“Y-your royal highness, please wait!”
A man was seen asking the girl walking before him to stop but was ignored.
The girl was smiling and ignoring him as if he wasn’t there.
“Wu Zhao, please wait!”
The girl who was smiling and dressed in discreet clothing was the princess of Luo Yang, turned around to face Jian Yi, her bodyguard.
They were walking along a dirty back alley, littered with rubbish.
“Isn’t going Incognito outside the palace fun?”
“I can see how the citizens truly feel, and act towards non-royalties.”
Wu Zhao smiled while talking to Jian Yi.
“But it is dangerous outside the palace! And we are heading towards that place!”
Wu Zhao pressed her finger against Jian Yi’s lip to signal him to stop talking.
“Nuh uh, every place is a treasure of Luo Yang, and every citizen is a treasure of Luo Yang too. You can’t look down on other citizens.”
“But they aren’t even-”
“That is something you must not say. Prejudice breeds discontent, and in turn, leads to hatred being born.”
Wu Zhao interrupted before Jian Yi could complete his sentence, knowing what he would say next.
They got into another district as they got out of the back alley.
Humans were walking along the dirty streets, as well as humanoid-looking creatures.
The humanoid-looking creatures looked skinny and malnourished as if they were about to die sooner or later.
Their facial feature resembled those of beasts.
As the pair walked along the streets, they spotted one kid being chased by four other kids.
Those four kids were trying to strip the kid as they pushed the kid onto the ground.
“Take that you dog!”
“Lowly beasts like you aren’t fit to wear clothing!”
The four human kids were bullying the kid who didn’t look human.
One of them snatched the bread that the bullied kid was holding and peed on it.
“Go eat dog food you stupid dog, human food is a status above you!”
“Neh heh heh”
They were having fun bullying the kid whom nobody wanted to or dared to help.
Wu Zhao’s face looked furious and she walked toward the group of kids.
“Stop the bullying at this instant.”
The kids turned around, saw her, and continued to bully the kid lying on the floor.
“Who are you to tell us what we can’t do?”
“Old hag should stay away or just die”
“Just shut up or we will hit you!”
“My father is Liang Sheng, lord merchant of this district!”
The kids continued bullying while ignoring Wu Zhao’s demands and mistaking her for an old lady because of her pale white hair.
“Wu-”
She signaled to stop Jian Yi from talking and helping her.
Then she walked toward the kid who seemed like the leader, turned him around, and slapped his face hard.
The on-lookers displayed a face of disbelief, as nobody would dare to make an enemy of the merchant lord of this district, as he would make their already miserable life even worse.
“How dare you hit me! Even my father hasn’t hit me once!”
The kids cried while pretending to look tough.
“How does it feel to be on the receiving end?”
“Guys, attack her!”
The leader demanded his sidekicks to attack Wu Zhao, but they were too afraid to do so because of Jian Yi who stood behind her.
“Don’t get cocky just because you have a bodyguard! I will get my father to turn you two into slaves!”
The kids shouted as they ran away.
Wu Zhao moved toward the kid who was on the floor and held out her hands.
“Can you stand?”
The kid nodded and meekly held her hand and stood up.
“What is your name?”
“Ru’ya…”
“Big sister, you will get into trouble if you help me you know…?”
The kid softly spoke out while holding back his tears.
“It matters not who I help, so long as they are a citizen of Luo Yang, even if they are beastmen.”
Wu Zhao gently patted the kid’s head and hugged him.
“I’m dirty…your beautiful clothing will get ruined…”
“Clothing is merely a protection for the body, it does not matter if it is clean or dirty.”
The kid cried out while hugging Wu Zhao tighter.
“Ru’ya, let me escort you back to your abode.”
The kid nodded and she walked him back to his home.
“Mmm…I did not carry much gold since this is incognito, these should be enough to tide him over for some time…”
“Thank you, big sister, uncle, thank you…!”
The kid kept thanking Wu Zhao with tears flowing out of his eyes when she gave him ten gold as they reached his house, which appeared tattered and seemingly unfit for living.
“Pft…hahaha, he called you uncle…hahaha”
Wu Zhao could not contain her laughter as they walked away.
“Please do not tease me, Wu Zhao, I am only twenty-two!”
“Well you certainly do not look like one…hahaha”
Jian Yi sighed and shook his head at the teasing of Wu Zhao.
“I will change this place once I ascend the throne.”
“The system of using Beastmen as slaves should be abolished.”
As they walked along the streets, a group of men appeared looking for them and the rest of the passersby quickly moved away and went to hide.
“It’s her! She was the one who hit me for no reason! I want you guys to beat her up!”
“Yes, young lord!”
The kid slapped by Wu Zhao bought around twenty men to hunt her.
“Hmm, here comes a knave bringing backups to fix his insecurities.”
Wu Zhao berated the kid with a fake smile.
“Shut up! I will turn you into a cripple then use you as a slave!”
The kid got even more angered and lashed at Wu Zhao verbally.
“Will you be fine?”
Wu Zhao asked Jian Yi.
“Unskilled as I am, I can still defeat this group of men singlehandedly.”
“Do not let the kid escape, capture him.”
“Yes, your- my lady.”
Jian Yi almost replied in a way that would expose Wu Zhao’s identity but decided that using ‘my lady’ would be better to hide her identity.
The group of men charged toward Jian Yi, attacking him together, but nobody could hit him.
Jian Yi countered by hitting one of the men’s neck and then snatching his sword.
“One down.”
He then strikes another man in the stomach using the sword.
“Two down.”
“Three down.”
One swung toward the back and it hit another man.
Using [Three-fold slash], a few more fell.
“Seven.”
The remaining men hesitated if they should still attack, which allowed Jian Yi to take down more men. All the slaves who were watching from a hiding place were secretly cheering for Jian Yi.
They always wanted to teach that kid a lesson, but were too afraid of getting punished. Getting beaten till crippled while still being forced to work hard labor is worse than death they thought.
“...Nineteen.”
A while later, Jian Yi defeated all but one.
“Don’t move! Move and I will kill this girl!”
The last man slipped past Jian Yi and held Wu Zhao hostage.
He demanded Jian Yi to drop his weapon.
“My lady…please do not fool around in this dangerous situation...”
The man expected Jian Yi to back down and became confused at what he heard.
“Fine fine…”
With a single strike using her elbow, the man flew back.
“That’s twenty.”
Wu Zhao said with a devilish smile.
After a while, all twenty men were defeated, and both Jian Yi and Wu Zhao were unscathed.
“I used the back of the sword, they aren’t in any danger of dying.”
“Good job, mine dear bodyguard.”
Wu Zhao continued teasing him with a smile while patting his arm.
The slaves who were hiding and watching felt a sense of accomplishment at what Jian Yi did as if a burden in their hearts had been lifted. Yet they still dare not celebrate out loud, because the merchant lord Liang Sheng was still around.
“How is this possible…?! How can one person defeat twenty men?!”
The kid tried to escape but stopped after a sword flew past him, hitting the ground in front of him.
“Eeek!”
The kid peed his pants while screaming.
“It’s your turn not to move, kid. The next throw will be directed toward your head instead of the ground.”
The kid’s leg gave up and he fell to the ground, in a puddle of his urine after being threatened by Wu Zhao.
“Now now, it’s time to give your beloved father who took great care of raising you a visit.”
And so, the kid got dragged along back to his mansion, where his father resides.
‘Bang!’ The gate slammed open, echoing through the room with a resounding force, and a kid was sent flying into the mansion filled with luxurious pieces of furniture.
“Which scoundrel dared to invade my mansion?!”
The overweight person dressed in a gaudy robe who spoke was the merchant lord, Liang Sheng.
After looking, he realized it was his kid who was being thrown.
“My boy! How dare they do this to you!”
“Papa…torture them and kill them for me…!”
It was the first time he had seen his kid getting bullied and fainted, and it made him mad.
“Pleased to meet you, Mister Merchant lord of the slum district whose name I don’t remember.”
Wu Zhao greeted him and bobbed him a curtsy.
“Grr…Guards! Kill these two right now!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The guards quickly gathered and surrounded Wu Zhao and Jian Yi, with their weapons pointed at them.
“Such a grand reception, you sure know how to treat your guest well.”
Wu Zhao sneered.
“Hold it”
Liang Sheng halted his guards from attacking.
“What’s the matter?”
Wu Zhao continued to give Liang Sheng a devilish smile.
“Capture them alive, I want to torture them, especially this girl!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The guards started to rush in toward the two.
“Duck down.”
“Sure~”
After Wu Zhao quickly crouched down, Jian Yi began to get into a combat stance.
With a single spin of the sword taken from the guard earlier in the streets, Jian Yi sent them flying altogether.
Liang Sheng fell on his butt after seeing how his guards were taken out in a single swing.
“Ai ya, what is the matter, mister merchant lord? It seems like a kitty got your tongue?”
“Y-y-y-y-ou! Who are you?! Wait…that hair and eye color…don’t tell me…”
“Eeek!”
Liang Sheng screeched when Jian Yi pierced the sword onto the ground in front of him, between his legs.
“You are currently speaking to the princess of Luo Yang, you knave.”
Liang Sheng quickly got up and started prostrating himself to Wu Zhao.
“Now now, let’s see how many points you strike…one, disrespecting the royal princess, two, threatening the royal princess, three, assaulting the royal princess, four, attempted murder on the royal princess, what else, mmm?”
Wu Zhao walked back and forth in front of Liang Sheng while slowly counting with her fingers the number of crimes he committed.
“P-please spare me, Your Royal Highness!”
Liang Sheng began to beg for mercy while still prostrating.
“Mmm…oh, your child did the same thing too! So two times the amount.”
“Jian Yi, what are the punishments for these?”
“My Lady, I believe it would be the death penalty.”
“Please have mercy, Your Royal Highness! Please spare my life!”
“Mmm…What should I do?”
“Death penalty…”
Liang Sheng started to sweat profusely, with the imagination of his limbs and neck getting tied separately to five horses and his whole body getting torn to pieces.
“Would be a punishment too light for you, you will work under me or be sent to get dismemberment by five horses, what will you choose, mister merchant lord?”
“I will work under you, Your Royal Highness! I will dedicate my lowly life to work under you!”
Liang Sheng quickly chose the first option without a moment’s hesitation.
“Well, your request is accepted, first things first, I want you to release all the slaves. And you will pay them acceptable wages if they still choose to work for you. I want you to treat them like any other humans.”
“Y-yes, I will, Your Royal Highness! Dare I ask, what about m-my wretched son who dared to offend Your Royal Highness…?”
Liang Sheng started to lower his head again when Jian Yi glared at him.
“You would better teach him how to behave, if he remains the same, I will send him to manual labor.”
“Thank you, Your Royal Highness, thank you! I will listen to your advice, he will never show an imprudent attitude towards Your Royal Highness ever again!”
“Not just toward me, toward everybody else.”
“Y-yes, I will teach him manners, Your Royal Highness!”
“You are not to mention to anybody that she is the princess, any information leaked will be off with your head!”
“Y-yes, I shall bear this in mind!”
“My lady, please do not endanger yourself in the future!”
Wu Zhao ignored him as she walked along the streets while other people were staring at her in disbelief, that she subdued the merchant lord.
After a brief pause, Jian Yi spoke again.
“Wu Zhao, please do not endanger yourself in the future!”
“Ah, you were talking to me, weren’t you?”
Wu Zhao turned around and smiled at Jian Yi.
“Why did you let him live?”
“As I said, every citizen of Luo Yang is a treasure. Isn’t going incognito outside the palace fun?”
Wu Zhao continued to smile as she walked along the streets with him following behind in a fluster.
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