IDWBE – Chapter 3 The Foolish Prince

Seeing Lin Yi sitting at the gate, the children in the alley swarmed out all at once.

“Your Highness!”

“I want to hear the story of Shura!”

“Sun Wukong!”

“Your Highness, I want to hear about Erlang Shen!”

More than a dozen children surrounded Lin Yi, chattering all at once.

“Oh my, you’re making my head explode,” Lin Yi said helplessly, raising both hands. “Don’t crowd so close—I’m covered in sweat. What’s the point of squeezing in like this?”

Hearing Lin Yi’s words, Hong Ying instinctively moved forward to drive the children away, but remembering his master’s temperament, he finally gave up.

Instead, he glared at the two children standing in front of him.

Unlike the others, these two were not crowding around Lin Yi to hear stories. They stood obediently before Hong Ying.

Though his stare made their skin crawl, they still braced themselves, bowed respectfully, and said, “Master!”

“Master? Who’s your master?” Hong Ying snorted coldly.

“Shura said, ‘A teacher for a day is a father for life!’” One fair-skinned child with two small pigtails said boldly.

“Master!”

Beside the child stood a little girl, sallow and thin, with messy hair covering her head. The only striking feature about her was her bright, innocent eyes.

Hong Ying was about to scold them when the little girl suddenly stretched out both hands. A yellow fried cake appeared before him, and she looked at him expectantly.

“Master, it’s very tasty. I saved it for you,” she said in a childish voice.

“You eat it yourself. I don’t eat these,” Hong Ying replied.

In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to speak harshly. He unconsciously glanced again at the girl’s right foot.

Such a sensible child—and yet she was lame.

Her parents showed no pity. The days ahead for her would surely be difficult.

“Master!” The girl still held out the cake, unwilling to lower her hands.

“Good child, keep it for yourself,” Hong Ying said with a smile, patting her head.

“Chief Steward Hong.”

A butcher from the alley, known as Zhu Ruorong, came running over. His fleshy face was piled with a fawning smile as he bowed repeatedly. “I just can’t grasp this Five-Step Fist. Please give me some guidance.”

“Zhu Ruorong, give you an inch and you take a mile?” Hong Ying snapped.

Even he didn’t realize that he had begun to imitate his prince’s tone and manner of speech—even their habitual phrases were becoming identical.

Zhu Ruorong froze for a moment, then forced a smile. “Chief Steward Hong, you overestimate me. My little bit of skill is only enough for selling pork. How could I possibly run a dye workshop?”

Those who ran dye workshops were either rich or noble!

If he could run one, he would be strutting sideways through Ankang City!

Hong Ying rolled his eyes. The conversation had gone completely off track; the more they spoke, the more tiring it became.

“All right, all of you, go inside the courtyard and figure it out there,” Lin Yi said with a laugh, waving at Hong Ying. “With your little bit of mediocre skill, you still have the nerve to hide it.”

“Yes.” Hong Ying’s eye twitched, but he didn’t refute Lin Yi’s words.

“Xiao An, come here,” Lin Yi beckoned to the little girl and said with a smile, “In life, you must strive constantly. Study well with your master. In the future, you won’t be inferior to anyone.”

Seeing the pitiful girl, he once again thought of the children who had grown up with him in the orphanage.

Most of the children there had congenital illnesses—Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, heart disease, deafness, cleft lip. Those as fortunate as he had been, with all four limbs intact, were rare.

They were withdrawn, timid, yet simple and pure.

After reaching adulthood, most of them still remained in the orphanage.

So toward this little girl with limited mobility, he felt a natural closeness from the bottom of his heart.

Zhu Ruorong listened in a daze, thinking to himself that this prince was acting foolish again.

This girl was lame. If she could find a husband in the future, it would already be a blessing!
Not inferior to anyone?

Thinking of this, he was about to grin when he suddenly felt a chill—

In the middle of summer!

Looking up, he met Hong Ying’s sweeping gaze.

He shuddered, quickly shut his mouth, and silently followed behind Hong Ying.

Just as he stepped over the inner threshold, he couldn’t help turning back and shouting to his wife at the meat stall, “I’ll be back soon. Watch the stall!”

His wife, afraid of alarming Prince He, didn’t dare scold loudly, nor did she dare chase into the prince’s residence. She could only swallow her anger and spit on the ground in frustration.

“Seeing him about to kill again, Tang Sanzang angrily began reciting the Tightening Spell. The pain made Wukong collapse to the ground.

The White Bone Demon saw this and secretly sneered nearby.

Enduring the pain, Wukong struggled to his feet and smashed the demon to death with one strike…”

When Lin Yi reached the exciting parts, he gestured animatedly with his hands.

The children listened in rapt attention. Even the vendors and passersby nearby held their breath, afraid of missing anything exciting.

Soon both sides of the road were packed with people, and traffic could no longer pass. Someone shouted, “Everyone, make way, please!”

Lin Yi cupped his hands apologetically toward the passersby, then stood up. “That’s all for today’s storytelling.”

The adults sighed in regret, and the children looked disappointed. But no matter how childish they were, none dared follow Lin Yi into the prince’s residence.

Their parents often frightened them with stories: a boy from a neighboring alley had once climbed over a rich man’s wall and been beaten half to death.

And this was a prince’s residence!

They weren’t afraid of the prince—they were afraid of the fierce Chief Steward Hong.

Standing at the gate, without even trying to listen, they could hear Zhu Ruorong howling like a pig inside. Needless to say, he was being beaten by Chief Steward Hong.

When Zhu Ruorong finally came out, his face was bruised and swollen, yet he was still smiling so broadly that his eyes disappeared.

“You’re hopeless!” his wife scolded angrily.

Everyone burst into laughter.

A bright moon hung high in the sky. Sitting in the pavilion, Lin Yi felt as if he could reach out and touch it.

“Your Highness…”

Hong Ying suddenly appeared behind him.

Smack!

“You scared me to death!” Lin Yi swatted a mosquito. “When did you start walking without making any sound?”

“Your Highness, I made these trousers for you. Please see if they fit.”

Hong Ying bent down as if presenting a treasure, holding open a pair of bright yellow silk shorts before Lin Yi.

Lin Yi glanced at them and smiled. “Xiao Ying, your needlework is getting better and better. I can’t even see the stitches anymore.”

“Thank you for your praise, Your Highness,” Hong Ying replied, half laughing, half crying.

He still remembered the first time he met the prince. He had been thirteen years old then.

The three-year-old prince had asked him whether he knew the Sunflower Manual. He had never even heard of it!

Then the prince asked if he could use a needle. Of course he couldn’t—even the Imperial Wardrobe used only palace maids for sewing.

At the time, the little prince had said in a childish voice, “If you can’t use a needle, how can you cultivate the Sunflower Manual?”

Although he was no longer a man, what kind of life was it to spend every day sewing clothes with a needle?

Now, of course, the Sunflower Manual had never been cultivated—such a technique didn’t exist—but he had indeed mastered the use of an embroidery needle to perfection.

After taking a sip of tea, Lin Yi continued, “In a few days we’ll be heading south. Make arrangements for the people in the residence. Those willing to go can come along; those unwilling can stay to watch the house. No one is to be forced—including you.”