Yun Jinshan paused, turning to see Hu Xi'er hurrying towards Liu Cuirong, her skirt trailing behind her.
The two were dressed similarly, both in brightly colored skirts and wearing garish makeup. From a distance, Yun Jinshan could already smell the pungent scent of cheap face powder.
"Oh, Cuirong, why have you come here? If the old madam finds out you've run off, she'll punish you again!~"
Hu Xi'er stepped forward to help Liu Cuirong up, her eyes darting towards Yun Jinshan. "Cuirong, you miss your son, don't you? You can tell the old madam, perhaps she'll be happy and let you go back to the village to visit your family..."
The old madam?
Yun Jinshan frowned. Could the "old madam" Hu Xi'er mentioned be the madam of a brothel?
Had his mother truly become a prostitute?
Liu Cuirong pushed Hu Xi'er away, patting the snow off her skirt. "I'm fine, I just felt cooped up inside and wanted to take a walk..."
"Take a walk? Liu Cuirong, do you think you're still the Yun family's daughter-in-law? We've both been sold to the brothel now, we have no freedom at all. You should just accept reality sooner rather than later, humph!~" Hu Xi'er said sarcastically.
That's right. After being driven out by Madam Lu and Liu Cuijin, Liu Cuirong had wandered around the county town but couldn't find a place to stay. Coincidentally, just as she was too hungry to walk, Hu Xi'er suddenly appeared, brought her to a brothel, and sold her to the madam.
It was Liu Cuirong who had suggested Hu Xi'er become a prostitute at the brothel in the first place. She never expected that not long after, she herself would also fall into the life of a courtesan.
"Disgusting, bah!~" Yun Jinshan spat, his heart filled with anger and shame. He felt like vomiting just looking at Liu Cuirong now and didn't want any further entanglement with her.
"Jin, Jinshan, listen to me!" Liu Cuirong tried to stop Yun Jinshan, but he quickened his pace and ran further away.
Seeing this, Hu Xi'er was overjoyed. "Hahaha, Liu Cuirong, didn't you like to cause trouble for me before? Now you get to taste the bitterness of separation from loved ones and not being able to return home..."
"Alas, let's go, let's go. There are several guests at the brothel who have requested your company!~" Hu Xi'er said, pulling Liu Cuirong away.
Three days later, in the Imperial Palace of the capital.
Xiao Jinheng had just finished breakfast with the Empress Dowager and was now sitting in his study, looking through a map album.
He blinked his clear, star-like eyes, his finger slowly tracing across the map. Suddenly, he looked up, "Eunuch Zhao?"
Eunuch Zhao, holding a whisk, stood by the desk dozing, almost asleep. Hearing his Highness call him, Eunuch Zhao quickly bowed his old back and leaned closer to Xiao Jinheng, smiling and saying, "What are your Highness's orders?"
Xiao Jinheng frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Eunuch Zhao, why is Dashui Village not on this map album?"
The primary institution responsible for mapmaking in the Great Liang Dynasty was the Ministry of War, supervised by the Minister or Vice-Minister for military campaigns and population statistics. However, Xiao Jinheng had searched for a long time and couldn't find Dashui Village. Had it not yet been recorded on the map?
Eunuch Zhao was momentarily stunned, then chuckled lightly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, even if this servant doesn't say it, you should be able to guess, right?"
The Emperor had spent considerable effort to send the young prince out of the capital to live in a place free from worldly disputes. Since the young prince had settled in Dashui Village, the Emperor did not allow anyone to disturb him, so the marking of Dashui Village on the map album was also erased.
Xiao Jinheng stared at Eunuch Zhao for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "My father truly goes to great lengths!"
He folded the map album, placed it on the bookshelf, and then asked in a low voice, "By the way, why haven't I seen my second brother recently?" Normally, Xiao Jinfeng would visit the Emperor every day, asking questions and inquiring about his whereabouts. But for the past few days, his second brother had vanished as if evaporated, not a trace of him seen.
Eunuch Zhao shook his head. "This servant also hasn't seen His Highness Prince Ming for a long time. Perhaps he has gone out of the palace!"
"Out of the palace?" Xiao Jinheng raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, His Highness Prince Ming's disposition is restless, and now it is winter, with no major events in the palace. He must have gone hunting!" Eunuch Zhao guessed.
Xiao Jinheng snorted upon hearing this. He didn't believe his second brother had the inclination for hunting.
Just then, Xiao Ying suddenly ran in from outside the door, holding two letters in her hand. "Your Highness, Your Highness, there are letters for you!"
Xiao Jinheng's eyes lit up, and he hurried over. "Are they from the little village girl?"
Xiao Ying: "..." Your Highness, are you obsessed? Whenever you see a letter, you assume it's from Sweet Baby. You miss her so much, why don't you write to her yourself?
"It seems, it seems they are from Dashui Village!~" Xiao Ying murmured, handing the letters over.
Xiao Jinheng beamed with joy, took the letters, and gently stroked them, reluctant to open them. Eunuch Zhao craned his neck to look. "Hmm, there's no signature on this letter, but this envelope, this servant seems to have seen it at the old Yun family's place!" It must be from Sweet Baby.
Xiao Jinheng curved his lips, walked to the desk, closed his eyes, and after gathering his emotions for a long time, slowly opened the envelope. The letter contained no sweet words or expressions of longing. Instead, it clearly explained that Xiao Jinfeng had moved into the old Yun family's home, advised Xiao Jinheng to strengthen his defenses, think of countermeasures, and preferably not return to Dashui Village.
"How could this be?" After reading the two letters, Xiao Jinheng's enthusiasm and excitement completely vanished.
Eunuch Zhao was surprised. "Your, Your Highness, what happened?" You were all smiles just now, why are you so gloomy now?
Xiao Jinheng narrowed his eyes. "Second brother went to Dashui Village. It seems my stay at the old Yun family's home has been exposed..." If Consort Xian found out about this, he would probably never be able to return. And the Yun family, old and young, would also be implicated.
Eunuch Zhao turned pale with shock upon hearing this and ran towards the door with his whisk. "This servant, this servant will go tell the Emperor immediately!~"
"Wait a moment!" Xiao Jinheng grabbed Eunuch Zhao, exuding a chilling pressure. "It's best not to let Father Emperor know about this matter!~"
Eunuch Zhao: "???" Why?
Xiao Jinheng clenched his fists. "If Father Emperor knows about this, he will definitely send me somewhere else, and I'll definitely not be able to return to Dashui Village!" Xiao Jinfeng is such a dangerous person, how could Emperor Cheng let his son return and take such a risk?
"Then, then what does Your Highness mean?" Eunuch Zhao looked confused.
Xiao Jinheng turned to look out the window. "I want to go back to the village myself to see!~"
Eunuch Zhao: "..."