Chapter 7: Chapter 7
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the middle of their conversation, a piercing scream was heard outside, followed by a high-pitched voice that roared, “Good job you pathetic slaves. How dare you steal? Don’t you want to live?”
Lin Xi frowned and took a step towards the door. Zhi Xiang pulled her back and whispered, “Leave from the back door, quick! No one can see you here. The fourth young master will kill you.”
“I…”
“Leave, quick!”
No one could believe that such a dilapidated hut would have a back door to it. When Lin Xi pushed open the door, Zhi Xiang held her arm and said very seriously, “No matter what happens, don’t come back.” After which she rushed out of the door.
Cries of pain and the cracks of the whip sounded simultaneously. A woman with a fat belly swung her arms and roared viciously, “Weren’t these the daughters of the wealthy Jing family back in the day? Who could have imagined they would stoop down to this state today. Your sisters are wh.o.r.es on Shi Hua Lane, and here you are being thieves. What a family of despicable sc.u.m.”
“Lady Song, we know that we were wrong. We won’t dare do it again.” Zhi Xiang put herself between the woman and children, suffering lashes to her face and covering it with wounds and blood. She kneeled and pulled at the edge of the woman’s skirt, crying for forgiveness. “We won’t dare do it again.”
“Finally realized your mistake? You guys seem to have a better memory after being whipped.”
The lashes of the whip landed mercilessly on the bodies of the children. Xiao Qi, whose hair was tied into two ponytails, had already been injured and could no longer stand the pain. After a few lashes, her eyes rolled back into her head and she pa.s.sed out. The other children instantly started to wail, but the woman was enjoying herself, striking harder with each hit. With a cry, she raised her whip once again.
There was a swoosh, but no cries were heard. Lady Song looked down to see a little girl with tattered clothes in front of her. Though she was skinny, her gaze was cold and stern. Her blackened hands were tightly grabbing onto the other end of the whip. She said with a deadly tone, “Enough.”
Lady Song raged and howled, “Hey girl, are you looking for trouble?”
“Yue Er, Yue Er, release your hand!” Zhi Xiang crawled over and tugged at Chu Qiao’s clothes. She cried and said, “Quickly, beg Lady Song for forgiveness!”
Chu Qiao did not waver and continued glowering at the woman. With a chilly tone, she said, “Try hitting them one more time.”
Lady Song raised her eyebrows and roared, “I won’t hit them, I’ll hit you!” After finishing her sentence, she raised her whip and swung it with all her might. Chu Qiao laughed mockingly, grabbed the woman’s belt, and tripped her, causing her fat body to land heavily on the ground.
Cries of cheer erupted from the children as Chu Qiao sauntered over to the woman. She bent down and smirked, “Not coming back to complain?”
Lady Song sprung to her feet and shouted, “Just you wait!” Then, she sprinted out of the yard.
Zhi Xiang ran forward worriedly, her anxiousness causing tears to pool in her eyes. She said, “Yue Er, you’ve caused a big problem. What do we do now?”
“Look after them,” she instructed and ran out after the woman.
She had already memorized the route when she was being brought to the hut. After turning two corners, she saw the woman hurriedly running across the stone bridge. Due to her immense size, she started to pant after just a short distance.
Chu Qiao crouched down in the bushes. She surveyed her surroundings carefully, checking that the coast was clear. She picked up a stone and squinted, aiming the stone right at the woman before throwing it with all her might.
With a thud, the stone landed forcefully onto Lady Song’s ankle. With a surprised cry, she slipped and fell off the bridge.
It was already the middle of winter, and the surface of the lake was covered with a thick layer of ice. Her fall did not shatter it, causing her to lay spread eagle on top of it, where she moaned in agony.
Chu Qiao emerged from the bushes and walked leisurely towards the bridge, looking down to where the woman was lying. She yelled, “Hey, do you need me to get help?”
The woman turned and her tone instantly changed. In a friendly tone, she said, “Good girl. Would you quickly get help for me? This hurts so badly.”
Chu Qiao laughed. With a bright smile, she bent down and picked up a ma.s.sive rock, lifting it over her head with all her might.
Seeing that, the woman’s face paled. She stuttered, “You… what are you doing?”
Not allowing the woman to cry for help, she released her hands and the ma.s.sive rock smashed the layer of ice, cracking it instantly. With a cry of shock, the woman was engulfed in the icy water, sinking to the bottom of the lake and leaving merely a few bubbles on the surface.
Chu Qiao stood on the bridge, looking calm and composed with an unchanging expression.
This was a savage world. To survive, a person had to eliminate their predators in one fell swoop.
Without a tinge of regret, she turned and retraced her steps. As she stepped into the yard, the children rushed towards her, all wounded and teary-eyed. Chu Qiao reached out to embrace Xiao Qi, who had just regained consciousness and was right in front of her. With a deep breath, she whispered, “Don’t be afraid, everything is fine now.”
In this slave yard, which housed the lowest cla.s.s of slaves of the Zhuge household, the young female slaves lived the lives of animals. They could no longer hold back their tears, crying their sorrows away.
When dinnertime came, the granny that was in charge of the Jing family’s children ordered them to work. Even the wounded children like Xiao Qi and Zhi Xiang had to. Only Chu Qiao and Xiao Ba, who had injured his waist and was fast asleep, remained in the hut. It was not until midnight that the other children returned exhausted from work. After finishing their dinner, the children obediently climbed into bed. Zhi Xiang crouched at the side of the bed-stove, adding firewood to keep the fire burning. The scars on her face were red and swollen, as though they were tiny snakes.
There was pin drop silence within the hut, and soon the slow breaths of children in deep sleep filled the room. Dressed in the clothes that Zhi Xiang had just given her, she sat up and whispered, “If you do not treat the wounds on your face, there will be scars.”
The flames within the bed-stove glowed, brightening her face. She was so skinny, making her eyes seem bigger and darker. She raised her head and said, “Yue Er, slaves aren’t supposed to use medicine. The last time Xiao Qi secretly used the medicine Lin Xi brought, we did not know the risk that we were taking. If it had been discovered, everyone could have lost their lives. We can’t mess around with the wounds on my face.”
While saying that, a sound was heard from above the stove. Both of them turned their heads, and realized that it was Xiao Qi who had kicked away her blanket in her sleep. Zhi Xiang rushed forward and covered Xiao Qi with her blanket. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she returned to man the fire.
Chu Qiao looked at Zhi Xiang and her lips trembled, but she did not say a word. This child was barely ten years old but had to shoulder such huge responsibilities. All the children in this hut were between five to ten years old. Why would the wealthy Zhuge family need so many children of this age?
“Sister Zhi Xiang,” Chu Qiao whispered while getting off the bed-stove. Sitting beside Zhi Xiang, she continued, “Have you been to Jiang Nan?”
“Jiang Nan?” Zhi Xiang’s brows furrowed. “Where is Jiang Nan?”
“Do you know where the Yellow Mountain is? Or the Yangtze River?”
Zhi Xiang shook her head and answered, “I know that on the west bank of the Hong River lies the Hong Mountain, and beneath the Hong Mountain there is the Cang Li River. Yue Er, why do you ask?”
Chu Qiao seemed to be in a daze and was deep in thought for a while. She shook her head and said, “It’s nothing, I just wanted to ask. Oh, by the way, Sister Zhi Xiang, do you know who the current emperor is?”
“The emperor is the emperor. How could we call the emperor by his name? But I do know that the Royal Highness that is always dressed in black and frequents the Zhuge household is the emperor’s seventh son, Zhao Che. He is the youngest prince in the Xia Empire to be named king.”
That cold emotionless appearance with a scornful expression flashed through her mind. Her eyes narrowed and she repeated, “Zhao Che?”
“Yue Er, what happened to you? You seemed weird when you returned. What did you say to Lady Song? How could she let us off just like that?”
Chu Qiao turned and grinned. She said, “I’m fine, don’t worry. Lady Song did not let us off, but she fell into the icy lake and drowned. I saw her drowning with my own eyes. Regarding the matter of Lady Song coming here, do not mention it to anyone.”
“She died?” Zhi Xiang gasped as her face paled.
Chu Qiao covered her mouth quickly, looking around. Seeing that none of the children had woken up, she said seriously, “No one knows about this except for you and me. Don’t tell anyone else. She has an evil heart, so there are plenty of reasons for her to die. But she is already dead, and you need not worry anymore.”
“Yue… Yue Er,” Zhi Xiang stuttered. “You… you did not kill her, right? She fell into the lake by herself, right? Her… her son is the consular guard of the court. We cannot afford to offend him.”
Chu Qiao laughed and pointed to herself. “Do you think I would be capable of killing her? Okay, you have to stop thinking so much. She committed so many bad deeds that even if no one killed her, G.o.d would have taken it into his own hands. You’ve had a tiring day. You should rest.”
Zhi Xiang shook her head furiously. “No, I have to keep the fire going.”
“I can do it. I’m injured and can laze around tomorrow. Go and rest.”
Chu Qiao sat quietly on a small stool, adding firewood once into a while into the fire. The flames crackled while they burned, illuminating her face with a bright red glow. She raised her head to look at the children in the hut, and her heart ached. Such a pity, but what could she do? She had mysteriously been brought to this era and was trapped in the tiny body of Jing Yue Er, losing all her martial arts skills and being of such a lowly cla.s.s. She could barely take care of herself, how could she take care of others? The things she had done today were to return the favor of Lin Xi delivering food to her for the past three days. After this, she had to leave immediately.
Chu Qiao gradually closed her eyes. She knew that whatever she did, there would always be a limit to her capabilities. But in her current state, she did not have the ability to shoulder such a huge burden.
The rooster cried as dawn broke. The Jing family children woke up on time and put on their servant’s clothes, preparing for the rest of the day.
Although she had lost her well-trained skills, she was still clear minded. Chu Qiao was no longer the super agent from the 9th operational division, but she had still gone through professional military training. The Zhuge household was vast with many people living in it, but for a tiny eight-year-old child with exceptional logical reasoning and a concept of s.p.a.ce, it still seemed like a defenseless playground.
Within half an hour, she crept out of the slave yard and walked towards the front garden. Its defenses began to grow more stringent, and guards armed with knives could be seen patrolling the grounds.The Zhuge family was not an ordinary household, as Zhuge Huai could call Zhao Jue, Zhao Che, and the other members of the royal family his brothers.
Standing tall, her small body looked like a tiny tree. Chu Qiao straightened her clothes and stepped out with confidence.
“Stop! Are you looking for trouble? Do you think this a place where you can roam around wherever you like?”
A tall soldier with a large figure walked up to her, his face chubby and overweight. Chu Qiao froze in her steps and looked up, her fair, cute features coupled with dark, watery eyes. She said in a sugary tone, “Oh, elder brother, I have orders from the old master to go to his outer quarters. From what I heard, if I’m not there within the hour, they’ll kill me.”