Chapter 125: Using Beauty to Serve People (Complete)

All sounds have ceased; this night will be settled.

Behind the constantly kowtowing Dun Cheng County Secretary, the city gate slowly opened, and the defending soldiers came out one after another, dropping their weapons and kneeling on the ground.

Bows were thrown on the ground, knives set in the mud, some were still trembling, others had already burst into tears.

Liu Er drew near and saw clearly——

That princess who could settle the universe with a single arrow, radiant with the bearing of sun and moon, did not even give those soldiers a glance.

She simply put away her crossbow bolt, nimbly dismounted.

Her boots stepped into the muddy water, splashing mud onto her hem, she was oblivious, striding straight toward the city gate, step by step approaching Wang De.

Having just experienced that upheaval, each refugee now is still shaken; seeing someone walk toward Wang De, their hearts are mostly filled with bitterness——

It was too early to be happy before!

How can commoners compare to officials?

They merely killed a few lives, but he is a County Secretary!

Now that Wang De has confessed, if we stir up a few more words, will we drive away the refugees who have come here with great difficulty?

The torches blazed, scorching hearts and minds.

The refugees looked at each other, seeing fear in each other's eyes.

But after one step, two steps, three steps......

Yet that figure did not approach Wang De, but instead crouched down and picked up the infant crying in the mud before the city gate.

The child's face was covered in mud, its cries had gone hoarse, its tiny fists flailed in the air.

The lovely maiden felt no disgust, merely cradling the baby in her arms and gently wiping its palm‑sized face clean with her sleeve.

She raised her head; her voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears:

"Open the granaries, distribute grain, set up porridge shelters, find doctors to treat the wounded, prioritizing the elderly, weak, women, and children."

"As for this clueless wretch who dared to slaughter innocents, the County Secretary shall be beaten to death and his corpse hung for three days as a warning."

The attendants behind her departed to obey.

Wang De's eyes widened inch by inch, yet he could not utter a word before being gagged and dragged away, vanishing completely into the shadow of the city gate.

How... how decisive and swift......

They even investigated and dealt with the County Secretary!

The refugees outside the city gazed at her—some wept, some laughed, some knelt and kowtowed, some stood motionless, merely staring blankly.

Those corpses in the mud still lay there, firelight casting on their faces, revealing frozen terror and anguish.

The living surrounded the dead, sobs and shouts mingling, drifting away in the night wind.

Liu Er had been pulling Zhao Daniu back step by step into the crowd; seeing this, she suddenly let out a half‑breath of relief——

Fortunately, the Princess is someone who can get things done!

Otherwise, this group of refugees would truly be doomed!

Liu Er inevitably felt a flicker of luck, but before it could rise to her throat, it was pressed down by the sobbing of the person beside her.

Zhao Daniu still stood before the cart, hands hanging at his sides, shoulders slumped; though he was a tall, honest fellow, he now resembled a tree struck by lightning.

He did not look at the Princess, nor at the city wall, nor at the soldiers kneeling on the ground.

He only looked at the cart.

He looked at the cart, so Liu Er could only look at the cart as well.

On the cart lay the elderly woman who had once let Liu Er remember eating her fill.

The arrow in her throat was not pulled out, the flames had died, her garments were burnt over a large area, exposing the black‑red flesh beneath.

Her face turned to one side, eyes closed, the faint curve at the corner of her mouth long gone, replaced by an indescribable serenity.

Everything was peaceful, as if she had fallen asleep.

But Liu Er knew she would never wake again......

Just like her mother that year.

That year, her mother was ill to the point she could not even rise.

The household had no grain, nor any medicine; her mother simply lay in bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.

He was so hungry he went to find his maternal cousin, an apprentice in the hemp shop east of the village, and borrowed a bowl of rice, intending to bring it home to cook for his mother and see if she could improve.

But he was truly foolish.

He wore his lips raw, spent half a day, stood at the doorway refusing to leave, and only then got half a bowl of rice.

That half‑bowl of rice was placed in a chipped pottery bowl; he was so hungry he had no strength, dropping grains with each step, and too dizzy from hunger to pick them up.

Thus, that day he left early and returned late, actually bringing back only a small half‑bowl of rice.

He told his mother about borrowing the rice; she smiled, told him to cook it first, and said she would rest a bit then get up to drink.

His mother smiled so gently, and urged him to add extra water, so that his father could also have a sip of the rice soup.

In fact, his father had already died of illness long before.

But his mother seemed not to remember.

He dared not speak of it, dared not mention it, yet he labored greatly, gathering firewood to boil the rice soup.

That flavor, he could not forget even after many years.

Fragrant.

Very fragrant.

But he worried about his resting mother, gathering the rice grains floating in the soup into one bowl, hoping she would eat more and recover sooner.

Yet in the end, his mother never got to drink that bowl of rice soup.

His mother said she would rest, but once she closed her eyes, it was for a lifetime.

That spring, he lost his father.

That autumn, he lost his mother.

That winter, he was sold into a theater troupe by a creditor coming to collect debt.

This life was just that simple.

Zhao Daniu was still weeping, but Liu Er finally turned her gaze away.

He clutched the gold and silver in his bosom, and after a long while he spoke somewhat dazedly:

"I have money. Daniu, I am very rich."

"Don't cry, I'll take charge and pay for the finest tomb for your mother, with the finest stele......"

Zhao Daniu didn't reply, but Liu Er anxiously tore open a corner of the bundle in her arms and raised her voice:

"I have silver, I have lots of silver."

"Bury your mother, then follow me. You have strength; as long as you protect me, you'll never worry about food or drink again......"

Earlier, the Princess issued an order to open the city, and the refugees had already lined up to enter.

The two stood here guarding the cart, and for a moment they felt dazzled.

Liu Er knew she had only sought this mother‑son pair as a cover to hide her identity; she had come in haste, and now the urgent thing was to ditch them and leave swiftly.

But he......

was just reluctant to go.

At a glance, Big Brother Daniu is clearly a poor soul; weddings, funerals, marriages—since ancient times they've always been enormously expensive.

Now a simple coffin costs a tidy sum; Big Brother Daniu surely can't come up with it, and he may have no choice but to wrap the body in a straw mat and bury it in the Mass Grave.

If he left, this honest, burly fellow might have to sell himself to raise the silver for a thin coffin for his mother.

If he left, that old woman who so resembled his mother would have nowhere decent to go.

If he left......

He would lose his mother for the second time.

Liu Er's heart and spirit were shaken; she felt quite anxious, desperately trying to pull him away, at least unable to stay here and be conspicuous.

Yet their movements were still noticed by someone with intent.

A gaunt figure slipped through the night, arriving silently.

The newcomer had delicate, handsome features; not knowing how long he'd been watching them in the dark, he opened his lips and smiled as he spoke:

"You are the male favorite of Ju Cheng County Magistrate Qian Youde, right?"

Liu Er recognized the newcomer; he was the man who had stood beside the Princess outside Ju Cheng's walls that day.

But today this person seemed somewhat different from before.

The firelight was eerie, the long night still dark.

Although he was smiling, his eyes were unclear, and a faint ghostly aura lingered around him.

Liu Er felt her hairs stand on end; in the next instant she heard the other's thin lips utter, and he spoke again:

"This mother and son's plight cannot be solved with gold and silver."

"If you truly wish to relieve suffering... why not, once more, sell your body to help others?"

【Selling One's Body】

These four words, Liu Er had heard them more than a few times before.

But few people would combine 'selling one's body' with 'relieving suffering'.

He was terrified of this man, whose whole body exuded a cold, snake‑like chill; his mind was filled with 'run', 'run fast', 'he's surely deceiving me'.

Yet he could not move his feet.

How could one relieve suffering?

How could someone like him possibly relieve suffering?

Someone like him......

And how could he deserve to relieve suffering?

Perhaps Liu Er had hesitated too long; seeing that he did not leave, the visitor spoke softly again:

"Our Zhoufu Prefect Xu, who privately levied extra taxes, happens to favor male lovers......"

?? is eh, this is a hidden agent who sells his body...... The unconventional aspect of this role is that such types are usually women, but in this story men and women are merely symbols—the corruption lies in the world.