On a late autumn afternoon in Beijing, sunlight filtered through silken clouds, gilding Zhuque Street with a warm golden glow. I lifted a corner of the car curtain and gazed at the children gathered around a streetside sugar painting stall. The charred aroma of roasted chestnuts and the cloying sweetness of osmanthus candy lingered in my nose. Mo Zhu approached me, holding an oil-paper package containing freshly baked crabapple cakes. "Miss, try this! It's Zhang's new creation, with pine nuts in the filling."
I picked up a piece and took a small bite, the soft, sweet flavor melting on my tongue. As the carriage neared the Zuimoxuan painting studio, a sudden rude shoving noise came from the front, accompanied by drunken shouts: "Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Today, I want to have a proper meeting with the daughter of the Prime Minister!"
Mo Zhu's face darkened, and he tightened his grip on the curtain: "Miss, it's Wang..."
"I know." I swallowed the cake in my mouth and wiped my fingertips with a handkerchief. "Take out my brocade cloak and make sure it doesn't get dirty."
The carriage came to a screeching halt, and the driver, Zhang Bo, spoke in an angry voice, "Where did this lunatic come from?! What are you doing blocking the Prime Minister's carriage?"
I adjusted my moon-white skirt and stepped onto the footstool Mozhu had handed me, getting out of the carriage. The afternoon sun was a bit blinding, so I raised my hand to shade my eyes. I saw Prince Wang, his purple-gold crown tilted to one side, his brocade robe stained with unidentified wine. Behind him were three equally slicked-back dandies, pointing whips at my carriage and spitting.
"The Prime Minister's Mansion? Ha! I'll block it today! Su Jinli, get out here!"
The surrounding vendors and pedestrians had already given way, but they couldn't help but peek in from behind stalls and around corners. The old man selling candied haws moved closer to me and lowered his voice, "Miss, this Wang kid just came out of Yicuilou and is drunk!"
I nodded and slowly walked over to Prince Wang. The scent of alcohol mixed with cheap incense made me frown. I frowned slightly, took a step back, and said in a clear voice, "I'm honored to be here, Prince Wang. What advice do you have for me?"
Young Master Wang looked me up and down with drunken eyes, a lewd smile on his lips. "Advice? I'm here to ask you, do you regret tearing up my engagement letter at the coming-of-age banquet?" The thin-faced young man beside him immediately chimed in, "That's right! Our brother Wang is having a romantic life now. He even got the handkerchief of the Minister of Personnel's daughter the other day!"
The other fat man burped and pointed at my nose, "Su Jinli, don't think you can become a famous socialite in Beijing just by finding a few storytellers to make up stories! I heard that you don't even dare to kill a chicken in the backyard, and you dare to call yourself 'outsmarting your stepmother'? I think you are a nobody..."
“Snap—”
A crisp sound interrupted the fat man's obscenities. Amidst the crowd's exclamations, I looked at my raised hand, my fingertips still numb. Prince Wang clutched his burning cheek, his drunkenness instantly sobering. His eyes were filled with disbelief. "You... you dare to hit me?"
I withdrew my hand and gently wiped my fingertips with a handkerchief, as if they were stained with something dirty. "Prince Wang's mouth stinks worse than the stones in the toilet. I am only teaching you, on behalf of your father, what it means to 'a gentleman should use his mouth, not his fists.'"
"Rebellion! This is truly outrageous!" Young Master Wang was so angry that his entire body was shaking, and his hand trembled as he pointed at me. "Su Jinli, do you think you're so great just because you have the Prime Minister's support? Today, I'm going to let you know the consequences of offending me!"
As he spoke, he tried to move forward and pull the trigger, and the followers behind him were also eager to move. Mo Zhu immediately blocked in front of me, the soft sword at his waist was half an inch unsheathed. Seeing this, the people around him shouted:
"How dare you tease the young lady of the Xiangfu in broad daylight!"
"That Wang family kid is going too far! It was the Prime Minister who helped settle the gambling debt last time!"
"That's right! Report it to the police right away!"
Prince Wang became increasingly enraged as he listened to the discussion. He threw all his decency aside, rolled up his sleeves, and lunged at me: "Little bitch! I'll kill you!"
I dodged sideways, but my foot deliberately stepped on a loose bluestone slab. My body swayed and I cried out in surprise, "Ouch!"
Just at this moment, my big white horse pulling the cart, perhaps frightened by the noise or angered by the prince's ferocious appearance, suddenly let out a high-pitched neigh and raised its front hooves!
"Gee!" Zhang Bo shouted in alarm and tightened the reins, but the horse, startled, stumbled forward a few steps, dragging the carriage along with it. Prince Wang, who had just pounced in front of the horse, was so frightened by the strong wind from the horse's hooves that he instinctively stepped back.
“Puff—”
There was a sickening thud.
Time seems to stand still at this moment.
Everyone stared at Prince Wang in astonishment—he had fallen halfway into a half-man-high dung bucket on the street. The bucket was where the street sweepers collected their waste in the early morning, but for some reason it had been left there. The brownish-yellow waste inside was still swaying slightly, emitting a suffocating stench.
"vomit--"
The thin-faced young man was the first to lose control and vomited while leaning against the wall. The fat man turned pale and took three steps back, almost falling in. The people around him were stunned for a moment, then burst into thunderous laughter:
"Hahaha! Look! Prince Wang has fallen into the cesspool!"
"God has eyes! Let this bastard have a taste of his own medicine!"
"This smell...tsk tsk, it's enough to last him for three days!"
Prince Wang was covered in sticky filth. His hair was unkempt, a few wet strands clung to his face, stained with a few vegetable leaves and... a fragment of an unidentified object. He choked and coughed as he climbed out of the bucket. As he opened his mouth to curse, the stench sent him retching again, his face covered in tears and snot.
"Su...Su Jinli..." He pointed at me, his voice trembling with anger and disgust, "You...you plotted against me!"
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