The official shook his head with furrowed brows and tsked as if he couldn’t believe her shamelessness. "Woman, can’t you see that Mister Li is already being very accommodating? He gave you so many options but you’re refusing each and every time. Why would you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit? There is no way around this. You either pay the one thousand liang per horse, have your son work off your husband’s debt or go into prison. You choose."

Madam Zhong hugged Jing Yi. What could she do? She’d never give up her son but she also couldn’t pay the one thousand liang. Being thrown into prison wasn’t an option either. Who would care for Jing’er? Her son’s cousin? Mister Shao? But then this Li Bo might target them. She couldn’t be sure that he would be alright. No, the only thing she could do was to find an opportunity to get away.

She didn’t think it was wrong to do so. Her husband hadn’t committed any crime so she would only be running away from false accusations. And with her son who was their goal not in the picture anymore, they should leave everyone else alone.

She smiled. "That is a grave decision to make. Since Mister Li is such a good person he should allow me to have a few minutes to myself so that I can think this through and explain to my son."

Li Bo and his servants gaped. This … Had this woman just forced them to make a concession with what they had done before? How vicious! Unfortunately, as much as they thought they couldn’t come up with any response.

Li Bo frowned. Why did this woman have to be so stubborn? He had never experienced so many setbacks before! If he hadn’t seen how much her son had boosted the sales of the teahouse, he might have left her alone just to rid himself of all these problems.

"Well, if you insist to do so, then I guess I should allow you a minute with your son. I sincerely advise you not to take too much time though. I might be a generous man but my patience also has a limit. So it would best if you just gave your son to me. It’ll be good for you and good for him too. Everyone would be happy!"

Ai Hua couldn’t take it any longer. Everyone would be happy?! Kindly explain to her how she would be happy if His Majesty returned and found out that someone had made his beloved a slave! And this guy was just too despicable trying to force a mother to give her child away!

She slapped the table, shot up from the chair and raised her chin. "A thousand liang is it? Six horses, is it? Fine. You’ll get that. I’ll even give you more than that as an apology."

"Ah?" Li Bo looked over and raised his brows. There was actually a customer? He hadn’t paid attention to anything but Madam Zhong and her son. This woman … He gave her a once over and his brows rose even higher. This woman didn’t seem like a normal person. Her dress and the jewelry she wore were not of ordinary quality. What was she doing in this teahouse?

Ai Hua didn’t wait for Li Bo to figure her out. She leaped and arrived in front of Li Bo. Her foot met his chest very much like his servant had kicked Mister Zhong. The only difference was the effect. If not for the injury caused by Hong Bao, he wouldn’t have been hurt much. But Li Bo flew out of the teahouse like a big lump of dough someone had dropped. He crashed to the ground, gasping for breath. His whole body hurt. He couldn’t even turn to the side and get up.

The people on the street screamed and covered their mouth but nobody moved to help him. They just stood there, pointed at him and whispered to each other. Everyone who had had the bad luck of getting to know him rejoiced at his misfortune. Why would they try to help? They’d much rather enjoy the show! Hopefully, the one who had kicked him out of the teahouse would come out and provide some more entertainment!

It seemed their wishes would be fulfilled because Ai Hua was far from finished. This guy had dared to touch the family of His Majesty’s most beloved person. If she didn’t pay him back, she wouldn’t be qualified to call herself a woman of the dragon race!

She strode to the entrance of the teahouse and looked at him condescendingly. "Lying and accusing people of things they haven’t done, killing a man and trying to force his widow to give up on her only child, bribing an official for the whole charade. You’re despicable! And ugly! I’ve never seen such an ugly man before! You want one six liang? Here! Have some!" Ai Hua took out a purse with money and threw it at his feet. "You think that poor widow falsely accused you? Don’t you worry! I’ll pay for her so you can’t come and pester her again!" She took off the bracelet on her wrist and threw it next to the purse. "I said shameless and degrading things about you? Fine! Let me compensate you for that too!" She ripped an expensive looking pin out of her hair and threw it. The hairpin flew forward and the sharp end embedded itself into the ground. Just a little bit higher …

Li Bo grew pale. "You! You! Don’t you go overboard! I know the emperor!" he screamed at her.

Ai Hua put her hands on her hips and chuckled. "And I know the dragon king!"

The people around burst out laughing. So it turned out Li Bo had been lying before! He didn’t even know the emperor! They had always known he was shameless but who would have guessed he was this shameless?! They had to go and inform their families! From now on, they wouldn’t accept anything this guy tried! No, they’d spread this around everywhere and made sure they got every single copper coin back that he had taken from them! The crowd dispersed at once. Leaving only Ai Hua and Li Bo in front of the entrance.

Madam Zhong hesitated. She wanted to flee but something had obviously happened. Could it be … had this new customer really solved this problem? She gulped and followed Ai Hua to the door to see what exactly was going on. Her heart beat wildly when she finally saw the man who had caused her husband’s death on the ground. She sighed in relief. Maybe now, everything would end and they would be able to look into the future. Maybe her husband could rest in peace now that they were safe.

Jing Yi hurried after her. But before he could even take a glance at the man on the ground he saw him: The man he was sure would change the rest of his life.