"Master Liu?"
Noticing the absent-mindedness of the person behind her, Shen Tangning paused and turned around, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Is it too much of a hardship for you, sir, to come out with me?"
Liu Yifu slightly raised her eyes, but the curve of her lips didn't look quite natural: "Of course not."
Seeing that he had followed her, she smiled and said, "I have long heard that you are dedicated to your duties and wish you could devote yourself to your case. I thought I was taking up your precious time."
Liu Yifu had to explain seriously: "It's just a short while, it won't take long."
His stiff and formal reply was amusing, and Shen Tangning sighed, "They say time changes people beyond recognition, but I feel like you haven't changed at all?"
He paused for a moment, then smirked: "You still remember?"
“Of course.” Facing the light, Shen Tangning squinted slightly. “When I first met you, you seemed a little disheveled.”
Liu Yifu's face showed a helpless expression: "Don't try to save face for me, I'm in a very embarrassing situation."
That year, Liu Yifu went to the capital to take the imperial examination; he was only seventeen years old.
At that time, he was dull and rather naive. On his second day in the capital, all his travel money was stolen.
Without any money on him, he couldn't pay for his room, so the innkeeper immediately kicked him out, cursing his bad luck.
Shen Tangning arrived at Zuixianju as usual and heard a commotion coming from the street. She opened the window and looked down, and this was the scene she saw.
The boy wore a faded robe, yet his posture was unexpectedly upright, like a solitary green bamboo, exuding a profound and dignified air.
The innkeeper threw his things all over the street. As he picked up the books and hugged them to his chest, his face flushed, he confronted the group of people: "I checked them before I went to bed last night, and they were gone when I woke up this morning. They must have been stolen by someone in the inn. If you don't believe me, we can report it to the authorities!"
He didn't speak fluent Mandarin; his accent was somewhat awkward and regional.
The innkeeper, being a big shot, took advantage of him. Seeing that he was an outsider with no connections, he wouldn't listen to his explanation at all: "Go away, go away! You poor, penniless scholar, you can't even afford a room, and you still want to extort us? Believe me or not, I'll report you to the authorities and have you arrested!"
The innkeeper's waiter chimed in and even started pushing and shoving. He was a strongman, and Liu Yifu, a frail scholar, was no match for him.
He was pushed to the ground and punched and kicked, but he still held tightly to the book in his arms.
Shen Tangning frowned slightly as she looked at the news. Xueqing, who had gone to inquire about the matter, ran back and said, "Miss, I've found out! That young master was on his way to the capital to take the imperial examination. His purse was stolen while he was staying at an inn. He suspects that someone from the inn was responsible, but the innkeeper refuses to admit it!"
"That young man said he would report it to the authorities, but the shopkeeper simply kicked him out. What else could it be but a guilty conscience?"
After she finished speaking indignantly, she saw her young mistress's eyes light up and was taken aback: "Miss, what... what kind of expression is that?"
Shen Tangning, chin in hand, said seriously, "This is the person I've been looking for!"
Despite being blessed with great fortune, he suffered many misfortunes and hardships. Years later, he worked hard and proved everyone wrong!
Her gaze swept across the crowd a few times before quickly locking onto the waiter, whose eyes held a hint of smugness. She narrowed her eyes slightly and gestured for Xueqing to come closer.
Liu Yifu was being beaten to the ground when the innkeeper sneered, "I think you're just trying to eat and stay for free! I've seen plenty of people like you!"
There were many people around, but not a single one dared to stand up and speak for him.
Overwhelmed by immense humiliation, Liu Yifu couldn't help but waver. He was determined to become an official and benefit the people, but were these the people he was supposed to protect in the future?
At such a young age, he suffered such a huge setback for the first time and was filled with confusion about the future.
Just then, a voice rang out: "Stop!"
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