As the sound of the cart wheels grew quieter outside the swill bucket, both girls' expressions gradually turned to helplessness and anxiety. No matter how fearless they usually were, they were still just two girls, around seven or eight years old, who had been pampered all their lives and had never faced such hardship.
“It’s all your fault! Instead of watching the lovely lanterns, you insisted on seeing some street performers, and now we’re kidnapped! What are we going to do?” said the elder sister, Bai Xi, in a cold tone.
“You’re the one who wanted Suzhou wontons, and they’re only in the southern city. Why blame only me?” Bai Shuo retorted angrily, her eyes darting, though guilt and shame flickered within them despite her refusal to admit it.
The two were twins and had been together since birth; they didn’t even need words—just a glance was enough to understand each other’s thoughts. Even with their mouths gagged with cloth, they could still “argue” through sheer intent.
Suddenly, the ox cart stopped, causing both girls’ foreheads to knock against the swill bucket with a dull thud. The stench and pain made them grimace, and they quickly looked at each other, seeing the worry in each other’s eyes, then turned away and stopped “arguing.”
The ox cart no longer traveled south, but rather turned a corner and continued moving.
“Didn’t we just leave the city gate? Are we heading back into the city?” Bai Xi’s eyes lit up momentarily, but soon she sensed something was off, and her small face paled.
This was not southbound anymore—they were circling the city wall and heading north. It seemed that their captors intended to take them northward from the start, and the southern route was merely a ruse.
“What’s beyond the northern city wall?” Bai Xi wondered. “Apart from the imperial tombs, there’s nothing there, is there? Will Father find us? Will Mother worry?”
Bai Xi and Bai Shuo exchanged glances, and Bai Shuo suddenly leaned over, rubbing her forehead against Bai Xi’s.
“A-Xi, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you. If there’s a chance, you must run first!”
Bai Xi, understanding the look in Bai Shuo’s eyes, flashed with anger and shook her head.
Bai Shuo grew anxious and hummed a few muffled sounds in protest.
A sudden thump on the swill bucket reverberated, followed by a cold, menacing voice, “You better behave, or I’ll sell you to the brothel!”
The blow resonated through the swill bucket, leaving their scalps tingling and hearts pounding. The two sisters huddled together in silence.
Hearing the word “brothel,” Bai Shuo finally felt a pang of fear. She glanced at her composed elder sister, terrified at the thought of Bai Xi being sold to such a place.
“A-Xi is meant to be the future Empress,” she thought, “it’s alright if I’m sold, but nothing must happen to A-Xi.”
If only she hadn’t been enticed by the street folk’s chatter about the southern city’s performances and convinced Bai Xi to ditch their guards to go there, they wouldn’t have been kidnapped.
“What do these men want with us?” she wondered, “Are they Father’s enemies, or do they just want to sell us for money?”
Feeling guilty, Bai Shuo lowered her head, dizzy from the constant bumping inside the dark swill bucket but held herself still.
“Brother, today’s catch is truly something special—these two girls are clearly blessed with ‘spirit energy’.”
Outside the ox cart, Qian'er, thin and hunched, rubbed a faint dark mist around his wrist, glancing back at the swill bucket, his hand gripping the reins trembling slightly with excitement. “This time, we’ll be able to sustain ourselves for quite a while, right?”
Qian Da remained much calmer, recalling the noble bearing of the two girls in the swill bucket. He couldn’t shake the feeling that, despite their young age, they possessed a certain elegance. He frowned, “Girls with such strong spirit energy—they wouldn’t be from an influential family, would they? This is the capital, the Emperor’s territory. If we mess with noble children, we’ll never be able to move freely again if the authorities get wind of it.”
“No way, Brother. Sure, these girls are plump and noble-looking, but I recognized the fabric of their clothes—it’s ordinary cloth from Jiangnan. They only had one guard with them, so they’re at most children of wealthy families, not nobility. Besides, noble girls wouldn’t be allowed to roam outside the estate at such a young age, would they?”
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