Chapter 6
On the bustling comrcial district in the heart of Qingyun City, a large carriage bearing the Mu family crest moved unhurriedly. Soone inside the carriage reached out to lift the curtain, eager to gaze at the streetscape outside.
"Miss, look! The market area has been bustling lately. It seems it will soon return to its normal state before the flood,"
Su Su observed the shops and stalls lining the streets, sharing her thoughts. Mu Yingying, who had been resting her eyes, now opened them and looked outside indifferently.
Comrce might indeed flourish again as Su Su ntioned, but the significant aftermath of this flood was the people, which wasn’t an issue that could be easily resolved.
A re glance revealed that the market was mostly frequented by the well-to-do and the upper class, shopping and bustling about, with hardly any ordinary townsfolk in sight.
While the wealthy could recover swiftly, the ordinary folks and survivors of the flood lived in hardship, and it probably took a long ti to recover.
Mu Yingying withdrew her gaze and slightly closed her eyes, pondering.
In her previous life, she had heard that after the flood, countless holess people erged, lacking hos, families, and ans to continue living. Orphans were everywhere, separated from their families by the disaster.
Impoverished people struggled to find ways to survive, often resorting to selling their children in exchange for so money to get by!
As a result, there were so many unfortunate orphans. So beca beggars, others were sold into slavery...
Mu Yingying sighed softly, feeling pity for their fate. Despite her sympathy, she knew she alone couldn’t change anything and thus silently sighed in resignation.
Days earlier, Mu Yingying had obtained permission from Elder Mu Furen to visit the comrcial district, which Elder Mu Furen readily granted.
The carriage stopped in front of the Xiang Rong Building, the largest jewelry store in Qingyun City. Su Su helped her mistress down from the carriage.
The duo entered the building leisurely, browsing the jewelry until a servant unfamiliar to them approached Su Su and whispered sothing.
"Miss, the prepared carriage is ready,"
Su Su inford her mistress quietly. Mu Yingying nodded, and they followed the servant to the back door of the Xiang Rong Building, where a plain carriage awaited, guarded by more than five burly n.
The two boarded the carriage, which then headed towards Qingyun City’s eastern district.
“Miss, why are we going to the eastern side?”
Su Su asked curiously. Her mistress had changed so much recently and had a lot of unpredictable behaviors, like the mysterious arrangent of a plain carriage with guards at the Xiang Rong Building’s back door, which the young miss asked her to find soone to arrange it yesterday.
Even though she was bewildered and confused, not understanding her mistress’s actions, she still complied without any objections.
Mu Yingying glanced at her devoted maid with a faint smile, "We’re going to et soone..."
Su Su blinked rapidly, finding it even harder to understand after the explanation.
Seeing her maid’s confused expression, Mu Yingying didn’t elaborate further, simply closing her eyes to rest.
Previously, she had asked Su Su to find soone to rent the plain carriage to ensure no one knew where she was heading next.
What she planned to do had to remain a secret.
Because this was a crucial secret pawn for future strategies!
As the carriage entered the eastern district, the lively noise from outside faded, replaced by silence and occasional eerie sounds carried by the wind.
If the city’s northern district was heaven for the elite, the eastern district could be called hell on earth!
Su Su peeked outside, shocked by the sight.
The streets were lined with beggars and holess, all in dire states — gaunt, filthy, and wearing torn clothes, scrounging for food or fighting over scraps.
Seeing a skeletal figure slumped against a post, Su Su gasped, covering her mouth. It wasn’t a living person but the corpse of a holess individual who had died alone, either from starvation or disease, unnoticed by passersby.
As the carriage delved deeper into the eastern district, the scenes grew more harrowing, from assaults on holess won to group attacks.
Despite these rampant cris, the authorities turned a blind eye, allowing the area to beco a lawless wasteland.
This was why...the eastern district was known as hell on earth!
When people reach the lowest point in their lives, their humanity often fades away unconsciously until they beco complete beasts!
This is the nature of humans!
Mu Yingying closed the curtains to prevent Su Su from seeing any further. Just that had already turned her face pale as if drained of all color. If it wasn’t necessary, she wouldn’t want to co to this area either. But what she sought required her to enter the tiger’s den to obtain a tiger cub...
’We’ve arrived, Miss,’ the coachman announced.
When the carriage ca to a stop, Su Su assisted the young miss in stepping down. Before they descended from the carriage, they had already donned hats to cover their faces thoroughly, ensuring no one could recognize them.
Mu Yingying lifted her gaze to look at the dilapidated wooden building in front of her for a mont before noticing a middle-aged woman coming out to greet them with a swagger.
“Oh dear! What a fortunate day! To have custors so early in the morning!”
The hired coachman stepped forward to handle the negotiations on their behalf as agreed with Mu Yingying.
“Auntie Fang, I’ve heard that the slaves from your household are of the highest quality in this area. Therefore, my young miss has decided to co and have a look.”
He spoke while handing a pouch of money to the middle-aged woman nad Auntie Fang.
Auntie Fang, the largest slave trader in the eastern district of Qingyun City, was notorious for sourcing and selling slaves to various cities. With extensive connections in the underworld, she was a feared figure.
“Oh! So that’s what this is about. Well, the young miss has co to the right place. I’ll take you to see by myself.”
Auntie Fang said with a laugh, leading the way for Mu Yingying and her entourage into the building. As they walked, she secretly observed the young miss, noticing her deanor and posture that were as elegant as the young lady from the large noble families, despite her face being hidden.
Typically, large noble families would acquire slaves from official slave houses or through middlen, rarely personally selecting them from lower-tier slave markets like this. However, so nobles have unique preferences that differ from the norm.
So enjoyed using violence, others delighted in the cruel treatnt of their servants, and so saw these slaves rely as playthings to alleviate boredom, capable of being used for any desire. For this reason, they often purchased slaves from lower-tier markets to avoid future complications.
Auntie Fang, having conducted business with many noble manors, was well versed in these matters and wasn’t particularly concerned that this custor was just a young miss. It’s possible that this young miss could be a cruel individual who enjoys beating servants to death. Otherwise, why would she personally co to select a slave?
Concluding her thoughts about this custor, Auntie Fang smiled pleasantly and led her guests deeper into the building until they reached a long corridor flanked by iron cages. Inside these cages, nurous figures were sitting, huddling, and shaking, their bodies trembling as if they were re fragile chicks.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Auntie Fang tapped her fan continuously against the cages to wake the slaves, causing them to tremble even more, fearing her presence like the grim reaper.
“Wake up, you lazy lot! Today we have a special custor. Behave, or else...if you cause any trouble, I’ll beat you to death!”
Her harsh voice echoed, instilling imnse fear among the slaves trapped in their cages. Especially after her last sentence, many scrambled closer to the bars, crouching and waiting to be inspected like re objects.
Mu Yingying swept a glance over them. The rumors that Auntie Fang was a cruel woman, delighting in the tornt of these slaves with vicious thods, seed to be true. Otherwise, why would they exhibit such fear?
As Auntie Fang led them past each cage, introducing the background and rits of each slave, Mu Yingying followed quietly. Her gaze t each of theirs in turn, unhurried, her eyes so sharp that those she looked upon felt utterly exposed, unable to hide anything from her.
Mu Yingying continued her inspection, indifferent to Auntie Fang’s comntary. She wasn’t interested in their pasts or their so-called advantages or disadvantages. She would make her own decisions!
If she had to choose soone, she definitely had her own way to select!
While passing a particular cage, Mu Yingying suddenly stopped. She intently observed a slender figure hidden in the shadows against the wall inside the cage. Amid the darkness, a pair of familiar eyes appeared.
Those eyes...were eerily reminiscent of soone.
Caught in a trance, Mu Yingying stepped closer to the cage, her gaze locked with those mysterious eyes in the shadow for a long ti. A familiar sensation arose, bringing back mories.
Elder sister...
Those empty eyes in the cage seed lifeless, yet beneath that void, there was a trace of despair, isolation, and suppressed rage.
That’s the indicative of soone who had endured great turmoil in life!
It was a look Mu Yingying could never forget!
Because it bore a striking resemblance to her elder sister’s eyes in her previous life when she was betrayed by those around her — her lover and family mbers — before she was drugged until she lost her sanity!
Mu Yingying vividly rembered the anguish and tornt that eroded her elder sister until she had such an expression in her eyes. In her final monts, she was nothing more than a living corpse...
Reflecting on her past brought intense pain to Mu Yingying’s heart, her lips pressing tightly together to endure the ache. She closed her eyes to steady her emotions.
Because of those eyes...she was inadvertently overwheld.
Mu Yingying took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, regaining her composure. She opened her eyes slowly, eting the gaze in the darkness once more, and spoke calmly,
"I want this person."
Auntie Fang, who was busy introducing another slave, paused briefly, glancing at the cage Mu Yingying was interested in before approaching with a concerned look. "This one is quite different from the usual...you might be shocked."
Mu Yingying raised an eyebrow slightly and moved closer to the cage. "Do you want to co with ?"
“...”
There was no response from the shadow in the cage, as if it hadn’t heard her question. Auntie Fang, standing nearby, beca anxious, her eyes turning stern as she prepared to scold, but Mu Yingying raised her hand to stop her.
Mu Yingying whispered sothing to the coachman who had followed them, and after she finished speaking, he nodded and went to speak with Auntie Fang.
"Auntie Fang, my young miss wishes to personally select the slaves quietly. Let’s wait outside."
Auntie Fang frowned slightly, knowing that letting a custor choose personally wasn’t an issue, but considering this one was still so young, she worried about potential consequences.
Mu Yingying, knowing Auntie Fang’s thoughts, added, "There’s no need to go outside. Just keep a distance and follow behind."
"Oh! Then that can be arranged!" Auntie Fang agreed readily. As long as they were within her sight, safety could be assured.
Then, Auntie Fang and the hired guard retreated to maintain a distance as requested by Mu Yingying. Although they couldn’t hear the young miss’s conversation with the slaves, they could still observe any actions.
Once the two people had moved away, Mu Yingying turned back to the person before her. "Don’t you want to seek revenge?"
There was an imdiate reaction from the shadow when the last word fell. The previously empty eyes lifted to et hers quietly, as if waiting for what she would say next.
Seeing this response, Mu Yingying felt even more certain about her intuition. This person...was just like her elder sister in her previous life.
And if that was the case, this was exactly the person she needed.
"Do you want to continue living in despair?"
“......”
"Can you let go of your hatred?"
“......”
"Are you satisfied with your life as it is?"
“......”
The figure in the shadow kept silent, but the empty eyes slowly filled with anger, then shifted to hopelessness and resignation.
Mu Yingying quietly observed these changes, giving the person ti to ponder and reflect without further interruption.
Even though she truly sought such a person, for brutal experiences could forge strength, without the will to fight, one would rely be a pitiable being.
And that, she did not desire!
"...It must be my fate,"
Ca a hoarse, barely audible reply, filled with resignation, acceptance, despair, and hopelessness.
"Hah! What fate?"
The small figure chuckled in her throat before continuing, "Life is in our own hands. Should we let others dictate it?"
"If you surrender just because of fate, then you should accept that you are worthless. Bow your head, endure, and despair over the fate you believe in!"
Her clear yet powerful voice was like a heavy hamr smashing down on the shadowed figure’s head, awakening him from his prolonged darkness. The empty eyes slightly widened, the words from outside the cage kept echoing in his mind.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read ‘The Return of the Seventh Young Lady’ before anyone else with more Chapters at jinovel/en
Reviews
All reviews (0)