The Republic of China: I, Xiangzi, a Hero in a Chaotic Era

Liu Jiaxiang had initially been watching with a mixture of scrutiny and amusement, but when Xiao Fuzi took off her outer garment, revealing the old cotton shirt underneath that couldn't conceal her figure, his gaze froze.

Under the light, the girl's body appeared shockingly thin.

Her shoulders were so thin they looked like they would break at the slightest touch, her collarbones were deeply sunken, the rise and fall of her chest was almost imperceptible, her waist was so thin it could be grasped in one hand, and her old cotton shirt hung loosely on her body, making her appear even more emaciated.

Her exposed wrists and a small section of her neck showed skin that was pale from lack of sunlight, with blue veins clearly visible underneath.

This is not the youthful plumpness a girl should have, but rather the shocking marks left by long-term hunger and toil.

The faint smile on Liu Jiaxiang's face disappeared.

He sighed almost inaudibly and shook his head.

Just as Xiao Fuzi's hands were trembling and she was about to continue, Liu Jiaxiang stepped forward, reached out, not to stop her, but to gently pull up her padded jacket that had been pulled down to her arms, and draped it back over her thin shoulders.

Xiao Fuzi froze, opened her eyes in surprise, and met Liu Jiaxiang's calm and unwavering gaze.

There was no desire or disdain in that gaze as she had expected, nor any anger, only a deep calm that she couldn't understand.

Overwhelmed by immense shame and panic.

She thought the master was disgusted with her, disgusted by her withered body.

Tears welled up unexpectedly, quickly blurring my vision.

Xiao Fuzi's legs went weak, and she collapsed to her knees with a thud, her forehead hitting the cold floor tiles with a dull thud.

"Master, please forgive me! It was my...it was my wild and delusional thinking...I offended your eyes...Please forgive me...I will never dare to do it again..."

She sobbed uncontrollably, her thin shoulders trembling violently, pleading incoherently as if the sky had fallen.

Liu Jiaxiang looked at Xiao Fuzi, who was trembling on the ground and crying so hard she was almost unconscious, and remained silent for a moment.

He bent down and reached out to support Xiao Fuzi's arm. The force was not strong, but it carried an air of undeniable authority.

"stand up."

His voice remained steady, revealing no emotion.

Xiao Fuzi dared not disobey. Following Liu Jiaxiang's strength, she stood up shakily, still sobbing with her head down, large tears rolling down her face and hitting the floor tiles.

Liu Jiaxiang released his grip, his gaze sweeping over her tear-reddened face, and slowly said:

"You're fine."

Xiao Fuzi's crying stopped abruptly, and she raised her tearful eyes in a daze.

Liu Jiaxiang continued, his tone as calm as if stating a fact:

"She's just too thin."

He paused, looking at the faint hope that had rekindled in Xiao Fuzi's eyes, and then added:

"My lord, I prefer women who are a bit plump."

Xiao Fuzi was stunned, even forgetting to cry, staring blankly at Liu Jiaxiang.

A faint smile seemed to appear at the corner of Liu Jiaxiang's mouth, but it quickly disappeared.

"You should rest and recuperate properly in the manor. Don't skimp on your food; eat whatever you're supposed to eat. When you're plump and healthy..."

His gaze swept over her.

"I'll take you in, sir."

These words struck like a thunderbolt, shattering the despair and fear in Xiao Fuzi's heart, yet bringing with them a huge, unreal sense of disorientation.

She blinked her teary eyes, unable to believe her ears, her voice thick with nasal congestion and trembling with fear:

"Master...you...you're not joking with me, are you?"

This time, Liu Jiaxiang genuinely smiled, though the smile was faint, it dispelled some of the coldness on his face.

Don't worry.

"You'll have your chance to shine later, you little rascal."

He abruptly changed the subject, adding a barely perceptible hint of mockery:

"Just make sure you can handle it when the time comes."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and lightly patted Xiao Fuzi's tense buttocks.

A soft "snap" sounded particularly clear in the quiet room.

Little Fuzi let out a soft "Ah," and her pale face, which had been crying, instantly turned bright red, like a ripe shrimp.

She was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground, but the implicit promise in the old man's words and his slightly intimate gesture stirred up an indescribable bittersweet feeling in her heart.

She hurriedly lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes, and nodded very slightly, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible:

"Hmm...this servant...this servant has remembered."

"Go."

Liu Jiaxiang waved his hand, resuming his calm tone.

Xiao Fuzi felt as if she had been granted a pardon, or as if she were walking on clouds. She bowed to Liu Jiaxiang in a daze, then lowered her head and walked out of the bedroom with slightly unsteady steps, gently closing the door behind her.

Silence returned to the room. Liu Jiaxiang stood alone under the lamp, the calm on his face slowly fading, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Xiao Fuzi's awkward yet bold move, though unsuccessful, was like a pebble thrown into an ancient well, ultimately creating ripples.

The girl's youthful figure, blushing cheeks, trembling fingertips, and finally, her tearful, frightened yet expectant eyes, mixed with the faint scent of soap stalks lingering in the air, subtly stirred a long-dormant restlessness within him.

He was not a detached person; when he took in Xiao Fuzi, he did have some other thoughts in mind at first.

However, the emaciated and malnourished body he had just seen did not arouse any further interest in him.

"It's good to let him rest," he thought, his gaze sweeping over the flickering lamplight on the table.

But the subtle yet genuine fire that had been stirred within him was difficult to quell in a short time.

Liu Jiaxiang paced around the room for a couple of steps, feeling that the air inside was a bit stuffy.

He turned and walked to the wardrobe, opened it, took out a dark, ordinary long gown, and changed out of his casual home clothes.

Since I can't sleep, I might as well go for a walk.

He pushed open the door and walked into the quiet courtyard.

The night was deep, and the stars were sparse.

Liu Jiaxiang walked alone, his steps steady, across the courtyard. He opened a crack in the side door, and his figure silently blended into the night streets of the capital.

Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The deaths of Master Liu and Tiger Girl were like two pebbles thrown into a deep pool, creating only a few barely perceptible ripples before quickly sinking to the bottom, leaving no trace in the noisy and forgetful area of ​​Xi'anmen Street.

The streets remained bustling with traffic and people, the noise from teahouses and taverns, the cries of vendors, and the jingling of rickshaw bells intertwining to create an unchanging scene of everyday life.

Occasionally, an old rickshaw driver would squat by the wall basking in the sun. When Liu Siye was mentioned, he would just click his tongue and mutter something like "what a sin" or "his fate had come," and then say nothing more. It was as if the old scoundrel who was once a big shot in Xi'an Gate, along with his shrewish daughter, had never existed.