Chapter 10: Please Treat Me as a Stranger

They must be eating in their rooms, just like her.

However, were they really only eating steamed buns and pickles at the dinner table?

Du Wan returned to her room and looked at her own meal.

Two small side dishes, one meat and one vegetable, served with a large bowl of rice.

The wicked feudal society, with its rigid hierarchy.

Du Wan thought... oh my, this is actually quite nice.

She ate her meal with great satisfaction.

Feeling too full, Du Wan rubbed her belly. "Chuntao, I’m going downstairs for a walk."

"Oh, alright."

Chuntao hurriedly stuffed the steamed bun into her mouth.

Seeing this, Du Wan quickly said, "Don't rush, don't rush. You eat slowly; I’ll just go downstairs and stroll around for a bit."

"But this..."

"There won't be any danger. Mu Si'an and Hu San are both downstairs."

"Mm-hmm."

Du Wan quickly slipped out the door and trotted downstairs.

Mu Si'an was the first to spot her. "Yo, Miss Du!"

"What?"

"Clothes really do make the person."

"...Do you want to die?"

Du Wan shot him a glare.

Could you make that teasing look a little less obvious?

Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to Du Wan. The entire book *The Beggar Princess*, although written from the perspective of the female lead Qin Yuyu, had her meeting Pei Hao in the capital. Yet, Mu Si'an, as Pei Hao’s close friend and confidant, had not a single word of description in the book.

If he were a peripheral character, he was far too peripheral.

Strange, very strange.

Could it be... that he met his end early?

Du Wan was startled.

Mu Si'an had been watching Du Wan’s rapidly changing expressions with interest.

When her gaze shifted to him and turned into pity, he suddenly felt a chill.

Why does she look like she’s looking at a dead person?

Mu Si'an felt a bit creeped out.

Du Wan kindly reminded him, "Be careful on this journey, especially you. Watch your safety."

"Did Miss Du discover something?" Mu Si'an immediately turned serious.

Du Wan shook her head. "No. It’s you."

"What about me?"

"Your forehead is dark; a great disaster is coming." She spouted nonsense.

"..." Mu Si'an’s face darkened. "Did you change professions? You’re not playing the young lady anymore, you’ve switched to being a charlatan?"

Du Wan put on a serious little face, as if to say, 'Don't take this lightly.' "Better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't, you know? Take care of yourself, sigh."

Such a nice young man, why did he have to die?

The little charlatan Du Wan sighed and walked away with a look of regret.

It was as if he had already died in the prime of his life.

Pei Hao, standing in the second-floor corridor, happened to witness this scene.

Mu Si'an was just about to call out to Du Wan when he inadvertently caught sight of Pei Hao.

Having encountered such an interesting thing, he naturally had to find someone to share it with.

He ran upstairs happily, leaned in toward Pei Hao, and told him about what just happened as if it were a joke.

Pei Hao, however, looked thoughtful after hearing it.

Seeing this, Mu Si'an’s smile faltered. "You don't actually believe her, do you?"

"Prepare for danger in times of peace; if you think ahead, you will be prepared, and if you are prepared, you will have no worries. Don't let the intentions of your elders in naming you go to waste," Pei Hao said slowly.

Mu Si'an felt as if he had been slapped in the face; it stung quite a bit.

However, he still straightened his attitude and put away his flippancy.

When traveling abroad, it is better to be cautious.

Meanwhile, after Du Wan left the inn, she didn't dare go too far, just strolling along the street. Of course, as soon as she came out, Hu San saw her and immediately arranged for two guards to follow.

If anything happened to the young lady, none of them would fare well.

The street was very desolate, much like Chiyan County—poor!

Less than a third of the shops on either side were open for business.

After strolling for only a while, Du Wan lost interest.

Returning to the inn, she saw something interesting at the entrance.

The Xie family’s caravan had arrived, hoping to stay the night.

However, the inn had been booked in its entirety by Pei Hao’s grand gesture.

"One good turn deserves another, it’s not that retribution doesn't come, it’s just that the time hasn't arrived yet. Oh, oh, oh~" Du Wan was so happy that she actually started singing a little tune, one she had improvised on the spot.

Behind her, the two guards: "..."

The young lady really knows how to have fun!

Still, it was quite fitting...

With the guards clearing the way, Du Wan walked to the inn entrance without obstruction.

Qin Yuyu stood there smiling, like a peony about to bloom. Such a great beauty attracted the eyes of many passersby; some pedestrians even intentionally slowed down, wanting to take a few more looks.

Du Wan could clearly see that the other party seemed to be waiting for her to approach.

She tilted her little head, didn't stop her pace, and continued toward the inn.

"Big sister!" Qin Yuyu suddenly called out.

Big sister? Who is she calling?!

Du Wan turned her head and saw Qin Yuyu looking at her. She looked left and right; there were no other women.

Now she could be sure, she was calling her.

Du Wan asked with a strange look on her little face, "Are you calling me?"

"Yes, about what happened last time, we still owe you an apology." Qin Yuyu walked over gracefully and bowed to Du Wan. "Big sister, I'm sorry."

Du Wan did not dodge.

This apology had come a bit late.

Du Wan narrowed her eyes and asked, "How old are you this year?"

"Ah? I'll be fifteen in a month."

"Oh... I'm fourteen."

"Pfft—"

"Haha!"

"Pfft!"

Laughter rose and fell; the onlookers couldn't hold it in.

Du Wan swept her large, dark eyes around in apparent annoyance. "What are you laughing at? What's so funny? I didn't say anything wrong."

Pfft!

Hehe!

This time, it was another roar of laughter.

Qin Yuyu looked slightly embarrassed but admitted her mistake gracefully. "Apologies, I was mistaken. So you are the younger sister."

"You're too kind, you're too kind. However, please call me the kind and lovely Miss Du. Let's skip the 'younger sister' title; I can't bear it."

"Miss Du..."

"Alright, I have things to do, I'm leaving first." Du Wan turned and walked into the inn.

Qin Yuyu said anxiously, "Miss Du, this is the only inn in the vicinity. Could you spare a few rooms? We are willing to pay double the price."

"No, I cannot."

Du Wan stopped, then turned to look at her and said seriously, "Miss Qin, please avoid me in the future. If you can't avoid me, please treat me as a stranger. I don't want to see you, really. Because every time I see you, I can't help but think of the way my grandmother died miserably."

"I'm sorry."

"I won't take revenge on you, but I won't forgive you either." Du Wan had a terrible impression of Qin Yuyu.

No matter what the other party said or did, she couldn't help but speculate with the greatest malice.

Actually, Du Wan didn't want to be that kind of person at all... so it was better to just stay out of sight and out of mind.

This scene was seen not only by Xie Zhang, who was sitting in the carriage, but also by Pei Hao, who was standing in front of the second-floor window.

Du Wan walked into the lobby.

She happened to see Chuntao rushing out. "Miss, you went out for a stroll, why didn't you call for this servant?"

"It's fine, it's fine, I was just walking around nearby." Du Wan waved her little hand and slipped back into her room. After closing the door, she began to practice.

Her martial arts level was still too low; she lacked a sense of security!

The moon climbed to the willow branches.

Outside the inn, there was silence.

Only occasionally could one hear the chirping of insects and the barking of dogs.

Inside the room, under the orange light.

(End of chapter)