Fate pushed her into a quagmire, and she told herself that she had to climb out.
The dire situation did not give her any chance to feel sorry for herself or worry about the situation. If she did not cheer up, she might not survive the night.
She stretched out her dark little hands, picked up a small wooden stick, and began to write on the ground stroke by stroke.
Zhuge, Wei, Mu, Jue, Che. When she wrote to this point, she slowly frowned. It was already dark outside. The sound of string music could be heard from far away in the villa, with occasional laughter from singing and dancing prostitutes. She thought silently for a long time, and finally wrote down the last word: Yan.
In the hall of Zhuge Mansion where people were toasting each other, Yan Xun's right eye suddenly twitched. He frowned, turned his head slowly, and looked deeply into the dark night.
The night was dark, crows were flying high, and this muddy and ugly dynasty was rotting from the inside.
Everything old is destined to be destroyed, allowing a new order to be reborn from the ashes.
Even though her body was aching from the wounds, Chu Qiao still forced herself to stand up and run around the small woodshed in circles, occasionally stopping to rub her skin with her hands to prevent herself from freezing to death in this dilapidated woodshed.
The third watch drum had just struck when the window, which was more than one person tall, was slowly pushed open, revealing a tiny head. Chu Qiao was stunned and looked up. She saw that the man had bright eyes and looked around the woodshed cautiously. When he saw Chu Qiao, joy flashed in his eyes. He raised his finger as a gesture for silence, then swiftly turned over and jumped into the woodshed.
The boy quickly ran forward, stretched out his arms, and hugged Chu Qiao in his arms. His voice was a little choked, but he firmly comforted her: "Don't be afraid, Yue'er, Fifth Brother is here."
The boy was very thin and not very old, probably only about eight or nine years old. He was wearing a dusty grey suit that didn't fit him well and made him look even thinner. He had not yet fully grown, and was only half a head taller than Chu Qiao, but the features of his face revealed a toughness that came from years of experience. He held the child tightly in his arms, patted her back constantly, and comforted her over and over again: "Don't be afraid, the fifth brother is here."
For some reason, Chu Qiao's eyes suddenly became wet, and big tears fell uncontrollably, wetting the boy's rough clothes. I don’t know if it was the body’s spontaneous reaction or her true emotion, but on such a strange, strange and cold night, this weak but warm embrace was so precious.
The bright moonlight shone through the slightly open window, illuminating the two short children. It was cold all around, with only a tiny bit of warmth in my heart. The boy's small body was like a tough mountain. Even though he was trembling slightly with fear on this cold night, he still held his sister firmly and kept his arms tightly clasped.
"Yue'er, are you hungry?" The boy loosened his hand, stretched out his dark fingers to carefully wipe away the tears on Chu Qiao's face, forced a nice smile, and said with a smile, "Look what Fifth Brother brought you?"
The child took out a small cloth bag from behind, sat on the ground, and neatly opened the bag. The delicious aroma of food immediately wafted out. He looked up and saw Chu Qiao still standing. He raised his eyebrows and said in confusion, "Sit down."
A large coarse porcelain bowl, the blue and white pattern on the edge has been worn away and has lost its color, and there are several small chips on the edge. A full bowl of glutinous rice with some green vegetable leaves piled on it. There wasn't much oil, but the smell was so fragrant. The boy handed over a pair of chopsticks, stuffed them into Chu Qiao's hands, and urged, "Eat quickly."
Chu Qiao lowered her head and took a mouthful of rice. Her mouth was salty and tasted of tears, and her throat was blocked. She chewed mechanically, occasionally letting out a soft sob.
The boy looked at Chu Qiao eagerly. Every time she opened her mouth to take a bite, the boy would open his mouth gently, as if he was teaching her how to eat. When he saw her swallowing, he would squint his eyes happily.
The chopsticks were fiddling in the bowl when they suddenly pierced something. When he picked it out, it turned out to be a piece of steaming braised pork.
A thumb-sized piece of meat was burnt a little, half fat and half lean. In such a dark and cold night, it was so tempting.
A loud gurgling sound suddenly sounded, Chu Qiao raised her head and looked at the boy, only to see the boy rubbing his stomach awkwardly and deliberately said nonchalantly: "I just finished eating, I'm not hungry at all."
Chu Qiao handed over the chopsticks and said, "You eat."
The boy shook his head immediately. "We had a great meal tonight. The fourth young master gave us some extra dishes, such as braised carp, sweet and sour spareribs, braised pork tenderloin in vinegar, and white-cooked duck. There were so many dishes that I felt like vomiting. Now I can't eat anything."
Chu Qiao held up her chopsticks stubbornly, "I don't like fatty meat."
The boy was slightly stunned for a moment, looked at Chu Qiao, then looked at the piece of braised pork, and swallowed unconsciously. After a long time, he reached out to take Chu Qiao's chopsticks, carefully opened his mouth and bit the fat, then handed the remaining lean meat back, smiled, showing a mouthful of white teeth, and said with a smile: "Yue'er, you can eat now."
Chu Qiao's nose suddenly felt sore and she quickly lowered her head. Tears rolled back and forth in her eyes, but she held back and didn't let them fall.
After a long time, she slowly raised her head, smiled at the boy, opened her mouth and ate the piece of meat, grinning while chewing.
"Yue'er, is it delicious?" The child's eyes were bright, like the shining stars in the sky.
Chu Qiao nodded vigorously, her throat was blocked and her voice was choked, "It's delicious. This piece of meat is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my life."
"Silly girl." The boy reached out and touched her head, his expression slightly sad, and said, "How old are you, and you say such things about your life. Let's not talk about the future. Let's talk about how many delicacies we ate when we were young. You were still young at that time, so you may not remember. But don't worry, one day in the future, Fifth Brother will make sure you have enough food and clothes, and get you all the good things in the world, not only braised pork, but also ginseng, abalone, bird's nest, shark fin, elephant trunk, whatever you want. By then, no one will think of bullying us again, Yue'er, do you believe Fifth Brother?"
Chu Qiao nodded, lowered her head and tried hard to shovel all the rice into her mouth. It tasted bitter, but so warm.
"Yue'er, don't be afraid." The boy took off his coat and put it on Chu Qiao's shoulders. His voice was childish but firm as he spoke word by word, "Fifth Brother will protect you. I'll be here with you. Don't be afraid."
The moonlight was dim, and the light and shadows moved, shining through the cracks into the woodshed, casting a large area of white light. Under the frosty moonlight, the two children's tiny bodies huddled tightly together, so small, yet so warm.
In the distance, there were bright lights, long music, and the aroma of wine and meat. The never-sleeping Zhenhuang City finally reached the climax of the grand dinner. Under the brilliant lights, no one remembered the little girl who had luckily survived in today's hunting ground. The cold wind was howling, causing the flaming flag of Daxia to flutter.
When he woke up the next day, the boy had left. There was a row of beautiful small words written on the ground: Fifth brother, come again in the evening, there will be steamed buns under the firewood.
Chu Qiao pulled aside the dead branches in the corner and saw two slightly yellowed buns wrapped in a piece of oil paper. She held them, her face calm, but her eyes gradually softened.
Three days passed like this with no one paying attention to them. Every night the boy would come to accompany her with food and then leave quietly the next day. On the third day, the door of the woodshed was opened with a crash. Zhu Shun looked down at Chu Qiao, who was still alive after three days in the woodshed. His brows furrowed more and more, and finally, he ordered his servants to let her out.
The moment she stepped out of the woodshed, Chu Qiao stood at the door, took one last look at the dilapidated house, pursed her lips, and then turned back resolutely.
The further she went, the more dilapidated the houses looked, and everywhere she could see groups of children carefully hiding behind the branches and corridors, secretly looking at her. After they arrived at a small courtyard, as soon as the servant in charge left, a large group of children suddenly rushed up to her and hugged her tightly.
"Xiao Liu, you're back."
"Sixth sister, we thought you would never come back."
"Sister Yue'er, wu..."
The children shouted at the same time and cried loudly without any concealment. Chu Qiao was frightened and could only stand there for a while, surrounded by them, and endure the tears and snot of these little rascals.
"Okay, stop crying."
A male voice suddenly sounded, and the children turned around and shouted happily, "Fifth Brother!"
The boy ran in from outside, holding a cloth bag. After taking two steps, all the watermelon seeds fell to the ground with a rustle. It turned out to be a bag of melon seeds. The children cheered immediately, let go of Chu Qiao and ran forward.
"Don't fight over it. Everyone has one." The boy said like an adult. "Yue'er just escaped death and was seriously injured. Everyone should stop quarreling with her. Everyone should help her with her work these days."
The children nodded one after another. A girl with two pigtails raised her fair face and said with a smile, "Fifth brother, don't worry, we will help Sixth sister."
The boy said, "Xiao Qi, are you healed? Why did you get out of bed?"
"Fifth brother, everything is fine." The child smiled and looked up, reaching out to roll up his sleeves, only to see that they were covered with bruises and purples. In some places, the skin and flesh had been turned over and had not yet completely healed. Xiao Qi smiled and said, "The medicine you brought is very useful. It doesn't hurt after applying it. Xiao Ba was kicked in the waist by Ji Feng when she was feeding the horses yesterday. I have to help her."
"Lin Xi, come in, I have something to tell you." A little girl suddenly came up and held the boy's hand.
The boy looked back at Chu Qiao and said, "Yue'er, it's windy outside, you come in too."
In the shabby and small house, there was a large kang with more than ten sets of bedding neatly placed on it. The boy named Lin Xi said, "Sister Zhi Xiang, what's the matter?"
Zhixiang was not very old, about ten years old. She squatted down, opened the dark kang hole, and took out a small box. "In five days, it will be the anniversary of the death of my parents and uncles. We have prepared the incense, candles and paper money that you asked us to prepare secretly."
Lin Xi nodded, "Be careful, don't let the steward find out."
"Well, don't worry, no one will come to our side. But you, be careful when serving the Fourth Young Master. The day before yesterday, I heard from Si Tao in the laundry room that two more reading companions were beaten to death in the Third Young Master's room. Although the Fourth Young Master is not like the Third Young Master, he has a strange temper and is unpredictable. The master is not at home, and the Huai Young Master does not care about the affairs of the inner court. They are getting more and more unscrupulous. The old man killed more than 20 little slave girls last month. The Du family that was bought with us has been wiped out. I am really worried that one day it will be our turn."