In early autumn, there was an autumn rain and a cool breeze came in the wind.
Cheng Qianye was sitting in a luxury BMW, lifting the curtain and looking at the streets on both sides.
This city, which had just been baptized by war, was in a state of desolation and depression.
Refugees with no clothes to cover their bodies and looking depressed walked in groups of three or four on the muddy road.
From time to time, a curled-up object could be vaguely seen under the collapsed walls.
Cheng Qianye didn't dare to identify it carefully, because it might be another lifeless body.
"It's really depressed. Our Jin State is much better than here." Cheng Qianye led the troops all the way from Jin State and personally experienced the huge gap in people's livelihood between the two places.
"That's because we have you, my lord." Xiao Xiu came over and looked out the window together. "Bianzhou has been in the midst of war in recent years, and has been passed around by different forces. Each group of people only wants to plunder and leave. Who would care about the lives of ordinary people?"
Perhaps as a science student, Cheng Qianye only learned the surface of history and politics in high school.
In her subconscious, the monarch under the feudal monarchy is a symbol of exploitation and dictatorship.
They stand in opposition to the broad masses, live a life of luxury and suck the blood of the people, and should be objects of dislike and hatred by the people.
Only when she got here did she realize it.
In this era, having a fixed master and a stable country are what the people truly expect.
All demands for equality and human rights are the product of food and clothing and social prosperity.
"In that case, I might be a lord that the people here are looking forward to." Cheng Qianye touched his chin.
"Of course, my lord, you are a benevolent and kind monarch, and you are a blessing to the people of Jin. If Xiu'er hadn't met you, I would have starved to death on the streets long ago." Xiao Xiu said shyly.
Cheng Qianye nodded, she didn't pay attention to what Xiao Xiu said.
Because a human trafficking market is emerging just ahead on the road.
It is called a human trafficking market, but in fact there are only a few slave traders buying slaves.
A bunch of desperate civilians, some selling themselves or their children, stood there with straw tags for the slave traders to pick and choose.
If chosen, the slave trader would sign a document of sale with the person being sold or their parents and exchange the person for a small bag of food.
They were led to a brazier with burning charcoal, and with a red-hot iron, they branded the man's body with a unique mark, and then all the newly bought slaves were chained together.
From time to time, there was a short scream, accompanied by the sound of the branding iron burning flesh.
The crowd was numb and indifferent, as if this was just natural and something they were used to.
Cheng Qianye smelled a faint pungent smell in the air. She looked at the white smoke that came out from time to time, accompanied by screams, and felt terrified.
She suddenly turned around and looked at Mo Qiaosheng who was lying facedown in the car.
Mo Qiaosheng was secretly looking at her, and was caught by her sudden turn. He had no time to avoid it, so he quickly turned away, blushed and whispered, "The master has not yet given this slave his seal."
Because of his injuries, he was unable to wear clothes and only covered his waist with a thin quilt, leaving his back skin exposed.
On those two beautifully shaped shoulder blades, there were overlapping and conspicuous brands. The old brands had been burned away, and new ones had been casually added.
I gave you a ghost seal, and you actually looked expectant.
Cheng Qianye almost wanted to curse, but he held back: "From now on, call yourself "me" and don't call yourself anything else."
Mo Qiaosheng lowered his eyelashes and pursed his lips.
Cheng Qianye continued to look out the window unhappily.
A ragged woman with four children sitting in front of her, two of the girls had straw tags stuck in their heads.
She couldn't help but order the carriage to stop.
The mother wanted to sell her child into slavery.
Cheng Qianye couldn't imagine how a mother could bear to let her child endure the same experience that Xiao Mo had endured.
The mother looked haggard and dull, like a living corpse.
It’s not like Cheng Qianye hasn’t seen poor people before, but she lived in a wealthy and stable world, and no matter how much she imagined it, it was not as shocking as seeing these children with her own eyes.
Those children, with limbs as thin as chopsticks, deeply sunken and huge eyes, and hair as dry and yellow as straw, were simply unbearable to look at.
Xiao Xiu leaned over the car window and watched: "It's better to sell it than to starve to death. Like my damn father, he took me to a place where I was unfamiliar with and tricked me into waiting for him, and then he ran away."
He seemed to be telling a story that had nothing to do with him. "Not only did you waste a bag of food that could have been exchanged for food back home, but you also caused me to almost starve to death on the street. How stupid."
Cheng Qianye felt that he really needed to change his way of thinking.
She knew that Xiao Xiu's idea was correct. When people's survival was still difficult, food and clothing were more important than the principles of nature, human ethics and all emotional needs.
A slave trader walked up to the mother, grabbed the younger girl, looked her up and down, and opened her mouth to check her teeth.
He shook his head unsatisfiedly and let go: "She looks okay, but she's too skinny. She might not even survive the seal."
The mother replied weakly, "Half a bag of food is enough."
The slave trader was satisfied and reached out to grab the girl.
The skinny girl screamed and tried to hide behind her sister.
Her elder sister hugged her tightly, knelt down and kowtowed, "Master, please buy me too. I am not as pretty as my sister, but I am strong and can work."
The slave trader pulled and swore, "Go to hell! I'm supplying goods to brothels. Why would I buy goods like yours that lose money?"
Cheng Qianye couldn't bear it any longer, so he knocked on the car window with his fingers to stop the transaction.
She winked at Xiao Xiu.
Xiao Xiu jumped off the carriage, threw a small ingot of silver, and raised her chin. "Come with me. You are so lucky. The lord has taken a fancy to you."
The slave trader saw that they were accompanied by a large number of followers and had a grand ceremony.
Knowing that it was a distinguished person traveling, he did not dare to argue and left with a nod and a bow.
The younger sister grabbed her sister's clothes tightly and burst into tears, but her sister wiped away her tears and pushed her out, "Go quickly, that's a noble man, there's food for you, you won't be hungry."
Cheng Qianye held his forehead and gestured to Xiao Xiu to take them away together.
Two ragged little girls got on the carriage. The gorgeous and clean carriage made them feel at a loss. They huddled together and knelt timidly in the corner, looking fearfully at Cheng Qianye with their eyes that seemed particularly big due to hunger.
The originally spacious carriage seemed a little cramped with two more people.
Mo Qiaosheng propped himself up and moved a little to make some space for them.
Xiao Xiu wrinkled his nose in dissatisfaction. He felt that there was an unpleasant smell in the whole carriage.
But he never went against anything Cheng Qianye said, so he didn't say much, but just added a handful of spices into the incense burner.
Cheng Qianye lowered the curtain, closed his eyes, and isolated himself from the painful world outside.
There are so many children and so many people who deserve sympathy, how many of them can I save in this way
Although, my lord is just a mascot, but until I find a way to go back, I will do my duty a little bit.
Cheng Qianye missed his safe and warm era very much, his twin brother who he grew up with, and his family and friends.
The group settled in the hot spring villa in Xishan.
The legendary Moon Goddess Spring is just a small crescent-shaped spring.
The spring water, which maintains a constant temperature all year round, has a light yellowish color, and wisps of white smoke rise from the water surface.
The original owner of this villa obviously knew how to enjoy life. He laid large pieces of white marble along the edge of the spring, built handrails and steps for bathing, and there were no other traces of artificial carving.
There are large tracts of maple forests planted around the hot spring. At this moment, the sky is full of red leaves like clouds, and scattered small leaves are floating and falling into the water, which seems both illusory and real, just like a fairyland.
Cheng Qianye was enjoying the beautiful scenery when he suddenly heard Xiao Xiu's unhappy rebuke: "Get down quickly, what are you doing? You ungrateful person."
Cheng Qianye looked over and saw Xiao Xiu and two attendants trying to carry Mo Qiaosheng into the spring. Mo Qiaosheng's bony hands were tightly grasping the railing, unwilling to enter the water, and a thick black color representing fear was emanating from his body.
When he saw Cheng Qianye looking at him, the conspicuous gold edge on his body lit up, suppressing the black color.
Then he gave up struggling and sank into the water.
Cheng Qianye felt a little strange. She walked to the spring, squatted down, and looked at Mo Qiaosheng soaking in the water.
"Are you afraid of water?"
“No… I’m not afraid.” Although he was soaking in the warm spring water, his face was pale, his body was stiff, and one hand was tightly holding the handrail on the shore.
Cheng Qianye waved away the rest of the people.
I watched Mo Qiaosheng in the water with interest for a while.
I saw him pursing his lips tightly, maintaining a stiff posture and not moving at all, obviously trying to suppress his fear.
Cheng Qianye squatted there, reached out and gently touched the top of his head.
"Xiao Mo, since I became the lord, many people have said all kinds of nice, flattering, and caring words to me every day. But I know that they are all lying to me."
She slowly took off a maple leaf from Mo Qiaosheng's head and saw the wet face, looking up from the mist at her.
"I hope you won't lie to me, okay?"
"I..." A deep and pleasant male voice sounded from the rising white smoke.
"When I was young, I was sold to Chu Huai Guan, a male brothel. As soon as I entered, the owner at that time began to train me in the skills to please men." Mo Qiaosheng lowered his head, his soft black hair falling down, covering his eyebrows.
"I was too young and stubborn at the time, so I dared not obey my master's orders and fought to the death. My master punished me by pushing me into a water tank, and only lifted me out when I was on the verge of death. This went on for several days. Until a popular young prostitute saw me, he interceded for me and placed me beside him as a servant, and then he stopped the punishment."
"Although it's been a long time, I'm still a little afraid of water."
"I, I have worked in a prostitute's house before, but I really don't have any skills in that area."
Mo Qiaosheng thought anxiously: I bit Lord Han's hand and disobeyed my previous master, and now my master knows about it. Will he hate a slave like me who is unruly and difficult to tame
At this moment he felt his eyes were covered by a black cloth.
There was a sound of someone entering the water.
A soft hand gently held his other hand.
"Don't be afraid, I'll soak with you for a while. I'll watch you and won't let you fall into the water."
He heard his master's voice ringing in his ears.
"Don't take off the bandages over your eyes."