Chapter 25: Throwing oneself into the trap

Yun Ye and Cheng Chumo were training Niu Jianhu. They tied Niu Jianhu’s hands to a horizontal bar and his feet to the ground, similar to the torture in the garbage pit. Yun Ye held a whip in his hand and tied a small piece of fur to the end of the whip in the spirit of humanitarianism. He occasionally whipped Niu Jianhu’s good right foot to prevent him from using it as leverage. Cheng Chumo was amused by the bamboo stick in his hand, harassing the calf’s buttocks.

The calf, like a heroic martyr, kept his mouth shut, his face flushed, his eyes full of hatred, his bound hands clenched into fists, and his teeth grinding together. The left foot prosthesis was attached to a pair of exquisite leather soft boots, which were the only fulcrum supporting his body. For seven days, he had been able to walk with the prosthesis, but he could not run.

After the examination, Yun Ye thought it was a psychological problem. Niu Jianhu always disagreed that the prosthesis was part of his body and was too careful with his left foot. This is not good. It doesn’t make full use of the prosthesis. Back then, Yun Ye saw people with mild disabilities who had broken legs at the Paralympics running very fast on the track. There was no way he could catch up. There was no reason why Niu Jianhu could only walk and not run.

“Brother Jianhu, you are in my brother’s hands today, so don’t expect to get off lightly. I came here today to avenge the hatred of yesterday when you invited me to eat cantaloupe. Now, whoever mentions cantaloupe in front of me is my enemy. Everyone in Chang’an knows this joke of my brother Yun Hou, and you deliberately use it to mock me. It’s really hateful. Chu Mo, use a little strength. Haven’t you eaten?” Yun Ye said in a sullen tone, with a small willow branch in his mouth.

“Xiao Ye, you don’t know that Tiger’s butt is very plump, even bigger than the old madam of the Yanlai Building, and I’m going to enjoy it slowly.” After saying that, he gave another stick. The two brothers ignored Niu Jianhu’s roar and giggled and teased the calf.

After all, they were the sons of a military family. They roared and flexed their arms. The rope, which was not very tightly tied in the first place, snapped. Yun Ye and Cheng Chumo saw that things were not good and ran away while Niu Jianhu was untying the rope.

Niu Jianhu shouted, “I’m going to beat the shit out of you two assholes!” and chased after them. They fled from the Niu family martial arts field all the way, through the back garden, past the flower hall, knocking over the Niu family flower stand, breaking the Niu family matriarch’s beloved vase, and escaping in the midst of Niu Jinda and Mrs. Niu’s dumbfounded stares.

Niu Jinda was about to scold his son when he saw him charging in like a mad tiger, roaring and not answering.

“Master, did Tiger just run out? Am I right?” Mrs. Niu asked Old Niu. Old Niu had already recovered and probably understood what had happened. He laughed heartily: “Yes, you’re right, wife. Tiger was chasing those two kids. Haha, he ran really fast.”

He smashed open the side gate of the Niu family and rushed into the street. He didn’t know whose guards were clearing the street. The guards, who were big and round, filled both sides of the street. As soon as they saw the two kids rushing out recklessly, they shouted and surrounded them. They unsheathed their swords and flashed them in the bright light. They were about to capture the two assassins, but they didn’t expect Niu Jianhu to rush out again, knocking people over and horses down. Needless to say, the three brothers were all captured.

The head of the guards, who was full of murderous intent, ran over in full armor, the armor leaves rustling, and the veins on his hand holding the knife were running wild, and he was very angry. Just as he was about to interrogate them, he discovered that all three assassins knew each other. The anger on his face disappeared in an instant, faster than a Sichuan opera face change.

Ah, an acquaintance. Yun Ye was secretly regretting that he didn’t want to meet the head of the imperial guards who had once asked him for advice. This is easy. A big smile appeared on his face: “It turns out that you are brother Liu. My younger brothers and I were just messing around and didn’t mean to accidentally bump into the ceremonial platform. Please, brother Liu, look at my brothers’ youth and ignorance and give me a break, okay?”

“I thought you were an assassin, but it turned out to be Yun Hou, Cheng Xiaogong, and Niu Xiaohou. Of course, we brothers can talk, but just now, the empress has already known. I will go and report to her. Please calm down, and I hope the empress will not be offended.”

Oh my god! Li Er is the person Yun Ye is most afraid of seeing. The second person in line is the Empress. Who else but Empress Changsun could allow Li Er’s personal bodyguard to accompany her? Yun Ye no longer expected a good outcome after falling into her hands today.

The three brothers hung their heads and waited to be dealt with. Fortunately, the guards spared them the humiliation of being tied up. In a moment, a message came from the front that the empress wanted to pay a visit to Mrs. Niu, and ordered that the three daring brats be brought back to the Niu residence for further punishment.

Old Niu and Mrs. Niu had already heard the servant’s report and were waiting at the gate to welcome the empress.

In the warm room, Mrs. Niu and the empress talked very well, and laughter could be heard from time to time. This somewhat comforted Ge San’s uneasy mood. The door to the warm room opened, and Mrs. Niu walked out, poking her fingers on the heads of the three men. She let Ge San follow her inside.

As soon as he entered the door, Cheng Chumo immediately knelt down to greet the empress. This kid is usually dull-witted, but at this time he was more perceptive than Yun Ye and Niu Jianhu, and followed Cheng Chumo to greet the crown prince. He didn’t even dare to lift his head.

“You three stand up and let me take a good look at the three daring brats.” The voice had the unique majesty of royalty, but also the gentleness of a woman, and Li Chengqian was eight streets worse than him.

Grandma was right. She was an extremely beautiful woman. As she spoke, the golden hairpin on her head did not move at all. Under her two curved eyebrows were a pair of dark eyes like ink. She could not see her expression, but her face was filled with a faint smile. She was wearing a green embroidered robe and holding a teacup, looking at the three of them. Her gaze stopped on Yun Ye, and she lightly raised her cherry lips: “You are the famous Yun Ye of Lantian, right?”

“Your humble servant is not worthy of such praise. Today, I have been rude. Please punish me, Your Majesty.” He dared not be glib, and honestly asked for forgiveness.

Empress Changsun did not say a word, did not comment, and looked carefully at Niu Jianhu’s legs again. Seeing that he was standing steadily without a hint of disability, she asked Mrs. Niu curiously, “Niu sister, I remember that a few years ago, the child Jianhu had an accident while riding a horse and injured his foot. How is he fine now? Could it be that the rumors are wrong?”

Mrs. Niu was delighted when she heard this and her eyes lit up with joy: “Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern. It is true that the child, Jianhu, injured his left foot and had to sit on a couch for nearly five years. If it weren’t for Xiao Ye’s great skill, he would still be unable to stand up.”

“Oh? Is that so? I’ve never seen anything like that.” The Empress Dowager was very surprised. She was wise and intelligent, but she had never imagined that a human foot could be made. How could flesh and blood be recreated? That was the ability of a fairy. The Yun boy was ordinary, so how could he have such a supernatural ability?

Since the Empress wanted to see it, Mrs. Niu leaned over and lifted Niu Jianhu’s robe, but she felt something was wrong and put it down again. She told the housekeeper to go to the young master’s room and get the other foot. After a while, the foot was brought over and placed on the kang table. Changsun poked the prosthetic foot with his finger and felt that it was very elastic. He then placed it in his hand and weighed it, roughly estimating and saying, “Can wearing such a prosthetic foot affect walking, sitting, and lying down?”

Niu Jianhu hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, since I put on the prosthetic leg, it has not affected my walking, sitting or lying down. The prosthetic leg is made of soft material and is very comfortable to wear. Just now, I was playing with Yun Hou and we were chasing each other and that’s why we bumped into the guards. I am the oldest and I don’t know how to behave myself. I led them to play around and I beg Your Majesty to punish me alone.”

The female official next to her also chimed in: “Your Highness, you didn’t see it from the phoenix carriage, but the young master ran so fast that he crashed into the guard team, knocking them all over.”