Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

Unfortunately, the crown prince was protected by layers upon layers of people, making him extremely vulnerable.

Not to mention seeing his face clearly, Gui Yao didn't even see a single hair on his head.

Curious, she asked, "Auntie, who are those people protecting the Crown Prince?"

The capital is relatively peaceful, so why are they being so cautious?

"You're new here, aren't you? That's the Yilong Guard."

The old woman was clearly a supporter of the Crown Prince, praising, "These Yilong Guards, though they are His Majesty's guards..."

But they were established for His Majesty when the Crown Prince was around ten years old, so the Imperial Guards hold the Crown Prince in high esteem, and they always accompany him on his travels.

Gui Yao muttered, "Respect doesn't mean protecting him like a chick."

The crown prince is capable of annihilating several neighboring countries; he is a man of both literary and military talent, and certainly not a weakling.

Her voice was soft, and the old woman didn't hear her clearly. She asked, "What did you say, young lady?"

Gui Yao covered his face with his sleeve and said, "I say the Crown Prince is worthy of respect."

It was just a bit of curiosity; if I couldn't see it, I wouldn't look. Guiyao wandered off to Prince Jin's residence.

Xiao Huaijin was listening to his secret guards report on Gui Yao's trip to the west of the city to distribute money.

It wasn't that they sent secret guards to keep watch; it was purely by chance that they discovered it.

Xiao Huaijin listened with a solemn expression.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?"

Seeing his expression, the swordsman asked with concern.

Xiao Huaijin pondered for a moment and said, "Prepare the furnace. If Gui Yao sends gold and silver, melt my share into gold and silver ingots."

He firmly believed that if Gui Yao said they would separate, they would definitely separate.

He tentatively asked, sword in hand, "You also wish to disperse?"

Xiao Huaijin nodded, "Send people to more distant cities to eliminate the truly impoverished areas."

He would not participate in matters in the capital to avoid arousing suspicion.

Holding the sword, he was somewhat reluctant. "Master, these are the people of Dasheng..."

"Imperial power has national boundaries, but the common people do not."

Xiao Huaijin disagreed with the sword-wielding argument, saying, "Besides, the gold also belongs to Dasheng."

He merely took from Dasheng and used it for Dasheng.

The poor people who received his money could only buy more grain and new clothes; they couldn't use it to deal with Nan Yao.

He thought for a moment, then said, "Then bring out yours as well."

The prince often said, "When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer."

Therefore, when Nan Yao waged war, it never attacked the people of the enemy country.

In the prince's heart, the people of Dasheng are probably no different from the people of Nanyao, especially since it is a time of peace.

He is narrow-minded.

Xiao Huaijin said, "If you're willing, you can take out a portion; you don't have to take out all of it."

Some of the windfall should indeed be given away.

But that was Gui Yao's affection for Zhi Jian and the others, and it was also what Zhi Jian and the others had gained through their efforts.

Being a bodyguard or a secret agent is no easy task, and Xiao Huaijin wouldn't make any demands on them.

But he has vanished without a trace...

Xiao Huaijin frowned slightly. Gui Yao went to the west of the city to distribute money, simply because he felt sorry for them?

Or did she find out something? Is she trying to make amends?

Before they could figure it out, someone came with a lantern to report, "Gui Yao has arrived."

Gui Yao came to divide the spoils.

She moved all three boxes out of her spatial storage. "Light the lamps, take the swords, and please count them and divide them into nine parts."

Xiao Huaijin didn't mince words and said directly, "My men saw you acting like a money-giving boy in the west of the city. I'd like to try that feeling too. Could you take me with you next time?"

When the guards of Prince Jin's mansion discovered Gui Yao, Gui Yao had already spotted him and recognized him as someone from Prince Jin's mansion, which is why she didn't make a move.

Seeing that Xiao Huaijin had spoken frankly, Gui Yao smiled and said, "That's good, of course."

He was indeed the man she had her eye on; he was upright and honest.

"I'm planning to go for a walk outside the city tonight, shall we?"

Xiao Huaijin smiled, "Go."

He turned to look at the swordsman, "Once you've divided the gold and silver, take them to be melted down."

Taking the opportunity to slack off, Gui Yao said, "Then melt my share too."

The Prince's mansion has many people and great strength, which is better than her and Qingqing struggling together.

Having received such a great benefit from her, none of the sword-wielding men could refuse.

The four guards, in particular, had never received so much money before and were very grateful to Gui Yao.

Upon learning that they were going to spend their money, the four guards discussed it and decided to contribute half of their wealth as well.

Mao Dan thought for a moment, "I'll melt down 30%, use another 10% to buy food for my bird lovers, and my owner will keep the rest for me."

As times change, although the owner now has a lot of money, he still needs to save money just in case.

Gui Yao didn't interfere with Mao Dan's decision, but since he was free anyway, he teased Mao Dan.

"Okay, save this for our Maodan. If it meets a bird it likes in the future, and they get married and have babies, our Maodan will have to support the family."

"Master, you mustn't make fun of the hairy egg."

Mao Dan pecked at the hair that had disappeared. "Otherwise, Mao Dan will tell everyone that the master is making a fuss about marrying Mr. Zhu."

The three characters "Mr. Zhu" were emphasized by it.

Gui Yao immediately pinched her mouth shut, and with her other hand pinched Mao Dan's.

What Mr. Zhu?

It was a wild boar.

She wanted to catch wild boars to sell for money, but at that time her martial arts skills had not recovered, she had collected little spiritual power, and her spiritual energy was scarce. She was reluctant to waste her spiritual energy fighting wild boars.

They tricked the wild boar into becoming their bride, intending to infiltrate their ranks and use a sleeping potion to wipe them all out.

The wild boar, of course, couldn't understand her "heartfelt confession," but that didn't stop Mao Dan from often telling her about it as a joke.

Being mocked by Mao Dan for three years is enough; I can't let the prince and the others make fun of me too.

Xiao Huaijin, unaware of the riddle of the man and the bird, narrowed his eyes slightly.

Where did Gui Yao go? There was actually a Mr. Zhu?

A love rival!

But the prince was very shrewd and didn't reveal it at all. Only at dinner, there were a few insect dishes on the table.

These are all foods that balut (fertilized duck eggs) love to eat.

Even the balut couldn't help but exclaim, "Your Highness is so kind! I even want to be your fiancée!"

Xiao Huaijin smiled and said, "We're all family, no need to be polite. If you want to eat anything in the future, just tell Zhangdeng."

He didn't want the bird to repay him with its body; he wanted the bird to be completely open and honest.

However, given the uncertainty of the situation, Mao Dan was very cautious and could not rush things.

The man and the bird were so engrossed in the delicious food that they were completely unaware that the prince was using sweet talk to deceive them.

As night fell, Xiao Huaijin instructed the others, "You don't need to follow me. I can go with you alone."

He instinctively thought to himself, "I'm worried."

The lamp-bearer replied first, "Yes, I will guard the home well."

The prince clearly wanted to be alone with Gui Yao; wouldn't it be inconsiderate for them to follow him?

As for danger, even if they were all combined, they wouldn't be a match for Gui Yao. Besides, the prince himself was quite skilled in martial arts.

Xiao Huaijin glanced admiringly at the lanterns, then led Gui Yao out of the mansion gate, and then to the city gate.

He didn't ask where they were going, and simply followed Gui Yao using his light-footed skills, but the two of them never separated their hands.

"Let's go to Duanyun'ao first."

Gui Yao said to Xiao Huaijin, "Although that village is close to the capital, it is located in the mountains, making it inconvenient to go out, so the people there rarely suffer hardship."

However, the taxes that should have been handed over to the imperial court were not reduced at all.

Naturally, these messages came from bird enthusiasts.

"Okay, I'll do as you say, miss."

Xiao Huaijin nodded.

He didn't say anything about whether there were bad people in the village who weren't worth helping, nor did he mention anything about teaching someone how to fish rather than giving them a fish.

It is rare for Gui Yao, a woman who has just escaped from danger, to have a kind and righteous heart.

They shouldn't try to get her involved in court affairs; that would only put her in the spotlight.

However, if he, as a prince of another country, gets too involved, it may not be a blessing for the people he helps.

Just like in the west of the city, Gui Yao left money in every household in Duanyun'ao.

The only difference is the quantity; this time, each household receives one gold ingot and one silver ingot.

Duan Yun'ao is outside the capital city, so the cost of living is relatively lower than that of the people in the west of the city. Moreover, they are poorer than the people in the west of the city, and all of them live in mud-brick houses. Giving them too much money would only cause trouble.

Xiao Huaijin understood Gui Yao's intentions and cooperated in distributing the money.

Once outside Duanyun Pass, Gui Yao asked curiously, "Didn't the Prince try to dissuade me?"

Xiao Huaijin immediately grasped the key point, "Miss's actions are prudent and she has done nothing wrong. Has anyone advised her against it before?"

The last sentence is the key point.

Is it that Mr. Zhu?

Gui Yao nodded, "Someone advised me."

She said that by distributing money indiscriminately, the money ends up in the hands of wicked gamblers, which becomes the capital for them to commit evil deeds, and Gui Yao is an accomplice.

If you really want to do good deeds, you should understand the situation clearly and provide targeted assistance, rather than simply throwing money at the problem.

But she was neither doing charity nor had the time to go door-to-door to find out what was going on; that was a matter for the emperor, the crown prince, and the civil and military officials.

She just wanted to do something to calm her mind, for her own sake.

Prince Jin didn't say much, which gave Gui Yao some peace and quiet. She took his hand and said, "Let's go to Luanshi Village."

Just from the village name, you can tell that it must be poor because there are many stones and not much good farmland.

But as soon as they entered the village, they were stopped in their tracks by a heart-wrenching cry.

It sounded like an old woman's voice, and as her voice rang out, lights gradually came on in the village.

Gui Yao and Xiao Huaijin exchanged a glance and quietly followed the sound into the village.

It was indeed an old woman. She was holding the body of a young woman, or rather, a corpse, and was wailing loudly.

"Sui'er, my Sui'er, why did you think of such a thing? You are so young, yet you chose to die. This is like tearing out your own heart."

The person was hanged, with his tongue sticking out, a deep ligature mark on his neck, and bruises on his face. This indicates that he suffered torture before his death.

Xiao Huaijin was deep in thought.

Gui Yao's gaze fell on the open ground next to the corpse, where a bright, multicolored light shone—the soul of the deceased who had just left the body and had not yet been recorded by the underworld.

She was kneeling in front of the old woman, her face full of reluctance and repentance.

With a thought, Gui Yao clenched her fingers, drawing the ball of light into her palm and carrying it away from the village...