Chapter 15: The Wedding Night, First Encounter with Xie Pei
Being sold here at least gives you a chance to escape, right?
As the sky began to lighten, commotion started outside. After a while, it seemed that more and more people were gathering outside. Zhu Mingyue could not only hear the noisy voices, but if she listened carefully, she could also faintly hear the sound of pots and pans clattering.
"Are you cooking?" Zhu Mingyue thought shamelessly. "My stomach is rumbling with hunger. I wish I could have some food."
I don't know how long I stayed awake with my eyes open, but it was already bright outside.
The door was opened, and Zhu Mingyue turned her head to take a closer look. There were two elderly women, one holding a large bowl and the other carrying a wooden box.
The old man's face was covered in wrinkles, making it difficult to discern his expression. However, the menacing triangular eyes of one of the men revealed that their attitude towards him was far from friendly.
"Drink my porridge." The old man's tone was unfriendly, and he rudely held the bowl up to Zhu Mingyue, the rice porridge in the bowl almost splashing onto his face due to inertia.
Zhu Mingyue frowned. He hadn't given anyone a hard time even though he was tied up like this, but these people were giving him attitude instead. Anyone who didn't know better would think he owed her money!
Even if Zhu Mingyue had no backbone, he still couldn't drink the porridge.
He struggled to turn himself over, facing the wall, and decisively chose to refuse to communicate with them.
The two elderly people looked at each other, each holding their things, and stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.
The one holding the bowl, probably used to being domineering, immediately slammed the bowl on the table and cursed, "Eat it or not, I'll see how long you can be so smug. You can't stand being given a little attitude? From today onwards, once you're married into the Xie family, I'll make sure Hong'er disciplines you."
Zhu Mingyue's lips twitched. Had he transmigrated into some kind of SM training camp? Why did everyone seem to want to train him?
“Hey! Today is your grandson’s big day, don’t be angry with the bride, he only has this one day to live.” Another person put down the box and took out a red dress from inside.
The old man listened to the advice, hummed a few times, and was still unhappy.
Ever since she learned yesterday that Xie Hong had spent four bushels of rice to buy this man, she hasn't smiled once.
Four whole bushels of rice! Just to marry a rooster that can't lay eggs? She just can't understand it.
She tried to persuade him, but her grandson was a stubborn fool, completely bewitched by that seductive face, and wouldn't listen to anyone.
Having no other choice, I had to bite the bullet and come over before dawn to help with the arrangements.
After a few exchanges, Zhu Mingyue finally understood that the person she was going to marry was probably named Xie Hong, and the woman with the triangular eyes was her maternal grandmother.
What surprised him most was that the wedding was arranged in such a hurry, catching him completely off guard. It seemed that he had no choice but to get married today.
He was feeling down.
The old woman holding the red dress approached him unnoticed as he pondered, attempting to change his clothes.
Zhu Mingyue's windbreaker had a zipper, and how would an ancient person who had never come into contact with such a thing know that? So a pair of withered hands wandered all over his body.
"Stop looking," Zhu Mingyue couldn't take it anymore. "Untie me, I can change myself."
"You're quite cunning. What if you run away after I've untied you?"
Zhu Mingyue said coldly and impatiently, "There are people everywhere outside, how can I run away? Untie me, I'll change and then tie myself up again."
He's not stupid. He's under strict surveillance right now. If he tries to run away, he'll likely get caught and beaten, and then he'll have no chance to escape.
Since this marriage is inevitable, it's better to behave yourself for now to lower the other party's guard and perhaps find a suitable opportunity to run away soon.
The two elderly people huddled together and discussed for a few words. They probably both felt that it would be inconvenient to change clothes with the ropes tied around his hands, so they loosened the ropes on his hands.
Once Zhu Mingyue's hands were freed, she gripped her wrists and twisted them a few times before consciously taking off her outer clothes and changing into the red dress.
After changing him, the two of them didn't dare to delay and immediately tied him up with the rope again.
After changing her clothes, Zhu Mingyue decided not to have any interaction with the two of them, and leaned back to pretend to doze off.
The old woman didn't say much to him. Before leaving, she put a red veil over his head, and then left with the untouched bowl of porridge.
"Look at him, he's obviously not the kind of person who can manage a household."
"Since you've already bought it, don't worry about those four bushels of grain. Try to think positively!"
"How can I be so happy? Of these four stones, my two sons' families alone account for nearly two stones. All we got was this thing. What good is it besides being pretty?"
"If you ask me, it would be better to wait a few more years. The granddaughter of the old widow in the east end of our village would be grown up by then. She doesn't have a man in her family, so we could marry her without spending a single grain of rice..."
Zhu Mingyue listened to their conversation until their voices faded into the distance.
Once there was no more movement, he propped himself up with his hands and lifted the veil to let in some fresh air.
Because Yu Zhumingyue had no family to rely on, the wedding ceremony was not completed in its entirety, skipping the earlier steps and proceeding directly to the wedding ceremony at 5 PM.
During this time, Zhu Mingyue was taken out and made to pay respects to the memorial tablets of her deceased parents with her new husband whom she had never met before. She was then escorted back into the room by the two men on either side.
Zhu Mingyue sat alone on the edge of the bed, still with her veil on her head. Outside, there was a festive and lively atmosphere, but inside, it was quiet, so quiet that only her own breathing could be heard.
Thinking that Mingming is also only a teenager, while others can enjoy life and receive education under the care of their families.
His life was full of hardships. Despite his efforts to live, fate repeatedly pushed him toward a dead end.
An overwhelming sense of oppression gnawed at Zhu Mingyue's heart. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh. The emotions he had suppressed for a whole day finally erupted unrestrainedly when no one was around.
Tears, accompanied by sobs, gushed out like a burst dam. Zhu Mingyue kept sobbing, letting the tears stick to her eyelashes and blur her vision.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Mingyue cried herself to sleep, then leaned against the window pillar, sobbing uncontrollably.
Just then, a slight noise came from the back window.
Before he could lift the veil, someone broke through the window and landed steadily on their feet.
Zhu Mingyue wiped her dry, blurry eyes and looked at the other person by candlelight. She was startled as soon as her eyes met the other person's face.
He had never seen anyone so thin!
His entire body was almost nothing but skin and bones, with protruding bones that were also growing very tall, making him look exactly like a malnourished bamboo pole.
"Who are you?" Zhu Mingyue asked him tentatively.
To his surprise, the person completely ignored him, not even glancing at him, and went straight to the snacks on the bed, picking them up and stuffing them into their mouths one after another.
Seeing his appearance, Zhu Mingyue knew he must be starving, so she didn't disturb him and quietly watched him eat.
He watched for a while and noticed that although the boy ate voraciously, his table manners were not unsightly. In fact, after finishing his meal, he would carefully pick up the pastry that had fallen on the table and put it in his mouth.
He must be a homeless orphan like him! Zhu Mingyue sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of sympathy for him.
After finishing his snack, the boy seemed to notice that there was someone else in the room, so he turned his head and glanced at him.
Zhu Mingyue's eyes lit up when she saw that he had finally noticed her, and she started to strike up a conversation with him:
"How did you get so hungry? Are your parents still alive?"
The boy frowned, and after a long pause, nodded perfunctorily.
A glimmer of hope rose in Zhu Mingyue's heart, and her expression immediately changed, with tears streaming down her face again.
"Like you, I lost my parents when I was young, and I was all alone, living a life where I didn't know where my next meal would come from..." Playing the victim was something Zhu Mingyue could do effortlessly. He had just cried once, and this time he didn't even need to prepare. His eyes were red and swollen from crying, and he looked extremely pitiful.
Seeing that the performance was almost over, she knew when to stop, because if she continued crying, it would annoy people.
Zhu Mingyue glanced at the boy and got to the point: "So, can you help me untie this?"
A mocking smile appeared on the boy's face, but he just watched him quietly without moving his feet.
Seeing that he remained unmoved, Zhu Mingyue bit her lip, feeling flustered.
This was a perfect opportunity to escape. After the wedding, the Xie family relaxed their guard because they saw that he was behaving himself. Right now, he was drinking and eating outside the courtyard, entertaining guests.
If he runs away now, he might be lucky enough to escape without anyone noticing for an hour, and an hour is enough time for him to escape the village and find a hiding place.
The Xie family will definitely search everywhere, but as long as he hides well, they will still be unable to find him after a few days and will have to accept their bad luck.
Now all that's left is for this young man to untie the ropes binding him.
"Did you eat your fill?" Zhu Mingyue asked cautiously, two tear streaks on her face. "I have some dates and peanuts here, you can take them and eat them too. And please untie my rope, okay?"
He wondered who had put the dates and peanuts on the bed. When he saw them, he was puzzled. Did they expect him, a man, to have a son soon?
Zhu Mingyue shifted her buttocks, revealing a small mound behind her. She thought to herself that this boy was short of food, so she would give him all her food. The boy would surely be grateful to her and help her untie herself.
However, he was completely wrong.
The boy walked up to him, and under his expectant gaze, picked up the red dates one by one and put them in his cloth bag. Then he stood up, stared at Zhu Mingyue's face for a moment, hesitated, and then bent down again to sweep the peanuts into the cloth bag as well. He peeled off the shells and red date seeds and threw them on the ground, leaving only the kernels.
After doing all that, the boy walked past him and jumped out of the window with lightning speed.
? ? ?
Before Zhu Mingyue could even speak to stop them, the room fell silent again, leaving Zhu Mingyue frozen in place with her lips slightly parted, motionless.
After a long while, he looked out the back window, his expression indescribable.
Absurd, utterly absurd!
Huh? If you're not willing to help him, why watch him cry and complain? If you're not willing to help him, why take advantage of him?
Zhu Mingyue turned his head to look behind him. It was clean and tidy, not a single fruit was left for him, but the ground in front of him was covered with peanut shells.
Zhu Mingyue gritted his teeth, his face showing grief and indignation as if he had been tricked. He slammed his fists hard on his thighs in frustration, wincing in pain. He cursed inwardly: He had felt sorry for this person before, but he never expected that this person's skin would be so thick!
A note from the author:
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