Now that her son had suddenly appeared in the capital, it was highly possible there was a trap, and she should be cautious.
But as she hesitated, a guard arrived in Leng Ruoshuang’s courtyard.
“Consort Leng, His Highness wants you and Madam Liu to go handle the people outside the mansion gate.” The young guard said expressionlessly to Madam Liu and her daughter.
This was the intention of Prince Qing. Leng Ruoshuang had wanted to decline, but now it seemed impossible.
“I understand. You can go back,” Leng Ruoshuang replied dejectedly.
“See? Prince Qing still wants us, mother and daughter, to handle this. He won’t help us with such trivial matters,” Liu Ruyi said sarcastically.
“Then I’ll go out with Mother,” Leng Ruoshuang said solicitously.
How could she not know that Prince Qing would not help them? She simply didn’t want Liu Ruyi to find that illegitimate son. She, Leng Ruoshuang, did not want a bastard brother.
A moment later, Madam Liu and her daughter arrived at the gate of Prince Qing’s mansion.
The small vendors at the gate saw Madam Liu and her daughter emerge and immediately asked loudly, “Who are you two?”
Liu Ruyi’s sharp gaze swept over the crowd at the gate. “I am Liu Ruyi, the one you are looking for. Hurry up and tell me what you want.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a young boy’s voice came from the middle of the crowd, “Mother, save me quickly! I am Sen’er.”
“Sen’er~”
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Liu Ruyi froze as if struck by a giant hammer.
“Mother, it’s me, I’m Sen’er. Please save me quickly,” the little boy cried.
He had thought that traveling all the way to the capital to find his mother would bring him good fortune. He could even be a little overlord in the capital with the status of Prince Leng’s consort’s brother. He never expected to be caught as soon as he snuck into the capital today.
Hearing her son’s voice again, Liu Ruyi snapped back to reality. She looked at the small figure being held in the crowd, her heart filled with sorrow.
However, Leng Ruoshuang was displeased. She hadn’t expected it to be this little brat. If he were to acknowledge his mother, her mother would focus her energy on him, and would not care as much about her, her daughter.
“Sen’er, is it really you?” Liu Ruyi asked softly.
“Mother, it is really me!” the little boy replied.
“Why are you treating a child like this?” Liu Ruyi asked with a chilling tone.
“You are his mother, aren’t you? He was causing trouble on the street and overturned many of our stalls. What do you say we should do about it?” the burly man holding the boy said sternly.
“Why did he overturn your stalls?” Liu Ruyi frowned, asking in confusion.
“You’ll have to ask your good son about that,” the burly man said with a cold smile, his face as dark as Bao Gong.
“Mother, we overturned those stalls by accident,” the little boy refused to admit anything, knowing he would have to pay a lot of money for overturning so many stalls.
Liu Ruyi’s face immediately darkened upon hearing the boy’s words. This child was too naughty.
“Did you overturn all their stalls?” Liu Ruyi asked him with a dark expression.
The little boy lowered his head guiltily, not daring to look into Liu Ruyi’s eyes. In truth, he was not close to this mother. They had only met a few times. He was uncertain if Liu Ruyi truly loved him.
Liu Ruyi saw his demeanor and knew the truth. However, she could not let her son take all the blame today.
Later, it was precisely because of Liu Ruyi’s mindset that this tragedy befell the little boy.
“Sen’er, you didn’t do it on purpose, did you?” Liu Ruyi asked the boy.
“Yes, Mother, I didn’t do it on purpose,” the little boy insisted.
The conversation between Liu Ruyi and the boy instantly enraged the merchants outside the mansion gate.
“I don’t care if he overturned our stalls intentionally or not. The little clay figurines on my stall took me over two months to make. By overturning my stall, you’ve caused me to lose two months of income, and I still have to support my family. You must compensate us immediately!” a stall owner selling small clay figurines shouted.
Following his words, the crowd immediately chimed in.
“That’s right! Compensate us immediately!”
“Compensate us immediately!”
“Compensate us now!”
“…”
At this moment, Leng Ruoshuang shouted angrily, “I tell you, you won’t get a cent from us! If you want money, go ask the perpetrator. I won’t give you a single coin.”
Liu Ruyi, standing beside her, was instantly stunned by Leng Ruoshuang’s words. That was her brother! How could she say such a thing?
“Shuang’er, Mother begs you, don’t say any more nonsense. You’ll kill your brother,” Liu Ruyi reminded her with great disappointment.
“Mother, I don’t acknowledge this brother, and you shouldn’t expect me to use my money to clean up his mess. This is a mess he created himself, let him figure it out. How you deal with him is none of our business,” Leng Ruoshuang said ruthlessly.
The merchants outside the gate heard the conversation between Madam Liu and her daughter, and their eyes turned red with anger.
“Since neither of you is willing to compensate him, then I will deal with him for you.”
This merchant was a butcher, usually short-tempered and fond of drinking, often tipsy and muddled. He was angered by Leng Ruoshuang’s words. He reached out and snatched the child from the burly man holding him.
Then, he drew a butcher’s knife from his waist and swung it at the little boy’s neck. Blood immediately splattered onto those nearby, and the little boy died on the spot.
“Ah—”
“Ah—”
“Murder!”
“Murder!”
“…”
The onlookers who witnessed this scene were so terrified that they scattered in all directions.
Even the butcher was stunned. Seeing the severed body on the ground, his drunkenness instantly cleared. He dropped the butcher’s knife and fled.
Liu Ruyi, seeing her son’s corpse, completely broke down. She rushed to her son’s body, her dark hair instantly turning white.
“Sen’er, my Sen’er! Ah…”
At this moment, Leng Ruoshuang was also stunned. She had never seen such a terrifying scene. Someone actually dared to kill a person in broad daylight.
This little brat was dead, killed because of her angry words. Her mother would surely hate her to death now.
“Wuwuwu…”
“What should we do?”
“Mother, I didn’t do it on purpose!”
“I didn’t either, I didn’t expect that man to do something like that. Wuwuwu—”
“Leng Ruoshuang, you are too heartless. From today onwards, we are no longer mother and daughter. Your life and death will be of no concern to me,” Liu Ruyi said coldly to Leng Ruoshuang.
After speaking, she had Aman bring needle and thread, and then got a carriage. She sewed her son’s head back on, and with Aman, carried her son’s corpse onto the carriage and left.
Leaving Leng Ruoshuang standing there, completely at a loss.