A ragged cub at the beginning

No customers came in the afternoon, and Tang Xu sat in the store bored. There was no one on the street, and it was quiet all around. It seemed that the only sound between heaven and earth was the crackling sound of raindrops hitting the tiles.

What a perfect weather for sleeping! With the natural white noise, won’t you fall asleep in seconds once you lie down on the bed?

A figure suddenly appeared in the rain, hunched over, holding something in his arms, and ran over in a hurry. As a result, he fell down as soon as he entered the door. She screamed, and a child flew out of her arms.

child! ! !

Tang Xu stood up suddenly, her heart skipped a beat, and she ran out of the counter. The child bumped into the counter and stopped, but didn't make a sound! Did he faint?

“Ermao, Ermao…” The woman didn’t even have time to stand up. She used her hands and feet to crawl over and held the child in her arms. She stroked the child’s pale and purple face with one hand and cried, “Ermao, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It’s all because of my mother’s failure to hold you well.”

Pale and purple? Tang Xu vaguely felt that the child's complexion was not right. She squatted down and said, "Send the child to the clinic first. Why isn't he crying? Get up quickly. The clinic is over there, very close."

The woman just cried. Tang Xu was so anxious that he tried to persuade her but she didn't listen. After a long while, she finally said in a sobbing voice, "My Ermao won't cry anymore. He won't cry anymore."

Tang Xu took two steps back. What did this mean? This child... is dead?

"Girl, I've heard about you." The woman wiped her tears, but she was soaked all over, and it was no use wiping her tears, her face was still wet. "Girl, can you please help me draw a portrait of my son? I will definitely find a way to pay you back in the future, please." As she said this, she knelt on the ground holding the child and kowtowed to Tang Xu.

"Hey! Don't do this! Get up first!" Tang Xu reached out to pull her, but she slumped and refused to get up. "Get up first, I'll help you draw, and I won't charge you any money."

"Thank you! Thank you!" The woman stood up, limping, perhaps because she had fallen and shivered from the cold.

"Have a cup of hot tea, you're all wet..." Tang Xu wanted to take her home to change clothes. It was so cold, how could anyone bear to wear wet clothes. However, she took a look at the child, her face was pale, her lips were dark purple, and she didn't know how long she had been gone.

Tang Xu didn't ask why she was running around the street with the child's body. If she took her back home, she was worried that she would scare the children at home. She hesitated for a while, and when she saw the woman trembling and her mouth turning purple like the child, she sighed and said, "Come with me to my house to change clothes. I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it and get sick."

"No need to trouble you, thank you. Just draw it like this." The woman forced a smile on her lips, as if she wanted to laugh, but it looked uglier than crying.

"Let's go. I have painting supplies at home and can paint." Tang Xu picked up an umbrella and put the door panels of the shop together one by one.

"My name is Xingzi," the woman said, "Thank you."

"Let's go." Tang Xu held up the umbrella, pulled the woman under it and took her home.

"Are you back? Are there guests? Ouch, why are you so wet?" Yu Xiaotao came out with a smile, but frowned when she saw Xingzi's appearance.

"Sister Xiaotao, is there any hot water?" Tang Xu asked.

Yu Xiaotao nodded, "Yes, it's still burning."

"Wash yourself up and change your clothes. I'll go find some clothes for you." Tang Xu took out a set of colorful clothes from the closet, which she didn't like to wear.

Xingzi bowed and thanked him, her voice full of tears.

It rained in the afternoon, so Hu Xinting didn't come. The four children were playing in the small classroom, and July took out his little picture book and told stories to his friends.

Seeing that he liked it, Tang Xu would draw some for him when he had nothing to do, all of which were idiom stories.

By the time Xingzi had finished cleaning up, Tang Xu had already set up the easel and was ready to start.

While painting, I learned that Xingzi's son was born weak and had always been in poor health. At the age of six, he was only about the same height as other four-year-old children. He would get sick from time to time and needed someone to take care of him. The family was extremely anxious. They had finally had a son, but they didn't expect this. The mother-in-law blamed her for having a sickly child. Her husband also complained occasionally, and after hearing so much, she began to blame herself.

Fortunately, the children are well-behaved and honest, and the eldest daughter is also sensible.

A while ago, the child’s grandmother heard a folk remedy from somewhere, saying that eating frog eggs raw can strengthen the body.

Tang Xu's jaw dropped when he heard this. Eat it raw???

Xingzi thought it was scary and didn't want to feed it to her child. Besides, it was hard to find frogs in this season, not to mention frog eggs. But her mother-in-law went out early and came back late every day, and she really caught one from somewhere, saying that if there were no frog eggs, it would be the same for frogs. Xingzi didn't agree, so she secretly forced the child to eat it when no one was around.

But the child's throat was only a little big, and the frog was almost as big as a baby's fist. But her mother-in-law forced it in, and the child's open mouth crying actually made it easier for her.

When Xingzi came back from washing clothes, the child had already choked on a frog and his eyes rolled back. The frog was stuck in his throat and he couldn't swallow it or get it out, so he choked to death.

When her mother-in-law saw that the child was gone, she cried and scolded her for being a jinx, saying that the child choked to death as soon as she came back, even though it was fine just now. But even with such unreasonable words, her husband did not speak up for her, and did not even say a few words to her mother-in-law.

Afterwards, her mother-in-law said that the child died before he grew up and could not be buried in the ancestral tomb, so she wrapped him in a straw mat and threw him into a mass grave. She disagreed, but she could not stand up to her husband and mother-in-law.

Today, since they had thrown the child away, I brought him here and wanted to ask Tang Xu to draw a picture of him as a remembrance of him.

Xingzi cried as she spoke, and she was sobbing that she couldn't breathe.

Yu Xiaotao stamped her feet in anger. Thinking of her mother-in-law, she was even more angry. "What a sin! She killed a good child! Report to the police!"

Xingzi just cried and shook her head. Report to the police? She didn't even know where the police were. What's more, her husband didn't agree, and there was an older daughter at home.

Tang Xu was also so angry that she gnashed her teeth. Stupid! What kind of idiot could come up with such an idea? Swallowing a frog alive?! Is this something a human can do? While she was angry, she felt sorry for the child. How uncomfortable would it be to be choked to death by his grandmother? How scared would he be to have a live frog stuffed into his mouth?

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She could understand Xingzi's choice but she couldn't accept it. She looked at the child and found that his throat was still swollen and the frog was probably still stuck there.

She endured and endured, finally swallowing back the curse words that were about to come out of her mouth. Her hand holding the pen was shaking with anger! How could she just let it go like this! This is a life! This is murder!

It’s so infuriating! What kind of grandma is this! She’s the one who deserves death! She even gave birth to a grandson! People like this should have no children or grandchildren!

After scolding for a while, Tang Xu closed his eyes and calmed down before he began to observe the child. His eyebrows were thin and light, his nose was thin, and judging from his eyebrow bones and eye sockets, as well as his mother's eyes, the child's eyes were not big, but he had beautiful big eyes.

She picked up the paintbrush, her mood slowly calmed down, and she devoted herself to the drawing paper.

The final image is the child hugging the mother's neck and sitting on her lap, with a shy but happy smile on his face, and the mother also has a smile on her face. Behind the two of them, spring flowers are in full bloom, and you can almost smell the fragrance of flowers.

Unfortunately, this child will never see spring again.

Xingzi burst into tears when she saw the painting, and fainted while holding her son's cold body. Tang Xu hurried to comfort the children who were frightened by the crying and stopped them from coming over.

Qi Qing and Yu Xiaotao carried Xingzi back to the dormitory. They were a little scared about the child's body. Tang Xu didn't know how to deal with it. Although she was not too scared, she was always worried about scaring July and the others.

Before dinner, the rain had not stopped yet, and Du Yun came over with an umbrella to pick up Jiarui.

As soon as Tang Xu saw him, he couldn't help but tell him what happened in the afternoon. "Xingzi has a fever now, and she keeps crying even when she's asleep. Why don't you insist on seeking justice for the child? Is this child her biological child?"

Du Yun was touched by her adorable angry look, smoothed her hair and said, "Everyone makes a choice. She avoided a more difficult path, which is understandable."

Tang Xu glared at him and pulled his hand away.

Du Yun was angered and could only smile helplessly, "I'll take the child's body back."

"Ah?" Tang Xu looked at him in surprise, "What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm worried that leaving it here might scare you. You don't have any extra rooms at home, but I have plenty." Du Yun didn't care about the wetness. He picked up the child with one hand and put him on his shoulder. "I'll be back soon."

"Will Madam Du mind? After all... this is not a living person." Tang Xu hesitated and helped him open the umbrella.

"It's okay, go in and don't get wet in the rain." Du Yun tried to hold back, but couldn't help but touched her face with his hand, pushed her gently, took the umbrella and walked into the rain.

"Then go slower." Tang Xu followed behind and instructed.

Du Yun responded without turning around.

The matter of the body was settled, and Xingzi asked a doctor to come over to take a look. I don't know if her family is looking for her, but thinking about the man and mother-in-law, it doesn't seem strange that they don't look for her.

Qi Qing and Wang Hong took turns taking care of Xingzi for several nights. By the morning, the fever had finally subsided and the rain had stopped.

As soon as Xingzi woke up, she started looking for her child everywhere. Wang Hong had no choice but to go to the shop and ask Tang Xu to come back.

"Looking for the child, right? Come with me." Tang Xu brought her to the Du family. Butler Qi welcomed her in happily with a very warm attitude.

"The old lady said it was not a good idea to leave it like this, so she took the initiative to buy a small coffin. It's here." Butler Qi pushed open a remote empty house in the yard. Although it was an empty house, it was very clean inside. The dark red small coffin was placed neatly in the house, the coffin lid was not closed, the child's clothes were changed, and even the face was wiped clean.

Tang Xu was somewhat moved, and Xingzi even cried and kowtowed to Butler Qi.

"Oh, oh, no, don't do this. Our old lady is kind-hearted and can't bear to see this." Butler Qi wanted to pull her, but because of the difference between men and women, it was difficult to do so.

"That's enough. The fever has just subsided. Don't bother with it anymore. It's not raining today, but how are you going to get the coffin back?" Tang Xu felt sorry for her crying so miserably. "Why don't you go back and ask someone to carry it? Do you have any brothers from your mother's family?"

"No, can you lend me a rope to tie it to me?" Xingzi stroked the child's face, and closed the coffin lid with a pain in her heart, tears welling up in her swollen eyes. "I have no way to repay you two for your kindness. If there is an afterlife, I am willing to work like a cow or a horse to repay your kindness."

Tang Xu didn't respond to her. Butler Qi found a rope and called a maid to help tie up the coffin.

Xingzi carried the child's portrait on her chest and the child's body on her back as she walked away along the street. The morning light shone on the small coffin, like a tragic and sorrowful painting.

Tang Ling followed the carriage of the King of Jin all the way, but the guards were too tight and he could not find a good opportunity to attack. This time, he followed the King of Jin to the city. The prefect Feng Bao was standing at the city gate and welcomed the King of Jin back to the mansion.

Tang Ling felt a little cold, so she went to the clinic and got a prescription for typhoid fever and drank it right away. Then she found an inn to wash and dress. After nightfall, she came to the prefect's residence again.

The palace was hosting a welcoming banquet for the King of Jin, with lingering music and shadowy figures. Tang Ling was lying on the roof, his black clothes blending into the darkness.

It was not until midnight that the King of Jin dismissed the geisha and went to the guest house with the help of Feng Jian. For some reason, Tang Ling felt that she had seen this prefect somewhere before. However, she remembered that he was not a good person.

Except for the guards on duty, the other guards were arranged by the prefect to go to the reception. Perhaps they felt that it was safe here, and except for the prince's personal guard, the others were slack.

It's an opportunity.

Tang Ling had no interest in the life of the King of Jin, she just wanted to teach him a lesson, to let him know that the assassin had followed him, so that he would not pursue Yihe Town relentlessly. She took out two thunder and fire bombs and was about to throw them when she heard the prefect say, "Your Highness, I wonder who did it this time?"

"Who do you think is the killer of the Tang family?" Prince Jin leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. "Where is the one we caught two years ago?"

"That man is too stubborn. We can't get any information out of him, not even the location of the Tang family. Should we just kill him?" asked the prefect.

"Waste! It's been more than two years! What use do I have for you!" King Jin kicked the man to the ground.

Two years ago? The Tang family? Tang Ling could hardly control her breath. She pinched her fingertips tightly and stared at the grass in front of her. Her whole body was motionless, and she even breathed slower and lighter.

"Your Highness, please spare my life. I have used all the tortures I can think of. But he is too stubborn and is hanging on to his last breath. We dare not really kill him. The assassins of the Tang Clan would commit suicide when they are caught. For some reason, this man did not take poison, but I dare not kill him too much. Your Highness! Spare my life! Spare my life! I will torture him again right away!" Feng Jian knelt on the ground and kowtowed for mercy. Soon his forehead was bruised.

"Useless thing, you insist on taking the blame even though you can't do the job well." King Jin kicked him again, "Get out, stop knocking your head! How are you going to explain this tomorrow? You got a green head as soon as I got here! Are you afraid that people won't know?"

"I fell down by myself and hit the corner of the table." The prefect got up and continued to kneel.

"Get out of here." King Jin exhaled heavily, "Get out of here, you piece of trash! Hand him over tomorrow."

Feng Jian nodded repeatedly, lay on the ground and rolled to the door, then he passed the threshold and crawled out using all four limbs.

Following his movement, Tang Ling quietly left the wall, avoided the secret guards and followed Feng Jian.