The onlookers cheered loudly. Some picked up bamboo sticks and threw them at the two henchmen, while others covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and laughed. The old man selling Hu pancakes rushed over, brandishing a rolling pin, dough still clinging to the end of the stick, shouting, "Catch these swindlers! Don't let them get away!"
At that moment, the sound of rapid horse hooves approached, shaking the ground. A captain of the Jinwu Guards rode up, his red-tasseled spear tip gleaming in the sunlight as he pointed at the chaotic crowd: "Who is causing trouble here? How dare you fight with weapons in broad daylight!"
Seeing the soldiers approaching, the fortune teller's eyes flashed with despair. He suddenly pulled a pitch-black smoke bomb from his pocket and threw it on the ground. With a bang, thick smoke billowed, blinding the eyes. He seized the opportunity to break free from Si Yan and try to escape, but Jiang Yan's sweeping kick knocked him to the ground, leaving him sprawled. Quick-witted, Su Jinli untied the silk ribbon embroidered with gardenias from her waist and quickly tied him up, wrapping it three times around him like a zongzi.
"Captain!" Su Jinli pointed at the three tied men on the ground, sweat dripping from his forehead. "This group of people pretended to be fortune tellers and cheated my son out of his money. After being discovered, they even attempted to commit murder!"
The captain dismounted, his boots crumpling over bamboo sticks on the ground. He squatted down to examine the scar on the fortune teller's wrist and the dropped dagger, his brow furrowing even deeper. "Look at your attire, and those scars... you look like bandits from Black Wind Village! The government even issued an arrest warrant a few days ago!"
The gentleman's face was ashen, and he collapsed to the ground, no longer struggling. The frosting on his beard had caked into clumps. Siyan squatted beside him, working on an abacus, his face full of seriousness, a hint of dust on the tip of his nose. "Captain, they still owe me three taels and one hundred and eighty-nine wen, and at the daily interest rate..."
The onlookers burst into laughter. The old man selling sugar paintings squeezed to the front row and handed over a string of freshly made phoenix sugar paintings. The sugar threads shone golden red in the sunlight. He said, "Young Master, you are really amazing! This string of phoenixes is for you. It is a hundred times more beautiful than that swindler's ragtag paper!"
Nian Li immediately forgot her fear and jumped to take the sugar painting. She licked the sugar thread with her little tongue and said, "Thank you, Grandpa! This phoenix is more beautiful than the one I drew!"
Jiang Yan brushed the frosting off Su Jinli's shoulders, his fingertips touching her slightly damp temples. He whispered, "Are you okay? That iron rod almost hit you just now."
Su Jinli shook her head, watching Siyan still haggling over interest with the captain. Nianli spun her sugar painting in circles, the sugar threads forming thin golden threads. Sunlight filtered through the locust leaves, casting dappled shadows on her face. Suddenly, the Chang'an sun felt exceptionally warm. The blue cloth sign of the fortune-telling stall fluttered in the wind. The chaos just now seemed like a farce, but it made her feel reassured. In this life, she was no longer the legitimate daughter who endured humiliation in the prime minister's mansion. She was Su Jinli, who could protect her children and confront con men, Su Jinli, who could live her life like icing sugar.
The captain ordered his men to tie up the three bandits. He then looked at Su Jinli, scratched his head, and shook the red tassel on his helmet. "Thank you for your help, madam. But..." He looked at Su Jinli and her family, from Siyan's abacus to Nianli's sugar paintings. "Are you here in Chang'an for sightseeing, or to catch thieves? I think you're more powerful than our Jinwu Guards."
Su Jinli and Jiang Yan smiled at each other, but Si Yan rushed to answer, his abacus clacking loudly: "We're here to calculate the land price in Chang'an! And we can catch a scammer and make some interest. Otherwise, what will we do if we lose money?"
The wind from Suzaku Street blew up the scraps of talisman paper on the ground, mixing with the sweet fragrance of sugar paintings, the wheat aroma of Hu pancakes, and the crisp sound of Siyan's abacus beads. Su Jinli looked at the lively scene before her and suddenly felt that the fireworks of Chang'an City were more reassuring than the exquisite but cold rockery and flowing water in the prime minister's residence. Where should she go next? She looked at Jiang Yan, his eyes full of smiles, as if he could see through her thoughts, and reached out to rub Siyan's head.
"Let's go to the West Market and buy Siyan a new abacus first," Jiang Yan said with a smile, "The one we just broke, we need to buy a sturdier one."
Siyan nodded immediately, her face full of anticipation: "I want one made of rosewood, as expensive as the liar's fan! That way it won't break!"
Nian Li cheered, holding up the sugar painting. The sugar threads stained Jiang Yan's sleeves. "I want the biggest candied haws! I want the one with five layers of frosting!"
Sunlight streamed down on them, stretching their shadows long across the bluestone slabs of Suzaku Street. Su Jinli held the children's hands, listening to Siyan mutter about the price of the abacus and watching the phoenix in Nianli's candy painting shimmer in the wind. Suddenly, she felt that this farce, ruining the party, was just another frosted fruit in their happy lives, crisp and sweet. A bite of it was filled with the unique taste of honey.
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