Chapter Twelve: Spring Snow in Qinyuan Garden

  The sky was clear and bright, the winter colors had faded into spring. Zhao Jiong returned to Bianjing, the capital city, and gazed out at the bustling streets, feeling a sense of nostalgia wash over him as people hurried past. Not long after, the Jin army breached the city walls, and he wondered how many would survive unscathed.

  This time, Zhao Jiong had not brought anyone with him to the capital. He had initially planned to bring Xue Yue along, but since explaining the phrase "The fragrance of longevity is precious, the humble grass reveals its beauty. If you ask about the three lights, it refers to Ren, Yi, Li, and Xin" to her, their relationship had progressed rapidly, and they were on the verge of discussing marriage. Zhao Jiong didn't feel right taking Xue Yue away from there.

  He only brought a few hundred taels of silver bills with him, and the birthday gift Zhao Yin had secretly buried in a place for future military expenses. Zhao Yin didn't want to draw attention to himself, so he dressed up as a scholar, and his original handsome face made people think he was a young master from a wealthy family. Now in the capital city, with the threat of the Jin State not yet eliminated, and the Phoenix Tower nearby watching him closely, it's absolutely right to keep a low profile.

  Suddenly, a person rushed towards Zhao Jian's body. Zhao Jian instinctively wanted to avoid him, but there were many pedestrians around, and avoiding would naturally bump into others. So Zhao Jian just shifted his body slightly, making way for the person rushing towards him. When he looked closely, it was a small beggar with a messy head and dirty face, whose eyebrows couldn't be seen clearly. The little beggar who rushed forward was obviously stunned, but didn't give up, and immediately rushed towards Zhao Jian again. Zhao Jian frowned, turned his hand over and grabbed the little beggar's wrist. However, when he grabbed the little beggar's wrist, Zhao Jian's expression was clearly not right.

  The little beggar cried out in pain and immediately shouted loudly: "Someone's hitting me! Someone's hitting me! Help!"

  Many people immediately surrounded them, Zhao Yin's eyebrows slightly furrowed, others knew that the royal family in the capital bullied a beggar, and under the rumors, it was unknown how many versions would be spread. Zhao Yin let go of the little beggar and stood aside.

  At this moment, a group of armed slaves rushed in and shouted loudly: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, or you'll lose your dog's life." The onlookers retreated with a murmur, daring to be angry but not daring to speak.

  Zhao Yan had an extreme dislike for this kind of person who relied on their connections, but he wasn't a savior, and couldn't just kill those he didn't like the look of, so he stood by and watched with cold eyes.

  The leader of the group scanned around and spotted a small beggar trying to squeeze into the crowd. He strode over, grabbed the beggar's hair, and yanked it hard. The beggar let out a pained cry and fell to the ground. Zhao Jian saw that the beggar's eyes were filled with pleading glances at the people around him, but many of them shied away after being glared at by the fierce-looking servant, not even daring to look back.

  Zhao Yan is hesitating whether to intervene or not, he is really troubled by endless problems now. A family slave who dares to cause trouble in the capital must have some background, and Zhao Yan can barely protect himself now.

  The servant pulled at the little beggar's clothes, and with a ripping sound, the already tattered clothes instantly disintegrated. The servant burst out laughing: "You think you can run away now that you've entered the brothel? Be obedient and accept your fate."

  The little beggar glared at the house slave, not saying a word. Just then, a blacksmith walked over and shouted, "Stop it! You're all bullying a child, do you have no shame?"

  The house slave was enraged and drew his dagger, cutting down the big man to the ground. This house slave also knew his limits and did not dare kill anyone in the capital city, otherwise even his master would not be able to protect him.

  Several household slaves followed the class to catch the little girl, occasionally eating tofu. The beggar's eyes were full of humiliation, she pursed her lips, and fresh blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, but she didn't cry, raising her head and enduring strongly.

  Zhao Yan was moved by the resilience of the little beggar. An ordinary person would have lost their dignity after being insulted in such a way, perhaps they were the same kind of people, unable to change their fate. Zhao Yan sighed and walked forward to intercept the group of family slaves who were about to leave, saying in a low voice: "You dare to commit violence on the street, are you tired of living?"

  This group of family slaves were also shocked, looking at the bookish and extraordinary appearance of Zhao Jian, not like an ordinary person. The leading family slave bowed to Zhao Jian and said: "This friend, this matter is related to King Yue, it's better for you to stay out of it." It turned out that this Qinyuan Building was a property of King Yue.

  "You're still worthy of calling me friend?" Get lost!

  This slave's eyes rolled, he saw that Zhao Yi was eager to please, thinking that Zhao Yi was just a good-natured person, and with the background of the King of Yue, he wasn't afraid of ordinary officials, let alone aristocratic sons.

  The cruel man said fiercely: "You don't take the road in front of you, but instead step into hell where there is no door. Brothers, chop him off."

  Although Zhao was young, his boxing skills were only average, but it was no problem to beat up a few family slaves who would bully the common people. In just a few moves, several family slaves were knocked to the ground by Zhao. Since taking the Yin Yang Creation Pill, Zhao's senses and body had become even more agile and nimble. When these few family slaves drew their knives, their movements seemed especially slow to Zhao, and he stood still, guessing that his opponents couldn't even hit him.

  Zhao knew that this place was not suitable for a long stay, so he gave a few pieces of white silver to the onlookers and asked them to take the ironworker to see a doctor. He then put his outer garment on the little beggar's body, picked up the little beggar and hid in an alley.

  Before long, the Imperial Guards responsible for guarding the capital arrived. The leader of the slaves was constantly complaining to the captain of the guards. The captain appeared respectful on the surface, nodding in agreement and promising that they would definitely apprehend the murderer and bring him to justice, but in his heart he had already cursed the slave's ancestors eighteen generations back. If it weren't for the fact that the king's power was too great, he would have drawn his sword and cut down the chattering slave long ago.

  Zhao Yan brought the little beggar to a small, unobtrusive inn on the outskirts of the capital city. The inn was run by a young couple and had few guests. Zhao Yan booked a room and instructed the owner to prepare hot water, asking if they could also provide one or two sets of girls' clothes. He handed over fifty taels of silver without paying attention to the owner's stunned expression, then carried the little beggar into the room. The little beggar remained docile in Zhao Yan's arms, not struggling at all.

  Zhao Yan placed the little beggar on a chair and sat down opposite her. The little beggar silently grasped the clothes Zhao Yan had draped over her with both hands, but Zhao Yan had actually known all along that the little beggar was a girl, having realized it when he grabbed her wrist.

  "What's your name?" Zhao Yan asked.

  "My family name is Xiuer." The little beggar said in a low voice.

  "Why did those people want to catch you."

  "I grew up in the Qinyuan Building from a young age, I don't know who my parents are, maybe it's because I was too small. I've been doing rough work all along, although it's hard but it's okay. There, I saw many so-called high-ranking officials and nobles, at first I thought it was lively, but later on, I only felt disgusted. Since childhood, Sister Manli took great care of me, she told me many things about the outside world, just like a family member taking care of me. But one day......" At this point, Xiuer had already cried to the point of being speechless.

  Zhao Yan walked over and gently pressed his hand on Xiuer's head, saying softly: "If it's hard to say, then don't say it."

  "No, I must speak out. Later, someone tormented Manli sister to death and was going to do the same to me... I stabbed that scoundrel with scissors and then ran out. Originally wanted to run out of the city, but unfortunately someone had already sent people to seal off the city gate. I could only beg and steal money in the capital to make a living until today when I met you, young master."

  "Master, can I follow you from now on?" Xiu'er looked at Zhao Yan with tearful eyes.

  "Sorry, I can't take you with me now. In a moment, I'll send you to a place where you'll be safe, okay?"

  Just as Xiūér was about to speak, there was a knock at the door. A man's voice said: "Sir, hot water is ready, please come downstairs." Zhao Jiǎo walked in front, and Xiūér followed behind, holding onto Zhao Jiǎo's clothes.

  After going downstairs, Xiuer was led into the bathroom by that woman. Zhao Yan ordered some small dishes and tasted them. In this era, ordinary people's food varieties were not many, except for those with a rich family background, who would spend every day thinking about tea and rice, making a living is the right way.

  After a while, Zhao Yi found it strange that Xiuer was so slow and stared blankly at the crowd coming and going on the street.

  "Prince." The voice was melodious and pleasant to hear, Zhao Yi knew it was Xiuer's voice.

  Zhaoyan turned around and was stunned, with beautiful eyes and delicate eyebrows, calm and serene. Although she was wearing a dress that didn't fit her well, Xiu'er's beauty was pure and untouched, like a crystal clear white jade, as if she had never been tainted by worldly desires. This was still Xiu'er in her youth, and in the future, she would surely be a stunning beauty who could topple cities. Unfortunately, such a girl was born in this feudal era, without a background, she was naturally lonely and helpless, with a turbulent fate.

  Seeing Zhao Yan's dazed expression, Xiuer couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement in her heart.

  Xiū ér walked up to Zhao Jiān and said in a gentle voice, "Now can Xiū ér follow the young master?" Xiū ér was still quite confident about her own appearance.

  Zhao Xian said warmly: "Xiu Er, I still can't take you with me."

  "Is it that the young master finds me ugly, or is he looking down on me because I come from a brothel?" As she spoke, tears began to well up in her eyes.

  Zhao Yan felt quite helpless and couldn't bring himself to take Xiu'er into the palace.

  At this moment, a team of imperial guards rushed into the store, and the leader was the house slave who had just appeared. Zhao Yin and the two were discovered, naturally someone had informed on them. The tables and chairs in the hall were immediately overturned, and Xiuer hastily hid behind Zhao Yin, her eyes fearfully looking at the group of people who had rushed in.

  "That slave is yelling: 'It's him, come and take him away to be executed.' The imperial guards didn't pay attention to him, looking at the leader of the troops instead. The leader nodded slightly to his soldiers. Just as the imperial guards were about to move forward to capture Zhao Yin."

  Zhao Yan stood up and said lightly: "Slow." He took out the identity token of Chong Guo Gong with a wave of his hand.

  Being able to work in the capital, his vision is naturally not bad, otherwise he wouldn't have lived until today. He took one glance and saw through the authenticity of the imperial family's identity card. The team leader shouted loudly: "Still not taking down this dog slave who dared to offend the prince?" and drew out his sword, pointing it at that house slave.

  The soldiers behind were also very quick-witted and immediately tied up the slave, kicking him a couple of times as well. They had been looking at this slave with disapproval for some time.

  The kneeling troops said: "We, the late-arriving General Mò, request that Your Highness, Crown Prince Chángsūn, punish us."

  Zhao Yan had no choice but to say, "Thank you, General. May I borrow your sword for a moment?"

  The team will respectfully hand over the knife to Zhao Jin and retreat to one side. He is very clear that Zhao Jin will not take him seriously.

  Zhao Yan walked up to the house slave and, with a swift motion, stabbed his chest. The house slave died with an extremely shocked expression. Zhao Yan turned around and said to the Imperial Guard officer: "If someone asks you, you know how to answer."

  "Just now someone was beaten up, one person seriously injured and died, what a pity." The team leader returned.

  "Also, General, would you please send this girl to the Golden Scales Arena? I'm troubling you." Zhao Chen instructed.

  "It is an honor for this humble general to serve Your Highness, Crown Prince."

  "Xiu'er, take care of yourself." After finishing speaking, Zhao Yan left the inn under the escort of the Imperial Guard.

  "The carriage is ready outside, Miss Xiuer, please." The team then very politely invited Xiuer to get on the carriage.

  The horse carriage moved forward, and Xiuer looked out of the window, murmuring to herself: "I am indeed not worthy of Master, I wish Master happiness and peace."