The early summer downpour poured down like a cascade, its large raindrops pounding Li Xiu's thin hemp shirt, soaking it instantly and clinging to his emaciated frame. He huddled like a drowned dog in the back doorway of the Li residence, water streaming down the doorframe and forming muddy puddles at his feet. From inside came the thud of furniture being smashed, mingled with his father's furious roar: "Get out! We don't have a homosexual son like you in the Li family!"

Three days ago, in the family ancestral hall, the elders pointed their peachwood canes at his nose and smashed a plaque at his feet that read "Disgrace to the Family." Now, he held the five copper coins his mother had secretly slipped him, and his stomach felt like it was being scratched by a cat's claws. Through the drizzle, he saw the housekeeper, Uncle Wang, emerge with an oilcloth umbrella embroidered with the Li family's cloud pattern. He headed straight for the ornately decorated carriage at the alley entrance. The driver was hailing a ride to the Qingbai Tower on West Street, where rumors circulated of a handsome young man who could sing songs.

"Uncle Wang!" Li Xiu struggled to get up, his limp leg slipping in the muddy water, splashing mud onto his trouser legs. "I'm Ah Xiu! Give me something to eat! I'm starving!"

Uncle Wang glanced back at him, his eyes as if he was looking at a piece of dirt on the street, with a look of disgust at the corner of his mouth: "Mr. Li? We don't have any gay masters in our house." The carriage rumbled away, and the wheels rolled over the puddles, splashing mud all over Li Xiu's face. Mixed with the tears in the corners of his eyes, it made it impossible for him to open his eyes.

[Street Begging: A Symphony of Rotten Vegetable Leaves and Laughter]

After the rain stopped, the setting sun baked the bluestone pavement into a swirl of steam. Li Xiu limped onto Suzaku Street. In the past, when he rode by on his Fire Kirin BMW, the people would bow their heads and avoid him, but now they scattered as if they were avoiding the plague. He had just stopped in front of the "Wang Ji Baozi Shop" when the greasy shopkeeper shouted at the top of his voice, "Come and see! Qingbailou's top lady is here to buy her buns!"

Several women carrying vegetable baskets immediately surrounded him, pointing and joking, their fingers almost poking him in the face:

"Hey, isn't this the lame man from the Li family? Why don't you go to Qingbai Tower to find your lover to warm your bed?"

"I heard he was kicked out of the house. No one wants him anymore!"

"Serves you right! You cheated on a girl and used her as a shield. You did all sorts of wicked things. Now you're getting your comeuppance, right?"

Li Xiu's face flushed red from neck to ears, and his hand trembled as he held the copper coins. "I...I want to buy a meat bun..."

"Not for sale!" The shopkeeper slammed the lid of the steamer shut, his greasy face wrinkled like a bun. "I'm afraid if you, a traitor, touch the buns, we'll turn into rabbits if we eat them!"

Laughter surged like a tide. A mischievous boy with a ponytail picked up a rotten vegetable leaf from the roadside and threw it at Li Xiu, "You bastard! Get out of Zhuque Street!" More rotten leaves, melon seed shells, and even half a rotten steamed bun rained down. Li Xiu ran for his life, but tripped over a slippery watermelon rind and fell with a plop into a muddy puddle.

"Look! The gay man has fallen into the cesspool!" The naughty children clapped their hands and jumped for joy. The shop assistants in the surrounding shops leaned out to laugh. Even the beggars passing by pointed at him. Li Xiu struggled to get up, his body covered in black mud, and his old leg injury was in excruciating pain from the fall. He suddenly remembered that snowy night three years ago. Shen Weiwan was falsely accused of adultery by Liu and dragged out of the general's mansion covered in blood. He was drinking with Shen Ruoruo in the warm room at the time, laughing and saying that the fool was finally out of the way. Now that retribution had come, he finally understood what it meant to live a life worse than death.

[Encounter at the alley: Chuntao's "compassionate" feeding]

Li Xiu scrambled and rolled into the quiet Lihua Alley. Just as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath, he heard a clear female voice: "Hey, isn't this Mr. Li? Why are you performing a clay figurine show here?"

Chuntao stood at the entrance of the alley, carrying a food box, followed by two maids holding boxes of pastries. They had clearly just returned from Suxiangju on West Street. Seeing Li Xiu's miserable state, covered in mud, she deliberately widened her eyes. "Oh my God! Did Master Li fall into the toilet? How come he's even dirtier than my young lady's pet, Wangcai?"

Li Xiu was both ashamed and angry, and shouted hoarsely: "Get out!"

"Oh, no," Chuntao put down the lunch box and took out a greasy steamed bun from it. She pinched it with two fingers, as if it were something dirty. "My young lady is kind and asked me to bring you some food." She threw the bun on the muddy ground with a "pop". The bun rolled twice and was covered with dirt. "But with your noble status, I'm afraid you would look down on the coarse food of us servants, right?"

Li Xiu stared at the steamed bun on the ground, then at Chuntao's half-smile, remembering the poisoned apples Shen Weiwan had "kindly" handed him. In his previous life, he'd been used as a pawn by the Liu family, mistaking Shen Weiwan's kindness for foolishness. The hunger in his stomach overwhelmed his shame, and he pounced on the bun, wolfing it down. The dry, hard bun choked him, causing him to cough, tears mixing with the mud as they streamed down his face.

Chuntao sneered and covered her nose with a handkerchief: "Eat slowly, don't choke. My young lady said that she will send you rotten rice next time, so that you don't complain that the steamed buns are not tasty enough." After that, she walked away with the food box, leaving Li Xiu holding half a dirty steamed bun, coughing heart-wrenchingly in the empty alley.

Afternoon Tea at the General's Mansion: The Seventh Prince's "Support"

Inside Qinghui Courtyard, Chen Weiwan listened to Chuntao's vivid report and laughed so hard that she fell on the table and slapped her thigh: "Falling in a mud pit and eating dirty steamed buns? Hahaha! Chuntao, why don't you take a picture of it?"

"Miss!" Chun Tao laughed until tears came out of her eyes. "You looked even worse than the stray dogs outside the city! You were limping and limping, like you had just crawled out of a mass grave!"

Chen Weiwan picked up a piece of "Guifei Xiao" that the Seventh Prince had just given her. The pink and white pastry melted in her mouth, and the sweet fragrance mixed with the sweet osmanthus fragrance spread on her tongue: "It's what he deserves. In my previous life, he treated me like a fool and used me as a shield to deceive him into marriage. Now he is just collecting the debt." She remembered Li Xiu's greasy lines that pretended to be affectionate in the garden, and a cold light flashed in her eyes.

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