SYADEPCO – CH016

Chapter 16: Rescuing a Little Beggar

“Uncle Tang, I don’t know when we’ll meet again. Take care.” Chu Baihan sincerely bid farewell to Tang Wenkai, then strode away.

Things had gone relatively smoothly…

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to borrow someone to help save Nanxing.

Forget it. She didn’t want to owe the Tang Sect a favor anyway. She’d find her own way to save her.

“Stop right there, you little beggar! Hand over your money, or we’ll beat you to death!”

As Chu Baihan passed by an alley, she suddenly saw a group of beggars pinning down a small, frail one, kicking and beating him viciously.

She hadn’t intended to meddle in this kind of thing. But when the little beggar looked up, the stubbornness and defiance in his eyes struck a chord in her.

Forget it. Consider it a good deed — for both herself and Nanxing.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Baihan strode over.

The group of beggars noticed her approach and immediately showed greedy expressions, ready to rob her too.

But before they could get close, a few punches from her had already knocked them to the ground.

Chu Baihan coldly watched them groaning in pain on the ground.

Having been bullied and beaten by Chu Yu and the others since she was young, she had long learned how to fight back.

Besides, all of these beggars were shorter than her — how could she not be able to handle them?

“Aren’t you getting lost?” she barked coldly.

The beggars, though unwilling, had no choice but to scramble away.

She didn’t mind the filth and reached out to pull the little beggar up from the ground.

Only then did she get a good look.

The child was even shorter than her, skinny like a bamboo stick from hunger, with messy hair and a dirty face — but those eyes were surprisingly beautiful.

“A girl?” She frowned slightly, inspecting the other person, and asked.

So small — no boy would look like this. So she guessed the child was a girl.

The little beggar frowned tightly at her question, hesitated a moment, looked away, and muttered softly, “Mm.”

“Why were they trying to rob you?” she asked again.

“Because I didn’t pay protection money.”

Chu Baihan: “…” Even beggars have to pay protection money? This capital city is a mess.

“There were so many of them. Money is just a worldly possession. Where there’s life, there’s hope. To survive, you can let the money go for now.” Perhaps because the child was so small, Chu Baihan’s tone grew gentler, laced with sympathy.

“My mother is dead. I need money to buy her a mat and bury her.”

The little beggar lifted her chin, voice full of stubbornness, eyes wide — as if that could stop the tears from falling.

Chu Baihan’s expression froze. Her heart was overwhelmed by a wave of complex emotions.

“…I’m sorry.”

She pulled out a gold leaf from her robe. “Take this. Give your mother a proper burial.”

When her own mother died, she hadn’t even had the chance to bury her properly.

She didn’t want this little girl to carry that pain forever.

She shoved the gold leaf into the little beggar’s hand and turned to leave.

But unexpectedly, the child tugged on her sleeve.

“Address. I’ll repay you!” the girl squeezed out a few words from her throat.

“I don’t need you to repay me.”

To her, that gold leaf was really nothing.

“I’ll repay you!”

But the girl was insistent, repeating the words like a mantra.

Not wanting to waste time arguing, Chu Baihan quickly replied, “Qianling Pavilion,” and ran off.

After they had left, three men stepped out from around the corner.

The one in ornate robes beside Ziwu blinked his flirtatious peach blossom eyes and teased, “Eighth Brother, is that my Eighth Sister-in-law? She’s pretty fierce at fighting.”

This was the Ninth Prince, Yan Lian.

Yan Lin (the Eighth Prince) pressed his lips together, silent.

Though he couldn’t see, his ears had picked up the sounds just now — she really *had* fought quite fiercely.

He remembered when she had grabbed his wrist before — so slender it felt like it would break with a bit of force.

Yet she, without any internal power, had still dared to step in and save someone? Her courage really was something.

“Didn’t you say Zi Ying was to follow her? Why is she alone? Oh, right, I heard she wasn’t willing to marry you. Do you think she’s trying to run away?” Yan Lian continued teasingly.

He kept sneaking glances at Yan Lin’s face, trying to catch a reaction — but the other man’s expression remained unchanged.

Could it be that Eighth Brother didn’t care about his new bride at all?

But Grandmother had specifically told him to help bring the two together — how was he supposed to do that now?

…

Meanwhile, Chu Baihan returned to Qianling Pavilion. Seeing that neither Zi Ying nor Ruo Lan had noticed her absence, she breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Let’s head back to the prince’s residence,” she said, emerging from the backyard.

“Alright,” Ruo Lan nodded quickly.

She had been worried sick. The princess had been gone so long — would the prince be angry?

After bidding farewell to Dr. Wu, Chu Baihan led Ruo Lan and Zi Ying out — only to see a new carriage at the entrance.

“That’s the master’s carriage,” Zi Ying said solemnly.

Yan Lin’s carriage?

Chu Baihan’s heart sank slightly. Could that prince be inside?

Suddenly, a figure leapt from the carriage.

“Eighth Sister-in-law!” Yan Lian waved a fan, shooting her a charming look.

Chu Baihan stared at him for a long moment, then finally responded with a strange tone, “Ninth Prince.”

“You know who I am?” Yan Lian looked genuinely surprised.

“Everyone in the Yan Kingdom knows the Eighth and Ninth Princes are close.” And the Ninth Prince is famously flirtatious, loves roaming the land, with countless romantic liaisons — always careless in both speech and action.

She didn’t say that last part aloud, of course.

The Ninth Prince’s mother had passed early. He was raised by the Empress Dowager, so it wasn’t surprising he was close with Yan Lin.

With no powerful maternal clan, and a carefree, playful nature, uninterested in politics, he lived as a truly idle royal. That’s why the usual princely power plays hadn’t involved him yet.

“Eighth Sister-in-law, it seems you care a lot about Eighth Brother, or you wouldn’t know all this!” Yan Lian clapped exaggeratedly, pretending to be thrilled.

He was, after all, tasked by the Empress Dowager to help bring them closer. Naturally, he had to make an effort.

Chu Baihan: “…”

Yan Lin inside the carriage: “…”

Is this Ninth Prince an idiot? Chu Baihan wondered silently.

“Still not getting in? Do you need this prince to come fetch you personally?” came a cold voice from the carriage.

So he *was* in there.

Chu Baihan sighed and quickly lifted her skirts to climb aboard.

Yan Lian tried to follow, but Ziwu blocked him. “Your Highness, the master says if you still want to spy for the Empress Dowager, you’d best give up now.”

Yan Lian scratched his nose and muttered, “Didn’t think Eighth Brother already knew I was Grandmother’s informant…”

With Ziwu blocking the way, he had no choice but to watch the carriage drive off.

His plan to observe how his Eighth Brother and Sister-in-law interacted had completely fallen through.

“Grandmother, I really tried,” he sighed helplessly.

Inside the carriage, only Chu Baihan and Yan Lin sat.

The prince’s aura was so oppressive that Chu Baihan found herself sitting upright and proper.

Suddenly, his cold voice broke the silence: “Where did the princess go?”

“I-I just went to check on the shop my mother left behind,” Chu Baihan replied awkwardly.

Upon hearing her words, Yan Lin’s hand, holding his teacup, tightened slightly. He pursed his thin lips and said nothing for a long time.