Chapter 0020: The Ruthless Second Prince and the Composed Xie Chengze
Shen Yuan would never mistake it. Having accompanied Shen Taifu on numerous travels, he had witnessed plenty of tricks from these young beggars. He was certain Xie Chengze’s money pouch was on one of them.
As Shen Yuan reached out to grab it, the little beggar struggled even more fiercely, shrieking at the top of his lungs, “He already said we didn’t steal! Why won’t you let us go? Let me go! You beast—!”
Passersby nearby turned to look, pointing at Shen Yuan with disdain, ashamed that a grown man would extort a child beggar.
“Lord Shen,” Xie Chengze’s voice lowered slightly beside him, a warning in his eyes, “I said he didn’t steal.”
Shen Yuan was irritated. He had only meant to help retrieve the stolen pouch, yet instead of siding with him, Xie Chengze was reprimanding him with a glare?!
Fine! It wasn’t his money anyway!
He shouldn’t have meddled!
“When Your Highness can’t pay for the meal later, don’t come asking me. I’ve just taken office and have no money to squander!” Shen Yuan snapped.
Xie Chengze glanced at him. “Are you angry?”
Shen Yuan couldn’t believe Xie Chengze had the nerve to ask that.
Did he truly think that by pretending to be compassionate and generous toward the beggars, he could compare himself to the Crown Prince or even aspire to become one?
If the Crown Prince had done this, Shen Yuan would have found it normal and understandable. But coming from Xie Chengze, it felt utterly hypocritical.
“How would I dare be angry?” Shen Yuan replied coldly, lowering his gaze to hide his disappointment. “But I must remind Your Highness, this approach doesn’t solve the problem at all!”
Xie Chengze raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Seeing him appear attentive, Shen Yuan calmed down slightly and explained slowly, “These young beggars are clearly being exploited. Since the 56th year of Jian’an, every province has been ordered to establish Compassionate Childcare Bureaus to care for orphans, ensuring no child cries from hunger on the streets. The fact that children in Cangfu County are begging publicly should be addressed by holding the county magistrate accountable—sending the beggars to the bureaus and dismantling the gangs that exploit them for theft. Only then can the root of the problem be solved!”
“Your Highness couldn’t possibly believe that handing out money to these beggars counts as the ultimate act of charity?” Shen Yuan couldn’t resist adding sarcastically.
Xie Chengze hummed in acknowledgment, though it was unclear if he had taken the advice to heart. He called out to a woman selling wontons by the roadside, “Auntie, three bowls of wontons, please!”
Then, turning back to Shen Yuan, he asked, “Do you eat spicy?”
A vein throbbed at Shen Yuan’s temple. “No!”
Was now really the time to be discussing food?
“They’re delicious,” Xie Chengze said, his phoenix eyes narrowing into a sly, fox-like smile that hinted at mischief.
“I don’t like spicy food!” Shen Yuan was annoyed by the change of subject, thinking to himself that it was hopeless to try teaching Xie Chengze anything—he had been foolish to even attempt it.
Xie Chengze shrugged, musing inwardly: This young Shen Yuan really is perpetually irritable. Doesn’t he worry about making himself sick one day?
He pulled Xie Zimiao down to sit before saying, “Then, Lord Shen, do you know what would happen to those two children if you had taken back the stolen money pouch?”
“They’d be scolded and beaten by the older beggar who taught them to steal,” Shen Yuan answered automatically. Realizing the implication, he fell silent and looked gravely at Xie Chengze.
He had nearly forgotten.
“But this doesn’t solve the problem,” Shen Yuan frowned. “These beggar children are already habitual thieves. What’s the use of shielding them?”
Just like Xie Chengze—his flawed nature was already deeply ingrained. Even if the Crown Prince showed tolerance and loyal officials offered admonitions, he would ultimately become a calamity for the nation.
Weren’t the tragedies of their previous life the clearest proof?
“So does Lord Shen believe these beggar children can still be redeemed?” Xie Chengze looked at him.
Shen Yuan met his gaze. For some reason, he felt that while Xie Chengze appeared to be discussing the beggar children, he was actually referring to himself.
—If he, Xie Chengze, remained honest and law-abiding in this life, refraining from corruption and harming loyal subjects, would you still kill him?
Shen Yuan’s hand unconsciously gripped the Azure Sword at his waist.
He was also unconsciously avoiding this question.
Xie Chengze wanting to become a good person?
How utterly ridiculous. Did he think that just because those he killed in their previous life were still alive now, his sins could be wiped clean?
Shen Yuan still remembered.
Shen Yuan would never forget!
“Even if they can be redeemed, they cannot erase the traces of their past thefts,” Shen Yuan said, enunciating each word clearly.
Xie Chengze nodded and said nothing more.
This compliant and silent Xie Chengze only made Shen Yuan more irritable. Without even touching the wontons, he called out to the Crown Prince’s guards who had been following at a distance, “You protect the Second Prince. I have some matters to attend to.”
Then he turned and left in a sweep of his sleeves.
Xie Zimiao watched Shen Yuan’s retreating figure, tilting her head in confusion. “Second Brother, why do I feel like Lord Shen is either already on the road to anger, or constantly heading toward it?”
Xie Chengze couldn’t help but chuckle, pushing the abandoned bowl of wontons toward Xie Zimiao. “Since he’s not eating, you have it.”
“Mhm mhm mhm!” The starving Xie Zimiao immediately buried her head in the meal.
The little one ate quickly, unlike Xie Chengze who chewed slowly and deliberately. By the time both bowls of wontons were finished, they saw Wuhen—Xie Chengze’s personal guard—dragging the magistrate of Cangfu County to stand before the wonton stall.
The magistrate knelt down timidly, his layers of fat jiggling disturbingly. “S-Second Prince! This humble official didn’t know you had traveled all this way! I failed to properly w-welcome you!”
Xie Chengze glanced at him indifferently. “Magistrate Liu, this is rather pointless.”
Despite the hot weather, Magistrate Liu broke out in cold sweat. “This humble official is foolish. Why would Your Highness say such a thing…”
“To be frank, I understand every county has its difficulties. In times like these, with nature becoming increasingly harsh, which household doesn’t have a few beggars?” Xie Chengze sat on the stool, blowing on the steaming wontons as he spoke calmly. “But the beggars in your county have formed an entire theft industry chain—actually using children to profit! This has truly broadened my horizons!”
Magistrate Liu immediately prostrated himself on the ground in terror. “This official didn’t know! I truly didn’t know! I beg Your Highness to grant me some time—I will definitely investigate thoroughly!”
Xie Chengze added two spoonfuls of chili oil to his wontons. The reddened soup surface instantly resembled a boiling cauldron of oil. He smiled faintly. “The magistrate of a county… if you had just taken more walks around, you wouldn’t have accumulated so much fat…”
Magistrate Liu understood the implied meaning—that if he had patrolled more often, he wouldn’t have failed to notice this situation.
He immediately kowtowed in acknowledgment of his fault. “This humble official will remember Your Highness’s teaching! I will definitely take more walks in the future!”
In a moment, he would have all the beggars arrested and taken away! Let them taste some bitter consequences in prison!
Xie Chengze sighed, swallowing a bright red wonton. “It seems Magistrate Liu is unaware that I have a particular fondness for the color of blood—especially the splatter that gushes forth during a beheading. It’s exceptionally pleasing to the eye.”
“I’ve already given you a chance just now, but unfortunately, you proved useless.” Xie Chengze turned to Wuhen and said, “Useless things deserve to be eliminated. Kill him.”
Wuhen immediately drew his blade and swung it toward Magistrate Liu’s neck!