The sunlight poured down the bed onto Shuang'er's face. Shuang'er's eyelashes trembled slightly. She slowly opened her eyes, sat up, and subconsciously called out, "Qingji." Usually Qingji would rush in to see what was wrong with Shuang'er. Today, no matter how Shuang'er called Qingji, he didn't come in. Shuang'er put on her shoes and prepared to go out to find Qingji. As soon as she got up, she saw a letter on the table.
In the past few years, Shuang'er has learned to read and write under Qingji's teaching. Shuang'er unfolded the letter, which read: "Shuang'er, when you see this letter, I will probably be on my way to avenge my mother. I don't know if I can come back. If I can't come back, you must live a good life in the future and take good care of yourself. Only then will I feel relieved. Signed: Qingji."
After reading the letter, Shuang'er was already in tears. She said to the letter, "You guy, why didn't you wait for me? It was clearly my grudge. What if you died there and left me alone?" Shuang'er cried for a long time, and began to pack her bags as if she had made up her mind.
Qingji ran all the way to the last trace of the army, but it was a little late when he arrived. The army had already left the village. The village was very quiet, with daily necessities lying on the ground everywhere. After Qingji walked around the whole village, he found an old man with gray hair and ragged clothes at the east end of the village, sitting at the door of his house, wiping his tears and sighing.
Qingji walked towards the old man, taking advantage of his short stature, and said to him, "Grandpa, what happened to you?" The old man looked at Qingji and saw that he was just a child, so he said, "How did you run out by yourself, little kid? Where are your parents?"
Qingji remembered that the army was marching with prisoners, so he said casually: "My mother passed away, and a group of soldiers took my father away. I came out to find my father. I just came from the last village, and the people in the last village told me that the soldiers were coming this way, so I came here to look for them." Qingji's tone was full of sadness, and it seemed real. The old man couldn't help but feel pity for the child Qingji.
The old man waved to Qingji, motioning Qingji to come over. Seeing that the old man was too weak to hurt him, Qingji walked towards the old man. The old man hugged Qingji, held Qing in front of himself, touched Qingji's head and said, "My child, you have suffered a lot. We are all miserable people." As he spoke, the old man's eyes turned red, and tears slid down his wrinkled face drop by drop, dropping on the ground.
Qingji helped the old man wipe his tears and asked, "Grandpa, don't cry, what happened?" The old man cried, "That damned gang, they said they were soldiers, but they were just bandits, they robbed the food in our village, harmed our girls and young wives, and even my young granddaughter..."
The old man was sobbing, his eyes were getting redder. After hearing what the old man said, Qingji's fists tightened. As he got closer, he heard the old man say, "Little kid, I advise you not to go look for him. If your father is captured by those soldiers, he will probably be in danger. How much strength can a little kid like you have? You will die if you go."
Qingji comforted him, "Grandpa, are we just going to watch them do whatever they want?" The old man wiped his tears and said, "What can I do? I watched them take my granddaughter away, but I couldn't beat them with my old bones. I was knocked to the ground by the soldier's punch, and then I heard my granddaughter screaming in the house. My heart ached. When the group of officers and soldiers left, I crawled back to the house trembling, but my poor granddaughter had committed suicide because she couldn't bear the humiliation, leaving me, an old man, here to survive."
The old man's tears flowed more and more violently. Qingji could hear the old man's pain and comforted him, "Grandpa, one day someone will punish them, you have to be strong." Qingji thought to himself, "I will definitely kill these beasts."
The old man thought Qingji was comforting him, so he wiped his tears and remained silent for a long time. Qingji asked, "What about the people in the village? Why are you the only one left?" The old man sighed and said, "Some of them took refuge, some were killed, and a few young and strong people were captured."
Qingji looked at the ruined village with slightly red eyes. This group of people had been looting the common people for several years without repentance. They were actually the prince's private soldiers. It was said that the prince was incompetent and cruel, but he would not indulge his subordinates to this extent. Qingji thought of the happy family life a few years ago when Shuang'er's mother was still alive, and he wanted to kill that army first.
Qingji took out ten taels of silver from his bosom, handed it to the old man, and said, "Grandpa, I'm going to continue looking for the group of soldiers. Take this silver and live a good life somewhere else." The old man refused, "Little kid, I can't accept this silver. You must have some expenses on the way to find them. You should keep it for yourself. I'm already an old man. It's a blessing that I'm still alive. I should go down to accompany my granddaughter."
Qingji took the old man's hand, put the silver in his hand with a firm face and said: "Grandpa, you must live well and watch how those beasts die miserably. They have done so many evil things that God will never let them go." Seeing Qingji's determined look, the old man's tears that had just dried filled his eyes again, and he said: "Little kid, I will live well and watch them being punished by God, but I really can't accept this money." Qingji was not surprised to hear the old man's refusal. He still threw the money to the old man, then turned and left, saying as he walked: "Grandpa, you must take care of yourself. If there is a chance, I will come back to see you."
The old man looked at Qingji's receding back, then looked at the silver in his hand and said, "Little kid, you must come back alive and safe." These ten taels were enough for the old man to live on for many years.
Qingji continued to search northwest along the trail of the army, while Shuang'er packed her bags and hired a carriage with all her savings accumulated over the years to go to the capital. Shuang'er thought, since the army was under the command of the prince, she would search for them through the prince.
Shuang'er rushed all the way to the capital, and settled down there first. A few years had made Shuang'er change from an naive little girl to a cautious and mature one. After settling down in the capital, Shuang'er gathered information while trying to get into the East Palace. Her hard work paid off. One day, Shuang'er, who was doing odd jobs and gathering information in a teahouse, heard a guest talking about the addition of several new ladies in the palace, and not enough maids, so the queen sent the nanny beside her to recruit palace maids.
Many poor families sent their daughters there. When Shuang'er heard this, she knew her chance had come. She asked where the recruitment was, put down her work and ran straight there. The owner of the teahouse saw Shuang'er running out, chased her for a few steps but failed to catch up with her, so he went back to the teahouse.
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