Perchance to Dream

25: Same Song, Different Tune

Wei Wanru, Chu Yexuan, and Chu Yeguang found themselves paying attention to different details of the sudden spectacle.

Isn't that the little beggar boy? Are those people hurt?! Wei Wanru didn't think twice before running towards the fallen victims.

She went to see them. Maybe I can go and help out... Chu Yexuan followed her automatically.

What is Shuyang thinking, dawdling about here? Though it'd be remiss of me as a gentleman to leave that lady lying on the ground. Chu Yeguang privately recalled her coquettish screams and felt a flash of heat before he trailed after the other two.

By now, Li Siyan had managed to sit upright and glare at the ruffian who'd knocked her down. She was in a sorry state, with her cloak rumpled, hair a mess, and a red mark on her cheek where she'd been kicked. Her eyebrows were creased tight, her expression a mix of agony and anger as she cradled her injured wrist.

"Young M-Miss, are you alright?" Next to her, the servant girl crawled to her knees while clutching her nose in pain, blinking back tears.

"Good-for-nothing imbecile!" Li Siyan hissed back, shooting her servant a furious glare. "Do you have beans for brains? Or were you simply planning to murder me outright?"

"Young Miss, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the servant girl bowed furiously from the ground. "I didn't---I didn't mean to slip, it was an accident!"

Too irritated to bother with the girl, Li Siyan reached out with her left hand and caught the beggar boy's wrist as he scrambled on the ground next to her. "And you! What do you think you're doing? You clumsy oaf, you knocked me over!"

"Leggo!" The boy tried to wrest himself free, but Li Siyan had a vise-like grip. The more he pulled, the more she pulled back. He managed to knock her loose with the package of medicine in one hand, but Li Siyan was quick to grab the paper parcel instead. There was a loud rippppp before the already damaged bundle split in two, scattering its contents on the dirty, half-frozen earth. Wei Wanru, Chu Yexuan, and Chu Yeguang witnessed the unfortunate shower of herbs and precious ingredients just as they caught up to the scene.

The reason that Li Siyan was "late" to crash into the beggar boy this time was simple. In the original novel, Wei Wanru had time to talk to the boy and ask after him. In this one, she'd simply paid for his goods before Chu Yexuan's call distracted her. The beggar boy hadn't wanted to linger around the two rich-looking young masters, so he'd simply turned and walked away. Because of that, Chen Xiao had to forcibly drag Li Siyan forward to make the collusion happen.

Mei Yanran quietly patted her chest as she watched from the shadows. Thank goodness we made it in time! Even if the Goddess of Fates had said that major events in the story wouldn't change, Mei Yanran didn't want to risk missing the little events that led up to them. Maybe Li Siyan would've crashed into the beggar boy at another part of the markets, maybe she and Wei Wanru would clash over something else instead. But rather than relying on the unpredictable, Mei Yanran wanted the storyline to proceed as normally as possible so she could know what would happen next!

"Are you alright?!" Wei Wanru exclaimed first. Then she got a good look at Li Siyan's face and gave a visible start.

Li Siyan recognized Wei Wanru at the same time before displeasure flashed across her face. She finally let go of the beggar boy, who dove towards the ground in panic to collect his ruined medicine. But her retort died on her lips when she saw the two men behind her rival.

Why is she with them?!

"Y-Your Highnesses!" What should have been another snarl turned into a breathy murmur. Combined with Li Siyan's flushed face and the traces of tears in her eyes, it was quite the pretty, pitiful sight. "Siyan is...Siyan feels contrite, to be before you both in this state." She attempted to get up, but involuntarily cried out in pain when she accidentally placed weight on her injured wrist. Her servant girl hastened to help her up into a kneeling position.