Chapter 48

"Jade is a good character, so let's name you Chunyu (Spring Jade)."

When Xue Lingyu woke up, he found himself not in the alley where he usually slept, but in a dilapidated courtyard. There were many people standing there, and there was hardly any room to put his feet down. Before Xue Lingyu could figure out what was going on, a fat man pointed at him, and several strong men pulled him out of the crowd.

He was sleeping soundly when he was woken up for no reason and found himself in an unfamiliar place. He was quite angry, but luckily he still had the silver in his pocket, so he wasn't so upset anymore.

Xue Lingyu looked at the fat man with a puzzled expression.

The obese man glanced at him a few times, seemingly displeased. "This is the fresh goods I've been eyeing for days? It's filthy. Even if you sold it to Qingqiu Tower, it wouldn't fetch a good price."

This fat man was a human trafficker, specializing in buying and selling handsome men. Those who had just arrived in the capital, were destitute, and had good looks were his first choice. Even if he forcibly abducted them, not many people would pay attention.

A hunched man said with a forced smile, "Uncle Ying, calm down. I've seen him wandering around the capital for several days. He's probably a beggar without a family. Even if his face isn't good, his figure is one in a hundred. Besides, you have so many connections. If Qingqiu Pavilion won't take him, can't you sell him to a wealthy family as a servant?"

The men in this courtyard were all there; some were tricked, some were kidnapped, and some were willingly selling themselves—all just trying to find a way to survive.

This person can't be left unattended. Uncle Ying carefully examined Xue Lingyu's figure and found that he was indeed well-nourished. He wondered if Xue Lingyu was nimble enough.

He held a clean handkerchief in his hand, wanting to wipe the ash off Xue Lingyu's face to see what her true colors were. If she was alright, he could sell her to Qingqiu Tower for a small amount of money.

If he's ugly, he'll be sold into hard labor!

Seeing that the fat man was about to touch him, Xue Lingyu couldn't help but take a step back. He glanced at the people in the courtyard and asked curiously, "Where is this place, and who are you all?"

Perhaps his tone was too naive, because Uncle Ying sensed something was wrong and glared at the hunchbacked man, saying, "It's one thing to be dirty, but he's also an idiot!"

The hunchbacked man kept apologizing, but Uncle Ying refused to take him on as a new employee.

"Please, have mercy and give this fool a way out. It's freezing cold, and we've already brought him here. There's no rule about letting him go." The hunchbacked man was also worried. He suddenly regretted not finding out more about Xue Lingyu's situation. He couldn't just leave her stuck in his hands.

Qingqiu Tower would never take in a fool. No matter how beautiful she is, a fool can't do hard labor. She can only find a way to be sold to a kind-hearted wealthy family as a maid.

Xue Lingyu was unaware of their scheme; he only caught the word "idiot." What exactly did "idiot" mean? Was he really an idiot?

If an ordinary person were in this situation, they would have already cried out and begged for mercy. Only Xue Lingyu was immersed in her own world, trying hard to find the meaning of "fool" in her mind.

He had forgotten many things, not even his own name, so he was curious about everything.

The hunchbacked man kept pestering Uncle Ying, disturbing his peace of mind. There were many people in the courtyard waiting for his arrangements. Uncle Ying got annoyed and casually gave the hunchbacked man an ounce of silver, saying coldly, "Recently, several wealthy families need a batch of maids. I'll try to see if I can get him in. As for the rest, I can't care about them!"

The hunchbacked man, having received the silver, immediately left the courtyard with a beaming smile, no longer caring about Xue Lingyu's whereabouts.

Uncle Ying looked at Xue Lingyu and sighed deeply, "In my whole life, this is the only deal I've ever made that resulted in a loss!"

After saying that, he forgot about Xue Lingyu and started busying himself with his business.

Those with good looks and skills were all sent to Qingqiu Tower for the madam to choose from. If they were chosen, they would stay; if they were not chosen, they would be brought back and reassigned. They would all end up as servants in wealthy households, and even then, they would be the lowest-ranking servants.

Those who were old and ugly were sold to the salt fields to do hard labor, and they could only leave when they died.

Uncle Ying had many connections and knew some of the tricks of the trade. Even in the most prestigious families, the first, second, and third-rank servants had to come from respectable and respectable families. But there were no such requirements for lowly servants. Moreover, lowly servants were all under a contract of life and death, and belonged completely to their master. Even if they were beaten to death, they would not break the law.

Recently, several prominent families have been hinting that they are short of a batch of maids for menial tasks. This is another opportunity for Uncle Ying to make a good profit.

Uncle Ying did not mistreat those who were to become slaves; instead, he treated them to a good meal and drinks, ensuring that everyone, including Xue Lingyu, could get a good night's sleep.

Although the courtyard was dilapidated, it had many rooms. Because of his mental disability, no one wanted to live with Xue Lingyu, fearing that he might suddenly go crazy at night and do something. So Xue Lingyu got a small room and lived there by himself.

There were martial arts-skilled guards outside, and anyone who dared to escape would be beaten to death. Xue Lingyu had just rested when she heard a man's painful screams outside.

Presumably, someone tried to escape but was caught red-handed.

Uncle Ying's men were all young men, and at their age they hadn't seen much of the world. Now, hearing that someone had been beaten to death, many of them were terrified and couldn't sleep soundly, fearing that they would end up in the same situation.

Xue Lingyu was not frightened. He sat quietly on the bed, feeling that he had heard such a cry somewhere before, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind was blank.

Finally, his head started to throb violently, forcing him to stop.

Uncle Ying's shrill voice rang out from outside: "Throw him into a mass grave, and warn the others that if they ever think of escaping again, this will be a living example!"

Before long, Xue Lingyu's door was pushed open, and Uncle Ying swayed his hips as he walked in, followed by a servant carrying a pen and ink.

The people in the next room were so frightened by his words that they burst into tears, but Xue Lingyu remained wide awake, oblivious to what was going on. Uncle Ying couldn't help but laugh and say, "A fool is a fool, he doesn't even cry or make a fuss."

He beckoned a servant forward, took out a pen, and asked Xue Lingyu, "What's your name? How old are you?"

Xue Lingyu shook his head; he knew nothing about these things, or rather, he couldn't remember them.

Uncle Ying frowned. "This is going to be difficult."

The indenture must include a name. Even if it's fake, as long as it matches a person, it's fine. Uncle Ying hasn't read many books and has no knowledge, so he can't think of a good name for the time being.

If it weren't a good name, those wealthy families might not want it, especially since the family he had his eye on had recently experienced some bad things.

Uncle Ying was trying his best to give Xue Lingyu a meaningful name when Xue Lingyu suddenly blurted out, "Yu".

He seemed to have finally remembered something: his name contained the character for "jade".

“Jade is a good character, so let’s call you Chunyu. It sounds pleasant.” Uncle Ying decided on the name just like that. He held Xue Lingyu’s hand and signed the contract of sale. That was it, and he had achieved his purpose.

This indenture would be sent along with him to the house of the master he served.

Xue Lingyu sold herself in such a muddled way, but the money didn't end up in his pocket.

He was woken up early the next morning and urged to get into a carriage.

Besides him, there were four other young men, all looking nervous, as if they were afraid of something.

Seeing that he still looked sleepy, Uncle Ying couldn't help but scold him, "It's getting late and you're still so lazy. Do you really think you're some pampered young master from a noble family? Wake up now!"

Xue Lingyu pouted, feeling wronged. He was really sleepy and had never gotten up this early before.

Uncle Ying was able to dress up nicely today. He was visiting a prominent family, one that he would normally be unable to curry favor with. If the master hadn't recently sold off many servants and was short-handed in the courtyard, he wouldn't have had this opportunity.

"Listen up, all of you. Once you're at your master's house, you must remember your place and not cause any trouble. Let me warn you beforehand: the young lady of the house has just dismissed a group of servants who are disloyal and treacherous. Do you know where they've all gone?"

The four young men, including Xue Lingyu, were all very curious: "Where did they go?"

Uncle Ying sneered, "They've all been sold to the salt fields to do hard labor; they'll never get out of there in this lifetime!"

The four men couldn't help but gasp. They never expected their master to be so ruthless. Even being beaten to death with sticks was better than spending their lives as laborers in the salt field, extinguishing all hope in their lives.

Then someone else asked, "So, what is the identity of our host?"

This was what Uncle Ying was most proud of. He was about to introduce it when the carriage suddenly jolted, and he almost fell to the ground. Luckily, someone caught him in time and managed to keep his composure.

"Who is it that dares to bump into my carriage? I'll teach her a lesson!" Uncle Ying was also a fiery person. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to get off the carriage to argue with the person.

He had just lifted the curtain when he was almost startled again. Even with just a glance, the character "Jiang" on the opposite carriage was very obvious.

He silently shrank back, only telling the driver to hurry up.

The Jiang family is not to be trifled with, especially the eldest daughter, Jiang He. Despite her young age, she is extremely shrewd and composed. She now owns a business empire, and her brother is the emperor's favorite concubine. Even powerful families would not dare to easily clash with the Jiang family, let alone a mere commoner like herself.

Seeing his behavior, the people in the car assumed he had gotten into something serious and dared not say a word.

Xue Lingyu secretly pulled open the curtain beside her and saw a carriage in the distance, which seemed familiar.

“Miss, the coachman was rushing as you instructed and accidentally bumped into a carriage. But that carriage seems to have run away like a refugee. There are no markings on it, and I can’t find out which family it belongs to.”

Jiang He rubbed her index finger and said calmly, "Mm."

She closed her eyes, intending to take a short rest while walking.

So much time has passed, it's still unknown whether Xue Lingyu is alive or dead.

It seems she has no choice but to accept this reality.

A note from the author:

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 21:18:00 on January 31, 2022 and 19:58:42 on February 1, 2022!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: giegie, you're so cool! 1 like;

Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Chili-flavored Candy, 49698614 (1 each);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!

◎Latest Comments:

[Interested in Gestures∈]

Missed it again

[Author, keep it up! Update more frequently!]

[I love dog blood!]

Haha, is the tune really old-fashioned? It seems so.

【】

[It really has that old-school melodramatic feel, it's so funny and infuriating at the same time. They just brushed past you twice, darling, are they dead or alive? But seriously, I love melodramatic stuff!]

Oh wow~

【Happy New Year! 】

Ah, doesn't that mean Yu Yu has become a slave again?

Is Yu Yu going to be sold to the Jiang family? It seems so! Won't they find out soon?

【Oops, I missed it again】

Missed it again.

Well, I'd like to make a deal with you for 30+ (presumably referring to a specific amount of money), sir/madam, what do you think?

When can we meet?

-over-