“Creak… creak… creak…”
The rhythm of the bed’s squeaking sped up and slowed down unpredictably, shrill and grating, enough to set anyone’s teeth on edge.
Qin Xiao rolled over and sat up. His broad, muscular chest rose and fell as sweat trickled down the lines of his body. He turned toward the source of the noise, the room next door.
Damn it.
It was the middle of the night. Were people supposed to sleep or not?
“Waiter! Change my room! I want the Number One Heavenly Room!”
In the end, he never got the room changed. By the time dawn was almost breaking, he would have had to pay an extra five mace of silver for the upgrade.
Qin Xiao refused to be taken for a fool.
Did they think money was easy to earn?
He had spent seven days guarding the mountains before finally managing to hunt a deer.
A live deer fetched a much better price, so he had happily carried it all night to the county town to sell.
Who would have thought the timid creature would die silently from fright after seeing too many people?
Thirty taels had become ten.
His luck truly couldn’t get much worse.
The eastern sky gradually turned pale with the first light of dawn. At long last, the maddening sounds of flesh slamming against flesh from next door finally stopped, replaced by the satisfied snores of the occupants.
Unfortunately, Qin Xiao was still full of pent-up frustration.
As he left, he kicked the neighboring room’s door open and splashed a basin of water onto the bed before turning around and walking away.
He came and went like the wind. By the time angry curses erupted behind him, he was already long gone.
Let them curse all they wanted.
They didn’t even know his name. That stud horse of a man next door could rage all he liked and still have no idea who to vent his anger on.
At least Qin Xiao felt a little better.
The streets in the early morning were still damp with mist. The bluish stone pavement glistened faintly beneath the lingering moisture. The air was humid, carrying the lingering heat of late summer mixed with the first hints of autumn’s coolness.
“How much for this girl? Her face isn’t bad. A little skinny, though.”
Outside the Office of Convict Slaves, a brothel madam’s voice rang out, dripping with criticism.
Her fingers, tipped with bright red nail dye, pinched the cheek of a female slave and turned her face from side to side for inspection.
The young woman had fair skin and willow-like brows.
At first glance, she stood out strikingly among the other female slaves, most of whom were sallow-faced and undernourished.
Yet her beautiful eyes resembled a stagnant pool of water.
Lifeless.
Silent.
No matter how the madam examined her as though she were livestock, not a ripple stirred within them.
Qinghe had long grown accustomed to this process.
She had lost count of how many times she had been bought and sold since childhood.
Once upon a time, she still hoped the person purchasing her might be kind.
But looking at the woman before her now, she had abandoned all such hopes.
When one had already resigned oneself to death, what emotions remained to be stirred?
The clerk at the slave office frowned.
“Madam Wang, this batch of convict slaves only arrived, and somehow you smelled them out and came running. Your information network is impressive. Why not show some mercy and let others choose first? Maybe she could become the wife of an honest household.”
Madam Wang sneered.
“In times like these, people mock poverty, not prostitution. A girl who has spent years in noble households, what respectable family would buy her as a wife?”
“At best she’ll become a servant somewhere, or a kept woman, or a concubine.”
“Sold is sold. If she comes to me, she’ll eat well, drink well, and live comfortably.”
“Enough chatter. Name your price.”
The clerk snorted.
Who said convict slaves couldn’t end up in decent homes?
His own wife had come from among these very slaves.
She honored his parents, managed the household, and possessed excellent embroidery skills.
Everything about her was admirable.
These people were merely unfortunate. Their masters had committed crimes, and they had suffered as collateral damage.
That didn’t mean they were bad people.
Madam Wang scoffed.
“Look at her face. She’s practically born to seduce men. Do you think those noble masters would leave her untouched?”
“For all we know, she was already warming someone’s bed.”
“Go ask around town if you don’t believe me. Even a dirt-poor farmer wants a chaste wife. If she doesn’t enter my brothel, where else can she go?”
Seeing the clerk glance at the beautiful slave girl before sighing in apparent defeat, Madam Wang smiled smugly and prepared to take out her money.
Unexpectedly, a deep, casual voice interrupted.
“Hey. Were you a bedchamber maid?”
At some point, Qin Xiao had walked over and stopped in front of the convict slave.
His tall frame cast a shadow over her, completely enveloping her within it.
It also blocked Madam Wang’s harsh, unpleasant face from view.
A pair of large feet with worn-out shoes appeared before her eyes.
Qinghe slowly lifted her gaze.
A single shirt hung casually over the man’s shoulder. He wore a sleeveless gray cotton vest.
He raised a hand and scratched his shoulder. As his arm bent, powerful muscles shifted beneath his skin, veins standing out like rivers winding across a landscape.
She looked up at him.
The man had a rough beard and thick brows drawn together in impatience.
His sharp, tiger-like eyes gazed down at her, revealing neither joy nor anger.
Almost instantly, hope flared within Qinghe’s eyes.
If she was bought by this brothel madam, death would be her only escape.
This man looked poor.
But she didn’t care.
As long as she could live in peace, what did it matter if she had to survive on bran and vegetables?
“I wasn’t a bedchamber maid. I was only a third-rank servant girl. I never even got close to my masters.”
“Hero, please buy me.”
“I can do anything. I can cook, wash clothes, mend garments, and make shoes.”
“I beg you. Please don’t let me be taken to the brothel.”
“Lies!”
Madam Wang stepped forward immediately, terrified that someone might snatch away such a beautiful girl.
She grabbed Qinghe’s soft hand and turned the palm toward Qin Xiao.
“Look at this. Not a single callus.”
“And look at those fingernails. They’re still dyed pink.”
“My good man, don’t let her fool you. Servant girls in wealthy households have to do everything, even chopping firewood.”
“Does she look like someone who does that?”
Qinghe quickly pulled her hand back and dropped to her knees before Qin Xiao.
“Big Brother, I really was a third-rank maid in the household. My duties were lighting lamps at night and keeping watch. I also scented my masters’ clothing with incense.”
“The fabrics my masters wore were delicate and expensive. If my hands became rough, they could snag the threads and ruin the garments.”
“That’s why I applied scented cream every day to keep them soft.”
“As for the nail dye, one of the young masters was playing around and dragged me into it.”
“Please, Big Brother, show mercy and buy me.”
“I don’t want to go to the brothel.”
She knocked her forehead heavily against the ground again and again.
When she finally looked up, her forehead had already turned red.
Tears shimmered in the beauty’s eyes.
Her face was filled with despair.
The sight softened Qin Xiao’s heart.
Unfortunately, another part of him reacted quite differently.
He quickly reached down and pulled her to her feet.
“Stand up. Let me think.”
Madam Wang grew anxious.
This little beauty was clearly untouched.
If she took the girl back and trained her properly, she’d make a fortune.
The first thing this man had asked was whether Qinghe had been a bedchamber maid.
That meant he cared about a woman’s purity.
She needed to tell him some dirty stories about noble households and make him give up.
“My good man…”
“Who the hell is your good man?”
Qin Xiao’s face darkened as he barked at her.
“Shut your mouth.”
The clerk also waved Madam Wang away.
“He said he wants to think. Then wait. Don’t go causing trouble.”
Madam Wang closed her mouth resentfully.
Qin Xiao pulled the clerk aside and whispered something to him.
No one knew what was said.
Then suddenly, Qin Xiao turned and looked back at Qinghe.
Delight spread across his face without restraint.