Qingmu snapped his fingers in front of the three little girls and said, "You can wake up now!"
The girls opened their eyes and were surprised to find that the bad guys who had captured them were already lying on the ground. Although there was a lot of blood on the ground, which looked somewhat gruesome, they knew they were saved—it was this cute uncle with messy hair who had saved them.
A girl suddenly burst into tears. "Uncle, I want to go home!"
Qingmu said, "Okay, Uncle will take you home."
Another girl said, "Uncle, I'm hungry!"
"Uh... these guys are so inhumane, they won't even give us food?" Qingmu scratched his head and thought for a moment, then reached out and touched the fat man's corpse, and sure enough, he found some money.
He then patted the other men who looked like leaders on the shoulder, before waving the money in his hand and saying, "Alright, Uncle has money now, let's go eat! After we eat, we'll go home!"
The girls immediately stopped crying and started cheering.
Qingmu led the three little girls out of the courtyard and back to the street corner, where he saw the Madman guarding the motorcycle, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy, like a miser guarding a pile of treasure.
Qingmu laughed heartily, pointed to a restaurant not far away, and said to the Madman, "Let's eat there."
The Madman relaxed when he saw him come out, chuckling and nodding. He glanced at the three little girls, then suddenly tensed up, pointing at them and muttering incoherently, " Beauty? Beauty?"
Qingmu said, " The Beauty isn't here, I'm going to go find her now, you guys go eat first."
Qingmu led the girl and the Madman into the restaurant, ordered a curry chicken rice for each of them, and told the girls, "Eat here, and don't wander off until I get back."
"Uncle, weren't you going to take us home?" The girl thought Qingmu was abandoning them, and tears welled up in her eyes again.
Qingmu comforted him, "Uncle is going to rescue a girl just like you. Once we bring her over, we'll go home together."
The girls all nodded and said, "Okay."
Qingmu then handed all the money to the shop owner, instructing him, "Keep an eye on them for me. Don't let them leave before I get back. See if this money is enough to pay for their meal. If there's extra, give them more food. If not, give them more when I return."
The shop owner was astonished to see the huge pile of money on the table. "Oh dear, you don't need so much! This money is enough to buy my little shop!"
Qingmu said, "Oh, then consider it a tip for looking after them!"
After saying that, he ignored the owner's astonished expression, left the restaurant, and hurriedly got on his motorcycle and drove away.
Yu Meiren had no idea where she was at that moment.
The room was filled with flowers, like a bride's bridal chamber. Two old women came in and tried to take off her clothes. She struggled desperately, but the two women, whose faces were more wrinkled than Old Enkun's, were very strong. They forcibly stripped her clothes off and threw her into the bathtub.
"Girl, you're so lucky! The general has taken a liking to you. As long as you keep him happy, you'll enjoy a life of luxury every Tiantian!"
"Don't be ungrateful! Those who weren't chosen by the general were sold to brothels! Compared to them, you're like heaven and hell!"
They scrubbed her back while chattering Guagua in broken Chinese.
After her bath, they dressed her in a new outfit. The clothes looked beautiful, like those of a princess in a painting. But Yu Meiren didn't like them at all. She knew she could never become a princess; instead, she was about to become someone else's slave.
The old woman brought out a bunch of bottles and jars to do the Beauty's makeup. The Beauty strongly resisted these cosmetics that emitted a pungent odor and refused to cooperate.
Makeup is a delicate task, and no matter how strong the two old women were, they couldn't do anything if Yu Meiren wouldn't cooperate. One of the old women was about to hit her, but the other stopped her. "Oh dear, are you being foolish again? She's serving the General tonight. What if you hurt her and make her swollen? What if the General blames you?"
The old woman withdrew her hand and asked angrily, "What do you do when she's disobedient? Why don't you give her some medicine? Would she behave after a little medicine?"
Another old woman said, "The general likes real things; if he's given drugs, it won't be real anymore. Use this—" As she spoke, she took out a long needle and threatened the Beauty, "If you move again, I'll poke you!"
The Beauty still wouldn't cooperate. So the two old women lifted Beauty skirt and poked her buttocks with needles. The Beauty gritted her teeth in pain but didn't utter a sound.
They then pricked her arms and back, saying as they did so, "She really has a fiery temper; no wonder the general likes her."
Seeing that it wasn't working and not wanting to actually hurt her, the two old women stopped, panting heavily. One of them shouted, "Use the medicine! We can't stop now! You forced us to do this!"
She walked out as she spoke, and after a while, a younger woman followed her in, carrying a tray with syringes and small medicine bottles on it.
Two old women held Yu Meiren down while the young woman gave her an injection. Yu Meiren couldn't struggle and had no choice but to let them do as they pleased.
An old woman said, "Don't do too much makeup. Half an hour is enough. The general won't like it if you do too much."
The woman giving the injection said, "Don't worry, this dosage is about the same as a sedative."
The white lotion in the syringe was injected little by little into the Beauty's arm. Suddenly, Beauty felt her heart pounding violently, and then a hot, burning sensation began to assault her brain, as if someone had poured a bowl of chili oil into her head. Then, her consciousness began to blur, and she felt lightheaded, as if she were flying.
She flew to the forest, where there was a very, very big garden castle, and many small animals played with her in the castle. She was their princess.
On this day, the princess was to be married. The prince, far away, was riding a white horse, eagerly awaiting the arrival of her bridal carriage.
She was in a room filled with flowers, dressed in her most beautiful clothes. Servants stood on either side of her, and two old women were doing her makeup.
"Yes, that's better. Add some more red here."
"Come on, smile! You look better when you smile!"
Yu Meiren smiled. Everyone said her smile was beautiful. The prince in the distance must think so too! she thought.
She felt that the people the prince had sent to pick her up were almost here, and her heart pounded, fearing that they wouldn't like her current appearance.
The door creaked open.
Yu Meiren turned her head and saw a disheveled man walk in, his hands in his pockets, looking cool. She felt like she knew him. When she heard the clattering of his footsteps, it was like the distant tolling of a temple bell ringing in her mind.
A fleeting moment of clarity crossed her mind, but the burning power in her blood was still pounding against her heart and brain, colliding with the clattering footsteps like two armies meeting. The battle raged within her body, and with a deafening roar in her mind, she collapsed.
Before Yeye fainted, she murmured, " Qingmu!"