Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 2(101)

He was still covered with mud and blood, and Feng Xin couldn’t stand it anymore. “What’re ya doin’, kid? Things were urgent earlier, so whatever, but shouldn’t you know better by now? This is the crown prince. His Highness the Crown Prince. Do you understand?”

That young child’s arms immediately shrank back, but he was still gazing at Xie Lian. “My parents were quarreling and kicked me out. I walked for a long time but had nowhere to go.”

The other three looked at each other in dismay. After a moment, Feng Xin said, “So what now?”

One of the imperial doctors suggested, “If His Highness is troubled, he can be kept here in the palace and have a few attendants assigned to take care of him.”

Xie Lian contemplated, but after some thought, he shook his head slowly. At the end of the day, he was afraid Qi Rong wouldn’t give up, and he’d sneak out to cause trouble.

“The way I see it, it’d still be best if I watch over him until his wounds are healed. It seems his family won’t be able to look after him, unfortunately. Feng Xin, when you take care of the stalls that were toppled by Qi Rong, send some men to see if his parents can be found and let them know so they don’t worry.”

“All right.” Feng Xin nodded.

One of his arms was still in a sling, but he extended the good arm to reach for the young child, intending to pick him up by the collar. Xie Lian laughed.

“You’re wounded. Don’t worry about it.”

However, Feng Xin shrugged it off. “Only one arm is broken, the other’s still fine. If both my arms were broken, I could still use my teeth to carry him by the collar and bring him up the mountain for you.”

Mu Qing rolled his eyes from behind him, then spoke up. “Don’t bother. Let me carry him.”

But just as he took one step forward, the child jumped off the bed himself and said, “I can walk on my own.”

That expression, set with resistance, spoke louder than words, and it made Mu Qing’s second step extremely awkward, as he was unsure whether or not to proceed. That little kid had five broken ribs and a broken leg, but he was still bursting with energy. Xie Lian really didn’t know whether to laugh or ache for him.

He settled on saying, “Stop running around!” Then he bent down and picked him up.

The three of them left the palace with the child in tow. Since Qi Rong had caused havoc on the streets earlier, disturbing the townspeople and toppling a number of stalls, Xie Lian felt deeply guilty and that he had no face to meet any of the citizens. So the group slunk around, afraid to show themselves, using only the back alleyways. The entire way, that small child was extremely docile in Xie Lian’s arms. They told him to be quiet, and he uttered not a single sound.

Feng Xin glared. “This brat kicked me yesterday, but look at him now. He really knows how to pick ’em.”

“It’s His Highness the Crown Prince. Of course he’s liked more than most people,” Mu Qing said.

For some reason, even when he said something well meaning, he’d still choose words that made people feel wholly uncomfortable. Feng Xin didn’t want to acknowledge him anymore.

After walking for a while, Feng Xin spoke up. “No. I still don’t think Your Highness should hold a strange child for everyone to see.”

“What’s the problem?” Xie Lian asked.

“You’re the crown prince!” Feng Xin exclaimed. While he spoke, he saw a worn-down handcart farther up the alley and said, “Put the kid in that cart and pull it.”

Mu Qing immediately voiced, “Just so we’re clear, I will not pull that thing up the mountain.”

“No one’s asking you to,” Feng Xin said. He reached out and yanked the child from Xie Lian’s arms, and the child started struggling again.

“Never mind, forget it. Maybe someone else needs that cart!” Xie Lian said.

Just then, from somewhere nearby, someone suddenly called out. “Are you…the crown prince?”

Another immediately shouted, “Yes, yes, yes! That’s the crown prince! His mask fell yesterday, and I saw his face with my own eyes! That’s him!!”

“Catch him!!”

The three of them froze, their hearts stopped. Although Xie Lian didn’t think he did anything wrong at the Heavenly Ceremonial Procession the day before, he also knew that others might not agree. To cut short the God-Pleasing Martial ceremony was an ominous sign of misfortune; it was taboo amongst the nobility, and when all the excitement wore off after the fact and the people started to wonder what it all meant, they probably wouldn’t be as forgiving either. Added on top of that was the havoc on the streets caused by Qi Rong earlier in the day. The complaints must be endless. If they were surrounded now, it might end badly.

Before Xie Lian could dwell on it, Mu Qing grabbed him and shouted, “Your Highness, run!”

Feng Xin was pulling the cart and urged him too. “Your Highness, I have a broken arm, I won’t be able to stop anyone rioting. Go!”

However, outside the alleyway there was already a mass of people who were pouring in, their faces filled with excitement, blocking all viable exits. The four of them had nowhere to run, and they watched as they were surrounded by countless pairs of wide eyes.

Xie Lian braced himself and thought, If anything, I’ll just let them beat us down without fighting back.