Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Men Only Behave When They’re Beaten

“Bang——”

The silver basin filled with water overturned, Sang Nian took off running:

“Where is Xie Chenzhou now?!”

Chun’er was stunned for a moment, holding the comb, she chased after her:

“Miss, what’s wrong with you?”

What’s wrong with me?

I’m about to die.

Sang Nian wished the world would immediately end, “Why did my brother beat Xie Chenzhou?”

“He’s a runaway slave, Miss, you taking a fancy to him is a blessing he’s earned in eight lifetimes, yet he dares to roll his eyes at you, shouldn’t he be beaten?”

Chun’er said indignantly:

“Besides, last night he tossed you around like that, anyone with half a brain knows he was deliberately retaliating, of course, he needs to be properly taught a lesson.”

Sang Nian stopped in her tracks, “……Actually, it’s not his fault.”

“Miss, don’t defend him,” Chun’er said, “We all know what happened.”

Sang Nian: “…”

No, you don’t understand!!!

The spring scenery was beautiful.

The winter chill had completely receded, the wind was as soft as silk, gently brushing against the branches, shaking off a few pear blossoms.

Sang Yunling loved pear blossoms, so the City Lord Sang planted a whole garden of pear trees, all rare and precious varieties, now they were all in full bloom, the branches piled with snow-like white.

A few drops of crimson splashed onto the flowers, winding two lines of cinnabar-like tears in the pure white.

The sun was briefly obscured by thick clouds, the light was gloomy, everything had a cold tone.

Only one person was dressed in a striking red.

He was tied by his wrists and hung on a willow tree, the rough hemp rope dug deep into his flesh, he had been whipped countless times, his thin clothes were torn and tattered, blood continued to drip from his wounds.

“How dare you stain Miss’s favorite flowers?” The executioner shouted angrily, the long whip whistled through the air, making a piercing bang.

Sang Nian, who had rushed over, saw this scene, her heart almost jumped out of her throat, she shouted loudly:

“Stop!”

Hearing her voice, everyone stopped and bowed respectfully to her.

Sang Nian was out of breath, “Put, put him down.”

Everyone looked at each other, “This was the City Lord Sang’s order…”

“I said,” Sang Nian raised her voice, “Put him down.”

Everyone dared not disobey her, they hurriedly released Xie Chenzhou.

Xie Chenzhou fell heavily to the ground, he coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.

He struggled to raise his head and look at Sang Nian, a few strands of black hair, whether it was blood or cold sweat, stuck to his face, his face was pale, his eyes were devoid of any light, as still as a cold pool.

Their eyes met, Sang Nian’s heart skipped a beat.

Without time to think, she was about to check Xie Chenzhou’s injuries, but Chun’er grabbed her hand and persuaded her:

“Miss, don’t go, it’s bad for your heart, and besides, his wounds are bloody, what if you get scared.”

Sang Nian broke free from her and squatted down to help Xie Chenzhou, but she couldn’t find a single piece of good flesh to grab.

His flesh was torn open, it was nothing short of that.

Remembering something, she quickly took out the pill she had put in her storage bag earlier.

“Open your mouth.”

Xie Chenzhou turned his head away, refusing.

She explained, “This isn’t poison, it’s a healing pill.”

Xie Chenzhou still refused.

Sang Nian directly pried open his mouth and stuffed it in.

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, he had no chance to spit it out.

“Do you think I want to save you?” She said fiercely, “If it weren’t for the fact that you’re kind of good-looking and it would be a shame to die, I wouldn’t bother with you.”

Unexpectedly, Xie Chenzhou didn’t get angry.

He even laughed.

He laughed and coughed up blood.

Sang Nian: “……Xie Chenzhou, don’t laugh, I’m scared.”

Suddenly, Xie Chenzhou’s thin lips moved slightly, the sound was almost inaudible.

She quickly leaned in to listen closely.

He said—

“It’s a pity, no one in the world can kill me.”

He was still so stubborn even in this state.

Sang Nian felt even more guilty:

“I didn’t know my brother would do this… We’re sorry, just rest and recover, we’ll talk about the rest later.”

After she finished speaking, she realized that Xie Chenzhou had fainted at some point.

She had no choice but to instruct Chun’er:

“Take him down, use the best medicine, absolutely don’t let him die.”

Chun’er reluctantly agreed.

Sang Nian was about to leave with her, but a guard stopped her:

“Miss, the City Lord Sang asks for your presence.”

Sang Nian nodded and turned towards the main courtyard study.

Liu Liu transformed into a small parrot and landed on her shoulder, yawned, and said triumphantly:

“How is it? The new task is simple, right?”

“Yes, it’s a piece of cake.” Sang Nian replied with a smile.

As she spoke, she took advantage of its distraction and grabbed it, holding it in her palm and rubbing it vigorously.

Liu Liu screamed in terror, “Help! They’re killing the chick! Someone’s going to kill the smart, cute, and beautiful chick!!!”

The guards in front turned around frequently, Sang Nian pinched Liu Liu’s feathers, “Shut up, or I’ll pluck it out right now.”

Liu Liu immediately covered its mouth, but at the same time, it loudly accused her through the system:

“You’re wrong! You’re abusing the staff! I’m going to tell the main god! You’re going to be sent to mine coal!”

“Negative twelve thousand favorability,” Sang Nian grinned, “Is this what you meant by ‘guaranteed no difficulty’ last night?”

Liu Liu stuttered, “Th, that’s, twelve thousand is nothing, it’s not difficult at all.”

Sang Nian pinched its feathers again.

Liu Liu smoothly knelt down:

“Sorry.”

Sang Nian finally released it, recalling her bleak future, she couldn’t help but feel discouraged.

“By the way, how did you know his blood was useful to you?” It asked cautiously.

Sang Nian poked its round, rosy cheeks:

“Isn’t this a well-worn trope in the world of novels?”

“As long as someone has a special physique, their blood will definitely have some strange properties, it can subdue demons and exorcise evil spirits, it can ward off evil spirits, and it can also be used as a walking medical kit, basically, it can be used for anything.”

Liu Liu suddenly realized, “Oh, right.”

As they were talking, they reached the study.

Sang Nian was about to knock on the door, when a man’s voice came from inside:

“Niannian is here?”

This was the original owner’s childhood name, the same as Sang Nian’s.

Sang Nian replied, “It’s me.”

A flurry of footsteps came, the door swung open.

A tall young man appeared in front of her, he was wearing a luxurious purple brocade robe, his features were deep and handsome, his aura was stern and sharp, making people afraid to approach.

The next second, he saw Sang Nian, his expression immediately softened.

He even had a hint of imperceptible flattery.

“Come in.”

Sang Nian lowered her head and walked into the study.

He saw Liu Liu hopping on her shoulder and smiled:

“When did you get a parrot?”

Sang Nian vaguely replied, “Just these past two days, I thought it was fun so I got one.”

“Then in a couple of days, brother will invite a disciple from the Beast Taming Sect to open its spiritual intelligence and train it, so it can stay with you for a long time.” He said.

Sang Nian was afraid that others would see through her, and quickly refused, “No need, it was just a whim.”

A hint of disappointment flashed across the City Lord Sang’s face, but he quickly became attentive again:

“There’s some sweet soup on the table that you like.”

He stared at her expectantly, Sang Nian really couldn’t stand it, she picked it up and took a symbolic sip, she thought it tasted good, so she took another sip.

The City Lord Sang was surprised and delighted.

Sang Nian saw this and sighed in her heart.

The relationship between the original owner and him was actually not good.

Her mother died in childbirth when she was born, she was supposed to die at birth, it was the City Lord Sang, her brother, who refused to give up, he painstakingly used countless precious herbs and spirit pills to raise her to this age.

But her body was still plagued by illness all year round, it was unknown when she might die.

She resented her mother for giving birth to her, and she hated her brother even more for making her suffer for so many years, so she deliberately distanced herself from him and never gave him a good face.

The City Lord Sang felt guilty towards her, and became even more obedient to her.

Even when she insisted on marrying Xie Chenzhou –

This person who was just a runaway slave in the eyes of others.

He agreed, no matter how dissatisfied he was.

Her thoughts returned, Sang Nian stirred the soup in her bowl, the jade spoon hit the bowl, making a soft clink:

“Brother called me here, is there something you want to tell me?”

The City Lord Sang was about to speak, but his face suddenly changed, he grabbed the corner of her left sleeve.

“Where’s the blood? Did you get hurt?”

Sang Nian glanced at it and replied truthfully, “It’s Xie Chenzhou’s.”

But the City Lord Sang misunderstood her meaning, he let go of her hand, his brow furrowed:

“Are you blaming brother for having him beaten?”

Sang Nian nodded ambiguously.

“Brother is doing this for your own good, that kid Xie Chenzhou doesn’t look like someone who’s easy to handle.”

The City Lord Sang said earnestly, “Listen to brother’s advice, men only behave when they’re beaten, blindly accommodating them is useless.”

Sang Nian: “…”

What a simple way of thinking, it’s completely impossible to refute.