Little Purple

When the Qing twins left, the Hu siblings finally had some time for themselves. The siblings sat down on the bench below the tree.

"Haa... Eldest Sister, num num, I thought that you were really going to pierce his eye with that hairpin." Hu Cheng Se was eating two kinds of sweets at the same time. "Mother and Third Sister are godly! How the heck did they make these?!"

"Second Sister, please put down your food and empty your mouth before you talk," Hu Bai said, looking at Hu Cheng Se's crumb-covered face and food-filled mouth.

Hu Ye ate slowly, savoring every bit of the flavor, reluctant to swallow it all at once.

"Elder Sister is very scary. I should take note not to never cross Eldest Sister in this life," Hu Cheng Se said in a low voice.

Hu Ye, who was sitting beside her, heard her clearly and bluntly said, "Why do you need to be afraid of her? She is just a protective old woman, no need to be scared or anything."

Suddenly, a flash of light sparked in the corner of Hu Bai's eyes. "Ahh?! Who did you just call old?"

"Whoever reacted." He gave a mischievous smile.

"You brat!" Hu Bai sprung to her feet. Hu Ye was even faster as he ran and managed to get away from her clutches.

"Come back here!" Hu Bai ran after him and they ended up playing chase like a cat and a dog. "Ahg! Hu Ye, stop!"

"Ahahah, catch me, catch me!"

"Sheesh, those two are fooling around again. Even if heaven and earth blessed them, they are still children, I guess. They are very childish. Don't you agree, Little Sister?" Hu Cheng Se asked while snatching and eating her brother and sister's share that the two left behind.

"..."

Hu Cheng Se did not hear Hu Zi's reply and felt worried. "Sister?"

"Eh, ah?" Hu Zi was eating; her eyes were closed. "Yeah..."

"..." Hu Cheng Se felt lost. When her sister was feeling down like this, Hu Cheng Se could not do anything but to silently comfort her.

-----

Hu Zi went back to the Hu residence while the rest of her siblings attended the afternoon class.

Tomorrow night, there would be a Winter Welcoming Festival, a special event that was held every year in early winter. Hu Zi helped her mother and maids prepare the clothes.

Unlike the previous years, it seemed that this year their parents wouldn't be able to accompany them. The General was summoned to the palace, and their mother was invited to a feast with some other housewives.

-----

"Now, take care of each other."

"Yes, Mother!" The Hu siblings said simultaneously.

They finally arrived at the festival area, which was not far from the palace. Their mother smiled and closed the carriage door, the carriage beginning to move away.

"We should go."

Holding each others' hands, the four siblings marched together towards the festival. Their house guards followed closely behind.

As expected, the road was crowded, filled with many different people of all ages. So many stalls and so many people. The hustle bustle made the siblings feel very excited.

Although she couldn't see the various beautiful red lanterns, Hu Zi was very excited too. They dove into the sea of people with Hu Bai in the lead. After looking at them marching together, crowds would automatically part to give them some space to walk through.

They went into many stalls. There was so much food and toys.

"This is heaven!" Hu Cheng Se said when she saw a steamed bun stall. "Here I come, baby!"

Before she could run to the stall, she was stopped by a hand.

"Second Sister, don't go that way, you will get separated!" Hu Ye dragged Hu Cheng Se away from the steamed bun stall and brought her to the place where Hu Bai and Hu Zi were standing.

It was a stall that sold ornaments. They wanted to buy them for their mother.

"Younger Brother, can you help me pick one for Third Sister?" Hu Bai asked.

"Of course." Hu Ye smiled and stepped forward.

Despite being a boy, Hu Ye knew a lot about women's preferences and was good at picking up the best accessories. He immediately reached his hand for a particular hair ornament.

"Do you think this one is good enough?"

"Oh! It is perfect!" Hu Bai said. Hu Ye smiled and walked toward Hu Zi.

"Sister, here..." Hu Ye reached into Hu Zi's hair. He fixed her hair, taking her long hair and tying it sideways. He then picked up the hairpin he had just bought and placed it in her hair.

Hu Zi opened her eyes, still seeing nothing. But everybody around her was unable to breathe for a few moments.

The storekeeper was stupefied. How can there be a creature this cute?

Hu Zi, sensing that multiple eyes were looking at her, touched the hairpin Hu Ye gave her. It was a plum blossom-shaped hairpin! One of her favorite flowers!

Hu Zi unknowingly gave a small smile.

Stunned, the siblings' eyes were warm. They knew that there was something bothering Hu Zi since yesterday, but she always kept her problems to herself. The only thing they could do was support her, even though they didn't know what the problem was.

Just then, a familiar figure pushed his way through the front of the crowd. Dressed in black, this attractive boy was looking disdainfully at the purple-eyed blind girl in front of him.

Hu Ye looked in the boy's direction. The moment he saw who it was, his usual indifferent eyes turned dark. Hu Cheng Se's expression turned horrible, both her eyes and mouth turning upside down, her face now similar to a gloomy pug. Only Hu Bai maintained her smile, but if you observe closely, you could see veins popping on her perfect face.

"Humph!"

When she heard his disdained tone of voice, Hu Zi realized that there was a familiar figure nearby.

"You must be joking, I thought that there was something big going on when a lot of people stopped and looked in the same direction. But it is only this blind illiterate girl and her siblings."

"Qing Bo, you walking disaster!" Hu Cheng Se stomped on her feet. "We were having a lot of fun before you stormed in and ruined it."

"Oh, Hu Cheng Se! Are you ready to make our score differentiate by three points? I do not mind!"

Sparks formed in the air.

"The Second Hu Miss and the Young Master of Qing are having a showdown! We need to see," someone inside the crowd said.

"What?! I want to watch too! Wait for me!"

The crowd that gathered around the Hu siblings thickened.

"The situation is not good," Hu Bai said. "We are gathering too much attention." Hu Bai signaled Hu Cheng Se to finish it off fast.

Hu Cheng Se understood that it would be inconvenient for them to be here. She wanted to stop but...

"Where are you going, Hu Cheng Se?" Qing Bo smirked. His sharp eyes saw Hu Bai's signal. With his poisonous mouth, he said, "Don't tell me that you are scared?" He provoked. "Don't you want to defend that waste?"

"Watch your mouth, boy!" said Hu Cheng Se, who just couldn't wait to confront this sh*t.

"Sister, stop!" Hu Bai warned.

"And now the eldest is going to take the role of the hero again."

"You are looking for unnecessary trouble, Qing Young Master!"

"Now, I always wonder why you three always stay by this waste's side," said Qing Bo in an unhurried manner. He walked toward Hu Zi. "Are you not afraid that she might tarnish your esteemed reputation? Don't you know that the waste is the biggest joke in the city? She is the only rock in a pile of jewelry."

"You better stop talking nonsense, Qing Young Master," Hu Cheng Se said to him and blocked his way. "My Third Sister is our beloved! She is our pride and joy!"

"Yes, she is not a fault!" Hu Bai and Hu Ye said simultaneously, their voice sounding like thunder.

Looking at the three siblings that glared so intensely at him, Qing Bo couldn't help but step back. Under the pressure, he seemed to be unable to think deeply like he usually did when he said...

"Look, you three are like guardian angels, protecting the waste. For what? Now that I think about it, there could only be two possibilities. The first is that you all pity her, and the second is that you three must be using her to gain a reputation as good and caring siblings!"

*Slap!