Nangong Rou’s small face was full of doubts. She could not help but ask, “Brother, why should we refuse if uncle can give us something delicious?”

Jiang Zhige twice politely refused Shen Quan. Even she could see that Jiang Zhige did not want to join the Shen Family.

Jiang Zhige didn’t have time to answer Nangong Rou. He just stared at Shen Quan resolutely.

Shen Quan’s face gradually became gloomy, and he spoke coldly, “Boy, are you unable to tell good from the bad?”

Originally, he wanted to coax Jiang Zhige first and then find an excuse to expel Jiang Zhige after they started to work for the Shen Family. He didn’t expect Jiang Zhige to show up out of nowhere suddenly.

Nangong Rou’s heart skipped a beat. Why was the uncle, who had a gentle face just now, suddenly showing a scary expression?

Seeing this, Jiang Zhige became sure that Shen Quan was not a good person. He cupped his hands and bowed, pretending to be sad: “Uncle, you should be kind and let us go.”

“Hmph, you’re still playing the fool? It seems that you won’t change your mind if I don’t teach you a lesson today.”

Shen Quan snorted coldly and gestured to the guard behind him.

He was not stupid. Judging from Jiang Zhige’s previous shrewdness, he must be deliberately trying to act miserable to gain people’s sympathy.

Once he got away from here, he might even scold him behind his back that Shen Quan was a nothing.

Seeing this, the expression of Shen Family’s steward changed slightly, and he said anxiously, “Patriarch, they are just children…”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I am going to hire this little girl today no matter what!”

Shen Quan’s eyes were gloomy. Anyway, the Shen Family already suffered from a poor reputation in Yucheng, so what if it got a little worse? Nothing would change.

The two guards of Shen’s Family looked indifferent and strode toward Jiang Zhige with sticks in hand.

“Rou’er, run!”

Jiang Zhige’s face turned pale, and he hurriedly stood in front of Nangong Rou to give her time to run.

Unexpectedly, Nangong Rou was so frightened that she stood on the spot, only tugging at Jiang Zhige’s clothes corners and trembling.

Her family had sheltered her since she was a child. When had she witnessed such a hair-raising scene?

Shen Quan looked at Jiang Zhige with his hands on his back and sneered: “Beat him until this kid changes his mind. Remember, don’t hurt the little girl, especially her face.”

“Aren’t you… aren’t you afraid of me reporting to the officials?”

Jiang Zhige gritted his teeth. Yucheng was located at the border with the Imperial Army stationed there, so Shen Quan should not dare to make a big mess.

Shen Quan curled his lips and said with a sneer: “Nonsense. I have made many contributions to Yucheng. Even if you reported me to the officials, will the authorities help me or you, a beggar?”

Although he said so, he was, in fact, a little afraid. Otherwise, he would have dragged Nangong Rou into the residence long ago.

After all, Jiang Zhige was not very old, so it should be easy to trick him into thinking that the Shen Family was huge and influential.

“Beat him!”

In order to avoid unnecessary complications, Shen Quan immediately ordered the guard to start beating Jiang Zhige.

The two guards sighed in their hearts. They would not want to attack a skinny little beggar if it were not for the situation.

Jiang Zhige pulled Nangong Rou around and tried to run, but he was yanked back by a guard.

Another guard stepped forward and grabbed Nangong Rou’s little hand to prevent Nangong Rou from escaping.

Jiang Zhige still wanted to break away, but he was hit by a fist the next moment, making him see stars.

The guard only used his hands and didn’t hit him with a stick, but Jiang Zhige was too weak. He was on the verge of death just after three hits.

“Brother!”

Nangong was crying anxiously. She wanted to save Jiang Zhige, but the guard held her hands firmly.

People passing by nearby stopped one after another when they heard the sound. When they saw the violent one-sided beating happening in front of Shen Family’s residence, they immediately guessed what had transpired.

They stood in the distance and pointed at the scene, but none of them came forward to help.

In fact, Shen Quan’s notoriety had long been known far and near, and many people were disgusted with him, but the Shen family was rich, who would dare to even point fingers at them and invite possible self-inflicted calamity?

Seeing Shen Quan bullying a pair of brother and sister, some people even dare not stop.

“Patriarch…”

When the guard saw Jiang Zhige’s condition, he quickly stopped. If he killed someone, he would indeed become a scapegoat.

Shen Quan waved his hand and walked to Jiang Zhige, who was unable to stand on the ground. He asked proudly, “Boy, I’ll ask you again. Would you like to join my Shen Family?”

Jiang Zhige was bleeding from his nose and mouth. He turned his head to look at Shen Quan with great difficulty.

At this time, his eyes were full of killing intent. He said while gritting his teeth, “Today… if I don’t die today, I will destroy your Shen family in the future…”

Jiang Zhige knew that even if he was lucky enough not to die, Nangong Rou would not be able to escape this disaster unscathed.

Shen Quan shuddered, and was so frightened that he took three steps back.

“Beat him! Use your stick and beat him to death!”

Shen Quan had lived for decades and never thought that he would see such a dense killing intent in the eyes of a nine-year-old beggar.

Moreover, beggars never had anything to lose. It would be a big problem if he really wanted to get revenge on him.

The guard swallowed his saliva and bent down to pick up the stick.

He raised his stick at Jiang Zhige but hesitated for a long time as he could not bring himself to hit him.

“Hit him! What are you hesitating about?”

“But Patriarch, his body is too weak. He will surely die if I hit him again…”

Shen Quan looked frantic and shouted angrily, “Why do I spend money to feed you? If you don’t beat him, you will be fired!”

He just wanted to kill Jiang Zhige to avoid any future retaliation.

The guard gritted his teeth and raised his stick at Jiang Zhige again.

In this age, it’s not easy for anyone to live, and he doesn’t want to lose such a beautiful job as the guard of the Shen Family.

“Stop right there!”

At this moment, an old man in a white robe wearing a bamboo hat came out of the crowd.

Hearing the old man’s dissuasive tone, the guard immediately withdrew the beating stick.

Another guard also took the opportunity to pretend that he had mistakenly loosened his grip on Nangong Rou’s hand, wanting to give her a chance to escape.

Unexpectedly, Nangong Rou showed no signs of escaping at all, and rushed over to support Jiang Zhige, who was dying.

“Brother! Brother, don’t die!”

Seeing Jiang Zhige’s miserable appearance up close, Nangong Rou immediately cried even louder, thinking that Jiang Zhige was about to die.

Jiang Zhige wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth and comforted her: “Rou’er, don’t be afraid. Brother is fine…”

Nangong Rou’s cry was a little slower, but she still kept sobbing.

Shen Quan frowned slightly, turned to look at the passer-by, and asked, “Who are you? How dare you meddle in the affairs of my Shen family?”

If not in the whole Yucheng, but at least in the nearby area, it was his Shen Family who had the final say. Daring to oppose him was tantamount to seeking death.

The old man in white robe ignored Shen Quan. He walked to Jiang Zhige with his hands on his back and asked with great interest: “Little friend, if your sister became a maid of the Shen family, you two can have good food and clothing. Why are you going against them to your death?”

Nangong Rou sniffed and looked at Jiang Zhige with some confusion.

When Jiang Zhige refused Shen Quan the second time, she felt very strange.

Clearly, as long as she began to work as a maid, she and her brother would not need to worry about food and clothing, and Shen Quan would not beat her brother. Why did her brother refuse the offer?

Seeing the confusion in Nangong Rou’s eyes, Jiang Zhige raised his hand and touched her little head. With a wry smile, he asked, “Rou’er, do you know what it means to be a maid?”

Nangong Rou, with tears in her eyes, shook her head and said, “No, I don’t know…”

She just wanted to keep herself and her brother well fed and clothed, so how could she think so much?

Jiang Zhige didn’t explain much. He looked more serious and said in a deep voice: “Rou’er, you must always remember, rather be a beggar than to be a slave. As long as I’m still alive, I will never let you become a slave or a maid.”