The market place was the same one Xiao Hui left behind, to her dismay.
While the people walking by were as lifeless as ever, the vendors were even more so. Not one of them called out for customers, everyone too scared of their wrath. Xiao Hui expected this but that did not mean she was not disappointed.
She had spent a few days in the brothel all thanks to Lady Jia but she knew that she had to go if she wanted to find the King. Talking to the brothel manager had been far from helpful but at least now she knew that Han Bingwen had not left the town. Probably. Hopefully.
Her hands clutched at the thin fabric of the weimao that was put haphazardly over her head. Two people, obviously higher ups, walked past her, chattering delicately about the many accomplishments of their sons and daughters.
Xiao Hui waited until they were gone, sighing in relief when she saw them go round the corner.
Three hours ago when she had just left the brothel, she saw posters everywhere.
Most of them were of Han Bingwen's disappearance, promising many gold coins to the first person who finds him. The number was so large, it was larger than any money she could earn even in copper coins. That was to be expected; a very important person had just disappeared after all.
But what was unexpected was that occasionally, after every sixth or seventh poster, right below the portrait of the runaway King, was a badly drawn portrait of Xiao Hui.
Xiao Hui had stopped to look at the poster with amazement. Never in the many years of her life (only 19 years) did she expect her, a lowly maid's, face to be stapled on a tree with the words "MISSING" written underneath.
The "face" was hardly recognizable. It looked like the drawings of a very young child and her shape was so angular that it made her look like a demon in the bestiaries.
But soon that amazement turned into horror when she thought about the implications of this new "fame".
If she was to be found, the new Tyrant King would, no doubt, torture or kill her. Or both. The only way out had been to ensure that no one recognized her as a maid working in the palace. Thank Buddha for the horrible drawing.
But still, it was best to be cautious and so the maid, fearful for her life, had swiped the first weimao she saw and covered her face with it. She knew that it was not good to steal but dire situations required dire measures, and so she took it but not without leaving a few copper coins in that place.
***
This new world was different from the original in more ways than one.
First off, in the current world, the Tyrant King ruled what was now known as the New Regime (which was a million times worse than the old one, Lady Jia had complained.)
The second major change was the class system.
Everybody was divided into various classes. At the top was the King, Han Bohai, and no one preceded him.
Then came the nobles and aristocrats since there was no Royal Consort or concubines (in this world), then the town elders, and so on. Xiao Hui, being a maid, came to be as nearly lowest of the lowest classes, only above the demons. And this proved to be a problem.
Xiao Hui had just stolen a mantou from a vendor.
It was purely by accident.
The poor maid, after nearly two days of not eating food and only drinking water from a small and muddy pond, was in the verge of collapsing. Then, like light shining from the heavens, a lone mantou on the ground brought the maid's attention.
So, without hesitating, the maid almost pounced at the bun, grabbing it in her thin hands and gobbling it down. It was far from a meal, but it was still better than nothing.
But then things went to Nan Si. [1]
A hefty woman started yelling slurs at her, calling her a low thief, saying that she should go the deepest corner of hell. She called her a she demon lower than the lowest scum on earth.
Xiao Hui took the abuse with a blank look on her face. Those slurs were nothing compared to what the new King had made her do. The maid grimaced even thinking about it.
She decided to wait it out until the vendor got tired and eventually left her. After all, what did it matter if a starving maid ate one measly bun from the ground? It was not as if the vendor would put the mantou back from the dirty ground and sell it. Right?
A tug on the hem of her shawl pulled her out of her reverie. The hand holding it was tiny and it trembled slightly when the vendor directed her rage at him.
"Why are you here, Yuan-er?" she yelled. "Did I not dismiss you more than two shichen ago?"
The boy, Yuan-er said nothing, instead opting to stare obstinately at the vendor.
One could see that the vendor was feeling uncomfortable and Xiao Hui was not surprised in the least when she finally left.
The boy let go of her shawl and seemed to sigh in relief. Poor boy. Despite being so terrified, he still did more than many did.
Xiao Hui turned to thank at her savior. Her eyes widened when she saw him.
There, with his head bowed low, was the little boy who had given the former Queen Consort a tanghulu for free.
__________________________________________________________________________________
[1] Nan Si is a fictional town (made by me) which is in the far south. By saying 'things went to Nan Si' XH means that things went south.
Question:
Do you think eating food from the ground is considered stealing?