Chapter 19 A Fight Breaks Out

“Exactly! We in Luoyan Lane wouldn’t dare to accept such a lowly person from a brothel.” Uncle Wang’s anger infected those behind him, and everyone chimed in.

Even Yang Shu spoke with a troubled expression: “Su girl, it’s not that we’re deliberately making things difficult for you. We old folks don’t mind, but we have to consider our children’s reputation. Xie Yi… we’ve heard that he has the word ‘lust’ branded on his chest. This is a cruel punishment only given to those who commit grave sins like adultery. How dare you keep such a person by your side?”

“Yes, Su girl, you usually seem like such an honest child. How did you get so infatuated with this little harlot?”

“It’s best to drive away this kind of indecent, self-disrespecting man as soon as possible! Keep him by your side, and he’ll eventually cuckold you.”

Su Mu looked at the men crowding the courtyard, their eyes fixed on Xie Yi as if staring at an enemy.

She didn’t understand how the news had leaked, but seeing that Xie Yi had incurred everyone’s wrath, she had to quickly calm things down.

“I have my own judgment on this matter. Please return home for now, and I will give everyone an explanation.”

“What explanation! I think you just want to protect this little slut!” Uncle Wang, seeing how Su Mu held Xie Yi tightly in her arms, was reminded of his wife-master and shouted in fury.

“Oh, Su girl, why are you taking such abuse for this man? He’s not worth it!” Yang Shu played the good guy on the side, advising earnestly: “It’s fortunate that only a few neighbors in our lane know about this. If others found out, wouldn’t they skin him alive? Listen to Uncle Yang’s advice. You’re not protecting him like this, you’re harming him. If you really want what’s best for him, quickly find a slave trader and sell him to some other place.”

Don’t… don’t sell him again.

Xie Yi heard this and felt a chill in his heart. He had no idea what was happening; suddenly, everyone’s accusations were directed at him.

Was it because of the branding? What did ‘lust’ mean? Why did everyone look at him with contempt when mentioning this word?

What about Su Mu? Xie Yi’s heart suddenly tightened. Would she look at him with such eyes too?

Just thinking about Su Mu’s eyes, which always rippled with gentleness when looking at him, suddenly becoming cold and distant, he felt a bone-deep chill. Even in Su Mu’s warm embrace, it was like falling into an icy cave in the depths of winter.

He could endure the contempt of the whole world, but he couldn’t bear even the slightest coldness in Su Mu’s gaze. Just the thought of it made him shiver in pain.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at her eyes, but his fingers humbly clung to her sleeve, unwilling to let go. Su Mu, Su Mu.

“Uncle Yang is right. I happen to know a slave trader. Let’s sell this slut right now!” Uncle Wang said.

“No, Sister Mu, don’t sell me.” Xie Yi desperately pulled at Su Mu’s sleeve.

“You little slut, you have no right to speak!” Uncle Wang raised his hand towards him.

Su Mu held Xie Yi tightly and firmly grasped Uncle Wang’s wrist, saying coldly: “Xie Yi is my person. It’s not your place to beat or sell him.”

Uncle Wang was stunned for a moment, then reluctantly withdrew his hand. However, he quickly reacted: “Hmph, although he’s your person, he’s now living in our Luoyan Lane. Today, you must drive him away to give us all an explanation.”

“I said, please return home first. I will give everyone an explanation about this matter,” Su Mu said coldly.

“…It’d better be so.” Uncle Wang conferred with those around him. After all, Xie Yi now had Su Mu’s protection, and they couldn’t force the issue. They could go back first, give her a day’s time. If they didn’t hear news of Su Mu selling Xie Yi by today, they could come back to demand an explanation later.

The crowd began to disperse.

Su Mu looked down at Xie Yi, whose face was as pale as paper, and couldn’t help but feel heartache.

It wasn’t his fault that he was branded, yet he had to bear all these insults.

“Sister Mu, don’t abandon me.” Xie Yi clung tightly to her sleeve, refusing to let go. His bloodless lips mumbled, trembling.

Su Mu held him in her arms, patting his back reassuringly: “Don’t be afraid, I won’t sell you.”

“Really?” His heart, which had felt like it was falling into an icy cave, finally felt warmth. A glimmer of hope suddenly arose in Xie Yi’s desperate eyes. His deep green eyes were filled entirely with her reflection, unable to accommodate anything else.

“Mm.” Su Mu smiled gently.

Thank goodness, thank goodness! Xie Yi embraced Su Mu without restraint, his ten fingers tightly gripping her waistband, wishing he could embed himself into her flesh and become one with her.

She still wanted him, she hadn’t abandoned him! Hot tears immediately filled his eyes, his heart came back to life, beating wildly, violently pounding against his chest, hurting from the frenzied beating.

Su Mu tenderly stroked his disheveled long hair. The high ponytail had already been undone by Uncle Wang, hanging loosely, looking as if he had been ravished.

Su Mu knew about Uncle Wang’s family affairs and roughly understood that he had been so harsh, mostly to vent his personal frustrations. When men deal with men, they absolutely won’t show mercy.

Su Mu had once seen a husband’s furious and crazed appearance when he caught a widower having an affair with his wife-master. Pulling hair, scratching faces with nails to disfigure—it was just short of stripping the widower’s clothes off for public humiliation.

However, the widower’s fate wasn’t much better in the end. His wife-master had died, and his sisters at home, hearing of his scandalous affair, were too ashamed to help and directly drowned him in a pond.

Having witnessed the hair-pulling capabilities of women in this world of female supremacy, Su Mu inserted her slender fingers into Xie Yi’s hair, gently massaging his head, and asked softly: “Does it hurt?”

Xie Yi buried his head in Su Mu’s embrace: “It doesn’t hurt.”

It was a lie that it didn’t hurt. He was in agony, feeling as if his scalp was about to be torn apart, with a large handful of hair pulled out. But he had to say this, only by saying this could he make Su Mu pity him more.

“How could it not hurt? I saw Uncle Wang being so rough,” Su Mu said, slightly furrowing her brow.

Xie Yi in her arms slightly curled his lips: “Actually, it does hurt a little. Sister Mu… could you rub it for me?”

“Alright.” Su Mu rubbed a few more times.

The gentle force of her fingers in his hair eased his pain. Xie Yi’s face was still buried in Su Mu’s embrace, her soft long hair falling on his cheeks, with a faint fresh fragrance… Xie Yi’s face turned as red as if drunk, his hands gripping her sleeves even tighter, unwilling to let go.

“That’s enough.” After rubbing for quite a while, Su Mu released her hands.

Xie Yi felt disappointed in his heart but couldn’t show it.

“Sister Mu, why do they all dislike me? Did I do something wrong?”

Su Mu shook her head: “You didn’t do anything wrong.” What wrong had he done? Being kidnapped by slave traders, sold to Scholar Li’s household, and then being humiliated like this by Scholar Li’s husband.

“But they mentioned branding. Is branding a very bad thing? And what does ‘lust’ mean?” Xie Yi asked.

Su Mu was speechless, not knowing how to explain it to him for a moment, and more importantly, she didn’t dare to.

Branding the word ‘lust’ on the chest was simply the most vicious form of humiliation. Even male prostitutes in brothels wouldn’t receive such treatment. No decent man could bear it, let alone Xie Yi, a pure and innocent young man. If he knew the true meaning of this word… Su Mu dared not imagine the consequences.

After some thought, Su Mu covered up: “It’s just evidence of your servitude, that’s why they want to drive you away. But don’t worry, I’ll resolve this matter for you.”

Although she didn’t understand why the news had spread so quickly, she knew that there was only one person who could resolve this issue—Scholar Li’s husband.

Su Mu had lived in this world for many years and was quite familiar with social rules. Generally, when servants made mistakes, the master’s family would either beat them, punish them, or sell them off.

Even for servants who seduced their masters, this kind of punishment would rarely be used, after all, even brothel madams wouldn’t do such a thing.

If this matter spread, Scholar Li’s husband’s reputation would also be affected. The labels of being jealous and vicious would be hard to shake off.

Men have always taken pride in being virtuous and gentle, and considered being a jealous or poisonous husband shameful.

Moreover, Juancheng was just this small, and there were only a few noble families. If Scholar Li’s husband’s reputation was ruined, it would be difficult for those younger brothers from the maiden family to arrange marriages in the future.

Furthermore, Scholar Li would inevitably be mocked by his classmates and friends for marrying such a vicious tigress. The already not-so-intimate relationship between husband and wife would worsen, and there might even be the possibility of using this as leverage to bring in a few small attendants into the family. The days ahead would certainly be lively.

So Su Mu immediately went to visit Scholar Li’s house and met with Scholar Li’s husband to explain her purpose.

Upon hearing this, Scholar Li’s husband was immediately frightened. At that time, he was truly driven mad with jealousy towards Xie Yi, which led to his momentary impulse to do such a thing. Thinking about it now, he deeply regretted it, which was why he casually found someone to sell Xie Yi off cheaply.

He had thought that Su Mu looked gentle and quiet, and probably wouldn’t spread this matter and embarrass him, so he had swallowed this bitter pill. He didn’t expect the news to leak from his own household.

“This… Miss Su, what should we do?” Scholar Li’s husband was in a panic.

“Given the circumstances, I request that Master Li come with me to clarify in front of my neighbors that you did not brand Xie Yi, to protect both your and Xie Yi’s reputations.”

Scholar Li’s husband was shocked: “Miss, you… you’re not going to pursue this matter?”

Su Mu didn’t answer, instead saying directly: “Is that clear, Master Li?”

“…Alright, alright.” Scholar Li’s husband hurriedly found a few servants to accompany them.

Su Mu followed behind him. Of course, she would pursue the matter, but not now. Protecting Xie Yi’s reputation was the most urgent task.

On the banks of Huayue Lake, a thin mist hung, with endless views of water and sky.

Yan Jiyue wore a light white robe, with a brilliantly red camellia embroidered at the end of his sleeves. His expression was cold and arrogant, keeping people at a thousand miles’ distance, yet attracting countless women to stop and stare.

“Young master, the pleasure boat will arrive soon. Yan Zhujun has invited the Zhou family’s master and his young daughter to join the lake tour. The master reminds you to be on your best behavior,” Ling Hua said softly beside him.

Yan Jiyue didn’t answer, only coldly gazing at the lake surface.

Ling Hua looked at Yan Jiyue, feeling pity in his heart.

Before Yan Jiyue was married, there wasn’t a single unmarried man in the household, or even in the whole city, who didn’t envy him—envious of his beauty, his family background, the love he received.

But now as Ling Hua looked at him, he only felt sorry, and a bit of twisted satisfaction.

“Young master.” Xiao Ping hurriedly ran to his side.

Ling Hua frowned: “What kind of manner is this shouting?”

Xiao Ping stood timidly beside Yan Jiyue.

“What is it?”

Xiao Ping trembled and glanced at Ling Hua, then excitedly whispered in Yan Jiyue’s ear: “There’s a commotion in Luoyan Lane.”