After the Crybaby Married the Disabled Villain - Chapter 33

After over a month on the road, An Yu felt he had gained a significant amount of weight. Every day was spent either lounging in the carriage or sampling local snacks in various small towns.

They were now only a two-day journey from their destination, Su City. The heavy fox furs had already been replaced by lightweight silks. An Yu lay on the soft couch, engrossed in a new storybook he had picked up at the last town.

“Highness, the stories here are quite different from those in the capital.”

Lu Shiyan looked up from his own book. “Oh?”

An Yu rolled over, propping himself up on his elbows to face Lu Shiyan. “The stories in the capital are mostly about scholars and wealthy young ladies, or spirits repaying debts. But in Jiangnan, there are many stories about women in business meeting businessmen, and the two of them overcoming difficulties together.”

He flipped through another book. “And this one—it’s about a man who becomes a merchant and marries his beloved noble lady.”

Lu Shiyan chuckled. “Jiangnan indeed places more importance on commerce. Being far from the imperial court, the control over salt and rice merchants is less strict than in the capital.”

In An Yu’s eyes, Lu Shiyan was the rightful heir to the throne. He asked, “If Your Highness becomes Emperor, would you still place so many restrictions on merchants?”

Lu Shiyan didn’t answer immediately. Looking at the youth with smiling eyes, he asked, “What was Xiao Yu’s original life like?”

An Yu tilted his head. “Let me think. Our world is very peaceful and advanced. Traveling from the capital to Jiangnan only takes an hour there. We fly.”

Lu Shiyan looked at him seriously. “So Xiao Yu really is a little immortal.”

An Yu snickered. “Everyone there has a ‘cell phone,’ only half the size of this book, which tells you everything happening globally. For something like the Jiangnan floods, we would have equipment to detect it before it even happened, so people could prepare defenses. Also, women can go to school, do business, and even be officials. Most importantly, one person can only have one partner; having more is a crime.”

Lu Shiyan listened quietly as the youth repeated “in our world” with a smile, but the depth in his gaze grew heavier.

“Does Xiao Yu want to go back?”

An Yu was stunned by the question. He thought about it seriously. “I don’t know how my parents and big brother are doing. My body should still be there…” He turned and saw Lu Shiyan staring at him expressionlessly. He quickly straightened his posture. “Highness, I won’t leave for now.”

An Yu felt the man let out a sudden sigh of relief. “Highness?”

Lu Shiyan resumed his usual easy smile. “Xiao Yu, I also prefer having only one partner.”

An Yu laughed. “Your Highness is quite devoted.”

Outside the carriage, Mo Han and Yun Liang exchanged a look. Yun Liang’s eyes twinkled with a teasing glint: The Prince’s road to winning his wife is a long one.

Mo Han: Young Master An is simply too—

“Whoa!”

Seeing they were about to hit a child running toward them, Mo Han and Yun Liang yanked the reins. The speed of the two horses was brought to an abrupt halt. The child collapsed onto the ground and stopped moving.

Moying drove the second carriage up. “What happened?”

Mo Han shook his head, jumped down, and picked up a little girl dressed in rags. “How can there be a child in this desolate wilderness?”

Yun Liang signaled them to bring her into the carriage and immediately checked her pulse. “She’s fine, just exhausted from lack of food.”

An Yu wanted to come out, but Lu Shiyan held him back until the carriage stopped completely. The little girl slowly opened her eyes.

“Little girl, eat this.” An Yu handed her a package of snacks bought that morning; they were still warm. The girl hadn’t spoken a word since seeing them, looking around timidly and swallowing hard at the sight of the food.

“Here, it’s for you.” An Yu handed the snacks over again. She leaned toward him cautiously, took the food, and whispered, “Thank you, pretty big brother.” She then began to eat ravenously.

An Yu handed her a cup of tea. “Slow down.”

The five of them stood around the girl as Lu Shiyan pondered with a frown.

“Nannan! Nannan, where are you—”

The martial artists heard the distant calling first. An Yu hadn’t heard it yet and was still watching the girl eat. Lu Shiyan asked, “Do you know your name?”

After eating a few pieces, the girl stopped bolting her food. She looked from An Yu to Lu Shiyan with wide eyes. An Yu repeated the question.

“I’m Nannan.”

Lu Shiyan raised an eyebrow and glanced at An Yu with a faint smile, signaling him to keep asking.

“Nannan, why are you here?”

“I got separated from my mother.” As the girl spoke, tears pooled in her eyes and began to fall. Moying and Mo Han were ordered to head toward the voice immediately.

An Yu looked up. “To help Nannan find her mother?”

“Mhm.”

Before the two returned, An Yu had asked everything he could. The girl was seven or eight years old and remembered recent events clearly. An Yu knitted his brows and sighed repeatedly.

“Xiao Yu?”

An Yu turned back expressionlessly, his eyes a mix of anger and stillness. “Highness, officials were clearly sent ahead of time. Why is it still like this?”

Lu Shiyan was much calmer, as if he had expected this result. “Imperial Father indeed believed your words, but the officials he sent were Lu Youqi’s people.”

The Emperor had sent people, but it mattered who was sent. An Yu recalled the plot; as the protagonist, Lu Youqi wouldn’t let the nation’s soldiers die, but why would he try to introduce the plague to Lu Shiyan’s camp? He had private troops in Jiangnan.

No wonder Jiangnan was full of death and injury in the original work. How could a flood remain unmanaged after a year? Clearly, the imperial funds were all taken by Lu Youqi.

“Nannan!” “Mother—”

The girl, who had just been calling An Yu “pretty big brother,” rushed to her mother’s arms. The woman was equally ragged and emaciated from hunger. Seeing her daughter, two lines of hot tears fell down her face.

“Thank you, Young Master! Thank you!” The woman bowed repeatedly to An Yu and the others.

Setting up a small wooden table, they sat under the shade of a tree to listen to the woman’s account of recent events in Jiangnan. After eating, her complexion improved, and her manner of speaking suggested she was from a well-educated family.

“Years ago, my father was dismissed from office for no reason, and my husband was taken for the army—I don’t know where he is now. My mother and I survived by weaving. But then the flood hit, and we lost everything. Grain prices tripled overnight. The common people can no longer afford to eat.”

“Aren’t there officials from the imperial court?”

The woman lowered her eyes. “There are. They arrived in the city half a month ago. The local magistrate wines and dines them; they haven’t left his estate since the day they arrived. The flood is left unmanaged, and the government office remains closed. Seeing we had no grain left, my father took the family to head north.” She choked up.

“At the city gates, soldiers were forbidding anyone from leaving, especially to go north. They fear someone will reach the capital and reveal the truth. My parents and our guards fought to clear a path so I could escape with Nannan. They… they died at the city gates.” She wept uncontrollably. “I hid with Nannan in the mountains for days to escape the soldiers.”

Silence fell, the air thick with gravity. Finally, the woman stood and bowed to them again. “Thank you, young masters. You clearly have extraordinary status. If you have the strength, I beg you—save Su City!” She and her daughter knelt and kowtowed.

“Rise,” Lu Shiyan said, while An Yu urged them up.

An Yu looked around and finally settled on the cups on the table—solid white jade with pure gold handles. He stuffed two into the woman’s hands. “Find a town to stay in first. In a month, if you want to return to Su City, then come back.”

The woman kowtowed several more times before leaving. The group returned to the carriage and continued toward Su City as if nothing had happened.

“Does Xiao Yu have a plan to manage Su City within a month?”

An Yu looked innocent. “I don’t. But Your Highness surely does.”

Lu Shiyan was helpless, but the truth was, he did. An Yu pretended to read his storybook, carefully trying to remember if he had missed any plot points. Finally, he set the book down.

“Highness, Lu Youqi is raising private troops in Jiangnan.”

Lu Shiyan nodded. “Mhm. I suspected he had power bases here. As expected—”

“Highness must be careful.”

Two days later.

The city gates were surrounded by scattered refugees, most in rags, though many of the torn clothes had clearly once been fine silks and satins. Like finding water in a desert, the crowd swarmed the two carriages, blocking their path completely.

“Moying, Mo Han.”

At the command, the two stood before the carriage, their swords gleaming as they unsheathed them. The crowd recoiled.

“Great Lord! Please give us something to eat!” A cry went up, followed by a chorus of pleas from the crowd.

An Yu watched the chaos through the gap in the window. Even if he wanted to help, now was not the time. A few soldiers from the gate approached.

“What’s going on here!” They pushed through to the front. The leader’s pupils shrank at the sight of the luxurious carriage. “Who is in this carriage?”

Yun Liang stepped out with a cold smile. He jumped down and presented a command token. The leader’s face instantly broke into a cold sweat; his legs went weak, and he fell to his knees.

“Paying respects to the Crown Prince!”

The soldiers, the commoners, and the refugees all knelt in succession. “Paying respects to the Crown Prince.”

Lu Shiyan remained silent, so Yun Liang didn’t tell them to rise. The area outside the gate fell into an eerie silence, until a whisper drifted from somewhere.

“Rumor has it the Crown Prince is crippled and cursed his mother and kin. Now he can’t even save himself. Why would he come here?” “Could it be a fake?” “I think the Emperor sent a ‘Crown Prince’ over just to shut our mouths and let him wither away here.” “That’s the Crown Prince. Even if he can’t inherit, he’s still a prince.” “Don’t forget, he’s a jinx. The Emperor probably wanted him as far away as possible.”