The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Zhao, accompanied by several guards and a small coffin, made the already cramped room seem even more crowded.

After hearing Zhao's purpose, the middle-aged man smiled ingratiatingly: "Did this brat offend someone important? Oh dear, that brat has always been headstrong since she was little, it has nothing to do with me..."

Ding Kang gave a mocking laugh.

Zhao looked to the side and saw a young girl with red eyes glaring at Ding Kang.

Zhao closed her eyes briefly: "It's nothing. Your girl is very good. How many other girls do you have?"

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with ecstasy: "One! There's another one!"

He looked around, then spotted the little girl hiding behind the door and yanked her out: "Quick! A noble person has taken a liking to you, so kneel down!"

The girl was very stubborn; no matter how the man pressed her down, she refused to kneel.

"I do not!"

The little girl struggled like a ferocious little beast, and her sharp voice sounded rather mournful.

The man was furious and raised his hand to strike.

Zhao quickly gave a wink to the guards behind her, who stepped forward and pulled the man away.

The little girl broke free from her father's control and ran to the coffin. She wanted to lift the lid to take a look, but she was afraid of disturbing something. For a moment, she didn't know whether to go in or back out.

Zhao glanced at her and took out a contract of sale: "I'll buy your daughter for ten taels of silver."

She had prepared the indenture long ago, and she didn't want to have the chance to use it, but in this situation, she had no choice but to use it.

Upon hearing Zhao's words, the little girl reacted fiercely, shouting at her father, "I don't want to! If you're going to sell me, sell me to someone else, not her!"

However, her opinion was not important to the men.

He quickly pressed his fingerprint on the indenture. Zhao had a maid give him the silver, then carefully put the indenture away: "From now on, this girl has nothing to do with you. If I find out you've come looking for her..."

The man shamelessly said, "No, no, I'm not that kind of person."

Zhao remained noncommittal, walked up to the little girl, and said coldly, "Let's go."

The girl, who had just been emotionally agitated, seemed to have resigned herself to her fate and suddenly fell silent.

She did not resist, but quietly leaned against her sister's coffin and followed her away step by step.

Zhao led the group away from the girl's house. On the way, Ding Kang, being sarcastic, looked at the little girl and smiled maliciously: "Now you're coming home with me too, just like your sister."

The little girl didn't look at him; she kept her head down, but her fists were clenched tightly.

In truth, she harbored a great deal of resentment and wanted to bring the murderer who had harmed her sister to justice, but she knew very well that the other party was a powerful and influential person.

She didn't know what the powerful and wealthy were, but she knew that they could easily take her life without paying any price, so she couldn't act impulsively.

Zhao kicked Ding Kang expressionlessly, leaving him to writhe on the ground like a dead dog, and forbade the servants to pull him away.

Zhao walked up to the little girl and handed her the indenture: "You must keep this safe. If your father comes looking for trouble in the future, just say you are mine, and he won't dare to mess with you."

The young girl first took a step back warily, and seeing that Zhao Shi remained in that position without moving, she tentatively took the contract of sale.

Zhao raised her hand, wanting to pat her head, but hesitated for a moment and withdrew it: "Your name is Er Ya, right? I had a master choose a very good burial site. Let's go and give your sister a proper burial, okay?"

Her voice was as gentle as willow catkins softly falling on one's ear, light and careful.

Er Ya asked warily, "Why?"

She is the murderer's mother; shouldn't she be in cahoots with him?

Well, that's not right either. Her parents aren't on her side.

"The person who hurt your sister is my child. I feel very guilty, so I want to do something for you..."

Er Ya pursed her lips and remained silent.

Zhao said gently, "I will seek justice for your sister. Do you believe me?"

Er Ya glanced at Zhao Shi, then at Ding Kang, who looked like a dead dog, and still hesitated.

Zhao did not intend to force her, and sighed, "I am sorry for what I did to you."

Er Ya shook her head and emphasized, "It was he who wronged my sister, not you."

Zhao chuckled: "You'll understand when you grow up. He came out of my belly; he's my curse."

What's more, she had protected him for so long.

"But you are not him, and you have not wronged him. Why should you be implicated in the sins he committed?"

Zhao wanted to argue, but she didn't know how things had turned out this way. She had come to atone for her sins, but instead, she was being comforted by the victim's sister.

Feeling helpless, she stood up and said, "Let's go."

She took Er Ya to a scenic spot in the outskirts of Beijing.

Before the coffin was buried, Er Ya insisted on seeing her sister.

Thinking of the unrecognizable corpse, Zhao hesitated again and again, but in the end, she did not refuse.

The body was small, dressed in new clothes, and lay flat in a softly padded coffin.

The guards and maids watching from the sidelines, some secretly wiped away tears, while others turned their faces away in unbearable sorrow.

Er Ya was a little scared, but she forced herself to stare at her sister's corpse for a long time.

After a long pause, she finally nodded: "It's okay."

Zhao moved Ding Kang away and dared not approach him herself, fearing that the deceased would not find peace if they saw them.

A small grave slowly took shape. Er Ya knelt in front of the grave and burned paper money for her sister. She was very orderly and mature, unlike a child.

After everything was over, Zhao approached and whispered, "Do you want to avenge your sister?"

Er Ya blurted out, "Is anything okay?"

"can."

After thinking for a moment, Zhao said, "However, you are still too young and it is not suitable for you to see too bloody scenes. You can also choose someone to do it for you."

Her maid hesitated and reminded her, "Master, Er Ya is still a child. Isn't it a bit inappropriate?"

Zhao shook her head: "The child needs to vent."

Ding Kang was bound and dragged around, his face looking rather pale, but he didn't seem particularly panicked.

Because he always believed that the Zhao family was bluffing.

He was her only child, and she couldn't bear to kill him. She's angry right now, so it's normal for her to want to vent.

Er Ya bit her lip, and in the end, hatred overcame her caution. She rushed in front of Ding Kang and started punching and kicking him.

She was hitting him while crying.

In that not-so-warm home, her older sister was her only source of warmth.

But it was him who killed her sister.

How much strength could a little girl have? Ding Kang pretended to beg for mercy and rolled around, acting as if he had been hurt.

Er Ya was still too young to see through his trick. She only stopped when she was exhausted from hitting him.

Zhao squatted down and wiped her palms: "Er Ya, you can live with me from now on. If you don't want to, I can find a good family to adopt you."