Chapter Ninety-Six: Crippling Zhang Rong (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

“Ow, it hurts to death.”

Zhang Rong clutched his backside and howled over and over. A pampered young master like him had never suffered such misery before. Zhang Fei’s collision had not taken his life; that alone could already be counted as merciful. Yet looking at Zhang Rong now, still full of bluster and strength, it seemed he had only been in pain and suffered no real injury at all.

“Young Master, Young Master, are you all right?”

Six household retainers came running from the direction they had just come from, each of them panting heavily. They had clearly been chasing after Zhang Rong, and how could two legs ever hope to outrun four?

“Bastards, hurry up and help me up! If you don’t, I’ll go home and have my uncle chop off your dog heads!”

At his shout, the servants broke into a sweat and hurriedly helped him to his feet. If even the slightest thing happened to this young lord, then even nine lives would not be enough for them to survive.

Who would have thought that the moment Zhang Rong was helped upright, he would shove the nearest servant away. “Get lost.”

Then Zhang Rong turned to the culprit who had knocked him from his horse, Zhang Fei, and roared, “Was it you, you charcoal-faced brute, who threw this young master from his mount? Do you even know who I am?”

“Whether I know or not, what of it? Even the Son of Heaven is subject to the same law as the common people. You dare to ride recklessly and commit violence in Luoyang, and yet you are not afraid of the law?”

At that moment, Liu Yao happened to step out from the tavern and spoke coldly, a trace of familiar mockery curling at the corner of his mouth. Zhang Fei bowed to Liu Yao, then moved to stand behind him.

“Hahahaha!”

To his surprise, Zhang Rong burst into wild laughter at those words. Then, with an arrogant look, he declared, “Let me tell you this: the chief eunuch Zhang Rang is my uncle. In Luoyang, my word is law.”

“Heh. Then do you know who I am?”

Liu Yao said with amused contempt. He had already known that a spoiled son of this sort would inevitably try to bully others with the power behind him. Very well, then—he would see whose backing was stronger.

Zhang Rong’s heart thudded. From the man’s tone, it seemed he had a rather extraordinary identity as well. So Zhang Rong studied Liu Yao carefully. In Luoyang, he knew almost all the noble sons of the great families. Aside from the scions of the Yuan family and a few from He Jin’s household, whom he did not dare offend too much, he paid no one any mind. But he had clearly never seen this person before.

His confidence returned, and he jeered disdainfully, “Boy, who are you? State your name and let me see whether you even qualify to polish my boots.”

“You—”

Zhi A and Zhang Fei were instantly enraged that Zhang Rong dared insult Liu Yao so openly, and they were about to rush forward and teach him a lesson. But Liu Yao raised a hand at once, stopping them both. Though still angered, the two withdrew on his command.

Seeing this, Zhang Rong only assumed that Liu Yao was afraid of him, and his contempt deepened.

“If you want to know who I am, then I’ll tell you. My surname is Liu, my given name is Yao, and my courtesy name is Bo Gao. I am the eldest prince of the present emperor, Grand General of Cavalry of Han, and Governor of Youzhou. Tell me, is this enough to warrant polishing your boots?”

Liu Yao said with a cold smile. Having been insulted so humiliatingly, he was naturally furious, and in his heart he had already decided to cripple this fellow.

The common people around them, hearing Liu Yao’s name, immediately gazed at him with reverence and began whispering among themselves. As for the household servants, the instant they heard Liu Yao’s identity, their legs turned to jelly with fear and they collapsed one after another to the ground. Only one of them remained comparatively composed; he quietly slipped into the crowd and looked ready to go fetch Zhang Rang. Liu Yao saw him, of course, but made no move to stop him. He was even hoping Zhang Rang would come.

“You, you, you’re lying! His Highness the Grand Prince has been busy these past few days with his betrothal arrangements. How could he possibly be here?”

Hearing Liu Yao’s name, Zhang Rong nearly had his legs give out beneath him as well. Liu Yao’s backing was the current Son of Heaven himself. Zhang Rong’s backing, by contrast, was only Zhang Rang—and Zhang Rang’s backing was the Son of Heaven. A child could have guessed whom the emperor would favor more.

But then Zhang Rong recalled that a few days earlier his uncle had mentioned the Grand Prince’s betrothal. On the basis of that, he simply concluded that Liu Yao could not possibly be here.

At once, Liu Yao produced his official seal and identity tablet and shouted, “The Grand General of Cavalry of Han is here! Zhi A, Zhang Fei, seize these lawless wretches for me!”

“Yes, sir!”

Zhang Fei and Zhi A answered with delight. They had long disliked Zhang Rong. In a flash, they rushed forward and, with only a few punches and kicks, beat the servants to the ground until they could no longer move.

When had Zhang Rong ever seen such a scene? Usually he was the one bullying others; never had anyone bullied him before. Terrified, he collapsed to the ground.

“Don’t come near me! Get away, get away!”

Faced with the charcoal-black brute advancing on him, Zhang Rong looked like a helpless little bride about to be humiliated, retreating again and again in panic.

“Good!”

Cheers immediately rose from all around the crowd, along with praises for Liu Yao.

Then Zhang Fei lifted Zhang Rong as easily as though he were carrying a chick and brought him before Liu Yao. “Ha, my lord, this brat is nothing but a coward. I ask my lord to deal with him.”

Liu Yao leaned closer and looked at Zhang Rong with amused disdain. “Well? Do you still need me to polish your boots?”

“You—you want to do what? M-my uncle is Zhang Rang. If you dare lay a hand on me, m-my uncle will never let you off.”

Perhaps Zhang Rong had truly been frightened senseless, for even now he still tried to threaten Liu Yao with Zhang Rang.

“Hmph. So it seems you greatly admire your uncle. In that case, I’ll send you to keep him company.”

Liu Yao gave Zhang Rong a cold glance and then said, “Yide, do it.”

“As you command!”

Zhang Fei cried out in delight. With a powerful swing of his right arm, he hurled Zhang Rong high into the air.

“Don’t! Don’t!”

In midair, Zhang Rong flailed his limbs wildly and screamed in terror. To keep company with Zhang Rang could only mean one thing: being turned into a eunuch as well. For a spoiled son like Zhang Rong, that was more unbearable than death.

“Stop this at once!”

At that moment, a crowd of men came running from outside. At their head was Zhang Rang himself. Seeing his nephew being tossed into the air by a hulking brute, he cried out in great anxiety.

But Zhang Fei paid Zhang Rang no heed. As Zhang Rong fell back down, he delivered a ferocious kick straight into his groin.

“Aaah!”

“Don’t!”

Two bloodcurdling screams rang out one after the other.

The first was Zhang Rong’s. He was kicked flying four or five zhang away, both hands clutching his groin as he rolled and howled in utter agony, his body writhing as if he would rather die than endure the pain.

The second was Zhang Rang’s.

With that single kick, Zhang Fei had severed the Zhang family’s lineage entirely.

Zhang Rang hurried to Zhang Rong’s side and seized him tightly, staring at the red and yellow fluid seeping from below. In great alarm, he cried, “Rong’er, Rong’er, are you all right? Don’t frighten your uncle!”

Yet at that moment Zhang Rong knew only how to wail in misery. He could not hear Zhang Rang at all. Those piercing shrieks were like swords stabbing straight into Zhang Rang’s heart. As a eunuch himself, he knew all too well the agony of losing one’s root, and now he even feared whether Zhang Rong would be able to survive this.

“What are you still standing here for? Hurry and take the young master to find a doctor—find the imperial physicians! Yes, take him to the imperial physicians!”

Seeing the household servants behind him standing there dazed and helpless, Zhang Rang roared in fury.

“Yes, yes, my lord!”

The servants quickly found a pushcart from somewhere, helped Zhang Rong onto it, and then raced off in one direction.

Seeing this, Liu Yao did not send anyone to stop them. Zhang Rong was already ruined. Whether he lived or died no longer had anything to do with Liu Yao. In any case, his purpose had already been achieved.