Dumplings

Then, the boy tilted his head to the side and glanced at Ah Luo.

She was dressed in black clothes which looked nothing less than rags. Her body appeared quite skinny and her face was smeared with dirt. When she jumped to the side earlier, mud had splashed on her, dirtying her clothes even more. Yet the pair of eyes… When they looked at him, they were so pure, so free-spirited, and innocent. As if there was nothing in this world that could taint those eyes.

Ah Luo blinked, ''Big brother crown prince,'' she waved her little hand at him.

It was kind of him to offer a precious elixir to her because she was hurt so she did not have a bad impression of him.

She just felt like it was very unkind of his servant to claim that it was her blessing. After all, why was she injured in the first place?

Zi Yuan was startled for a moment. That soft voice that called him 'Big brother crown prince' left him stunned. He had never been addressed in such a reckless manner. The people around him never dared to forget the etiquette. Yet, this girl seemed different. Moreover, for some reason, he did not think he was offended by the way she addressed him.

Seeing that the Crown Prince was quiet, his servant panicked and stared at the little girl coldly, ''Such audacity! How dare you address the crown prince so recklessly? Get on your knees and beg for forgiveness…''

Ah Luo flinched at his sudden aggression.

''Enough,'' Zi Yuan narrowed his eyes at the man, coming out of his daze. His gaze was cold as he looked at his servant. He then turned to look at the little girl whose shoulders had hunched slightly as her little face was scrunched up. She looked like she had been wronged. His expression turned gentle as he spoke to her, ''You are right. It is indeed my fault for getting you injured. So giving you this elixir is not a blessing for you.''

When she heard that, Ah Luo's eyes brightened and she looked at Big brother crown prince's haughty servant with a 'told you' expression on her face.

Looking at her expression, Zi Yuan's face broke into a soft smile.

'Boom'

The servant who was looking at the crown prince was so shocked that he almost dropped to his knees. The crown Prince smiled! The crown Prince actually smiled!

He had been serving the crown prince since he was a baby. He had known him well. Growing up under the strict rules of the palace, the crown prince was like a lotus. Elegant and aloof. Everyone adored him and he was gentle to every person he came across. But that gentleness was just a façade. Except for Consort Rong, the Crown Prince never showed his true emotions to anyone else, not even to the Emperor and Empress.

It was no wonder that the servant was shocked.

But contrary to his shock, Ah Luo was calmer. She just felt like big brother crown prince had such a beautiful and pure smile that made her feel comfortable. So, Ah Luo just smiled back at him till her eyes curved into crescents.

Zi Yuan's smile turned wider when he saw that.

The next thing that happened scared the servant even further.

''Although this elixir is not a blessing, you are injured because of me. Keep this as a token of my apology,'' Zi Yuan said.

The servant nearly fainted. Apology. The crown prince's apology. Was this beggar even worthy?

Ah Luo did not think much as she nodded, ''I can do that,'' She grabbed the medicine from the servant's hand.

As the carriage moved, Ah Luo looked at it till it was out of her sight. The crowd had also started dispersing but she did not move.

Big brother crown prince… was not as scary as he seemed at the first glance. He even apologized for his mistake.

Ah Luo lowered her head. A good person like him... why would he be poisoned?

She bit her bottom lips. Maybe she saw it wrong. His face was pale, his hands were shivering, his lips were slightly purplish and the corner of his nails was black. When she first saw him, she thought of poison with one glance. It was her instinct.

She wanted to tell him about it but it was not suitable to do in a crowd. And then when she thought some more, she realized that she had not even learned medicine for that long. How could she guess it blindly?

Moreover, big brother crown prince gave her a bottle of grade-2 elixir for a few scratches on her body. That meant he is rich and powerful. Even if he was sick, he would not remain sick for a long time.

'Grrrr…'

Ah Luo rubbed her growling stomach and sighed. Unlike her, who would remain hungry for days if she was hungry?

Upon thinking of it, she remembered why she had rushed to the streets.

She glanced towards the dumpling stall on the corner of the street and her eyes brightened as she rushed towards it.

The more she looked at the round white dumplings, the further they looked delicious.

The owner of the stall pushed her away, ''Go away, little beggar.''

Ah Luo was caught off guard. She stumbled and fell back on the ground. She winced as her elbows hit the rocks but her grip on the bottle of medicine remained tight.

Enduring the pain, she slowly stood up, ''I only one want of this…'' she pointed her finger at the round dumplings.

The owner looked at her in disdain but seeing the bottle of elixir in her hand, his eyes shone with greed. Like others, he had also witnessed what happened just now on the street. The beggar was lucky to encounter the crown prince.

Naturally, other people did not have the guts to eye something that was handed by the crown prince but he thought about it differently. The crown prince gave it to her out of pity and he had already left. Can this piece of dirt even stand under the same sky as the crown prince in her whole life? This was an accidental encounter so the crown prince would never know even if he eyed this bottle of elixir.

He sneered at the dirty beggar, ''Do you think you can get it just because you want? Who do you think you are?''

Ah Luo lowered her head, her palm stroking her stomach, ''It has been…''