"To be honest, sister, I've been a hoodlum in the capital since I can remember. I've been to every corner of the capital, including the most remote places, the underground black market, and the casinos. If you want to go anywhere, just tell me the name, and I'll know it."
Su Wanyan was utterly impressed by the little beggar; he was practically a living map!
She couldn't help but ask curiously, "How old are you?"
"This year's National Day holiday."
"What? Eleven?" Su Wanyan's eyes widened. With her small frame, she looked to be only seven or eight years old at most.
However, her life was difficult; she had to steal and rob to get food, so malnutrition was to be expected.
I'll have to take good care of her from now on.
As they chatted, Su Wanyan followed her through several alleys, finally stopping at a very secluded spot: "We're here! Look, sister."
Su Wanyan looked in the direction she pointed and saw a small doorway in the alley with a not-so-conspicuous wooden sign on the wall, which read "Iron King's Seal".
Su Wanyan said to the little beggar, "You wait here, I'll go in and take a look."
The door was ajar, and Su Wanyan cautiously peeked through the crack.
The stove in the courtyard was burning, as if something was being cooked. There was no one guarding it. The courtyard was small, and a large pile of firewood was stacked in one corner.
Su Wanyan reached out and gently pushed, and the door opened.
"Hello," Su Wanyan called out tentatively, "Is anyone there?"
She stood at the door, thinking it wasn't appropriate to just wander into someone's yard.
But after waiting for a while and seeing no one come out, she couldn't help but step onto the threshold and repeat, "Hello, is anyone home?"
Then, a little girl, about one or two years old, peeked out from the side of the doorway.
Upon seeing Su Wanyan, she returned to the house, where Su Wanyan could still hear her childish voice calling out, "Daddy, Mommy, someone's here."
A short while later, a burly man with dark skin, dressed in cloth but missing an arm, came out of the house.
Upon seeing Su Wanyan, he put on a seemingly kind smile: "Miss, are you looking to buy some tools?"
Married women usually tie their hair up in a bun, while unmarried girls don't wear a traditional woman's bun. Seeing that Su Wanyan only had her hair tied in a ponytail, he addressed her as "Miss".
Su Wanyan handed the man the letter written by Yu Nanqing, which she had hidden in her pocket: "Take a look at this."
She didn't understand what was written on it, so she didn't know what Yu Nanqing wanted to buy and could only let him see for himself.
The man had lost his right arm. He took Su Wanyan's letter with his left hand, shook it, and looked at it carefully. He trembled all over and his expression became incredulous.
He glanced at Su Wanyan, then at the words on the letter, and excitedly stepped aside, saying, "Please come in, young lady."
Su Wanyan followed the man into the house. Inside, she saw the child's mother sewing winter clothes, and the little girl nestled beside her mother, her eyes fixed on Su Wanyan as she entered.
The man whispered something in the woman's ear, and she nodded, then walked out with her child in her arms.
As soon as the woman left, the man immediately closed the door, turned around and respectfully asked, "May I ask, young lady, what is your relationship to the Prince?"
“Eh…” Su Wanyan was taken aback by the question.
Since he knows Yu Nanqing, he must be an acquaintance of Yu Nanqing.
After thinking for a moment, she replied, "My name is Su Wanyan, and I just entered the Prince's Mansion a few days ago." Although her current identity is that of the Princess Consort of Gong, to be honest, she doesn't feel it at all.
Aside from needing to identify herself in places like the palace, she mostly felt that her relationship with Yu Nanqing was one of cooperation.
He allowed her to stay in the palace temporarily in return for taking care of his health. Isn't that a form of cooperation?
"What?" The man exclaimed in surprise, "Su Wanyan, the daughter of Marquis Yuanning?"
His eyes suddenly turned red, and he knelt down before Su Wanyan: "This humble subject, Wang Zhang, greets Your Highness."
Su Wanyan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly helped him up, saying, "No, no, no, please get up."
Wang Zhang, also known as Tie Wang Zhang, was the name of the blacksmith shop.
"Do you know me?" Su Wanyan asked.
Wang Zhang's expression was somewhat agitated: "His Majesty bestowed a marriage upon the Prince, originally intended for the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Yuanning to be the Prince's principal wife. However, it was the third daughter of the Marquis of Yuanning, born out of wedlock, who married into the Prince's mansion. This matter has been the talk of the town in the capital for the past few days. How could I, a humble commoner, not know about it?"
To learn more, they even went out of their way to inquire about these rumors.
When the imperial decree of marriage was issued, they didn't know whether to be happy or worried. They couldn't believe that the emperor had good intentions in bestowing a marriage upon their prince; they just felt that it was another act of making things difficult for their prince.
Now, the prince has actually asked them to take Su Wanyan out of the capital in his letter. The prince must... must really like the princess!
Thinking this, Wang Zhang's eyes reddened even more. What a pity... what a pity!
If the prince weren't in his current state, he and the princess would definitely be...
Su Wanyan had no idea where his excitement came from, leaving her completely confused. She could only say, "Master Wang, I can't stay here for too long. What does His Highness need? Could you please prepare it quickly?"
Wang Zhang was taken aback upon hearing this: "Is that what Your Highness said to the Empress?"
"Isn't that so?"
Wang Zhang immediately understood and pointed to the letter, saying, "Does Your Highness know what the Prince said in this letter?"
Su Wanyan shook her head.
Wang Zhang, suppressing his excitement, said truthfully with red eyes, "Your Highness wants me to take the Empress away from the capital."
"What?" Su Wanyan's voice rose several octaves as she looked at Wang Zhang in disbelief.
"Your Highness," Wang Zhang spread the letter out in front of Su Wanyan, "What Your Highness wrote in the letter, to take her out of the capital and protect her, refers to my request to escort Your Highness out of the capital."
Su Wanyan's brows furrowed tightly, her heart pounding uncontrollably. Could Yu Nanqing help her leave the capital?
She remembered how, after he finished writing that letter, his eyes were red as he grabbed her, begging her not to lie to him…
In an instant, Su Wanyan had a sudden realization: so that's how it is.
This should be a hidden point for Yu Nanqing in the capital. After all, he is a prince who has fought on the frontier and once held great power. He is so smart and capable, it is impossible for the capital not to have his people.
However, because Emperor Yuanhe wanted to eliminate him completely, these secrets could not be exposed. He wanted to arrange for these people to send her out of the capital. If she had any ideas, his secrets could be betrayed at any time.
Su Wanyan suddenly felt a chill on her fingertips. She didn't know whether to be happy or surprised. She picked up the letter and looked at it again and again, but she couldn't understand what was written on it at all.
"You...can you really send me out of the capital? And what happens after that? What about food, drink, shelter, and three meals a day? You can't just send me out of the capital and then abandon me, can you?"
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