The leader of the group widened his eyes.
“Old Xie, didn’t you say yesterday…”
He did not finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant. They were worried Zhu Mingyue might run away.
Xie Hong started coughing violently again. After calming down, he glanced at Zhu Mingyue and said,
“It’s fine. Just keep an eye on him.”
Zhu Mingyue lowered his eyes and looked pitiful and obedient. However, he was secretly overjoyed.
Since Xie Hong insisted, the men had no choice but to obey.
The ropes were removed.
Zhu Mingyue carefully stretched his stiff arms and legs.
Just then, Xie Hong coughed again.
It sounded less like a cough and more like a warning.
Pretending not to notice, Zhu Mingyue calmly stood up and poured him a cup of water.
Xie Hong took a sip.
It was ice cold.
He frowned immediately and nearly lost his temper, but in the end he held it back.
Originally, he had planned to keep Zhu Mingyue tied up for a few more days to break his spirit and make him obedient.
Unfortunately, his illness changed everything.
Besides that illegitimate younger brother, Zhu Mingyue was the only other person in the house.
The younger brother had to hunt, gather firewood, and earn a living during the day.
Only Zhu Mingyue could stay and take care of him.
So it was not that he wanted to free him—it was simply necessary.
“Boil this water before bringing it back,” Xie Hong ordered.
“Okay, I’ll do it now,” Zhu Mingyue replied.
Carrying the kettle, he walked outside.
When nobody was looking, he glanced around.
The moment he stepped through the doorway, he almost gave in to the urge to run.
But reason quickly won.
He could not be reckless.
His situation was already much better than before.
There would be chances to escape.
If he was going to run, he needed a proper plan.
He had to learn the village layout and prepare an escape route first.
Suddenly—
“Ah!”
A strong impact interrupted his thoughts.
He almost dropped the kettle.
After making sure the water had not spilled, he looked at the person he had bumped into.
“You?”
He lowered his voice and glanced toward Xie Hong’s room.
“What are you doing here?”
The skinny boy standing before him was the same thief who had sneaked into his room the previous night.
Zhu Mingyue immediately stepped backward.
The boy looked so thin and weak that he feared another collision might break him apart.
Unexpectedly, the boy smiled.
Then he said something that struck Zhu Mingyue like lightning.
“Sister-in-law, this is my home. Why shouldn’t I be here?”
Zhu Mingyue froze.
Sister-in-law?
What?
This was his future brother-in-law?
Then why had he sneaked into the bridal room just to steal snacks?
Was he trying to make fun of him?
But that was not the biggest problem.
After recovering from his shock, Zhu Mingyue’s eyes immediately turned red.
His voice trembled.
“I was joking about everything I said last night. Please keep it a secret. I won’t tell anyone you sneaked into my room to steal food. Can you please not expose me?”
Xie Pei said nothing.
He simply watched him with amusement.
After enjoying Zhu Mingyue’s embarrassment, he turned and walked away with his bundle of firewood.
Before leaving, he only said:
“Whatever.”
Zhu Mingyue was completely confused.
What did “whatever” mean?
Did it mean he could tell everyone about the stolen food if he wanted?
Was this some kind of provocation?
Question marks filled his mind.
His uneasiness only grew stronger.
Suddenly, Xie Hong’s shout came from inside the house.
“Where are you? I’m dying of thirst! Hurry up!”
“Coming!”
As soon as he answered, the complaints stopped.
Zhu Mingyue shook his head helplessly.
He had only been out of sight for a short time, and Xie Hong was already worried he might run away.
He lit a fire and began boiling the water.
As steam rose into the air, he quietly planned his future escape.
Originally, he thought only Xie Hong lived here.
Now there was an extra younger brother.
Another pair of eyes watching him would make escaping much harder.
Soon the water boiled.
He wrapped a cloth around the handle and carried the kettle back.
Xie Hong was still lying on the bed, staring into space with a gloomy expression.
When he saw Zhu Mingyue return, he slowly stretched out his hand.
He wanted water.
Understanding immediately, Zhu Mingyue poured the water back and forth between two cups several times until it cooled.
Only then did he hand it over.
After drinking, Xie Hong’s expression improved.
Lunch was prepared by Xie Pei.
Xie Hong received a bowl of rice porridge.
Zhu Mingyue and Xie Pei each got a bowl of boiled taro chunks.
After feeding Xie Hong, Zhu Mingyue finally sat down to eat.
The cooked taro smelled pleasant.
It looked somewhat like sweet potatoes from his previous life.
But after one bite, he discovered they were completely different.
The taro was soft enough but had very little flavor.
Worse, it was extremely dry and difficult to swallow.
Every few bites he needed water.
When he looked up, he discovered that Xie Pei had already finished eating.
Meanwhile, Zhu Mingyue’s cheeks were stuffed like a hamster storing food.
He kept chewing but could barely swallow.
The sight was both miserable and funny.
By the time he finished eating, Xie Pei had already chopped a large pile of firewood.
Feeling embarrassed, Zhu Mingyue quietly washed the dishes.
He could not let the boy do everything alone.
After finishing the chores, he still did not want to return to the room and face Xie Hong.
So he sat on a small stool and watched Xie Pei split wood.
“What is your name?” he asked.
Only then did he realize he still did not know his brother-in-law’s name.
“Xie Pei.”
“Oh.”
Zhu Mingyue quickly noticed that Xie Pei had no interest in conversation and wisely stopped talking.
With nothing else to do, he continued watching him.
The more he watched, the stranger things seemed.
The two brothers did not appear close at all.
Xie Hong was large and strong.
Xie Pei was little more than skin and bones.
Xie Hong ate thick rice porridge.
Xie Pei and Zhu Mingyue only received boiled taro.
There was another thing.
From the moment Xie Hong started coughing blood until now, Xie Pei had never shown himself in front of Xie Hong’s friends.
Thinking back to their first meeting, Zhu Mingyue remembered how frighteningly thin Xie Pei looked.
At first glance, one would think he was either an orphan or someone who had been badly mistreated.
Now it seemed obvious which one it was.
Xie Hong had hosted a large wedding feast.
Even village children were allowed to attend.
Yet Xie Pei was not.
Clearly, Xie Hong disliked his younger brother.
What Zhu Mingyue could not understand was Xie Pei’s attitude.
The rice porridge Xie Hong ate was real enough.
Xie Pei never even tasted it.
Could this boy actually enjoy suffering?
Zhu Mingyue rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Honestly, it did not seem impossible.
Unfortunately, he could not avoid work for long.
Every ten minutes or so, Xie Hong found a new reason to call him.
He was thirsty.
He was hungry.
His back hurt.
He needed the toilet.
He wanted fresh air.
He needed help turning over.
It felt as though he was deliberately finding ways to torment him.
Fortunately, Xie Hong did not bathe during winter.
That spared Zhu Mingyue from having to help him wash.
When night came, Xie Hong finally stopped ordering him around.
Patting the bed, he told Zhu Mingyue to sleep beside him.
Of course, Zhu Mingyue did not want to.
He had not eaten a single grain of the four stones of rice supposedly paid for him.
Now he had to work and share a bed too?
Why should he?
But he could not say that directly.
Instead, he smiled and said that wealthy young masters usually had servants sleeping on a small bed nearby.
He could do the same.
That way he would not disturb Xie Hong’s recovery and could still help him during the night.
The explanation greatly satisfied Xie Hong’s vanity.
In his imagination, he became a rich young master surrounded by beautiful people.
Zhu Mingyue was merely one servant among many.
Only worthy of sleeping at his feet.
Zhu Mingyue had no idea what Xie Hong was imagining.
He only knew he no longer had to share a bed with him.
The footstool was hard, but he slept peacefully.
One day passed.
Then another.
Soon eight or nine days had gone by.
Strangely, Xie Hong never once asked him to move onto the bed.
That saved Zhu Mingyue from having to invent more excuses.
The only problem was that Xie Hong still watched him closely.
Most of the time, he had to stay within sight.
Even getting up for a drink at night was immediately noticed.
On the tenth day of Xie Hong’s illness, the medicine finally ran out.
Yet his chest tightness had not improved much.
The medicine only made him feel better for a few hours at a time.
Xie Hong did not understand why.
The doctor had said it was only a problem caused by emotional stress.
Why was it taking so long to recover?
Still, he was not worried.
The town doctor had said it was not serious.
That was enough for him.
If ten days of medicine did not work, he would simply keep taking more.
Meanwhile, he was enjoying being treated like a wealthy young master.
Life was comfortable.
“The medicine is almost gone,” Zhu Mingyue said while adding the last herbs into the pot.
“Should someone go to town and buy more?”
“Of course.”
Xie Hong treasured his life above all else.
Even if the medicine did little, he still wanted those few hours of relief.
“Then I’ll go—”
“No.”
Xie Hong interrupted him.
“Let that little bastard Xie Pei go.”
Although the brothers looked quite similar, Xie Hong always called him a bastard.
Zhu Mingyue found it strange but did not dare ask questions.
“I’ll go tell him.”
He left the room.
Snow had fallen the previous night.
The mountain paths were difficult to climb, so Xie Pei stayed home and worked on weaving bamboo baskets.
Even when Zhu Mingyue walked right up to him, Xie Pei barely reacted.
After several days together, Zhu Mingyue had become used to his cold personality.
As long as Xie Pei did not reveal his secrets, that was enough.
“Xie Pei, your brother’s medicine is gone. He wants you to buy more from town.”
Xie Pei nodded calmly without even raising his head.
It was as though Zhu Mingyue did not exist.
Seeing that the message had been delivered, Zhu Mingyue left.
By evening, Xie Pei returned home carrying several packets of medicine.
Following Xie Hong’s orders, Zhu Mingyue immediately prepared the medicine.
But that night, after taking it, Xie Hong’s condition suddenly became worse.
In the middle of the night, he vomited blood several times.