TPATTHU Chapter 4

Chapter 4: This Prince will have him beaten to death with clubs!

Chapter 4: This Prince will have him beaten to death with clubs!

Shen Zhejiang indeed stopped.

He felt his sleeve. His clothes had been changed, and even the letter was gone. He didn’t know if it was lost in the water or taken by Xiao Zhinian.

Xiao Zhinian shouldn’t know about what happened back then. If he saw the letter, how would he view him?

“Liu Bao, bring him in.”

Not giving Shen Zhejiang a chance to refuse, Xiao Zhinian gave an order and shouted loudly.

Liu Bao tremblingly brought in the beggar. He knelt with a thud at Xiao Zhinian’s feet, clinging to his leg, crying with snot and tears, shouting, “Your Highness! This servant has been by Your Highness’s side since childhood. For the sake of that, please spare this servant this time! This servant will absolutely not reveal half a word about Your Highness favoring Shen Zhejiang in bed!”

Xiao Zhinian’s face darkened. He kicked Liu Bao away, saying, “You dog servant! Shut up! If anyone’s favoring someone, it’s the teacher…”

Catching Shen Zhejiang’s slightly admonishing gaze, his voice grew softer and softer.

The beggar rolled his eyes. “……” Heavens, is anyone going to pay attention to me?

Getting back to the main topic.

Without another word, Xiao Zhinian led Shen Zhejiang to sit at the table, ordered Liu Bao to brew Pine Needle Emerald Robe tea, and brought some pastries for Shen Zhejiang to eat. Only then did he begin to interrogate the beggar.

“Tell me, why did you push this Prince’s teacher?”

The beggar looked even younger than Xiao Zhinian, his face covered in dirt, and his whole body was so dirty that it looked like he had been rolling in a mud pit. He said righteously, “Because I got money, I am just a rogue who can’t compare to you two nobles. I am only able to provide for basic needs.”

Xiao Zhinian asked, “Who gave you the money?”

“Why should I tell you?” the little beggar retorted.

Xiao Zhinian was amused by his audacity. “Do you know who you’re talking to? Answer what this Prince asks. Why so much nonsense?”

As the saying goes, a newborn calf fears no tiger. This was perfectly embodied in this little beggar.

The little beggar was not afraid of him. “If you don’t say it, how would I know who you are?”

“If I don’t give you a taste of pain, you won’t know how powerful this Prince is,” Xiao Zhinian coldly snorted and signaled Liu Bao with his eyes. “Go, beat him until he’s willing to answer.”

Immediately, two eunuchs flanked the little beggar. Liu Bao brought a red wooden stick and approached him, raising the stick to strike.

The little beggar struggled. After all, he was still a child. Seeing that he couldn’t break free, he finally felt fear. He shouted, “Let go of me! Let go of me!!”

Shen Zhejiang’s expression shifted slightly. He raised his sleeve to stop them, saying, “Wait.”

Liu Bao hesitated and looked at Xiao Zhinian. No matter what, the Crown Prince was his master now.

Xiao Zhinian nodded, “The teacher’s order is this Prince’s order. Put it down.”

“Yes.”

Shen Zhejiang beckoned to the little beggar and said loudly, “Come here.”

Seeing that someone was backing him up, the little beggar wasn’t afraid anymore. He blurted out, “Why should I listen…”

Before the word “you” could form, Xiao Zhinian raised an eyebrow and glared at him. The little beggar immediately choked and didn’t dare to utter another sound, walking over dejectedly.

Eight years ago, Shen Zhejiang was named the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor. Xiao Zhinian was only a six- or seven-year-old child back then and was even more arrogant and ignorant.

Looking at the little beggar’s behavior, he easily thought of Xiao Zhinian in his childhood, and his heart softened.

Shen Zhejiang picked up the porcelain plate of Cloud Slice Cake that hadn’t been touched and handed it to the little beggar who was standing in front of him. Then, he said, “Tell me what you know, and all these pastries are yours.”

The little beggar swallowed. Just as he was about to reach for it, Xiao Zhinian snatched the plate away, dissatisfied. “This is for the teacher to eat.”

Shen Zhejiang’s knuckles holding the plate turned white with the force. He said in a deep voice, “Your Highness.”

Xiao Zhinian looked into his eyes, which were as calm and unwavering as ever, even adding a bit of sternness compared to usual—

This was the expression Shen Zhejiang would show when he made a mistake.

The Crown Prince of Yan Country feared nothing in the world. He could turn the palace upside down, and the Emperor and Empress could do nothing to him. Just when everyone thought that the country would one day be ruined in the hands of such a prince, Shen Zhejiang appeared.

It was a case of one thing subduing another.

No one knew what method Shen Zhejiang used to subdue this little devil so thoroughly. To be precise, Shen Zhejiang couldn’t explain the reason in the past few years either.

Xiao Zhinian shut his mouth. His sad expression made him look like an abandoned puppy. Reluctantly, he slowly let go of the plate, even humming softly in particular grievance.

How could the teacher help outsiders instead of his own people?

He was unconvinced.

The little beggar’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. He cleverly noticed that the one with the gentle disposition seemed to have more authority than the other. If he could rely on him, he would probably have food and clothing for the rest of his life.

Shen Zhejiang ignored Xiao Zhinian sulking by himself and turned to the little beggar. “How have you considered it?”

“Okay,” the little beggar made an outrageous demand. “But you have to take care of my meals, every meal from now on.”

“I can, but I also have a condition,” Shen Zhejiang bargained with him. “I’ll decide how I take care of you.”

The little beggar thought for a moment and said, “Deal.”

“Speak.”

“That night, it was raining heavily. I had nowhere to go, so I hid in a broken temple outside the city to spend the night. I was sleeping soundly when I was suddenly shaken awake by a man in black in the middle of the night.”

Xiao Zhinian asked urgently, “Did you see what he looked like?”

“I said he was a man in black, how could I see him?”

“Dare to talk back one more time!” Xiao Zhinian slammed the table.

The little beggar trembled all over, cowering behind Shen Zhejiang, carefully peeking at him.

Shen Zhejiang said, “Your Highness, let him finish.”

Xiao Zhinian’s chest felt like it was being pressed by a wall, feeling stuffy. Seeing that the little beggar actually dared to make faces at him triumphantly, his anger immediately surged. He should have been beaten to death with clubs just now!

Shen Zhejiang pulled the little beggar out and said, “Continue.”

“The man in black was wearing a hood, and it was pitch black all around. I couldn’t see anything clearly. He put a knife to my neck. I was so scared, I thought I had offended some big shot. Then he gave me a painting.”

Shen Zhejiang asked, “Who was in the painting?”

“You.”

“Me?”

The little beggar nodded. “It was you. The man in black told me to do as he said, or he would kill me. Of course, I was afraid of dying. And he also gave me a bag of silver, saying choose either the knife or the money bag. What could I do? Not choosing the money would be stupid.”

Shen Zhejiang said concisely, “So, this person asked you to kill me. Then how did he know when I would appear on the bridge?”

The little beggar scratched his dirty head, embarrassed. “He only told me to find a suitable opportunity to strike. I actually followed you for a long time.”

This child has courage and resourcefulness. If he is not guided to the right path, he will inevitably go astray.

Shen Zhejiang thought secretly, taking a sip of hot tea.

But everything was too coincidental, especially the moment when he got the key message.

Guiding him patiently, he asked again, “Are you really sure you didn’t see the man’s appearance clearly? Were there any marks on his face, or was he wearing any ornaments on his hands?”

The little beggar searched his memory of that day, his face wrinkled, and he shook his head. “No… wait, no! His knife! When he took out the knife, there was a flash of lightning. I saw an unripe fruit on his knife handle. It’s really strange. Who would hang such a thing? I wouldn’t even pick it!”

Xiao Zhinian asked in confusion, “…What do you mean by unripe fruit?”

The little beggar showed off. “Unripe means unripe! Haven’t you seen it before? That’s right, how could a pampered Highness like you have seen it?”

“Shut your mouth!”

One sentence from you, one sentence from me, like two half-year-old children arguing.

Shen Zhejiang sighed and added, “It should be jade.”

In that case, the one who wanted his life was not an ordinary person, but either a high-ranking official or a wealthy merchant.

But apart from the Emperor, Shen Zhejiang couldn’t think of a second person who had a feud with him.

Could it be that it was really the Emperor who did it?

If so, why did he spare his lowly life back then?