Ye Wanmian came back to her senses and noticed a crowd gathered under a banyan tree in front, listening to a storyteller.
Looking at Xiao Jingcheng beside her, she said, "Come to think of it, Brother Jing's current situation isn't much different from mine in the capital two years ago."
Xiao Jingcheng raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Just follow me." Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the big banyan tree not far away.
Ye Wanmian didn't notice at all that her action was a bit overstepping. It was Xiao Jingcheng who looked down at their clasped hands. The nameless anger in his heart subsided a little.
He somehow felt that she and he were supposed to be this close.
There was a tea stall under the tree. Opposite the tea stall was a storytelling stall. The storyteller was passionately telling the story of *The Princess Changping*. There were quite a few people gathered around the stall, listening with great interest.
Ye Wanmian asked Xiao Jingcheng to find a place to stand under the tree, then she let go of his hand and walked forward.
The warmth of the woman's palm still lingered on his skin. The restlessness in Xiao Jingcheng's heart welled up again. He didn't notice that his eyes were firmly fixed on Ye Wanmian, as if there was an invisible rope tied in her hand.
Ye Wanmian didn't notice Xiao Jingcheng's strange behavior. She found the storyteller's assistant, pointed to a story in the notebook, and then stepped back into the crowd, standing beside Xiao Jingcheng.
"You'll know what I meant just now after waiting a while." Ye Wanmian looked up at him.
But what Xiao Jingcheng was looking at was her hand hanging beside his, only a few inches away.
How annoying. Why didn't she hold his hand again?
With a "bang", Xiao Jingcheng was distracted by the noise in front and came back to his senses.
The storyteller had just finished the previous story and started the one that Ye Wanmian had paid for.
"Today, let's tell the story of the Sheng Army's great battle against the Northern Barbarians at Yanmen Pass!"
Xiao Jingcheng was stunned. He didn't expect Ye Wanmian to choose this story. He lowered his eyes and glanced at her profile, trying hard to hold back the corners of his lips that were about to curl up.
Over there, the storyteller began, "It is said that in the sixteenth year of the Chengping era, the border was filled with the flames of war and in great danger. After experiencing ups and downs, the Great Sheng became peaceful and prosperous under the governance of the current emperor, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. However, the peaceful Great Sheng became a piece of fat in the eyes of the Northern Barbarians."
"They were as ambitious as wolves. They deliberately killed the border general, crossed Yanmen Pass, and massacred people wantonly in Xuancheng, arousing the people's anger. When this news reached the capital, the crown prince of our Great Sheng..."
Xiao Jingcheng couldn't help but straighten his chest.
This battle was the biggest and most tragic one he had ever experienced in his life. In that battle, he personally beheaded the Northern Barbarian general Yelü Shenji and signed an agreement with the Northern Barbarians to stop the war for fifty years and forbid them to invade. He could be said to have made great military achievements.
It turned out that she had also heard about this part of his deeds. Now she even asked the storyteller to tell it again. She seemed to know him quite well.
However, the next moment, an angry shout interrupted the storyteller's rhythm and Xiao Jingcheng's train of thought.
"We don't want to hear the story of this dog crown prince! Change it, change it!"
The words "dog crown prince" made Xiao Jingcheng's pupils dilate in shock. He immediately looked in the direction of the voice, his eyes as if spitting fire.
What were these ignorant commoners talking nonsense about?!
Unexpectedly, the next moment, others echoed, "That's right. Even if he is the crown prince and once made military achievements, so what? He still bullied the common people, colluded with corrupt officials, extorted the people's fat and cream, and forcibly snatched commoner girls! Heaven has eyes. It's a good thing that such a person is dead. If the Great Sheng were to fall into his hands, we don't know what kind of situation it would end up in!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
For a moment, the voices condemning the "crown prince" rose one after another.
The storyteller looked embarrassed. "This was ordered by a customer who paid for it..."
"I don't want to hear it. I'll give you double the price. Change it to a better one!"
Listening to these groundless accusations, Xiao Jingcheng clenched his fists in anger.
Colluding with corrupt officials, extorting the people's fat and cream, forcibly snatching commoner girls, and oppressing the people. Which of these things they mentioned had anything to do with him?
Suddenly, a faint female voice rang in his ear.
"The crown prince is extremely ugly, short and stocky, with pockmarks all over his face and a bald patch on his head. He likes to forcibly snatch commoner girls the most. It's normal for him to be hunted down..."
Who was it that had also said this in his ear?
Ye Wanmian stood beside him, listening to these slurs without much reaction.
Although she had also played tricks and said bad things about him to Dr. Wang and Qi Wen, she had never thought of spreading them outside. So these rumors were not her doing.
She didn't know when these rumors had started to spread outside. Most of them were saying that the crown prince was incompetent and unworthy of his position.
She thought that the person who spread the rumors must hate Xiao Jingcheng very much. Not only did they plan to assassinate him, but they also spread rumors to ruin his reputation.
Because Ye Wanmian had a disguise on her face and was indistinguishable after blending into the crowd, the storyteller had no choice but to follow the will of the people and change the story. He started to tell the story of a heroic green - forest hero saving a beauty.
Xiao Jingcheng clenched his fists tightly, and the anger in his heart was hard to subside.
Ye Wanmian didn't rush to take him away. Instead, she grabbed a commoner who was listening to the story under the tree and asked,
"Why do you hate the crown prince so much? You don't even want to hear his deeds?"
The man spat and said, "What crown prince? He's just a pile of dog shit."
"Does winning a battle mean he has a get - out - of - jail - free card? Even a prince should be punished as a commoner if he breaks the law. He has committed so many heinous crimes. Who wants to hear his story!"
Xiao Jingcheng couldn't help but say, "Since you don't know him and don't know his character, how can you say such things? Don't you know this is spreading rumors?"
He was extremely angry and couldn't vent it, so his voice carried a bit of hostility.
But the man was not afraid at all. "Although I've never seen him, the rumors are spreading everywhere outside. It can't be groundless, right?"
Another person also chimed in. "It's undeniable that he was extremely brave before, but times have changed. Before the corrupt officials were beheaded, we didn't know they would embezzle so much money either!"
"If he were really a good person, why would the mountain bandits and water bandits hunt him down? These green - forest heroes can't stand corrupt officials the most. He must have done something immoral. Otherwise, who would want to harm him for no reason? Am I right?"
He nudged the previous man. "Just like that blacksmith Li who lives in Liuye Alley. So many people saw him coming out of Matchmaker Wang's house late at night. If they didn't have an affair, who would believe it?"
The two of them started gossiping about others and laughed maliciously.
Before Xiao Jingcheng could get angry, Ye Wanmian quickly dragged him away.