantern went unsold, so the boat owner asked for new bids. Without Xie Nai and Lin Wen "interfering," a merchant finally won the lantern with a bid of three hundred seventy taels of gold.

Just as the parties were about to exchange goods and money, the drunken Market Supervisor and his men showed up.

He demanded the lantern without paying. The boat owner refused, naturally, explaining politely that it had been sold. The Market Supervisor then turned to the merchant and intimidated him until the merchant backed down and gave up the lantern.

Once the merchant left, the Market Supervisor tried to grab the lantern. The boat owner wouldn't hand it over, and in the scuffle that followed, the Market Supervisor kicked the boat owner and threatened to arrest him for lacking a trade permit.

That's when Luo Yiqi charged out. It turned out he had made the lantern, and the boat owner was only selling it on commission. Luo Yiqi offered to give the lantern away freely, just asking the Market Supervisor to let them go.

The Market Supervisor refused and started hurling insults at Luo Yiqi. At that moment, Qin Han, who had gotten separated from Qin Ji, passed by. She recognized Luo Yiqi from his earlier pottery sales near the Qin mansion. Unable to bear the injustice, she spoke up—only to bring trouble onto herself.

The Market Supervisor and his men tried to grab Qin Han. Luo Yiqi was injured trying to protect her, and in the chaos, the lantern was knocked over and smashed.

As the scene descended into chaos, Jiang Qingrong, who had gone to buy snacks, and Luo Bei and Luo Yue, who had just resolved a dispute between neighboring vendors, returned.

Though Jiang Qingrong disliked everyone in the Qin household except Qin Jiao, he couldn't stand to see a girl mistreated. After sending a man who tried to grab Qin Han flying with a kick, Prince Jiang and his guards joined the melee with the Market Inspectorate men.

Luo Bei and Luo Yue recognized Qin Han as well. After a quick discussion, they decided one would stay while the other went to find Xie Nai and Qin Jiao to report.

Jiang Qingrong had been relentlessly beating the Market Supervisor. Seeing the man on the ground barely breathing, the mansion guards hurriedly advised, "Prince, that's enough. Any more and you'll kill him."

"Hmph, he won't die from this!"

Having vented his anger, Jiang Qingrong took a handkerchief from a guard, wiped his hands, and walked toward Qin Jiao.

Seeing him approach, Qin Han started to thank him: "Thank you for today, Prince..." But Jiang Qingrong interrupted, "You're Qin Han, right? You owe me for that spicy grilled lamb tendon. I spent five copper coins on them, and they got knocked out of my hands before I could finish!"

Qin Han: "..."

Qin Jiao: "..."

You don't have to be so cheap.

Qin Jiao turned away, not wanting to look at Jiang Qingrong anymore. Qin Han composed herself and said with a gentle smile, "Thank you for today, Prince. I'll make sure to replace that spicy grilled lamb tendon, rest assured."

"Good." Jiang Qingrong nodded, then suddenly stared at Qin Jiao and exclaimed, "Qin Jiao, what's wrong with your neck? Are you injured? Why are you wearing a silk scarf?"

Qin Jiao: "..."

Thanks a lot—you're the reason for my embarrassment.

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