Chapter 3: I Bought It

“It’s already dark; who would still be out?” The burly man shoved her hand away. “Come back with me now, and you might avoid a beating.”

No! She couldn’t go back! If she did, she’d be sent to the Orchid District, and she refused to go there!

At that moment, Huan Ya spotted someone.

The figure stood before her, silhouetted against the fading light, features obscured, wearing a pair of coarse cloth shoes.

Huan Ya froze, having no time to see who it was, she clung tightly to the person’s leg. “Please, please buy me! I can do anything—I’m strong, I can dig and farm—I can do everything! I’ll even be a maid, please!”

Her mind was a tangled mess of desperation, her words incoherent as she grasped at this stranger like a last straw.

“How much silver?” the woman’s soft voice fell upon Huan Ya’s ears like a thunderclap.

She suddenly lifted her head and saw a face lined with wrinkles and exhaustion.

“Two taels, just two taels of silver!” Huan Ya pleaded.

“Two taels?” The burly man yanked her away and glared at the woman, the scar on his face twitching with anger. “Five taels, no less!”

Huan Ya tried to crawl forward, but her ankle suddenly twisted, sending a sharp pain piercing through her.

“Five taels?” The woman frowned. “That’s expensive.”

Seeing the woman shake her head to leave, Huan Ya panicked. Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she struggled to her feet and clung to the woman’s leg again.

“Please, I beg you!”

Her grip was too tight, and the woman frowned. “Let go!”

The woman reached down to pry Huan Ya’s hands away, but then noticed something exposed. She froze.

The burly man’s expression darkened as he stepped forward, ready to pull Huan Ya away.

Huan Ya shook her head wildly, eyes pleading for the woman’s help.

“You want to die?” The man grabbed her by the hair.

“Ah!” Huan Ya cried hoarsely, releasing her grip to shield her scalp.

The man threw her aside and, fearing she might run, kicked her roughly.

“Ugh!”

The blow struck her arm. Huan Ya muffled a groan, clenching her fists tightly, unwilling to relent even a little.

She looked toward the woman who had not yet left, hope rising in her eyes.

Please, save me.

“All right, all right, I’ll buy her! Stop beating her!”

The woman couldn’t help but step forward and grasp the man’s hand. “If you kill her, I won’t have her!”

The man paused, glancing at Huan Ya, who was clutching her arm, her face pale from pain. A complex emotion flickered in his eyes.

He clenched his fist and looked at the woman, frowning in disbelief. “Five taels? You’re buying her?”

“Buy, buy, buy—she’ll serve my son,” the woman replied irritably. “Hurry and pull her up. If she dies, I’m not taking her!”

“Fine.”

Relieved that someone was truly willing to buy her, the man sighed and grabbed Huan Ya, leading her aside. “Go over there, sign the contract, and then she’s yours.”

The woman moved swiftly, following him and signing the papers. She rummaged through the deepest part of her pocket and pulled out a worn cloth purse that jingled with coins.

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