spoiled brat

Chapter 10. Eliminating Evil (Part Two)

The flames burned brightly in the rain, like tiny, weak flames that were about to go out.

Overwhelmed by an indescribable fear, she lost all strength and fell from Xiao Duo's shoulder, crashing to the ground with a thud, feeling as if all the bones in her body were shattered.

The dense rain stung her like needles, and Xiao Duo rushed over to shield her, anxiously patting her face.
"Zhao Zhao'er, does it hurt? What did you see?"

Zhao Zhao's temples throbbed. She closed her eyes, and the image of that empty mouth resurfaced in her mind.

It felt like an eternity before Zhao Zhao, her face still wet with sweat, whispered:
"Xiao Duo, how can a person live like a pig or a dog..."

"You mean..."

Xiao Duo was speechless. He was a smart man and instantly understood what the shady things in Zhao Si's house were.

The woman inside the wall was still screaming horribly; Zhao Zhao could tell she was crying.

A nameless hatred welled up within her, and Zhao Zhao gritted her teeth, saying:

"Let's report this to the authorities! We'll go and beat the petition drum at daybreak!"

She picked up the lantern and headed towards the government office, with Xiao Duo following behind, trying to dissuade her as she went:
"Zhaozhao, you can't report this... If you beat the drum of injustice, you'll be beaten first. Even if you endure it, what will happen to the subsequent lawsuit?!"

Zhao Zhao shook off his hand, determined to go her own way: "You always talk about chivalry, but when it comes to real things, you only know how to weigh the pros and cons!"

"It's not about weighing the pros and cons!" Xiao Duo stood in front of Zhao Zhao. "Gathering evidence takes time. What if Zhao Si bribes the court to transfer the person away? Wouldn't you be alerting the enemy?!"

Seeing Zhao Zhao stunned, Xiao Duo roared, "It's true that I always talk about chivalry, but I know you came here to find something on Zhao Si! All you do is make money, not save lives and help others!"

After being scolded by him, Zhao Zhao realized that she had no right to be a good person.

She had no money, she was of lowly status, and she had a mother who depended on her for survival.

She wouldn't dare to offer help indiscriminately.

The rain was so heavy it was deafening, and the wind was accompanied by thunder.

Zhao Zhao threw the lantern aside, slumped down in defeat and dejection, and finally started crying like a thirteen-year-old child, hugging her knees.

Xiao Duo couldn't see her tears or hear her cries; all he knew was that Zhao Zhao had turned into a soaking wet puppy.

Zhao Zhao couldn't do anything, and neither could he. All he could do was use his straw hat to shield Zhao Zhao's head from the rain and keep saying:

"I'll do it in the future..."

Zhao Zhao never cried in front of outsiders. She covered her face and said something seemingly unrelated:

“Xiao Duo, you don’t know… that day I blocked the way of an important person and almost got thrown into jail.”

“I know, I know… You said you met a Bodhisattva, who was gentler and more beautiful than any Bodhisattva in any portrait.”

“I was filthy, but she cupped my face and gently wiped the mud away from me… even though she knew perfectly well that I came from a lowly background and wasn’t even worthy to carry her shoes…”

Xiao Duo knew what was making her sad, and was about to comfort her when Zhao Zhao had already finished crying.

She sat down under the eaves to shelter from the rain, rubbing her red nose, and got down to business:

Do you remember which family that girl used to be a maid?

"It seems to be... the personal maid of the county magistrate's daughter."

“That’s right.” Zhao Zhao calmed down. “I was wondering why she would reveal Zhao Si’s background to us, since Zhao Si is her benefactor. Now I understand everything.”

“You mean…” Xiao Duo’s expression froze, “You mean that thing that keeps crying and screaming in the courtyard is…” Zhao Zhao said decisively, “It’s the county magistrate’s daughter, A Zhuo’s mistress.”

Xiao Duo was stunned. He didn't climb the wall to look, but he could tell that the voice belonged to a mute. Considering Zhao Si's attitude towards her, he waved his hand and said:
"Impossible, the county magistrate's daughter died long ago."

Seeing Zhao Zhao's confusion, he explained:

“I’m a few years older than you, and I’m more active outside, so it’s not surprising that I know more than you.”

"This is a taboo in the county. I heard it from an old beggar."

"The county magistrate has only one daughter, named Shu, whose beauty is so stunning that fish would fall from the sky and geese would hide their faces and flowers would blush. She is married to the son of County Lieutenant Huang. The two are deeply in love and should be a perfect couple."

"But who could have predicted that Miss Xie, a young woman of marriageable age, would inexplicably become pregnant? Lord Huang came to question her, but our county magistrate, for the sake of his reputation..."

Xiao Duo lowered his voice, becoming increasingly enigmatic:

“Miss Xie was forced to commit suicide as an apology. Because this matter was not honorable, the funeral was held in a very simple manner, and few people in the county knew about it, and those who did not dare to mention it.”

Zhao Zhao felt a chill in her heart. No wonder Zhao Si treated the girls of the Dark Gate so well, spending so much real money on them. Did he not intend to win them over and keep them quiet?
A terrifying thought rose in Zhao Zhao's mind, slithering like a snake to her lips:

“Xiao Duo… Zhao Si was originally a minor official in the government office, but he was removed from the official register after committing a crime. But so many years have passed, does anyone know what he did wrong back then?”

“I was too stupid before. I thought the government didn’t know about his loan sharking. Now that I think about it, how could they not know? Not only did they know, but his biggest backer was the county magistrate.”

Zhao Zhao's gaze pierced through the night, through the dark roof tiles, and met that of Miss Shu, who was crying out in the pouring rain:

"In order to curry favor with the powerful, Zhao Si got Miss Xie pregnant, thinking he could become a son-in-law of a wealthy family. However, the county magistrate was unwilling to break ties with his in-laws, so he could only publicly order her to commit suicide, but secretly hand her over to Zhao Si."

"...Then how did she end up like this?" Xiao Duo asked.

"How many years have passed since this happened?"

Xiao Duo counted on her fingers: "It's been almost ten years."

"Ten years is enough." Zhao Zhao sneered. "What's a daughter who brings shame to the family compared to a fake son-in-law who can be a lackey?"

From the moment Miss Xie faked her death to save face for her family, she became a wandering soul in this world, and no one would treat her as a human being anymore.

As dawn broke, the stolen lantern was extinguished.

Shouts came from the other end of the alley, but they were too far away to be heard clearly.

Xiao Duo's ears twitched, and he quickly pulled Zhao Zhao behind the stone tablet to hide. He raised his finger to shush her, telling Zhao Zhao to wait quietly.

Before long, the sound of rolling wheels echoed on the bluestone road, and the closer the sound of the wheels got, the stronger the pungent smell of manure became.

Zhao Zhao pinched her nose, but heard an extremely clean and clear voice:

"Osmanthus fragrance, human urine yellow, golden juice, beware!"

The sound of wheels stopped in front of the mansion gate not far away. The gate opened, and an old man who looked like a steward led several servants to pour excrement and urine into the manure cart.

The old man chuckled, "Ah Ming, why are you here so early today?"

Amin was about fifteen or sixteen years old. He did dirty work, but his eyes were so pure and captivating.

He scratched his head, lowered his eyes, and smiled:

"I want to go to the market early to buy the most beautiful bunch of magnolia flowers."