Chapter 360 – Winds of the Capital (Seventeen)
Feng Jin took a deep breath and bluntly asked, “So your so-called true nature means getting into trouble and dragging you down with it?”
This troublesome little brother, seriously, does he not have any sense? He got sold and still gave the other party money.
Huang Song and Fatty Fang were busy brawling, and regardless of whether they won or lost, both sides understood the boundaries—there wouldn’t be any fatalities, just some loss of face at most.
But then Huang Song shouted, “Jue bro, come save your older brother!” and dragged the otherwise uninvolved Feng Jue right into the mess.
With Feng Jue’s martial skill—frankly speaking, he was just a head to be handed over, what help could he provide?
Feng Jin not only despised Huang Song for his eunuch background but also looked down on his dragging Feng Jue into the mire; this alone was enough for Feng Jin to hold a grudge against Huang Song for life.
Feng Jue remained silent, and Feng Jin coldly huffed, pressing, “Don’t beat around the bush. Answer me this: if Lan Ting hadn’t helped you, how did you plan to end today? Third brother, this is the capital, where dragons hide and tigers crouch. You can’t just act recklessly.”
Thinking back to Fatty Fang’s previous gambling suggestion made him seethe with anger; it was even worse that Feng Jue had readily agreed.
This kid was a real troublemaker who should never have been let out.
Feng Jue, in his good-natured way, smiled and said, “Second brother, don’t be upset; Ber Gao won’t let me be insulted.”
Upon hearing this, Feng Jin’s expression grew strangely complicated, like a spilled palette of colors.
He trembled a finger, fearing what weird words might come out of his brother’s mouth.
Jiang Pengji noticed the brothers were utterly miscommunicating and couldn’t help but chuckle, lightly clearing her throat to draw their attention.
“Huai Zheng probably means that Huang Song is trying to win him over. Whether it’s a strategy of pain or otherwise, if he wants Huai Zheng to truly trust him, he’d be willing to endure humiliation to protect Huai Zheng,” Jiang Pengji explained, dispelling Feng Jin’s disturbing thoughts.
Feng Jue showed a hint of relief and nodded, “Exactly.”
It wasn’t so much that Huang Song asked Feng Jue for help, but rather Feng Jue was testing Huang Song, seeing what kind of character he had.
Even without Jiang Pengji’s assistance, Feng Jue was confident he could extricate himself; his brother was just overly worried.
At that moment, Feng Jin had a ton of things to say, but he didn’t know where to start.
With a dark face, Feng Jin said, “Then you also shouldn’t have dragged Lan Ting into this. If the person you named wasn’t Lan Ting but someone else innocent, what then? That Fatty Fang is notoriously reckless; can you guarantee you have everything under control?”
It was one thing to mess with his own brother, but now he was dragging his brother’s friend in too. Who raised such a troublesome kid?
Feng Jue blinked awkwardly, half-smiling, “If I hadn’t recognized Lan Ting’s identity, I wouldn’t have acted recklessly, right?”
It was precisely because he recognized it that he acted with impunity.
Feng Jin understood his brother’s meaning, a nameless rage igniting within him.
So according to his reasoning, just recognizing someone meant he deserved to be dragged into trouble?
“You’re a son of the Feng family; he’s just a mere eunuch’s descendant… Huai Zheng, what exactly do you want to do?”
He knew his brother had a wide circle of friends and didn’t care much about status, but Feng Jue’s behavior gave him an ominous premonition.
Feng Jin criticized Huang Song’s origins, and Feng Jue said nothing in response.
This was Huang Song’s Achilles’ heel, an unremovable blemish. Though Feng Jin spoke the truth, Feng Jue disliked his brother’s habit of valuing background above all else. As they grew older, their conflicts and divisions became even more pronounced.
“The founding emperor of Dongqing was a runaway slave, even worked as a groom; the Feng family also serves the emperor, yet I never heard you say anything about that.”
Suddenly, Feng Jue sarcastically remarked, and the atmosphere immediately dropped to freezing point.
Were these two brothers preparing to clash?
As the saying goes, family disgrace shouldn’t be aired publicly; this troublesome kid should be brought home for a lesson.
Feng Jin held back his temper, regaining his usual calm and gentle demeanor.
He sincerely apologized to Jiang Pengji, thinking about how to discipline this troublemaker later.
“My younger brother is incorrigible; sorry for making Lan Ting laugh.”
“Huai Yu, don’t be angry. Huai Zheng is still young and doesn’t understand; he’ll be fine once he’s older,” Jiang Pengji reassured, genuinely not taking this incident to heart.
In fact, she even had some fondness for Feng Jue.
However, this troublesome boy really needed a good lesson!
An encounter ended rather unpleasantly.
After the Feng brothers left, Xu Ke was still lost in thought. Jiang Pengji asked him, “Are you still thinking about Huai Yu and Huai Zheng?”
Xu Ke replied, “A few years ago, I spoke with Feng Langjun a few times. He’s not that sort of person who clings to status; how did it end up like this now?”
Jiang Pengji responded, “Firstly, people change. Huai Yu is now a young man, no longer an immature boy; how could his thoughts remain unchanged? Secondly, he doesn’t care about class distinctions, nor does he look down on those outside the noble families; he just doesn’t like Huang Song.”
Xu Ke paused, “But earlier…”
“Xiaoyu, let’s say you have a younger brother. In your eyes, he’s still young and naïve, needing your protection. One day, a thug shows up, looking completely unsavory, yet this thug somehow earns your brother’s admiration. As the older brother, could you really feel good about that?” Jiang Pengji smiled ironically, explaining, “That thug is Huang Song.”
Xu Ke fell silent.
As an only child, he didn’t quite understand the mindset of a brother’s protector.
“Huai Yu opposes Huai Zheng’s friendship with Huang Song for his brother’s sake. No matter how many olive branches Huang Song’s godfather throws at the noble families, regardless of being neutral or fence-sitting, as long as the emperor is wary of noble clans, Huang Song and Huai Zheng will always stand opposed. What use is close friendship? Knowing someone’s face but not their heart, how can one be sure of Huang Song’s true nature behind the scenes?”
Xu Ke sighed, “In that case, Feng Langjun really has good intentions.”
“However, the problem is his younger brother’s rebellion. Huai Zheng’s impression of Huai Yu is already set; it’s hard to change now, especially since… Huai Yu does indeed have a bit of a bias towards social standing, a commonality among scions of noble families. To outsiders, it seems rather strange for Huai Zheng.”
Xu Ke recalled what Feng Jue said earlier and nodded with deep understanding.
“Just a bit regrettable…”
Jiang Pengji looked at him suspiciously, “What’s regrettable?”
“That Feng San Langjun’s temperament actually aligns quite well with you,” he said.
Both are nonconformist, born into noble families yet feeling little affiliation with their ranks, fiercely assertive.
“Tsk, better leave that alone. If I were to snatch Huai Yu’s precious little brother, do you think Huai Yu would come after me?”
Xu Ke fell silent, thinking about Feng Jin’s protective nature toward his brother; he found it hard to say.
Jiang Pengji and Xu Ke finished wandering the night market, buying a big bundle of gifts, not just their hands full but even the necks adorned with plenty.
Fatty Fang, who had just been handily beaten by Jiang Pengji, hobbled home supported by his goons.
Before he even entered the door, he broke down in tears, snot running down his face, wailing, “Dad, your son got bullied so badly! You have to stand up for me!”
