The girl looked up in panic. Through tear-blurred eyes, she saw a man and a woman.
The man wore a black robe, standing tall and straight as a pine. His face was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, and his eyes were as deep as the night as they quietly watched her.
That gaze held none of the contempt or brutality of the town's overseers, yet it inexplicably made her feel oppressed.
The woman had short hair and a valiant bearing. Her cold eyes clearly reflected lingering icy fury, as well as pity—perhaps even heartbreak.
Almost instinctively, she dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead against the cold slush. "Uncle... I-I wasn't trying to steal food... That steamed bun fell on the ground. I thought no one wanted it anymore..." Her voice trembled beyond recognition. "My grandpa hasn't eaten for three days... I won't eat it, I don't want it... Please, don't kill me... I don't want to be a sacrifice..."
Large tears splashed into the mud, mingling with her lowly pleas.
She raised her head, her filthy little face streaked with tears, leaving only a desperate plea. "It doesn't matter if I die, it really doesn't. But my grandpa... his eyes are bad, and his legs are crippled too. Without anyone to care for him, he definitely won't survive. My lord, please spare me, at least... at least wait until Grandpa..."
She could not go on. She only desperately kowtowed, and before long, her forehead was covered in muddy snow, a miserable mess.
Fu Yunxuan looked at the trembling, weeping girl before her, humble as dust, and listened to her despairing pleas. The pent-up suffocation and fury in her chest nearly shattered her usual composure.
She took a deep breath. The cold air suppressed her roiling emotions, but made