Chapter 441: An Encounter with a Benefactor
The shattered bamboo basket lay on the ground, its contents—melons and fruits—spilled in every direction. A thin line of blood ran down the woman’s forehead, stark against her ashen face…
The spoiled young nobles who galloped past afterward paid no attention at all. It was as if the scene before them simply did not exist, as though it were invisible. One after another, they laughed and joked as they rode by, faces brimming with the carefree joy of a spring outing on horseback.
“Mother, Mother…”
The little girl, no more than eight or nine years old, clutched her younger brother tightly. Crying, she helped the woman up, then turned to glare fiercely at the figures riding away. She bit her lip hard and cursed through clenched teeth, “Those black-hearted bastards—there isn’t a single good one among them!”
“Niannian, quickly, quickly, stop talking! Don’t let them hear you. We can’t afford to offend people like that.”
The woman, blood still seeping from her forehead, hurriedly reached out and covered her daughter’s mouth. Her face was filled with fear. In her eyes, they were already fortunate—at the very least, those spoiled nobles hadn’t held them responsible for blocking the road.
The expressions of the surrounding people changed as well, worry spreading through the crowd. One after another, they whispered reminders to the little girl to stop cursing.
“If you anger those officials’ sons, it’s ordinary folks like us who suffer in the end.”
“They didn’t even blame you for getting in the way—thank the heavens for that already.”
The girl obediently closed her mouth, but her eyes remained fixed stubbornly on the young noblemen riding past, filled with hatred. The woman tugged anxiously at her sleeve, urging her not to stare at those powerful youths, terrified that even such a look might bring disaster upon them.
But the girl was stubborn. No matter how the woman tried to persuade her, she refused to look away, as if she were determined to carve their faces into her memory.
One horse after another passed by. The girl continued to glare, memorizing them one by one.
Just as the woman was still coaxing her daughter, she suddenly sensed an unnatural stillness. The noise around them vanished. The people who had been nearby all retreated far away, watching them with tense, worried expressions.
Reading the looks on those faces, the woman and the little girl seemed to realize something. They turned their heads—and saw a shadow fall over them.
They looked up to find a refined, elegant young noble, no more than fifteen years old, slowly reining his horse to a stop in front of them. He dismounted with unhurried grace. It was Zhu Ping’an.
In the little girl’s eyes, this young man, dressed in a deep sapphire-blue warrior’s outfit with tight sleeves, looked—judging only by appearances—like the honest, simple-minded Second Ox Brother from next door.
But Second Ox Brother was such a good person. There was no way he could be compared to these black-hearted bastards!!
When the woman saw Zhu Ping’an halt his horse before them, her entire body began to tremble. She thought he must have heard her daughter’s curses—or noticed the way she had been glaring at them—and had come to hold them accountable.
“Y-young master… I’m sorry… This common woman was ignorant and offended you.”
Her voice shook violently. As she apologized, she was already preparing to kneel and kowtow.
“Mother…”
The little girl grabbed the woman, all the while glaring fiercely at Zhu Ping’an.
It was clearly their fault! Why should we apologize? Why should we kneel to them?!
Horse riding wasn’t even allowed on this street! They had already moved to the side of the road, yet those people still charged straight into them, knocked them over, and ruined everything. Why should we be the ones apologizing?!
Where is the justice in this world?!
Her hatred surged, and she stared at Zhu Ping’an with burning eyes, biting her lip like an enraged little lion. It looked as though she might pounce at him the very next second and tear a few pieces of flesh from him.
In that brief instant—just as the woman trembled and bent to kneel—the young man in the sapphire-blue warrior’s attire moved first. Zhu Ping’an stepped forward and lifted the woman up before she could bow. To avoid impropriety, he wrapped his hand in his sleeve as he helped her.
“We’re the ones who should be apologizing. I’m truly sorry, sister-in-law.”
His tone was sincere, carrying unmistakable remorse. He then cupped his hands toward the surrounding crowd in apology.
Huh? He was apologizing?
The people around them were stunned, almost unable to believe what they were seeing.
Could this black-hearted bastard be plotting something else?! Was he…?
Just a few days ago, Sister Xiaoling from next door—who worked as a maid in a wealthy household—had said that some rich families were perverse, that some liked to bully little girls. Could this bad man be harboring such disgusting intentions…?
The more she thought about it, the more hatred filled the little girl’s gaze as she looked at Zhu Ping’an.
“Brother-in-law, what are you doing? Hurry up!”
Fatty Zhou’s voice called from ahead.
“Alright, coming.”
Zhu Ping’an replied casually. He slipped his hand into his sleeve, took out about two taels of broken silver, and placed it into the little girl’s hands. Then he swung back onto his horse.
“I’ll apologize on behalf of my friends ahead. Little sister, take your mother to the medical clinic up the street to have her wound treated.”
With those words spoken from horseback, he urged his horse forward and rode off to catch up with Fatty Zhou and the others.
Zhu Ping’an compensated the woman and the children on behalf of those ahead of him, without any hidden motive. He simply couldn’t bear to see them suffer such pain and loss. Especially when he saw the fruits rolling out of the basket, it reminded him of his own childhood—going to town with his father and Madam Chen to sell mountain delicacies and wild game in Xiahe Village.
Of course, he hadn’t thrown money around recklessly. Two taels of silver was all he gave—but for a farming household, that was already a considerable sum. It was more than enough to make up for their losses, and there would surely be plenty left over. To them, it was an unexpected windfall.
Zhu Ping’an didn’t give it any further thought. He simply rode away.
That bad man actually paid compensation? And without making any demands at all?
This couldn’t be real… I must be dreaming!!!
The little girl stared at the pieces of silver in her hand, still unable to believe it. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth hanging agape in shock.
That official’s son not only didn’t pursue the matter—he even gave them money?
This silver had to weigh more than two taels, right?!
The woman was equally stunned. She looked at the broken silver in her daughter’s hands, then secretly pinched herself hard. The pain told her it was real. This wasn’t a dream.
The people who had been worrying for the woman and her children moments ago now felt a wave of envy instead.
The basket might have been dented, but with a little repair it would be as good as new. The scattered fruits and vegetables could all be picked up and sold as usual. As for the blood on the woman’s forehead, it was clearly just a scraped wound—apply some medicine, and it would heal by the next day.
This mother and her children had truly struck luck. They had met a benefactor.
That young noble had paid a full two taels of silver! Why wasn’t it me who got hit?
Many onlookers couldn’t help sighing with such thoughts.
“You really ran into a noble benefactor today,” the crowd remarked as they helped gather the vegetables from the ground.
“Exactly. Big sister, you’ll have to be extra careful in the future. People like that don’t come along easily. Next time you enter the city, be a thousand, ten thousand times more cautious. If you see something like this again, hide as far away as you can.”
As they marveled, they also reminded her to be more careful in the future.
“Hey… don’t you think that young noble looked a bit like the top scholar who rode through the streets a while back?” someone suddenly said.
“Really? Well… now that you mention it, he does look a bit similar. I was standing right here watching the top scholar’s parade back then,” another person said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“Oh, nonsense,” an older woman declared firmly. “The top scholar was far more handsome than that young noble. The top scholar was the incarnation of the Literary Star. I saw him with my own eyes—so handsome you wouldn’t believe it.”
“Heh, that’s true,” others nodded in agreement. “We all thought the top scholar was young and dashing back then.”
Slowly, after repeatedly thanking everyone, the woman shouldered her basket and left with her children. The bustling noise of the street returned, leaving no trace that a horse-riding accident had ever occurred there at all.