Little Purple

In the afternoon, a young girl of age seven was waiting below the peach blossom tree. She opened her lunch box. Today, she and her mother made sweets for her siblings.

The young lady was wearing thick winter clothes. Her maids told her to wait inside where it is warmer but she insisted on waiting in the garden.

She was seated on the wooden bench. The air was cold but not unbearable.

She sat there, eyes closed; she rarely opened her eyelids because there was no need to. Her world was always dark, as nothing but emptiness resided there.

Because of the school regulations, her maids retreated once they delivered her into the school ground. She waited for the class to be dismissed in order to meet her siblings;

there was only a literature class today.

Her eyes opened and landed on the sweets, staring blankly. Although she never complained, it didn't mean she was content with it at all. She was only a seven-years-old child; not knowing how her homemade cooking looked like was simply painful. Moreover, there was something else that disturbed her mind...

When she closed her eyes again, hiding those beautiful violet eyes behind her snow-white lids, someone lightly shouted. "Look! It's the general family's waste!"

The sound came from a boy that walked from the corridor and stopped four paces from where Hu Zi sat. The boy's voice was noble and gentle like a refined scholar. Despite his youth, he carried an aura of dignity and power. This boy was the heir of the left prime minister's family, Qing Bo*.

"There are no lessons for trash today. So trash, I advise you to walk out! We need to keep the place clean and unpolluted to focus on our studies."

"Older brother, you should refrain from being too harsh on the Great General's young miss." The other person by his side was his younger twin sister, Qing Guang*, who had a cold and disdainful attitude. These two were in the same grade as Hu Zi's second sister, Hu Cheng Se, two years older than Hu Zi.

"Too harsh? I'm just stating the truth." A sneer appeared on Qing Bo's face.

The people who followed behind the two laughed heartily. Most of these rich looking kids were high ranking officials' children, their fathers were jealous of how Hu Zi's father gained favor from the civilians, so they liked to find faults in the Great General's family.

The faulty blind miss was the biggest target.

"Heh..." Hu Zi smirked; she was used to this child's play.

"Hu Zi, did you smirk at me just now?" Qing Bo never liked this unyielding smug face of hers.

"Qing Young Master, it may be true that there are no trash lessons today and trash should not come here, but can either be compared to giving trash proposals? That trash of an official should never come to the court!"

The Qing twins were calm on the surface but their hearts were in chaos.

About a month ago, there was a flood in the southwest side of the capital near Shi River, where the climate was warmer. Many people died. To lessen the casualty, the capital sent reinforcements, provisions, and food. But the official who proposed the plan overlooked a crucial point.

To reach the flooded area as soon as possible, they needed to take the only path that went through a narrow valley, and with the rain frequencies there in the past months, it was no surprise that the reinforcements ended up being trapped because of landslides. Only after six days were they finally able to get free.

But still, the casualties were not small.

And it so happens that the one who took initiative and gave these reckless ideas to the emperor was the Qing family's head, the left prime minister, their father.

"Hu family's third young miss, Hu Zi! Today, this Young Master is going to teach you a lesson about where an illiterate woman like you should stand. Be grateful!" Qing Bo took a basin of dirty water from a nearby sink.

"Pfft, I always am grateful!" Hu Zi stood straight in front of him.

"!!!"

*SPLASH!

*Drip drip drip...

Everybody was shocked. Because they didn't see Hu Zi's clothes getting wet at all. In fact, the one who got wet was Qing Bo.

"Hu Ye!" Qing Bo was about to erupt at the six-year-old boy who stood in front of him with an indifferent face. It was early winter, although the snow did not fall yet, the winter breeze was not kind at all.

"Pathetic seniors, scram," said Hu Ye in a monotone voice. Just before the water could pour on Hu Zi, he had grabbed Qing Bo's hand and caused the water basin to rotate, throwing the water in a different direction. The dirty, blackish water fell onto Qing Bo. Hu Ye took a few steps back and covered his sister's small body.

"You... How dare you!" said Qing Guang. She spoke each word in an extremely cold tone.

"How dare you bully my precious sister!" Hu Cheng Se came running and purposely emphasized the word 'bully'.

She told them off in a clear, yet low voice. Her volume was enough for the people in the vicinity, especially those surrounding her, to hear.

In an instant, everyone that was inside the classroom surrounding the garden opened their classrooms' windows wide open. Bullying was one of the most sensitive topics in a school full of high-ranking officials' sons and daughters.

"Heh, if it isn't Hu Cheng Se! Here to save her little sister by accusing us?"

"Be careful Qing Bo, remember your family's name... You will not be the only one being dragged by your pathetic action." Hu Cheng Se's eyes glinted. She was ready for a round of debate with Qing Bo.

"Oh? You dare bring up my family right after you throw the word bully at me?" Qing Bo's sharp eyes stared hatefully at Hu Cheng Se.

"Do you think I would not dare after seeing with my own eyes how you almost poured mop water on to my sister?"

"Oh no, I bet you do dare accuse my Qing family. Branding our honorable Qing family's name with a false and biased label!"

"You bullying my sister is not a branding, it is the truth!

"What I do is not bullying, it is teaching!"

"What kind of teacher does this to his student?"

"Your sister is a bit special, you acknowledge that yourself! She cannot be taught by normal teachers." Qing Bo smirked. He was starting to enjoy what was happening.

"Qing Bo, you..." Hu Cheng Se's eyes widened. She finally realized that her opponent wanted to highlight Hu Zi's disability, he wanted Hu Zi to hear it loud and clear and make her feel miserable. Hu Cheng Se looked at Hu Zi in a flash, only to see that her head was bowed. Hu Cheng Se could not see the expression behind her inky black hair.

"That is the two hundred and seventy-eighth win for me, Hu Cheng Se, I am leading by two rounds," Qing Bo said, settling and counting their scores.

"Tch!" Hu Cheng Se clicked her tongue, knowing she needed to stop now. Qing Bo definitely wanted to destroy her sister from inside out! Hu Cheng Se ransacked her brain, trying to come up with a retaliation.

Most of the time, she could think fast. But when it came to Hu Zi's feelings, she could not be careless.

Qing Bo stood in front of Hu Cheng Se and told her.

"Hu Cheng Se, do you know how many people want to teach your spoiled and useless little sister? We, the children of Jin, need to study hard every day in order to bring honor and glory to our family. How do you think we will feel seeing a useless girl managing to get whatever she wants? You do realize that even if I don't teach her, someone else will."

Hu Ye frowned, he knew that if they were talking about arguing, Hu Cheng Se was the best out of the Hu siblings. If Hu Cheng Se could not defend Hu Zi, neither could he.

'I say one wrong word and we're finished!'

Qing Bo made a mocking face. While Hu Cheng Se was thinking, he stepped forward. Hu Ye became alerted.

"Hu Zi, see... You are blind, worthless and flawed, but you have strong and smart people backing you."

He spoke slowly as he made sure Hu Zi heard everything. He looked at Hu Zi's dark face and felt satisfied. He smiled when he said, "Your siblings and your family's background are the only reasons you can still be at ease, eat warm food, sleep on a warm bed, and sit here idly every d-"

Before Qing Bo finished his sentence, a jade hairpin flew through the air and hit him just below his left eye. "Agh!" Qing Bo's eyes widened at the sight of the hairpin. He stepped back and fell.

"Brother!" Qing Guang ran forward.

"Qing Young Master, please keep talking so I make the same fate out of you!"

This beautiful and magnetic voice could only belong to a single person. The eldest daughter of the Hu Household, Hu Bai.

She carried a different aura from the rest of this world; her high sense of responsibility made her very protective of her siblings.

This ten-year-old girl was not someone you could afford to offend.

With her beautiful appearance and high education, she was very likely be chosen as the future crown princess. Everyone on the scene unconsciously held their breath, all in awe.

It was the first time they ever saw Hu Bai like this, her brows furrowed in anger. It seems like the Qing siblings really took it too far.

Previously, this also happened many times before, but it was mostly just verbal abuse. No matter how rotten Qing Bo and his sister were, they were also pretty smart. They knew that if they hurt the little blind miss too much, the principal would call them to his office. The Qing twins' family was powerful, but so was the Great General's.

Knowing that they could not afford to retaliate, Qing Bo grabbed Qing Guang's hand and signaled a retreat. Before he turned his back, he halted and looked at Hu Zi with contempt.

Everyone was so focused on the three Hu siblings who saved the day that they didn't realize that Hu Zi had her head facing the ground. She opened her eyes a crack, the purple eyes became wet.

"I am useless, I am only living comfortably in this beautiful city and receiving care and education because of my family... I know that!"