Chapter 1 Spring River Her eyes were filled with tears, like pear blossoms in the rain, which stirred his heart…
Xuzhou, the Spring River.
It was early spring, with continuous rain and a heavy mist hanging over the spring river.
Just past dusk, a two-story passenger ship was slowly sailing through the thick fog. Two strings of red rose wind chimes hung from the half-open window. A gentle breeze, carrying the dampness of the river, blew in from the river, and the rose wind chimes swayed and made a crisp sound.
Meng Yu, her face pale, rested her chin on her hand on the table, looking out the window at the gray, foggy expanse outside, with ripples spreading across the river.
Not far from the shore, withered branches could be faintly seen stretching upwards, making the whole boat seem to be placed in a poetic ink painting.
Meng Yu was not used to being on a boat and had been feeling dizzy ever since she boarded. She vomited up the food she managed to eat before it even reached her stomach.
"squeak……"
The dilapidated door opened from the outside, and Huaiyin carefully carried in a bowl of red date rice porridge and placed it in front of Mengyu. "This is freshly cooked rice porridge. Please eat a couple of bites, young lady. You haven't eaten anything for two days."
Meng Yu glanced at her sideways and gestured weakly, "Do I look like someone who can eat?"
Huaiyin frowned deeply: "It's still almost three months before we arrive in the capital. What should we do with you in this state, Miss?"
Not wanting her to worry, Meng Yu forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, I'm just seasick, it's nothing serious. By the way, where's Auntie?"
Huaiyin sighed and stopped hiding it from her: "Auntie went to help in the kitchen, and this bowl of rice porridge was what she got in exchange. I wanted to go and take her place, but Auntie wouldn't let me."
Meng Yu was slightly surprised. Looking at the bowl of rice porridge with wisps of steam rising from it, she suddenly understood.
The food on the ship is served at fixed times and in fixed quantities each day. If you want an extra bowl, you either have to pay with silver or exchange it for labor.
But she couldn't eat the rice porridge yesterday and threw it away.
Meng Yu felt a sour and astringent sensation filling the tip of her nose.
Although the original owner's mother was quite mediocre and weak, she loved her very much.
Thinking of this, Meng Yu quickly suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes, picked up the bowl, and drank the rice porridge in a few gulps. She then quickly found a comfortable position to sit down so that the porridge could be swallowed properly.
Huaiyin took the bowls to the kitchen.
After resting for a while, Meng Yu got up to go see Chen Xiaoniang.
Before she could even steady herself, the ship suddenly shook violently. Meng Yu quickly grabbed the side of the ship for support. Before she could even open the door, Huai Yin rushed in in a panic, accompanied by several screams, and immediately locked the door.
Meng Yu sensed something was wrong and quickly gestured, asking, "What happened?"
Huaiyin was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. She hurriedly said, "The ship has been robbed. The captain and first mate have been taken into custody. I just got back with my bowl and took a look through the door. Those people were fat and burly, with fierce and menacing looks. You could tell at a glance that they were not good people."
Meng Yu frowned: "Where is my aunt?"
Huaiyin shook her head. "I don't know either. I hadn't even reached the kitchen when I saw those people rush in and drag people out."
A wind picked up on the ship, causing the cabin to sway violently.
Meng Yu was dizzy.
She gripped the wooden pole beside her tightly and gestured with difficulty: "No, I need to go find my aunt."
"Bang!"
But before she could take two steps, the door was suddenly kicked open, and two fat, dark-skinned men appeared before her. When they saw two girls hiding in the room, they couldn't help but smirk and their eyes gleamed.
One of them looked Meng Yu up and down, then suddenly clicked his tongue and grinned.
He stared intently at Meng Yu, then shouted back without turning his head, "Brother, there's a very pretty girl here, come quick!"
That sticky gaze clung to Meng Yu like a leech, making her feel nauseous.
Huaiyin's legs went weak with fear, but she still shielded Meng Yu behind her. She picked up the knife beside her and slashed it a few times in the air, pretending to be calm as she said, "You, you guys stay away, or else, or else I won't be polite to you."
Upon hearing this, the two lecherous men immediately burst into laughter, saying, "We'd like to see just how impolite this little beauty can be to us!"
As they were talking, the two began to take off their clothes.
Meng Yu put her hand on Huai Yin's shoulder, stepped over her, and revealed the words she had just written in her notebook: "Release her, and I will serve you."
She remained calm, showing no fear whatsoever.
The two men noticed Meng Yu's graceful figure, which was more charming than the young girl's. In all their years, they had never enjoyed such a beauty.
Unfortunately, he was mute.
The two men, barely able to contain their lust, gleamed with greed on their greasy faces: "You're like fish on a chopping board now. Even if we don't let her go, what can you do about it?"
Meng Yu lowered her head and quickly wrote a sentence without blushing or skipping a beat: "I am skilled in bedroom matters. If you release her, I will surely serve you comfortably and happily."
Upon reading this, the two men burst into laughter and immediately agreed. They came in, intending to drag Meng Yu out, but Meng Yu quickly wrote, "I can walk by myself."
Huaiyin didn't know what Meng Yu had written, and could only stare blankly as the two lewd men took her away. She wanted to chase after them, but they drew their swords and blocked her way.
Upon hearing this, Meng Yu quickly turned around, smiled, and gestured to her, indicating that she shouldn't worry and definitely shouldn't follow.
Huaiyin gripped the door tightly, tears welling in her eyes and soaking her clothes in an instant.
***
Meng Yu was taken to a cabin near the stern deck. Two burly men didn't even have time to close the door before they tried to take off their clothes and pounce on her.
In her haste, she suddenly noticed a dusty vase in the corner. She quickly retreated to the corner, and wrote down her thoughts as she did so: "Could you two please come one at a time? I have never been intimate before, and I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it all at once."
She held the notebook across her chest, suppressing the nausea welling up inside her, and smiled gently at the two of them.
One of the burly men was so assertive that he was immediately blinded by his own power and didn't care about anything else. He impatiently pushed the other man out, saying, "Go away, I'll enjoy myself first. You can come in later."
The other man stared at Meng Yu for a moment before reluctantly walking away. His lewd gaze lingered on Meng Yu, making her feel disgusted and giving her goosebumps.
The door slammed shut, and footsteps stopped a short distance to the right of the door.
The lewd man took off his shirt and pounced on him.
Meng Yu couldn't dodge and was pinned down by him, his sticky hands groping her body haphazardly.
She forced herself to endure the nausea, reached for the vase, and slammed it down hard on the lewd man's head.
A sharp pain shot through his entire body in an instant. The lewd man was startled and tried to look up, but before he could react, he fainted.
Meng Yu hurriedly kicked him away, opened the door, and quickly fled to the left deck.
The burly man waiting by the door heard a loud bang from inside. He thought it was the young woman having a passionate lovemaking session, but the door suddenly opened, a gust of wind blew through, and the young woman ran away in a flash.
He immediately peeked inside and saw that his accomplice had been knocked unconscious. His expression changed drastically, he cursed, and immediately chased after him.
It was getting late, and a light rain was still falling outside. Meng Yu ran wildly, but when she reached the deck, there was nowhere to go.
She turned around in alarm and saw that the burly man had caught up with her. She looked around and saw that there was only a small wooden stool on the side of the deck.
Meng Yu immediately picked it up and held it in front of her, backing away step by step until she leaned against the railing. She looked back down and saw the surging river, pitch black.
Meng Yu's heart jumped into her throat instantly. She quickly turned her head away, not daring to look again.
She had a drowning experience in her past life.
When Meng Yu looked ahead again, she saw the burly man approaching step by step, but he suddenly stopped when he was about half a meter away from her. Meng Yu didn't know what he wanted to do, and dared not make any rash moves. Unexpectedly, in the next instant, the burly man pounced on her.
She immediately picked up the wooden stool to fight back, but the stool was pulled by gravity and slipped from her hand in less than half a breath before he threw it into the river with a "bang".
Meng Yu was soaked to the bone and before she could react, the burly man dragged her into the inner room while cursing.
He tossed Meng Yu onto the tattered straw mat and said menacingly, "You bitch, you dare to play tricks on me? I'll teach you a lesson today."
Meng Yu fell heavily to the floor, feeling dizzy and disoriented. Before she could recover, she saw a huge figure looming over her.
A sour stench, from someone who rarely showers, suddenly rose to Meng Yu's nose, and a feeling of nausea shot up to her throat.
Meng Yu struggled desperately, but the disparity in strength between men and women was obvious. Her limbs were pinned down and she couldn't move at all.
"hiss……"
The sound of the hemp skirt tearing reached her ears, and overwhelming fear instantly engulfed Meng Yu.
She couldn't help but shed tears.
Having been transported to this godforsaken place for over ten years, she finally reached marriageable age, and her aunt promised to ask her father to betroth her to a kind and generous man.
She never imagined she would die in such a humiliating way.
Meng Yu pressed her teeth against the tip of her tongue, preparing to bite her tongue and commit suicide.
The door was suddenly kicked open.
***
Hearing the sound, the burly man on top of her released his grip on Meng Yu and turned around abruptly. But before he could react, he saw the blade gleaming with a cold, eerie light.
The next instant, the burly man was struck in the throat by a sword.
Meng Yu was startled. Her clothes were soaked from the rain. After the burly man released her, she was so frightened that she immediately curled up in a corner.
Fortunately, only half of the hem of the linen skirt was torn off, so it was still enough to cover her body.
Moonlight seeped in through the half-open window.
Looking up from the pair of black and gold-soled boots, Meng Yu saw a young man in military uniform, his eyes cold and filled with murderous intent, and blood dripping from the sword in his hand.
The man also looked at her coldly.
Although the person before me was dressed in a plain linen dress, she had fair skin and a graceful figure. Rainwater was still dripping from her body, flowing slowly from her cheeks down her braids to her waist, and then from her waist down onto the tattered straw mat.
The straw mat clung to her plump, rounded buttocks, leaving a damp patch.
Their eyes met.
Lu Xiuyi's eyes dimmed instantly.
***
After exchanging glances for only half a breath, Lu Xiuyi sheathed his sword and turned to leave.
Upon seeing this, Meng Yu immediately stood up and rushed to Lu Xiuyi. Without saying a word, she knelt down with a thud, took out her notebook, and wrote a line with her head bowed: "Please, young master, do a good deed to the end and save my mother and sister again."
Lu Xiuyi then realized that the girl was mute, but before he could feel sorry for her, he saw her call him a "good person".
He couldn't help but curl his lips into a silent smile.
Lu Xiuyi looked at her coldly.
Even though she needed someone's help, her spine remained as straight as a cedar tree, never faltering in the slightest.
The thick fog gradually dissipated.
The man's piercing eyes revealed a hint of amusement as he spoke in a cold voice: "Young lady, I am not a good person, and it was only by chance that I saved you."
Tears welled up in Meng Yu's eyes, and she lowered her head to write another sentence: "Please, young master, have mercy. You are highly skilled in martial arts; saving my mother and sister should be a piece of cake for you."
Lu Xiuyi glanced at it indifferently and remained silent for a long time.
The little mute girl's handwriting was delicate and graceful, yet each stroke revealed a vigorous strength, unlike that of a woman who grew up in the countryside.
Just when Meng Yu thought there was no hope left, Lu Xiuyi suddenly raised his sword sheath and pressed it against her chin, forcing her to look up with slight force.
"Everything in the world has a price tag. If you want me to help you save two people, you should give something in return. I'm sure you understand that."
The man's voice was deep and resonant, each note carrying an air of endless chill.
Meng Yu didn't want to understand.
But now that things have come to this, she has no choice but to understand.
The sword sheath, carrying a chilling aura, seeped into Meng Yu's internal organs through her chin. She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
Lu Xiuyi sheathed his sword.
Meng Yu lowered her head, picked up her pen and wrote: "I understand. If you can rescue my mother and sister, I will be willing to serve you as a slave or maid in the future, without any objection."
Once she finished writing, Meng Yu held the notebook horizontally in front of her chest and looked up.
Lu Xiuyi glanced down at the line of text, then lifted his eyelids to look at her.
At this moment, her eyes were filled with tears, like pear blossoms in the rain, like a trumpet creeper that is easily broken, stirring his heart and soul.
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
