Chapter 31
A Sudden Turn
Jiǔ Què felt like her tears were about to burst out.
What should she do? She had thought her heart was already as cold and hard as someone who’d been butchering fish for thirty years at a supermarket.
But seeing the few children before her—eyes full of longing yet firm in their refusal—made her eyes sting unbearably.
Why were these kids so obedient?
Sniffling loudly, she declared in a bold, heroic tone,
“Don’t turn me down. All of this is for you. If you don’t take it, I’ll be upset.”
Mud Boy (the little beggar) had wanted to refuse again, but when he saw the pretty young lady’s reddened eyes, he swallowed his words.
Fine then—if he kept rejecting her, he was afraid this beautiful older sister might start crying.
And somehow, he just knew that this big sister was the kind of person who would do something like this even in front of everyone.
“T-Then… we’ll accept it…”
As the children cautiously divided up the large bundle and tucked the items into their ragged clothes, trying to make them less noticeable, Jiǔ Què narrowed her eyes slightly.
They’d received plenty of food, yet were still so cautious. For kids their age to restrain themselves instead of gorging instantly was impressive—but something about their behavior was strange.
“The weather’s getting hotter,” she said gently. “If you don’t eat soon, the food might spoil.”
When Jiǔ Què spoke to them, her tone unconsciously softened into a childish lilt—the kind of saccharine tone she would normally despise hearing from anyone else.
But the children didn’t find it odd at all. Mud Boy even turned around and started teaching her.
“Big Sis, even though it’s getting hotter, if you put the food near water, it’ll last a couple more days. If your house has a well, hang the food in a basket down inside—it’ll stay fresh longer. But it’s still best not to eat leftovers overnight.”
They were used to eating spoiled food discarded on the streets.
But this young lady looked like someone from a good family—she probably couldn’t stomach such things.
He remembered once seeing a new child who ate a moldy bun; that very night he had terrible stomach pains, and by morning… he was gone.
Thinking of that, Mud Boy looked anxiously at Ying Jiǔ Què.
This big sister was kind, but she seemed utterly defenseless—approaching a bunch of beggar kids like them with no hesitation.
He knew that many ladies from noble families never left their estates; they lived sheltered lives, never stepping beyond their own courtyards.
She was probably one of them.
After thinking it over, he decided to warn her.
“Sis… I know you’re a good person. But if you ever see beggars like us on the street again… you should stay far away.”
The words came out painfully.
Because he knew that by saying this, he was cutting off one more chance for kids like them to survive.
But this big sister was so nice—he couldn’t bear the thought of her getting hurt.
“Why?”
Jiǔ Què crouched down, blinking curiously.
“Uh…”
Something came to Mud Boy’s mind, and his expression twisted with fear. He shook his head violently.
“Sis, don’t ask. I’d never hurt you…”
Just then, Mud Boy suddenly lunged forward, shoving Jiǔ Què hard to the ground, his voice turning sharp and shrill.
“Go away! We don’t need your fake kindness! People like you help once, then get annoyed with us and never help again! If you’re not truly sincere about helping, don’t start at all! Giving us hope only to crush it—does that make you happy?!”
The other children’s timid expressions vanished, replaced by fierce looks.
Mud Boy even bent down, scooped up a handful of mud, and hurled it at Jiǔ Què.
“Go away! We don’t want to see your fake face!”
Pushed and shoved, Jiǔ Què stumbled back, her clean robe now stained with muddy filth that gave off a faint sour odor.
She looked down at the little ragged figures hiding under the riverbank.
With her lashes lowered, her face was hidden in shadow, so no one could tell what expression she wore in the sunlight.
Nearby, some street vendors watching the scene sighed.
“Miss, don’t waste your kindness. These beggar brats don’t have hearts. I once pitied them and gave them some baked flatbread—guess what happened? They started yelling like mad, scared away all my customers. A bunch of ungrateful wretches. Don’t bother with them!”
“Exactly! Brother Wang’s right, I saw it myself. A rich customer came wanting to buy a whole batch of bread—but these brats started shouting and throwing mud, scared the man off. No wonder that one’s called Mud Boy—he’s just like filthy sludge, stinking and rotten!”
“Alright, enough. Let’s just pretend they don’t exist. Sigh…”
Jiǔ Què still kept her head lowered, silent.
Mud Boy, standing backlit by the sun, still looked defiant—but there was a flicker of sorrow on his face before he turned and ran off with his companions along the riverbank.
“…”
Something faint rustled from beneath the dark bridge.
Jiǔ Què glanced over, but the lighting was too dim to see clearly. She thought she heard cursing—but maybe it was just the vendors grumbling about the beggars.
She blinked, then slowly straightened, staring at the river’s flowing current—water that seemed able to wash away all filth—and fell into silence.
The surrounding merchants, having seen it all, sighed again.
This young lady was clearly from a good family, kind-hearted too.
She’d gone out of her way to buy food for them, yet they had turned on her so viciously.
After this, who would still have the heart to help those beggar kids?
Those children had just cut off their own lifeline… what on earth were they thinking?
At that moment, the two minor officials who’d cowardly abandoned her earlier came running up, panting and sweating, clearly having searched for her for a while.
From afar, they saw their new superior—the freshly appointed City Patrol Censor—standing with mud stains splattered on her pristine robe, and both sucked in a cold breath.
Good heavens! Had this lady-official been bullied again by some aristocratic young master? Her robe was filthy! She wasn’t going to run off, was she?!
“My lady! My lady, are you alright? Oh no, what’s this mud all over you? Who threw it?! Outrageous! Just say the word, and I’ll haul the culprit off in chains and toss him in the dungeons!”
“Lord Wang, I’m loyal to you! Just give the order, and I’ll strike wherever you point!”
Jiǔ Què lifted her eyelids slightly, her expression distant and lonely.
“Oh, it was someone wearing floating brocade who threw it. Go catch them for me.”
“W–Wearing floating brocade? The one worth a gold coin per inch? Uh, well, um… suddenly my stomach hurts. I think I need the latrine…”
“Oww! I ate with Brother Wang at lunch, and I’ve got the same pain! I’d better go too—come on, Wang!”
Watching their backs disappear in a flash, Jiǔ Què let out a quiet, dismissive sound.
Her eyes were complicated—filled with something no one else could quite name.
