Five years later
Jiangcheng
A finely crafted carriage drove along the long street, where there were few vendors on either side. Today, snowflakes were falling gently over Jiangcheng.
"Mother, when will we arrive? When will we be able to see Father?" A little girl was being held in the arms of a beautiful woman inside the carriage. If you looked closely, you would notice that the beautiful woman bore a resemblance to the Empress Dowager.
"Good girl, Yin'er, we'll see Daddy soon," the beautiful woman told the little girl.
"After I see my father, can I ride a horse?" the little girl asked the beautiful woman.
"Yes, once you see your father, he'll take you horseback riding," the beautiful woman coaxed the little girl.
The little girl looked very happy. Just as the two were chatting happily, the carriage suddenly stopped abruptly.
The two people inside almost fell out, but luckily they managed to stay upright. The beautiful woman immediately checked on the little girl: "Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"
The little girl shook her head: "Mother, Yin'er is alright."
"It's good that nothing happened," the beautiful woman breathed a sigh of relief, then asked the person outside, "What happened?"
The carriage curtain was lifted: "Reporting to Madam, there's a child who was kicked out of the inn ahead," the servant outside said.
"A child?" The beautiful woman frowned, and the little girl in her arms looked out through the lifted carriage curtain. She saw a child wearing only a thin shirt curled up on the ground, with several servants around him hitting him with sticks.
"Mommy, he's so pitiful..." the little girl said, looking at the boy.
"Yin'er wants to save him?" the beautiful woman asked.
The little girl nodded, and then stepped out of the woman's arms.
"Eh..." The woman wanted to say something, but seeing that the little girl had already been helped off the carriage, she stopped talking.
The little boy looked to be only four or five years old, and it was really terrifying to see those sticks hitting him.
"Stop!" the little girl shouted in a clear voice.
The people in front stopped. The little boy on the ground had a dirty face. Looking at the people not far away, he felt a strange feeling.
The little girl was only six or seven years old, with her hair in a red padded jacket. Although she was young, she had a very imposing presence.
"You'll kill him if you keep hitting him like this! And didn't you see our carriage coming? Why are you still blocking the road? You have no sense of propriety! Release him! He's just a child, how can you be so vicious?" The little girl was acting completely unlike a child now.
The other party was just a waiter at the inn. Judging from the little girl, the carriage behind her, and the servants, he knew that she must be a young lady from a wealthy family. If he accidentally offended someone important, it would be a big problem.
"Please forgive me, Miss. This little fellow is really unruly. This is an inn, and this beggar is huddled at our entrance. We can't get rid of him no matter what we do," the waiter explained.
"So what? Can't we talk this out? You're going to hit me? You're not allowed to hit me now, get out of my way." The little girl stood with her hands on her hips, looking incredibly spoiled.
The servants looked at each other, seemingly in a dilemma.
“How dare you! My sister is the daughter of General Nan Xiaoming, the Grand General of the Capital. If you offend our lady and young lady, can you bear the consequences?” said the maid beside her.
Upon hearing this, they immediately deflated: "Yes, it was our fault for not recognizing your greatness. Please forgive us, Madam and Miss." The group quickly made way.
The little girl walked over and squatted down next to the little boy: "Hey, how are you? Why are you here? Where are your family? I'm Nan Yin, what's your name?" Nan Yin asked her.
“I…” The little boy stared at Nan Yin, his eyes deep and his composure unlike that of someone his age.
“I’m waiting for someone here…” the little boy said.
"Waiting for someone? Waiting for whom?" Nan Yin looked at him blankly.
"Waiting for an old friend," he said.
Nan Yin tilted her head: "So, did you wait for it?" Nan Yin asked him.
The little boy looked at her, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I've waited for this..." the little boy said.
Nan Yin was puzzled after hearing this: "Where is he? Why are you still here alone?" Nan Yin asked him.
“She…forgot about me,” the boy said.
“Huh? Then…” Nan Yin was about to say something, but was interrupted by the little boy: “I don’t have a name…” he said.
"Well..." Nan Yin seemed unsure of what to do, but he still had someone help him stand up.
“Then I’ll give you a name,” Nan Yin suddenly thought.
"Hmm..." The little boy kept looking at him, never looking away.
“My father’s army is called Shun’an Army, so… how about I call you Gu Shun? Gu means to look around and shine, Gu means to take care of, and Shun means to be safe and smooth. Doesn’t that sound a bit old-fashioned?” Nan Yin asked him.
The little boy smiled slightly: "...It's not tacky at all, I like it very much, thank you."
"Okay, I'm leaving now. Take care of yourself. This is all the money I saved up, it's all for you!" Nan Yin took out all the money she had and stuffed it into Gu Shun's hands, then lifted her skirt and ran back.
Gu Shun watched Nan Yin's departing figure, a glint of light in his eyes. Nan Yin returned to the carriage, lifted the curtain to look at Gu Shun, and waved to him.
Gu Shun watched Nan Yin's carriage leave, and a slight smile curved his lips as he looked at the bag of silver in his hand.
"Yin'er...this was the first time you saw me..."
Gu Shun silently followed behind Nan Yin's carriage. When the servants saw him, they tried to shoo him away: "Young master, we are going to the border this time. You don't need to follow anymore. Your brother and sister have already given you the money. Why don't you go back?"
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