Chapter 073 – This Miserable Young Master – “Younger Sister” (04/08)
Dongcheng Dock.
After disembarking, Xie Chenyang escorted them to the Foreign Merchants’ Station before departing alone.
Ai Xiu called after him, “Aren’t you coming with us?”
Xie Chenyang smiled at him. “I have something to attend to. I’ll find you once I’m done.”
Ai Xiu: “I’ll wait for you then.”
Xie Chenyang waved and walked away.
Attendant: “Your Highness, he’s originally from the Midlands. There’s no need for him to accompany us further.”
Xie Chenyang returned to the Yang residence. Standing outside a pile of ruins and listening to the neighbors’ explanations, he entered, expressionless.
Seeing this, the neighbors departed with heavy hearts.
Guided by the memories of the original host, Yang Zhou, Xie Chenyang dug beneath a tree near the well at the rear and uncovered a wooden box filled with silver notes and coins.
Yang’s mother, having read too many storybooks, always prepared multiple hiding places and had divided the family’s money into several portions.
Xie Chenyang brushed off the dirt, glanced at the ruins, and didn’t bother searching for more money. He picked up the wooden box and headed out.
Yunluo Street. Hundred Beauties Pavilion.
Since it was broad daylight, the doors were shut. Xie Chenyang knocked on them.
After a long while, a disheveled, yawning man opened it, impatiently saying, “We only open at night. Could you be sensible?”
Xie Chenyang opened the wooden box in his hand. “I want to redeem someone.”
The man glanced at it. “Looks like a decent sum, but not enough. Our girls here are expensive.”
Xie Chenyang: “Can she be redeemed?”
“Follow me inside.” The man led him in. “Wait here. I’ll fetch her.”
Soon, a woman past middle age but still radiating charm descended the stairs. “So you wish to redeem one of our girls? Which one?”
”Yang Fushui.“
”Oh?“ She raised an eyebrow. ”That new girl. We’ve only just trained her properly and haven’t even begun to profit from her yet. Why do you think we’d let her buy her freedom, young master?”
The implication was clear: Yang Fushui hadn’t even started serving clients yet.
Xie Chenyang opened the wooden box. ”I don’t know how much you paid for her, but this money is more than enough.”
The woman still tried to haggle.
Xie Chenyang snapped impatiently, “Dongcheng is under General Luo’s jurisdiction. He’s both decisive and strict in his governance. I’m not pursuing charges for trafficking my sister—I’m offering to buy her back now. If you push me too far, I’ll risk my life to report you to the General. You won’t come out unscathed.”
Her expression turned cold. “Everyone who enters my Hundred Beauties Pavilion does so willingly…”
“My parents perished in a fire not long ago. She has only me, her elder brother. I decide her fate. I did not sell her. How, pray tell, did she enter your establishment?”
Her expression darkened, curses forming in her mind.
The person who sold Yang Fushui to the brothel had explicitly claimed her entire family was dead, leaving no loose ends. And now? A brother appeared out of nowhere!
“How do I know you’re her brother…”
“We live in Dongle City, running a food stall. Our neighbors know us, and we have proper registration. I don’t wish to discuss this further.” Xie Chenyang shoved the wooden box toward her. “Will you redeem her?”
Her face darkened, and her fingers twitched slightly.
“I advise you not to.” Xie Chenyang glared at her. “It would take more than those five to take me down.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
Besides the man who’d called her downstairs, she’d left four others waiting in the wings. How did this man know?!
After weighing her options, she accepted the wooden box with an insincere smile, her expression becoming as sweet as pretty flowers. “Now, now, what five? Hahaha, I’ll take the money. Xiao Wu, go fetch this gentleman’s sister. I’ll retrieve the contract.“
“Yes, ma’am.”
Xie Chenyang didn’t wait long before Yang Fushui was led before him. Compared to the vivacious, charming girl he remembered, the Yang Fushui before him had grown noticeably thinner. Her face was pale, and her eyes reddened upon seeing Xie Chenyang. “Brother.”
Xie Chenyang nodded. “I’ve come to take you home.”
“Mm!” She fought back tears, slowly approaching him.
After obtaining Yang Fusui’s indenture contract, Xie Chenyang stared at the vivid red fingerprint stamped on it. His expression hardened as he tore it to shreds, then led Yang Fusui away.
They headed toward the Foreign Merchants’ Station.
Yang Fushui whispered, “Brother, aren’t we going home?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Foreign Merchants’ Station.
Ai Xiu had just finished preparing to leave when he bumped into Xie Chenyang and Yang Fushui. His deep blue eyes froze slightly. “Husband, who is this?”
You Huang: “…” Thankfully this was ancient times; no one knew the term “husband.”
“This is my sister,” Xie Chenyang said, his expression softening into a smile when he saw Ai Xiu. “Ai Xiu, could you lend me some money? I want to take her to see a doctor.”
“She’s sick? I have a doctor. Have my doctor examine her. No charge.”
“Your doctor is a man.”
“Yes, he is,” Ai Xiu replied, puzzled. “Does seeing a doctor depend on gender?”
Xie Chenyang turned to look at Yang Fusui. He personally didn’t mind, but he wasn’t sure if Yang Fusui would.
Yang Fusui stared at him blankly. “Brother?”
When did her brother learn to speak other countries’ languages?
Xie Chenyang lowered his voice. “Your gait is off, and your complexion looks strange. But I spent all my money redeeming you—I have none left. I was thinking of borrowing from friends to pay for your treatment…”
“No need to borrow,” she protested urgently. “My injuries will heal soon.”
“He has a doctor there—a male doctor. In their country, doctors don’t distinguish by gender. To them, there are only patients. Would you be willing to see him?”
Xie Chenyang paused.
“I’m about to leave on a long journey. I won’t feel at ease unless your injuries are treated.”
Yang Fushui: “I… I’m willing.”
So many questions swirled in her mind, yet she dared not ask them.
Ai Xiu watched their exchange. Only after Xie Chenyang nodded did he lead them into the inn.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll be right outside.”
Yang Fusui entered the room.
Soon, the doctor from their group arrived.
He was a young man around thirty, with half of his long hair let loose and the other half braided into a hanging plait. Shell-shaped earrings dangled from both ears. “Are you here for a dressing change?”
He glanced at Xie Chenyang’s forehead.
Xie Chenyang shook his head. “It’s my sister who needs treatment.”
Noting Ai Xiu standing beside Xie Chenyang, the doctor said nothing further and stepped inside.
Xie Chenyang closed the door.
Ai Xiu: “Why shut the door?”
You Huang: “I was wondering the same.”
Xie Chenyang: “My sister’s injuries aren’t superficial. Standing outside with the door open would make her uncomfortable.”
Ai Xiu: “Ha! Women from the Midlands are so easily embarrassed.”
You Huang: “…I think she’d be scared with the door closed.”
[But her injuries need treatment, and Dongcheng has no female doctors.]
When he saw Yang Fusui earlier, he’d smelled the scent of blood mixed with rotting flesh.
It was obvious Yang Fusui had definitely refused to cooperate with the Hundred Beauties Pavilion. And the ‘teaching methods’ used in such establishments were…
Ai Xiu leaned against the door, bored. “Are we just waiting here? Alright, fine. Asa’s medical skills are excellent. Don’t worry.”
No need to stand guard.
Inside the room.
Yang Fusui watched the foreign man enter, her expression tense.
Asa set down his medical kit and asked, “Where does it hurt?”
Yang Fusui: “?” She didn’t understand.
Asa: “…”
He turned to call Xie Chenyang, only to find the door already shut.
They left?
Asa felt a pang of frustration.
Fortunately, they’d picked up some midland words from the interpreter during their boredom aboard ship, but… their fluency was limited.
He stammered in Midlander, “Where… Where does it hurt?”
Yang Fusui pressed her lips together. She desperately wanted to say nowhere hurt. But the truth was, the pain was excruciating.
Her brother was leaving on a long journey, yet he hadn’t brought her home. Had something happened to their parents? Or had they already left Dongchen?
If she didn’t properly treat her injuries, she might not endure the long journey.
She took a deep breath. “My back hurts, and also…”
She rolled up her sleeve, revealing her slender, pale arm. Asa leaned in to look, seeing faint needle marks that hadn’t yet faded.
His eyes widened as he retrieved pain-relieving ointment from the medical kit and applied it for her.
Yang Fusui instinctively tried to pull her arm back. Asala held her wrist firmly, applying the ointment with care. The cool, soothing paste spread under his fingertips, gradually replacing the dull ache with a refreshing chill.
Truthfully, compared to her back, this spot no longer hurt as much.
If anything, the real pain had been from being stabbed in the first place.
After finishing one arm, Asa lifted the sleeve of her other and applied the ointment with focused attention.
Yang Fusui watched him, her face flushed. Seeing the complete absence of any inappropriate emotion in his earnest expression, she finally relaxed.
Her brother had said that in a doctor’s eyes, there were only patients, no distinction between men and women.
She had assumed too much. The flush on her cheeks gradually faded, and her tense nerves eased a little.
As he drew closer, Asa’s brow furrowed. The distinctive and pungent stench of blood and decaying flesh assaulted his nostrils, causing him intense discomfort.
He tucked away the ointment and reached to unbutton her shirt.
Yang Fusui grabbed her lapels, her eyes wide with alarm. “What are you doing?!”
Asa made a motion to undress her, pointing to her back. “It’s rotten. Take off. I have medicine.”
Yang Fusui: “…” She had some hesitation. She still couldn’t get past that hurdle.
Her refusal to submit had been why she suffered so much.
Fortunately, she was still a virgin. Untainted, her price for her first client would’ve been higher, so she hadn’t been…
But men had been sent to the brothel’s training rooms to intimidate her.
Though nothing had actually happened…
The doctor before her now was also a man, and she felt afraid.
Asa sensed her unease. Glancing around, he tore a strip of bedsheet and blindfolded himself. “I can’t see.”
Not see? Then would he apply the medicine by touch?
Yang Fusui frowned. Though he might fumble and touch her wounds, it was better than being watched.
Steeling herself, she abruptly pulled down her robe and laid face-down on the bed. “Apply the medicine.”
Asa tugged down the blindfold and saw the gruesome whip marks on her back, his brow furrowing deeply.
Yang Fusui glanced sideways at his movement: “…”
Right, how else would he apply the medicine?
Anyway… he could only see her back.
She buried her face in the pillow.
Asa approached the bed with the medical kit in hand, a strong scent of alcohol wafting from it.
Yang Fusui lifted her head: “?”
Uncertain how to explain disinfection to her and fearing she might struggle in pain, Asa swiftly tore several strips from the bedsheets. Taking advantage of her confusion, he bound her hands to the headboard and her feet to the footboard with lightning speed.
Yang Fusui: “You—”
Asa pulled a clean handkerchief from his robe, balled it up, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Yang Fusui’s eyes widened.
After securing her, Asa wiped his brow, lit a candle, and held a small knife over the flame. “Your wound hasn’t healed properly. Some flesh has rotted. I need to cut it out.”
He spoke these words in the Leisen language. Yang Fusui couldn’t understand and panicked.
Outside the door.
Xie Chenyang and Ai Xiu heard Yang Fusui’s muffled cries of pain.
Ai Xiu pressed his ear to the door. “Asa, be gentler—women from the Central Plains fear pain!”
“Women from Leisen fear it too, but that won’t help. Her wounds have rotted flesh. I must cut it out, and I’ll have to use alcohol… She’ll feel even more pain! This is only the beginning.” Asa’s raised voice carried through.
Ai Xiu shuddered, recalling the terror of Asa’s dominance. “He… He’s highly skilled. Don’t worry.”
Xie Chenyang nodded with a smile. “Mhm.”
You Huang: “Stop smiling. Say something to comfort your sister.”
Xie Chenyang paused, then amplified his voice. “Ah-Shui, he’s scraping away the rotten flesh. It’s healing. Bear with it.”
Hearing no response from Yang Fusui, Xie Chenyang didn’t press further. Instead, he took Ai Xiu’s hand.
“Once my sister recovers, I’ll take her to Yizhou City. It’s richer and more exciting than here. Would you like to come with us?”
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
