Going back to Linyang? I turned around and asked Xie Yuancheng if it was true, and he nodded very solemnly, a mix of joy and sorrow.
Even if she's very reluctant to leave her family, once she gets married, she has to go with him.
“Ying’er, if you want to come back, we will come to the capital in the future.”
"I know, you just recruit whatever you like. I'm just your precious little darling, I can't go anywhere."
"How could that be? I can tell you're a fast runner. You can easily run off to a place I can't find if I'm not paying attention."
"It was an accident. I've apologized so many times. Please don't nitpick, considering how hard I've taken care of you for months."
Xie Yuancheng fell silent again, which was perfect. I leaned against him and quickly fell asleep. Tomorrow I'll go see if there's anything interesting happening outside before we talk.
I can only go out in the afternoon. I also have to avoid Yu'er and the others. That clever little Yu'er always stares at us with his big eyes when he hears Xie Yuancheng and me talking in the morning.
He also said, "Mother~ Yu'er wants to go." Whenever he said that, Su Ling and Xi Zhi would come over, so I always said I wasn't going anywhere.
They're having a great time and are getting sleepy, so we were able to go out. Xie Yuancheng didn't bring anyone with him this time; it was just the two of us.
As soon as I got to the busier street, I saw a tea stall and went over to sit down. In places like this, you're most likely to hear a lot of gossip.
"Ying'er~ You're just so curious."
"Yes, let's sit down and rest. They're very well-informed about gossip."
I poured tea for Xie Yuancheng, and soon a group of people came over. They were dressed like gangsters, and their speech was not bold; they sounded a bit sleazy.
"Brother, those girls are too ugly. None of the brothers want them, and we won't make any money selling them."
"What can we do? Give it to some idiots and families who can't find wives, and they'll just take the money and leave. Who told them to be so ungrateful, talking about being born with a phoenix's destiny? Bah, they're just a bunch of cow dung-stomping girls."
"Sigh, we're so unlucky. It's not easy to find work and earn some money."
"Let's go, let's go. If we go late, there will be a lot of trouble. They can't even walk properly, they're really in the way."
“Tie them up with ropes and drag them when they can’t walk anymore. They’ll crawl until they’re scared and then they’ll walk. The crimes they’ve committed are enough to punish nine generations of their families, so why bother with all these formalities?”
"That's right. If you want to live a good life, don't do anything wrong. They hate us, and we'll suffer because of them."
These people grumbled and cursed, asked the owner for three pots of tea, and the owner even gave them some snacks before they left.
"Yuancheng, what do they do?" Why do they harbor such resentment? Whoever they are, they should be dealt with properly.
"They are responsible for dealing with people who have committed serious crimes but have been pardoned, but we can't let them have it easy, so we send them to handle these cases."
"And this department, do their salaries go higher?"
"Yes, but not by much. That's how it is in the capital."
They were probably bothered by someone, which is why they acted like that. I continued enjoying my tea with Xie Yuancheng. Although the tea from this little stall wasn't top-quality, it was very thirst-quenching.
I'm dressed as a man today, so I can sit anywhere on the street. People are walking around me, saying that the Second Prince has been placed under house arrest and has even lost his title of prince.
"I also heard that his princess went to plead for him, but was beaten up and had to go back to her parents' home to recuperate."
“In the past, going back to one’s parents’ home would have been a great thing, but now, well, it’s hard to say.”
"I think so too. Even though they are kings and generals, they will still be punished if they do something wrong, and the punishment will be more severe than that of ordinary people."
"Who says otherwise? I heard that everyone involved this time has been replaced. There was even an ugly girl who was buried with them; her feet looked bald. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have come forward to identify them. I'd be living a carefree life outside."
"You're one to talk! They wanted to live a good life, so they dared to say anything. Now they can't speak anymore. I heard from the people who went to bury them that those people were arrogant all the time, but what happened to them later was truly tragic."
"That's just fate."
Sitting here, I can really hear a lot of news. I think it's those people who plotted against Xie Yuancheng behind his back. They deserve to be punished.
“I think I’ve become more ruthless, but they went too far back then and are now getting their comeuppance.”
"Ying'er, you just like to overthink things. What do their affairs have to do with you? Why are you dragging them into it?"
"Yeah, is that all they talk about? Is there anything interesting?"
I looked around and saw groups of three or five people talking, saying pretty much the same things as those other people. I listened for a while longer, and it was all just gossip and idle chatter, nothing of any practical value.
"Yuancheng, let's go." Seeing that I couldn't understand anything more, I decided to go somewhere else.
"Wait a minute." Xie Yuancheng told me to wait a bit. "Let's rest for now and go later."
"What's wrong?" I felt something was off. He said the Crown Prince was nearby, and I shouldn't go near him, lest I feel like hitting him.
"Okay, I'll do whatever you say." I sat back down and continued listening to the person next to me.
"Hey, have you heard? The village next door was destroyed by these barbarians, so some refugees have come here."
"I've heard that all those high-ranking officials are involved in these kinds of things," the person said in a low voice. "I've also heard that some people are taking advantage of the situation to pretend to be refugees and rob people."
"Is that so? I have seen people selling their children at the market, and even selling themselves to bury their fathers. Taking advantage of someone's misfortune is just incurable stupidity."
"Are people still selling themselves into servitude to bury their fathers these days? Doesn't the government provide subsidies for the burial of such people?"
"Yes, it happened not long ago. Her hair was very short, so I thought she was a boy, but it turned out to be a girl. However, she set up a stall a few times, and she would kneel down and kowtow to any rich people she saw, but she wouldn't even glance at us ordinary folks."
"Oh dear, I might as well quit my life and become a beggar. Maybe I can even make a fortune that way. How are these people so capable? They're so good at making money."
"Haha, you'd better drink some more tea to sober up and be more realistic."
Those two started babbling again. I remembered, this was the person we met last time when we took Yu'er out. I went to look at Xie Yuancheng, and he was looking at me with an innocent expression.
“Ying’er, we didn’t lose much. There are too many people like this now, so it’s better if we spend less money on others in the future.”
"Sigh, it was clearly a kind intention, how did it turn out like this?"
"That's hard to say. Don't overthink it. Just let it go. You can't exactly ask her for it back, can you? You don't even know where she lives or what her name is."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
