My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 74 - Be good, don’t be afraid

Chang'an.

Pei Mansion.

Pei Jun lay bare-bottomed on the bed, groaning with each breath.

Just a while ago at the Chang'an County Government, he had learned a new lesson: unarmed fighting called for forty strokes of the cane; fighting with weapons, sixty; for a group of more than three, the crime was increased by one class; five or more, two classes higher; and ten or more, three classes higher.

Because of his involvement in a group fight, he had just been lashed ninety times, nearly splitting open his buttocks.

Upon hearing the news, Vice Governor of the Capital Pei Hu rushed home only to find Pei Jun in this state, causing him to startle and ask, "What has happened?"

In the room, the County Magistrate of Chang'an sighed and told the story from beginning to end.

Today, he heard that the young master wanted to arrest a bunch of ruffians involved in a group fight. Eager to get closer to the young master, he enthusiastically followed along.

Unexpectedly, the main offender turned out to be his own nephew by marriage.

When he heard that the Minister of Justice was involved, Pei Hu's heart skipped a beat, and he trembled, "Could it be that Li Xuanjing is going to take action against me?"

County Magistrate Zhang, being in the know, hastened to reassure him, "Not at all, not at all. Don't scare yourself. If Lord Li truly intended to target you, after ninety strokes, Pei Jun would be gasping for breath in death, not merely swollen in the buttocks. You didn't see, on that day, the agent from the Spiegel Bureau took action, and with the Inner Breath Realm power, after ten strokes, someone was beaten to death..."

Pei Jun felt wronged upon hearing this.

For the past twenty years, the Pei Family had been stronger than the Song Family.

In the academy over the last three years, he had always been ahead of Song Yu, constantly causing him trouble, never hearing that Song Yu had such a formidable brother-in-law.

Minister of Justice Li Xuanjing was indeed notorious in Chang'an, a name that could quiet crying children at night, but he had never imagined the two could be connected.

The Song Family, too, had they not flaunted such a relative, he would have taken care to avoid Song Yu long ago had he known of his deep connections...

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Vice Governor of the Capital Pei Hu was indeed aware of the marriage connection between the Song and Li Families, but since Li Xuanjing usually kept to himself and the Song Family were exceptionally discreet, the two families did not interact or connect on the court despite the marriage.

After such an incident, he was at a loss what to do.

He looked at County Magistrate Zhang with pleading eyes and asked, "Brother-in-law, what should we do now?"

County Magistrate Zhang stroked his beard thoughtfully and said, "It's just a conflict between the younger generation, no need to take it too seriously. How about this, I'll accompany you to the Song Residence. Bring Pei Jun along and prepare a generous gift. We'll offer a sincere apology to the Song Family, and this matter will be put to rest. That Zhou boy got into a real fight with Son of the Song Family last time, but look at them now, they're as cordial as can be..."

Pei Hu replied, "Alright, alright, I will prepare immediately..."

...

Song Residence.

Song Mu'er was swinging on a swing, with Li Nuo standing behind her, giving her a push every time the swing slowed down.

The transparent "Law Code" floated before his eyes, the number on its cover changing from one hundred forty-five this morning to one hundred sixty-five now, an increase of a whole twenty days, akin to condemning two criminals to death.

Although the number of people judged was similar to last time and none of them practiced the Martial Path, the lifespan had increased by five days more than before.

Song Yu, his brother-in-law, was truly his lucky star. His simple arrangements for a duel were equivalent to half a month of hard work for himself.

He had been hitting a bottleneck lately, capturing more than twenty officials' offspring who started trouble and brawled, bringing them to the County Magistrate's Office for punishment, and the lifespan that had been stalled for days started to increase again.

If they fought like this every few days, he wouldn't even need to go to the government office.

Meanwhile, Song Lian, who had just returned home from his duties, was utterly bewildered.

He had barely stepped through the gates when the Vice Governor of the Capital and the County Magistrate of Chang'an's carriage stopped at his doorstep, and upon entering, he was greeted with several chests of gifts and a youth with a swollen buttocks, repeatedly apologizing...

Both the Pei and Song Families were well-connected in the military and court, and the Pei Family had even deeper roots. Neither family usually interacted much, and this sudden visit left Song Lian clueless.

However, the familiar scene quickly helped him realize that that rascal must have stirred up trouble again.

All he could do was welcome the Pei Family inside, serve them fine tea and exchange compliments for a long while before he understood the whole story.

"We adults should not take the youngsters' scuffles to heart."

"Lord Song speaks truthfully..."

"After disturbing you for so long, we will take our leave."

"I shall escort the two lords..."

...

After seeing the two men off, Song Lian looked at Song Yu standing there, and he was seething with anger. Picking up a feather duster from a vase, he shouted, "You miscreant! You have just been cautioned a few days ago, and you've already forgotten. What's the reason for fighting this time, over a woman again...?"

Song Yu quickly dodged behind a pillar and said, "This time it wasn't me who started the trouble; it was Pei Jun who came looking for it. I've been avoiding him these last few days. Everyone calls me a coward, and I haven't said a word..."

"You dare talk back?"

"I haven't done anything wrong," said Mumu. "My brother-in-law has said that we don't start trouble, but we shouldn't be afraid of it either. Constantly being bullied would also tarnish the Song Family's reputation and would encourage unjust behavior!"

Lord Song, furious, raised the duster in his hand again, "You little scoundrel..."

As the situation spiraled out of control, Li Nuo quickly stepped in, grabbing Lord Song's arm, "Second uncle, don't be angry, it's my fault that this happened... I was the one who told him to do it..."

Seeing Li Nuo intervene, Lord Song didn't know what else to say and, throwing down the duster, he said resignedly, "Just spoil him, then!"

Scuffles among the descendants of military families were quite normal; they had all gone through the same.

But for a family's junior to start a brawl that involved the government, probably only he could manage to pull off such a thing...

Lord Song was angry at his son, but he wasn't mad at Li Nuo.

He wasn't wrong; the people of the Song Family did not initiate trouble but were not afraid of it either. A family should support each other, which was the tradition of the Song Family.

Since the founding of Daxia, many families like the Song Family have collapsed and vanished into obscurity because of internal strife for power and profit within the family.

The Song Family's continued existence was due to the cohesion among family members.

With a helpless look, Lord Song glared at his son once more and left.

Song Yu emerged from behind a pillar, smiling at Li Nuo, "You're really something, brother-in-law. When my dad wanted to hit me before, even my uncle couldn't stop him..."

Li Nuo patted his shoulder, saying, "If someone troubles you in the future, make sure to tell me. Don't be shy about it. Regardless of the other party's background, if you're not in the wrong, I'll make them pay..."

Song Yu, moved, didn't know what to say and just pounded his chest hard, declaring, "No need to say anything more. If there's anything you need help with in the future, brother-in-law, just say the word. I, Song Yu, will go through fire and water for you, with no hesitation!"

Li Nuo didn't need Song Yu to go through fire and water; he just needed a small favor from his connections.

If Song Yu started trouble on his own, Li Nuo wouldn't be biased in his favor, but he wouldn't let others bully his family either.

When Li Nuo returned to his room, he saw his wife reading a book again.

On closer inspection, she was actually reading "Calculus."

Just as Li Nuo thought she was making progress, he saw her furrow her brows, seemingly encountering unfamiliar words, and silently flipping through "Shuo Wen" next to her.

Li Nuo walked over and sat opposite her, also picking up a book to read.

These days, he had been studying the methods of Legalism, and compared to his predecessors, his own tactics were still too naive and superficial.

After some time, Li Nuo absentmindedly looked up and saw that his wife, lying on the desk, had already fallen asleep.

Even in sleep, with her book, she looked beautiful — with relaxed brows and a serene expression. When she was calm and not wielding a sword, she was actually quite ladylike.

As Li Nuo watched, the beautiful face across from him, with its trembling eyelashes, slowly opened its eyes. Jiaren, upon seeing him across, instinctively wiped the corners of her mouth before sitting up and smoothing out a page she had creased...

Li Nuo picked up a small jug of fruit wine from the table and said to her, "This is fruit wine brewed by the Agricultural School. It tastes quite good. Would you like to try it?"

After closing and putting away her book, Jiaren nodded slightly.

Li Nuo took two cups, poured each a cup of wine, and Jiaren took a small sip. Li Nuo asked, "How is it?"

Jiaren nodded, "It's pretty good."

Li Nuo finished his small cup of fruit wine and said, "If you like it, that whole small jug is yours. I've already had quite a bit today."

As the evening grew late, Li Nuo stood up, quickly washed up, and went to bed.

Moments later, the light in the room went out, a fragrance wafted through, and a figure lay down beside him.

After a busy day, although the fruit wine wasn't particularly strong, it had a considerable aftereffect, and with Li Nuo's low tolerance, after just a small cup, he felt slightly tipsy and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The night deepened, and the layers of dark clouds in the night sky were indiscernible.

Boom!

A thunderclap suddenly erupted in the night sky, waking countless people from their sleep.

Inside the room, Jiaren opened her eyes, instinctively turned over, and gently patted Li Nuo's chest, whispering, "Sweetheart, don't be afraid..."

The next moment, she realized something and stopped moving her hands.

The first time they had shared a bed, it wasn't in the Song Residence.

On their wedding night, there were also long-lasting claps of thunder outside, and he had been so frightened that he huddled in the corner of the bed, shaking. She had been supposed to sleep on the floor, but it was like this she had soothed him to sleep...

The same rainy night, the same thunder sounds, except now, he was no longer the husband with just a child's temperament...

Li Nuo, half asleep, felt someone patting him, opened his eyes, and, propping himself up, sat up, confused, "Wife, what are you doing?"

As soon as he spoke, he suddenly felt a pain in his neck, and his whole body fell back down powerlessly.

Jiaren supported his neck, slowly laid him back on the bed, and then gently patted his chest, taking a deep breath...