At least being sold here gave him a chance to escape, right?
As dawn slowly arrived, noises started coming from outside. After a while, more and more people seemed to gather. Zhu Mingyue could hear voices, laughter, and the sounds of pots and bowls clattering together.
They’re cooking, he thought.
His stomach had been empty for so long that it hurt from hunger. He wished someone would give him something to eat.
He did not know how long he stayed awake, but eventually the sun was fully up.
The door opened.
Two elderly women walked in. One carried a large bowl, and the other held a wooden box.
Their wrinkled faces made their expressions hard to read, but one woman’s sharp eyes clearly showed that neither of them liked him.
“Drink this porridge,” one woman ordered rudely, shoving the bowl toward him. The thin rice soup nearly splashed onto his face.
Zhu Mingyue frowned.
He was the one tied up, yet he had not been rude to them. Why were they treating him as if he owed them money?
Even though he was hungry, he suddenly did not want to eat.
He rolled over and faced the wall, refusing to talk to them.
The two old women looked at each other, unsure what to do.
The woman holding the bowl was probably used to ordering people around. After recovering from her surprise, she slammed the bowl onto the table and scolded him.
“Eat it or don’t eat it. Let’s see how long you can stay proud. You’re already upset just because I gave you a little attitude. Starting today, you’re married into the Xie family. I’ll make Hong’er teach you how to behave!”
Zhu Mingyue twitched his lips.
Did I get sent into some kind of training camp? Why does everyone want to ‘teach’ me?
The other old woman set down the box and took out a red wedding outfit.
“Today is your grandson’s wedding day. Don’t argue with the bride. He’ll only be able to act like this for one day anyway.”
The first woman snorted but calmed down slightly.
Ever since she learned that Xie Hong had spent four shi of grain to buy this man, she had not smiled once.
Four whole shi of grain!
Just to marry a rooster that could not lay eggs.
She simply could not understand it.
But no matter how much she argued, her grandson would not listen. He was completely enchanted by Zhu Mingyue’s beautiful face.
Since she could not stop it, she had reluctantly come before sunrise to help with the wedding.
From their conversation, Zhu Mingyue finally understood that the man he was supposed to marry was named Xie Hong, and the sharp-eyed woman was his grandmother.
What shocked him most was how rushed everything was.
He had no time to prepare.
It seemed that whether he wanted to marry or not, the wedding would happen today.
…
While he was thinking, the old woman carrying the wedding clothes came over and tried to change his clothes.
Zhu Mingyue’s jacket had a zipper, something people in this era had never seen before. The old woman fumbled all over his clothes, trying to figure it out.
“Stop searching,” Zhu Mingyue finally said. “Untie me. I can change by myself.”
“You’re clever. What if you run away after we untie you?”
Zhu Mingyue replied coldly, “There are people everywhere outside. How could I escape? Untie me. After I change, you can tie me up again.”
He was not stupid.
If he tried to escape now, while everyone was watching him closely, he would probably get caught and beaten.
It would be better to act obedient for now and wait for a better opportunity.
The two women whispered to each other for a moment.
Eventually they agreed that changing clothes while tied up was too difficult, so they untied his hands.
As soon as his hands were free, Zhu Mingyue rubbed his sore wrists and changed into the red wedding clothes himself.
The moment he finished, they immediately tied him up again.
After changing, Zhu Mingyue leaned back and closed his eyes, refusing to speak.
Before leaving, one of the women covered his head with a red wedding veil and carried the untouched bowl of porridge away.
As they walked out, he heard them talking.
“Just looking at him, you can tell he doesn’t know how to run a household.”
“He’s already bought. Stop thinking about the four shi of grain.”
“How can I stop thinking about it? Nearly two shi came from my sons’ families. We spent all that grain for this thing. Besides being pretty, what can he do?”
“If you ask me, he should have waited a few more years. The granddaughter of the old widow in the east part of the village will grow up soon. Her family has no men. He could have married her without spending a single grain of rice.”
Their voices gradually faded into the distance.
When everything became quiet, Zhu Mingyue lifted the veil to breathe more easily.
Since he had no family to represent him, the wedding skipped many traditional steps.
By evening, they went straight to the marriage ceremony.
During the ceremony, Zhu Mingyue was forced outside and made to bow before the memorial tablets of Xie Hong’s deceased parents.
Afterward, two people escorted him back into the room.
Now he sat alone on the edge of the bed, still wearing the red veil.
Outside was laughter, celebration, and excitement.
Inside was complete silence.
He could only hear his own breathing.
He thought about how other teenagers his age could enjoy life, receive an education, and grow up under the care of loving families.
Meanwhile, his own life had been nothing but hardship.
No matter how hard he tried to survive, fate kept pushing him toward dead ends.
The sadness he had been suppressing all day finally exploded.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
Tears poured down his face.
He cried uncontrollably, sobbing until his vision blurred.
After a long time, he finally grew tired and leaned against the bedpost, hiccuping from crying.
…
Suddenly, a small noise came from the back window.
Before he could react, someone jumped through it.
The newcomer landed lightly on the floor.
Zhu Mingyue wiped his eyes and looked over.
The moment he saw the person’s face, he was shocked.
He had never seen someone so thin.
The boy looked like skin stretched over bones. His tall frame made him resemble a starving bamboo pole.
“Who are you?” Zhu Mingyue asked carefully.
The boy ignored him completely.
Without even looking at him, he walked straight to the snacks on the table and began stuffing them into his mouth one after another.
Seeing how desperately he ate, Zhu Mingyue guessed he must be starving and quietly watched.
Although the boy ate quickly, his manners were not bad.
When crumbs fell onto the table, he carefully picked them up and ate them.
Maybe he’s an orphan like me, Zhu Mingyue thought sadly.
After finishing the snacks, the boy finally noticed there was someone else in the room.
He glanced at Zhu Mingyue.
Zhu Mingyue immediately brightened.
“How did you end up so hungry? Are your parents still alive?”
The boy frowned and, after a long pause, nodded casually.
Hope immediately appeared in Zhu Mingyue’s heart.
Tears started falling again.
“I’m just like you. I lost my parents when I was young. I’ve always been alone and barely had enough food to survive…”
Pretending to be pitiful came naturally to him.
Since he had already cried earlier, fresh tears came easily.
His eyes were red and swollen, making him look genuinely miserable.
Once he felt he had acted enough, he moved on to his real goal.
“So… could you untie me?”
The boy looked at him with a faint mocking smile.
But he did not move.
Zhu Mingyue felt nervous.
This was a perfect chance to escape.
After the wedding, the Xie family had relaxed their guard because he seemed obedient.
Everyone was outside drinking and celebrating.
If he escaped now, nobody might notice for an hour.
That would be enough time to leave the village and find a hiding place.
The only thing stopping him was the rope.
“Are you still hungry?” Zhu Mingyue asked carefully.
Tears still hung on his face.
“I have some dates and peanuts here. You can have them too. Just untie me, okay?”
Someone had left the dates and peanuts on the bed earlier.
At the time, Zhu Mingyue had wondered why. It wasn’t as if a man could magically have children.
He moved aside to reveal the small pile.
The boy obviously lacked food. Surely he would feel grateful and help him.
Unfortunately, he was completely wrong.
The boy walked over.
Under Zhu Mingyue’s hopeful gaze, he picked up every single date and wrapped them in his clothes.
Then he hesitated for a moment while looking at Zhu Mingyue’s face.
After that, he gathered all the peanuts too.
He removed the shells and date pits, threw those onto the floor, and kept only the edible parts.
When he finished, he stepped past Zhu Mingyue.
Then, with incredible speed, he jumped out the window and disappeared.
…
“…?”
Zhu Mingyue was so stunned that he could not even stop him.
The room became quiet once again.
He sat frozen in place, mouth slightly open.
After a long time, he looked toward the window with a complicated expression.
This was ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
If the boy was not going to help him, why listen to his entire sad story?
If he was not going to help, why take all the food?
Zhu Mingyue turned around.
The bed was completely empty.
Not a single date or peanut remained.
The only thing left behind was a pile of peanut shells scattered across the floor.
Grinding his teeth, Zhu Mingyue felt as if he had been completely played for a fool.
He slammed his fists onto his thighs in frustration and immediately winced in pain.
I actually felt sorry for him before…
Who knew this guy’s skin was so unbelievably thick?