Chapter 51: Arrogant and Domineering

When Yan Luoying heard Su Wen’s words, she couldn’t help but ridicule him. “Heh heh, you splurge your money on brothels, yet are so stingy to the poor.”

Su Wen rolled his eyes and said, “Why? Are brothel girls not pitiful? If I spend money in a brothel, I will at least enjoy the corresponding services. But if I give these beggars money, what can they give me?”

At this point, Su Wen looked at Yan Luoying and smiled. “Who isn’t pitiful? Take those children just now. Are they pitiful? They are, but how long can you care about them? The steamed buns that Lady Yan gave them are enough for them to eat for a day. They don’t need to beg or think of a way to make a living. They just need to find a warmer place to stay. However, you can give them the buns for a day, maybe ten days, but can feed them for a lifetime?”

“They are still young, they are still many that will pity them. As long as they learn diligently and become an apprentice for others, they can learn some craftsmanship after suffering some hardships. But because you have given them steamed buns, they will muddle around day to day. In the end, they will waste their time. If Lady Yan continues to hand out the steamed buns for the next two years, I’m afraid these children will not even want to rely on their own hard work. They will only reach out their hands to ask for things for their entire lives. At that time, I wonder if Lady Yan has done something good or bad?”

Yan Luoying was completely trapped by Su Wen’s analysis.

She looked confused.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Su Wen smiled. “Your intentions are definitely good, but do you know the difference between a saintess and a sanctimonious bitch?”

“Saintess? Sanctimonious bitch?”[1]

“That’s right. The Saintess wants to do good for the world and goes forward to serve as a role model. In contrast, the sanctimonious bitch always wants others to do good things for them instead.”

Su Wen looked at Yan Luoying and said with a smile, “Taking my previous example, I pay for the brothel services to help those poor girls within. It’s none of your business if I go alone, right? But I like to go to brothels, so I drag you there and make you pay the bill, and even term it as bringing you to experience different forms of life. Would you be unhappy?”

Yan Luoying said bitterly, “So you’re saying that I’m a sanctimonious bitch?”

“Not anymore if you change your ways of doing things.”

Yan Luoying was confused. “In that case, how can I help those children?”

Su Wen thought for a moment and said, “In your opinion, why don’t you give them a chance to make a living? For example, you can take them in as servants and let them rely on their own hard work to earn a living. At the same time, you can also have them pick up some skills so that they can allow them to support their family in the future.”

Yan Luoying lowered her head. After a while, she said, “But how many children can I take in?”

Su Wen nonchalantly stated, “You’re a general who kills people like flies, why are you so sentimental?”

Yan Luoying sighed and said, “Killing people like flies? If I had a choice, I wouldn’t want to kill them either. But if I don’t kill them, more people in Great Zhou will die!”

As she spoke, she looked at a total loss.

Su Wen could tell that there was something wrong with her, so he comforted her with a smile. “It’s alright, you’ll get used to it after killing a few more times. People have to die anyway, be it dying earlier or later. Just as you said, if they don’t die, the citizens of our Great Zhou will die. 400,000 people, and they might even have increased their numbers if you left them be. How many enemies would we face by then? You can be considered to have established a heavenly merit!”

For some reason, Yan Luoying felt much better when she heard Su Wen’s teasing words.

She adjusted her state of mind and looked at Su Wen. “What about the matter regarding the patrolling guards? You said you wanted to be ruthless. What should we do?”

At the mention of this matter, Su Wen narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Of course, it’s to strike down hard on whoever dares to start up trouble first.”

Coincidentally, Su Wen’s carriage stopped in front of the patrol office.

Zhao Jin hurriedly took out the carriage steps, placing it below the door.

Su Wen and Yan Luoying got out of the car one after another.

The guard stationed at the door widened his eyes at this scene. Why were these two here so early in the morning?

Generally speaking, Su Wen rarely came to the patrol office. Even if he did, it would usually be late in the afternoon.

Countless guesses suddenly popped out in the mind of the sentry.

Su Wen and Yan Luoying headed straight for the conference room after entering. It was then that Su Wen realized that Wen Jinming and Sun Wei were already waiting there.

Su Wen sat down on his seat and crossed his legs as he casually spoke out, “I heard the Eastern District is in a mess recently. Just yesterday, there were already 13 fights, so I wish to re-interrogate them today.”

Wen Jinming stood up with a flattering smile, “Lord Su, these fights are just small matters. Those people will naturally learn obedience once they’re locked up for a couple of days. There’s no need for interrogation.”

Su Wen glanced at him, but before he could speak, Zhao Jin, who was standing behind him, spoke up. He pointed at Wen Jinming and said, “Who the f*ck are you? How dare you speak to my young master like this? A brat like you that can’t even make it past my Prime Minister’s Residence to even send gifts dare question my young master’s words? Do you believe that I will reward you with two big, tight slaps?”

Zhao Jin’s words were not bad. As a 5th Ranked official, he was not important enough to be allowed entry in the Prime Minister’s Residence.

Wen Jinming was stunned, his expression immediately becoming a bit ugly.

However, he was not stupid. Even though he dared to offend Yan Luoying, he did not dare to do anything to Su Wen.

At this moment, Yan Luoying said, “Lord Su is a deputy garrison commander, so he naturally has the right to question and review the case. Now, go and bring the people up!”

Soon, the troublemakers were brought over.

The case file was also placed in front of Su Wen.

He checked them one by one. The cases were all very simple. Most of them were verbal conflicts that led to fights. There were also some drunken brawls.

The case file basically marked the names and identities of both parties. Then, there was a simple explanation of the case and how it was sorted out. After both parties confessed to their crimes, the case was closed.

The first case involved two men about thirty to forty years old.

The two of them came up, and Su Wen was still as carefree as ever as he casually asked, “Introduce yourselves.”

“This commoner is Wei Quan.”

“This commoner is Liu Sheng.”

Su Wen then began his questioning, “Did you guys fight yesterday?”

Wei Quan hurriedly said, “Yes, Lord. But we already know our mistakes. We won’t dare to do it again.”

Liu Sheng hurriedly said, “Yes, Sir, we won’t do it again.”

Su Wen sneered as he snapped, “You know your mistakes? What use is there? Let me ask you, who instigated you to fight in the shop?”

Both of them had a blank look on their faces. “No one instructed us to do that. We had a drink with each other yesterday and got drunk, so we got into a fight.”

“That’s right, my lord. Why would someone instruct us to fight?”

Su Wen smiled, “That makes sense, but this Young Master here doesn’t believe you. Men, come give 80 paddles to them first!”

Both of their expressions changed drastically upon hearing this.

Even Yan Luoying was a little confused. What was going on? He planned on hitting even those who admitted to their crimes?

At this moment, Wen Jinming stood up and said, “Lord Su, this doesn’t make sense at all. This case is just a simple brawl. Both of them have already confessed. Why do you want to reopen it? Why do you want to hit them?”

Just as he finished speaking, a figure appeared before him. It was Zhao Jin.

Slap! Slap! Two harsh slaps landed.

Zhao Jin said coldly, “Didn’t I tell you? If you dare question my young master again, I’ll give you two tight slaps.”

Wen Jinming covered his face, disbelief written all over. No matter what, he was still a 5th Rank official, so how could he get slapped just like that??

“Su Wen, I want to report you to His Majesty!”

Wen Jinming shrieked.

In response, Su Wen stood up and pointed at Wen Jinming’s nose as he arrogantly roared, “Go, hurry up and go. Do you think I’m afraid of you reporting me? Who do you think you are? I’m not afraid to tell you, don’t try to play dumb with me. All of you are deliberately causing trouble in the East District, right?

You think that I’m new to this job, so you’re trying to pull the wool over my eyes? A few days ago, I had to deal with Xue Meng and didn’t have the time to bother with you guys. With your cheap lives, even if I were to kill you all, His Majesty will at most just reprimand me! Why not go and listen to what others say about what I, Young Master Su, am really like? Since you dare to cause trouble in my territory, if I don’t manage to kill you, I’ll make sure you guys become honest men after this!”

After saying this, he turned to yell at the guard, “Beat them with the intention of killing them! If they die, I’ll take responsibility! If they don’t die, I’ll skin you alive and send you to the northern border to serve as a soldier!”

[1] Both are written similarly, Saintess is written as 圣母 while Sanctimonious bitch is written as 圣母婊.