Chapter 2 The Tiger Doesn't Threaten
The strong man held the leather whip of **, threw out a bang, and pumped it on Chang Le's back with all his strength, and there was a crisp sound of "pop", which immediately made his flesh and blood bloom, and the fire burned like a sharp pain.
Chang Le had never hurt like this in his life, and even his heart, lungs, and stomach were twitching, and he let out a heart-rending scream. But the more he shouted, the more the whip-wielding foreman and the others laughed.
Only "No. 3" was soft-hearted and cautiously begged for a favor, but was kicked to the ground by the foreman.
Such a ferocious whipping, not to mention a hundred, twenty lashes is enough to kill an ordinary person!
Chang Le is used to being bullied, but it is the first time he has been beaten so badly. The young master only specified the number of lashes, and the specific execution was controlled by the foreman himself, but instead of ignoring his comrades, he seemed to have an enmity with Chang Le!
Chang Le couldn't help but shout:
"Big brother, I didn't offend you! Why are you so ruthless?"
"A long woman's face is amazing, every day is vibrant!" the foreman smiled and whipped a whip, and then added, "Lao Tzu will suck all your fine skin and tender flesh today!"
Chang Le screamed again, and he was even more aggrieved, he didn't like his "woman's face", but why did this face anger the foreman?
Could it be because of women?
Because Chang Le is outstanding, and his personality is kind and innocent, there are quite a few maids who come to talk to him when they have nothing to do and ask him to "go out for a walk", which also attracts the sour words of the rest of the male servants, and Chang Le has long been aware of this.
So he was quite cautious, politely declining any dates, both to reduce his hatred and to remain loyal to Alain.
Unexpectedly, even if he was so self-disciplined, he still offended the foreman.
He even once said to a maid who was four years older than him in front of the foreman:
"You're beautiful, but I have a girl I like, and it's not for you. The foreman is very nice, why don't you go out for a walk with him?"
Unexpectedly, the maid frowned and glanced at the foreman, and shouted hatefully:
"If you're not happy, forget it, don't push my sister around, my sister is not so hungry!"
After the maid finished speaking, she ran away, but the foreman turned two angry eyes on Chang Le, and since then all kinds of revenge have followed. Looking back now, could it be that the foreman regarded his kindness as a handout or a show-off, and recognized him as "vivid"?
But what could he do? At this time, he begged so hard that he wouldn't rob women with these guys? That would be ridiculous!
At this point, Chang Le simply stopped screaming, clenched his teeth fiercely, and even held his breath when he heard the whistling of the whip, silently bearing the sharp pain that pierced his heart.
The foreman was tired, so he changed hands and smoked, several people mocked each other's strength, kept laughing, and some suggested that Chang Le's pants be taken off, and then called the maids to "look at the shameful appearance of the little white face".
However, the blood flowing from Changle's back soaked his belt and pants, and was blown by the cold winter wind, freezing like armor, and the humiliating method of "picking up his pants" by those people was unsuccessful.
When he reached sixty or seventy lashes, Chang Le was numb to the extreme pain, and his head hung down weakly, and he happened to see the small copper bell he was wearing on his neck. For as long as he can remember, this small bell, less than a centimeter in diameter, has accompanied him, and according to his father, it is a family heirloom called "lucky bell".
Somehow, Chang Le suddenly smiled bitterly.
But he hung this thing, and he seemed to be unlucky all his life. The only fortunate thing is that he can fall in love with the well-behaved and lovely Alain, but Alain's father has announced that he is against marriage, and he has become a slave for others, and he can't even see Alain's face, which is so lucky!
Chang Le laughed more and more, and finally revealed a strange laugh from his clenched teeth.
This laughter seemed to be a provocation, of course, it only prompted the executioner to intensify his efforts, but Chang Le couldn't help it, and felt that it was so funny, and laughed until he burst into tears.
The hundred whips were finally pumped, and Chang Le was miraculously alive, even though his entire back was broken and his breath was dying, he still maintained a weird smile on his face.
If someone looks closely, they will find that his open flesh is squirming slightly and trying to heal, which is not the ability of human beings!
The maรฎtre d'art was not careful, but cruel enough.
They giggled and fetched torches, insisting on roasting the blood and ice on Changle's pants, and tearing off his pants to humiliate him, because there were already many maids watching at this time.
Just as the flames burned to Changle's crotch, a woman scolded sharply:
"Stop! The young master said a hundred lashes, you are also done, what do you want to do?"
"Ouch, someone can't help it!" several servants laughed, "It turns out to be Xue Hotaru, even you like this kid too?"
"Do you bastards still have any humanity?" Xue Hotaru didn't smile at all, "Whoever does it again, I'll move the scissors!"
Chang Le turned his head with difficulty, first saw the big scissors in Xue Ying's hand, and then saw Xue Ying herself.
In this deep twilight, he saw a ray of light in his dark life!
However, he had lost so much blood that he fainted after just one glance.
A hundred lashes! Normal conditions are enough to kill four or five people, Chang Le is not dead or disabled, and he can walk on the ground after lying in the servant's room for a few days, and he has since received a nickname:
"Changle who can't be killed".
In contrast, there is another legend in the castle:
"The untouchable snow fireflies".
The servants discussed privately, and they all recognized Xue Ying as the first beauty in the castle, and even the entire city of Kassel could not be compared, and her identity was only a humble untouchable female florist, so there were many people who thought about her.
Xue Ying is cheerful and enthusiastic, and is very easy to speak, but once someone makes a move, it will usher in a storm.
The beautiful girl's scolding words are not beautiful at all, they are very ugly, and her voice is loud, such as "Your mother has this thing too, go home and touch your mother!"
At this time, it often caused onlookers to laugh, so that the scolded people could not get off the stage, so they had to flee in disgrace.
Not only is she scolding, but she also uses force, scissors and shovels in her hands are sharp weapons, and her shots are extremely fierce. Over time, even the castle guards with a higher status did not dare to provoke her again, and the "untouchable snow firefly" has spread since then.
Despite this, Xue Ying went to the barracks to help Chang Le ask for ointment to stop bleeding and build muscles, and the guards still rushed to provide it, and it was a pleasure to be able to serve the beauty after all.
What does Xue Ying look like, the memory left by Chang Le before he fell into a coma is "a light". Probably because she was fair-skinned, like the moonlight, or because of the sincere concern on her face, like the warm sun.
When Youyou woke up, Chang Le found himself lying on the Chase bunk, and someone was helping him deal with the wound on his back. Although the other party's movements were gentle, it still hurt him to inhale cold air from between his teeth, and then bite the straw mat in front of him.
As soon as he made a movement, he heard a soft and beautiful female voice beside him:
"Are you awake?"
Chang Le tried to turn his head, only to see a person kneeling beside him, wrapped in a maid-style blue and white dress.
"Thank you, you...... Are you called Xue Ying?" Chang Le asked in a low voice, remembering his memories before he fell unconscious.
"Hmm. Xue Hotaru replied softly, and then exclaimed, "You're so durable!
"My name is Chang Le, which means contentment and happiness. Chang Le smiled bitterly, "It's just that I've been beaten a lot since I was a child, and my skin is thick." โ
"I have a younger brother who is as delicate and thin as you. Xue Ying's voice was low, and she was even a little choked, "My stepmother didn't give him food, and she beat him...... If only he could be half as tough as you......"
Xue Hotaru couldn't go on anymore and sniffed.
Chang Le understood that Xue Ying must have lost her brother, and sighed with a sour heart:
"Our untouchable lives are not worth much, if it weren't for Sister Xue Ying's rescue, I would have died today, either beaten to death or burned to death. โ
"Don't be so polite, I treat you as a brother in my heart. Xue Ying sniffed again, and while gently cleaning and medicating him, she asked softly, "Are you new here?" Sister will be seventeen next month, what about you?
Chang Le smiled: "I'm fifteen, but that was the year before last." This year, I still have to count ......."
"Liar, you don't want to be my brother, deliberately say that you are big!"
"No, sister, I want to be your brother! You will be my sister from now on!"
Chang Le was rescued by Xue Ying from the cruel whipping, and she was taken care of so gently, it was like jumping from hell to heaven, her chest was full of warmth, and she really wanted to recognize her as her sister.
"Okay, anyway, you look quite small, I recognized you as a younger brother, but it was disrespectful!"
Xue Ying grinned, then sighed again:
"A seventeen-year-old boy, fourteen or fifteen-year-old body, that's really pitiful, usually can't eat, right?"
As she spoke, she leaned down to look at Chang Le's face, Chang Le was also trying to turn his head to look at his sister, Xue Ying smiled and nodded on his nose:
"You're prettier than girls, so it's no wonder those bastards are jealous of you. โ
Chang Le smiled bitterly:
"What's the use of being pretty? I just want to be tall and strong!"
"Well, you have ambition!" Xue Ying nodded vigorously, "If you grow stronger, no one will dare to bully you anymore!"
Changle has pain in the back of his neck all the time, and it is very difficult to turn his head. But when he finally turned to a sufficient angle to see Xue Ying's face clearly, he couldn't speak anymore, and his heart was blank.
It's not a woman, it's an art treasure!
If Chang Le hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have dreamed of such a beautiful girl!
The untouchables generally have a withered complexion, but the snow firefly is very white, and unlike the bloodless pale of the nobles, she is like a masterpiece of ivory carving, with white and delicate skin and exquisite face!
In addition, her eyes are bright, there are two small "lying silkworms" under her eyes, and her smile is sweet and warm, just like the breeze rippling with flowers in spring.
Pure!pretty!sweet!kind!No matter what kind of standard you look at, Xue Hotaru is impeccable!
Lilith is known as a "beautiful girl", but compared to her and Xue Firefly, one is a stinky ditch and mud on the ground, and the other is a blue sky and rainbow after the rain!
"What do you think?"
"Sister......" Chang Le muttered in a low voice.
"Huh?"
"How do you ...... So beautiful?"
Xue Hotaru covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed, her eyes bent into a crescent moon, and of course she became more and more charming:
"I'm tired of hearing that, but when I tell you, why am I so happy?"
Chang Le was infected by that warm smile, and even the pain seemed to disappear without a trace, and he couldn't help but praise sincerely:
"My sister is so beautiful that even the blind can see it!"
"Hee-hee, you little thing, your mouth is so sweet!"
Xue Ying smiled and helped him deal with the wound, then pulled the quilt and gently covered it, and pinched Chang Le's nose again before leaving:
"Okay! The little thing is so hard, my sister can't be sorry for you, I will give you more delicious food in the future, so that you can grow strong!"
Later, Xue Ying really fulfilled her promise, often saving her own food for Chang Le, and occasionally when she went to the city, she would buy him snacks and snacks, and watch him finish eating in person, so as not to take it back to the servant's room and be robbed by others.
In addition, she also intimidated the foreman and others, warning them that if they were injured on Chang Le's body, she would draw ten points on them to compensate. The foreman really didn't dare to fight Changle anymore, and at most scolded a few evil words.
Other aspects, such as whether the clothes are warm enough, whether the sleep is enough, whether you miss home, etc., are all within the scope of Xue Ying's concern.
Chang Le was a little embarrassed at first, but after a long time, he got used to it, and even the way he spoke changed, pretending to be stupid and cute in front of his "sister" who was a few months younger than him, and he was willing to act as a little brother.
In the past years, it was he who spoiled the little sister Alain next door, but now he is spoiled by Xue Ying, but he is obsessed with this feeling of being cared for, and it seems that even the cold winter has become warmer.
Since he is favored by others, if he does not give anything in return, it is not in line with Chang Le's personality. But he didn't have anything good to handle, so he could only sell his strength and go to the flower room to help his sister do some heavy work in his spare time.
In fact, Chang Le does not have real "leisure", the young master is also practicing overnight, there must be more than two people on call outside the door, the servants are not on duty in turns, they can only take turns to sleep, Chang Le as a newcomer, sleep time is especially small, so he can only sacrifice sleep time to help his sister during the day, of course he will not let Xue Ying know.
There is only one person in the flower room, and another male gardener is said to have tried to do bad things to Yukihotaru, and was seriously injured by a beautiful girl with a flower pot, and he still can't get out of bed.
Chang Le's arrival has indeed relieved Xue Ying's workload, and she is happy to accept it. The two of them chatted while working, laughing constantly, but also having a good time.
Xue Ying sees Chang Le as a weak little boy who has been bullied, and bears a slight resemblance to her deceased brother, so she loves Chang Le very much. However, under Chang Le's weak and kind appearance, there is a demonic body hidden after all!
One time Xue Ying tried to move a large potted plant, and it was difficult to shake it with both arms together, Chang Le immediately ran over obediently, picked it up with only one hand, and asked "Where to put it?"
Xue Ying stared at Chang Le as if she had seen a ghost:
"Little thing, you have so much strength?"
Chang Le was shocked to realize that he had forgotten to hide his strange power, but he was afraid that his sister would also misunderstand that he was the "son of the devil", so he pretended to answer casually:
"Oh, my dad is a stonemason, and he helped him move stones and practice since he was a child. โ
Xue Ying didn't say anything more, but Chang Le's eyes changed a little since then.
Another time, Xue Hotaru climbed a ladder to trim a tree branch, accidentally lost her center of gravity and fell. At that time, she screamed and fell from a height of several meters, and Chang Le rushed over from dozens of meters away, but Chang Le arrived first, and then caught her sister steadily!
There's power, there's speed! And both of them are far beyond ordinary people, terrifyingly powerful!
This time, Xue Ying no longer listened to Chang Le's nonsense, and asked directly:
"You're a tiger after all! Big tiger! Why do you let those leper dogs bully you? Why don't you resist? Why pretend to be a good kitten?"
"I didn't pretend to be a good kitten. Chang Le smiled, "I'm simply it!"
Xue Ying didn't laugh: "No humor, no humor at all, answer my question!"
"Alas......" Chang Le scratched his head, his face full of helplessness, "Sister, what can I do if I beat them?"
"Beat them, and they won't dare to bully you anymore!"
"So what? I'm not still a pariah, I'm still a slave, and I'm not going to be happy if I turn myself into a bad person and make others fear me. If they can get happiness from beating me, I'll be an angel spreading happiness. โ
"You...... You're sick!"
Xue Ying couldn't find the right words for a while, and looked at Chang Le's eyes like looking at a madman.
Chang Le didn't understand his sister, a beautiful woman like Xue Ying was supposed to be delicate and lovable, but she made herself "mighty in all directions", so can she be happy? Is it meaningful?
Fortunately, the two did not argue about this issue all the time, life still went on like that, and life still went on.
Chang Le likes to look at his sister very much, no matter how far or near he is, as long as his sister's figure appears in his eyes, it is difficult to look away, and a smile will appear on his mouth.
The beauty of Xue Ying, not only in appearance, but also in the tall and graceful figure, even if she is dressed thick in winter, her waist is still slender, and the full chest is set off more towering, Chang Le often has an illusion, thinking that his sister has a pair of rabbits hidden in her clothes, and she walks happily with her steps, which also fascinates him unconsciously.
Why is it so beautiful that it is so high? Chang Le himself can't tell why, there is no reason, and there is no need for a reason.
Until one day, he suddenly realized that his feelings had slipped to the brink of danger, because he thought of Alain less and less often, and Xue Hotaru entered his dreams more and more often!
It's just a dream of Xue Ying, but in this dream, Xue Ying's sister is not wearing clothes! Although she can't see the details clearly, the whiteness is so shocking!
Chang Le, who woke up, turned over and sat up, panting, beads of sweat on his forehead, and then quietly touched his pants, and unexpectedly ...... It's a shame too!
Although Chang Le didn't know what was going on in his pants, he instinctively knew that he had crossed the line!
"My sister treats me as my own brother, but I have a dirty idea!" Chang Le was annoyed by this thought, and he had no shame to face his sister, so he began to avoid Xue Ying.
After going back and forth, Xue Ying finally got angry, blocked Chang Le in the corner of the wall and dragged him, and asked fiercely:
"Little thing, why are you avoiding me?
Xue Ying's tone was fierce, but her eyes were full of grievances.
Chang Le lowered his head and muttered:
"My sister didn't offend me, I was wrong. โ
Xue Hotaru still refuses to give up:
"You haven't answered yet, why are you avoiding me!"
"Because ......," Chang Le thought seriously and replied very honestly, "because my sister is so beautiful." โ
Xue Ying sneered, completely ignoring Chang Le's reasoning, and compared it to "I don't eat pork because it's too delicious, and I don't wear it because the cotton clothes are too warm." โ
"That's not what it means......," Chang Le explained in a low voice, "If there is meat in the bowl, it is very fragrant, but I can't eat it, I won't dare to look at it......"
"What nonsense!" Xue Ying suddenly stopped when she said this, looked at Chang Le, smiled and bit her lower lip, her face gradually flushed.
After a moment, she chuckled:
"What if you could eat it?"
With that, she immediately turned and fled.
"Can you eat...... I'm sure I ate it. โ
Chang Le looked at his sister's graceful back, and only had a single line of thought left in his head, but he forgot the source of the complex metaphor just now, and also ignored the meaning behind his sister's words.
However, after this incident, he no longer avoided Xue Ying, after all, this was against his own will. not only continues to be with my sister, but also gives my sister more care and love in turn to make up for my guilt.
It's just that he put Alain back in the most important position in his heart, and this principle must be firmly grasped!
A few days later, her wrist was cut by a flower thorn, and the bleeding did not stop, she took a dirty cloth to wipe it very casually, but Chang Le was distressed, and couldn't help but cry while helping her clean and bandage the wound.
Xue Ying, the injured man, laughed instead:
"Hey, it's me who hurts, why am I'm fine, you're crying!"
Chang Le took it for granted:
"When I'm at home, I don't cry when I'm hurt, my mother cries!"
Hearing this, Xue Ying suddenly fell silent, and it didn't take long for her nose and eye circles to flush together, and two lines of tears slipped silently.
"Now that the bleeding has stopped, why is my sister crying instead?" Chang Le asked blankly.
Xue Ying didn't answer immediately, she began to smile again with tears in her eyes, and her eyes fixed on Chang Le:
"If my sister is in danger in the future, will you go out of your way to save her?"
"Of course!"
"Even if it's death?"
"Even if it's death!"
Xue Ying smiled for a while, wiped her tears with her uninjured hand, reached over and put her hand on Chang Le's shoulder and stroked it gently, but hesitated and stammered when she spoke:
"My own mother died early, and no one hurts. Right now...... That one...... You, will you always be so good to your sister in the future?"
"Of course, my sister is better to me!"
"That'...... You will ...... in the future What happens after you marry your wife?"
Xue Ying said this cautiously, staring at Chang Le's eyes with an expression of gain and loss.
Chang Le's heart was a little throbbing inexplicably, but he still replied categorically:
"Sister, don't worry, Alain is a good girl, she will be good to you with me!"
"Who is Alain?"
"My neighbor, who is two years younger than me, has long promised to marry me......"
Chang Le began to talk about Alain to his sister, especially Alain's beautiful big eyes and supple and well-behaved personality, all of which had to be depicted in thick and colorful. In fact, he didn't mainly say it to his sister, but to himself and remind himself!
However, as Chang Le spoke, he suddenly found that the smile on Sister Xue Ying's face had disappeared, and she turned around and went to work silently, refusing to speak again. No matter how much Chang Le asked or was funny, she was expressionless.
After a while, when Chang Le's shift time was approaching and he had to leave, Xue Ying said in an extremely depressed tone:
"Don't come in the future, I can do this work alone. โ
Chang Le understands that his sister is angry, but the reason for his anger is elusive, his statement just now should be impeccable, how could he offend his sister?
When I went to the flower room again the next day, Sister Xue Ying was even more cold, and almost kicked him out:
"Please, don't come again!"
My sister used the word "ask", and the situation was very serious, but Changle didn't know what was going on, and she couldn't ask a name, so she had to leave depressed.
After hitting the wall two more times, Chang Le really didn't go to his sister anymore.
"If you don't see it, you don't see it, it doesn't matter!"
However, this is not really "indifferent". Once he can't see his sister, Chang Le is always in a gloomy mood, as if the sun is far away from him, making this early spring extremely cold.
So, after seven or eight days, he still went to the flower room again.
This time, Xue Ying did not get angry, but glanced at Chang Le, and continued to be busy with the work at hand, and at the same time asked lightly:
"Is there something wrong?"
"Something. โ
"I knew you wouldn't come if it was okay. Say, what's the matter?"
"I miss my sister. โ
"Oh. โ
Xue Ying responded, lowered her head slightly, and her expression was more serious, but seeing a smile on the corner of her mouth, it was like ripples on the calm water, gradually expanding, and finally she couldn't hold it back if she wanted to, she smiled with a "flutter", and then grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it over:
"Little thing! I can't help you!"
Seeing his sister's smile, Chang Le also smiled with confidence, and at the same time complained not without grievances:
"Sister, I can't do anything about you, I don't know why you're angry!"
"Because you're stupid!" Xue Ying smiled and took out a piece of oatmeal bread from her arms, "Here you go, help you bring it every day, if you don't come by yourself, you deserve to starve to death!"
Chang Le smiled shyly, took the bread, and sat on the wooden box to nibble on it. This bread is much drier and harder than when it first came out of the oven, but it tastes very warm with my sister's body temperature.
"Eat slowly, no one will rob you!"
Xue Ying smiled and sat down beside him, admiring him to gobble up, and asked softly:
"Little thing, you said you miss your sister, how much do you want it?"
"I want to ...... when I'm hungry" Chang Le's expression was serious, and when he saw his sister's face change, he smiled and added, "I want to think more when I'm not hungry!"
"Only the first half of the sentence is true!" Xue Ying smiled and gritted her teeth, knocked on his head, and then asked, "Sister is better-looking, or is Alain better-looking?"
Chang Le pondered for a moment, and first asked a rhetorical question:
"Sister, do you want to hear the truth, or a lie?"
"Of course it's true!" Xue Hotaru's face became a little ugly again.
"My sister looks better......"
"Liar, this is a lie!" Xue Ying said this, but her smile was like a flower blooming in spring.
Chang Le laughed with "hehe".
Xue Ying laughed for a while, and suddenly sighed:
"You know what? My sister doesn't want you to be embarrassed, but she can't let go of you in her heart, so I've been thinking about it and trying to understand one thing these days. โ
"What's the matter?"
"My sister found that she had no choice but to extricate herself......"
"Pull out what?"
"Pull out your stupid protein idiot big radish!" Xue Ying hugged Chang Le's head with both hands and pulled it upward, causing Chang Le to scream loudly and half-truthfully.