The three people in the palace were looking at Princess Jinyi's letter, while Princess Jinyi, who was far away in Yangzhou, was sitting in a teahouse drinking tea and listening to a book.
Princess Jinyi was always accompanied by two guards when she went out. She also dressed as a man and carefully plugged her ear holes. The weather was still cool, and with her high-collared jacket on, she looked like a young boy unless you looked closely.
The storyteller was recounting a popular story in Yangzhou recently: a story about a poor scholar who was chosen by a wealthy young lady and married into the family. Within three years, the scholar had taken over the wealthy family's business. As the wealthy young lady's elders passed away, the scholar took in his own cousin. By the time the cousin became pregnant, the wealthy young lady had also passed away.
Princess Jinyi hadn't finished the story when she felt something was amiss. This poor scholar was a stark reminder of the ungrateful "Phoenix Man" that Empress Jing'an sometimes spoke of: poor and destitute, yet somehow able to attract the attention of a wealthy young lady. He ultimately seized the young lady's fortune and murdered her.
Princess Jinyi ordered Ah Da beside her: "Go, send someone to investigate the matter of this scholar thoroughly."
Ah Da, who was standing aside, bowed and accepted the order: "Yes."
Ah Da went out to give his men some instructions. On his way back, he passed by a private room next door and saw a handsome young man walking out. They both stepped aside to make way for each other. Seeing that Ah Da was determined to make way, the young man bowed, thanked him, and left.
One night, Princess Jinyi came to the lake to watch the night lights. As she was enjoying the excitement, she heard a cry of "Catch a thief." Looking closely, Princess Jinyi saw a man with shifty eyes running towards her. Princess Jinyi ordered, "Catch him."
Ah Da protected Princess Jin Yi, while Ah Er quickly stepped forward to stop the thief. Seeing that Ah Er looked thin despite his height, the thief took out a knife and started playing with it. Before the thief could get too arrogant, Ah Er had his hands behind his back and pinned him to the ground.
Ta-da-da! Two men came running in the direction the thief had come from. One of them was clearly the handsome young man who had fought with Ah Da during the day. The young man ran up to him and bowed, saying, "Thank you very much for your help, brave man. I am deeply grateful. Please leave your name, I will definitely reward you handsomely."
Ah Er pulled out a rope from his bosom and tied up the thief, saying, "No need to thank me, it was all my master's order."
The young man bowed and asked, "May I introduce you? I would like to thank your master."
Ah Er stood up and saw Princess Jinyi shaking her head, so he said, "It's not convenient. Don't worry about such a small matter." After that, he pushed the tied thief to the side of the young man.
The young man's attendants quickly grabbed the thief and retrieved the stolen purse from his arms. Seeing Ah Er, Ah Da, and Princess Jin Yi walking together, the young man bowed and thanked them loudly from behind: "Thank you very much."
Princess Jinyi, who was gradually walking away, didn't let Er tell her because of Queen Jing'an. Queen Jing'an had told many stories about women who saved men and were then abused in various ways. Princess Jinyi thought that she had just saved someone, so she must not bring up the story. She would not be like those women who saved people and were inexplicably abused by men.
The young man didn't know what Princess Jinyi was thinking. After asking around, he learned that the government office wasn't far away, so he went there with his attendants. The attendants handed over a visiting card and escorted the thief into the government office. The card was signed with the name of the Marquis of Yongyi.
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