Shen Changyin's gaze passed over the group of beggars like a soft beam of light — briefly, without pausing.
She did not spot Xie Yu.
Soon she turned her horse and rode toward the end of the street.
Xie Yu watched her disappear around the corner, then began humming a tune that barely counted as a melody.
The plan worked.
Shen Changyin hadn't recognized her at all.
This time, she would definitely succeed.
She relaxed, leaning against the wall, and even her bad habit of shaking her leg returned.
The beggar girl looked at her.
"You're really that happy to be a beggar?"
Xie Yu only smiled.
The street vendors had all packed up and left, and only the permanent shops remained open.
A group of people wearing matching brown robes arrived, carrying oil-paper-wrapped gifts, and began visiting the shops one by one.
"What are those people?" Xie Yu asked.
"Oh, probably the stewards from Ji's manor. Their young lady is getting married, and the wedding procession will pass through this street.
So the stewards are greeting the shop owners to ask them to cooperate by putting out some wedding candies at their doors."
"So that's how it is. That's a happy event."
Xie Yu thought for a moment.
"When big people get married, do they do anything else good? Like give rewards to beggars?"
The little beggar shook her broken bowl. "Maybe. I've only run into it once or twice. When I went to ask for a reward, they gave me a few dozen coins."
"Then you have to go ask for a reward this time too. What kind of blessing phrases do you say?"
The little beggar answered, "A harmonious marriage for a hundred years, may you soon bear noble daughters. Those are what the old beggars taught me."
Xie Yu thought for a moment. "Not exactly wrong, but we can practice. If you say something even better, they might give you more money."
When Xie Yu was a child and went back to her hometown for weddings, she often saw people like this. They would beat a wooden clapper and chant auspicious rhymes, then ask for some money afterward.
She recalled a few and then improvised. "Round sky, square earth, today the newlyweds bow in the flower hall!
First bow to heaven and earth for long-lasting fortune,
Second bow to both families for longevity,
Wife and wife bow together and enter the bridal chamber,
Next year may they give birth to a top scholar."
The little beggar's eyes widened.
There were many kinds of beggars in this world. Some had a bit of talent and could sing folk ballads, and they usually lived better.
But most beggars were simply beggars. They had never had enough to eat since childhood, let alone studied. The blessing phrases they knew were only the few they memorized mechanically.
Xie Yu added a little rhythm and melody for the child to learn, almost like singing, so that when asking for a reward, she would at least have some talent to show.
The little beggar's memory wasn't terrible, but memorizing lines clearly tortured her.
Xie Yu came up with two or three sets of phrases and made her memorize them one by one, then made the little beggar perform them for her.
They practiced like this until the afternoon.
Lunch had only passed a short while and the sun was still shining brightly when sixteen officers in government uniforms suddenly appeared on the street, each with a blade at their waist.
The beggars immediately grew alert and straightened their backs, watching closely.
"Are they already here to shut down the tea stall? So fast?"
Xie Yu was shocked. Modern police would at least find evidence first. Rarely did they discover something and shut it down on the same day.
It seemed that the capital's prefecture was far more competent than that corrupt local office she had dealt with before, the one that colluded with merchants to extort people.
But the officers in black robes didn't stop in front of the tea stall. Instead, they headed straight toward the beggars.
"You must all be hungry. The capital office is kindly giving you a full meal today. Come along." The leading officer spoke.
The beggars were overjoyed. Since when did luck like this fall from the sky?
Xie Yu felt something was off, but looking at the sixteen armed officers before her, she chose not to act rashly. She stood up and followed obediently.
Sure enough, once they arrived at the prefecture office, they weren't given any food at all. The entire group of beggars was thrown directly into the prison.
This was the prefecture's headquarters. Even though the beggars felt something was wrong, under the watchful eyes of numerous armed officers, they didn't dare speak and entered the cells quietly.
Just as one of the officers was about to shut the door and lock it, Xie Yu, who had originally wanted to observe a bit longer, had no choice but to ask first.
"Big Sister, why are you locking us up?"
The officer stopped. "Locking up a group of beggars is nothing strange. At least we'll feed you prison food. Why do you talk so much?"
Xie Yu forced a smile. "Big Sister, even if that's what you say, even if we're beggars who can't afford food… you should still give us a reason, right? Otherwise we'll be scared."
The officer randomly made one up. "Look at you people. You have hands and feet but don't work. You wander around filthy, begging on the streets. It's unsightly and damages the empress's dignity."
Damages the empress's dignity?
These beggars had lived here for so long and were never bothered. Why bring up imperial dignity all of a sudden?
Xie Yu pressed her with another question or two, acting like a clueless fool.
The officer finally grew annoyed. "The young lady of Ji's Manor is getting married in a few days. The wedding procession will pass by your street. Do you think a bunch of gray-faced beggars will look good there?"
Just because of that?
Just because of that, they could lock people up?
Xie Yu knew that police and officers anywhere were far from perfect, but this was still something she found unacceptable.
"You could chase us away. Why throw us into prison?"
The officer answered as if it were obvious. "Wouldn't you just come back? And if we drive you away, what if you go beg in front of Ji's manor during the wedding?"
"It would look terrible. So the steward of the Ji's manor specially asked us to keep an eye on you."
"Isn't this a good thing? We're even feeding you." The officer waved her hand and moved to close the door. "Just stay here for two days. You'll be released afterward."
At that moment, one of the old beggars suddenly panicked. The elderly woman's mental state had been unstable since morning, and Xie Yu suspected she had a mental illness.
Now, the old woman became frantic and babbled, "You're not letting us out! Old Jiang, Old Cao, they were caught one day just like this. They were never released. They were locked up until they died!"
Xie Yu frowned deeply. Taking advantage of the old woman's manic rambling, she quietly asked the little beggar a few questions and learned the whole story.
There had originally been several old beggars on the street. They were close to the old woman. One day, they were taken away by officers. They were told they would be released soon, but they were locked up until they died.
The government had to pay for feeding prisoners and couldn't keep them forever.
No one knew how they died. One day the authorities simply dumped their corpses at the mass graveyard without even an announcement.
The old woman heard through friends and went to the graveyard to find the bodies.
Even in this era, burials weren't free. The beggars had no money or land, so they dug holes right there at the mass grave and buried the dead themselves.
Xie Yu's frown deepened.
The old beggar reached the brink of collapse and screamed, "We're going to die here! We're going to die here! They're going to beat us to death!"
"These officers are heartless. Heartless! They kill and don't repay anything!"
The officer exploded with rage, veins bulging. "You old hag! How dare you slander the government? You accuse me of killing people? Then I'll kill you today!"
She stepped into the cell, grabbed the old beggar by the shoulders, and raised her hand to slap her.
Xie Yu, who had been standing a little away, suddenly appeared beside her. She caught the jailer's wrist and yanked it down forcefully, stopping her.
A seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth with a stern face said, "That's enough."
Xie Yu's expression was dark and her tone serious.
The officer grew even angrier that she dared intervene. She tried to elbow Xie Yu away and reached for the knife at her waist.
Xie Yu seized the jailer's collar and flipped her over her shoulder. In the same motion, while bending down, she pulled out the jailer's knife and turned to face the others gathering around.
She placed one foot on the fallen officer's throat. Her eyes fixed on the remaining jailers, though she understood she could not go on a killing spree here.
So she said, "You have your job. These beggars have their lives. Let's make things easier for each other."
She lowered the knife in a seemingly casual way, though the tip pointed right at the jailer's eye.
The officers hesitated, then hurried to call for the chief.
The chief rushed over. Seeing the scene before her, she turned pale. After understanding the situation, she began loudly scolding the officers .
"What are you doing? How can government officers bully people like this? Even if we're forced into this situation, we still need these people's understanding, don't we?"
She turned to Xie Yu. "Little sister, how should I address you? Put the knife down. We can talk calmly."
Xie Yu said, "The knife, I'm not returning. The person, I'll give back to you. I won't cause trouble, and you won't think about revenge."
"Weren't you supposed to feed us? These are all beggars. They're hungry. They need food."
The chief sighed. "To be honest, lunchtime is long over. The kitchen is clean. I can't call the cooks back just to feed dozens of people. You'll have to wait for dinner."
Xie Yu accepted that. "Fine. If there's no food, at least give us tea."
The chief immediately barked orders. "Go brew tea!"
Xie Yu shouted after the scrambling officers. "I want a big bucket. Don't bring me some tiny teapot."
Soon, a large wooden bucket full of tea was carried in, along with two tall stacks of coarse clay bowls.
Xie Yu removed her foot and let them take the fallen jailer away. She kept the knife in hand.
The officer scrambled up and bolted out of the cell.
The officers placed the bucket and bowls down, then backed out and locked the cell.
Xie Yu turned toward the beggars. They were all staring back at her. In the dim cell, their hungry eyes shone.
She silently sighed. She took a bowl in one hand, dipped it into the tea, and gestured for the little beggar to pass it to the frightened old woman.
Then she served herself a bowl.
After drinking it, she stepped back and said, "Serve yourselves."
The beggars immediately fell into chaos, pushing and grabbing.
After a long while, barely any tea had been served. Dozens of dirty hands had dipped into the bucket, making the already cloudy tea even murkier.
Xie Yu finally lost patience and stood up. "Line up."
She told the little beggar to come forward, scoop herself a bowl of tea, wash her hands, and then take charge of ladling tea for the others.
Someone at the end of the line immediately began to complain, but the voice was so small that Xie Yu didn't bother with it.
As expected, by the time they reached the last few people, the tea had run out, leaving nothing but a thin layer at the bottom.
The ones at the back were about to make a fuss, but one look from Xie Yu made them behave a lot better. They only dared to stand there mumbling under their breath.
She said with a cold face, "The tea is gone. Can't you tell them to refill it?"
She called over the officers and told them to bring another bucket of tea.
The people at the back muttered, "We're not like you. We don't dare talk to officials like that."
Finally, everyone got a drink of tea and each person found a place to sit down.
Xie Yu found a corner too. She leaned her head against the wall and stared at the mud ceiling.
After a while, the little beggar shuffled over to her. "They said the officers will definitely take revenge on you. Is that true?"
Xie Yu said, "There's no helping it. When someone can throw you into prison on a whim, did you really think they wouldn't abuse their power?"
Her face had been cold, but when she saw the little beggar's bright eyes mixed with fear, she sighed and softened her tone. "Don't worry about me."
The little beggar went back to her spot. In the darkness, Xie Yu's face twisted in frustration.
She thought bitterly: This dynasty's government is rotten to the core.
Had she known it would be like this, she might as well have let Shen Changyin seize power and clean up these places.
At least Shen Changyin's soldiers were far better trained than these officers.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt. She had clearly eaten before running off that morning, yet now she was hungry. Her stomach felt like it was on fire, burning painfully.
Then she thought: Things are about to get troublesome.
Who knew how long the officers would keep these people locked up? She couldn't break out alone and leave this group of beggars—who reacted to officials like they'd seen ghosts—behind.
She would have to find the prison chief and negotiate to get them released as soon as possible.
But before they were freed, what about their food, water, and everything else? She had to think about all that too.
And there was another problem. None of the beggars were exactly clean. Normally, they didn't gather in large groups, but now they were crammed together in one small cell. Wouldn't that cause hygiene issues? Maybe even infectious diseases?
She even thought about negotiating for some time outdoors, but as soon as the idea appeared, she rejected it herself.
Obviously no official in ancient times would agree to that.
In the darkness, she stayed awake, thinking about all sorts of things.
Most of the beggars, still shaken, huddled together. One after another, they began to fall asleep, snores rising and falling.
Suddenly, the iron lock on the cell door clattered.
The officer she had stepped on earlier was standing outside, though she stayed deliberately far away and didn't dare look at her.
She only said, "Um… the tall one. Your family came to bail you out. You can leave."
Who would bail her out? Who even knew she had been locked up?
Xie Yu reassured the startled beggars with her eyes and stepped out of the cell, following the runner outside.
They soon reached the main hall of the prefecture office, entering through a side door at the back.
There was no case being tried at the moment. The hall was empty. The wooden block used to strike the desk rested quietly in place, and the heavy punishment rods were lined up neatly on both sides.
The only person present stood at the doorway, looking toward her against the sunlight: Shen Changyin.
She wasn't wearing her official robe today. She had changed into the pale-moon-colored clothes she usually wore, probably to hide her identity.
Xie Yu felt her feet root to the ground, hard to move.
After a few seconds, she slowly began to shuffle forward like an old lady.
But she finally made her way to Shen Changyin.
She looked up at the sky, then down at the floor, and in the end fixed her gaze on Shen Changyin's pale shoes, studying the embroidered patterns with great focus.
A voice above her spoke with amusement.
"Little Xie, are you really going to keep your head down like that and refuse to look at me?"
—
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