Chapter 12: I Am Not Pan Jinlian

"Owwww~"

"Dad, why are you hitting me?"

"Dad, I was wrong, stop hitting me!"

"It's broken! My leg is broken!"

Even as he reached the main gate of the Gao Residence, Su Han could still hear Gao Qiuqiu's pig-butchering squeals behind him. It was a clear sign of just how furious Gao Hongcai was this time.

Letting out a soft chuckle, feeling not a shred of sympathy for Gao Qiuqiu's plight, Su Han led Su Xiao'Er, Wu Da, and the others out of the Gao Residence.

As soon as he stepped out of the Gao Residence's main gate, Su Han was surprised to see the old beggar from before standing by a corner of the wall not far away. He kept glancing toward the gate, looking very worried.

'This old beggar... he seems very concerned about Wu Da's family.'

With this in mind, Su Han nodded at the old beggar, motioning for him to follow them.

They followed the main road outside the Gao Residence's walls, heading toward Prince Jing's Residence. When they passed the section of the wall where they had burned the tree, Su Xiao'Er spotted the three buckets they had left by the roadside. He stopped, instinctively wanting to take them back.

Su Han glanced over. "Just leave them here."

Su Xiao'Er froze, looking up at his Crown Prince in confusion. "But, Crown Prince, these buckets have our Prince's Residence's insignia on them. If the Gao family finds them..."

Su Han shook his head. "It's fine. The Gao family will take care of it for us."

Su Xiao'Er was still confused. Even if the Gao Family grit their teeth and accepted it, cleaning up the three buckets for them, what good would that do the Crown Prince?

'Wouldn't it be better to just leave no evidence behind?'

Su Han saw the confusion in Su Xiao'Er's eyes and shook his head slightly.

"Our goal was to rescue them."

Su Xiao'Er glanced at Wu Da and his wife, still not quite getting it. 'Haven't we already rescued them?'

"If we don't let the Gao family know our true objective, how do you expect them to live their lives from now on?"

Su Han gestured toward Wu Da and his wife. Understanding dawned on Su Xiao'Er, and he nodded belatedly, the confusion in his heart finally gone.

However, what Su Han didn't say was that, besides the rescue, there was another, more important reason for leaving behind such obvious evidence.

About half an incense stick's time later, Su Han returned to the Prince's Residence and went straight to the Princess Consort's quarters.

After explaining the cause, process, and outcome of the incident in detail—while omitting any mention of the Skill Tree—Su Han stood to the side, waiting for his mother to speak.

The Princess Consort listened quietly to Su Han's account, pondering for a moment before smiling and playfully pinching his cheek. "Little Han, you did very well. Leave the rest to me.

It's about time the Gao Family was taught a lesson."

After finishing their official business, he also asked about the repercussions of burning the ancestor's tree and hurried her along with his Foundation Establishment materials before leaving the Princess Consort's courtyard.

When he returned to his own small courtyard, Su Han saw Wu Da, his wife, and the old beggar standing before the gate, gazing out with anxious expectation.

Seeing Su Han return, Wu Da quickly led his wife over to greet him.

"This humble one, Wu Maocai, thanks the Crown Prince for the grace of his rescue."

Su Han waved his hand. "It was nothing. There's no need for such ceremony. Rise."

After Wu Da and his wife stood up, Su Han turned his gaze to Lady Wu, the woman who had been coveted and abducted by Gao the Third.

One look confirmed that she was indeed of an extraordinary caliber, no less so than the four young ladies—Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting—who attended his mother.

Then he looked at Wu Da: short and stout, his face not ugly, but by no means handsome.

As for talent, he was just an honest man who could only make a living by selling griddle cakes with his wife; it was unlikely he had any remarkable talents to speak of.

So, Su Han was a bit puzzled. How on earth did this Wu Da manage to marry such a beautiful, flower-like wife?

"You must be... Lady Wu?"

"This humble woman of the Wu Clan, Fan Xinlian, greets the Crown Prince."

Su Han: "...Pan Jinlian?"

Lady Wu gave Su Han a strange look, not understanding his intense reaction, but she shook her head and explained:

"Not Pan Jinlian, but Fan Xinlian. 'Fan' as in 'cage,' and 'Xinlian' as in 'nine-apertured lotus heart.'"

Su Han nodded. 'Ah, so that's her name.'

"It seems I misheard.

Lady Wu's maiden name is Fan. That surname is quite rare in the Jing Country. In fact, looking back through the thirteen-hundred-year history of Jing, the only one I know of is the founding Grand General, Fan Haotian."

Su Han had only said it casually, but unexpectedly, Fan Xinlian's expression darkened, and she subconsciously lowered her head.

"General Fan... was indeed my ancestor."

"Hm?"

Su Han was genuinely stunned. Logically, a founding Grand General who followed the first emperor to conquer the vast lands of the Jing Country should have been a true cultivator at the Divine Sea realm, at the very least, right?

For such a being, even if he had refused a title after the founding of Jing Country and chosen to return to a simple life, establishing a long-lasting and influential family should not have been difficult.

So how was it that now, this General Fan's descendant seemed to be in such a miserable state?

"Back then, my ancestor was ambushed by villains. Although he used his last breath to slay the scoundrel, he also succumbed to his grievous injuries and passed away.

Without our ancestor's protection, the Fan lineage was already small. On top of that, a few forebears... were not adept at maintaining what they had. By my grandfather's generation, our home was plundered by bandits. Only my mother managed to escape, fighting for her life to save me, a young child at the time.

My mother suffered from an old ailment. After much wandering, she brought me to Lingzhou City to settle down. But a few years later, her old illness relapsed, and she passed away, leaving me behind when I was only ten years old.

Fortunately, thanks to the care of Da's family, I was able to grow to adulthood."

Listening to her story, Su Han nodded to himself and silently committed the matter to memory.

'Grand General Fan followed my ancestor to establish the Jing Country, then refused a title and chose to retire from military life.

Although more than a thousand years have passed, and it would be one thing if I didn't know, now that I'm aware that a descendant of a founding Grand General has met with misfortune... as a member of the royal family, I certainly can't just stand by and do nothing.'

Having filed the matter away in his mind, Su Han turned his head to look at the old beggar.

He was called an old beggar, but in reality, he was just unkempt, with tattered clothes and a grimy body that made him appear older than he was. In truth, the beggar was only in his thirties or forties.

Under Su Han's gaze, the old beggar felt his skin crawl and a sense of unease wash over him.

After staring at the beggar for a long time, Su Han couldn't see anything about him that remotely resembled a legendary hidden master.

After a moment's thought, Su Han decided to be direct.

"This... sir, have you ever cultivated before?"

The old beggar was completely baffled by Su Han's question. He blinked in confusion. "Cultivated?"

After repeating the word, the old beggar shook his head. "This humble one was born into poverty and has had to beg for a living. I can't even get enough to eat, so where would I find the money to buy a Cultivation Method?"

Su Han looked at the old beggar doubtfully. "Your Beggar Gang doesn't teach its disciples a basic Cultivation Method?"

The old beggar was dumbfounded. "Beggar Gang?"

Su Han: "...You're not from the Beggar Gang?"

The old beggar: "What this humble one wants to ask is... what kind of gang is the Beggar Gang?"

Su Han: "..."