Willow on the Palace Wall (Lily ABO) - Chapter 2

002: Have Mercy, Sister

“Who’s there? Come out!”

Su Ce’s voice was low and cold. She swiftly grabbed the snow-white undergarment she had left on a short rock by the bank and haphazardly wrapped it around her body. The water splashed noisily with her movements, the spray quickly soaking the thin bottom of her garment.

No one. The only sound was the howling wind and a few tufts of weeds swaying in the breeze by the bank.

“Did I hear wrong?” Su Ce deliberately raised her voice, but her right hand subtly picked up a small cobblestone from the ground. With a flick of her fingers, the stone, the size of a fingertip, shot toward the tuft of weeds farthest from her.

“Ah!” A miserable cry rang out, the voice of a delicate-sounding woman.

“…Have mercy, sister, have mercy! I didn’t mean to spy on you. Please… don’t kill me!”

A skinny woman stumbled out from behind the weeds, clutching her swollen, reddened forehead. She was dressed in ragged, dirty coarse cloth, her hair a mess, with a precarious hairpin askew in her bun.

She swayed precariously in front of the weeds, not daring to look up at Su Ce in the spring.

“Come here,” Su Ce commanded.

The woman stumbled forward two steps, her legs trembling uncontrollably. She hadn’t eaten properly in some time and looked like she was about to collapse.

Her feet were on a patch of sharp, broken stones, as pointed as a bed of upward-facing daggers. If she were to kneel there, her legs would surely be ruined for life.

Su Ce took a breath and pushed off the bottom of the spring with her toes. Just as the woman’s knees were about to hit the sharp stones, Su Ce scooped her into her arms.

Su Ce finally got a clear look at the woman. She was likely around the age of 15, an Omega. Her body gave off a cloying, sweet scent that was both alluring and gentle, completely non-aggressive, much like the osmanthus sweet cakes Su Ce loved most in the palace.

This Omega was extremely gentle and beautiful, with a rounded nose and full cheeks. Even her long, narrow phoenix eyes, which should have looked sharp and alluring, were filled with nothing but timidness and helplessness.

“Who are you? How did you get here?”

“I… I’m the youngest daughter of the Sun family from Xuancheng. My family used to be in the silk business…” The Omega still looked terrified, gripping Su Ce’s undergarment tightly. Su Ce’s breasts were mostly exposed, the moonlight like a veil over them, inviting touch and caress.

“…Our lives were okay before, but a few years ago, he was lured into a gambling house and lost everything. And… and he wanted to sell me to a pleasure house. I didn’t want to go, so I… I ran away secretly!”

“Lost everything? But I see that golden hairpin in your hair. It’s a new style from the capital of the Wu Kingdom and is worth enough to feed a regular family for two or three years.”

Su Ce’s hand closed on the Omega’s shoulder blade and applied a little pressure. The Omega winced in pain, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Who are you, really? A scout from the Wu Kingdom?”

“No, no!” The woman shook her head repeatedly. “What I said is true! Sister, you have to believe me!”

She was so desperate for Su Ce to believe her that tears of panic began to stream down her face.

Su Ce thoughtfully released her grip. This Omega was clearly not telling the truth, but she was probably not a scout either. Her hands were soft and boneless, without even a hint of calluses, a clear sign that she had been pampered.

Su Ce scrutinized her. The sudden surge of cold, murderous intent made the Omega freeze, unable to move.

“What’s your name?”

“Sun Muchu. Everyone calls me Xiao Chu.” She looked flustered and stole a glance at Su Ce. When she saw Su Ce’s half-exposed breasts, her mouth dropped open in surprise. Her face turned bright red, and she lowered her head, but she couldn’t help but peek again and again.

Su Ce didn’t care. The current aesthetic for Omegas praised fragility and demureness, a lack of physical strength—not the kind of Omega who could stab two Alphas to death with one blow.

“What did you just see?” Su Ce continued to ask.

Xiao Chu’s lips trembled in panic. After a moment, she finally gathered her courage and gave Su Ce a flattering, fawning smile. “Whatever my sister says I saw, that’s what I saw.”