CHAPTER 1227: CHAPTER 1221: DISTRACT HER

Miss Du exclaimed in surprise, "Then what about your family? Since your arm was injured during the war, surely someone must have taken care of you?"

The beggar stopped talking and just tugged at the cloak Miss Du had draped over him with his remaining arm.

Miss Du sighed and didn’t press him further, saying, "Why don’t you come home with me? You won’t make it through this winter in your current state."

The beggar hesitated for a moment before vehemently shaking his head.

"It’s okay, I will survive," he said.

This time, Miss Du was persistent, asserting, "Now that your leg is also injured and you don’t have the strength to walk, how will you survive? You must not have eaten for a long time, right? Come with me, although I don’t have delicacies from mountains and seas, I can still provide enough food for you to be full."

"No, I... I will go home for the New Year..."

"If you had a home to return to, why would you be here? Get up, come with me."

As the snow began to fall again, Miss Du reached out to grab his arm.

A brocade box slipped out from his chest, and Miss Du stared at it, lost in thought.

This brocade box belonged to her; she had seen him during Wanqing’s funeral and had Cuiya bring him a box of pastries.

So the thing he had been protecting, the thing he had been safeguarding with his life, was this brocade box.

"You..." Miss Du looked shocked, suddenly feeling a twinge of sourness in her nose.

"Is this your treasure?"

She had heard people say that this one-armed beggar had a treasure that no one could take from him, and it turned out to be a brocade box.

The beggar hurriedly picked up the box and said, "I thought it looked pretty, so I kept it."

Miss Du took a deep breath and said, "However pretty it may be, it’s just a box. Can it be worth more than your life? When they were beating you, you should have just given it to them. Why did you fight with your life to protect this box?"

Miss Du knelt down again, pulled out a clean handkerchief from her bosom, and began to wipe the dirt off his face.

"Stop, don’t wipe it."

The beggar turned aside and pushed Miss Du’s hand back.

Miss Du’s hand paused in mid-air, and she helplessly lowered it.

"Then get up and come back with me, and I won’t wipe your face!"

Miss Du, not minding the dirt on him, continued to tug at his arm.

The beggar crouched on the ground and said, "My leg is injured; I can’t walk. You won’t be able to support me. You should go back and find someone to help, and I’ll wait for you here."

Miss Du froze and said, "Will you really wait for me here? I feel like you’re trying to get rid of me and then run away."

The beggar gave a wry smile and said, "You’re overthinking it, my leg really can’t move, I won’t run away."

Miss Du fell silent for a moment, then stood up and said, "Alright, wait here for me, I’ll be back soon."

"Okay, go quickly," he urged.

"You must wait, I will be back very soon," Miss Du reiterated.

"Alright," the beggar replied softly.

Miss Du gave him one last look, turned, and walked out of the dilapidated building, soon disappearing around the corner of the street.

Once he saw that she was far away, the beggar gritted his teeth and, using the wall for support, struggled to his feet.

He tucked his disheveled hair behind, revealing his face.

Leaning on the wall, he stepped out of the house and walked towards the other end of the alley.

At the corner, he almost collided with Miss Du, who had appeared unexpectedly.

Miss Du faced him with an angry expression and coldly demanded, "Why did you lie to me? Didn’t you say you would wait for me?"

The beggar, taken aback by the furious Miss Du, temporarily forgot to cover his face.