“Xiaobao, you little wretch, where have you run off to slack off now? You haven’t fed the chickens or washed the clothes! If I catch you, just you wait—I’ll beat you to death!”
In the quiet mountain village at daybreak, the mountain mist hung hazily in the air, and the roosters had only just begun to crow. A stout woman in a coarse-cloth skirt stood at the doorway, hands on her hips, cursing loudly.
The protagonist she was calling for was currently hiding in a corner of the woodshed. Her small, slightly dirty hands cupped a tiny, unripe fruit as she nibbled on it.
“It’s so awful.”
The little girl was only three years old. Her body was somewhat dirty, and her black hair was a tangled mess that looked thoroughly unkempt. Yet one could still vaguely see that the child’s skin was as white and delicate as snow, while her features were exquisite and refined. Her eyes in particular were large and round like a fawn’s, filled with a child’s innocence—clean and clear.
The tiny child crouched on the somewhat filthy, cluttered floor, hugging the unripe fruit with both hands. Even though its sourness made her cheeks ache and twisted her pretty, delicate features into a tight knot, she still refused to let go.
There was no other reason. Xiaobao was so, so hungry, and this was the only food she had.
Her aunt gave her only one unpleasant coarse-grain bun to gnaw on each day. It never filled her stomach, and it scraped her throat until it hurt.
Ever since her mother had left, Xiaobao’s life had gone straight downhill. Day after day, she went hungry.
Xiaobao crouched on the floor in a tiny, pitiful little bundle. She looked utterly miserable.
“Mother, when will the daddy you told me about come to take Xiaobao away?”
The childish, babyish murmur had barely faded when she keenly heard something besides her aunt’s cursing outside—the clopping sound of hooves drawing closer from a distance.
It sounded like horses, and there seemed to be quite a few of them.
“This is Su Yan’s maiden family,” a middle-aged man’s voice rang out.
When Su Xiaobao heard someone call out her mother’s name, she cautiously poked a fuzzy little head out of the woodshed.
The moment Xiaobao saw the scene outside, her eyes widened into perfect circles. The fierce aunt who usually swaggered before her was now bowing and scraping to the people on horseback, smiling so broadly it looked as though a flower had bloomed across her face.
“Several officers, may I ask whether Su Yan has done something? I knew she was a troublemaker. Officers, although our family is related to her, we separated households long ago. Whatever she has done has nothing to do with us!”
In the ordinary common people’s minds, officials coming to one’s door could never mean anything good. Thus, the moment Ma Sanniang saw this group of officials, she assumed that Su Yan must have caused some kind of trouble, and her first reaction was naturally to distance herself from it.
“Nonsense, you bad woman! Xiaobao’s beautiful mother is very good!”
When she heard her aunt speaking about her mother again, Su Xiaobao angrily ran out to defend her.
“You’re bad!”
The moment Ma Sanniang saw Su Xiaobao, a vicious glint appeared in her eyes. “Well, well, Su Xiaobao. You slack off when I tell you to work, but now you come running out to talk back to your elders? Just as I thought—you’re a little beast born to someone but raised by no one!”
As she spoke, she raised her hand to hit her.
Su Xiaobao reacted quickly, slipping aside in a flash.
At that moment, a hand reached out and caught Ma Sanniang’s wrist.
“Outrageous!”
The two words carried such official authority that Ma Sanniang’s face instantly went pale with fright.
Xiaobao also hid behind the man. Her bright, dark eyes looked at him admiringly, then at Ma Sanniang. She thought he was so impressive.
Just then, Su Xiaobao’s uncle hurried out of the house, followed by their son, Dazhuang.
The group hastily knelt before the official and kowtowed. Su Tiezhu cautiously asked, “Officer, may I ask why you have come to our home?”
Lin Zhengqing lowered his eyes and glanced at them. Before he could speak, he suddenly felt his clothes being tugged.
He looked down and met a pair of exceptionally clean, beautiful eyes.
“Are you Daddy?”
Lin Zhengqing: “…………”
Su Tiezhu was so frightened that he hurriedly scolded her. “Xiaobao, come over here and kneel! How can you speak to an official like that?”
Lin Zhengqing, however, crouched down in front of Su Xiaobao. Looking at the little girl before him, he could vaguely make out the features of the current emperor on her dirty little face.
“I’m not your daddy, but I was sent by your daddy to take you to him.”
His tone was very gentle, yet the Su family members kneeling on the ground were so frightened that their eyes widened.
Su Xiaobao’s daddy! Could it be that Yan had not been lying to them back then? Xiaobao’s daddy really was some powerful nobleman? They had always thought that Yan had imagined him because she was delusional, but now it seemed to be true!
“When are we going to find Daddy, then?”
Xiaobao did not dwell on that. She beamed happily. At that moment, all she wanted was to go find her daddy.
“We’re leaving now.”
“Okay! Then wait for me a little bit.”
Xiaobao’s childish little voice rang out brightly. As soon as she finished speaking, she dashed into the house on her short legs. Before long, she came running back out, clutching a black memorial tablet.
“Let’s go.”
Lin Zhengqing lowered his head and glanced at it. The tablet Xiaobao was holding was Su Yan’s memorial tablet.
“Xiaobao.”
Seeing that Su Xiaobao was about to leave with those high-ranking officials, Su Tiezhu and Ma Sanniang could not help calling out to her.
She was going to live a life of wealth and prosperity from now on. What about them?
“Oh, right. There’s also you.”
When Lin Zhengqing faced the family of three, his expression was no longer so amiable.
“For beating and insulting the current princess, what crime do you think you deserve?”
Su Tiezhu and Ma Sanniang were instantly so frightened that they lost their wits, their faces turning deathly pale.
“P-princess?”
They stared at Su Xiaobao in shock and terror. Even if they were beaten to death, they would never have imagined that the child they had always considered a fatherless bastard was actually the current princess. That meant her father was…
Su Tiezhu and Ma Sanniang were so frightened that they dropped heavily onto the ground. Other villagers who had heard the news and hurried over—even the village chief—also heard Lin Zhengqing’s words. They were immediately so shocked by the news that their mouths fell open.
They stared at Xiaobao in disbelief.
She was… she was actually a princess!
The village chief thought of how the village had usually treated the mother and daughter. His vision immediately went black, while many of the others felt deeply guilty. More than anything, however, they were filled with regret. This was a princess! If… if they had treated Xiaobao and Su Yan a little better before, would they not have had endless wealth and glory in the future?
Besides, a princess had come from their village. What an enormous honor that was!
Unfortunately, it was already too late for them to regret it.
Ma Sanniang burst into a heart-rending wail.
“Please spare us, we’re innocent! We didn’t insult Xiaobao! Just now, just now, it was all a misunderstanding, my lord! We don’t usually treat her like that!”
Lin Zhengqing said, “Do you take me for a blind man? If I hadn’t stopped you just now, you would have really hit her.”
Upon hearing this, Su Tiezhu immediately glared viciously at Ma Sanniang. “You damned woman! Who told you to hit Xiaobao?”
Ma Sanniang trembled in terror, her voice shaking as well.
“I—I…”