"Sister Si." Suddenly, Nan Wusi heard the prince's voice coming from the lake, which startled her.
"I must have forgotten to check the almanac before going out today. I ran into the female lead one minute and the male lead the next," Nan Wusi thought to himself. But when he turned around, he put on a standard smile and bowed respectfully, like someone with a split personality, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The prince's pleasure boat gradually approached the shore. Xiao Mu stood at the bow of the boat, wearing a plain yellow robe with a golden dragon and phoenix patterned belt around his waist. His starry eyes were deep, and he was a handsome and refined man. Several young men accompanied him, standing scattered behind him. Although Nan Wusi recognized some of them, he couldn't place them.
The two gazed at each other across the river, a gentle breeze stirring up ripples.
Xiao Mu still couldn't figure out why Nan Wusi had changed her attitude towards him so suddenly. The joy Nan Wusi used to show when she saw him was gone, replaced by indifference and distance. Just like now, even though Nan Wusi was smiling, he could clearly feel the distance between them, which puzzled him greatly.
He originally wanted to talk to Nan Wusi after the palace banquet, but he was held up by some things recently, so he was unable to get away in time to reconnect with Nan Wusi and find out the reason for her change of attitude.
"Sister Si, would you mind coming aboard for a chat?" Xiao Mu extended an invitation.
“Your Highness, this seems rather inappropriate. It is against propriety for a lone man and woman to be alone on a pleasure boat,” Nan Wusi said calmly.
Is this treating them like they're not human? The rest of the people on the pleasure boat twitched at the corners of their mouths, but dared not say a word.
Xiao Mu frowned, wondering when Nan Wusi had ever cared about etiquette and rules, which deepened his doubts. However, he also knew that Nan Wusi's words made sense, but in the past, whenever he invited someone, Nan Wusi would always grant his request, and he had long forgotten about these rules.
"It was I who was being presumptuous." Xiao Mu was quite nonchalant and stopped pressing the matter.
"I have other important matters to attend to today, so I will not disturb Your Highness's enjoyment any longer. Farewell." Nan Wusi bowed and prepared to leave.
"Stop thief! Stop thief!" Nan Wusi hadn't taken two steps when he heard someone shout.
A child brushed past her, but she instinctively grabbed him. The dirty child looked terrified and struggled, but couldn't break free, and then the people behind him caught up.
"Thank you for your help, young lady." The man cupped his hands in thanks. "This thief stole my purse. Please hand it over to me so I can take it to the authorities."
Upon hearing this, Nan Wusi noticed that the child was indeed holding a money pouch, so she leaned closer to the child's face and asked seriously, "Did you steal this money pouch?"
The child had never seen anything like this before. Seeing Nan Wusi's fierce face magnified in front of him, he burst into tears.
"I stole it, sob sob sob, I just wanted to pay for my mother's medical treatment. I have no money, sob sob sob." The dirty child sobbed, "Don't send me to the authorities, sob sob sob, my mother is still waiting for me, I will never steal again."
The sight of the child with tears streaming down his face left Nan Wusi speechless. She hadn't expected her face to be so devastating, enough to frighten a child into tears.
"Then give the purse back to them," Nan Wusi said with a dark face.
After the dirty child handed over the money bag, the man, seeing the cold aura emanating from Nan Wusi, dared not say another word and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
"Hahaha." Nan Wusi heard Xiao Mu's hearty laughter, and she swore it was her most embarrassing moment. But even if Xiao Mu mocked her, there was nothing she could do; after all, he was both the male lead and the crown prince.
So she could only glance helplessly at Xiao Mu before dragging the child away.
Watching Nan Wusi and the child walk away into the distance, Xiao Mu truly felt that Nan Wusi had indeed changed. In the past, she wouldn't care whether the thief was an adult or a child; once caught, she would beat them up first. This left the government officials both happy and worried.
"Your Highness, this Miss Nan really doesn't know any manners." Someone approached Xiao Mu and reprimanded Nan Wusi for her behavior.
Xiao Mu merely glanced at him indifferently, and the man was so frightened that he dared not utter another word.
Having walked a distance, Nan Wusi naturally no longer cared what the Crown Prince was thinking or what had happened. She simply pulled the child aside and asked him where his mother was and what illness she had.
The pitiful child begged Nan Wusi to save his mother, saying that his mother had caught a cold, but the doctor at the clinic said he had no money and wouldn't prescribe medicine, so he stole the silver.
After listening to the dirty child's words, Nan Wusi asked Ye Zi to run to a nearby clinic to ask for help, while she followed the child and waited for Ye Zi.
Not long after, Ye Zi summoned a middle-aged doctor who carried a large medicine chest, and the group followed the child to his residence.
Looking at the increasingly remote roads and the increasingly low houses, Nan Wusi thought to himself that, indeed, no matter when, the gap between the rich and the poor is always enormous.
Looking at the pairs of curious eyes staring at her from behind the wall and the corner of the alley, and the thin, bony children, Nan Wusi felt as if she had entered another world.
Even under the emperor's nose, there are still so many impoverished families. It seems that Xiao Teng's reign as emperor is not so good after all. Although Nan Wusi harbored ambitions for the emperor, he knew he was helpless, and his individual strength was ultimately too insignificant.
They arrived at the child's home. The low ceiling made Nan Wusi feel very oppressed. She was already tall, so standing in the yard was fine, but once inside the room, she had to lower her head, which was very uncomfortable.
A cough came from the bedroom, followed by a woman's weak call: "Tiger, is that you?"
"Mom, I've brought people to treat your illness!" Tiger shouted excitedly, running into the inner room.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
