*Trigger Warning*

  Chuntao had come to the house of Landlord Peng to give the details of the crops that she had sown. Landlord Peng's assistant noted the details in a notebook and told them to leave. As Chuntao was ready to leave, landlord Peng's assistant stopped her. "Take this to the main house," he forwarded a scroll towards Chuntao.

  "Isn't it supposed to be done by a servant of the house?" Chuntao questioned. "What I mean is that I am not allowed to go to the main house of Landlord Peng," asserted Chuntao and lowered her eyes.

  "There is no servant at this moment…… I have one more work left which can take a little longer. Master Peng might get angry if he did not give it at the time. Leave it! I will send it through someone," the assistant told Chuntao to leave when she forwarded both of her hands.

  "I will give it to the Master. Forgive me for earlier," Chuntao stated. The assistant smiled and put the scroll in her hand. "If this work would not be important, then I would have given my master myself. Thank you," he expressed his gratitude and walked past her. Chuntao looked at the scroll. She came out of the storehouse and searched for the main house.

  Near the storehouse, hardly any servant from the Residence was visible except the workers. She asked one of them, who guided her in the direction to the main house. "Thank you, Brother," Chuntao walked ahead. She now had entered the main yard of the residence. She could see a few servants and thought to ask any one of them to give the scroll to Landlord Peng.

  However, a thought hit her mind that if the scroll did not reach the hands of Landlord Peng, then she might get punished, so she decided to fetch it herself to him. She had entered the main house of the residence. "Brother, could you please tell me where I can meet the master of this house?" Chuntao politely asked a servant, who was mopping the floor.

  He pointed his finger to the left. "Sister shall go straight and then turn right. Sister will see chains of servants outside the chamber of the master of this house." The man told Chuntao about the directions.

  "Thank you, Brother," Chuntao stated and walked in the told direction. Finally, she reached outside the chamber of Landlord Peng. However, to her surprise, there were no servants outside.

  Chuntao stepped ahead and heard the voices of a few men from inside the chamber. She halted outside the chamber and lowered her head. "Sorry for intruding on the master," Chuntao said from outside in a loud enough voice. The manners she had learned in the Imperial Palace, so it turned a lot easier than she thought.

  "What happened?" Landlord Peng asked. The noises of the people with him had died out.

  "Master's assistant has sent a scroll," replied Chuntao, keeping her tone polite.

  "Come in," Landlord Peng permitted her. Chuntao slowly pushed the door away and entered. Her gaze was lowered as she moved forward. She could see five men around a table, probably feasting in the day.

  "Put it over that table," Landlord Peng instructed her. Chuntao turned left and put the scroll on the table. She turned to the landlord and bowed. She was ready to leave when she heard the voice of the men among them.

  Chuntao got intimidated by the question. "This person works in the fields," Chuntao replied. She did not know but her heart started beating against her chest in fear.

  "Respected Village Headman, she is a common village woman," Landlord Peng asserted. Chuntao got terrified as she found that the Village Headman was present in the chamber.

  "You may leave," Landlord Peng stated. Chuntao bowed and stepped back, but then the Village Headman stopped her.

  "May I know the name of this young woman?" The village headman, Zou Min, asked. He had an evil grin on his face as he checked her out from head to toe.

  Chuntao tightly intertwined her fingers. She could not take her name but if she would not, the Village Headman might do something more. Landlord Peng had tried to help Chuntao, but in front of Zou Min, it was in vain.

  "What is the name of this young woman?" Zou Min repeated his question.

  "Ch-ch-" Chuntao found that her voice was not coming out of her throat. She found herself stuck as sweat formed over her forehead.

  "Shall I give you a name?" Zou Min asked.

  "No," immediately Chuntao replied. Zou Min smiled upon hearing her answer. Chuntao did not know what she should do in this case. If she told her name, Zou Min might do something more. The thought was scaring her.

  Zou Min stood up from the table with a porcelain cup in his hand. The other four men looked at Zou Min nervously. It seemed they had an idea what was going to happen next.

  "Master Zou, let this woman go. We have important matters to discuss. We need to submit the report by tomorrow morning," Landlord Peng again tried to save Chuntao.

  "We have an entire day to discuss those matters," affirmed Zou Min and halted before Chuntao. He once again checked her out. "Drink this," Zou Min said as he extended the porcelain cup, which had wine in it.

  Chuntao flickered her eyes, unable to believe what she had heard. Gathering her courage, she said, "Forgive me, My Lord. I do not drink wine."

  Suddenly she felt the hand of Zou Min touching her hands. She yanked her hand away and stepped away. "Please refrain my lord from touching me," Chuntao protested. Zou Min ignored her words.

  "So soft. Such a rare beauty in this village is tough to find! You will embellish my residence. Let's get married," Zou Min offered the deal in front of her.

  Chuntao widened her eyes and lifted her head. The other four men in the chamber did not dare to speak now. They knew if they would do anything to help this woman, their life would come to an end.

  "My Lord, I am already married." Chuntao did not know at this moment how she should defend herself. She did not want either Nianzu to reveal his identity so decided to end it on a good note.

  Zou Min stepped closer to her and put his hand on her waist. "No worries, dear. I will kill your husband." Chuntao's reflex acted, and she slapped Zou Min, shocking everyone. Zou Min put his palm on his cheek.

  "My Lord, please be respectful towards my husband and do not touch me without my permission," Chuntao asserted. The anger was visible on her face. The four men stood up from their respective seats. Lord Peng intervened, to calm the situation.

  Zou Min scowled at Chuntao in anger. He grabbed her by the fistful of her hair. She screamed in pain. "How dare a filthy woman to slap me?" Zou Min bellowed at her.

  "My Lord, let her go. I will give her a severe punishment," Landlord Peng tried to control the situation and grabbed the arms of Zou Min, but he pushed him away. Landlord Peng gestured to the Royal Inspector to do something, but he shook his head.

  "Leave me," Chuntao pleaded with him. Zou Min slapped her and pushed her to the floor. She was in a disheveled state now. Tears started to pour down from her eyes. "Royal Inspector, bring her to my residence. The judgment regarding her will be done today. I will make sure today that she loses her respect," Zou Min growled in anger.

  The Royal Inspector walked out and came with two soldiers. "My Lord, she made a mistake. I will scold her and then-"

  "Shut up, Landlord Peng. You might lose your life or your entire family," Zou Min threatened him. The soldiers grabbed Chuntao from her arms and pulled her up. "Lower your eyes before I pull them out," Zou Min shouted at Chuntao, who did not. He raised his hand on her when Landlord Peng, gathering his courage, stopped him.

  "My Lord, please calm down. We are going to punish her anyway," Landlord Peng stated. Zou Min walked out of the chamber while Chuntao was dragged out of the house behind the village headman.

  "Why did you not stop it?" Landlord Peng complained to the Royal Inspector.

  "Landlord Peng, don't you know how powerful he is! I care for my family too. And that woman raised her hand. She should be within her limits. It was not like Lord Zou did something wrong to get this angry," the Royal Inspector defended Zou Min. "Let's go before Lord Zou loses his temper," he stated and walked out.