The next morning,
at the Western Edge of the Capital City,
along the east-west Fang Market Street, shops of all kinds lined both sides of the stone-paved road, their goods dazzling and varied, overwhelming to the eye.
Calls of vendors and bargaining voices rose and fell, mingling with the crisp morning air.
“Boss, how much for these Tanghulu?”
In front of a snack stall, Shangguan Qiuyue, dressed in a plain white skirt, pointed at the bundle of Tanghulu skewers, her eyes sparkling with delight.
Beside her stood a man in a black brocade robe—her cousin, Shangguan Ce.
He had been assigned to protect Shangguan Qiuyue.
“Didn’t you hear my sister say she wants Tanghulu?”
Shangguan Ce’s voice was slow and deliberate.
Suddenly, he kicked out hard, catching a skinny youth trailing behind off guard and knocking him off balance.
“What are you standing there for? Pay up…”
Yun Mu, who had just taken out some Copper Coins, was unexpectedly kicked down; the coins flew from his hand, jingling and scattering across the ground.
“You lowly dog servant, don’t think I’d treat you the way Qiuyue does,”
Shangguan Ce sneered from above, raising his hand to grab the boy’s hair—but a small hand pulled him back.
“Shangguan Ce! What do you think you’re doing!”
Shangguan Qiuyue did not call him ‘brother’ but instead addressed him by name.
Taking advantage of his momentary hesitation, the girl bent down to help the boy up but was stopped by a firm grip on her arm.
“Sis, are you seriously going to help this bastard in the street?”
Shangguan Ce lowered his voice, scanning the crowd of onlookers gathering nearby.
“I…!”
Shangguan Qiuyue froze under those piercing gazes, but the next moment, she forcefully shook off his hand.
In her heart, Yun Mu was worth a hundred times more than any so-called face.
On the muddy ground, Yun Mu clenched his thighs in pain, curling up as he slowly searched for the scattered Copper Coins one by one.
Dust dirtied his sleeves and covered his bony knees.
As he reached for the last few coins, a soft white hand grasped his wrist.
Startled, he looked up to meet Shangguan Qiuyue’s concerned and anxious eyes.
“Get up. We won’t take the rest,”
the girl said gently, gripping Yun Mu’s arm and trying to pull him up, but he wriggled free.
“Xiao Mu, what are you doing? The ground’s filthy. It’s only a few Copper Coins. Just listen—we don’t need them, okay?”
Yun Mu shook his head, his hand still moving back and forth over the ground.
He picked up the remaining coins silently.
The boy remembered clearly that when he was young, a few Copper Coins could be exchanged for a small bag of rice—though not much, it was enough to cook porridge to warm several mouths for a day.
This was more than money; it was something that filled the belly.
Under the watchful eyes of the surrounding crowd, the patched-up boy silently gathered the coins until the last Copper Coin was firmly clenched in his palm.
Only then did he push himself up, carefully wiping the dusty coins on his tattered sleeve before offering them to Shangguan Qiuyue.
“Miss… here, buy the Tanghulu.”
Staring into the boy’s dusty yet clear eyes, Shangguan Qiuyue found her intended rebuke stuck in her throat.
“All right… thank you…”
She took the money and turned to buy the largest skewer of Tanghulu.
Just as she was about to buy one for Yun Mu, murmurs drifted to her ears like needles piercing her heart.
“Look, isn’t that the Shangguan family’s young lady? Is she scolding a servant?”
“Hah, it’s no big deal for the rich to hit their servants. Didn’t the Zhang Family in the front street once beat one to death in public? Mind your own business…”
The comments buzzed around, making her heart restless.
She glanced at the bright red Tanghulu in her hand, its blood-like color inexplicably churning her stomach and weighing heavily on her breath.
“Clack—”
A crisp sound!
The Tanghulu slipped from her hand, shattering the crystal-clear sugar coating on the bluestone pavement, rolling dust-covered far away.
“Miss, drink my blood quickly…”
Yun Mu instinctively moved forward but was harshly pushed aside by Shangguan Ce.
“Get away! Don’t touch her!”
Shangguan Ce used his Starforce to steady his wobbling little sister.
“Qiuyue? Qiuyue! What’s wrong? Don’t scare me!”
His face was full of worry, but he dared not touch her, fearing responsibility.
The girl’s lips moved faintly; her voice was broken and weak.
“Ugh… I… I’m fine…”
Before she finished, her body shook violently.
Two sharp lines of blood slid slowly from the corners of her tightly shut eyes.
Then she fainted.
Damn it… this sickly ghost acting up again.
If they didn’t hurry back, the Family Head would surely hold them accountable.
Shangguan Ce’s heart tightened; he glared viciously at Yun Mu on the ground.
Without a word, he enveloped the unconscious Shangguan Qiuyue with Starforce and lifted her into the air.
Five cold words landed on the ground:
“Get back on your own!”
Then he dashed away, vanishing at the far end of the long street in the blink of an eye.
“They’ve left…”
Yun Mu muttered quietly, staring after the siblings.
“If she goes back… to the Residence… the Miss should be fine.”
After a pause, he bent slowly and picked up the shattered, dust-covered Tanghulu.
He carefully gathered the few remaining intact hawthorn berries from the half-broken skewer, wiped them with the corner of his garment, and tucked them into his chest.
“Hey, stinky kid… uh, young master,”
the Tanghulu vendor leaned on his stall, half-body stretched out with a teasing grin,
“why bother picking up that muddy mess? Do you think your Miss can still eat it?”
“Give it to Miss? She… wouldn’t want it…”
Yun Mu’s voice was dull.
“Huh? Then why pick it up? It’s all dusty and dirty. Do you want to eat it yourself?”
The vendor looked even more puzzled.
Yun Mu shook his head again.
The vendor clicked his tongue, full of confusion.
“Strange, you don’t eat it yourself, Miss doesn’t eat it… what, are you gonna feed it to the stray dogs or cats? Honestly…”
He waved his hand impatiently.
“Alright, alright, just go on, don’t block my business.”
“Okay, sorry…”
Yun Mu replied obediently, turning to leave.
But his meek compliance only sparked the vendor’s irritation.
Watching the boy’s thin figure nearly blown away by the wind, he slapped his forehead, cursing,
“Damn it!”
He couldn’t help but shout after him,
“Hey! You there! I’m talking to you! Come back!”
His sharp rebuke made the boy freeze.
Yun Mu slowly turned, eyes filled with a trace of confusion, raising a hand to point at himself.
“If it’s not you, then who? How many limp, stinky kids like you are there on this street? Get over here!”
“…Okay.”
Yun Mu walked back as ordered.
Seeing his meek, compliant attitude, the vendor’s irritation instantly flared into anger.
He grabbed a freshly coated skewer of Tanghulu and waved it in front of Yun Mu’s eyes.
“Listen, kid, say something rude to me, or… kick me.”
He leaned forward, lowering his voice with a challenge.
“If you dare, this new skewer is yours. I won’t charge you a Copper Coin.”
When Yun Mu kept his eyes down and said nothing, the vendor grew impatient.
“Don’t worry. I always stick to my word. No charge means no charge. Free for you, isn’t that a good deal?”
“My master taught me never to accept charity, so I can’t take your Tanghulu,”
Yun Mu answered calmly.
“Huh? You punk!”
The vendor was momentarily stunned by the polite response, then grew angry again.
“You were all tight-lipped just now, and now you’re preaching big principles? I don’t get it! Hurry up, you won’t find a better deal once you’re gone!”
Yun Mu gave a slight bow.
“Thank you for your kindness, but I must go.”
“Damn!”
The vendor watched the boy clutching that pile of ruined hawthorn fruit and turn away.
His frustration boiled over.
“Are you an idiot or just thick-headed? Treating your deadbeat master’s bullshit like gospel? Refusing free stuff? This just causes trouble, your master’s damn…!”
“Don’t you dare insult my master!”
Yun Mu, silent until now, suddenly spun around, his eyes burning with a clear but faint anger—unusually firm.
The vendor was taken aback by the sudden defiance.
“Huh? Throwing a tantrum? What’re you looking at? Don’t like it? Come on, hit me! Hit me! Afterward, the skewer’s still yours! What a bargain, huh?!”
“I said, don’t insult my master!”
Yun Mu’s voice rose sharply as he stepped closer, veins bulging in his hands, though he still held the dusty Tanghulu close to his chest.
“You—”
The vendor was about to curse but glanced around and noticed a circle of onlookers had gathered.
Only then did he realize he’d lost his temper in public.
Damn!
He’d forgotten where they were.
He cursed himself silently, his expression shifting several times as he hurried over to Yun Mu.
His gaze swept over the boy from head to toe with mixed feelings.
Suddenly, he bent low and whispered into Yun Mu’s ear,
“Hey, sorry, sorry. My mouth was foul just now. Shouldn’t have said that about your master…”
Straightening up, he waved at the crowd impatiently and shouted,
“What’re you all staring at? What’s so interesting? Never seen a quarrel? Break it up, break it up! Everyone, move along! Don’t delay my business!”
The crowd, seeing his fierce demeanor, chuckled a few times before dispersing begrudgingly.
The vendor sighed heavily as the people left.
He scratched the back of his head, then glanced at the thin figure retreating into the morning light with furrowed brows, as if facing an impossible problem.
“What the hell is going on…”
he muttered, sighing again.
He looked down at the lonely skewer of Tanghulu in his hand and spat hard on the ground.
“Ugh! Damn weird! I don’t even know what the Empress sees in this kid. Looks flimsier than my Tanghulu sticks!”
He shook his head in bafflement, biting down hard on the topmost big, red hawthorn berry.
The sour-sweet flavor burst in his mouth, followed by a faint white glow swirling around him.
Still, it couldn’t drive away the strange oppression pressing on his heart.
In the end, the vendor sighed once more, as if trying to expel the restless unease.
“Forget it. Why bother worrying about this nonsense? Today’s trouble is fate. The Tanghulu not given away is fate too. Me? I’ll just keep selling my Tanghulu. That’s fate too…”
Resigned, he pursed his lips and resumed his usual merchant’s yell with a loud voice that instantly drowned out the earlier scene.
“Ta–nghu–lu! Big and sweet, or no charge! Ice-sugar Tanghulu here–!”