The Girls He Took as Sisters

The group reached the shade of an old locust tree outside the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. Shen Jingchuan asked the members of the Su Household to wait there while he quickly turned into a deserted corner of an alley nearby.

After making sure no one around was watching, he took a fifty-jin bag of polished rice and ten jin of fine salt from his space, then turned and hurried back.

The Su sisters' uncle froze at the sight of the thin, translucent plastic bag. He had lived half his life and never seen such unusual packaging.

Shen Jingchuan lowered his voice and cautioned him, "Hide these carefully. Losing the grain to robbers would be the lesser worry. If the wrong people really set their sights on you, you might lose your lives."

The man hurriedly pulled off his patched outer robe and bundled the bag of rice and package of salt inside it, then scanned the street twice. Fortunately, it was quiet there, and no one was looking their way. Only then did he breathe a little easier.

He then felt inside the cloth pouch he kept close to his body and pulled out two household registration papers. They were the documents belonging to the sisters Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua. He offered them with both hands and spoke awkwardly:

"Young master, I can read and write. Let's draw up a bill of sale now. I'll put my mark on it as a guarantee and never go back on my word."

Shen Jingchuan glanced at the two registration papers and took them, then turned and handed them to the two girls beside him. He said evenly:

"There's no need for a bill of sale. They can stay with me for two or three years. Once the famine is over and the world is peaceful again, whether they want to leave, marry, or stay on will be entirely up to them."

At those words, the man's legs gave way and he fell to his knees, his voice choking at once:

"My elder brother studied hard all his life, but he never even earned the title of xiucai. Before he died, he couldn't stop worrying about his two daughters.

"If we hadn't truly run out of ways to get by, and if they could survive going on like this...

"Otherwise, I'd have fought to the death before selling my own nieces... Young master, you're willing to treat them this way. My whole family will remember your great kindness for the rest of our lives!"

When Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua, standing beside them, saw their uncle kneel, they too sank to their knees.

The sisters had understood what they had just heard. Not only had this man saved them from a pit of fire, he didn't even want a deed selling them into servitude, and he wouldn't strip them of their status as free commoners.

Compared with their fate of nearly being sold into a brothel or an illicit house of prostitution, it was truly the difference between heaven and earth.

The elder sister, Su Qingshu, clutched their registration papers tightly and kowtowed, her eyes red.

"Young master, we sisters have no way to repay your great kindness. Even if you don't draw up a deed, we're willing to stay by your side and serve you with all our hearts. We'll never have divided loyalties."

The woman holding the child had no strength to kneel, but she bowed deeply with the child in her arms. Her lips moved, but in the end she said nothing. Only the gratitude in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Shen Jingchuan raised a hand.

"Get up. Take the grain. You'll have to work out for yourselves how to settle your family from here on."

The man hastily wiped his face and nodded. "Yes, yes, young master, don't worry. I have a way. I'll make sure the whole family is settled."

Shen Jingchuan said no more and gestured to the two girls. "Get up. Come with me."

The sisters rose to their feet and couldn't help looking back at their uncle and aunt, their eyes brimming red.

Their uncle held back his tears and waved them on.

"Go on. Serve the young master well. Don't hold it against me... I'm useless. I couldn't keep you safe.

"If the whole family stayed tied together, none of us would survive in the end. This is better... better than ending up abused by others."

"Uncle, we don't hate you." The younger sister, Su Qinghua, spoke in a trembling voice. "Please take care of yourself."

Watching the scene of a parting like life from death, Shen Jingchuan felt bad too. He added:

"There's no need to be so distant about it. Whenever you have time in the future, you can come visit them."

The man jerked his head up, his face full of disbelief, then thanked him again and again.

By now, he was completely convinced that this young master was truly kindhearted and didn't regard his two nieces as servants in the slightest. The sisters also looked up at Shen Jingchuan, their clear eyes full of emotion.

"All right, let's go." Shen Jingchuan turned away first, unable to bear watching the scene any longer.

Shen Jingchuan walked in front. He really hadn't acted out of lust.

The two girls were so starved and gaunt, their faces sallow, that they looked just like two scrawny little monkeys. What beauty could they possibly have? He had simply seen how pitiful their family was, and how they were one step away from falling into a pit of fire, and hadn't been able to stop himself from helping.

Just now, he had even considered simply giving them the grain and letting the family go, but he had dismissed the thought on second consideration.

In these famine years and troubled times, with no one to rely on, the sisters would still be unable to escape being sold once the grain ran out. They were better off following him; at least they would have a dependable meal.

When they reached the vermilion gates of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, the old escort guarding them looked up at the sound of footsteps. Seeing Shen Jingchuan, he immediately straightened and greeted him with a smile.

"Young Master Shen, you're back."

As soon as he spoke, his gaze fell on the two little girls behind Shen Jingchuan. Their clothes were in tatters, their faces were grimy, and their steps were unsteady. He stared for a moment, then took half a step forward and lowered his voice.

"Young master, these two are..."

"Two children I ran into on the road. A brothel madam nearly bought them. I couldn't stand by and watch, so I stopped her." Shen Jingchuan spoke casually, as though it were a trivial matter.

The old escort sighed, his face full of the sorrow of someone who had seen it all too often.

"Young master, you're truly kindhearted. But people sell their sons and daughters on the streets every day. How could you possibly help them all?"

"If I run into someone, I'll lend a hand. As for those I don't see, there's nothing I can do." Shen Jingchuan smiled. "Let's call it my good deed for the day."

"Yes, yes, young master, you've earned yourself merit."

The old escort nodded repeatedly and hurriedly stepped aside to clear the way.

"Please, come in, come in. The chief escort gave orders this morning: you can come and go without an announcement. Just walk straight in."

This was an honored guest the chief escort had given them repeated instructions about. Never mind bringing two people; even if he brought several more, there was no reason to stop him.

Shen Jingchuan nodded and led the sisters Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua inside.

People came and went in the escort agency's front courtyard, escorts and their assistants passing in and out. He deliberately took the quiet corridor along the side, meeting hardly anyone on the way, and went straight back to the small side courtyard in the rear where he lived alone.

As soon as he stepped through the courtyard gate, Yue'er, the maid the household had sent to serve him, heard the noise and came to meet him from beneath the covered walkway. She bent her knees in a slight curtsy and spoke softly:

"Young master, you're back."

Just after speaking, she looked up and caught sight of the two little girls following Shen Jingchuan. Their hair was tangled, their ragged clothes were smeared with mud, and their exposed little faces and hands were black with grime.

Her brows drew together involuntarily, undisguised distaste in her eyes, and she instinctively took half a step back.

Shen Jingchuan caught every one of her little movements. His tone cooled somewhat. "What, do you look down on them?"

Yue'er was startled. She hurriedly lowered her head and made her voice even softer. "I wouldn't dare."

"Good."

Shen Jingchuan stepped aside, revealing the uneasy sisters behind him. He spoke solemnly: "These are the two girls I've taken as my younger sisters, not servants or maids. From now on, in this courtyard, you're not to give them the cold shoulder, much less bully them. Do you hear me?"

Qingshu and Qinghua looked at each other. Why did they feel so much like crying? Their eyes reddened again.

Yue'er looked up sharply, her eyes full of surprise, and blurted out:

"Young master... the sisters you've taken?" She was originally one of Eldest Young Lady Lin's two senior personal maids, specially sent by the young lady to serve Shen Jingchuan. She had always enjoyed a certain standing, and now, startled, she hadn't been able to hold the words back.

"I've taken them as sisters. Is that a problem?" The corner of Shen Jingchuan's eye rose slightly, carrying a touch of pressure, neither too heavy nor too light.

Yue'er's heart tightened. She hurriedly lowered her head and apologized.

"I spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, young master."

"Enough."

Shen Jingchuan waved a hand and instructed her, "Go fetch an old woman to heat water, and find two clean changes of clothes. Take them to the side room next door to wash up and get them clean from head to toe."

"Yes, I'll go at once."

Yue'er didn't dare delay and hurried away. Before long, she returned with Mama Wang, who tended the fires. Carrying wooden buckets of hot water, the two led the Su sisters, who didn't know what to do with themselves, into the side room.

Shen Jingchuan turned and entered the main room. He took two bars of soap from his space and removed all the plastic wrapping, then took out two soft, snow-white cotton towels. Only then did he call out:

"Yue'er, come here."

Yue'er hurried over from the side room and stood by the door with her hands at her sides. "What do you need, young master?"

Shen Jingchuan handed her the soap and towels.

"Take these to the two girls. Have them bathe with this; it cleans well."

Yue'er reached out and took them. Her fingertips touched the soap's smooth, pleasant texture, and a delicate, subtle fragrance wafted up. The towels, too, were finely woven and soft, white as snow, and even more exquisite than those the young lady of the household used.

For a moment, she couldn't help looking up, a note of puzzlement in her voice.

"Young master, such fine soap and towels... Even our young lady has never used such delicate things. You're giving them to those two?"

Everything she said suggested she thought it wasn't worth it. She had served in the Lin household for many years and had always been a favored attendant at the young lady's side. Even when sent to serve an honored guest, she retained some of a senior maid's confidence, which was why she dared speak so bluntly.

Shen Jingchuan glanced up at her. His tone was level, but it brooked no argument.

"They're my sisters. If I say they can use them, they can. This isn't something you have any say in."

Yue'er was choked into silence. She pressed her lips together, but in the end didn't dare talk back. She bent her knees, answered "Yes," and withdrew with the items in her arms and her head lowered.

Shen Jingchuan watched her retreating back as she hurried away and raised an eyebrow to himself.

The little maid had delicate features and a pretty face, and she looked quiet and gentle. He hadn't expected her to be so stubborn.