Hongyu told me to be quiet. I moved closer to her and heard children laughing and talking upstairs.
"The people here are so stupid. I pretended to be pitiful and they gave me more than ten coins."
"What's that compared to mine? I'm much better. I told you my parents died, and I took you to eat at everyone's house. I didn't even have to lift a finger."
“You are all too weak. I live in the village on the very edge, where I rely on the kindness of others. I would sneak into houses with my little face full of anticipation. After the host fed me, I would deliberately take the dog's bowl to the village chief and complain that they were abusing me.”
That family was beaten by the villagers because they were ugly and had pockmarked faces. The housewife was forced to sit on gravel, and the whole family went hungry for two days before they had a hot meal. Haha!
"You're too ruthless! We've all been paid, and all you do is pretend to be poor and beg for money. You've got no originality at all!"
"What's the point of being original? I'm pretty and cute, so I should eat well, dress well, and be the darling of the whole family. Some idiots are really stupid; they even wash my feet themselves. I deliberately walk barefoot on the ground, and they still feel sorry for me."
"Haha, me too. With just a glance from my little eyes, I bewitched the boy I raised like a precious gem. He even got jealous of me."
"Pah! You're only a few years old, and you're already thinking such useless things. If you want to fight, fight the girls in your family. I deliberately pulled her down to the ground, making her head bleed, and yelled at the top of my lungs that she hit me."
“You’re all too weak. I’m the real deal. I deliberately pretend that I can live a good life in Linyang City to lure those girls who rely on the charity of others to come here. They steal and cheat everywhere in the city, and I even take a cut.”
The little girls upstairs were still bragging, but Hongyu and I couldn't stand it anymore. How did they get raised to be so cunning? I estimated they were between six and thirteen or fourteen years old.
They were so malicious even as children; didn't their family care? And who paid them to come to Linyang to cause trouble? Judging from what they said, they were even more wicked than adults in their twenties or thirties.
The people in the city pitied them for being weak and helpless, but they didn't know how to be grateful. They even took advantage of other people's kindness and boasted more and more than the other.
Hongyu led me out of the alley, and I could still hear the laughter of those people; it was almost like a female version of the Crown Prince.
We walked for a while, and just as we reached the main street, a little girl in tattered clothes came up to us. "Sister, please give me some food. My parents are gone."
I stepped back in disgust, the voices of those girls still echoing in my ears. The little girl wouldn't give up; she kept following us.
"Sister, I'm a good girl. I'll be your maid and daughter. Just give me some food every day."
The little girl finally ran over to chase after me. Hongyu half-embraced my waist, stepped on the umbrellas of a shop, flew up to the roof, and then jumped over a few more roofs.
I heard people below clapping, and some were cursing the little girl for being shameless and playing the victim to gain sympathy. I guess they've been scammed before; no wonder Xie Yuancheng told me not to be so sympathetic that day.
They must have received the news long ago to have rushed here so quickly, but with me with them, the journey will be much slower.
“Hongyu, what exactly happened? Bizhu told me about it at the manor.”
Hongyu shook her head: "At that time, the young lady took pity on a beggar girl, who was probably six or seven years old, and raised her with her husband for a few days before realizing something was wrong."
The young lady was often beaten by the brat, her face turning red from the blows. The eldest lady thought the brat had suffered since childhood and told her off several times, but the brat only became more aggressive. The things her son-in-law bought for her were all stolen, and she even brought beggar girls from outside into the house to eat.
They littered and vomited everywhere while eating, and even peed in the little lady's cradle. The eldest lady was so angry that she kicked her out. The brat cried at the door every day, and as soon as the eldest lady went to the dining room, she would snatch all the fish and meat.
She would often dress as a young lady of high birth, claiming to be the mistress of the Marquis's mansion. Then the son-in-law began investigating and discovered that many families had fallen for her tricks; some who relied on the charity of others complained about the food and, when refused, would take dog food bowls and cause a scene in the streets.
I was completely stunned. They were all little girls. Where did they come from? They were dressed in rags, entered people's homes, ordered food and drinks, and caused damage everywhere.
"Where did they come from? Has the investigation been completed?"
Hongyu shook her head: "It was even more outrageous a while ago. They climbed over the wall to go to other people's houses to eat, and they even said they were hungry. Linyang is under the jurisdiction of Marquis Anle, and they actually didn't give the maids anything to eat, and they were going to let them starve to death."
Anyway, they spread rumors everywhere, and eventually everyone in town realized they'd been blackmailed by a bunch of brats. So every household started using their skills to deal with them, and now things have quieted down a bit.
"Those who use children to create chaos are even more despicable. You heard about it just now, right? They're being paid. Are there any adults among the refugees in the city? Are they all children?"
“Yes, I just remembered something about someone usurping someone else’s place.” Hongyu told me about the Nie family, one of the wealthiest families in the city.
Master Nie had always wanted a daughter, but with four boys in the family, he was unhappy. That day, as soon as he left the mansion, he saw a beautiful little girl, about six years old, dressed in tattered clothes and without shoes.
Although her face was covered in dust and dirty, it couldn't hide her pretty little face, so Master Nie took her in as his goddaughter.
At first, the adopted daughters were very sensible, but they were terrified of poverty, so they were very careful in everything they did. The four boys in the mansion doted on her like a young lady, personally washing her feet and face every day.
Then, she got carried away. One day, she deliberately cried in front of Master Nie, saying that her parents were starving to death just three alleys away.
Master Nie took pity on her and brought her parents into his mansion to enjoy themselves. After a few days of coaxing Master Nie into submission, the three of them began to act as if they were the masters of the house.
When Master Nie returned from collecting rent in the countryside, he found that the boys in his family had been mistreated and were dressed in rags, while his adopted daughter was acting arrogantly, demanding that one of them be her horse to ride, and she didn't even respect Master Nie.
Master Nie immediately stripped his adopted daughter of all her valuables and threw the three of them out. The adopted daughter started crying and wailed all night until her voice was hoarse, repeatedly saying that she knew she was wrong.
Master Nie was soft-hearted and let her into the house again. That night, the three of them planned to poison the well so that they could take over the Nie family's property. Fortunately, the steward discovered that they had poisoned the well, and the Nie family escaped disaster.
This was taken over by Meng Anshi. Later, he contacted the naughty maid who used to live in the mansion. She used her cute and adorable face to put the adults at ease, and eventually her appetite grew.
I sighed, propping my hands up: "These people are shameless. They pretend to be pitiful and even use children to scam people. They almost killed an entire family."
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