19 Running Men On the Streets

After sending the seven of them including Jiang Yan and Shen Guangzuo off, many male companions came to reveal Huan Yuan's plot to Chu Yu for the next two days. In return, they got what they desired, which was their freedom and future.

As for who they should be recommended, Chu Yu had to hand that decision over to Rong Zhi since she was unfamiliar with the place. He was given full authority to carry on.

Although Chu Yu had yet to trust Rong Zhi fully, in this completely unfamiliar world that she was in, she would be stumbling around like a headless fly if she did not ask for help.

Some of the male companions asked for their freedom, but some of the restless ones did not forget to frame others such as telling her who said what about her. Chu Yu would listen and turn a deaf ear to them while nodding with a smile. She would forget what they said as soon as she turned back around.

She was not sure if the idiom 'three women are enough for drama' was true, but she experienced 'three men are enough for drama' here. She had no idea how much effort she would have to put in if she were to patiently untangle these messy relationships. Therefore, she decided that she would not bother and would rather end everything right there.

In a short few days, the people and connections were scattered all over the place. Apart from those who could not be released, those who did not want to leave and those who had nowhere to go, only six out 

Although it was pleasing to the eyes for her to be surrounded by a big bunch of beautiful men every day, she would feel dizzy from looking at them as time went by. Moreover, most of them did not want to stay here genuinely and trouble would be soon inevitable in the future. Although Huan Yuan's plot was smothered in the cradle, nobody could guarantee there would not be someone like that in the future. She would rather send them away as soon as she could and conveniently do them a favor, making them feel slightly grateful to her.

Chu Yu knew that had it been the Princess Shan Yin from the past, she definitely would not feel pressured like what she was experiencing right now. However, Princess Shan Yin got her power from cruelty. Chu Yu could not bring herself to do what Princess Shan Yin did. All she could do was be Chu Yu from a thousand years later and used her own methods.

Although Chu Yu wanted to send all of them away, surprisingly, six of them eventually stayed.

The 12-year-old boy that she had seen at the banquet the other day was called Baili Liusang. There was nowhere that she could send him. He was a 12-year-old boy after all, but his abilities were limited no matter how talented he was. Liu Sang's parents were killed by robbers when Princess Shan Yin met him back then. He had nowhere to go even if Chu Yu were to send him out of the Imperial Residence now.

Meanwhile, Liu Se and Mo Xiang declined although they had the opportunity to get out of the Imperial Residence. They insisted to stay by Chu Yu's side and even threatened to take their own lives.

Among the duo, Liu Se was born into a poor family. Knowing that Princess Shan Yin was fond of beautiful men, he mustered his guts and hid where she usually played, and he was then taken into the Imperial Residence. Meanwhile, Mo Xiang had been a toy given to Princess Shan Yin by an officer. It was said that his family had conducted a felony and everyone in the family was killed.

One of them cried that he would not be able to live if he were chased out of the Imperial Residence while another complained Chu Yu used to call him "Little Xiang Xiang", but had now taken the endearment back. At the same time, one of them tried hanging himself while another wanted to jump into the lake as if they had rehearsed it beforehand. Of course, Chu Yu knew they were pretending. She had seen such dramatic acts many times on the television. She initially wanted to insist on chasing them out, but she was worried they would go too deep into their act and really kill themselves, so she decided to keep them.

She could not bring herself to let that happen after all.

There was another one called Hua Cuo. He was the male companion who called in sick twice when the banquet took place. However, compared to Huan Yuan who had faked it, Hua Cuo was really ill and had to stay in bed. His life depended on the premium herbs and doctors in the Princess's Imperial Residence, so Chu Yu could not chase him out.

Huan Yuan, on the other hand… Chu Yu thought it was difficult to deal with this person. She only found out that Huan Yuan's ancestors, which was the Huan Clan, was once a prestigious family. However, due to the revolt of the clan master decades ago, Princess Shan Yin's ancestor, Liu Yu, killed the clan master when he got the opportunity to. Meanwhile, those who did not participate in the revolt in the Huan Clan were put under house arrest. Most of them were killed one after another throughout the years while Huan Yuan was the only remaining member left.

Two years ago, Princess Shan Yin saw Huan Yuan by accident and grew fond of him. She then tried everything to bring Huan Yuan to her residence secretly. Whether Huan Yuan was willing to do that, that was none of her concern.

Looking at the connection, Chu Yu's ancestor was the rival who ended Huan Yuan's clan, like the saying 'the vengeance of one's father being killed is irreconcilable'. Moreover, not only did Chu Yu kill Huan Yuan's father, but she had killed all of his family members. Although Huan Yuan tolerated it and did not stab her with a knife, the vengeance was definitely not forgotten.

However, the interesting thing was that Huan Yuan was the descendant of a sinner. Although he resented Princess Shan Yin, he had to depend on her power to keep his life.

Lastly, Rong Zhi.

Chu Yu asked him if he wanted to leave, but he did not respond. All he did was recite a song called 'Untouchable Lovers' to her. His voice was gentle, making Chu Yu's heart race while her cheeks were flushed while he was at it. She was too shy to ask any further.

***

What was a princess's life like?

As a princess, there was no need for her to be concerned about people's lives, and neither did she have to worry about the conflicts happening internally and outside. She indulged herself in food and drinks. She owned houses, lands, power as well as beautiful men. It made sense for Princess Shan Yin to complain that she was bored and spent most of her youth on that big, luxurious bed in her bedchamber.

Since Chu Yu inherited this body, it was a no-brainer that Princess Shan Yin must be dead now. Chu Yu did not care how she died. However, since she inherited Princess Shan Yin's identity, it made sense for her to take over her place to eat, drink, solicit prostitution, and gamble… Err, prostitution was unnecessary for her. Apart from eating, drinking and gambling, she should come up with new stuff to entertain herself from the perspective of a person coming from 1,000 years in the future. Otherwise, life would be flat and boring in this time without computers.

After spending some time studying Princess Shan Yin's handwriting, Chu Yu realized she had been writing running scripts in the past. She had beautiful handwriting, which was hard for her to copy in a short period of time. After thinking it through, Chu Yu had decided to practise official script instead. Since she was starting from zero, nobody would be able to point out the differences in her handwriting.

In two to three days, she managed to write decent calligraphy which she neglected. She could pretty much get by with her handwritings now. Chu Yu was too lazy to aim for perfection, so her main mission as a princess began - to have fun.

It was boring staying in. All she could do was eat and drink. She was so bored that she started playing luminous pearls like marbles. If this went on, she might imitate what the ancients do, which was to tear silk just to listen to the sound. Soon, Chu Yu looked out of the Princess's Imperial Residence.

The city that Chu Yu was currently in was called Jiankang. However, a thousand years later, the name was changed to Jinling and eventually, Nanjing.

Nanjing was the ancient capital that existed thousands of years ago. Too much bustling glory, hardships, depressions gathered in this city. It was so heavy that it was hard for one to imagine. Reborn into ancient times and reborn into such a time and this place, she would be disappointing God's kindness if she did not take a closer look.

Naturally, Chu Yu had her own principle since she was going to have fun. It would be a killjoy to have a big bunch of guards following her and retinue clearing the paths for her when she was strolling the streets. The only good thing about that was it would be convenient for her to bring back decent, handsome men if she happened to see one. However, Chu Yu did not have such a fondness now as she did not need that at all.

She had just cleared a bunch of men from her residence while the six who stayed gave her a tiny headache. She was not Princess Shan Yin after all, thus she did not have such a big appetite.

Chu Yu did not want to call attention to herself on the streets, so the best solution was a disguise. She put on male clothes and trimmed her hair a little before tying it up. Just like that, she turned into a beautiful young man.

Her face was elegant and delicate, so even though she disguised herself as a man, she still stood out.

The two of them sneaked out of the Princess's Imperial Residence's backdoor and arrived in a bustling street after passing through a remote alley.

Shops stretched along both sides of the streets while banners fluttered in the air. Some of the houses had big and tall willow trees planted at their entrances. It was spring now, and the willow seeds floated in the air in the breeze of the warm wind. Some of them landed on Chu Yu's body. She picked them up with her fingers and tossed them away after taking a closer look at them. Although these willow seeds and those in the Princess's Imperial Residence were the same a thousand years later, Chu Yu could not help but feel delight that came from her heart.

As she strolled the streets, Chu Yu noticed there were many of them looking at her enthusiastically. She did not mind that since those were just some young ladies of 16 or 17 at first, but later on, 80% of the people on the streets were looking at her. They were pointing and talking about her as they looked at them.

Chu Yu was a little lost as she had never encountered such a situation. She had no idea why these people were looking at her. Although Chu Yu thought she was handsome disguising a man, she was not so handsome that she could make people fall head over heels for her. So why were people looking at her?

Could they see through her and found out she was a lady?

Chu Yu stopped walking and asked a civilian young lady who was closest to her: "Why are you guys looking at me…" Before she could finish speaking, the young lady screamed and lifted her arm to remove the silk flower from her hair. She then tossed it at Chu Yu.

Chu Yu's heart jolted and she retreated immediately. "What are you doing?" Did she look like a pervert or a beast? Even a little lady was throwing stuff at her, preventing her from getting closer. However. if she were to throw something for self-defense, should she not throw something that was a little more threatening than a silk flower?

Moreover, she looked at her reflection in a basin before. She thought her features were pretty outstanding.

Something terrifying happened after the young lady took action. The men and women nearby brought out the stuff of their own. Some of them were holding flowers, some were holding twigs, some were holding unripe melons while someone even held a rather small cabbage…

They were throwing the stuff at Chu Yu one after another.

'They have gotten insane!' The thought came into Chu Yu's head at that moment. She pulled Yue Jie Fei by instinct and started running while protecting her head.

The people were already getting out of control, and she would be stupid to be staying where she was, allowing them to smash her!

Although Chu Yu could definitely get Yue Jiefei to beat up and even disperse the people, she was not Princess Shan Yin after all. She was born a young lady who lived with freedom and equality. She had no scorn in her bones towards the civilians and had never treated them like ants. Instead of solving this with 'beat these peasants 

After running a couple of steps away, Chu Yu's face became pale when she turned around to take a glance. The people who were smashing things at her were not done after throwing stuff at her while gave chase after her as they shouted out loudly.

Chu Yu had never seen such a thing before, so she was extremely confused. She did not notice what they were shouting about at all. All she was thinking was to run away, she was accelerating as she pulled Yue Jie Fei with her.

These people were a bunch of mobs! Even though… Even though she looked a little like a beast, it was unnecessary for them to be so ruthless, was it not?

However, the faster Chu Yu ran, the more aggressive the people were. There were only over ten people chasing her at first, but there would be more people joining the pursuit every street that she ran by. Eventually, it became an army of a hundred people!

There were over a hundred people chasing behind them while Chu Yu and Yue Jiefei ran like madmen in front. It was a grand and spectacular sight!