Chapter 95 – What a Frightening Girl

As the hour of Xu approached, Prince Bao returned to the Prince Bao Residence, his legs trembling.

Princess Bao hurried forward to support him.

“Your Highness, what’s wrong? Wang Xin, quickly go call the residence physician to examine the Prince!”

Wang Xin, the chief steward of the residence, was about to send someone when Prince Bao said in a deep voice, “There’s no need to call the physician.”

Seeing how grim his expression was, Princess Bao waved for all the servants in the hall to leave. After pouring him a cup of tea, she sat down and asked, “Your Highness, didn’t you go to bring Yin’er back? Where is he?”

“Hmph.”

At the mention of the matter, Prince Bao’s anger flared. He slammed the table so hard that tea splashed out of the cup.

“What happened? Tell me—did something happen to Yin’er?”

Princess Bao grew anxious, fearing for their son.

“Yin’er is fine. The one with the problem is me.”

Prince Bao briefly recounted what had happened at the Commander’s Office and finally said through clenched teeth,

“Mu Nanjin—if that damned girl ever falls into my hands, she’ll regret it.”

“She’s just a tiny seventh-rank official. Has she lost her mind? How dare she demand that Your Highness kneel?”

Princess Bao was furious after hearing the story. Then she suddenly remembered that his legs had been trembling when he came back. She stared at him in shock.

“Your Highness… you didn’t actually kneel, did you?”

Prince Bao shot her an irritated glare.

“What do you think?”

Princess Bao was puzzled.

“Why would you listen to her and kneel?”

“That damned girl is strange enough already, but the main reason is the Emperor.”

The moment Prince Bao mentioned the Emperor, anger burned in his chest again.

“The Emperor?” Princess Bao was stunned. “The Emperor made you kneel? You’re a meritorious contributor—you once—”

Prince Bao raised his hand to stop her.

“Enough. From now on, keep those ‘meritorious deeds’ buried in your stomach. Don’t go bragging about them everywhere again.”

“Why?”

“I’m afraid the Emperor has already taken note of the fact that I don’t perform the kneeling salute.”

Prince Bao had always believed that, having helped the former emperor establish the Great Qian, he deserved credit if not glory. Moreover, he and the Emperor were cousins of the same generation. Since he was even older than the Emperor, he felt there was no reason for him to kneel.

Thus, at less formal occasions, he would simply stand and bow instead of kneeling.

The Emperor had always responded with a smiling face and never demanded that he kneel, so Prince Bao assumed his behavior had been silently accepted. Over time, he even began to feel it was only natural.

But today proved otherwise.

Prince Bao recalled kneeling outside the Imperial Study.

The place where he knelt was directly facing the Emperor’s desk. Naturally, the Emperor saw him, but the cold indifference with which he ignored him made Prince Bao’s heart tremble.

Thinking back on his attitude toward the Emperor over the past two years, he realized he had indeed been far too casual. Anyone seeing it might think he intended to climb onto the Emperor’s head.

If the Emperor truly wished to pursue the matter, he could easily charge him with disrespect. The thought alone sent a chill through Prince Bao.

Princess Bao turned pale with shock and stood up.

“He’s taken note of us? How could that be? We haven’t done anything! Why would he mark us down?”

Prince Bao glared at her.

“Can you keep your voice down? Do you want the whole residence to hear?”

Lowering her voice, she said anxiously,

“If the Emperor has marked us, what should we do? He wouldn’t kill us, would he?”

“It hasn’t reached the point of killing us yet. But from now on, whenever you see him or the Empress, remember to kneel and pay your respects. And stay away from the palace for a while. Don’t appear there so often and invite their displeasure.”

Princess Bao nodded.

“Then what about Yin’er? Are we just leaving him locked in prison?”

Prince Bao rubbed his knees.

“I asked around before coming back. If we pay twenty thousand taels, we can bring him out. Have Wang Xin handle it.”

“Alright.”

By the time the heir of the Prince Bao Residence was brought back home, Mu Nanjin was already lying in bed binge-watching dramas.

Early the next morning, she reported to Colonel Liu with two heavy dark circles under her eyes.

Colonel Liu stared at her for a moment, then asked nervously,

“Your eyes are so dark… you didn’t go out stealing last night, did you?”

Surely she didn’t actually go rob the national treasury?

Mu Nanjin yawned.

“Of course not. Just tell me what today’s task is.”

Colonel Liu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Lord Kan said your performance yesterday was good. For the next five days, you’ll continue patrolling the streets.”

Even he didn’t know whether yesterday’s events counted as an accidental stroke of luck. He had only allowed Mu Nanjin to patrol because he promised the Superintendent, but unexpectedly, it earned the Emperor’s praise.

“Patrol again?”

Mu Nanjin thought about it. As long as nothing happened, patrol duty was actually quite easy.

“Fine. I’m off.”

“Wait.”

Colonel Liu frowned at her clothes.

“Why are you still wearing the ninth-rank uniform?”

“My seventh-rank flying-fish uniform hasn’t been altered yet, so I have to wear the ninth-rank one for now.”

“Liu Qian and the others had theirs altered in just an afternoon. Why is yours taking so long?”

“They were in a hurry to wear it, so they paid extra to get it done quickly. I’m not in a rush, so I’m letting them take their time.”

Colonel Liu handed her the banknotes sent from the Prince Bao Residence, then waved tiredly.

“Go.”

Mu Nanjin left the records room.

Liu Qian immediately bounced excitedly in front of her.

“Miss Mu, what are we doing today?”

After yesterday’s incident, Liu Qian’s admiration for Mu Nanjin had skyrocketed—she had even surpassed his own father in his heart.

In his mind, his father had been far too cowardly yesterday, unlike Mu Nanjin, who didn’t care who showed up. She was simply too cool.

If Colonel Liu knew what his son was thinking, he would probably faint from anger.

Mu Nanjin handed Liu Qian forty thousand taels in banknotes.

“Go to the bank and exchange this for forty thousand taels in silver pieces. Then meet us on Zhengfu Street.”

Zhengfu Street was the very place where the heirs of the Prince Bao Residence and the Prince Fu Residence had caused trouble yesterday. Their fight had wrecked the entire street, leaving the common people in misery.

“Yes.”

After Liu Qian left, Mu Nanjin led Xu Cheng and the others to Zhengfu Street.

The street had already been cleaned, but noticeably fewer people were doing business.

Xu Cheng approached a shopkeeper sweeping outside his store.

“Shopkeeper, why are there so few vendors today?”

Seeing their official uniforms, the shopkeeper didn’t dare speak carelessly. But after recognizing Mu Nanjin, he became excited.

“You’re the female official from yesterday!”

Mu Nanjin nodded.

“Thank you—truly thank you! If it weren’t for you, our losses would’ve been even worse.”

The shopkeeper thanked her repeatedly.

Mu Nanjin asked again,

“Why are there fewer people doing business today?”

This time the shopkeeper answered quickly.

“Yesterday those two heirs smashed many stalls and goods. Everyone has to find wood to rebuild their stalls and gather money to restock their merchandise. Sigh…”

“Are you familiar with the other stall owners?”

“Of course. We’ve all been doing business on this street for years.”

“Can you find them?”

The shopkeeper asked cautiously,

“May I ask what you need them for, Lord?”

Xu Cheng replied,

“Yesterday the two heirs damaged your property. Our Lord has already ordered them to compensate you. We want the affected people to come collect their silver.”

The shopkeeper stared at them in disbelief.

These minor officials actually made two royal heirs pay compensation?

“There’s compensation? Lord, you’re not lying to me?”

He had lived in the capital for years and had never heard of royalty compensating commoners for damages—let alone officials caring about the hardships of ordinary people.

Xu Cheng said, “Why would we lie? What benefit would that bring us? If you can find the others, go call them. Once our companion brings the silver, we’ll distribute it.”

“Alright!”

The shopkeeper immediately instructed his assistant to watch the shop, then ran out to notify the other vendors and store owners, asking them to spread the word.

When the news spread, the entire street was filled with excitement.

About an hour later, everyone had gathered on Zhengfu Street.

Right then, Liu Qian arrived with the exchanged silver loaded on a cart.

Yang Bo directed the crowd.

“Line up properly! No cutting in line, and no claiming twice, or you’ll be punished!”

Hearing the word “punished,” everyone obediently formed a queue.

“And recognize the people before and behind you. Make sure they’re really vendors from this street. Anyone caught fraudulently claiming compensation will be arrested and severely punished.”

Some people who had intended to sneak in and grab extra money immediately abandoned the idea.

Liu Qian arranged five Jinyiwei to record names, while Xu Cheng and Yang Bo distributed the silver.

When the common people received their compensation, their eyes instantly turned red.

“We got compensation! We really got compensation!”

They bowed repeatedly to Mu Nanjin and the others.

“Thank you, Lords! Thank you!”

Some were so emotional they began to cry.

“If we didn’t receive this money, our whole family would’ve had to beg on the streets.”

Everyone present understood his feelings.

They spent the entire day distributing the compensation.

In the end, just a little over one hundred taels remained.

Liu Qian grinned.

“Good thing there’s some left. Otherwise we’d have had to pay out of our own pockets.”

Yang Bo gave a thumbs-up.

“Miss Mu calculated perfectly, making the two princes each pay twenty thousand taels.”

Mu Nanjin: “…”

The reason she knew the approximate amount was because she had seen it in gossip news. After adding up everyone’s losses, she estimated the total.

Mu Nanjin handed them the remaining silver.

“It’s getting late. Use this money to go eat.”

Yang Bo asked,

“What about you?”

“I still have something to do.”

She still had to deliver the newly completed good-citizen registration to Fu Shan.

Yang Bo and the others watched her leave.

Xu Cheng threw an arm around Yang Bo’s shoulders.

“In the past, we only received hateful looks from the people. It felt terrible, but we had no choice. Today, receiving their gratitude instead, it feels warm. I can’t even describe how satisfying it is.”

Liu Qian wrapped an arm around both of them.

“That’s because we did something good. If we do more good deeds in the future, we’ll receive more gratitude.”

Xu Cheng and Yang Bo nodded.

While they took the other Jinyiwei to a restaurant for dinner, Mu Nanjin went to Yixin Courtyard.

When Fu Shan heard she had arrived, she rushed out from the back courtyard excitedly.

“Miss, you’ve come!”

Mu Nanjin handed her the updated registration document.

“It’s done.”

Fu Shan opened it and saw the character for “good citizen” stamped on it. Tears of joy instantly filled her eyes.

“I’m a common citizen now! I’m finally a proper citizen! Thank you, Miss—thank you so much!”

Holding the document, she ran into the courtyard.

“Sisters, I got my good-citizen registration!”

Most of the girls congratulated her warmly.

But a few of them spoke with envy and jealousy.

“Since you’ve got your registration, you shouldn’t stay here anymore and let us ruin your reputation.”

“You should leave right now. Stay even a moment longer and someone might ruin your body.”

Fu Shan’s smile faded.

Just then the madam came out.

“What’s wrong with all of you? If you won’t be happy for Fu Shan, at least don’t say such nasty things. Don’t mind them—they’re just jealous that you can redeem yourself and become a free citizen.”

Fu Shan sighed.

“I know what they’re thinking. But after leaving here… I really don’t know where to go.”

“Don’t rush. You can leave after you decide. If you’re worried about men harassing you, just stop using the front gate. Leave through the back gate—it’ll be quiet there.”

Someone remarked,

“The back gate leads to a small path. No one passes there. But because no one passes there, if something happens, nobody would know.”

Fu Shan fell silent for a moment.

“I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

The madam sighed heavily and glared fiercely at the gossiping girls.

At that moment, a tall figure walked through the courtyard gate and said loudly,

“If Miss Fu Shan doesn’t mind, would you consider living with me?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Fu Shan quickly turned around.

Seeing Superintendent Ji standing at the gate smiling at her, she was both surprised and puzzled.

“Young Master Ji? Why are you here?”

“I came because I heard you had obtained your good-citizen registration.”

The madam looked between them and laughed.

“If Miss Fu Shan stays in Young Master Ji’s house, no one would dare bully you.”

Fu Shan blushed instantly.

“Madam! I’m an unmarried woman—how could I live in Young Master Ji’s house? That would ruin his reputation. How could he marry and have children in the future?”

The madam teased her.

“Don’t tell me you can’t see that Young Master Ji has feelings for you.”

Superintendent Ji stepped in front of Fu Shan.

“To be honest, Miss Fu Shan, I’ve admired you for a long time. Because of my identity, I never revealed the truth before. Now I’d like to explain my situation in front of everyone.”

“I’m nearly forty. Twenty years ago, I had a wife. Unfortunately, she died during childbirth, and my newborn son passed away before he was even a month old due to my negligence. Since then, I never remarried.”

“My current position is that of a first-rank official. I serve as the Superintendent of the Six Doors…”

Everyone gasped.

“A first-rank official? The Superintendent of the Six Doors?!”

They had never imagined that the plainly dressed Young Master Ji was actually such a high official.

Those who had been jealous of Fu Shan earlier became even more envious.

Fu Shan truly had incredible fortune—first earning enough to redeem herself, and now a first-rank official wanted to marry her.

“I should have redeemed you long ago,” Superintendent Ji continued, “but for certain reasons I had to hide my identity from you.”

“In short, Miss Fu Shan, I hope you’ll marry me. I will take good care of you.”

【Oh? Finally willing to confess.】

Superintendent Ji: “……”

Didn’t Mu Nanjin leave?

He had deliberately waited until she left before coming in, precisely so she wouldn’t hear his confession and spread it around.

Yet somehow, she was still nearby.

What a terrifying little girl.

She seemed to be everywhere.