Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 293: This King Performs ’Filial Piety’ on Behalf of Ah Jiu

Chapter 293: Chapter 293: This King Performs ’Filial Piety’ on Behalf of Ah Jiu

"Prince, someone just charged into the carriage!"

The voice from outside furrowed Murong Jiu’s brows, yet she found the wails eerily familiar.

Lying in front of the carriage was a disheveled old man, clothed in garments that seemed unwashed for ages, stiff as if frozen in snow for many days. The person rolled in agony, crying out in pain, yet there wasn’t a single drop of blood on the ground.

The coachman also said, "Prince, I didn’t touch her. I stopped in time before she rushed out."

"It turns out to be Old Madam Murong!"

Murong Jiu let out a low laugh, leaped down from the carriage nimbly, and walked toward the person on the ground.

Jun Yuyan stood by her side, limping, adopting a protective stance. The silver mask on his face would only come off inside the Prince Mansion.

After Murong Jiu’s voice fell, the old woman’s head jerked up; no longer pretending to wail in pain, she glared at Murong Jiu with a twisted expression,

"It’s you, you’re the one who caused us to starve, who forced us to live in the homeless shelter, it’s all your fault! You hit me; you pay up! I want one thousand taels! Give me one thousand taels!"

This familiar yet vicious voice sounded robust; who else could it be but that old woman?

A homeless shelter?

The smile at the corner of Murong Jiu’s mouth grew more delighted. She had not expected that their entire family had now moved to the homeless shelter.

She had been to the homeless shelter, a place filthy, damp, and crawling with snakes, bugs, rats, and ants. The bedding was so dirty that the colors were indiscernible, and everyone lay there listlessly on their straw beds.

After taking Manager Chai, Lou Zixi, Chang Chonghai, and Xiao Wen away last year, she had paid to improve the shelter’s conditions. However, with too many refugees and chaos ensuing from the crowds, she could only manage to provide porridge at the city gate, preventing people from starving to death, which was quite an achievement.

So she could well imagine what situation the multitude of the Murong Family members must be facing in the homeless shelter.

The men were all style without substance, ditching martial arts classes to drink at brothels, emptying their wallets and ruining their health.

From the old woman’s reaction, this seemed not to be her first time throwing herself in front of a carriage.

"Quick, give me one thousand taels! Otherwise, I will accuse you at the Government Office of wanton assault by carriage, of treating human life like grass!"

More and more people gathered, but not one accused the Prince Mansion’s carriage.

From the side of the road, a loud voice of a manager said:

"This old thing is so shameless! During the New Year, she claimed to have been knocked over by someone’s carriage, not hurt in the least, yet she extorted thirty taels from them. She and her family got a taste for it and have been doing this con daily, which has affected business on our street; even passersby take detours!"

It was clear this manager was quite angry, likely having scolded her before, but Murong Jiu knew all too well how thick-skinned the old woman and people like Murong Jian were.

For Marquis Murong, Murong Jian, to let his own mother beg on the streets, his face must be incredibly thick.

Perhaps some of the Murong family were nearby; seeing it was Prince Ling’s carriage, they quickly fled.

This old woman, certainly bold as a lion with her demands.

From ten taels, increasing to one thousand taels, how she had the audacity to ask.

Jun Yuyan gave orders with an expressionless face, "Since it’s like this, have her taken to the Government Office. It can be considered as removing a harm to the people."

The shopkeepers from the neighboring stores were overjoyed.

They had reported to the authorities before, but every time, the old hag would lie on the ground as if she were about to die, and no one wanted to be involved in a lawsuit over a human life, as doing business means avoiding bad luck at all costs.

That Prince Ling could tame this shameless old hag was truly great.

"You dare!"

The old hag shouted loudly, hitting the guard who was dragging her with all her might, and issued a scream like that of a pig being slaughtered, "Help! Murder! Prince Ling’s Mansion is committing murder!"

Not a single person present sympathized with her. Just now she was pretending to be in pain, but now her energy was stronger than anyone else’s.

How could she resemble the former managing Old Madam of the Marquis Mansion? She was nothing but a shameless ruffian!

Murong Jiu had not expected that time could erode even the old hag who valued face above all else into this state, but it was also normal. Without enough food to eat or rent to pay, having moved to a refuge, in order to eat better, she had to resort to scamming and deceiving.

Look, the Old Madam who used to feign illness every day is now bursting with vigor, isn’t she?

An old woman was no match for the guard from the Prince Mansion, and soon her hands were bound behind her back as she was escorted to the Prefecture Yamen.

"Stop! Murong Jiu! She was once your grandmother. How can you commit such an unfilial and disloyal act!"

Just then, a figure hurried around the corner.

If it weren’t for his voice, Murong Jiu would have almost failed to recognize the man as Murong Jian, her nominal "father."

No other reason but that, just like the deceased Lady Wang, he had suffered from the poison administered by others under Jun Yuyan’s command. His face, covered in pustules that healed and then festered again over so much time, was now a sight with dangling skin, and a head of disheveled hair. The long robe on his body was new, but dirty, possibly purchased with the silver given by the old hag through her scams.

However, despite his utterly changed appearance, his tone remained as self-righteously indignant as ever.

Murong Jiu sneered,

"What kind of joke are you telling, grandmother? A grandmother who would beat and scold me at every turn, only thinking of extorting money from me? Murong Jian, how can you say such shameless things? Who in the Capital City doesn’t know that you and Lady Wang are cut from the same cloth, a den of snakes and rats that roughed me up and abused me? If I hadn’t been lucky enough to meet my master, I would have long become an unnamed pile of bones."

Yu Yan’s aura became oppressively cold, and his gaze pierced Murong Jian like a sharp sword while he held Murong Jiu’s shoulders, his fingers gently tapping, as though comforting her.

Murong Jiu shook her head at him, indicating it was okay. The incident was long past, and she was no longer saddened by it.

The people present, upon hearing this, also felt indignant on Murong Jiu’s behalf. The actions of the entire family of Marquis Murong’s Mansion had once shocked the Capital City to its core, and such a massive scandal still caused some people to feel ill fortune and grind their teeth with curses.

Who would have thought Murong Jian would be so unrelenting, his face thicker than the city walls:

"Murong Jiu! You still use the name we gave you, which shows that you hold us in your heart. No matter what we did to you, we have indeed raised you. How can you treat your grandmother and your father this way? Is this the filial piety of the Princess Consort Ling?"

Jun Yuyan shielded Murong Jiu behind him and said in a deep voice,

"Firstly, Ah Jiu bears this family name to honor her birth mother, Lady Murong, not related to you in any way; secondly, you didn’t name her. She got the name Jiu because she was the ninth in order, and she kept the name for so many years, there was no need to change it. Lastly, as for your so-called grace of raising her, if it means letting her eat rotten food and drink dirty water, then I, as her husband, can perform the ’filial duty’ on behalf of Ah Jiu!"

"Someone come!"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.