Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Another male slave immediately chimed in, "Right, a convicted slave from the slave camp—he thinks that just because he has a pretty face, he can climb to the top overnight the moment he arrives at the Gu family."

Square-face: "Exactly, does he really think a man can marry into the Gu household with his looks? Men can't have children, and the Gu family is a household of such standing—how could they possibly want a horse slave?"

The group burst into laughter, though it was unclear what was so funny about their words.

Xie Licheng understood in his heart that they had no grudge against the original body's owner. Their sarcastic remarks and mockery were mainly to curry favor with the young master.

Servants in these big households were masters at sucking up to those above and trampling those below. Seeing that the young master, Gu Tinghe, deeply despised the original owner, they joined in bullying him to win favor.

Their current behavior was very much like the bullying and ostracism found in schools.

Xie Licheng had experienced such things countless times from childhood in his past life, and he was used to it by now.

He didn't care what others said about him. As long as they didn't lay hands on him, he could ignore everything.

What was the point of picking fights or showing off now?

The turbulent times were approaching, and the region of Lingzhou would be among the first to descend into chaos.

Once the protection of the Gu family was gone, none of these servants would meet a good end.

Besides, his injuries were severe, and his health points had barely stabilized above twenty. He didn't want to get into a fight with them at this moment.

But while he was unwilling to clash with them, they had no intention of letting him off. A short male slave brazenly approached him.

The man held a cup of water and, right in front of Xie Licheng, poured it directly onto his bedding.

Xie Licheng glanced at the wet blanket and asked in a flat tone, "Do you want to die?"

The short male slave, far from being afraid, found it amusing and repeated his words.

"Hahaha, what did he say? He's asking if I want to die—does he think he can kill me?"

Square-face: "Hahaha, I think he's the one who wants to die."

With that, they all surrounded Xie Licheng. He let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

He truly didn't want to fight right now. He could have just endured this and let it pass.

Wasn't it just a bit of bullying and exclusion?

But seeing how they were getting too cocky, he—who hadn't been bullied like this in a long time—couldn't help but reveal his true colors.

Forget it, forget it.

It seemed he couldn't keep this identity for now, so before leaving, he might as well slaughter them all.

Let them learn the harshness of this world—that decent people can't be pushed around.

As Xie Licheng thought this, he secretly pulled a dagger from his storage space.

Just as they were shoving him around and he was about to strike with the dagger, a voice sounded from outside their side courtyard.

The speaker was a young maidservant named Xuancui, from the eldest young master's household.

The eldest young master was also a male consort, and his attendants were all women or male consorts.

Only when he went out did he bring a few male guards for protection.

When the eldest young master had seen Xie Licheng earlier that day, Xie Licheng had looked half-dead.

He worried that the physician he'd hired might not be skilled enough and that the man might die by accident. Feeling a bit uneasy, he sent Xuancui to come check on him in person.

The Gu family's old mansion was vast, and walking from the inner quarters to the outer courtyard took considerable time.

Xuancui was a maidservant from the inner quarters. Though she was also a servant, her treatment was vastly different from the low-ranking slaves here.

Xuancui wore a pink spring outfit, adorned with pearl and jade ornaments and jade bangles. She looked nothing like a maid, but rather like a rich family's daughter.

Xuancui entered and asked, "Where's that horse slave?"

She hadn't come alone; a coarse servant woman accompanied her.

The woman lowered her head and replied, "He should be in this courtyard. Don't worry, Miss Xuancui, I'll ask around for you."

With that, she hurried off to knock on the door of the courtyard manager's quarters.

This side courtyard had seven rooms in total, four of which were large communal sleeping areas for the low-ranking slaves.

Of the remaining three, one was for Manager Xu, who lived alone in a room with a small adjoining room.

Hearing the sudden knock, Manager Xu quickly came out of his room.

He opened the door and saw the coarse servant woman from the outer courtyard. He was about to ask why she was here when he looked up and spotted Miss Xuancui standing in the yard.

Manager Xu hurried over with a bow. "Oh, Miss Xuancui, what brings you here? Does the eldest young master have any instructions?"

Xuancui didn't even glance at him and asked impatiently, "Where's that horse slave the young master beat today? The eldest young master is kind-hearted and, after seeing his miserable state this afternoon, was concerned about his condition."

Manager Xu said "hold on" and headed toward one of the rooms.

The room he entered was the very shared quarters where Xie Licheng and the others slept.

By the time he came in, the group surrounding Xie Licheng had already dispersed.

Everyone was each doing their own thing, as if nothing had happened.

Manager Xu looked over Xie Licheng's condition but didn't notice that his blanket was wet.

Seeing that Xie Licheng could still stand and seemed fine, he turned to leave and report back to Xuancui.

But before he could turn around, Xie Licheng deliberately laid out his blanket and patted the wet spot.

Manager Xu noticed the damp blanket and looked up at the others in the room with mild displeasure.

He muttered in a low voice, "Not a single one of you is trouble-free—always making trouble for me."

His words were aimed not only at those who had bullied Xie Licheng but also at Xie Licheng himself for being troublesome.

Manager Xu was an old-timer in the Gu family, having dealt with the lowest-ranking slaves all his life. He'd dealt with all sorts of people.

When Xie Licheng deliberately patted the blanket, Manager Xu understood his intention—likely hoping to use the eldest young master's kindness to have him back him up.

In Manager Xu's eyes, even if Xie Licheng was seeking fairness for himself, his actions only added to Manager Xu's troubles, so he naturally didn't think highly of Xie Licheng either.

However, despite his displeasure, with Miss Xuan Cui waiting outside, he dared not pretend he hadn't seen anything.

Soon, Steward Xu exited the room.

Steward Xu replied, "Rest assured, Miss Xuan Cui, his health is fine. Nothing will happen to him."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Cui glanced at him and then lowered her voice, saying, "He must not die, or the Eldest Young Master will be upset."

Steward Xu was startled, then bent toward Xuan Cui and whispered, "I understand."

The Eldest Young Master didn't say much, only instructing Xuan Cui to come and check, as he was worried the horse slave might die.

But having served the Eldest Young Master for years, Xuan Cui understood his temperament better than anyone.

The Eldest Young Master was indeed kind-hearted, but his kindness only went as far as calling a doctor for a servant.

The young master had already called for a physician earlier, and that should have been the end of it.

Yet, not long ago, the Eldest Young Master suddenly asked her to come personally.

Xuan Cui thought the Eldest Young Master was treating the horse slave a bit unusually, which was why she'd just dropped a hint to Steward Xu.

Afterward, Xuan Cui left with the old woman. Steward Xu watched them leave, then went back to the room where Xie Licheng and the others were.

Recalling Xuan Cui's words about not letting the man die, he said to Xie Licheng, who was still standing there dazed, "You, bring your things and follow me."

Xie Licheng nodded, looking completely meek and honest.

He packed up quickly; the original owner didn't have much to pack.

Just a bedroll, two sets of clothes, and a pair of shoes—nothing else.

Xie Licheng tied up his stuff and limped after Steward Xu.

Watching Xie Licheng's retreating figure, the square-faced man said, incredulous, "He... when did he catch the Eldest Young Master's attention?"

None of the other male slaves dared to say a word, for compared to the hot-tempered Young Master, they were more afraid of the Eldest Young Master.

The Gu family's eldest branch had three sons: the Eldest Young Master, Gu Zhangyuan, and the Young Master, Gu Tinghe—both were male offspring meant to be married off.

By tradition, these young masters were supposed to marry out.

But the eldest branch's situation was unique: the only male child, the Second Young Master, was born with an eye condition.

To treat his ailment, the wife of the eldest branch had taken the Second Young Master on long trips to seek medical treatment.

With his condition, the Second Young Master couldn't carry on the family's legacy. The remaining Young Master was also very spoiled and willful, so the Eldest Young Master was singled out by the family head and raised like a boy from a young age.

Because of this, the Eldest Young Master's word was law.

He seemed gentle, easygoing, and kind.

But at the same time, he had no tolerance for nonsense; anything he didn't like simply couldn't exist in the Gu household.

Now that the horse slave had caught the Eldest Young Master's attention, they couldn't treat him the way they used to.

They couldn't bully him just to curry favor with the Young Master, or if the Eldest Young Master found out, they'd all be kicked out of the Gu family.

Xie Licheng followed Steward Xu to the stables, which were full of horses and stank.

But there was one upside: there was an empty room here, and it was quieter than other places.

Since Xie Licheng was badly hurt and the Eldest Young Master had said he couldn't die, he needed a quiet place to heal.

The place was dirty, messy, and stank to high heaven.

The Young Master wouldn't come here himself, so if he hid Xie Licheng here, he wouldn't have to worry about the Young Master coming to grab him.

Steward Xu was in a tough spot—on one hand, the Young Master he couldn't offend, who was dead set on torturing the horse slave to death; on the other, the Eldest Young Master he dared cross even less, who seemed just as determined to keep the man alive.

Steward Xu was genuinely terrified of these half-brothers.

To stay out of trouble, he'd just park the man here.

If the horse slave managed to die even hiding here, then it really wasn't Steward Xu's problem.

"Alright, you'll stay here from now on. Get yourself healed up properly, and I'll give you other work later."

Xie Licheng said thanks at that, waited until Steward Xu had left the stables, then headed to the empty room.

This yard was for keeping horses, and it wasn't completely empty of people.

There was a male slave with a limp who kept watch at the gate outside the yard.

During the day, people came to tend the horses, so it wasn't as ideal for recovery as one might hope.

But thinking about how the original owner was a lowly, base slave, having a room to himself to recover was already a stroke of luck.

Xie Licheng entered the empty room, didn't bother cleaning much, and lay down to rest.

He was exhausted and needed proper rest.

He didn't use the damp bedding but pulled a new quilt from his space.

The weather wasn't cold now, but it wasn't warm either.

At night, it got a bit chilly when sleeping.

Lying down, Xie Licheng reflected on everything that had happened that day.

In the novel, the original owner had also been saved by the Eldest Young Master, but without the treatment Xie Licheng now received.

He wondered if it was because he was a time-traveler that the storyline had shifted.

Also, that handsome Eldest Young Master had saved him twice; if the chance arose, he'd repay the favor twice over.

It was better to settle a beauty's kindness sooner rather than later, or it would linger uneasily.