Chapter 2: Xie Yi

Early the next morning, Su Mu took the divorce letter she had already written and headed to Yan Jiyue’s Handie Courtyard.

The Yan family was indeed a prominent family in Juancheng. The Handie Courtyard was filled with clear pond water, and pure white lotuses bloomed elegantly and quietly. The morning dew condensed on the petals, and the fragrance of the flowers was pleasant and refreshing, permeating one’s heart and lungs.

Unfortunately, it was all gold and jade on the outside but rotten on the inside. The Yan family had few direct descendants and many collateral relatives. The entire clan lived in the same courtyard. Yan Zhujun and Yan Ting were not good at managing.

Those collateral relatives had secretly sold most of the Yan family’s fertile fields and estates behind their backs. Because the accounts were well-kept, even Yan Zhujun himself was unaware.

It was only later that Su Mu discovered the anomaly and was forced by Yan Zhujun to do business to save the tottering Yan family.

In the midst of her recollections, Su Mu had already arrived at the entrance of Handie Courtyard. She knocked on the door.

Hua Lu, the gatekeeper, opened the door with a yawn, “Who is it?”

Seeing that it was Su Mu, he directly rolled his eyes and spoke sarcastically, “Oh, isn’t this Su Mu? You were just chased away by Young Master last night, and now you’re here early in the morning to ingratiate yourself again.”

Even if she was a live-in wife, she was still the master of the Yan family. A servant dared to speak to her like this. One could guess that it was instigated by Yan Jiyue.

Back then, she had wanted to reconcile with Yan Jiyue wholeheartedly, so she endured the servants’ difficulties.

But the reborn Su Mu didn’t have such a good temper. She was used to the privileged life of the wealthiest person and could no longer endure such grievances.

She was about to slap him with a resounding slap when she saw a procession slowly approaching in the distance.

Su Mu’s eyes turned, and she smiled humbly, “No matter what, I am still Young Master’s wife…”

Su Mu’s concession invisibly further fueled Hua Lu’s arrogance. He impatiently interrupted her, “You really think that just because you married into the Yan family, you’re Young Master’s wife?”

“If Su Mu is not Jiyue’s wife, then who is?” A slightly elderly male voice came from behind.

The person who arrived was none other than Yan Jiyue’s father, the instigator of Su Mu and Yan Jiyue’s marriage.

“Greetings to Lord.” Upon seeing Yan Zhujun, Hua Lu instantly knelt down respectfully and saluted.

At this moment, Su Mu’s heart was completely calm, but she still had to put on a face.

She turned around and slightly bent her knees in salute to Yan Zhujun, “Greetings to Lord.”

“What happened just now? You, a servant, dared to argue with your master. You have no sense of propriety.” Yan Zhujun spoke with a furrowed brow.

“Please forgive me, Lord. This servant knows his mistake.” Hua Lu knelt on the ground, continuously kowtowing.

When Su Mu and Yan Jiyue had just gotten married, the servants in the residence looked down on her, and Yan Jiyue also instructed the servants to humiliate her to her face. Every time this happened, Yan Zhujun would step forward to help her.

She was extremely touched at that time. Later, when she thought about it, this father and son were just playing good cop and bad cop.

“You shouldn’t ask me for forgiveness. You should ask Su Mu. She is the Young Madam of our Yan family. You actually dared to offend your superior. Ling Hua, slap him ten times.” Yan Zhujun said sternly.

As expected, he started pretending again.

In the past, Su Mu didn’t want her life-saving benefactor to bear the reputation of a cruel master because of her, so she would always plead for the servants. But this time, Su Mu decided to change her approach.

“Lord, forget about slapping him. A man’s face is as precious as his life. Let’s flog him with twenty strokes instead.” Su Mu smiled gently.

“…”

Both Yan Zhujun and Hua Lu were stunned. They didn’t expect Su Mu to make this move. Didn’t she usually plead for the servants?

“What, is the punishment too light?” Su Mu raised her slender, dark eyebrows slightly.

“Ling Hua, didn’t you hear what Young Madam said? Twenty strokes of flogging.” Yan Zhujun spoke coldly.

“Yes.” Ignoring Hua Lu’s pleas for mercy, Ling Hua dragged him out. Soon, Hua Lu’s screams could be heard.

“I didn’t expect the servants in Jiyue’s courtyard to be so unruly and lacking in etiquette, making you suffer grievances.” Yan Zhujun said guiltily.

“What grievances? I’m just a live-in wife.” Su Mu’s smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Yan Zhujun’s eyes narrowed slightly, keenly sensing that today’s Su Mu was different from usual.

“What live-in wife? In my heart, I treat you like my own daughter. This Jiyue is too inconsiderate. Come, follow me inside. I must teach him a good lesson today.”

“No need. I have something to do in a bit.” Su Mu’s purpose in coming to Handie Courtyard this time was to divorce Yan Jiyue. She couldn’t let Yan Zhujun know. He definitely wouldn’t let the two of them divorce.

So Su Mu could only find an excuse to slip away.

“That’s fine. You go take care of your business first. Tonight, I will definitely have Jiyue personally come and apologize to you.” Yan Zhujun said.

Su Mu nodded. Fine, you continue acting. She had important things to do.

“Lord, I feel that Young Madam is a bit off today.” Ling Jing whispered in Yan Zhujun’s ear.

Yan Zhujun no longer disguised the false kindness in his eyes, “Perhaps it’s because that Hua Lu offended her. No matter how good-tempered, she’s still a woman.”

Ling Jing nodded and advised, “We can’t push her too hard. Let’s loosen up a bit during this period.”

The disrespectful attitude of the Yan family’s servants towards Su Mu was actually instigated and tacitly approved by Yan Zhujun.

The attitude of the Yan family’s servants was like a series of slaps to Su Mu’s face, pushing her self-esteem to the bottom, while Yan Zhujun was the sweet jujube that gave her dignity and helped her rebuild her confidence.

Only in this way would Su Mu be more grateful to Lord Yan.

Yan Zhujun nodded, “When you go back, tell those people to restrain themselves a bit during this period.”

“Yes.” Ling Jing paused for a moment and asked, “Are we still going to see Young Master?”

Yan Zhujun looked at the blooming lotuses in Handie Courtyard and nodded, “Since we’re already here, let’s go take a look.”

Although Yan Zhujun deliberately suppressed Su Mu, it was to prevent the ambition of a live-in wife from inflating and eventually biting back at her master.

But he also genuinely wanted Yan Jiyue and Su Mu to be a loving couple.

After all, when he chose Su Mu back then, he had carefully examined her character. Not just any woman could marry into the Yan family.

Apart from being an orphan, Su Mu was young and had a top-notch appearance, no less than that second daughter of the Shen family.

Moreover, Su Mu had a reliable character and was devoted. In the half-year at the Yan family, she had never flirted with the male servants in the residence. This was extremely rare for a woman, as there were no women who weren’t fickle-hearted.

Of course, the most important thing was for Yan Jiyue to quickly give birth to a daughter. With a granddaughter, the Yan family’s wealth could be completely controlled in his hands.

At that time, Su Mu’s existence would no longer be important.

When Yan Zhujun entered Yan Jiyue’s room, Yan Jiyue was copying poetry at his desk. The fragrance of lotuses mixed with the scent of ink, creating an indescribable elegance.

Yan Zhujun’s eyes darkened, “You only know how to copy these useless things.”

Yan Jiyue finally stopped writing and looked up, “These are not useless things at all. This ‘Prelude to Water Melody’ was written by the second daughter of the Shen family. Do you know that this poem has shocked the entire city?”

Yan Zhujun didn’t bother to respond and questioned, “I ask you, why haven’t you consummated your marriage with Su Mu for so long?”

Yan Jiyue’s eyes were arrogant, “Did she complain to you? After becoming the master, she only knows how to play the trick of servants complaining.”

Yan Zhujun shook his head helplessly, “Don’t be prejudiced against Su Mu. You have been married to her for half a month. You can’t continue to be so willful. It’s better to consummate the marriage as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing the words “consummation,” Yan Jiyue slapped his brush on the table with a bang and stood up abruptly. His slender eyes were filled with unwillingness and resentment. “Why should I consummate the marriage with Su Mu? Letting her marry into the family to keep the Yan family’s assets is already my greatest compromise. Consummation is absolutely impossible.”

“If you don’t consummate the marriage with Su Mu, who do you want to consummate it with? Shen Yuxue? Shameless.” Yan Zhujun said angrily.

Yan Jiyue clenched his fists tightly, suppressing the hatred in his eyes. He only admired Shen Yuxue’s talent, but hearing his father humiliate him like this, he said defiantly, “Yes, I do like Shen Yuxue. She has good literary talent and a good personality, unlike Su Mu, who is just a block of wood.”

“You—” Yan Zhujun was so angry that he was fuming. He leaned on Ling Jing and sat on a chair. It took a long time for him to recover.

“You think Su Mu is a block of wood?” Yan Zhujun asked angrily.

Yan Jiyue frowned. “What else? She hasn’t spoken a few words to me in half a month since our marriage, and her attitude is like a servant’s.”

Yan Zhujun laughed in extreme anger. “Yes, Su Mu is dull and you don’t like her. You just like women like Shen Yuxue who are glib-tongued.”

“Father, what do you mean?” Yan Jiyue’s eyebrows furrowed tightly.

“Do you really think Su Mu has a dull personality? You haven’t seen her talking eloquently with others outside, looking ambitious and energetic. She respects you. She knows you don’t like her, so she treats you with courtesy and doesn’t want to force you or take liberties with you. What about you?” Yan Zhujun’s heart ached from anger at Yan Jiyue.

“Instead, you like Shen Yuxue, a woman known in the city for being frivolous. She praises you a few times, and your heart follows her eagerly. Haven’t you ever thought that the flirtatious words she says to you today, she can say to other men tomorrow? Where have your male virtues and training gone all these years?”

Yan Jiyue gritted his teeth. “So what? If I don’t like someone, even if she’s a heavenly fairy, I still won’t like her.”

Yan Zhujun was silent for two seconds. “Liking or not liking is not important. Hua Lu offended Su Mu. You go to Luofeng Courtyard tonight to apologize to Su Mu.”

Su Mu’s behavior today clearly showed that she was already dissatisfied with the people of the Yan family. It was necessary to appease her at this time.

Back then, he had chosen Su Mu because she had the ability but no family background. With proper training, she could definitely help the Yan family rise to a higher level.

A chill suddenly increased in Yan Jiyue’s eyes, and he almost spat out a few words from his throat. “Fine, I’ll go apologize to Su Mu in person tonight.”

—

Su Mu walked on the street, ignoring the critical and contemptuous gazes of the people around her.

She had only one purpose in coming out: to find someone.

In her previous life, she had encountered Xie Yi, who was being sold by human traffickers, one month after marrying Yan Jiyue.

Later, she learned that Xie Yi had a difficult life.

He was of mixed Central Plains and Western Regions heritage, born on the frontier. Later, he experienced war and turmoil. His parents and siblings all died tragic deaths, and only he survived by chance, but he was kidnapped by human traffickers and brought to Juancheng.

Before meeting Su Mu, Xie Yi was first sold to a scholar’s family as a slave.

Because he was too beautiful, the master was jealous and believed he was a fox spirit seducing the scholar. The master tortured him in various ways and even branded the character “lewd” on his body as humiliation.

This incident was a lifelong shadow for Xie Yi.

Now that Su Mu had been reborn, she was determined to change this incident and save Xie Yi from the suffering he had endured back then.

Visit ( )

Juancheng was actually not very big. It was a small county town, but because it was far from the emperor’s reach, it maintained relative isolation and independence.

There were only three households of scholars in the city, and as for those who had passed the provincial examination, there was only one, who was the current county magistrate.

And among these three scholar households, the one famous for its shrew husband was the Li family.

Su Mu dared to go to the entrance of the Li family. Before she even reached the front of their door, she saw a large crowd of people outside the back door of the Li family, and they were basically all men.

These men formed a small circle, and from the center of the circle, vulgar curses were occasionally heard by Su Mu.

She had a bad feeling in her heart. She pushed through the onlookers and saw a middle-aged man in brocade clothes grabbing the collar of a thin, weak man.

“Let me show you how this slut seduced my wife. No wonder my wife couldn’t even read books these past few days and even wanted to take you as a concubine. It’s all because she was seduced by you, you little tramp. Ptui, you stinking little slut.” The middle-aged man had a fierce expression, intending to tear open the thin man’s thin collar.

The thin man tightly clutched his collar. During the struggle, his disheveled side profile was exposed, covered with bright red handprints. It seemed that he had already received a vicious beating before.

“You tell me, can we scholars’ families still keep such a little tramp? Which family dares to take him in?” The middle-aged man asked the onlookers.

“Someone so young already knows how to seduce the master. Who would dare? Our Zhou family definitely doesn’t dare.” A sarcastic voice rang out from the crowd.

“Hehe, that’s right. Who dares to bring a fox spirit home and cause trouble in the household?” A man next to him covered his mouth with a handkerchief and laughed in a low voice.

“Oh, he’s even from the Western Regions. The men from the Western Regions are best at singing, dancing, and engaging in those improper activities. Many of the top courtesans in the brothels are from the Western Regions.”

“Our family is so unlucky to have bought such a little tramp. Ptui!” The middle-aged man spat on his face with jealousy and hatred. “I’ll find a human trafficker to sell you off tomorrow.”

“No, no, didn’t, seduce.” The man pressed under him spoke with difficulty, his voice halting and strange, as if he had just learned to speak. He was pinned to the ground by the middle-aged man, his forehead covered in blood, flowing into his eyes.

“You little tramp, you dare to talk back!” The middle-aged man was furious and raised his hand, delivering a loud slap.

The thin man’s head was knocked to the side, his face facing Su Mu’s direction.

It was him, Xie Yi.

Xie Yi also saw her. His eyes were lifeless, like dead ashes. A tear mixed with blood dripped from the corner of his eye.

“Sister Mu, I can’t wait until a hundred years old.” The scene of Xie Yi holding her corpse and committing suicide by taking poison resurfaced in her mind.

“It seems I’ve been too lenient. Someone like you, a lowly breed, would have been beaten long ago in other families.” The middle-aged man casually picked up a stick.

“Stop!” Su Mu almost instinctively shouted.

“Who are you?” These men were kept in the inner chambers and rarely saw women from outside, so it was normal for them not to recognize Su Mu.

Su Mu didn’t answer him but said, “Didn’t you want to sell him? I’ll buy him.”

A flicker of ripple appeared in Xie Yi’s dead eyes, but that ripple was not the light of seeing salvation, but the sight of another abyss.

“You’ll buy him?” The middle-aged man sized her up and then advised, “Miss, I see that you’re young and good-looking. Find a knowledgeable and well-mannered man to marry. Why bother buying such a little tramp?”

Su Mu ignored his words. “I want to buy him.”

“Alright.” Seeing that she insisted on buying, the middle-aged man said, “Twenty taels of silver.”

This little tramp was indeed a bit lewd, but his appearance was extremely beautiful, even more so than Yan Jiyue, the number one beauty in Juancheng.

He should have been sold for a higher price, but unfortunately, last night, out of jealousy, he had branded the character “lewd” on his chest with a branding iron. Except for the male prostitutes in brothels, no woman could accept her man having such a humiliating word on his body.

The more his scholar wife had liked Xie Yi, this little tramp, the more she despised him upon learning about the “lewd” character on his body, wanting to avoid him like the plague.

But because of this, even though Xie Yi had a top-notch appearance, he could only be sold cheaply.

“Alright.” Su Mu had worked as a servant in the Yan family for more than half a year and had saved a considerable amount of money. Afraid that the man would change his mind, she directly took out 20 taels of silver and gave it to him.

The man collected the money with satisfaction and handed the contract of servitude to Su Mu. “Young lady, this little tr- this person is now yours from today onwards.”

The onlookers began to disperse. Su Mu squatted on the ground with heartache and helped Xie Yi up.

She could clearly feel that the moment she touched Xie Yi, his bones were trembling.

“Are you alright?” Su Mu withdrew her hand and asked in a low voice.

At this moment, Xie Yi’s face was disheveled and swollen. His hands tightly clutched his collar, and his eyes were full of panic and unease.

She suddenly remembered that at this time, Xie Yi still couldn’t understand the Central Plains language very well.

Su Mu pulled down the sleeves she had rolled up, just enough to cover her palms.

Through the fabric, she gently held his wrist and spoke softly, “I’ll take you away.”

Xie Yi followed in a daze. He didn’t quite understand what had happened, but seeing the man who had been bullying him hand that piece of paper to the woman in front of him, he knew that he had been sold again.

The last time he was sold, he felt that life was worse than death. What about this time?

Xie Yi didn’t dare to think further.

But he also didn’t dare to escape. This was an unfamiliar world. Not escaping meant death, but escaping also meant death.

He just let the woman in front of him hold his wrist through the fabric. The fabric was very delicate, and the woman’s movements were very gentle, rubbing against his hand without causing any pain.

Xie Yi silently looked at the woman’s back. Her slender figure and long hair cascading down her back were like a waterfall of flowing sand.

She looked very beautiful, and the way she looked at him was not like his previous master’s lewd and lustful gaze. If possible, he really hoped that she would be a good master.

At least she wouldn’t beat or scold him. Even if she did beat or scold him, it would be fine as long as she didn’t use a branding iron with strange patterns to burn him like his previous master’s husband did. It was too painful. He would try his best to please her in every way possible.

He followed Su Mu through secluded alleys until they arrived at a small courtyard.

“This is my former residence. The rent is paid for another half month. You can stay here for now.” Su Mu brought him into the house. With no one living there for half a month, a thin layer of dust had accumulated inside.

Su Mu coughed from the dust.

The next second, a neatly folded handkerchief appeared in front of Su Mu’s eyes.

Xie Yi held out the handkerchief. His eyes, with a hint of Western Regions charm, looked at her. A strained smile tugged at the corner of his bloody lips. Beneath his ingratiating demeanor was a deep-rooted fear.

Su Mu sighed and tore the contract of servitude into shreds in front of him. “Xie Yi, you don’t need to try to please me.”