Bab 54: Brewing Trouble (1)

The driver of the carriage kept still, as if he didn't notice the boy in the middle of the empty street or the anxious mother yelling. It certainly looked like he wasn't intending to stop the royal carriage.

'Well, if he does, he might get yelled at or fired by his employer. It's a member of the royal family too so it would be hard for him to find work later on, too. Judging from his behavior, the royal in the carriage must be one of those royal pain in the ass, arrogant and willful despite being only a side relative to the imperial family.' Shen Tianyu thought.

"Should we save the kid?" She asked Rong Jian who stood next to her.

"What does wifey want to do?" He replied with another question.

"Hmm... you guard me." She decided and he nodded at her.

The carriage was already two chi(1) away from the little boy. He seemed to have froze on the spot, either out of fear or fascination. Shen Tianyu jumped out from the side and scooped the child up in her arms as she ran to the other side of the street.

The horse got spooked by something dashing in front of it and started going crazy. The driver had no choice but to calm it down and the carriage stopped. Amid the small chaos, a voice sounded from the carriage.

"What's going on?! You stupid driver, you don't even know how to drive a horse carriage!" It was a young woman's voice that berated the carriage driver.

'As expected.' Shen Tianyu thought as she set the child down next to his mother.

"I'm sorry Miss, but someone just ran out in front of the carriage, startling the horse." The driver tried to explain that it wasn't the fault of his skills.

The curtain behind where the driver sat was swept aside and a young woman emerged. She wore a pink robe with white sleeves. The edges of the sleeves were pink, a circle at the end of the sleeves. Pink tassels hung down from her shoulder, where the pink robe and white sleeves connected. Her sash was a light pink with a white ribbon tied in the middle and a flower pin. A light, almost transparent, narrow silk cloth was held up by her elbows, winding around her back to the other arm. She wore a gold necklace with three rubies hanging down the front. Her hair was tied up with most of it let down in a layer. In her hair was a circlet that was weighed down towards her forehead by a pink flower. In her bound hair was a peach blossom hairpin and a golden comb with more peach blossoms and golden strings dangling down. Her whole outfit gave off a delicate and lovable air.

However, unlike her clothes, she was making a face scary enough to make the child Shen Tianyu just saved to burst into tears. Her face was twisted in an angry scowl.

"Who had the audacity to run in front of my royal carriage?!" She yelled, impatient.

Shen Tianyu stepped out without hesitation and gave a salute. "This esteemed princess, it was this little one."

"Good! At least you have the integrity to admit it! Guards, come! Drag her to the Punishment Chambers! I don't have time to waste, just throw her to them when we get to the Imperial Palace!" The princess flung her sleeves angrily and made to go back in the carriage. The guards following behind the carriage walked forward.

"This princess, do you not think you are being unreasonable? You haven't even questioned why I did it." Shen Tianyu spoke as she straightened up.

"And why should I?" The royal pain in the ass turned back around with narrowed eyes. The guards also stopped in their tracks.

"Your carriage was just about to run over a little boy, your driver wasn't slowing down either so I could only jump in front of the carriage to save him. You haven't even looked at the child and you want to punish a passerby doing a good deed? Is that not unreasonable? I haven't even had you apologize yet." She continued.

The princess gave a crisp laugh. "So what? It's just a commoner's child. Is he more valuable than my life? Than my matters? I'm in a rush to get to the Imperial Palace, while you people can only ever look at it's walls. How dare you try to compare my duty with a commoner's child! You even want me to apologize! Peasants are just ants!"

"Why do you say so? Wasn't the first emperor of the dynasty originally a peasant also? Are you looking down on your own lineage? Or, have you become so arrogant, that you don't admit to being the descendant of a peasant? Besides, you are not a member of the direct Imperial line, I do not think you have the right to be so arrogant. In addition, you get your spending money by taking the peasants. Not only do you not appreciate them giving you money to spend for free, you even look down on them." Shen Tianyu argued.

"Hmph! I'm still a royal relative. Of course they have to pay me." The princess crossed her arms.

"You do not have a job and are not contributing to the country. They are basically paying you to be a no good, pampered princess. Jing Qie and Xi Qi had only signed a peace treaty 3 decades ago, is the court already rotting?" Shen Tianyu asked.

"You!" The princess pointed a trembling finger at Shen Tianyu. "You dare to slander the imperial family! You're not afraid of being beheaded!"

"Tsk, tsk. When did I slander the Imperial family? I was only asking about the Imperial court. If I'm slandering anyone, it'd only be you, a relative of a ruler who doesn't value the lives of their own people. If Emperor Jing heard what you said, what do you think his reaction would be?" Shen Tianyu clicked her tongue.