Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved

Chapter 27: Chapter 27 Lady Yu Will Be an Ox or a Horse to Repay You in the Next Life

The middle-aged man reeked of alcohol, his eyes unfocused, as if he had drunk himself into a stupor, and a few dry, hard buns still lay in the bowl before him.

This refugee shelter, while ostensibly a haven for refugees, was known to the people of the Capital City as a den of beggars.

The deeper one went inside, the more foul-smelling it became.

Those refugees, clad in tattered clothes, hadn’t bathed for many days; their hair was matted together. With the summer heat, flies were buzzing everywhere.

They devoured the distributed buns and porridge greedily, but no one dared touch the buns in the middle-aged man’s bowl.

Murong Jiu’s presence was clearly out of place here, when suddenly a small, dirty hand reached out, clutching the hem of her dress tightly.

...

“Sister, sister, are you a court physician? My mother is sick, can you save her?”

She looked down, meeting a pair of large black eyes and a dirty little face.

This was a thin, four- or five-year-old girl, skin and bones, and her clothes were all patches, but the stitches were tight, showing that the person who sewed them was very careful.

She changed her original direction, squatting down and gently touching the little girl’s dry hair, asking, “Where is your mother?”

“Inside there!”

The little girl pointed into the house, and in the crowd of refugees, Murong Jiu saw a woman lying on the ground, barely alive.

Her brows furrowed as she strode forward.

“Miss!”

Chun Tao hurriedly followed, worried that the refugees inside might offend the young lady.

But no one dared approach, for when Murong Jiu’s guards drew their swords just now, everyone saw it.

The woman lying on the ground was not old and had some beauty, but what was more apparent now was her pallid and sickly look, so thin it seemed she could easily break.

Murong Jiu took her pulse, her frown growing deeper and deeper.

This woman was on the brink of death.

She had been sick for too long, her weakened body had wasted away, beyond the help of medicine or doctors.

But she really couldn’t bear to tell the little girl this fact.

At that moment, the woman opened her eyes, and with strength from who knows where, she clutched tightly at Murong Jiu’s hand.

“Take my daughter away from here, please, I beg you. In the next life, Lady Yu will be an ox or a horse to repay you!”

The little girl, Xiao Wen, clung to Lady Yu, her eyes brimming with tears: “Mother! I don’t want to leave, I want to be with mother!”

“Xiao Wen, be obedient, mother is going to become a star in the sky and protect you forever. Whenever you miss mother, you just look up at the brightest star in the sky—that’s your mother.”

The little girl, not understanding the finality of death, innocently asked, “Really? Will mother really become a star?”

Chun Tao had red eyes just watching from the side.

Manager Chai and Lou Zixi were also visibly moved, feeling uncomfortable in their hearts.

An elderly woman nearby sighed mournfully:

“Alas, such tragedy. Miss, please take Xiao Wen with you. If you don’t take her away, when those thugs come by later, they will send her to a place like the Spring Red Court. That’s what Lady Yu worries about the most for Xiao Wen.”

Murong Jiu’s brows were tightly furrowed, realizing that her decision not to let the guards act against those thugs was wrong, as they didn’t even spare such a young child.

“Miss, Lady Yu kneels before you, begging you, just give Xiao Wen enough to eat, she can do anything, she won’t cause you any trouble.”

Lady Yu used her last ounce of strength to kneel.

Murong Jiu quickly helped her to lie down: “I promise you, my name is Murong Jiu, now the Princess Consort Ling. I have the means to protect her from harm. You, be at peace.”

She looked at Xiao Wen, reminded of her own two children, and how could she bear to let her live alone in this refugee camp.

Princess Consort Ling!

It was the Princess Consort!

Everyone present was shocked; no one could have imagined that the Princess Consort, so high above, would come to such a filthy and smelly place.

Manager Chai and Lou Zixi had guessed that her identity was extraordinary, but they had not thought that she would be the Princess Consort.

Lady Yu’s face was streaked with tears as she tightly hugged her own child. After a long while, she took out a broken half of a jade pendant from her bosom and handed it to Murong Jiu.

“This belonged to Xiao Wen’s father, Princess Consort. If you have the chance, Lady Yu would like to ask you to return it to him.”

The moment she took the half pendant, Murong Jiu felt something was amiss.

The quality of jade in the pendant was too good; it only looked worthless because it was broken, which is why it had remained with her in such a place, or else it would have been stolen long ago.

This piece of jade was imperial green, and the carvings on it were somewhat unclear, perhaps only recognizable by someone familiar with the whole pendant.

Lady Yu did not seem like someone who had lived a life of great wealth and privilege—her ten fingers were calloused, suggesting she had been doing rough work since she was a child, with ordinary status.

Yet, Xiao Wen’s father was either rich or noble.

And Lady Yu had also said just now, she only wanted to return the jade pendant, not that Xiao Wen should go with her father.

Between the two of them, there was probably too much grudge and entanglement.

Murong Jiu had no interest in delving into others’ secrets; she solemnly put away the jade pendant and promised to take good care of Xiao Wen.

Lady Yu’s final breath relaxed, her gaze wistful as she looked at Xiao Wen, hands falling to her sides, her eyes slowly losing their light.

“Mother!”

Xiao Wen cried out, shaking her mother’s shoulders, but how could shaking wake someone who had passed away.

Chun Tao secretly wiped away tears.

Those around were either indifferent or melancholic.

“Your mother has become a star, Xiao Wen. Don’t cry; your mother is just watching over you in a different way. When the rains stop in a few days, I’ll accompany you to look at the stars, okay?”

Xiao Wen, choking back sobs, nodded. Murong Jiu smoothly picked her up, a five-year-old child so light that one hand could hold her.

“I’ve dirtied your clothes.”

“It’s alright; clothes can be changed if they get dirty.”

“Will my mother be buried in the ground? I know she’s dead.”

Murong Jiu paused, realizing that Xiao Wen understood everything.

She slowly nodded, “Yes, I will find someone to bury her properly, so you can visit her whenever you miss her.”

Xiao Wen sniffled, “Thank you, Princess Consort, you are a good person.”

She was far too sensible, heartbreakingly so.

Murong Jiu looked at her, and she always thought of her own two children, who, although they hadn’t spent much time with her, were always sensible and well-behaved whenever they met.

They were only four years old when they died.

Her heart clenched with pain, she held Xiao Wen tight and instructed the guard to spend money to arrange Lady Yu’s burial.

“Chun Tao, take Xiao Wen by the hand and bring Manager Chai and Young Master Lou to the tea house to wait for me first.”

Murong Jiu did not want Xiao Wen to see her mother being put into a coffin; she was too young. In some cases, it’s better to be ignorant.

The guard went to the coffin shop and bought a high-quality coffin, and everyone else, fearing bad luck, stayed away, except for the same woman who had spoken earlier, who volunteered to help place Lady Yu into the coffin.

The body couldn’t be buried immediately; it had to be taken to Righteous Mansion to rest first, then find a spot with good Feng Shui later.

As the coffin was carried away, Murong Jiu turned and walked towards the middle-aged man who was still pouring liquor into his mouth.

“Alliance Leader Chang.”

With her opening words, the man looked up, a murderous intent flaring up in his lifeless eyes.@@novelbin@@