In the depths of the ninth winter month, frost lay thick on the ground of the market district. As ox carts rolled over it, ice shards scattered everywhere.

The north wind cut like knives. Wen Yu’s hands and feet had long since gone numb from the cold. She leaned against the wooden bars of the prisoner cage, letting her tangled hair fall down to conceal most of her face. Her chin was buried in a worn felt scarf covered with a thin layer of snow. The clothing couldn’t cover half of her ankles, which were exposed to the elements, wrapped in mud and frozen to a bruised purple.

The shoes dragging on her feet had worn through on the sides, ragged and frayed, the original embroidery on the shoe surface no longer discernible.

That slender spine curved beneath the thin hemp garment, like a lotus stem on the verge of withering yet still refusing to break.

“Watch the road, watch the road—don’t block the way!”

The market was noisy. When Ren Yazi cracked his whip with this shout, quite a few people stopped to point and whisper about the several women in the wooden cage on the ox cart.

“Is Chen Laizi sending people to the Drunken Red Tower again?”

“All the girls in this cart look quite fresh and pretty. Most likely they’re refugees who fled here from Luodu…”

“When dynasties change, it’s all fate. That Hanyang Wengzhu with the title of Great Liang’s First Beauty—if her father the prince had ascended the throne, she would have been a Great Liang princess. Now isn’t she just choice prey fought over by various princes and marquises?”

Some shook their heads and sighed; others’ eyes revealed covetous desire.

The girls in the cart couldn’t help but sob quietly upon hearing these discussions.

Only Wen Yu leaned motionless against the wooden bars. Her entire face was hidden beneath tangled hair and the worn felt scarf, cutting off all examining gazes from outside the cart.

Beneath the disheveled hair, her half-lowered eyes revealed a calm that bordered on numbness, cold as the clear moon.

During the flight as a refugee, she had already heard too many such discussions about herself.

The late emperor had died, and warlords from all directions had rebelled.

The Wen imperial clan had become the deer hunted by lords from across the realm.

Her father and brothers had been defeated in battle and trapped in their ancestral commandery of Fengyang—already at the end of their strength.

Her father the prince had ordered trusted confidants to disguise themselves as a merchant caravan, evading the eyes and ears of various warlords to secretly escort her to Southern Chen. It was both a marriage alliance and a plea for military aid.

Who could have anticipated an ambush en route? She had been separated from her trusted guards and captured by Ren Yazi, brought to this place.

The cold wind intensified. Wen Yu endured the gradually worsening itching and pain on her face, silently continuing to bury her mouth and nose in that worn felt scarf.

She had attempted escape several times without success. Today was her last opportunity.

The ox cart would pass through the market and turn two more corners before reaching Flower Street.

Ren Yazi stopped the ox cart in front of the Drunken Red Tower and shouted toward the old woman sweeping at the entrance: “Quickly call out your Nanny Wu!”

In a moment, the madam with a large red flower pinned in her hair swayed out from the building with a yawn. “What’s all this racket so early in the morning?”

Two burly thugs followed behind her, their presence quite imposing.

Ren Yazi immediately put on a fawning smile. “Of course I’m delivering money trees to Nanny Wu!”

The madam glanced at Ren Yazi. “Such big talk?”

Ren Yazi patted the wooden cage on the ox cart, baring his yellowed teeth in a grin. “See for yourself!”

The madam’s gaze swept into the cage. She had been selecting girls for many years and had a vicious eye—even without seeing faces, she could rank all the girls in this cart just by looking at their figures. When she spotted Wen Yu in the corner, her face immediately broke into a smile. “That one in the very back—her figure really is courtesan material! Quickly bring her out so I can examine her closely!”

Ren Yazi flattered her. “Your eye is absolutely accurate!”

He unlocked the chains on the cage and dragged Wen Yu down from the ox cart with a mix of pulling and hauling. “This girl is quite proud—tried to escape several times. I was afraid of damaging your money tree, so I didn’t punish her. I only made her skip two meals.”

The madam understood what Ren Yazi meant by these words. She reached up to pinch Wen Yu’s chin to examine her appearance. “Alright, if her looks are also top-notch, the price and everything else can be negotiated.”

Ren Yazi immediately said, “I, Chen Lao Liu, have been in this business for so many years, and I’ve never seen anyone with looks more striking than this girl. I guarantee that even you, Madam, won’t be able to say in good conscience that this girl’s appearance is anything less than excellent…”

Before he could finish speaking, the madam suddenly let out a piercing shriek. Like she had seen some fearsome beast, she retreated several steps and cursed Ren Yazi viciously. “Are you courting death, Chen Laizi? You brought someone diseased—who are you trying to sell her to?”

The madam was so frightened that the fat on her face trembled. She kept wiping with a silk handkerchief the hand that had just grabbed Wen Yu’s chin.

Ren Yazi was bewildered by the scolding. He yanked aside the tangled hair in front of Wen Yu’s face and was also startled—

The face that had been beautiful as flowers and moon when they set out was now densely covered with red rashes and red bumps!

Just looking at it made one’s flesh crawl.

Perhaps from being exposed to the wind, the woman was also covering her chest and coughing heart-wrenchingly—clearly the appearance of someone afflicted with serious illness.

Ren Yazi was dumbfounded. “How… how could this be? She was fine before we left!”

He reached to grab Wen Yu’s hand to see if she had rashes there too, but when Wen Yu coughed and raised her hand to cover her lips, the sleeve fell back a bit, revealing her arm frozen to a bluish color—also densely covered with red dots.

This frightened the madam into retreating several more steps. Still shaken, she angrily cursed, “Damn you, Chen Laizi! Quickly take this whole cart of people away! I’ve long heard that some refugees from Luodu have contracted epidemic disease. She’s already broken out in rashes, yet you still brought her here to harm me—looking for trouble with this old lady!”

These curses drew people from other flower houses on the street to crane their necks and look.

Ren Yazi hurriedly said that the other girls in his cart were not sick, chasing after the madam to get her to take another look. The madam pointed at his nose and delivered another torrent of harsh scolding.

The sun gradually rose higher. The frost and snow that had accumulated on the eaves overnight began to melt and drip down.

Wen Yu slowed her coughing and lowered her eyes to glance at her rash-covered hand. As sunlight fell on the back of her hand, her frozen and numb extremities finally began to slowly feel some warmth.

Epidemic disease was a terrible scourge among the common people—it could spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, killing countless people. Everyone feared it.

Since childhood, she had been allergic to cat fur. Upon exposure, her entire body would break out in rashes. After falling into Ren Yazi’s hands with no way to escape, in order to avoid being sold into a place of prostitution, she had resorted to this desperate stratagem.

In these current times, medicinal ingredients were precious, and a physician’s consultation fee was no small sum. She figured Ren Yazi would certainly be unwilling to spend money to hire a doctor to treat her. After all, if she truly had contracted epidemic disease, the doctor would have to report it to the authorities according to law, and Ren Yazi’s other girls would also be detained. Otherwise, if a catastrophe resulted, the doctor would be held accountable.

She only hoped that Ren Yazi, fearing trouble, would abandon her to fend for herself. That would be best.

As she was pondering this, Ren Yazi, who had failed to entangle the madam into buying anyone, was already being thrown out by the flower house’s thugs.

“Get lost! If you come pestering again, it won’t be as simple as throwing you out!”

Ren Yazi swallowed his anger. Only after the thugs went back inside the building did he spit toward the Drunken Red Tower’s entrance.

He got up and dusted the mud from his body, then turned to look at Wen Yu. His expression was vicious enough to devour someone. “You plague demon! I spent a large sum to buy you from the old matchmaker, and you choose this moment to fall ill on me!”

He raised his hand to slap Wen Yu across the face, but Wen Yu, with her face full of red rashes, suddenly began coughing uncontrollably. Ren Yazi wasn’t certain whether the red rashes on Wen Yu’s body were actually epidemic disease or not. Fearing contamination, that slap was reluctantly pulled back.

Seeing that Ren Yazi was indeed frightened, Wen Yu continued coughing heart-wrenchingly and made as if to grab at his clothing. “Get me a physician, I don’t want to die…”

One girl, perhaps frightened by Wen Yu’s appearance, said with a sobbing voice, “I… my body itches too. Have I broken out in rashes?”

Upon hearing this, Ren Yazi’s heart sank even further. He retreated a large step away from Wen Yu, his eyes bulging as he shouted, “You… stay there! Don’t come closer! If you dare harm me, I’ll kill you!”

He then shouted at the girl complaining of itching, “Roll up your sleeve and let me see!”

The girl cried and rolled up her sleeve. Her arm, frozen to a purple-blue color, showed no visible rashes yet, but she had already scratched several red marks into it.

Ren Yazi immediately became so agitated he cursed crudely, increasingly convinced that the other girls had also contracted epidemic disease. After this scene, no one on Flower Street would dare buy his girls.

After pacing back and forth several times, as if he had made some decision, he found a piece of ragged hemp cloth to throw over Wen Yu’s head, covering the rashes on her body. He then spoke viciously to the other girls. “I’m taking you all to the market to find buyers. Don’t spread word of this matter. If you’ve contracted epidemic disease, staying with me means only waiting for death. If you’re lucky enough to meet a kind-hearted buyer, you might still have a chance to live.”

The girls nodded anxiously.

Wen Yu could see that Ren Yazi was trying to cut his losses—keeping this batch of girls would mean that if they all broke out in red rashes like her later, he wouldn’t be able to sell a single one.

Arriving at the market, Ren Yazi hawked his wares at low prices. The cartful of girls was quickly picked clean.

Ren Yazi sat at the front of the ox cart counting copper coins, glancing toward Wen Yu in the corner and muttering under his breath, “Left with such an unlucky thing—don’t even know how to deal with her…”

Wen Yu’s long lashes lowered. This stratagem of hers could also be considered helping those girls avoid the fate of being sold into brothels.

She suddenly began coughing miserably again, revealing a face covered in red rashes, speaking in a weak voice, “Save me… if not a physician, at least get me some medicine…”

To make Ren Yazi abandon her, she had to make him believe that not only was there no profit to be gained from her, he would actually have to spend money on her.

Ren Yazi hadn’t even recouped half his silver and was already seething inside. Hearing Wen Yu beg him for medicine, he laughed bitterly. “You plague demon! You’ve made me suffer a losing deal, and you still want me to get you medicine? I don’t even know from whom to recover the money I’ve lost on you! You can go die by the roadside!”

With these words, he couldn’t be bothered to care about Wen Yu anymore and raised his whip to drive the cart away.

This outcome was exactly what Wen Yu desired. Her face feigned grief while her feet were already planning to leave quickly.

Who could have anticipated that a traveling herb peddler passing by would say, “She’s broken out in wind rashes from smelling some scent or eating something she shouldn’t eat. Two packets of herbs, just a few dozen copper coins will cure it. Sir, buy two packets of medicine.”

Wen Yu’s entire body stiffened.

Ren Yazi also whipped his head around to look at her. In a flash, everything connected in his mind. Ren Yazi ground his teeth. “Good! You tricked me!”

He grabbed his whip and jumped down from the ox cart.

Wen Yu bit her lip, shoved aside the meddlesome herb peddler trying to sell medicine, and ran.

Ren Yazi behind her was so angry his entire face contorted. “Bitch! You still dare run! You cost me so much silver—I’ll beat you to death!”

The oily gleaming whip cracked through the cold wind, even making a “whoosh” sound as it cut the air.

Though Wen Yu ran forward with all her might, she still couldn’t dodge that lash. Her back felt as if bitten by a venomous snake. The coarse hemp clothing showed blood stains seeping through. A burning pain instantly spread from the wound throughout her entire body.

She let out a muffled groan, her whole person falling and tumbling to the ground. Her frozen and numb elbows and knees struck painfully.

Ren Yazi had already caught up and swung the whip at her again. “Run? Keep running!”

That lash seemed aimed at the exact same spot as the previous one.

Pain.

Such pain.

Her whole person felt as if split in two by that whip.

From birth until now, Wen Yu had never endured such a vicious beating.

She curled up on the ground, the corners of her lips bitten and bleeding from suppressing the pain. Her hands—still slender despite being frozen purple and covered in rashes—clenched tightly into the mud left after snow had melted. A pair of cold eyes stared viciously at Ren Yazi.

Though appearing so fragile, she possessed the ruthlessness of a tiger or wolf.

Ren Yazi was startled by that look in her eyes. When the third lash fell, it was a beat slower, intercepted by a large hand with distinct tendons and bones.

“Which fool dares to meddle in Chen Ya’s business…” Ren Yazi was at the height of his anger and opened his mouth to curse, but when he twisted his head to see who had come, he became like a mute and suddenly fell silent.

The sun was dazzling. The accumulated snow melted. Water dripped from the eaves of buildings all along the street.

That person was extremely tall. Standing there, he completely blocked the daylight in front of Wen Yu.

She raised her sweat-laden eyelids. Before she could restrain the viciousness in her gaze, her eyes collided with a pair of languid yet wild black eyes.

The other party had a face that could “summon red sleeves from every floor”—handsome eyes, refined brows. His head slightly tilted, a half-length bamboo stick dangling from the corner of his lips. The hand that had caught Ren Yazi’s whip had its elbow slightly bent. Even beneath the coarse cloth shirt, one could vaguely make out the contours of muscle.

His gaze lightly swept past Wen Yu, then looked toward Ren Yazi. He released his grip and lifted his foot to kick the man, sending him tumbling into the muddy snow with a thud on his rear.

When he spoke, it was with the leisurely tone of greeting an acquaintance. “Yo! Chen Ya, the lads have been searching hard for you!”

Roguish yet wicked.

Two tall, sturdy men walked over from the other side of the market, folding their arms as they stood, completely surrounding Ren Yazi.

So they were here seeking vengeance.

Wen Yu lay prostrate on the ground, struggling to slow her breathing. Cold sweat from pain had already appeared at her temples. Her loosened hair lay disheveled across her cheeks. Trembling long lashes bore a thin layer of sunlight, downy like the wings of a butterfly just emerging from its cocoon.

Over there, when Ren Yazi caught sight of the young man, his face went white. His entire person collapsed into the muddy ground as if fusing with the rotten mud itself. His legs kept trembling uncontrollably as he stammered, “Xiao… Xiao Er’ge…”