Chapter 42 Both publicly and privately, he shouldn't have...

In the evening, at the Shen family's dinner table, Er Gou held his bowl, looking around absentmindedly. However, the others seemed oblivious to everything, though the atmosphere was inexplicably more somber than usual.

After a moment, Er Gou finally couldn't stand the oppressive atmosphere, put down his bowl and stood up: "I'll go call Sister Cuihua to come eat."

Before she could fully stand up, a deep voice came from the head of the table: "If Cuihua hadn't come, you wouldn't have needed to come back."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dining table fell into complete silence. Er Gou's heart skipped a beat, but he sat down again as if nothing had happened and kept shoveling rice into his mouth, thinking to himself: So it was Cuihua who upset Shen Wangcai today. Sigh, I'll secretly tell the kitchen to leave some food for Cuihua later.

After finishing dinner, Shen Guitang returned to her study and frowned when she saw the painting still hanging on the easel. Hei Feng quickly stepped forward and reported, "The princess has not returned to her room, so I have not yet delivered it."

After hearing his explanation, Shen Guitang frowned even more: "She still hasn't returned to the manor? Are our people still following her?"

"The people I sent out this afternoon to follow the princess have not yet returned."

Shen Guitang was slightly relieved: "Have the kitchen prepare some food."

“Yes,” Hei Feng replied, but did not leave. After hesitating for a moment, he finally couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master, aren’t you a little too concerned about Princess Shenxiao…”

However, before he could ask the next question, he immediately received a dangerous look from Shen Guitang. His heart skipped a beat and he immediately lowered his head, saying, "It was I who overstepped my bounds."

Shen Guitang withdrew her gaze from him and said in a calm voice, "You may leave."

Hei Feng bowed to him and tiptoed outside. As he closed the door, he heard him say, "Let me know when she returns." His tone was unreadable.

After the black wind left, Shen Guitang, as usual, began to read through the various messages sent from the pavilion.

Quzhou has experienced several heavy rains since the beginning of spring, raising concerns about a potential summer flood. The three officials in charge of the joint trial shared dinner at Zhenxianglou Restaurant. After being reprimanded by Consort Hui, the Second Prince secretly left the palace...

However, the intelligence that was originally able to be analyzed and deduced from now seems rather dull.

The lights, which didn't seem dim at night, the furnishings in the study, and the quiet, undisturbed environment were all the same as usual. However, the person kneeling in front of the desk had a completely different state of mind.

Why didn't Black Wind finish his sentence? Was he afraid of hearing something? Was he overly concerned about the young princess? Or... was there some kind of secret affair between them?

How could that be? Since thirteen years ago, his life has been devoted to the tens of thousands of heroic souls of Zhennan. How could he possibly have feelings for a man and a woman that are of no benefit to his great cause?

Besides, wasn't his taking care of the young princess to repay a debt of gratitude?

The young princess even already has a fiancé...

Both publicly and privately, he should not and cannot develop romantic feelings for the young princess.

But why does just thinking about this word make my heart flutter?

A person can close their eyes, cover their ears, and even control their mind, and can stop seeing, hearing, and thinking, but can never stop their heart from beating.

At this moment, he could no longer deceive himself into believing that he was not moved by her.

The storm whispers to the soul: flee from me, or become me.

He raised his eyes, and beneath the butterfly wings poised to take flight lay a storm that had finally begun to brew.

He got up and walked outside, about to open the door, when he saw the door open from the outside, and Black Wind rushed into view, his expression hurried and his voice full of anxiety:

"Young master, our men have returned with news that he...he lost track of the princess,"

Shen Guitang's face instantly darkened. If Hengbo could shake him off, it meant he'd been discovered. And if he'd been discovered, he must have slipped up the moment he left the manor. Yet, the young princess had clearly tacitly approved before, and now she'd suddenly shaken him off...

Shen Guitang suddenly had a bad feeling.

Half an hour ago, Hengbo was wandering aimlessly on the streets of Yujing. When she was a child, she had also strolled around Yujing with her mother and father, pretending to be an ordinary family of three. However, many years had passed, and her memories of the past had become increasingly faint. Now, everything in Yujing felt unfamiliar to her.

As she took in all the hustle and bustle of the street in a cursory glance, Hengbo's heart was filled with frustration and defeat.

It wasn't because of the recent disagreement with Shen Guitang; Hengbo simply realized her own powerlessness.

Her initial thought was simple: since the Second Prince was responsible for the evil deed, she would simply kill him. She considered herself far superior to many others in the world when it came to killing.

But a gust of cold evening wind instantly snapped Hengbo out of his reverie.

She didn't even know how to find the Second Prince, so how could she kill him? Although the underage princes still lived in the palace, the palace was heavily guarded, and there were probably martial arts masters among them. She probably wouldn't even be able to get in.

Even if she managed to sneak in, where would the Second Prince live in such a huge palace?

The assassination plan, undertaken with a single-minded courage, was aborted at the very first step. How could Yokobo not be discouraged?

As she walked, she inexplicably found herself in the bustling West Market, where various stalls and vendors lined the streets. The aromas of various foods, such as fried dough cakes, sesame cakes, meat buns, and bamboo shoot noodles, kept wafting into Hengbo's nose.

It was past lunchtime, and a feeling of emptiness crept into my stomach. Fueled by hunger, the shouts from the side became even more enticing.

However, this incident happened suddenly, and no one expected that Hengbo, who was still wandering outside at this time, had not brought out a single copper coin.

Sigh, I wonder if that big guy following her could lend her some money.

As she pondered, Hengbo ventured deeper into the area. The bustling stalls around her gradually thinned out, but the flow of people was even greater than before, with long queues forming as she walked further on.

Out of curiosity, Hengbo also went over, but as soon as she stood still, a young woman dressed as a waitress handed her a bowl. In addition to the one in her hand, the young woman had a large stack of bowls in front of her.

Hengbo looked closely and realized that everyone in front of her was holding a bowl, and just then, several more people joined the line behind her.

Hengbo quickly withdrew from the group and found the young woman. He gestured with her for a while before explaining that he had no money.

The young woman stopped her from returning the bowl, laughing heartily, "This must be your first time here, miss. This is a soup kitchen that we at Fengliang Valley open every few days; you can eat here for free."

At this moment, an old woman who was originally behind Hengbo pulled her back: "The owner of Fengliang Valley is a very kind person. You'll know once you come here a few more times, Nannan."

Once back in the long queue, Hengbo noticed that the people queuing there were either elderly people or young beggars.

A quick glance revealed that most of them were emaciated and poorly dressed, lacking even the most basic semblance of dignity. Yet, holding the bowls in their arms, their eyes lit up.

Although Hengbo was born into a noble family, he was not unaware of the hardships of human life.

In the year of the Quzhou flood, many refugees left their homes and headed north. The city of Yujing was completely surrounded by refugees, so the late emperor ordered the opening of granaries to provide disaster relief and help the people.

Hengbo once accompanied Ji Jin on a visit in plain clothes. In her memory, although those who had left their hometowns had been properly settled and soup kitchens were open every day to ensure their daily meals, they still looked numb and had empty eyes.

Even though there was enough food distributed every day, there were often dozens of people fighting over a bowl of plain porridge or a cornbread. The person who finally managed to grab it showed no joy on their face and just mechanically swallowed it, which was completely different from the scene before us.

Why do the recipients behave so differently when it's all about distributing porridge?

With doubts in his mind, Hengbo began to observe the people who came to the porridge stall to collect porridge.

This porridge shed was quite unusual. In addition, it had many tables and chairs set up so that people who received porridge would not have to sit on the ground to eat, which saved face for many people.

What's even more noteworthy is that after finishing their porridge, everyone who received it didn't leave immediately. Although they gave up their seats to others, they consciously did what they could to help.

The elderly mostly helped clear the tables, wash the dishes and pots, while the beggar children went to the nearby grain store to help sort the grain...

Seeing this scene, Hengbo suddenly understood the meaning of what he had heard from Ji Jin when he was a child: "The Peach Blossom Spring is hard to find, but a prosperous age is to be expected. The people perform their duties, live in their respective places, and are happy and content."

With a sudden thought, driven by her intuition, she turned around and asked the old woman behind her: Who exactly is the owner of this valley shop?

However, it was unclear whether the old woman couldn't understand her meaning or she herself didn't know who the boss was. She just smiled and looked at Hengbo, murmuring repeatedly, "He's a great philanthropist... a great philanthropist indeed."

After receiving her share of porridge, Hengbo found a spot and sat down properly.

The white porridge in the bowl could hardly be called a delicacy, but it wasn't treated carelessly just because it was free. The rice grains were glistening and plump, and the rice and water had been cooked together to release rice fat. A few vegetable leaves floated on the thick porridge as garnish.

This could never compare to the food at the Shen family's house. Shen Guitang was a picky eater, so although the Shen family had a small population and few servants, they were all concentrated in the kitchen. Moreover, it was said that they were all elderly members of the Shen family who cooked different dishes for Shen Guitang every day. It wouldn't be strange for Hengbo to eat eight different cuisines in one meal.

But now, this simple bowl of plain white porridge has suddenly given her the courage to move forward without hesitation.

While Hengbo was focused on finishing the large bowl of white porridge, Changsheng, who had searched high and low in Yujing for dozens of days without finding Hengbo again, also wandered over to the porridge stall.

Although Wen Tinglan had told him that there was no need to search for the princess anymore, he couldn't feel at ease until he saw her.

Alright, let's just have porridge for today. After we finish eating, while it's still not completely dark, we can keep looking. Maybe we'll run into him again.

Just as he was thinking this, Chang Sheng greeted the young woman who was distributing the bowls familiarly and then joined the back of the line.

He habitually looked around and saw that the porridge stall was well-managed and that the people who received the porridge had satisfied smiles on their faces. He couldn't help but feel grateful for Ji Jin's kindness once again.

Although setting up soup kitchens has taken on other meanings now, this action has undeniably benefited the local people. If His Highness the Crown Prince could see this scene, he would surely be very pleased.

As he was reminiscing, he suddenly caught sight of a somewhat familiar figure. Hmm? Why does this young lady look so familiar?

He looked again and exclaimed: !!!

Isn't this the princess he's been longing for? This is truly something like "searching high and low for a long time" or something like that.

Forget it, whatever it is, let's catch the princess first!

Before Hengbo could fully digest the bowl of white porridge into his courage, he felt an extremely oppressive mountain suddenly descend upon him.

However, she didn't take it to heart. The soup kitchen was very popular. Although most of the customers were weak, everyone has difficult times in life.

Hengbo silently warned himself that he must not look up out of curiosity, otherwise it would be embarrassing for others.

However, she felt that she had been so considerate and understanding, so why did this person still keep staring at her?

Finally, unable to bear the undisguised, scorching gaze coming from above, Hengbo raised her eyes and glared back.

However, Chang Sheng, who received this glance, did not feel intimidated at all. Instead, he showed a strange smile: Ah! The princess is still the same as when she was a child. Even showing her claws is so cute.

When Hengbo saw the burly man in front of him suddenly make such a dazed expression, his previous arrogance vanished instantly, and goosebumps kept falling all over his body.

However, she finally understood why this strong man still needed to collect porridge; it turned out he was mentally challenged.

Hengbo sighed inwardly for him, then lowered her head to drink her porridge. But before she could even get the porridge into her mouth, in a flash, another extremely hateful face that looked seven or eight parts similar to the person in front of her suddenly appeared in her mind.

She froze, then slowly raised her head until the person in front of her was fully visible.

He was still staring at Hengbo with a smile, but the foolish feeling from before was gone; instead, he seemed like a kind elder.

Besides, once you remove the embellishments to his appearance, he looks exactly like the man who blocked her at the city gate that day, or rather, they are the same person!

Yokoha: !!! !!! So it turns out I was the fool all along!

Meeting her incredulous gaze, Chang Sheng scratched his head and smiled shyly: "I didn't expect to meet you again."

Hengbo:……