T/N: Thank you so much for the ko-fi, Jessica! Extra chapter will be uploaded on Wednesday or Thursday.
“Madam.” A maid helped Shen-shi put on her cloak. “Wouldn’t you like to say something?”
“Say what?” Shen-shi turned around to head for her chamber. “Younger generations will do all right on their own. Interfering too much will only annoy them.”
Just as she returned to the courtyard, Jiuzhu came over in her new clothes. “Mother.”
“Wasn’t His Highness Chen Wang going to escort you into the Palace? Why are you still here?” Shen-shi was somewhat surprised to see her daughter coming over.
“I wanted to tell Mother before going.” Jiuzhu held Shen-shi’s hand and shook it. “Don’t worry, Mother. I will take good care of myself.”
“With Guifei niangniang and His Highness by your side, I don’t think anyone would dare to bully you.” Shen-shi glanced outside the courtyard’s gate, where Chen Wang stood, looking tall and handsome.
Chen Wang had inherited his mother’s looks, so his appearance naturally wasn’t lacking.
“Go ahead.” She reached out and adjusted the accessory around her daughter’s waist. “This new outfit looks very nice on you.”
“Really?” Jiuzhu twirled in front of her mother with a joyful smile. “I like it very much.”
“As long as you like it.” Shen-shi took off the bracelet on her wrist and put it on Jiuzhu’s hand. She held her hand and walked towards the gate. “Don’t keep Chen Wang waiting for too long.”
Chen Wang being able to leave the Palace at a time like this must be a special favor from His Majesty. Shen-shi was very clear in her heart: this was the imperial family’s way of showing how much they valued Jiuzhu. This was the reason behind Chen Wang personally coming to escort her to an important banquet attended by the imperial relatives and nobles once a year.
The imperial family had given the Ming family enough face already; they couldn’t allow the imperial family’s face to be lost now.
She held Jiuzhu’s hand and walked up to Chen Wang, greeting him with a bow.
He turned and greeted her with a half-bow in return: “Countess.”
Shen-shi was momentarily taken aback. If it weren’t for him, she would have almost forgotten that her family now had a noble rank.
“Your Highness, if chenfu’s daughter does anything unthoughtful, please forgive her.” Shen-shi sighed. “Chenfu apologizes to Your Highness in advance.”
“Madam is exaggerating.” Chen Wang stole a glance at Jiuzhu. “Taking care of Jiuzhu is what Ben Wang ought to do.”
After a month, she would become his wife!
Shen-shi smiled and curtsied. “It is getting late. Your Highness should not stay outside the Palace for too long. Please return as soon as possible.”
“This junior will take his leave.” Wanting to hold Jiuzhu’s hand, his fingertips twitched, but in front of his future mother-in-law, he didn’t dare to reach out.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to cross the threshold, he secretly extended his hand and supported Jiuzhu by the arm. Then, he politely withdrew his hand immediately.
Shen-shi stood at the gate of the courtyard with a smile on her face, watching the two youngsters being cautious yet getting close to each other.
Leaving the Ming family’s residence, Chen Wang held Jiuzhu’s hand, ready to help her onto the carriage.
“Your Highness.” Before she sat in the carriage, Jiuzhu lifted the curtain and smiled at him. “Wait a moment.”
After speaking, she waved to Chunfen, who was by her side. “Chunfen jiejie.”
Chunfen handed the wooden box hidden in her sleeve to Jiuzhu with a suppressed smile and glanced at him. Then she turned and stepped back.
“This is for Your Highness.” Jiuzhu stuffed the jewelry box into his hand and sat in the carriage.
Chen Wang mounted his horse, with a Dragon Guard holding the reins for him. He opened the box and saw some pieces of broken silver as well as a few gold peanuts inside. He chuckled lightly.
This little fool really thought he had no money to spend in the Palace ah.
He cast a sidelong glance at the adjacent carriage, closed the box, and handed it to his guard. “Keep these things safe, don’t lose them.”
These were the living expenses his future wife worked hard to earn for him.
As it was nearing the end of the year, the streets were bustling with activity. The Dragon Guards carefully guarded Chen Wang and the carriage, not daring to slack off a bit.
The capital was a place full of shrewd people. Not only did the officials know how to figure out the situation and adjust accordingly but the common people were also clever and observant. Therefore, no one dared to approach Chen Wang’s entourage.
Unfortunately, with all sorts of people in the world, coming across a few oddballs was not unusual.
Sitting inside the carriage, Jiuzhu heard the sounds of a woman crying and a fierce argument outside. She lifted the curtain of the carriage’s window and looked outside. “What’s going on?”
“Xianzhu, some trouble-making ruffian is harassing a woman from a respectable family ahead. His Highness has already sent people to inquire.” One of the Dragon Guards answered: “Ruffians like them use foul language. If Xianzhu dislikes their noisiness, please rest in the carriage for a bit.”
“It’s fine.” Jiuzhu glanced outside, “Does the woman have anyone accompanying her?”
“This subordinate is not sure.” The Dragon Guard looked at the crowd surrounding the place, “With so many people around, even if no one is watching, those ruffians wouldn’t dare to act too recklessly.”
Jiuzhu pondered for a moment, lifted her skirt, and got off the carriage.
“Be careful.” Chen Wang bent down, held up her skirt, and signaled the Dragon Guards to disperse the crowd watching the commotion.
Seeing the armed Dragon Guards appearing, the crowd of onlookers broke up. However, they stood at a distance and craned their necks to continue watching, not daring to speak out of turn.
As Jiuzhu approached, she heard the foul-mouthed ruffian saying things like- “Who can prove I groped you?”, “I wouldn’t want something so ugly even if it is delivered to me.” and so on.
Just as she was about to speak, she heard Chen Wang click his tongue and say: “Where did this stinky dog come to bark from?”
The ruffian, who was in the middle of vigorous cursing, turned his head to look at him. Seeing the latter’s luxurious clothing and the guards around him, his arrogance disappeared in an instant. He started fawning: “My Lord, I really didn’t offend this woman. Look, there are so many women on the street who are much more beautiful than her. Why would I possibly do such a thing?”
Chen Wang raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Dragon Guards, who nodded in understanding.
“To have the guts to do such a thing in broad daylight… it seems that not only is his mind not working well, but his heart is also vicious.” He pointed to the adjacent river. “Dip him in the water to clear his head.”
“Your Highness,” Jiuzhu tugged at his sleeve. “It’s so cold…”
“En?” Chen Wang raised his hand, motioning for the Dragon Guards to pause in the middle of throwing the ruffian into the water. “What happened?”
“His cotton-padded jacket should be taken off before throwing him into the water. Or else, fishing him up later will prove to be more difficult.” Jiuzhu suggested seriously: “Tie a rope around his waist so that when he’s to be brought out, nobody would need to go into the water.”
Most importantly, there would be no need to worry about the troublemaker escaping that way.
“Your words make sense.” Chen Wang nodded with a big smile. “The Dragon Guards are our own people; trifles like this should not be allowed to wear them out.”
Amidst the endless cheers of the crowd, the ruffian was thrown into the water.
This person was a street ruffian who lazed about, but he also liked to do some petty theft. If anyone criticized him, he would deliberately target the women members of that person’s family by spitting and uttering obscenities.
Now that this handsome gongzi finally taught him a lesson, everyone praised him for getting rid of that calamity.
“I thought you would plead for this person.” Chen Wang looked at the ruffian struggling in the water and pulled her to the carriage. “I would have listened to you if you did that.”
“Why would I plead for him?” Jiuzhu looked at him in confusion. “On reaps what one sows. He has done something wrong. As Da Cheng’s prince, You Highness punishing the wicked is ridding the people of evil. If I were to plead for him, wouldn’t I become an accomplice to the tiger1An accomplice to the tiger [为虎作伥] – It means helping an evildoer do bad things.?”
Growing up in a Daoist temple and being guided by her two masters, Jiuzhu had developed a character of following her heart from childhood. External opinions and views hardly influenced her actions or her judgment.
“Life is short. One should follow their heart and do what they want to do, so as not to regret in the next life.” Jiuzhu smiled at him. “I know Your Highness is doing the right thing. Of course, I won’t stop you from doing what you want.”
“You trust me so much?” Chen Wang laughed.
“En.” Jiuzhu nodded.
“If I ever make a mistake one day, will you also make the same mistake with me?” Chen Wang shook his head with a smile, “Then you would be at a disadvantage.”
“If Your Highness is wrong, I will tell you.” Jiuzhu explained seriously: “I will support you in the right things and discourage you from doing wrong things. It’s not that difficult ah.”
“Yes ah, it’s not difficult.” His hand holding the hem of her dress shook as he burst out laughing.
It was not difficult but at the same time, it was difficult.
Things could be right or wrong but the human heart leaned on justifying the ones that were beneficial to them.
“Who is causing trouble!”
With a fierce shout, Yu Jian, accompanied by the Jinwu Guards, walked out from behind the crowd. He glanced at the person struggling in the water and felt a vague sense of familiarity. All of a sudden, he had a bad premonition.
“Young General Yu.” Chen Wang smiled as he looked at the new person on the scene, “What a coincidence. You’re on duty again today?”
Hearing the prince calling him by his surname, Yu Jian felt a strange sense of gratitude. Chen Wang actually remembered his surname!
“Your Highness, was this person harassing a woman, attempting to abduct and sell a child, or… pretending to sell himself to bury his father?” Yu Jian carefully recalled the people that Chen Wang had dealt with in the past, and what crimes they were eventually found guilty of.
“Harassing a woman in public.” Chen Wang calculated the time: “By now, his mind should be clear. You came just in time, fish him out of the water and send him to the capital’s magistrate.”
“This general will obey your command.” Yu Jian looked at him expectantly.
“Anything else?” Chen Wang raised an eyebrow at him.
“I will leave now.” Yu Jian sighed inwardly. From Chen Wang’s attitude, he didn’t seem to have any chance of becoming Chen Wang’s lackey.
He couldn’t hope for those benefits anymore.
When he and a few of his comrades went to retrieve the person, they found that Chen Wang had been particularly considerate this time. Not only was there a rope tied around his waist, but his outer clothes were also taken off.
This way, they didn’t have to step into the water to retrieve the person, nor did they have to find dry clothes for the prisoner to change into, saving them a lot of effort.
Perhaps it was because Chen Wang was so previously so wayward that gratitude suddenly sprang up in the hearts of the Jinwu Guards when they saw him being so considerate.
Perhaps, this was the humble side of human nature.2T/N: I can vouch for this lol. My little brother is the exact picture of chaos. He is naughty, willful, spoiled and… basically an I-want-it-now-and-I-mean-it (perks of being the youngest family member whose every wish is granted?). So whenever he behaves or shows some amount of decency (for 5-10 minutes at most), my parents are full of gratitude and happiness for the rest of the day
An official passing by in a sedan saw the Jinwu Guards retrieving someone from the river and asked the bearer, “What’s going on there?”
The sedan bearer had heard some commotion on the way and replied, “Replying to My Lord, that person was thrown into the water by His Highness Chen Wang for something he did. This one does not know what it is.”
“Wasn’t he confined within the Palace by His Majesty? How did he manage to come out?” The official frowned, “He’s still causing trouble on an important day like today.”
Thinking of the Emperor’s favoritism towards Chen Wang, he sighed heavily. His Majesty suppressed the other princes at every turn and favored Chen Wang alone. Regardless, how could he entrust Da Cheng’s rivers and mountains to such a willful and impetuous person?
He lifted the curtain with annoyance and was about to ask the sedan bearer to leave immediately when he saw Chen Wang following a little guniang, holding her dress for her.
The little guniang took out a handkerchief and was warmly comforting a weeping woman. Looking at her closely, he realized that she seemed to be… the daughter of Assistant Minister Ming?
What willfulness and impetuousness? What arrogance and tyranny? It seemed… to have nothing to do with Chen Wang.
Getting off the sedan, he asked an old man selling Spring Festival couplets3Spring Festival couplets [春联] – Spring Festival couplets (chūnlián) are traditional decorations that are frequently used during Chinese New Year. People put these in the doorways to create a jubilant festive atmosphere, since the phrases (usually of seven characters) written on it are usually related to good luck and prosperity. The couplet is on the two sides of the door in this picture. The first line is on the right side of the door and the second on its left: , “Sir, may I ask what crime that person committed to be thrown into the water?”
“A person lacking virtue like him deserves it!” The old man rolled up his sleeves, wishing he could kick the ruffian a couple of times himself, “Harassing women, stealing, he’s done all sorts of immoral things.”
The official reached out and gently supported the slightly agitated old man, feeling somewhat ashamed in his heart. It turned out that he had wrongly accused Chen Wang.
Being willing to personally sort out a ruffian continuously making trouble for the common people, he shouldn’t… be that bad after all, right?
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