Chapter 1 Young Master, Let's Elope
The Jiang family mansion is located in the western part of the capital city.
Young Master Jiang held a banquet to celebrate his coming-of-age ceremony, inviting well-known figures from the capital.
As dusk settled, the Jiang residence was brightly lit.
Amidst the clinking of glasses and the joyful atmosphere, patriarch Jiang was overjoyed when someone noticed that the second young master of the Jiang family, who was supposed to be the main character of the banquet, seemed to be absent.
But the guests were busy showering the guests with compliments and laughter, and no one dared to voice their doubts.
The two people in the corner have completely different painting styles.
"Young master, bring some single-steamed golden milk pastries, crystal dragon and phoenix cakes, as well as red sheep canes and eight-immortal plates..."
The young Khan, dressed in a maid's bun, was mustering his troops and directing the handsome young master Jiang, who looked like a celestial being, to pack up dishes that were easy to take away.
Jiang Xi used her long sleeves to shield her vision and quickly filled all the dishes into the food box she had brought.
Fortunately, Jiang Xi was not favored and was practically invisible in the mansion. Today's banquet was arranged in an inconspicuous location, which made it convenient for them to make their own moves.
The food box was packed full. She gently tugged at Jiang Xiqu's sleeve, and Jiang Xiqu received the signal to retreat. The two of them stood up stealthily like thieves and left the banquet without attracting attention.
Shang Yuji had scouted out the banquet location beforehand, and under the glow of the setting sun, she quietly led Jiang Xi away.
Even the best-laid plans can go wrong; she never imagined that others would think the same way about a place she considered less crowded.
Unfortunately, they stumbled upon a secret rendezvous.
A playful, coquettish laugh came from the pavilion. Shang Yuji turned to leave, but her presence was still discovered.
"Who's out there!" the second young master shouted, his face stern. The beautiful woman beside him gasped and tried to hide.
Knowing she couldn't avoid it, Shang Yuji pulled Jiang Xi to show herself, repeatedly apologizing, "I was just taking the Third Young Master to relieve himself. We were just passing by, and I didn't see anything!"
Jiang Xi was a beat slower, mimicking her words, and slowly said, "I was the one who needed to relieve myself, and I didn't see it either."
They looked like nothing more than the mentally challenged Young Master Jiang and an insignificant maid.
The beautiful woman breathed a sigh of relief, but said with dissatisfaction, "Second Brother, hurry up and send them away. We rarely get to see them, so don't let them spoil our fun."
The beautiful young lady nestled in the arms of the Second Young Master Jiang, naturally unaware of the amazement that flashed in the eyes of the man she longed for.
"Aren't you leaving yet? Do I have to treat you to a meal?"
Shang Yuji lowered her head and listened to Jiang Er Shao Ye's words before grabbing Jiang Xi and hurriedly taking her leave.
In the brief moment she turned and looked up, she caught a glimpse of Young Master Jiang holding the person in his arms, his gaze fixed intently on Jiang Xiqu, a gaze that was both offensive and aggressive.
Shang Yuji used her body to block the food box in her hand, feeling a hidden displeasure at the gaze of the Second Young Master Jiang, which reminded her of another respectable-looking Young Master Jiang in the mansion.
Jiang Xi, oblivious to the undercurrents just now, walked straight ahead, earnestly upholding what A Ji had said: that there should be a distinction between master and servant outside Hongyun Garden.
The setting sun has disappeared, leaving only the fiery clouds burning like the final embers of a sunset.
On the last fork in the road before returning to Hongyun Garden, a man reeking of alcohol walked out of a side gate.
Seeing his exquisite attire, Shang Yuji bowed impeccably: "Sir, this is the inner quarters of the mansion. Would you like me to lead you back to the front hall?"
The man seemed not to hear her question, his eyes scanning Jiang Xi up and down like a wolf.
It's like an evaluation, and also like a labeling.
He gave a cryptic laugh and left without a word.
Although the man didn't make any further demands, his gaze made her uneasy.
Jiang Xi, puzzled, gently poked her shoulder, her voice as clear as a mountain stream: "Aji, what's wrong?"
"It's okay, let's go back first."
Fortunately, the food box was returned to Hongyun Garden intact after a long day. They had already eaten their fill at the banquet, and the food in the box could be saved for Wenlai the next day, saving them a day's food expenses.
.
The coming-of-age ceremony of the second young master of the Jiang family passed without incident. After finishing their tasks, the maids chattered about the affairs of the mansion like sparrows gathering in the afternoon.
"Have you heard? At the second young master's coming-of-age ceremony, the third young master caught someone's eye!"
"Is it that man from the Song family? Rumor has it he's a homosexual and has a penchant for... very few who go in there come out unscathed."
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that you go in vertically and come out horizontally."
"That femme fatale face isn't what he likes the most!"
“Poor Third Young Master, he’s already mentally challenged. If he goes into this den of dragons and tigers, he’ll be skinned alive.”
"What, you're starting to pity him? Who was it that said last time they'd rather die than serve a fool?"
“I’m not as brainless as that Shang girl. She not only serves him but also genuinely treats him like her master. If the master is sent there, wouldn’t she have to go and serve him too?”
The chatter continued. Shang Yuji, the subject of the discussion, walked away from a distance, clutching the meat pie and two strings of cash in her pocket, and hurried towards Hongyun Garden.
Passing by the artificial hill and pond, and stepping onto the wooden walkway, the extremely luxurious carved beams and painted rafters around Shang Yuji gradually faded into the distance. After walking for a quarter of an hour, she finally arrived at the dilapidated courtyard.
The knocking sounded three long and one short. Jiang Xi, who was sitting idly on a small bamboo stool, immediately stood up and ran to open the door, ignoring the overturned stool.
With a creak, half of a beautiful face appeared behind the wooden door. Upon seeing the person, he impatiently grabbed her hem and pulled her inside.
As soon as Shang Yuji locked the door, a heavy weight fell on her shoulder. The other person's voice was deep and tinged with grievance: "Aji, Aji, you've been gone for so long this time. Ten leaves fell from the tree, and the butterfly picked three flowers, but you still haven't come back."
"Some things happened on the way, which delayed me, but fortunately I managed to buy the items."
"What! Ah Ji, are you hurt?"
Before Shang Yuji could explain, Jiang Xi anxiously circled around her, her eyes scanning the area closely, afraid of missing anything.
She grabbed the anxious man, made him stand still, and pulled out a meat pie from her sleeve: "I'm fine. Are you hungry? Eat up."
Jiang Xi twisted the hem of her clothes with her slender fingers: "I'm not hungry, Aji is more important than me."
Before he could finish speaking, his stomach growled.
"Eat quickly, it's worth the effort of climbing through the dog hole." Shang Yuji stuffed the pancake into Jiang Xi's hand and urged her.
Jiang Xi took the warm meat pie with her jade-like fingers. She took a small bite and her eyes lit up with joy: "It's delicious. Aji, you should try some too."
The crispy outer layer and the juicy, oily filling instantly captivated Young Master Jiang, who rarely had the chance to eat meat.
As he spoke, he presented the half of the meat that hadn't been bitten to Shang Yuji, looking at her hopefully.
Shang Yuji refused his attempt to feed her, instead taking his arm. Jiang Xi obediently followed her, saying, "I've already eaten; these are all yours."
She led the young master into the house, carefully closed the door, and then closed the window.
The room was simply furnished, with a wooden bed against the wall, a desk under the window, a wardrobe with one door broken, a round table and wooden stools salvaged from the ruins, and a tea set. It was unusually simple for the Jiang family, who made their living by doing business.
A cluster of bright yellow forsythia blooms in a broken vase. The room is clean and tidy, with every item neatly arranged, showing that a lot of effort has been put into creating such a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Shang Yuji sat down on the wooden stool, and Jiang Xiqu promptly poured her a glass of water and slowly handed the teacup to her.
The water had already cooled down, but that didn't stop Shang Yuji from taking it and drinking it.
If there were other people around, they would surely criticize the two for their presumptuous relationship, where the master and servant acted in a manner that was neither like a master nor like a servant.
To expect a master to serve a servant is truly a reversal of the proper order of things!
When Shang Yuji first arrived at Hongyun Garden, she still followed the rules of master and servant, but as they spent more time together, their relationship became more like a strange symbiosis.
After Jiang Xi finished eating the pancake, she boasted, "I stayed in the courtyard today and didn't run around. I only opened the door when I heard the signal."
Shang Yuji did not intend to restrict Jiang Xi's personal freedom. After arriving at Hongyun Garden, she relied on planting medicinal herbs and pawning them at pharmacies through dog holes to earn money. She then used the money to buy clean clothes and basic living necessities for the Third Young Master.
Using his status as the young master, she flattered the steward and bullied the servants, managing to fatten him up to be fair-skinned and much plumper than when she first saw him, when he was as thin as paper.
Strangely enough, nothing good ever came of Jiangxi going out.
While strolling in the rarely visited Drunken Flower Pavilion, he encountered the eldest young master. During the second young master's coming-of-age ceremony, he stumbled upon him having a secret rendezvous with a young lady. On his way back to Red Cloud Garden, he met the drunken and lost Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
The eldest young master's intentional or unintentional belittling, the second young master's sinister and eerie gaze, and the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue's ill-intentioned sweeping glance—their attitudes were not toward a person, but rather toward an object that could be summoned and dismissed at will.
It's sticky, disgusting, and hard to get rid of.
Shang Yuji had no choice but to ask the Third Young Master to stay obediently in a corner of Hongyun Garden to minimize his contact with others.
Fortunately, even if Jiang Xiqu was unaware of her concerns, he would still listen to her without complaint.
Those fox-like eyes were full of expectation for praise. Shang Yuji reached out and patted his head: "Young Master did a great job."
Jiang Xi's lips curved upwards, her alluring fox-like eyes crinkling, devoid of any seductive charm, but clear and bright, with the red mole on her left cheek adding a touch of allure.
He nuzzled against Shang Yuji's hand that was stroking his hair, then grabbed it and placed it on his cheek, covering the tempting red mole.
Shang Yuji's hand was led to touch his smooth, flawless skin. She habitually pinched a piece of his cheek: "Remember, in the future, when you see someone, no matter who it is, try to avoid them and don't let them see you."
"Okay, I'll only show it to Aji... Aji—"
In a daze, it felt like someone had hit her head hard. She couldn't hear what Jiang Xi said after she exclaimed in surprise. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
.
As if a thousand needles were piercing her brain, Shang Yuji's head throbbed with pain. She didn't know how much time had passed before the pain gradually subsided, and she was finally able to figure out the reason that had caused her to faint.
Piecing together the fragmented memories, Shang Yuji realized that these were her past life memories.
In her previous life, she was laid off after five years of being a corporate slave. Heartbroken, she saw a restricted novel recommended by her lecherous friend to comfort her. She didn't know what to do until she read it, and her anger soared to 180 degrees.
The protagonist in the book is beautiful but slow-witted, naive and easily trusting. He is deceived by his older brother and becomes a commodity, passing through the hands of many who covet him.
He repeatedly believed in the hypocrites who promised to lead him out of his misery, only to step into an even deeper abyss. In the end, all hope vanished from his eyes, leaving only numbness and bitterness.
Shang Yuji was already overwhelmed with grief, and then she was consumed by rage in a short period of time, causing her emotions to fluctuate too much. She fainted from anger and was then reborn into this restricted novel.
Even now, recalling the contents of the book, Shang Yuji still uttered the unspoken words: "What a load of bullshit newspaper plot!"
Yes, the protagonist who was physically and mentally abused was none other than the young master Jiang, whom she had served for a year.
Her beauty was like that of peach and plum blossoms, yet she was soft and vulnerable as she went to the river stream.
What's worse, just three days after he was first forced into this situation, the Second Young Master Jiang, still unable to resist his desire for his Third Brother, whom he had only caught a glimpse of at his coming-of-age ceremony, forced himself on him.
As she regained consciousness, she heard sobbing in her ears. She struggled to open her eyes and tried to sit up by supporting herself with her hands, but her left hand was being held tightly and she couldn't pull it out.
Shang Yuji's movements startled the sobbing person from their reverie. Jiang Xi, her expression filled with grief, asked tremblingly, "Aji, are you alright? Is there anything else that hurts? Do you need some water? Are you hungry?"
Shang Yuji dodged his barrage of questions and said, "Help me up."
Jiang Xi quickly but gently helped her sit up against the headboard and placed a pillow and blanket behind her back.
I woke up to find the sky dark and there were no candles lit in the room. To save money, candles are not used except in special circumstances.
She took the water that Jiang Xi poured to moisten her lips, and then asked him to light the last remaining candle.
Jiang Xi didn't ask any more questions. In the flickering candlelight, his face looked even more breathtaking.
The candle is a mixed candle, made from a mixture of different oils. It is of poor quality, burns poorly, and easily produces thick smoke.
But it's cheap, and that cheapness is enough to make up for its many shortcomings.
After lighting the candles, Jiang Xi silently sat back down on the edge of the bed. Her face, flushed from crying, looked as if it were tinged with the red of the sunset, making her look pitiful and making it hard to say a harsh word to her.
She sighed and opened her arms to him. As if receiving a signal, Jiang Xiqu took off his shoes and scrambled onto the bed. He hugged her tightly through the gap in her outstretched arms, and she, being small in stature, was pressed between the pillows and blankets and Jiang Xiqu's embrace.
This was a comforting embrace, a solace for two vulnerable people in the vast Jiang mansion as they licked each other's wounds.
Life at Hongyun Garden gradually improved after her arrival, and they no longer had the promised comforting embraces.
He buried his head in the crook of her neck, his voice hoarse with tears in his eyes: "I'm so scared, what will I do if you don't wake up?"
Although he didn't have the extra money to buy the elegant sachets favored by high-ranking officials and nobles, he always carried a faint fragrance of the ephemeral flower, which he was born with, and the closer one got, the stronger the fragrance became.
It was a cool and aloof demeanor that didn't match his stunningly beautiful appearance.
But this fragrance is more like the person, overflowing with a pure soul from the very core.
Shang Yuji gently stroked his back, dispelling his deep-seated fear and unease.
"Young Master."
"Hmm..." Jiang Xi replied listlessly.
"Would you be willing to leave with me and start a new life in a faraway, unfamiliar place?"
"Just Ah Ji and me?"
"Not necessarily, after all, we occasionally have to trade with others to exchange for the supplies we need for living."
“If Aji doesn’t abandon me, I will always follow Aji.”
Forever and ever.
"Even if we were to suffer from even more hunger and cold than we do now, would you still be willing to go with Ah Ji, young master?"
He hugged her tighter, and Shang Yuji had no choice but to stop stroking her back. She raised her arm and accidentally pressed down on her smooth, black hair.
Jiang Xi winced in pain but didn't say anything to stop him, instead burying herself in the arms of the person beneath her: "I only want Aji."
Shang Yuji bent her arms slightly and cupped Jiang Xiqu's face in her hands, making him look directly at her.
In the candlelight, his thick, long eyelashes cast fan-shaped shadows in his eye sockets, and his beautiful eyes reflected only her image.
Although Shang Yuji was already used to the impact of his good looks, she couldn't help but be moved at such close range, and the words she was about to say were phrased differently:
"Young master, let's elope."
A note from the author:
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