Another male slave immediately chimed in: "Right, a criminal slave from a slave camp. Does he think that just because he has a pretty face, he can rise to the top the moment he arrives at the Gu family?"
The square-faced one added: "Exactly. Does he really think a man can marry into the Gu family on the strength of his looks? Men can't bear children, and the Gu family is a household of considerable standing—why would they ever want a horse groom?"
The group laughed among themselves as they spoke, though it was unclear what was so amusing about their words.
Xie Licheng understood perfectly well. These people bore no grudge against the original owner of this body. Their sneers and taunts now were simply a way to curry favor with the young master.
This was the way of servants in the deep courtyards of great households—they knew exactly how to trample on those beneath them while licking the boots of those above. Seeing that Young Master Gu Tinghe thoroughly despised the original owner, they joined in the bullying to win his approval.
Their behavior now was very much like the bullying and ostracism one saw in schoolyards.
Xie Licheng had experienced plenty of that in his previous life, from childhood to adulthood. He had long since grown accustomed to it.
He didn't care what others said about him. As long as they didn't lay hands on him first, he could ignore anything.
What was the point of fighting for dominance now?
Chaos was coming soon, and Lingzhou would be among the first regions to fall into disorder.
Once the shelter of the Gu family was gone, none of these servants would meet a good end.
Besides, his injuries were severe right now. He had barely managed to keep his health points above twenty, and he didn't want to get into a brawl in this condition.
But while he had no desire to fight them, they had no intention of letting him off so easily. A short, wiry male slave boldly approached him.
The man held a cup of water in his hand and, right in front of Xie Licheng, poured it directly onto his blanket.
Xie Licheng looked at the damp bedding and asked in a flat tone, "Are you looking for death?"
The short male slave wasn't frightened in the least. Instead, he repeated Xie Licheng's words back with an amused expression.
"Hahaha, what did he say? He's asking if I'm looking for death? What, is he going to kill me?"
The square-faced one laughed. "Hahaha, I think he's the one looking for death."
With that, they all began to close in around Xie Licheng. Seeing this, Xie Licheng let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
He really didn't want to fight right now. If he just endured this a little longer, the whole thing would blow over.
It was only a bit of bullying, a bit of ostracism, after all.
But seeing how they were pushing their luck, trampling all over him—he, who hadn't been bullied like this in a very long time, couldn't hold back his true nature any longer.
Forget it. Forget it.
It seemed this identity was no longer usable anyway. Before he left, he might as well slaughter them all.
Let them learn the cruelty of this world—that honest folk weren't to be trifled with.
As this thought crossed his mind, Xie Licheng secretly retrieved a dagger from his Spatial Dimension.
Just as they were shoving and jostling around him, and Xie Licheng was about to use the dagger to kill, a voice rang out from outside their side courtyard.
The speaker was a young maidservant named Xuancui, who served in the eldest young master's quarters.
The eldest young master was also a male omega, and the attendants around him were all women or omegas.
Only when he went out did he bring a few male guards for protection.
When the eldest young master had seen Xie Licheng earlier that day, the man had looked half-dead.
Worried that the physician he'd summoned might not be skilled enough and might accidentally let the man die, and feeling somewhat uneasy about it, he had sent Xuancui to personally check on things.
The Gu family's old estate was vast, and walking from the inner courtyards to the outer ones took considerable time.
Xuancui was a maidservant of the inner courtyards. Though she was technically a servant like the rest, her treatment was entirely different from that of the lowly slaves here.
She wore a pink spring outfit, with pearl and jade ornaments in her hair and jade bangles on her wrists. She looked nothing like a maidservant—more like a young lady from a wealthy family.
Xuancui entered and asked, "Where's that horse groom?"
She hadn't come alone; a rough-handed serving woman accompanied her.
The woman lowered her head and replied, "He should be in this courtyard. Don't worry, Miss Xuancui—this old woman will ask around for you right away."
With that, she hurried over to knock on a door—the one belonging to the steward of this courtyard.
This side courtyard had seven rooms in total, four of which were large shared dormitories for the lowly slaves.
Of the remaining three, one was for Steward Xu, who had a room with a small adjoining chamber.
Hearing the sudden knock, Steward Xu quickly emerged from his room.
He opened the door and saw the rough-handed serving woman from the outer courtyard. He was about to ask what she was doing here when he looked up and saw Miss Xuancui standing in the yard.
Steward Xu hurried over with a bow. "Oh my, Miss Xuancui, what brings you here? Does the eldest young master have some instructions?"
Xuancui did not even glance at him, and asked in a very impatient tone: "Today, where is the horse slave that the young master beat? The eldest young master is kind-hearted. After seeing his miserable state this afternoon, he was worried about his condition."
Steward Xu said "wait a moment" upon hearing this, then walked toward a room.
The room he entered was exactly the large communal room where Xie Licheng and the others stayed.
When he came in, the people who had been surrounding Xie Licheng had long since dispersed.
Everyone was busy with their own affairs, as if nothing had happened at all.
Steward Xu came in and looked at Xie Licheng's condition, but did not notice that Xie Licheng's quilt was wet.
He saw that Xie Licheng could still stand, seemingly fine, and wanted to go out and report back to Xuancui.
But before he could turn around, Xie Licheng deliberately spread out his quilt and even reached out to pat the wet spot on it.
When Steward Xu saw that his quilt was wet, he looked up at the few other people in the room with some displeasure.
He lowered his voice and said: "Not a single one of you is worry-free. You only cause me trouble."
His words were directed not only at those who had bullied Xie Licheng, but also implied that Xie Licheng himself was troublesome.
Steward Xu was considered an old hand in the Gu family, and since he dealt with the lowest-ranking slaves, what kind of person had he not seen before?
When Xie Licheng deliberately patted his quilt just now, he naturally understood Xie Licheng's intention—he probably wanted to rely on the eldest young master's kindness to get his support.
In Steward Xu's eyes, even if Xie Licheng was trying to seek justice for himself, his actions were still behavior that caused him trouble, so naturally he did not think highly of Xie Licheng either.
But regardless of his personal feelings, since Miss Xuancui was waiting outside, he did not dare pretend he had seen nothing.
Soon, Steward Xu came out of the room.
Steward Xu reported: "Miss Xuancui, rest assured. His body is in good condition. Nothing will happen to him."
Upon hearing this, Xuancui glanced at him, then lowered her voice and said: "He must not be allowed to die. Otherwise, the eldest young master will be angry."
Steward Xu was stunned by these words. He bent toward Xuancui and said in a low voice: "This one understands."
The eldest young master had not said much, only asking Xuancui to come and check, because he was worried that the horse slave might have died.
But Xuancui had been with the eldest young master for so many years, and she understood his personality better than anyone.
The eldest young master was indeed kind-hearted, but his kindness at most extended to calling a doctor for a servant.
The young master had already called a doctor before, so this matter should have been settled.
Yet not long ago, the eldest young master suddenly asked her to come over personally.
Xuancui felt that the eldest young master treated that horse slave somewhat differently, which was why she had just spoken those words of caution to Steward Xu.
After that, Xuancui left with the old maidservant. Steward Xu watched their departing figures and returned to Xie Licheng's room once more.
Thinking of Xuancui's words—that he must not be allowed to die—he said to Xie Licheng, who was still standing there foolishly: "You, bring your things and follow me."
Xie Licheng nodded, looking very honest and simple.
He packed up briefly—though the original owner had nothing much to pack anyway.
Just a set of bedding, two sets of clothes, and a pair of shoes. Nothing else.
Xie Licheng bundled up his belongings, carried them, and followed Steward Xu out with a limp.
Watching Xie Licheng's departing figure, the square-faced man said in disbelief: "He… when did he ever show his face before the eldest young master?"
None of the other male slaves dared to make a sound, because compared to the hot-tempered young master, they were even more afraid of the eldest young master.
The eldest branch of the Gu family had three young masters. The eldest young master, Gu Changyuan, and the young master, Gu Tinghe, were both young masters of the household.
By all rights, young masters were meant to be married off.
But the situation of the eldest branch was somewhat special. The only male child of the eldest branch, the second young master, was born with an eye condition.
In order to treat the second young master's eye condition, the lady of the eldest branch had taken him traveling far and wide for years seeking medical treatment.
With the second young master in such a state, he could not possibly uphold the family's standing. The remaining young master was extremely spoiled, so the eldest young master was carefully groomed by the head of the household and raised like a boy from a young age.
It was precisely because of this that the eldest young master's personality was rather decisive—what he said went.
He appeared gentle, easygoing, and very kind.
But at the same time, he could not tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes. As long as he disapproved of something, it was not allowed to exist in the Gu family.
Now that the horse slave had caught the eldest young master's attention, they could not treat him the way they had before.
They could not bully him to please the young master, or if the eldest young master found out, none of them would be able to stay in the Gu family.
Xie Licheng followed Steward Xu to the stables. Many horses were kept there, and the smell was not very pleasant.
However, there was one advantage: there was an empty room here, and it was also quieter than other places.
Xie Licheng was severely injured now, and the eldest young master had said he couldn't be allowed to die, so he needed a quiet place to recover.
This spot happened to be dirty, messy, and smelled terrible.
The youngest young master wouldn't come here personally. If Xie Licheng was hidden here, there was no worry about the youngest young master coming to catch him.
Steward Xu had it hard too—on one side was the youngest young master, who couldn't be offended, and who was dead set on torturing this horse slave to death; on the other side was the eldest young master, whom he could offend even less, and who seemed equally determined to keep this horse slave alive.
Between these two half-brothers, Steward Xu was truly terrified of them.
To avoid bringing trouble upon himself, he might as well settle the man here.
If this horse slave died even while hiding here, then it really wouldn't have anything to do with him.
"Alright, you'll stay here from now on. Heal your wounds properly, and I'll assign you other work later."
Xie Licheng thanked him upon hearing this. He watched Steward Xu leave the stables before walking toward that empty room.
This courtyard was used for raising horses, but it wasn't completely uninhabited.
A crippled male slave guarded the gate outside this courtyard.
During the day, people would also come to tend to the horses, so it wasn't as suitable for recovery as one might imagine.
But considering that the original owner's identity was that of a lowly slave, being able to find a private room to recover in was already no small feat.
Xie Licheng entered that vacant room and lay down to rest without much cleaning up.
He was very tired now and needed proper rest.
He didn't cover himself with the damp bedding but instead took out a new quilt from his Spatial Dimension.
The weather wasn't very cold right now, but it wasn't warm either.
At night, once asleep, it got a bit chilly.
Xie Licheng lay down, recalling everything that had happened today.
In the novel, the original owner had also been saved by the eldest young master, but hadn't received the treatment Xie Licheng was getting now.
He wondered if it was because he had transmigrated that the storyline had changed.
Also, that handsome eldest young master had saved him twice. If there was ever an opportunity in the future, he would help him twice in return.
A beauty's kindness was better repaid sooner rather than later—otherwise, it would leave him feeling uneasy.