“What a coward.”

The young lady snorted, “If it weren’t for the fact that he has money, this lady wouldn’t serve him at all.”

“Isn’t that the truth?”

That’s how Monday morning quarterbacking works.

Those two young ladies also left together.

This whole scene was really absurd!

Ji Yunshu watched with a completely bewildered expression.

Jingrong couldn’t help but laugh. He put away the dagger from the table and at the same time asked Ji Yunshu, “Did you understand what you saw?”

She shook her head again?

“Look at that Young Master Qiao—he has no temper at all. He’s truly unexpectedly timid. Would such a person really kill someone?”

Uh!

So he had been trying to provoke Qiao Zihua earlier.

Ji Yunshu pondered. The image of Qiao Zihua fleeing in panic was still imprinted in her mind. Would such a person kill someone?

But—

“Don’t forget, he frequently comes here to drink. When a person is drunk, they often do things they wouldn’t normally dare to do, so saying he killed someone while drunk isn’t without reason.”

“Then why don’t we… follow him some more.”

“What?”

She was pulled up by Jingrong, and they left the brothel, hurrying to follow Qiao Zihua who had just fled in panic.

On the main street, he walked along while fussing with his clothes that had been splashed with tea.

He truly was a clean person.

At this moment, it was right around noon, and there were many more people on the street. Whether Qiao Zihua wasn’t watching where he was going or was rushing to get somewhere, he walked hurriedly and suddenly collided with an old man carrying a basket of chickens.

The old man was already advanced in age. With this collision, the pole on his shoulder was knocked down, and the two large baskets crashed to the ground.

The person also fell to the ground.

“Cluck cluck cluck…”

The basket openings were smashed open, and the chickens inside all escaped, scattering everywhere.

Some fled directly, drilling into the passing pedestrians. Some flew up, leaping onto the stalls of nearby vendors. Their wings flapped wildly, stirring everything around into chaos.

The old man sat on the ground, slapping his hands wildly and shouting with all his might, “My chickens! My chickens…”

Those were his lifeline. He had raised these chickens with great difficulty, preparing to take them to the market to sell. Who knew they would run away like this? He might as well die.

Just as the chickens burst out from those two baskets, Qiao Zihua acted as if he had seen a ghost. He screamed frantically, his neck and shoulders scrunched together. His eyes bulged incredibly wide as he looked in terror at those chickens flying and scattering all over the ground.

He seemed scared stupid. His legs trembled for a long time before his whole body shuddered and he rushed into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

The old man saw the culprit run away. Unable to get up immediately from being knocked down, he stretched his throat and shouted, “Oh no, he ran away! My chickens! Compensate me for my chickens!”

More than ten chickens had already caused this place to explode into chaos.

The vendor’s clean cloth goods being sold were trampled dirty by the chickens. The noodle stall beside them was even more disrupted with chicken feathers flying everywhere…

Seeing this, Ji Yunshu pulled at Jingrong, “Quick, help catch the chickens.”

“What?”

She turned her head—she had already rolled up her sleeves to catch chickens.

Jingrong looked at the chaotic scene before him like a pot of porridge. Helplessly, he could only roll up his sleeves and get to work as well.

He joined the chicken-catching squad!

In less than half an incense stick’s time, they finally caught all those chickens and put them back in the cages.

Exhausting!

The old man thanked them repeatedly.

Their clothes were terribly dirty, even torn in several places, with chicken feathers all over their clothes and hair.

Their faces were also made dirty.

Pfft!

Seeing Jingrong like this, Ji Yunshu couldn’t help but laugh.

Jingrong remained calm.

He endured it.

Anyway, since meeting this woman, he had done everything.

At this moment, the vendors beside them angrily rushed out, each extending their hands to the old man demanding money.

“Look what your chickens have done to my things! Hurry up and compensate me with silver.”

“My lanterns have all been damaged by scratching. They can’t be sold at all now.”

“And my cloth goods—look, how dirty they’ve become!”

“My noodles were also pecked by your chickens. Who would dare to come eat noodles at my place after this?”

“Hurry up and compensate!”

“Compensate!”

…

Creditors at the door!

The old man’s hunched body looked distressed and troubled. He spread his hands, “Dear sirs, please have mercy. I have no silver.”

“Enough nonsense. If you can’t take out silver to compensate us, then give us these chickens of yours.”

“That won’t do. I rely on these few chickens to support my family. My old wife is still counting on me to sell these chickens to buy medicine for her.”

“You need to support your family, and we need to support ours too.”

Saying this, those people were about to open the cages and grab the chickens.

“Wait.”

He took out a bag of silver, extracted several ingots from inside, and handed them to one of the people, “Is this enough?”

Enough!

More than enough!

That person held the silver with a beaming smile and hurried to divide it up.

Subsequently, he stuffed all the remaining silver to the old man, “These chickens—consider that I’ve bought them. Send them to the yamen.”

Someone from the yamen?

The old man was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and called out, “Benefactor!”

With tears in his eyes, he was about to kneel down in gratitude but was quickly pulled back up.

“No need. Hurry and send the chickens to the yamen, then go get the medicine.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, young masters.”

The old man then carried his pole in the direction of the yamen.

Only then did Jingrong look at Ji Yunshu’s mischievously smiling expression.

His face was stern, board-like, “You’re not any better off than this prince. Alright, let’s hurry back.”

He walked off.

She quickly caught up with his steps.

Arriving at the yamen, Jingrong pulled her through the back door, holding her as he leaped over the wall.

After all, if they were seen in their current state, it would damage their image.

But—

On the way back to the North Courtyard, they still ran into Zuo Yao.

When he saw the two people covered in dirt, hair disheveled, and covered in chicken feathers, Zuo Yao froze.

“You two are?”

Jingrong’s expression was cold and severe. Maintaining his princely bearing, he put his hands behind his back, “What? After only a few hours apart, Lord Zuo doesn’t recognize this prince anymore?”

Although his clothes and hair were in utter disarray, that imposing and dignified air was not diminished in the slightest. His noble temperament wasn’t affected in the least.

Zuo Yao was shocked and quickly cupped his hands, “So it’s Your Highness. This official was dim-sighted. I didn’t know Your Highness had already returned. Please forgive this official’s offense, Your Highness.”

“This prince and Mister Ji played until we were tired, so we came back.”

“But Your Highness, what happened to you?” He looked him up and down.

“You need not concern yourself with so much. You may withdraw.”

“Yes.” Zuo Yao didn’t dare say more and quickly left.

Ji Yunshu covered her mouth with a smile and walked to his side, “Your Highness is quite skilled at catching chickens—catching one accurately with each grab.”

Although it was a praising tone, he heard several notes of awkwardness in it.

He was about to respond with something, but that small frame had already passed him and walked ahead.

Jingrong held in a breath and called out “Lang Bo.”

Lang Bo jumped out from the shadows, waiting beside him.

“Where did you go just now?”

“I’ve been following Your Highness the whole time.” Lang Bo blinked his sincere eyes.

Pfft—

Jingrong spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He glared at him sideways, “If you were following the whole time, why didn’t you come out to catch chickens?”

“This subordinate…” Wronged. “It was Your Highness who said that unless you and Mister Ji encountered danger we shouldn’t come out, otherwise… we mustn’t disturb you.”

A pit you dig yourself, you must jump into even if it kills you!