Chapter 2: Only children make choices!

Silent.

Deathly silence.

Everyone present seemed not to have expected Du Shanü to be of this temperament; for a moment they all stared, dumbfounded.

The smallest boy in the crowd muttered softly:

"Dad, is this young lady's brain been pinched by a door?"

The melancholy man whom he called 'Dad' carefully covered his son's mouth:

"...... At least her eyes are good."

Don't mutter in front of her, hey!

She can hear you!

Du Shanü's forehead veins twitched slightly; the blind man holding the fan upside down was momentarily stunned, and while straining to locate her by sound, he cautiously spoke:

"...... Yu Hen."

"My name is Yu Hen."

"Do you want to take me home as your wife?"

His words fell, without waiting for Du Shanü's answer.

In the next breath, the handsome blind man hastily felt behind him and brought out a person:

"If that is indeed the case, I have one more request...... This is my close friend A Chou; if you are willing, why not keep him as well?"

Du Shanü was stunned by this 'buy-one-get-one-free' request; when she saw clearly the person behind the blind man, her eyes flashed with pain——

"Ugly, so ugly!"

The young man brought out had disheveled hair, his face covered in grime, and his scars could not be concealed.

He seemed to have suffered some penal branding, his body covered in ferocious old wounds, with a depression on his forehead, indicating a serious injury; his mind was not quite right, and he could only utter 'aba aba' sounds......

Only his black eyes were unusually bright compared to ordinary people.

Perhaps Du Shanü's silence gave the blind man a mistaken signal; he fell silent for a breath, then suddenly knelt down.

"It's not that I mean to make things difficult; it's just that life has been hard, so I thought to seek refuge together with you."

"A Chou owes me his life; I cannot abandon him. If you are willing to take him in, you may treat me however you wish."

The last two words almost sounded together with a sob——

Yu Hen could not describe the taste in his heart.

He was originally the sole son of the former emperor, the present Young Emperor, raised in countless affection from childhood.

However, after only a few years on the throne, rebellion erupted in the north, troops surrounded the palace; in the blink of an eye, the situation was lost, and only under the desperate protection of the guards did he escape the palace and flee southward.

The days of being pampered and indulged are long gone; now he has only a eunuch who grew up with him remaining by his side.

The eunuch, who had previously saved him, suffered a head injury hitting the riverbed; for the past two years his mind has been unclear, following him through all his wanderings, and he has not been able to receive proper treatment......

The two wandered the world, moving through rural forests, making a living by begging.

Until a month ago, when they encountered a refugee band and followed it southward, arriving at Cangnan County, where county officials intercepted them and sent them to the countryside, only to be left over after being picked over......

He is an 'incompetent' emperor, unable to resist foreign tribes, unable to resist 'fire oil', and cannot protect the people of the realm.

But at least being able to protect one person is good!

As long as this clear-voiced young lady can take in A Chou......

He will surely serve her well!

Feelings of powerlessness and shame mingled; his gaunt frame felt a mix of emotions, and he could not help trembling slightly.

Such a scene, seen through Du Shanü's eyes, only heightened the 'I see and pity' feeling.

Du Shanü felt a faint stir behind him, but seeing him constantly muttering to the air, she could not help but say:

"...... Beauty, you've knelt in the wrong place."

Yu Hen blinked, then clumsily approached again following the sound:

"Oh oh oh, sorry...... I'll try again!"

【Pfft!】

This beauty is truly interesting!

Du Shanü couldn't hold back her laughter and spoke:

"I want you; I still only want you."

【Pfft!】

Yu Hen's heart felt as if stabbed by something, making it hard to bear the pain——

As expected, is it still like this?

He felt somewhat powerless, and seeing in the crowd that Du Shanü already had a 'resolve'.

A dark-skinned ruffian, his whole body covered in blood and whip scars, with a lame leg, glared with blazing eyes, as if he could no longer endure; unable to hold back, he fiercely turned his head and body to glare at the constables overseeing them!

His strength was immense; in one blow he sent the unprepared constable crashing to the ground!

The lame man, having succeeded with his move, immediately turned and hobbled toward the woods beside the village, shouting:

"This damned world, I can't stand it even a moment!"

"This beast has been beating or cursing us all the way; now one person is selected, the others must go to the Construction Bureau...... Is that place fit for humans?! Why don't you treat us refugees as people?!"

"Run! Run fast! As long as you find a patch of woods to dive into, there's always hope!"

This change was utterly abrupt; many people couldn't react in time.

And the constable, who had been knocked to the ground, cursed while raising his whip and standing up; after just a few steps, he caught up with the lame, inconvenienced strong man, and then——

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Three whip cracks exploded; the strong man was lashed to the ground, and in his misery he could only clutch his head and roll about, wailing.

The yamen runner felt embarrassed in front of the crowd and whipped him even harder.

"Damn it, you homeless vagrant—the officials taking you in is already mercy, yet you dare to complain!"

The whip cracked, leaving bloody welts on the strong man's body, blood splattering and staining the pebbles at the roadside red.

Du Shanü, having grown up under clear skies, had never seen such a scene; she spoke up to stop it:

"Sir, don't hit him—I'll take him."

Nobody expected that the strong man's escape would actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise, capable of changing Du Shanü's choice.

The beaten lame strong man also didn't expect to be chosen; he lifted his head to look at Du Shanü, and because of that motion, not paying attention, he was struck squarely across the face with another lash, adding another bloody stripe.

His looks weren't particularly handsome, but he had an upright, noble bearing—yet this scar made him appear all the more dull and foolish.

"You, you're not choosing him?"

The yamen runner was still obviously angry, and he kicked the strong man hard before cursing:

"Miss, have you thought this through? This beast is not only an injured cripple, but also has a rebellious streak!"

"Who knows how many times he's run off; if you pick him, once his wounds heal he might pack up your belongings and flee, leaving you with nowhere to even cry."

"If you ask me, since you were staring at the blind man earlier, you might as well take him—he can't do much work, but at least he won't run away..."

That actually makes sense.

However, Du Shanü showed no hesitation, speaking lightly:

"Keeping them and wanting them are not the same thing."

"If it's just about keeping them, actually I'd want to keep both of them..."

As soon as she said that, it was like a thunderbolt striking the crowd's heads.

Nearly everyone present froze.

The men all gaped, stunned, and Huang the Old Village Head, hurrying over with his cane, hearing this, nearly fainted, hastily trying to stop her:

"Du Shanü! This isn't something to joke about!"

In ordinary households, not to mention a woman marrying only one husband—even a man taking a wife lacks the means to afford a concubine!

After all, an extra mouth means extra rations!

Now Du Shanü actually... wants two husbands at once?

What kind of thing is this!

"I'm not joking, Uncle."

Du Shanü raised her eyebrows:

"Not just those two—I want to bring all four of the others home as well."

"Just six husbands—no need to make a fuss."

In fact, after examining the details of their persons, she had already decided to do this.

It wasn't impulsive, nor merely to help them escape the oppression of the Bureau of Labor.

Rather, she indeed had her own plans.

"That's it?"

Huang the Old Village Head widened his eyes, nearly fainted, and exclaimed:

"Are you crazy?"

"Never mind how you'd accommodate six husbands—let alone the nightly arrangements; just speaking of the spring tax, autumn tax, poll tax, and land tax... ten people would cost several thousand cash a year!"

"Your parents and brothers are dead, and the three meager mu of land your family once had was reclaimed by the clan because you're a woman—no land to farm, no food, how could you possibly feed so many?"

"Even the landlord Liang of our county only takes three concubines, and you want six husbands? You're crazy!"

?? Starting in February, cast your votes, sisters~

? (Before release, single updates; after release, double updates—if there are many requests for more, we may consider extra updates during the New Year period~)