Li Ming and her two companions came out of the restaurant on the busy street of the bustling market.

They still got more than half an hour before the auction would start and for the very first time, Li Ming had nothing to do to pass her time.

Moreover, her mind was still thinking about what she overheard back in the restaurant. The Crown Prince of the Han Empire was also present there somewhere in the market. Was he also going to attend the auction?

To be honest, Li Ming didn't care about what the Crown Prince of the Han Empire was doing there or the reason behind his visit to the Wang Empire, but the fact that he was Zhang Yong's brother was giving her a weird feeling.

She had stayed away from the Imperial family all these months even though she was so close to the Fourth Prince and thanks to that she knew nothing about the royal family of the Empire where she was living for the past six months.

Just Great!

They were walking towards the last street of the market area and were about to turn around a corner when loud shouts suddenly erupted in the street. People abruptly dispersed to make space on the street.

Li Ming noticed someone running towards them at full speed. She couldn't see the face of the person clearly but it appeared like a young boy probably in his early teens.

A group of guards was running after the kid, shouting at him to stop.

Her gaze wandered around and she noticed an old man dragging a handcart as he blocked the street. Either he did it purposely or he was completely oblivious to everything that was going on around him.

Li Ming already knew that the kid was going to collide with the cart and could get hurt. This made her move in front of the cart as she shouted at the kid to stop running.

But the kid ignored her and prepared to jump over the cart.

Li Ming noticed the change in his body language and knew what he was going to do, but the problem was that even if he jumped over the cart there was no guarantee that he won't get hurt.

As the child neared her and the cart, she moved forward to pull him to a stop but unexpectedly the kid pushed her lightly which caught her off guard.

She staggered backward and two pairs of hands grabbed her to support her.

"Miss Li, are you alright?" Jin Jing asked worriedly.

Li Ming nodded her head lightly as her eyes landed on the kid who, just like her prediction, had landed on his knees on the other side of the cart and looking at the way he was clutching his knees while trying to stand up, it was clear that he had hurt his knees during the landing.

Li Ming shook her head as she watched the back of the limping figure of the boy as he disappeared into a small alley.

The guards were unfortunately not as active physically as the little boy, that's why they stopped running after him as the path was blocked by the cart.

They were busy in shouting at the poor old man who had no idea exactly what happened in the past few minutes.

Li Ming let out a sigh. She was only trying to save the child from getting hurt but looked like she couldn't save everyone.

Her hands accidently brushed against her waist and a frown appeared on her face as her mind registered something. Her pouch that she had hanged on her waist was missing. But she clearly remembered seeing it there a few minutes ago.

It didn't take her long to understand what exactly had happened.

"Shit!"

She cursed out loudly grabbing the attention of Zi Yan, Jin Jing and a few more people who were standing nearby.

"What happened, Miss Li?" Zi Yan asked as she looked at her master with confused eyes.

"That kid, I think he stole my pouch of money." Li Ming told the two girls.

The guards had finally pushed the cart on one side of the street to make space to move ahead and Li Ming watched them disappeared into the same alley where the kid had gone a few minutes ago.

"By the way, did any of you notice why the guards were chasing the kid?" Li Ming asked the two girls.

"I think he stole someone else's money too and the guards were chasing behind him to get the money back."

It was an old woman who was selling masks at a stall behind them, who answered Li Ming's question as Zi Yan and Jin Jing didn't know the reason.

Li Ming thanked the old woman and started walking away from the chaotic street where the crowd had gathered around to share their gossips.

"Miss Li, are you not going to get your money back from that kid?" JIN Jing asked as the two girls followed their master.

"Maybe the kid needed that money. There were only a few silvers in that pouch. And we still needed to be present at the auction which will start within twenty-five minutes." Li Ming replied.

"But we still have around twenty minutes. And moreover, if the kid really needed money or any other kind of help, maybe you can help him. Isn't that what you are doing nowadays? Giving such kind of children a better life?"

Zi Yan knew exactly what she was doing. But the look that Miss Li passed her, made a soft smile appeared on her lips as she knew that she had succeeded in her plan.

It took them barely two minutes before Li Ming found the location of the kid. The girls had no idea how their Master found the boy so soon but they silently followed behind Miss Li.

As Li Ming neared the area where she was feeling the faint energy coming from the little kid, she noticed that the group of the guards, which was running after him, were also present there.

However, she also noticed the silhouette of a man, wearing brocade clothes and a golden headdress.

"Is he from the Imperial family of the Wang Empire?" Li Ming asked Jin Jing as they continued to walk towards the group of guards who hadn't noticed the three girls yet.

The girl tried to look closely at the man who was standing with his back towards them and the guards were surrounding him. Though a little of his side profile was visible.

"No, he is not..."

But before Jin Jing could complete her sentence, she got interrupted by the sudden gasp of Zi Yan.

Both Li Ming and Jin Jing stopped in their tracks as they looked at the shocked Zi Yan who was continuously staring at the man in brocade clothes with large eyes.

"What happened, Zi Yan? Do you know that person?" Li Ming asked the girl.

Zi Yan moved her surprised eyes away from the man and looked at Li Ming with even a higher level of surprise in her eyes.

"Can't you recognize him' Miss LI? He's the Crown Prince of the Han Empire, His Highness Prince Zhi Ruo."

Now, Li Ming knew why Zi Yan looked surprised when she (Li Ming) didn't recognize the Crown Prince of the Han Empire.

"I'm not really that interested in the Imperial family and their daily lives. That's why I never paid attention to them. It's not really that surprising that I can't recognize him." Li Ming told the girls who nodded their heads in understanding.

Their Miss Li was too focused on her businesses and taking care of her people, it was understandable that she was not interested in the Imperial family.

This only made the two girls look at their Master in a new light, because as far as they knew, every girl of the noble families dreamed about marrying into the Imperial family and they would try their best to grasp out every single information available about the Imperial family to use it as their advantage.

"By the way, are you sure that he is the Crown Prince of the Han Empire?" Li Ming asked.

"En! Though we stayed in one of the farthermost villages of the empire but I have seen the Crown Prince three or four times when he visited in the past to survey the troops." Zi Yan answered Li Ming's question.

Li Ming nodded her head as they finally stopped a few feet away from the group of guards.

One of the guards finally noticed them and signalled his partners. Within a few seconds the previously shouting group of men became silent as they all noticed the three girls.

"What is going on?"

A musical tone came from behind the guards who immediately parted to clear the view for their master.

The Prince looked young, probably in his early twenties. Half of his dark black hair was held in a golden headdress while the rest were falling down his back.

What surprised Li Ming was the Feminine touch that he held. His hair was falling around his face loosely. His thin eyebrows, long dark lashes, rosy pink full lips, and smooth milky skin was a clear contrast to his male body.

Even the clothes that he was wearing were light pink in color with the slightest touch of black and golden in it. And the final touch in his feminine vibe was his thin musical voice.

Li Ming wasn't sure what to think of the Crown Prince, because all that her eyes could see was his facade that he had pulled.

According to her, the Crown Prince of the Han Empire was carrying so many secrets behind his pretty face.