A hoarse female voice echoed, as if emanating from the depths of hell, carried with it the utmost endurance and restraint, softly beckoning.
Cai Wei turned her head only to see Mu Caiping standing not far from her, her hair disheveled and face covered with grime, appearing as though she had just crawled out of a heap of trash. Once fair and delicate, her face was now swollen and bruised, with a conspicuous scar on her right cheek. At this moment, she gazed at Cai Wei, disheveled and helpless.
Cai Wei shot her a cold glance, then turned to leave.
"Cai Wei, elder sister!"
Rushing forward a few steps, Caiping blocked Cai Wei’s way, choking on her words, "Elder sister, please, in consideration of our shared blood, help me. I really have nowhere else to turn!"
With that, she fell to her knees before Cai Wei, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Ever since the end of last year, when the Lü family discovered they had their possessions at our home, Madam Lü branded our entire family as thieves. Despite our pleas and explanations, she wouldn’t listen. For the past few months, she found countless ways to torment us. Grandpa, Dad, Elder Brother and Second Brother were all taken to serve as hard laborers at her place. She would often berate and hit them. Grandma and Mother were forced to borrow money to repay debts. If we failed to gather fifty taels of silver every month, she’d mercilessly beat our whole family. This month we couldn’t gather the required silver, so Madam Lü decided to send me to a lower-class brothel to service clients. I couldn’t tolerate this torment anymore, so I ran away a few days ago and ended up here.
"But now, my pass and identity credentials are still with the Lü family. Without them, I can’t even find a menial job to survive. Now the Lü family has traced me here. If I’m caught and taken back, I’m sure Madam Lü will beat me to death. I implore you, considering we share the same surname, help me, sister!"
As she finished speaking, paying no heed to the wounds on her forehead, she began to knock her head against the ground before Cai Wei.
Cai Wei, arms folded, scoffed at her, "How am I supposed to help you? Should I do as you said yesterday and allow Madam Lü’s two lackeys to take me to her to apologize, or should I give you silver to help you hide?"
Mu Caiping fell to her knees before Cai Wei, grasping the hem of her skirt, sobbing, "Elder sister, please don’t blame me. I knew you were skilled in martial arts yesterday, and they wouldn’t be able to do anything to you, so I purposely said those things to save myself...."
Cai Wei laughed coldly, forcefully pulling away the hem of her skirt from Caiping’s grip, almost making Caiping topple over.
"Even now, you won’t repent, still making excuses for your behavior. It seems you’re truly beyond redemption!"
With that, she turned to leave.
Seeing that Cai Wei had left, Mu Caiping hastily rose to her feet and stumbled after her, crying desperately.
"Sister, I know we’ve wronged you, and you’ve seen that we’ve been punished. Our home is broken now, are you still not satisfied? Do we all need to die to dissipate the hatred in your heart?"
With that, she suddenly pulled the wooden hairpin from her hair, aiming it at her throat, and said fiercely, "Fine, since you won’t forgive me, I’ll apologize with death. Anyway, the Lü family has driven me into a corner, and if I’m caught and taken back, I’ll die regardless. I might as well die in front of you so you can vent your anger."
Having said that, she thrust the hairpin towards her throat.
The hairpin was wooden and exceptionally sharp at the tip. If she were to stab herself with it, there would surely be a bloody hole in her throat. As the hairpin was about to strike, Caiping showed no fear, closing her eyes, gritting her teeth, and plunging the hairpin downwards.