The Second Princess shook her head and sighed, "Dad, you failed in business on your first day."
The Great Princess said, "Dad, you’d better do something else, don’t set up a stall anymore."
The Second Young Master snorted coldly, "Dad, not only did you not make any money, you lost money instead. How are you going to explain that to Mom?"
Prince Luling, afraid of Princess Consort Luling, immediately changed his expression, "Oh dear, my good daughters and son, you have to keep this a secret for me."
The Great Princess crossed her arms and looked up at the sky, "Dad, that depends on my mood."
The Second Princess shook her head with a bitter face, "Dad, I can’t tell a lie."
The Second Young Master sneered, "Dad, handle your own affairs."
Prince Luling, "..." He flicked his sleeves moodily, "Alright, I’ll find Yu Zhu, she’s the most obedient."
The Second Princess looked around, "Huh, where’s the Third Sister? Why hasn’t she come back yet?"
Mentioning Li Yuzhu, everyone became angry again.
The three siblings glared at Prince Luling together, "Dad, it’s all your fault, Third Sister is missing!"
Prince Luling slapped his thigh, "Oh no, we should hurry up and find her!"
The Second Young Master ran around, not even taking a sip of water, and had to go look for her again.
The Great Princess muttered, blaming Prince Luling and then Li Yuzhu, and also went to look for her.
The Second Princess chanted, "There are so many people today, she better not get pushed to another village."
Li Yuzhu went to look for Prince Luling. Because of the crowd at the marketplace, the petite her was pushed to the riverside.
And here, it was very far from where Prince Luling had set up his stall.
Li Yuzhu gritted her teeth, gathered her strength, and tried to squeeze through the crowd to find her way back.
At this moment, a young boy squeezed past her and tugged at her cloth backpack.
Li Yuzhu looked down, and the cloth backpack was gone.
Goodness gracious, that young boy was a thief!
She hurried to chase after him.
There was quite a lot of money in that backpack!
It wouldn’t do to let the pickpocket get away with it!
"Stop, little rascal!" Li Yuzhu chased with all her might.
The young boy zigzagged through the crowd.
Trying to shake off Li Yuzhu.
However, Li Yuzhu had excellent eyesight and kept her eyes firmly on the young boy.
As she ran, she shouted for the thief to be caught.
There were no lack of people on the street who couldn’t stand injustice.
Immediately, someone stopped the young boy and grabbed his arm, "Little girl, the thief has been caught."
Li Yuzhu expressed her gratitude, "Thank you, uncle."
She snatched the backpack back from the young boy’s hand, "Good boy, of all things to learn, you learned to steal? Do you want to eat prison food?"
The young boy was tall and skinny, about ten years old.
His features were very well-formed, with particularly bright eyes, and he looked at Li Yuzhu with disdain, "Eat if I want to, what business is it of yours?"
The man who stopped the young boy reached out and gave him a tap on the back of the head.
"Then eat my slap first!"
"Whose child are you?" Li Yuzhu asked, "I have to talk to your parents."
Although the boy’s face was a bit dirty, the material of his clothing wasn’t bad, and his sharp gaze was unlike a simple farm boy.
He must have come from an extraordinary family.
A young boy from a wealthy family engaging in petty theft, this needed to be discussed with his parents.
"Yeah, must send him to his parents for a proper lesson! Stealing money when young, who knows what when he’s older?" added the man who helped Li Yuzhu catch the boy.
"Let his parents give him a beating, that will scare him off," another chimed in.
But no matter what everyone said, the young boy just wouldn’t speak.
Someone suggested sending the boy to the workshop supervisor, others to the Pavilion Chief.
But Li Yuzhu knew that for such a small child, even if taken there, nothing would come of it.
Because none of her money or belongings were actually missing.
The only solution was to send him to his parents for discipline.
But he wouldn’t speak...
Li Yuzhu stepped forward and grabbed his arm, "Won’t speak, huh? Fine, come with me! I have plenty of ways to discipline you!"
She pulled the young boy towards the Second Princess’s shop, intending to hand him over to the Second Young Master, who could make him confess to everything.
Oddly enough, the young boy didn’t run and quietly followed her.
Behind them, the people who had helped were still making a fuss, "Little girl, find someone to give him a good beating!"
"Beat him so he won’t dare steal again!"
The young boy stubbornly pursed his lips.
Li Yuzhu hadn’t walked far before she encountered the Second Young Master who came searching for her.
The Second Young Master, upon seeing her, happily said, "Third Sister, finally found you." Then, seeing the young boy, he exclaimed, "Who’s this?"
"Second Brother, you’re just in time, I’ll hand him over to you. Hmph, he just stole my backpack and I caught him." Li Yuzhu pushed the young boy towards the Second Young Master.
The Second Young Master reached out and quickly apprehended the young boy.
He squinted, his eyes full of menace, "Stealing? Do you have an itch for a beating?"
With that, he raised his hand as if to slap the young boy.
The young boy stuck his neck out, "I’ll compensate you, won’t I?"
"Wow, quite the attitude, just compensate us? Caught now, so you shout compensation, but next time? What will you steal next time?" The Second Young Master sneered, "Tell me, where’s your family? I’ll find your parents."
The young boy tightly pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
The Second Young Master squinted, "Won’t speak, is that it?" He rolled up his sleeves as if to strip the boy’s clothes off, "Believe it or not, I’ll strip off your clothes and hang you in the market square for everyone to see."
Li Yuzhu found this tactic amusing, it was really quite clever.
Sure enough, the young boy’s face suddenly turned deathly pale.
"My parents are dead!" he shouted, eyes wide.
Li Yuzhu looked at him, "Dead? You’re an orphan?"
The young boy glanced at her, "What else? Why else would I be wandering the streets?"
Li Yuzhu looked at the Second Young Master, "Second Brother, how do we deal with him?"
An orphan stealing things was truly difficult to handle, as it was out of necessity for survival.
The Second Young Master released the young boy, "Alright, you can leave."
But the young boy looked at the Second Young Master, "I’m not leaving."
Li Yuzhu was surprised, "You’re not leaving? What do you want to do?"
The Second Young Master also raised an eyebrow, "Still looking for a beating?"
"Take me in, I can work, just give me food." He pressed his lips together, his expression resolute.
Li Yuzhu scrutinized him, speaking coldly, "It’s not impossible, but let me be clear, if you get up to any mischief again, I’ll make you pay!"
The Second Young Master looked rather disdainful, "Third Sister, we don’t have enough food to spare."
"I don’t eat much," the young boy added.
"Even if you don’t eat much, it’s still no good, your hands aren’t clean, how do I know you won’t steal from my house?" The Second Young Master sneered, "Third Sister, we can’t take him in." Follow current novels on n0velfire.net
Li Yuzhu patted her sleeves, "Hmm, Second Brother, I’ll listen to you."
"Let’s go, don’t bother with this kid, thieves and cheats, let him fend for himself." The Second Young Master pulled Li Yuzhu to leave.
The two of them headed back, but the young boy quietly followed behind them.