"Mom, mom, I can't see clearly." A girl of about ten cried out, already at an age where she understood beauty, and her eyes suddenly failing caused her panic.
The girl's mother hugged her and cried too, "My poor Xixi, it's my fault for not protecting you, it's my fault for being useless. It's all because of that damned fire, burning those shameless prostitutes, why burn us honest people?"
Her hair was mostly singed away, one side of her face burned, her clothes on one shoulder torn, and her hand smeared with soot, still visible were several large blisters on the back of her hand.
Faced with sudden catastrophe, her spirit was shattered, not knowing whether to cry or curse.
An old woman nearby advised, "Stop cursing, those girls in the brothel have a hard life, being sold there by their families, who would wish to stay there? It's not their fault the fire started, I heard it was started by a noble."
