The faintest edge of warning laced Qiao Zhi's tone, but the eldest of the three ragged children only grew more animated, as if the idea of danger had instead become a stroke of fortune. His eyes lit with such delight that his smile spread nearly from ear to ear, transforming his gaunt, dust-streaked face into something almost radiant.
If Qiao Zhi hadn't reacted quickly—tapping the flat of her scabbard lightly against his shin to stop his movement—he very well might have dropped to his knees right there in the street to thank her again, heedless of the curious onlookers.
After the meager meal she had bought them was finished, Qiao Zhi instructed the three to carry five-jin sacks of rice each. The boys clutched the burlap bags as if they were holding their future in their arms, and she waved them on.
As they trudged away, Gu Yangjin tilted her head, brow furrowing. "Why did you make them clean the stone lions? Are you… planning to give them ten taels of silver as wages?"
