Chapter 156: The Old Man is Far from Honest

Once again, it was the burly man with the scarred face who spoke, his expression fierce and his words laced with blunt threats. Refusing to pay meant a beating, and it seemed he was the undisputed tyrant of this street.

“Just now, we all saw you and your daughter performing for tips. Don’t waste time with nonsense—hand over the money quickly, or we’ll break your legs, and you won’t be allowed to set up here ever again.”

A crowd had gathered nearby, whispering indignantly about these thugs extorting protection money, bullying outsiders so ruthlessly. Yet no one dared to step forward and speak up; they only cursed quietly under their breath, pitying the two performers.

Zhang Xiaolan, observing the situation, knew things couldn’t continue this way. She quickly whispered a few instructions to Little Lian, who nodded and hurried away to take care of something. Zhang Xiaolan stayed behind, watching and waiting for the right moment to act.

“Don’t bully people like this! You’re nothing but lowlifes and ruffians. This is the imperial city—how can you prey on the common folk here?”

The young singing girl, who had been standing quietly behind the old man, suddenly showed unexpected courage. She spoke defiantly, unwilling to submit. It was shocking to see such blatant oppression even within the capital.

“Hey! This little girl’s got some spirit! And she’s quite pretty and lively—spend some time with us, and that’ll cover today’s protection fee.”

Only then did the scar-faced man notice the girl singing, finding her delicate and fresh-faced. His lust immediately surfaced, and crude words spilled from his mouth.

“Yeah, yeah. Spend some time with us.” His gang laughed lewdly alongside him.

“Brothers, this is all the money we have,” the old man pleaded, seeing these ruffians harassing his daughter. He quickly shielded her behind him.

He dared not argue or bargain any longer, hastily handing over every coin they had earned that day. The little girl behind him looked reluctant but helpless.

But the scar-faced man glanced sideways at the few scattered coins in the basket and suddenly grew angry again, shouting at the old man:

“You old fool, thinking you can fool us with just a few copper coins right after making some money.”

“We gave you everything we had. We don’t even have money for steamed buns now,” the old man said with a troubled expression, truthfully explaining their plight. They had just arrived in the capital, hoping to earn some coin performing to buy food.

After a long day’s hard work, the father and daughter had earned only a little, and now it was being snatched away. The old man’s heart ached deeply, and the singing girl shared his distress.

“I don’t want your money anymore. I just want your daughter to spend some time with us,” the scar-faced man said with a lecherous grin, stroking his chin and staring intently at the girl. His companions, seeing their leader’s interest, looked on with equal eagerness.

The singing girl was truly frightened now, shrinking behind the old man to shield herself from their leering gazes.

“Please, big brothers, don’t do this! My daughter is plain and unworthy of your favor. Keep the money—we’ll leave immediately and never come back,” the old man pleaded anxiously, holding his daughter close, afraid these ruffians would snatch her away.

He promised they would never perform here again, hoping to quickly gather themselves and escape. But it was not going to be as easy as they wished.