Chapter 5: Is King Jing So Terrible?

Kicking up trouble?

Yun Ran’s willow brows shot up, thinking to herself how unreasonable this man was.

Clearly, it was his rats that ran out and scared people, and she hadn’t even blamed him yet, but now he was playing the victim first.

When she turned to look, she realized the speaker was a thin-faced man with a headscarf, shifty eyebrows and beady eyes— he looked just like a rat spirit reincarnated.

The rat-eyed man bent down to pick up the little mice, grumbling, “You kicked these ones to death!”

“That’s nonsense!”

Before Qian Sijin could speak up for her sister-in-law, Yun Ran had already put her hands on her hips, not backing down in the slightest. “The two I kicked aside are perfectly fine over here. The ones you picked up were obviously run over by the cart. What does that have to do with me? In broad daylight, with so many people watching, don’t even think about trying to scam us.”

The rat-eyed man had originally thought that these two finely dressed, young ladies would surely be timid and easy to bully— he could take the chance to extort some money.

He hadn’t expected that the young lady in the green dress, veiled hat on her head, not only had guts, but was also sharp-tongued…

But her soft and delicate accent sounded southern— not a native of Changan.

“Anyway, I don’t care. These little mice are being sent to the Jing Prince’s Manor! Do you know the Jing Prince? That’s His Majesty’s own younger brother— the most noble Wangye in the dynasty!”

He threw the dead mice into the cage, snorted coldly at Yun Ran and her companion, “I see you two Young Ladies are outsiders, so you probably don’t know the rules of Changan. You’d best ask around what happens to those who offend someone from the Jing Prince’s Manor!”

Jing Prince?

Yun Ran frowned slightly, feeling puzzled—why was it him again?

Just yesterday, as soon as she entered Changan, she ran into the Cui Family’s funeral, said to have been “cursed” by the Jing Prince.

Now, while strolling the streets, she ran into rats from the Jing Prince’s household…

But this Wangye was truly odd— what did he want with so many baby rats?

Full of questions, Yun Ran looked again at the rat-eyed man who was so clearly here to extort money. “Stop making empty threats! I may not know the Jing Prince, but he is still a Wangye of the current dynasty. How could someone like that be so petty as to fuss over two baby mice?”

Yun Ran straightened up, her voice crisp and clear. “If you ask me, it’s you, a shallow-minded country bumpkin, using the Jing Prince’s name to bully others. You think we’re easy targets just because we’re women, and you want to rob us while you can!”

“You!”

Being exposed in public, the rat-eyed man’s face flushed red with embarrassment. “You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting!”

“Nonsense? Hah, your little tricks might scare other Young Ladies, but you want to fool me? This auntie—”

“Ahem, little sister!”

Suddenly her sleeve was tugged. Yun Ran was startled, and turned to see her Sister-in-law winking at her.

Following her gaze, she realized her Eldest Sister-in-law, Li Wanrong, was walking over.

Yun Ran bit her tongue— close call, she almost lost her composure in front of her Eldest Sister-in-law.

“What happened here?” Li Wanrong had heard the commotion outside while in Wenxiang Pavilion, worried that Qian was causing trouble, so she came out to check.

To her surprise, she saw Qian Sijin hiding at the back, while her little sister-in-law stood with hands on hips, fiercely arguing with someone.

“Eldest Sister-in-law.” Yun Ran and Qian Sijin greeted her together, then quickly explained what happened.

Although Qian Sijin didn’t like Li Wanrong, she had to admit that when the Eldest Sister-in-law arrived, it felt like there was finally someone reliable in charge, and her heart calmed down.

“This rascal tried to extort me and my sister,” Qian Sijin said angrily. “Eldest Sister-in-law, you must stand up for us!”

Li Wanrong glanced at the rat-eyed man, then at the cages of baby mice being loaded onto the cart again.

Without showing any emotion, she frowned slightly, then turned and instructed the Housekeeper behind her, “Give him two coins of silver.”

The Housekeeper bowed her head. “Yes.”

Seeing that Eldest Sister-in-law was giving money without a second thought, Yun Ran grew anxious. “Eldest Sister-in-law, he’s trying to scam us! Don’t be fooled!”

Qian Sijin echoed, “Yes, why give him money?”

Li Wanrong didn’t respond, only glanced at them lightly.

Then, turning to the rat-eyed man, her tone was calm: “My younger sister accidentally kicked two baby mice, which was wrong, but it was a moment of panic. These two coins of silver are compensation. Let’s both take a step back and leave it at that, so we don’t block the road and attract the Jinwu Guards, making things more troublesome.”

The rat-eyed man had roamed Changan for years and could tell at a glance that this lady was of high status and upbringing.

Now that he had the money—even if it was a little less, it was better than nothing. If things really escalated, he might not get anything at all.

“Madam is so reasonable, how could I dare refuse?”

He took the two coins of silver, bowed to Li Wanrong with a smile, then pulled the black cloth over the cages and left, dragging the cart behind him.

Watching the man’s departing figure, Yun Ran was still puzzled and unwilling. “Eldest Sister-in-law, why did you…”

Li Wanrong lowered her eyes to look at her little sister-in-law. “If two coins of silver can resolve the matter, why should you lower yourself and argue with such a street rascal?”

Yun Ran bit her lip. “But… what does this have to do with status? He was the one trying to scam us…”

“Exactly!”

Qian Sijin, now completely on the side of her brave little sister-in-law, chimed in indignantly, “It’s not about the two coins of silver. We just don’t want to be taken for fools!”

“And you still have the nerve to talk.”

Li Wanrong shot Qian Sijin a cold look. “What kind of Sister-in-law hides at the back and lets her younger sister stand in front? If you want to argue in public, that’s your business, but how can you drag your little sister into it?”

She’d wanted to say that, as a merchant’s daughter, Qian Sijin didn’t care about rules, but shouldn’t lead Yun Ran astray. But thinking better of it, she swallowed her words to spare Qian Sijin’s dignity.

After a year as sisters-in-law, Qian Sijin could read Li Wanrong’s mind and flushed with anger. “What do you mean by that? It’s not my fault— it was clearly that outsider who started it. Why are you blaming me?”

“Please, Sisters-in-law, don’t be angry. It’s my fault.”

Yun Ran hadn’t expected such a small matter to escalate, so she quickly grabbed both sisters-in-law’s hands. “Eldest Sister-in-law, I put myself in front of Third Sister-in-law. Those mice were really scary, and it’s normal for her to be startled. I grew up in the countryside, so I’m not afraid of them. As for arguing…”

On this point, Yun Ran agreed with Third Sister-in-law, but she knew not to add fuel to the fire.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’ve just arrived in Changan and don’t know the rules yet. Please don’t be angry, Eldest Sister-in-law, and don’t blame Third Sister-in-law. In the future… I’ll learn the rules from you both, all right?”

The little girl’s hands were soft, her voice was soft, even her gaze was soft.

In such a situation, no one could stay angry.

Li Wanrong and Qian Sijin both calmed down.

Qian Sijin looked at Yun Ran with concern. “Of course it’s not your fault.”

Blame a certain someone for making a fuss over nothing!

Li Wanrong also squeezed Yun Ran’s hand and patted it gently. “Sister-in-law doesn’t blame you, and I know it was the rascal who started it. But when we’re out and about, it’s better to avoid trouble, especially when it involves the Jing Prince’s Manor.”

At this, Qian Sijin’s indignant expression suddenly froze.

Li Wanrong noticed and hummed inwardly, but still spoke gently to Yun Ran: “You’ve just arrived in Changan and don’t know how things work in the capital. But you must remember: anything related to the Jing Prince’s Manor, avoid if you can. Don’t get involved.”

Yun Ran grew even more confused. “Is the Jing Prince really that scary?”

She only knew he was rumored to curse his wives to death, but she wasn’t going to be his wife—she just wanted to mind her own business…

“Little sister, you really must listen to Eldest Sister-in-law on this!”

Qian Sijin looked terrified, her tone grave. “That Jing Prince is no good. They say he’s the Evil Spirit Reincarnation— anyone who gets involved with him has bad luck, and—”

“Ahem!”

Li Wanrong quickly cut Qian Sijin off, her expression stern. “Be careful what you say. We’ll talk about it at home.”

Qian Sijin glanced around, realizing this wasn’t the place to talk, and immediately stopped, taking Yun Ran’s arm again.

Seeing the two of them arm in arm, Li Wanrong’s eyes flickered and she asked softly, “Shall we keep shopping?”

At this point, Yun Ran’s curiosity about the Jing Prince far outweighed her interest in shopping, and Qian Sijin had been so frightened by the mice that she had no mood left. The two exchanged a glance and decided to follow Li Wanrong back to Wenxiang Pavilion.

The three sisters-in-law entered the shop one after another, while across the street, on the second floor of a tavern, the intricately carved window was left half-open— enough to see everything happening on the street below.

In the private room, the cool scent of agarwood lingered.

A young man in a wide, dark robe lounged by the window couch, one hand on the table, the other propped on the window sill.

In the bright daylight, his long, slender fingers seemed to be wrapped around a glowing green jade chain.

But if one looked closely, it was no jade chain— it was a little green snake, coiled around his fingers, sleeping quietly and behaving obediently.

The man seemed quite amused, watching for some time before finally turning his face to glance at the eunuch Chang Chun, who was kneeling on the floor, trembling. “Get up. I’m not blaming you.”

Chang Chun remained on the ground, his face pale and sweating. “Wangye, please calm your anger. It’s this old servant’s fault for poor supervision. Who would’ve thought a lowly servant would dare act so wildly outside, ruining your reputation. I am guilty, guilty!”

As he spoke, he kowtowed repeatedly.

The man in the dark robe by the window— none other than the Jing Prince, Sima Jing— looked at the red marks on Chang Chun’s forehead with his narrow, phoenix eyes.

His face, pale as jade, showed little emotion, and his breathing did not waver in the slightest.

Only when blood welled up from the red marks did Sima Jing finally say, “Enough.”

Chang Chun froze, looking up pitifully at the man by the couch. “Your Highness…”

“In any case, I have no reputation left to lose. One more stain or one less makes no difference.”

Sima Jing lowered his long lashes, his dark eyes reflecting the image of the Green Snake, shimmering with a strange, glassy light. “But such greedy, traitorous types are truly detestable.”

As he finished, his gaze swept over the trembling back of the man kneeling on the floor, and he curled his lips.

“Two coins of silver…”

He said, “Then take two of his fingers to feed the rats.”

His words were light as a feather, but they made Chang Chun shudder to his core.

When he came to his senses, he saw the young man by the couch raise his eyes, gazing over with a faint, unreadable smile.

Chang Chun’s back went cold, and he hurriedly kowtowed in response. “Yes, yes, this old servant will see to it at once.”

Sima Jing gave a faint “mm,” turned his face, and let his gaze drift idly back to the street.

Coincidentally, the group of women who had gone inside earlier now emerged.

Apparently, they had finished their shopping. The bold young lady in the green dress walked in the center, holding the hands of two women with married women’s hairstyles on either side.

Though separated by the bustling street, and though the young lady wore a veiled hat, by the way she kept bobbing her head left and right, it was easy to guess she was chattering nonstop.

Unbidden, a memory of her earlier words surfaced in his mind—

“I may not know the Jing Prince, but he’s still a Wangye of the dynasty. How could someone like that be so petty over two little mice?”

Someone like that.

Sima Jing lowered his eyes, staring at the little snake coiled around his palm, and let out a faint chuckle.

What kind of person was he? Even he no longer knew.

“Wang… Wangye…”

Beside him, Chang Chun sensed his master’s gaze and asked cautiously, “Shall I find out which household those ladies belong to, so I can explain things and avoid any misunderstandings?”

“No need.”

Sima Jing watched the green figure finally climb into the carriage at the edge of the street, his dark eyes indifferent. “Whether they misunderstand or not makes no difference.”

It’s just another bedtime horror story to scare children, nothing more.