Beijing One

At the first light of morning, many stalls have been set up at Fengxian Bridge. Dock workers who have toiled all night are wearing jackets with exposed arms, wiping the sweat off their bodies, sitting on benches and under banyan trees, drinking soy milk, and silently counting how many coins they have put into their pockets last night.

Early risers in groups of three or four cross the bridge in a hurry or leisurely manner, randomly choosing their favorite stalls to drink a bowl of hot porridge or buy a few buns, ready to start a new day.

Not far from Fengxian Bridge, a nondescript cart sat empty, a cloth banner emblazoned with the words "Congee" and "Bao." Beneath it sat two simple square tables and a few benches. A girl in a plain linen dress had her long, dark hair partly covered in a simple bun, pinned only by a crudely carved wooden hairpin. Her delicate, plain face was tinged with a faint melancholy born of the struggle to make a living.

"Two cents a pumpkin pie. How many do I have to sell to make ten taels?"

Carelessly tossing the few copper coins the customer had just given her, Aruo sighed, still brooding over the ten taels of silver. The thought of having to give two whole months' worth of living expenses to the government sent a sharp pang through her chest.

"Be content. The pumpkin was sent by Sister Xian last night, and the flour was donated by Aunt Song's patients. We didn't spend much money. It sold well today." Cai Xin handed her a plate of fried pumpkin cakes and consoled her with a smile, "Just think of the ten taels of silver as a way to ward off misfortune."

What disaster was worth ten taels of silver to ward off? These ten taels were enough for her to go to Lao Cai's coffin shop and buy two discounted solid wood coffins... Pah, why was she cursing herself?

"I lost my fortune, but I also had to lie down for two days." Aruo smiled and handed the food to the customer, then came back and said with a sullen face.

What she hated most in this era was the lack of sanitary napkins.

Ever since her period went out, she'd wanted to cry into her menstrual belt every time. This time, especially, perhaps because the cold ground in the prison had made her sit there all night, the pain was excruciating. She lay in bed for two whole days before she could even get out of bed, and she'd even soiled the bedding.

"Didn't Aunt Song say that you caught a cold?" Cai Xin was speechless. Who asked her to gossip about Su Zirui's life with the actor Zhang in the middle of the night and provide jokes to others?

"Xiao Caixin, you don't love me anymore." Aruo looked at the busy people behind the stall with a sad face. She was so miserable, and her woman was still speaking for other men?

"Oh, now that you know, love and affection will fade away. Besides, what I want is your money." Cai Xin covered her mouth with her hands and giggled, hooking her finger at her.

"Humph, everyone knows that good-looking people have no conscience." Aruo was indignant and slapped her oily fingers away. "I don't have any money, but I have a person. If you die, I will be your ghost."

"Forget it, forget it. Seeing that you are still quite pretty, I have no choice but to accept my fate and make pancakes every day to support you." Cai Xin lamented in frustration, her big eyes sparkling with tears, making people feel adorable.

"Since the beauty is frowning, I have no choice but to work hard. If he becomes rich overnight, he will surely dress my little Caixin in red and green and keep her in a beautiful house." Aruo folded his hands, looking forward to the day when he would become rich overnight.

"It's okay to wear red, but why do you have to wear green? Didn't you say that green hats are not good things?" Cai Xin was touched for a moment and asked doubtfully.

"That's just an idiom. Do you understand idioms?" Aruo said casually with a serious face.

"Ahem."

The two were having a great time when an awkward cough suddenly broke out from behind them, interrupting their boring daily game. Aruo turned around, still smiling, but her smile almost twisted when she saw the person coming.

Xu Tian smiled awkwardly, and Qi Qi stared at the two women holding hands on the stall in amazement. The man in blue behind him had obviously heard the fight between the two just now. His sword-like eyebrows raised arrogantly, his face looked a little weird, and there was a hint of disgust.

"Brother Xu, Qi Qi, Su... Lord Su, why are you here so early?" Feeling a little guilty under his gaze, Aruo smiled innocently and was extremely well-behaved.

"We just came back from out of town and wanted to come here to eat something." Xu Tian looked a little tired. He spontaneously poured a bowl of soy milk, added some salt, and handed it to Su Zirui.

One convenient thing about their stall is that the soy milk is boiled and placed in a large pot. People can pour it themselves. Sugar, coarse hydrochloric acid beans, etc. are also placed on the side for you to choose from.

"Everyone, try our pumpkin pie today, it's our bestseller~" Aruo brought two plates, glanced at Su Zirui's soy milk, and a look of disgust flashed in his eyes.

Sweet soy milk is the way to go, you young man who doesn’t understand gourmet food.

Before that sharp gaze swept over, Aruo turned his head very naturally. Seeing Qi Qi's constipated expression, he couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Qiqi, what's wrong with you?"

The joking name made someone pause slightly while drinking soy milk, and frowned in disapproval.

"Miss Qi, if you do this, it will damage my reputation." Qi Qi couldn't help but say after holding it in for a long time.

Aruo's mouth twitched slightly, and she looked back at Caixin. Does she have such a thing?

Cai Xin shook her head honestly.

"Are you envious? I always say that my Xiaocai is as kind-hearted as calm water and has deep feelings for me." Aruo raised his eyebrows and smiled proudly.

"Miss Qi, if you don't know the words, don't use them." Su Zirui suddenly spoke while playing with the teacup in his hand.

"I don't know how to use words?" Aruo burst into laughter. She graduated from a prestigious university and studied Chinese for over a decade. Even after all these years, but... this ancient person said she couldn't use words? Did he even know what the joy of life was? "Indeed, a commoner like me can't compare to someone like you, a master with a brilliant tongue and a wealth of knowledge."

When it comes to reciting poems and composing couplets, she cannot compete with the ancient scholars who studied hard for more than ten years, but she can still speak a few four-character phrases without any difficulty.

"I don't deserve it. I can't compare to the young lady who is so graceful." Su Zirui raised his eyes slightly, glanced at her, and said lightly, "Is our porridge ready?"

"...Right away!" Aruopi said without a smile. Suddenly, the guests at the next table called for the bill. Aruo instantly smiled brightly and immediately left his side to meet them. "Here I come~"

Seeing this, Su Zirui sneered and shook his head slightly.

…………………… ………………………… …………………………

"Ruo girl, something happened!"

A middle-aged man with a goatee and wearing a Taoist robe ran past in a hurry and almost knocked over Xu Tian's table. Xu Tian and others quickly held down the table. The man didn't bother to apologize. He looked up and saw the woman holding the porridge and started yelling.

"Old Cai, why are you so anxious at your age? If you put my porridge on the table, you will be in real trouble. I will make you spit out your coffin." Aruo handed the porridge to Xu Tian in a bad mood.

"No, something happened to Miss Xian! She..." Old Cai stamped his feet anxiously, his voice a little choked, "She's dead!"

Aruo's heart trembled instantly, his pupils shrank slightly, and he subconsciously looked at Ning Caixin who walked out of the stall.

"Old Cai, stop talking nonsense!" Cai Xin scolded, "Sister Xian just sent something over last night. She's fine."

"No, it's true..." Old Cai's eyes were red with anxiety. He couldn't help but wave his wide sleeves and slap his thighs. "The government came to me to ask for a coffin... Miss Xian... had a cesarean section to remove the baby! She's lying in the alley next to Chunfeng!"

Aruo and Caixin looked at each other, and turned around and ran towards the spring breeze at the same time.

"Hey, wait for me!" Old Cai grabbed the little boy behind him and said, "You watch the stall, I'll go ahead."

"Sir, this..." Xu □□ Su Zirui looked over, only to see that his master had already stood up with his sword, throwing down a few copper coins.

"Walk."

Qi Qi wiped his lips, picked up his sword, and swiftly jumped over the bench to catch up. The little boy who was left behind stamped his feet anxiously, wanting to catch up, but seeing a few diners sitting down for breakfast, he had no choice but to jump up and down to greet the customers first.

Fengxian Bridge was still bustling with noise, as if the chaos just now had never happened. The diners were just curious about where the two proprietresses had gone, and no one was interested in finding out more.

When Aruo and Caixin arrived, the alley entrance had been cordoned off by several officials, and someone was trying to dissuade the crowd from gathering to watch. Perhaps because it had rained the previous night, blood had spread throughout the alley, forcing the nearby residents to fetch water to wash down the ground after the officials left.

"Ruo girl, why are you here too?" A middle-aged woman in plain clothes with a cloth tied in a bun on her head was wiping her tears and looked up with a bit of surprise when she saw the two of them.

"Auntie Song, Sister Xian..." Cai Xin walked over and supported her, wanting to ask but not daring to.

Aunt Song shook her head when she heard this and looked at the ball covered with white cloth over there.

The white cloth was stained with blood and covered tightly, revealing only one foot clad in an embroidered shoe, the exact pattern Shuxian usually wore. Beside the cloth, a man in a long robe, looking distraught, knelt on the ground, clutching the fabric of his clothes across his chest and sobbing uncontrollably.

That was Mr. Wang from the entrance of Chunfengli Lane, Liang Shuxian’s husband.

Cai Xin's tears suddenly fell, her hands trembling uncontrollably as she clutched the sleeve of the person next to her. "Aruo..."

Aruo, with red eyes, looked at Caixin. Caixin nodded slightly, leaned on Aunt Song's shoulder and stood near the corpse.

Not long after, Su Zirui and others also arrived.

"Sir Su." The officer who was squatting and inspecting quickly stood up and saluted.

"What happened?" Su Zirui asked about the case and gave a wink. Xu Tian and others understood and stepped forward to disperse the people who were surrounding them.

"Shortly after the fifth watch, Granny Chen, who was cleaning the nightstand, found someone dead in the alley. She was so frightened that she asked her grandson to report the case to the police. The coroner just examined the body and found that the woman was a pregnant woman, who was said to be nine months pregnant, and the fetus had been taken away from her belly." The police officer looked reluctant. He had seen many murder scenes, but he had rarely seen such cruel ones.

"Take it away?" Su Zirui frowned. No wonder the lower half of the white cloth was almost completely stained red. He walked to the wall washed by rain and searched along the corner. Aside from a slight scratch on the corner, there was almost no trace on the ground...

A Ruo squatted beside the corpse and lifted the white cloth with her hand. A faint scent suddenly spread out. A Ruo's pupils trembled, and before she could take a deep breath, someone suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?" Su Zirui scolded unhappily.

Aruo suddenly looked up, her nose and eyes red, tears welling in her dark eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. "I... I just want to see if it's her."

"So what if it is, so what if it isn't." Su Zirui let go of her hand and said calmly, "The Ministry of Justice is in charge here. The government is handling the case. Anyone else should stay away."

Aruo lowered his head, remained silent and motionless. Su Zirui frowned at the person who seemed to be competing with him, feeling unhappy.

Seeing this, Xu Tian quickly explained, "Sir, Aruo and the others, like this pregnant woman, live in Chunfeng and are familiar with each other."

The displeasure in Su Zirui's eyes faded a little. "The person is gone. The most urgent thing is for us to quickly investigate and recover the child who was taken away. You... go ahead and don't interfere with our work."

The man with his head bowed nodded silently, still not moving. Su Zirui looked up at the heartbroken man kneeling beside him, then turned away without saying a word.

"Aruo," Cai Xin, who was being stopped, pushed the officer aside and walked over, holding her shoulders. "Don't be like this, Sister Xian has already..."

"Cai Xin," Aruo raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes, looking pitiful, "My legs are weak..."

Su Zirui glanced at her and ignored them. He turned to Xu Tian and the others and said, "Take the body back first. When we get back to the Ministry of Justice, I want to know everything about her life and her neighborhood."

"Don't... don't touch her. She must be playing hide-and-seek with me. She can't be dead!" The man who collapsed crying suddenly shouted, clinging to the body tightly. "She can't be dead. She clearly said... she won't die!"

Su Zirui suddenly turned his head to look at the man, his eyes calm, and tilted his head to wink at Xu Tianshi.

"Take him away!" Xu Tian and his colleagues could hardly hold the man back, so they took him away along with the body.

The Ministry of Justice intervened, and with far greater efficiency than the local government, they soon completed the on-site inspection and removed the body on a cart. The crowd didn't completely disperse, though; groups of three or four stood aside, discussing the matter. Some diligent women were already pouring water to clean the blood from their doorsteps.

"Who the hell is it that actually killed a pregnant woman..." Cai Xin looked down at the red marks on the ground and couldn't help crying again. She wiped her tears and said, "She was fine last night."

She still couldn't accept Shuxian's tragic death, but one night, she had made an appointment to come back and learn how to make pancakes with Shuxian after closing the stall. Everything was fine, just like usual, how could it be gone so suddenly?

"Life and death are determined by fate. I hope the officials can find the murderer as soon as possible to comfort her soul in heaven." Aunt Song shook her head, unable to bear to watch any longer. She was older and had experienced more, so her sadness was not as strong. But thinking of that gentle woman, she couldn't help but sigh. "I just hope those gentlemen can get to the bottom of everything as soon as possible."

"Brother Xu and the others will definitely catch the murderer who killed Sister Xian! Right, Aruo?" Cai Xin asked, hugging her arms tightly. Shuxian was a woman of the inner house, gentle in nature, and unlikely to have any grudges with others, so there was no reason for her to encounter this.

"Oh, really." Aruo reached out to wipe away the tears on his face, looked at the backs of the officials leaving, and slowly clenched his fists.

Even after this terrible incident, the days in the spring breeze continued to be busy. But after nightfall, the alleys were no longer filled with laughter. Although the lights were on in every house, there was no sound of human voices.

Perhaps because it had rained in the afternoon, the capital was still a bit chilly after dark. Aruo sat cross-legged on the tiles of his roof, looking up at the pitch-black night sky, his eyes filled with self-loathing.

Cai Xin sat at the door, picking vegetable leaves intermittently. Thinking that these vegetables were brought by Shu Xian last night, she felt even more sad, and tears welled up in her red eyes again.

They had a rough day today. The teacher had been taken away by the government and hadn't returned yet. Old Cai, with tears in his eyes, sent the store's coffin to the government office to give Shuxian a proper face. Seeing the horrific state of the body after the autopsy, even the elderly Old Cai couldn't help but tear up. Little Mother Lin was so heartbroken she couldn't even cook. The children in Spring Breeze, for once, hadn't been making a scene tonight; they were all confined to their rooms, leaving the street eerily quiet.

At dinner time, a faint aroma of rice wafted through the wind. Aruo's empty mind suddenly recalled the smell she had accidentally smelled at the crime scene this morning. She twisted her hair with her fingers in distress, "Why does it feel so familiar..."

The smell of blood was so strong at that moment, but she could still smell a hint of fragrance. Was she too sensitive?

The scent was especially noticeable the moment she opened the white cloth. Was it coming from the corpse? But that kind of scent was definitely not something Shuxian would normally use. Not to mention using it, that kind of scent was simply not something Shuxian could obtain.

If she smelled it correctly, it was clearly...

"Hey, Aruo, did you say that Sister Xian was murdered on the way home last night?" Cai Xin suddenly looked up and asked softly.

The more Ning Caixin thought about it, the more guilty she felt. If she had insisted on sending Shuxian back when she brought Pumpkin over last night, would this have happened?

"Don't overthink it. The authorities haven't confirmed it yet. Even if it was true, even if you left with her last night, it would only mean you died. In this day and age, people can easily die." Aruo said it nonchalantly. It didn't take any guessing to know what Caixin was thinking. "With the officials investigating, the truth will eventually come out. We... shouldn't get too involved."

"But, it was Sister Xian who died. She wasn't someone she didn't know." Cai Xin felt so uncomfortable that she felt as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping her chest the whole day, making her feel stuffy and painful.

In fact, murders still happened occasionally in the capital, even involving some high-ranking officials. They had even witnessed scenes of confiscation of property, exile, and beheading. However, they just watched as a curiosity, never expecting that one day someone close to them would die.

They had clearly just spoken last night, and when they sent her out, they held her hands, gently caressing her belly, feeling the movement of the fetus. Cai Xin opened her palms, as if they still had their body temperature.

"So what? We're just alive... why should we care about others?" Aruo looked up at the starless night sky and murmured softly, "It's not easy for me to be alive, why should I care about so many things..."

She has no background, no peerless martial arts, and even not many relatives or backers. In this era where you can die if you meet an unreasonable person in the martial arts world, it is not easy for her to survive. From the beginning, she did not intend to cause too much trouble.

If you don’t have the ability to protect yourself, how can you save others?

Being strong was never Aruo's instinct; fear of death was the essence of human beings. At least, she never went against the environment. What's the old saying?

If you can't beat it, then join it. This is how she has lived these years. Aruo stretched, her expression becoming more indifferent.

"Master must be so heartbroken." Having lost his wife and son overnight, Cai Xin thought of the weeping man and couldn't help but sigh, "They had such a good relationship."

"Just get through this." Aruo's words were a bit cold-blooded, but it was also the most likely choice at the moment.

Time is the most omnipotent thing. No matter how deep the feelings or how painful the things are, they can be erased by time, leaving indifference and acceptance, and forgetting will become natural.

Just like before, Aruo felt that he could not survive here. There was no mobile phone, no internet, no computer, no convenient transportation, and even no air conditioning in the summer and no electric blanket in the winter. How could he survive?

But over the years, she learned to go to bed at sunset, learned to walk more than ten kilometers on foot, and even accepted wood ash that seemed unreasonable to her when her period came because she was short of money. She learned to work hard to earn every copper coin to support herself.

This is the reward that time has given her.

"But Sister Xian is so good. Even if it's over, he will definitely remember her for the rest of his life." Cai Xin was extremely sad. She had also longed for the kind of mutual support they had, and now she was even more depressed.

Aruo stared blankly at the sky. It felt like the couple she had been rooting for had finally gotten married, but suddenly broke up. For a moment, she didn't know how to comfort them. The heavy thoughts and depression weighed on her chest, and she was almost deprived of oxygen, causing her brain to be unclear.

"Okay, let's cook quickly. I'm almost starving." Aruo stood up carefully, patted his butt, and walked towards the ladder on the side on the tiles.

"Oh..." Cai Xin obediently picked up the vegetable bowl, and then felt sad again. She walked towards the kitchen sobbing.

"So annoying..." Looking towards the direction of Master Wang's house, Aruo was a little depressed. Suddenly, a flash of red flashed in the dark night, frightening her so much that she stepped back subconsciously, tripped over a tile, and fell out, "Ah——"

"Aruo!" Cai Xin ran out of the kitchen upon hearing the sound. She was half hanging from the wooden beam under the eaves, her feet hooked on the wooden pillar without any manners. "Are you okay?"

He frantically brought a ladder for her to climb down. Cai Xin's sadness was scared away by her. She patted her head in annoyance, "I told you not to climb up the roof for no reason, but you just like sitting on the roof. One day you will fall down! Look, look, you really fell down now. You think you are a martial arts master, flying over eaves and walls? Fortunately, the house is not high, otherwise you would be in trouble!"

"I know, stop thinking about it!" Aruo stamped his feet, feeling that the feeling of being down to earth was infinitely wonderful, and no thoughts were better than living realistically.

"Instead of wasting time on the rooftop, you might as well come and help with cooking." Cai Xin rolled up her sleeves and turned around to find her still standing under the eaves, looking up with a troubled expression on her face, her hands on her lower back, just like when Old Cai sprained his waist.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Cai Xin looked at her worriedly.

"No, I just felt like I was hit on both sides of my waist." Aruo rubbed her waist, feeling something was wrong. Looking up, she had just fallen over the side, and it seemed... she shouldn't be able to reach the wooden beam inside... But it was a close call at the time, and she couldn't remember clearly whether it was her survival instinct that made her lean towards the reachable part.

"Forget it, maybe I'm just luckier." Shaking his head, Aruo refused to delve into it.

After this shock, the sadness I had just felt was much lessened. After all, death and aging are irreversible in this world, and people can only accept these separations and deaths.