Chapter 123.2
Editor: Sahloknir
Shi Qing’s compliments were completely genuine.
He did enjoy seeing these pretty little girls all dressed up. The sight of them twirling around the room like flower blossoms was very pleasing to the eye.
But while he was content to admire from a distance, this was not the case with the original host.
He thought of all of these pretty girls as his reserve harem.
Father Shi was partially responsible for this. The original host was young when his family found a chance to elevate themselves from the merchant cla.s.s. As a result, his father tried his best to emulate the aristocratic families he had heard about in pa.s.sing and instill in the original host their values.
For example, how men shouldn’t take any concubines before they wed a legal wife or have any concubine-born sons or daughters, etc.
Even though Crane City hadn’t had aristocratic families for quite some time, since they died out in the chaos of the current era, that didn’t stop Father Shi from wanting to become one.
As a result, Shi family’s only young master was given a room full of pretty girls as his concubines-to-be.
But it was unlikely any of them would become one.
Shi Qing recalled a brief description from the original plotline. When Jiang Bieyu returned to Crane City and inquired about the young master of the Shi family, he discovered that this person had become a laughingstock. Apparently, he tried to take the maidservants a.s.signed to his courtyard as concubines, but all of them just wanted to be his maidservants. They saw him only as their master and nothing else.
The young master felt humiliated and took two of them by force. However, he didn’t expect them to both be rather headstrong. After being violated and told that they would be sold to a brothel if they didn’t comply with the young master, they decided to jump into a well together.
After that, the incident became a joke.
A youthful young master whose maids would rather die than become his concubines…just how lackl.u.s.tre a person did he have to be?
The original plotline didn’t describe this part in too much detail. It was purely meant to show how depraved a villain the Shi family young master was. In addition, the original host’s memories were too vague for Shi Qing to figure out which two maidservants in this courtyard were the unlucky ones.
He tried to look for them, intending to find a good home for these two maidservants so they could be legitimate wives of their own households this time around.
They were right to be humiliated by the original host’s offer. Why would a proper girl agree to be a concubine, who were even worse off than slaves?
While he was trying to identify the two unluckiest blossoms from the veritable sea of beautiful flowers, Jiang Bieyu walked in.
He was actually in a pretty good mood. Although his face remained expressionless, his eyebrows were very much relaxed.
But as soon as the man entered the room, his relaxed brows furrowed.
After all, from Jiang Bieyu’s point of view, it looked like the little master on the bed was staring at the exposed necks of his hard working maidservants with impure intentions.
What’s more, he would change his target once in a while.
So lecherous at such a young age…
Jiang Bieyu walked to the bed without saying a word. Like a fearsome tiger on the prowl, he silently and stealthily observed the pet.i.te little master before him.
Actually, Jiang Bieyu could’ve guessed already that Shi Qing was lecherous.
After all, back when he was in the Jiang family, even Jiang Liye’s courtyard didn’t have so many beautiful maidservants stationed there. Especially not girls that were each as delicate as a flower and as gentle as water, calling their master affectionately with every other word.
No wonder they had shied away from him and towards Shi Qing earlier.
If a man suddenly came into a room full of beautiful maidservants, of course they would be uncomfortable.
Jiang Bieyu was deep in his thoughts when he heard the little master on the bed suddenly click his tongue. Then he was kicked in the leg.
“Where are your eyes looking?”
The man couldn’t react in time. He unconsciously turned to look at Shi Qing, only to see that the little master’s face was full of dissatisfaction. The look he gave Jiang Bieyu was not as fond as before. It was tainted by traces of animosity.
“Jiang Bieyu, why are you looking at the maidservants in my room?”
Jiang Bieyu took in Shi Qing’s hostile gaze. Only then did he realise that he might have misunderstood something.
Was this person so protective of his prey?
Did a few glances really merit such a drastic reaction?
There was an inexplicable sense of unhappiness brewing in the man’s heart, but thankfully he knew he was not in a position to retaliate for now. Jiang Bieyu lowered his eyes to hide his displeasure.
His voice was still as gravelly and deep as ever. “I wasn’t.”
“Still not admitting to it? Do you think that my eyes are just for show?” The little master glared with renewed intensity and kicked him again.
His strength was still so lacking and his foot so soft that Jiang Bieyu had to take a second to think about whether he should cooperate and fall so that Shi Qing could vent his anger.
So he followed the direction of the kick and fell to the floor.
Jiang Bieyu’s body was very well built. Although he didn’t get to eat very well, he was still pretty good looking and muscular to boot. A heavy thud could be heard as he hit the ground.
—Boom!
Shi Qing should be satisfied with this, right?
Jiang Bieyu looked back silently, only to be surprised.
He saw how stunned the little master seemed to be, and how he clutched at his chest for a while before reacting. Traces of fright still lingered on that fair and tender face.
Then Shi Qing braced himself with his arms and went for another kick.
His voice was still as petulant as ever, “Why did you fall so loudly, you nearly scared me to death! All your good looks are wasted on that empty head of yours!”
“Get up already! Are you trying to get in the way of others? Why did someone as strong looking as you topple over from a single kick? Ugh, you’re so useless.”
Shi Qing snorted coldly in contempt, glancing down at Jiang Bieyu from above. He acted quite righteous as he scolded the man, as if the fact that he jumped at the noise of the man’s fall could be obscured this way.
Jiang Bieyu was silent again. He made a mental note not to fall to the ground the next time he was kicked.
The little master kicked him a few more times to vent his anger.
This time, when the soft soles of those feet hit him, Jiang Bieyu learned his lesson and didn’t fake a fall again.
He silently let the little master kick him.
All his ears could hear was that arrogant little voice. “I’m warning you, don’t try anything with the people of my courtyard. They all accompanied me here from Jiangnan and served me since I was a child. I can’t even bear to make them do heavy labour since they’re all as beautiful as flower blossoms.”
“All of them will marry into proper families as the main wife in the future. Someone like you who’s going to sign an indenturement contract and doesn’t know when his next meal will be should know your place.”
Shi Qing gave a disdainful hum in his soft Jiangnan voice. He huffed like an old father who was marrying off his daughter.
“You’re not good enough for them.”
Jiang Bieyu raised his head slightly to look at the little master in front of him, who was looking very proud for some reason. He also noticed how the previously softly chattering maidservants in the room had gone silent after Shi Qing’s declaration.
His eyes darkened.
In a hoa.r.s.e, unpleasant voice, he asked quietly, “They are all from your courtyard, so aren’t you going to take them as your concubines?”
“I might as well take in your big head.” The little master got angry and threw a nearby pillow at the man standing in front of him.
“This young master is warning you, don’t say such words again. If their pure reputations are ruined because of your carelessness, I’m going to skin you alive!”
The threat would’ve been effective, had it not been for Shi Qing’s soft, coquettish accent.
Jiang Bieyu naturally didn’t consider those words much of a threat.
He only directed a strange look at the angry Shi Qing, who looked as if he was an old hen defending his chicks. This little master confused him.
Weren’t all the young masters of Crane City like this? Most of the maidservants serving in their courtyards were like a sort of reserve harem that they would promote to tongfang or concubine once a legal wife was found.
Jiang Liye was also like this. Before he took Shi Qing’s sister as a wife, he already had seven or eight tongfangs. Now, not counting the ones that weren’t even given a t.i.tle, he already had almost thirty women in his harem.
But Shi Qing apparently followed a different school of thought. According to him, he was not going to take in any of these beautiful young women.
Jiang Bieyu was inexplicably relieved to hear this.
He decided to uncharacteristically explain himself, “I don’t mean anything else by that. It’s just that other people in Crane City do it.”
“Do I have to do what they do?”
Seeing that he had backed off, Shi Qing’s anger also faded slightly. He lifted his chin and dangled his legs off the bed, gesturing for Jiang Bieyu to come and ma.s.sage them. He grumbled in that soft Jiangnan accent of his,
“They’ve served me for more than ten years, we practically grew up together! How can I bear to imprison them in this small courtyard, where their children will not even be able to call them mother?”
“Just wait, when this young master takes over the shops, I’ll earn enough money to send them off with a good dowry each. After all, them having enough face reflects well on me.”
These words made the girls’ eyes become misty.
They were bought into the family like goods. It was their duty to serve their masters to the best of their abilities.
But growing up in this household, they had witnessed many of Father Shi’s concubines crammed into a tiny courtyard. The pitiful sight made them wish for a better fate for themselves. They would all rather marry into a common family than become a concubine.
Actually, the maidservants were all secretly worried that Qing-er would have thoughts of that kind when he grew up. His surprising words blindsided them.
The maidservants didn’t know how to express the grat.i.tude in their hearts through words, so they could only continue to work hard on the clothes.
Jiang Bieyu, however, gave Shi Qing a complicated look. He thought of his own aunt.
If she had a choice, she wouldn’t want to live like that either.
He didn’t expect that Shi Qing, who seemed to be a dandy, actually had thoughts like these in his head.
He was not a lecher at all.
The little master who was lying down suddenly jerked upright like he thought of something. He reached out with a fair and tender hand to touch the chest of the man.
He also patted it a few times.
Jiang Bieyu: “…”
The little master savoured the sensation. He raised his chin at the other in a condescending and proud manner.
“Not bad, not bad. From now on, you’ll be my boytoy. Remember that.”
Jiang Bieyu, who was born tall and strong, and was more than a head taller than Shi Qing: “…”
Him?
A boytoy???