With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

"oops."

Lin Ci was bumped on the shoulder, and the sachet in her hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

She bent down to pick it up, and when she looked up suddenly, she saw a burned face and was so frightened that she took a half step back.

Zhao Fugui sneered and deliberately pulled his headscarf up a few inches so that Lin Ci could see his hideous face.

"You still recognize me?" Zhao Fugui said with a forced smile.

Lin Ci's eyes widened slightly. She lowered her head to adjust her slightly rapid breathing, then looked up at him.

"What do you think you're doing in broad daylight?!"

As she spoke, she stepped back, covering her chest with her hand, looking as if she had encountered a lecherous man.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Fugui suddenly grabbed Lin Ci. "You burned my whole family to death, and you think you can run away?! Do you think you can escape?"

Lin Ci struggled twice, but the rough hand gripped her wrist like an iron clamp, remaining unmoved. She turned her head and shouted towards the crowd, "Indecent assault! Someone is assaulting me!"

Princess Yongle was picking out a handkerchief when she heard the shout and turned around abruptly. She saw an ugly man with a scarred face grabbing Lin Ci and refusing to let go.

How could she tolerate such a fiery temper? She grabbed the riding whip from her waist, rushed over in three strides, and lashed Zhao Fugui's face hard with it.

"Ouch!" Zhao Fugui cried out in pain, clutching his face, and staggered backward.

Princess Yongle was not about to give up. She wielded her whip with great force, striking him repeatedly until he spun around like a top.

Princess Yongle cursed as she whipped him, "You lecherous scoundrel, how dare you bully my future sister-in-law! I'll beat you to a pulp today!"

Zhao Fugui was so hit by her that he jumped three meters high, covering his face and then his buttocks.

Hearing the commotion, the surrounding people turned to look. They saw a little girl beating a grown man so badly that he was running away with his head in his hands. The man was ugly and sleazy, and the way he was being beaten was utterly comical. The crowd watched with great interest and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Zhao Fugui originally sought revenge, but unexpectedly became the laughing stock of the whole street. He was both in pain and angry, and his anger was rising to his head.

Zhao Fugui gritted his teeth and endured the pain, snatched the whip from Princess Yongle, glanced down and saw the unicorn pattern engraved on the handle, with a small seal next to it.

Although Zhao Fugui was illiterate, the Qilin pattern was the emblem of the Jing'an Prince's Mansion, and who in the entire capital city didn't recognize it?

OK!

Zhao Fugui raised the whip high in one hand and pointed at Princess Yongle with the other, shouting at the top of his lungs, "So, she's from the Jing'an Prince's Mansion! I knew she had no backing; how could she escape!"

Princess Yongle was furious and anxious when her whip was snatched away. She rushed forward to take it back, but Zhao Fugui shoved her hard on the shoulder.

"screw you!"

Princess Yongle stumbled and fell backward. Lin Ci rushed forward and caught her back, preventing her from falling to the ground.

Upon seeing Lin Ci, Zhao Fugui became even more excited. He turned around, opened his arms to the crowd, and shouted in a shrill voice, "Come and see, everyone! This is the venomous woman! She set fire to my house, killing my entire family of five! Now she's escaped to the capital, with the Jing'an Prince's Mansion as her backer, and she's transformed into a noblewoman. How are we, the poor souls who have lost our loved ones and have been petitioning for years without anyone listening, supposed to survive?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several pairs of eyes fell on Lin Ci, none of them very friendly.

"I never would have guessed that such a quiet and gentle woman could be so ruthless."

"That's right, the Jing'an Prince's Mansion is even protecting her."

"Could that guy be talking nonsense? He looks like a complete scoundrel."

……

"I'm talking nonsense?!" Zhao Fugui heard this, pulled down his headscarf to reveal his entire scarred face, and rushed up to the man, bringing his face close to his. Everyone was startled and backed away. Zhao Fugui persisted, pressing his face closer again, as if afraid others wouldn't see it clearly.

"Look at my face! If I hadn't run fast enough, I would have been meeting the King of Hell like my brothers!"

"Pah!" Princess Yongle spat at Zhao Fugui and snatched the riding whip back from his hand. "Don't spout nonsense here. We don't even know you! Sister Aci, we won't get entangled with this scoundrel."

Lin Ci nodded, took Princess Yongle's hand, and turned to leave.

Zhao Fugui lunged forward, his fingers like hooks, gripping Lin Ci's wrist tightly. "Trying to run? Not so easy. Come with me to the yamen!"

Lin Ci suddenly turned around and slapped Zhao Fugui hard across the face. The sound was crisp and loud, and Zhao Fugui's head turned to the side.

"You scoundrel, dragging me around in broad daylight! Do you think I'm easy to bully?!" Lin Ci turned around and addressed the onlookers sternly, "As you all saw, this man has been relentlessly harassing me, showing no regard for the difference between men and women, and repeatedly trying to tarnish my reputation. The capital is a place where the law prevails; how can he be allowed to act so brazenly?"

"You wicked woman, you're the one who falsely accuses me first! You... Ouch!"

Before Zhao Fugui could finish speaking, he was hit on the head, followed by a basin of water being poured over his head, and rotten vegetable leaves covered him.

He turned around awkwardly and saw a woman standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, holding an empty basin in one hand and leading a small, thin little girl by the hand in the other.

"You lecherous scoundrel, what kind of skill is it to bully a young lady like this!" The woman put the empty basin on the ground, speaking with righteous indignation.

"Hey!" Zhao Fugui rolled up his sleeves, his mouth twisted in anger. "What's it to you?"

"You're disrupting my business! Today is the day my whole family depends on to eat. You're making a scene and blocking all my customers. Get out of here, or I'll hit you!" The woman became angrier as she spoke, and raised the empty basin in her hand again.

As soon as the woman spoke up, several other stall owners chimed in, saying, "You have to compensate us for ruining my good vegetables!"

Zhao Fugui put his hands on his hips, immediately revealing his thuggish nature. He stuck out his neck and said, "Why should I pay? It's not like I stepped on it. After saying all this, you should thank me for getting you business."

"Trying to sell... I'll sell you shit!" In a fit of anger, the vegetable farmer grabbed a handful of rotten vegetable leaves and threw them at Zhao Fugui's face.

He threw it down, and the woman grabbed a carrying pole and started beating Zhao Fugui. Zhao Fugui was beaten so badly he was jumping and hopping, but seeing that they outnumbered him, he didn't dare to be arrogant anymore. He could only run away, clutching his backside, shouting as he ran, "You just wait! This isn't over!"

"Look, look, the dog that fell into the water has run away."

Princess Yongle clapped her hands incessantly, laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

The crowd burst into laughter, then dispersed like the receding tide.

Lin Ci's face was flushed, and her heart was pounding. She had almost lost her composure just now, but fortunately the woman helped her in time.

"Thank you, madam."

Lin Ci turned around, about to bow deeply to the woman.

To everyone's surprise, the woman came forward first, grabbed her hand, and stuffed two fresh white radishes into her palm.

"My lady, please don't say that. We should be thanking you."

Lin Ci found it strange, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was the woman who had come to provide free medical consultations that day.

The woman smiled and pulled the little girl to her side, asking her to bow to Lin Ci.

The girl obeyed, bowed respectfully, and said in a clear voice, "Thank you so much, doctor, for saving my life."

The woman smiled and said, "I felt your voice sounded familiar when I heard you speak earlier. Although you were dressed as a man that day, your face is still the same. Ever since my daughter took your prescription, she has become much better. The Prince Jing's mansion even sent chickens and eggs, which I feel really bad about. The other day I went to Cheng'an Hall to inquire about her whereabouts, but they wouldn't tell me. I never expected to meet you here today."

As she spoke, the woman bowed deeply once more.

Lin Ci quickly helped her up, saying, "No need for such formalities. Saving lives is a doctor's duty. Thank you for getting me out of this predicament today; otherwise, I don't know how long I would have been bothered."

"Yes, yes." Princess Yongle was already munching on the radish the woman had given her, crunching it deliciously. "That man had shifty eyes; he didn't look like a good person at all."

Her cheeks puffed out, and she added, her words muffled, "But Sister Aci, what exactly did he mean by what he just said?"

"Who knows? Maybe they mistook him for someone else," Lin Ci said softly, then looked up and gazed in the direction where Zhao Fugui had disappeared at the alley entrance.

Meanwhile, Zhao Fu hid in the alley, wiping the water off his body while cursing, "What kind of bastards are they? They're all blind and deaf. Once I climb up to Liang Wang's high branch, I'll have you all beheaded... Ouch!"

A dark shadow loomed like a ghost; upon closer inspection, all that remained in the alley was a worn-out shoe covered in vegetable leaves.