Song Jinzhao sheathed her sword and walked over to Song Qiming. She grabbed his hand and, seeing that the wound was still bleeding, furrowed her brows tightly.
"I'm fine, Sister. The wound isn't deep. It'll be fine once we go back and bandage it," Song Qiming said, pulling his arm away and hiding it behind his back.
Where did this demoness come from, taking on six men all by herself? Even with her own men, they probably wouldn't stand a chance.
The brothel madam clutched her handkerchief tightly and stuttered, "If you all have no further business, could you please take these people away? My Beauty Pavilion still needs to stay open for business, so I won't entertain you any longer."
By the time Meng Hechuan heard the news, Song Jinzhao had already dragged the six men to the government office.
Everyone except Song Jinzhao was covered in blood, especially the six thugs. After inspecting them, the yamen runners stated that their right hands were completely crippled.
Meng Hechuan looked at Song Jinzhao. "What happened here?"
Song Qiming stepped forward first and recounted the entire incident in detail, with Ji Youming chiming in from time to time to agree.
"Your Honor, you have no idea. When these people couldn't beat us up, they pulled out their knives. If Song Qiming and I hadn't run fast enough, we would have lost our lives before his sister even arrived. They must be severely punished."
Meng Hechuan asked Song Qiming, "Have you offended anyone recently?"
Song Qiming shook his head. He frowned and pondered for a long while before answering, "Tomorrow is the academy's annual examination. Their initial goal was to cripple my fingers, so I suspect the mastermind behind this might be someone from the academy."
"It wasn't just these six men. The first three who attacked me were hit by my poisoned needles, and two others were injured and aren't here. Your Honor, you must capture them and bring them to justice."
Song Qiming was no longer a commoner without a title. Moreover, with three scholars involved, Meng Hechuan was determined to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice.
"Rest assured. With these six men in custody, we will absolutely pry their mouths open tonight."
Stepping out of the government office gates, Song Jinzhao stopped and asked Song Qiming, "Do you have any suspects in mind?"
Song Qiming nodded heavily. "I think it is Yan Baoyi. Ever since the academy exams ended, he has held a grudge against me. He even teamed up with his teacher to make things difficult for me at the academy at every turn."
"It's highly likely that he hired these people to cripple my hands so that I could never hold a pen again, just to prevent me from testing into the Upper House."
Song Jinzhao's eyes darkened, her voice growing cold. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"
Song Qiming replied, "You're already so busy managing the medical clinic and the food shop, not to mention taking care of household matters. I can handle my own affairs."
He shrugged, pretending to be relaxed. "Anyway, no matter how they target me, as long as I study hard, I can still leave him far behind. Besides, ever since my teacher went to teach in the Inner House, Master Ding hasn't dared to target me anymore."
Song Jinzhao grabbed Song Qiming's ear and pinched it tightly, her tone rising at the end. "I am your eldest sister. If anyone bullies you in the future, you must tell me immediately. If you really resolved it, how did today's incident happen?"
Song Qiming lowered his head. "I didn't expect Yan Baoyi to dare to go this far."
Seeing the siblings talking endlessly, Ji Youming strolled over and asked in a low voice, "Sister, where is my brother, Hu Fengye, the one who went to deliver the message to you?"
Song Qiming looked up. "Brother Ji, you should be older than my sister."
Ji Youming opened his mouth halfway and then closed it. He found it a bit difficult to call her younger sister.
The truth was, the imposing aura Song Jinzhao exuded could not be matched by the title of younger sister. Only calling her sister felt appropriate.
Just as he was about to speak, Song Qiming raised a hand to stop him. "You can't call her younger sister. You have to call her Miss Song."
Ji Youming's mouth twitched imperceptibly twice.
Song Jinzhao spoke up, "Qiming, take your classmate home first to treat his wounds. The other one was left behind halfway and couldn't keep up. I'll go find him."
Song Qiming nodded and led the limping Ji Youming toward home.
Song Jinzhao found Hu Fengye halfway there; he was in a standoff in an alley, tugging at a horse.
"Miss Song, you're finally here. This horse won't listen to me. It stopped halfway and refuses to move."
"How are Song Qiming and Ji Youming? Did you manage to save them?"
Song Jinzhao vaulted onto the horse and hoisted Hu Fengye up once again. "They're saved. The thugs were sent to the government office. Ji Youming should be at my house right now. I'll take you there."
Hu Fengye's tense shoulders slumped. "As long as they're fine. Those men looked like vicious fiends. I was really terrified that something terrible would happen."
In the main hall of the Song family home, Ji Youming was pressed into a chair by Lan Xi, his body twisting like a maggot.
Song Shixue's hands, slick with medicinal wine, continuously rubbed his arm. "Bear with it and don't move. If I don't rub away the bruised blood, you won't even be able to get out of bed tomorrow."
Ji Youming was sweating profusely from the pain, his neck glistening with moisture, as he cried out and begged for mercy.
"Second Miss Song, could you be a little gentler? I'm dying of pain."
Song Shixue didn't lessen the force in her hands one bit. "Being gentle won't work. I have to use some strength. It will be over soon."
Hu Fengye, who had just stepped over the threshold, fearfully pulled his leg back. He raised his left hand and touched himself all the way from his swollen eye down to his arm.
Would he be subjected to the same treatment?
Hu Fengye's injuries were much lighter than Ji Youming's.
Although those men's target was Song Qiming, Song Qiming had, after all, practiced martial arts with Song Jinzhao for over a year, so he was capable of dodging and fighting back.
This was unlike Ji Youming, who purely relied on his body to absorb the blows and fought without any technique.
Although Ji Youming didn't suffer any major injuries, he had sustained his fair share of superficial wounds from head to toe, making his condition even worse than Song Qiming's.
