Ye Jiu harbored some doubts, "Aren’t you that Liu Yunqing’s cousin? The Liu Family seems quite wealthy, so if you have nowhere to go, why not head to the Liu Family? Why bother approaching a stranger like me?"
"I... I..." the boy’s expression was pitiable, "Actually, my mother is an unfavored daughter of the Liu Family. My father went up the mountain to gather herbs a while back, and ended up falling to his death. My mother couldn’t cope with the shock and followed him in death. Now, I am all alone at home, and we’re poor. I haven’t had anything to eat for three days..."
A while back, he saw a girl who said the same thing, and the steward took her in, even letting her help with cooking in the kitchen.
So, it should work if he said the same thing, right?
Ye Jiu sized up the young man once more. Surely this fellow wasn’t taking her for a fool?
Dead father, deceased mother, hasn’t eaten in three days!
The clothes on his body alone were worth several months of food for an ordinary family.
Who was he trying to fool, thinking of deceiving others without even changing his attire?
Looking up at the beggar huddled in the corner of the wall, Ye Jiu walked over and tossed a few copper coins into his tattered bowl.
After all, if you don’t dress like these people, you should at least change into some commoner’s clothes before coming here. Going about in fine silks and pretending to be pitiful, are you out of your mind?
"Alas..." The boy had thought that his pitiful story would surely garner sympathy, but instead, he saw Ye Jiu walk away without saying a word, dropping a few copper coins for the beggar by the wall, then leaving straightaway.
The young man felt helpless.
He was not the kind of person to shamelessly cling to someone, but he truly didn’t have anyone who could help him.
He definitely didn’t want to go back to the Royal Residence; all he wanted now was a place to stay, somewhere that would provide meals.
It was true that he had no connections with Ye Jiu, but who could blame him for latching onto her after she had just taught a thief a lesson for him and retrieved his Jade Pendant?
Therefore, this girl seemed kind, and now she was the only person he could rely on.
Thinking this, the young man chased after her again, "Miss, Miss, please take pity and harbor me. I will remember your great kindness and so will my entire family."
Your entire family isn’t already dead, leaving just you behind, is it? I certainly don’t want ghosts remembering me!
It was not until she had walked down two streets and was almost home that Ye Jiu stopped and looked back at the boy following her, "I’m saying, have you said enough? I’m almost home. You better head back too."
This boy claimed he had no place to go, but from Ye Jiu’s perspective, he seemed more like a spoiled child.
Certainly, this wasn’t some rich family’s bear child staging a runaway, was it?
Ye Jiu had to admit she figured it out.
"Well... okay then." The young man wasn’t really thick-skinned, and with the girl still saying this at her doorstep, it meant she truly didn’t want to take him in.
However, the sight of his retreating back looked somewhat forlorn in Ye Jiu’s eyes.
Yet, what did that have to do with her? She hadn’t forgotten that this boy was deeply connected to the Liu Family, and she still harbored thoughts of revenge against them in her heart. The last thing she wanted was to get entangled with a relative of the Liu Family.
Two individuals without any prior connections were suddenly drawn together, not even knowing each other’s names, and just like that, they parted ways.
Meanwhile, at the time when Liu Yunqing’s servant went to report to Prince Jing’s Royal Residence, Prince Jing was practicing his martial arts at home.
After listening to the steward’s report on the matter, Prince Jing instinctively asked, "Didn’t I instruct him to study his lessons well with the master? When did he slip out, and why didn’t anyone come to report it?"