Du Hangwu glanced down at the little girl he was holding by the collar. He hesitated for a moment, furrowed his brow, but ultimately said nothing and handed the girl over to Lu Xingyan.
Before Lu Xingyan could react, Lu Yang quickly stepped forward and took the girl himself, not daring to let his delicate younger brother handle her.
Lu Yang carried the girl into the tent, with Lu Xingyan and Lu Zhou following closely behind.
He unceremoniously dropped the girl on the ground and said to Lu Qing, who was sitting cross-legged, “Father, this little girl fainted from fright when the officers scared her.”
Lu Xingyao entered the tent and chuckled at this. “It wasn’t the officers that scared her. I watched carefully outside, and it was clearly Second Uncle who frightened her.”
He had seen the whole thing clearly—before Lu Yang had come out, the little girl had been crying and shouting without issue.
Lu Yang wasn’t about to take the blame. “Nonsense! It was the big knives the officers were waving around that scared her. Honestly, they’re too harsh, even toward little girls. They could at least be a bit gentler.”
Even Lu Yang, who was twice the size of most men, admitted that the officers’ drawn swords sometimes made him jump.
Madam Song, who had been woken up by the commotion and summoned by Lu Zhou, arrived at the tent. Seeing a ragged and unfamiliar little girl lying on the ground, she looked puzzled. “Where did this child come from?”
Lu Zhou explained, “She was outside earlier, crying with the refugees, begging for help for her mother. Father took pity on her and brought her in.”
Lu Qing cast a glance at his eldest son but didn’t explain further. The truth was, he hadn’t brought the girl in just because of her pitiful cries. What truly caught his attention was the girl repeatedly begging for someone to save her mother.
If her mother were still alive, she wouldn’t have let the little girl roam around in such a state. And now, with the chaos among the refugees, leaving the girl outside without protection could lead to who knows what kind of tragedy.
Madam Song quickly woke the little girl, but before she could ask anything, the girl opened her eyes, spotted Lu Yang, and immediately cowered into Madam Song’s arms, trembling in fear.
Lu Xingyao couldn’t help but laugh. He spread his hands in a “told you so” gesture. “See? I knew it was Second Uncle who scared her.”
Lu Yang, who had always prided himself on being a gentle father, especially after years of tender interaction with his own daughter, felt thoroughly defeated. He sighed heavily, put his hands behind his back, and went off to find his own daughter for some comfort.
Once Lu Yang left, the little girl cautiously peeked out from behind Madam Song, her eyes red and swollen with tears.
At that moment, Lu Zhou gently asked, “Little one, earlier you were crying about your mother. What’s wrong with her?”
At the mention of her mother, the girl’s sobs intensified. “My mother is sick… They said they won’t take her with us. They said she only has a few days left and even selling her wouldn’t get much food.”
She wept bitterly, wiping her tears with her dirty hands.
The people in the tent exchanged glances, understanding the harsh reality. It wasn’t uncommon for families facing dire straits to sell off women as slaves or worse in order to survive.
Lu Qing, having served as an official in his younger days, had seen many such heartbreaking cases and had always despised such acts.
“Who are ‘they’? Was it your father?” Lu Zhou asked.
The girl shook her head. “Mother said Father went up to heaven. It’s the uncles and elders from the village who are leading us. They said they’d take us to a place with plenty of food and pretty clothes…”
Madam Song, as a woman herself, was horrified by what she was hearing. The so-called “better days” were clearly a pretense to sell the mother and daughter into an unspeakable fate. And now that the mother was sick, they likely saw her as a burden, hoping to sell the daughter instead.
Lu Zhou was furious, looking toward his father for guidance, wanting to help, but knowing it depended on his father’s decision.
All eyes turned to Lu Qing, who hesitated. If this had been back in the capital, he wouldn’t have thought twice about helping. But now…
Sensing the tension, the little girl suddenly knelt before Lu Qing, bowing until her forehead hit the ground. Her eyes were swollen, her face streaked with tears as she grabbed onto his robe, her voice trembling. “Please, I beg you, save my mother!”
The tent fell silent, the only sound being the little girl’s sobs. The sight tugged at everyone’s heartstrings.
Everyone except Lu Xingyan, who remained cold, his expression devoid of sympathy.
Lu Qing sighed and gently lifted the girl to her feet, wiping the tears from her face with his sleeve. “Alright,” he said softly.
Having already let the girl inside, and now with her crying and pleading so desperately, how could he turn her away? She was just a child. Helping her wouldn’t be too much trouble.
He turned to his grandson and gave him a pointed look. “Xingyao, take two men and go with this girl. See what’s going on with her mother.”
Lu Xingyao, slightly taken aback, quickly understood his grandfather’s unspoken message. He nodded and took two capable men, following the little girl as she led them to her mother.
All three carried the small knives their ancestor had gifted them for protection. If this were a trap, at least they’d be prepared.
After two previous assassination attempts, they couldn’t rule out the possibility of a third.
To their surprise, the little girl led them to a frail woman lying by the roots of a tree, dressed in rags.
The woman’s breathing was faint. The little girl shook her for a while before she finally opened her eyes with great effort. She couldn’t even speak.
Tears streaming down her face, the little girl clutched her mother’s cold hand. “Mother, don’t worry. I brought people to help. They’re good people. They’ll make you better!”
The woman tried to smile but couldn’t utter a word. She looked up at the three men, her eyes filled with desperation. Unlike the other refugees, these men clearly came from a different background. She tried to speak, but no sound came out.
Realizing the woman’s hand had gone limp, the little girl began to cry even harder. “Mother? Wake up, please!”
Lu Xingyao, sensing the gravity of the situation, gestured for one of his men to check on the woman.
The man checked her pulse and breath, then shook his head at Lu Xingyao. She was gone.
Lu Xingyao frowned. They had only come to assess the situation. If the woman had just needed food, they could have secretly provided some. If it had been a mild illness, they could have left some medicine. But now, with the woman dead, what were they supposed to do with the little girl? Leave her to be sold by her so-called uncles?
In times of desperation, people were capable of anything, even the most unspeakable acts.
But bringing the girl back would only add to their burdens.
Just then, the little girl fainted again, collapsing onto her mother.
Lu Xingyao sighed. “Well, it looks like my uncle isn’t the only one getting falsely blamed tonight.”
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