My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

Xie Yan could talk nonstop once he started, and if no one stopped him, he could go on and on for three days and three nights "commenting" on the housing prices and unscrupulous businessmen in Beijing.

Chu Ling sat opposite him, resting his chin on his hand, looking languid, and it was impossible to tell whether he had even heard Xie Yan's words. His eyes, however, were slightly narrowed, staring intently at Xie Yan.

"Have we met somewhere?"

Upon hearing this sudden question, Xie Yan paused for a moment, her words momentarily halting.

But in the blink of an eye, as if nothing had happened, a laughing voice came from behind the tightly concealed mask: "Ah, Your Highness still recognized me..."

Chu Ling was slightly moved.

"Didn't the Prince and I meet once a few years ago at the Prefectural Governor's residence in Bianzhou?"

When Xie Yan mentioned the governor of Bianzhou, Chu Ling immediately recalled an incident that happened five years ago when he passed through Bianzhou during his military campaign.

That night, chaos suddenly erupted at the governor's mansion, with screams and flames shooting into the sky.

He rushed there upon hearing the news, and saw a figure flash by like a ghost on the roof of the governor's mansion. Before he could catch up, he heard cries from inside the mansion; Governor Liu Zong and his son had died in their bedroom.

Chu Ling seemed to be deep in thought. He neither denied nor confirmed the claim that it was their first meeting. Instead, he continued in a playful tone, "You assassinated a court official. Aren't you afraid that I will throw you into prison and sentence you?"

Xie Yan also rested her hand on her chin, just like him: "So, is Your Highness going to throw me into prison?"

They all knew that the governor of Bianzhou and his son actually deserved their fate.

The two things Liu Zong was most proud of in his life were becoming the governor of Bianzhou and having a son to carry on the family line.

Although this son was not his legitimate son, he was the one he had finally obtained when he was nearly fifty.

Therefore, this child was born into a life of luxury, getting whatever he wanted, and had dozens of maids and servants serving him.

Therefore, it is conceivable that Liu Yaozu was raised with a morally corrupt character from a young age, and often bullied men and women in Bianzhou by relying on his father's power.

For many years, Liu Zong had been cleaning up the mess behind his son's back. He locked the woman his son had stolen in the backyard, imprisoned the rebellious man, and kept all news that was unfavorable to him from leaving Bianzhou.

His power was so great that he had become a local tyrant in Bianzhou, with connections to everything.

Five years ago, Liu Yaozu was drunk and crossing the street in broad daylight when he took a fancy to a farm girl who had just arrived in the city. The woman struggled desperately and cried for help, but no one on the street dared to help her.

Her husband came to her rescue, but was dragged to his death by a horse in the street. Overwhelmed with grief, the woman threw herself against the stone steps and died.

Disturbed of his mood, Liu Yaozu ordered his men to throw the couple into a mass grave to be fed to the dogs. But to everyone's surprise, the woman was not dead. She woke up in the middle of the night and escaped from the mass grave, carrying her husband's corpse back home. However, her elderly father and children had already been silenced by assassins sent by Liu Zong.

After that, the woman became half-mad and half-stupid, only remembering to avenge her family. She somehow found her way to Fengyun Tower, but she was empty-handed. Not only was no one willing to pay attention to her, but some even wanted to kill her because they thought she was noisy. However, Xie Yan stopped them.

Xie Yan accepted the wooden hairpin from the woman and rode his horse to Bianzhou overnight. At the same time, Chu Ling, who was originally heading towards the border, received a message from the governor of Bianzhou and immediately led his troops to change direction and head towards Bianzhou.

However, before Chu Ling could act, Xie Yan had already taken the heads of the father and son and left. Chu Ling had no choice but to expose the governor's crimes to the public, raiding the governor's residence that very night, arresting and sentencing his subordinates and associates, releasing the innocent and providing compensation…

The two faced each other for a moment, then tacitly changed the subject.

Chu Ling tapped the table with his finger and pondered for a moment: "Since my brother sent you here, then go and do something for me."

As a result, Xie Yan and his beloved horse, Masha Ladi, were kicked out of the palace once again.

This time, Xuanfeng even set off a long string of firecrackers at the door to see him off.

Yong'an Prefecture

After the autumnal equinox, the days gradually shorten, and before dusk, the sun has already set considerably.

Two lanterns were hung at the city gate. The soldier guarding the city today looked like a greenhorn. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as he watched the crowds slowly thinning out at the city gate.

He was thinking that he could finish his work early today when someone hit him hard on the head.

He turned his head, but before he could even utter a curse, he was struck again. Who else could it be but his elderly father who had struck him so hard?

"Dad, why did you hit me?" Little Zheng didn't dare to get angry with his father, but just muttered unconvinced.

Old Zheng, with a stern face, puffed out his beard and said, "What are you talking about relaxing! As long as the city gates are open, our garrison cannot relax! We must always be on the lookout for any suspicious individuals with ill intentions!"

Xiao Zheng didn't take it to heart. His father was good in every way, except that he was too stubborn. "Come on, Dad, we've been guarding the city gate for years. There's no one with ill intentions here. Besides, do you think you could even tell who that is?"

But his father ignored him, staring straight ahead into the distance, and Xiao Zheng had no choice but to look in the same direction.

Under the round setting sun, a white-clad man, his face completely covered by a veil, walked from afar, leading an exceptionally fat white horse.

Father and son: Holy crap, suspicious person!!

As expected, Xie Yan, who had dressed up carefully, was stopped by someone pointing a long gun at her.

Xie Yan: ? ? What? I'm a law-abiding citizen who pays my taxes on time every month, okay?

Looking at the man who was half a head taller than him, Xiao Zheng couldn't help but swallow hard: "Who goes there? State your name!"

Seeing his son like this, Old Master Zheng was so disappointed in him that he couldn't help but kick his son's heel again.

Suddenly, the suspicious man in white raised his hand, startling the two men so much that they almost couldn't resist thrusting their spears at him.

But the man simply reached into the bundle beside the horse, took out a travel permit, and handed it over.

Looking at the father and son who were jumping up and down in surprise, Xie Yan was speechless: ...Am I that scary?

"Cough cough."

Old Master Zheng coughed a few times, his face flushed, nudged his son, and together they put away the spear before taking the voucher and carefully checking it.

After confirming that everything was correct, they returned the items. However, Xiao Zheng was still a little suspicious that this person might be a wanted criminal, so he said with a forced smile, "Hey, you! Take off your veil so I can see it."

Xie Yan did not refuse, but simply raised his hand and lifted the white veil from inside. The two women immediately stared intently at his face.

After a while, the two men confirmed that he was not one of the wanted criminals and then agreed to let him go.

After he left, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Zheng said to his father, "Dad, why would a pretty good-looking young man like you cover his face? If I looked like that, I would be walking around on the street with my head held high."

Before Old Master Zheng could even calm down, he heard this and gave Young Master Zheng another hard punch. "Mind your own business! And you brat, are you indirectly calling me ugly? I'll beat you to death!"