"Peasants, peasants, a bunch of clueless peasants!"
"Master, once we return, we must send someone to severely teach them a lesson."
After being locked in the firewood room, the pair of master and servant didn’t stop talking and continued to curse people, which made Daohua’s head buzz from frustration.
Daohua, who was innocently imperiled, yelled at the two of them.
Prince Ping and his personal eunuch Huai En froze, fell silent at the same time, and turned to look at Daohua.
"Who are you to tell my master to shut up? Are you tired of living?"
After snapping back to reality, Huai En scolded Daohua haughtily.
Daohua glared at them furiously, sneering, "Already captured and locked up, yet you two still fail to grasp your own situation and keep spouting nonsense. Are you in a hurry to die?"
"Keep shouting, why not call those peasant fellows in here and have them beat you to death with clubs!"
Hearing this, Huai En’s momentum weakened; now that they were at a disadvantage, angering the outward peasants was not wise—if they really came in, both master and he wouldn’t be able to withstand them.
Prince Ping glanced sideways at the fierce-looking, excessively handsome young man, huffed, and ultimately refrained from continuing the shouting.
Today, he had been careless to bring Huai En, who was useless in martial arts. If Huai Zhong had come, how could those peasants even get close to him?
Ah, didn’t check the almanac before leaving home!
Seeing that they quieted down, Daohua sighed in relief. Although most peasants were unassuming and honest, this master and servant were filled with threats and talk of revenge, which could provoke these folks enough that a spur-of-the-moment stabbing wasn’t out of the question.
Daohua silently sized up the two of them.
The master looked like he was in his thirties; aside from his haughty demeanor, he was clearly a handsome middle-aged uncle.
The servant by his side had a pleasing appearance. Judging by his darting eyes, he was clearly cunning and sly.
Both were dressed in the latest silk robes from Beijing; even the servant’s attire was meticulously grand, clearly coming from a wealthy family.
Thinking about the inflamed peasant men from earlier, Daohua asked, "What exactly did you do to anger them?"
Prince Ping glanced at Daohua, lifted his chin slightly, showing an unwillingness to deal with her.
Daohua internally rolled her eyes and continued, "There’s reason in everything. They outnumber us, and since we’re not in a position to fight, we should talk, shouldn’t we?"
Huai En looked at his master and snorted, "It’s definitely their fault. My master just broke a pot of Red Peony and they wanted to kill us."
Daohua, realizing the issue wasn’t so serious, relaxed a bit, "Since you’ve damaged their belongings, you should compensate them with silver."
Huai En replied angrily, "We offered to pay, but they didn’t want it and even threw the silver at us."
Daohua frowned, "Was the silver not enough?"
Huai En huffed, "No, I told them we could negotiate if they thought the silver was insufficient, but they tied us up anyway."
Daohua was puzzled; a pot of Peony flowers, however precious, was surely insufficient reason for binding people.
Just then, the door opened.
Daohua and the others saw several robust young men surrounding an old man leaning on a cane, making his way inside.
The old man’s face was covered in wrinkles and age spots, his severe countenance framed by a pair of listless eyes, which now held obvious rage, making him appear even more fearsome.
"The Peony was meant as an offering to a noble person. Now that you have ruined it, how are we to explain to the noble?"
Huai En immediately said, "We’ll compensate!"
The old man’s voice suddenly rose, sharply scolding, "Can you afford the compensation?" After saying this, he started coughing violently.
"Grandfather, calm down!"
"Grandfather, please relax!"
The surrounding young men promptly helped the old man ease his breath.
Once the coughing subsided, the old man seemed drained of energy and weakly waved his hand, "Destroying a gift meant for a noble is an unforgivable crime. After nightfall, take them to be drowned in the pond."
Hearing this, Daohua and the others widened their eyes in shock.
For a pot of Peony flowers, these people were going to drown the three of them?
Seeing that the old man was about to leave, Daohua quickly spoke, "Old sir, everything can be discussed. I have some skill in gardening; I can guarantee that I can grow another pot of Red Peony for you."