Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 141: A Family Should be Not Missing a Single Member

Warning for assault

When Qin Ming Yue walked out of the prison, the night had already descended into darkness.
When he arrived home, he couldn’t control the urge to harshly kick the door open, yet even that did not diminish his anger.
The old servant who had just been cleaning the courtyard was frightened by the sound, and he looked over in fear until he recognized that it was Qin Ming Yue.

It was as if Qin Ming Yue had suffered immense humiliation, been wronged.
His face was shrouded in darkness with his teeth tightly clenched, his hands tightly grasped into fists, making him look like a demon that had climbed out of hell.
The aura around him seemed to take on an actual shape, dark and gloomy, and even from afar, the hatred that was so tightly reigned inside of him could still be felt, as if ready to explode at any moment.

But the old servant had no such sense of danger and instead just kept on sweeping and sweeping.
He asked, 

“Xian-sheng, why did Physician Xiao not come back together with you.”

Qin Ming Yue speed-walked to his room, passing by the old servant as if a tornado had blown by, 

“He died!”

“If he died, then you should not keep him in mind.
How much better would it be to forget as soon as possible.
Ming Yue, you must not be so angry because of it.”

A man dressed in very expensive, high quality clothing suddenly came out of the waiting room for guests, and it was none other than the district magistrate’s son, Chen Xiao-ye.
Qin Ming Yue already had one foot in the door but the moment he saw who it was, he retracted his foot as his face immediately donned a supremely fake smile.
But his voice was as hard as steel, frosty enough to push anyone away,

“What have you come here for, Chen Xiao-ye?”

From the side, Zhong Bo explained, 

“Xian-sheng, this gong-zi had arrived quite a while ago, and has been waiting in the waiting room.
I had meant to tell you but then I forgot.”

And then noisily put back the broom before heading to the back kitchen to start cooking.

Seeing Zhong Bo leave, Chen Zi Qi couldn’t help himself and moved forward, looking quite hasty as he said to Qin Ming Yue, 

“Ming Yue, that Xiao family has been sent to death row.
No one can save them now.
Xiao Feng Wu is not a good man, don’t get yourself implicated by associating with him.”

Xiao Feng Wu, these three words, were like cannon powder, being lit into an explosion by whoever said those words.  Qin Ming Yue’s face immediately dropped cold, not even willing to give any courtesies, 

“Chen Zi Qi, take your leave.
This place of mine is too poor and destitute, not a place for someone like you.”

And then he turned around to head back in, closing the door behind him.
But Chen Zi Qi quickly used his hand to forcefully push the door open, and with Qin Ming Yue not expecting it, Chen Zi Qi slipped into the room.

“Ming Yue! That Xiao Feng Wu is about to die soon! Why must you still keep me at arm’s length and push me away? You must know how I feel about you, so why are you not willing to turn your head and look at me?” 

Chen Zi Qi’s well of patience seemed to have dried up and his eyes were full of desire, visible to the naked eye, as if he was a raving monster ready to swallow him up.

The room was dark and nothing could be seen.
Qin Ming Yue lit a candle, and underneath the warm candlelight, the side of his face that was so clean and smooth like jade looked so tantalising and seductive.
A face that could not be seen on any other human, so much so that he must be inhuman, like a ghost or a fox.
Chen Zi Qi couldn’t stop staring, so mesmerised by his face that he was about to step forward when he heard Qin Ming Yue coldly say,

“Get out.”

Two words spouted out so lightly, without any emotions attached to it, yet to Chen Zi Qi’s ears those words felt like they contained some sort of mockery, condescending and a blush immediately came to his face.
Seeing him like this, Qin Ming Yue’s face couldn’t hold it in anymore and his eyebrows furrowed.

A miniscule action, yet it seemed to be the last straw, easily breaking through Chen Zi Qi’s last remaining shred of rationality.

The expression on Chen Zi Qi’s face changed a few times from shame to embarrassment, from embarrassment to anger and then, oddly enough, he calmed down and his voice deepened, 

“Qin Ming Yue, don’t think you can keep getting away with it—-“

Just an actor.
Who does he think he is to keep rejecting him?

A burning fire was lit in Chen Zi Qi’s heart, and he shot forward to grab onto Qin Ming Yue’s wrist tightly, pulling and tossing him onto the bed. 

With deep and heavy breaths, he said, 

“Qin Ming Yue, there is nothing I want that I cannot get! You slither and writhe under Xiao Feng Wu with pleasure, but what kind of superiority do you think you can pretend to have in front of my face.
Just a thing to be played with! You overstep with your pride! “

His anger was through the roof, enabling his strength to be so overly powerful it was frightening and before long, he tore Qin Ming Yue’s outer robes.

“Leave!”

Qin Ming Yue struggled for his life and whether it was from anger or for some other reason, tears began to fall from the corners of his eyes.
The wound on his hands reopened but even with the scent of blood, Chen Zi Qi did not stop.
Scratches began to appear on Chen Zi Qi’s neck, enough to show blood and piercing him with so much pain that it turned his face pale.
This pain made him angry enough to viciously slam Qin Ming Yue’s face down on the bed, 

“Qin Ming Yue, it’s been said that prostitutes don’t have emotions and actors don’t have honor.
You are so infatuated with Xiao Feng Wu that you are even willing to save your body for him? Too bad, I will not let you have what you want! I have never heard that prostitutes came from anything good.
A piece of furniture that has been played with so much, so much that it’s rotten.
It was me who was dumb.
So dumb that I would hold you up high on a pedestal, like you are pure snow from the top of a mountain!”

And then ruthlessly held him down with one hand and the other went to rip off Qin Ming Yue’s pants.

A helpless feeling overcame him as Qin Ming Yue started grasping around blindly until he was able to pluck out that half moon hairpin out of his hair and flipped his hand around to ruthlessly stab down three inches below the ribs.
A scream of pain immediately rang out and Chen Zi Qi rolled off the bed with a pale white face.

The quality of the jade was good but it was thin so after about half an inch in, it broke off.
Still, it was enough to gain Qin Ming Yue some time and space.
He immediately flipped over and stood up, grabbing the candlestick to viciously hit Chen Zi Qi at the back of his neck, making him freeze and slump onto the floor in a faint.

The candle had already been doused, only leaving behind a faint trail of smoke drifting up.

Qin Ming Yue’s hands lost their strength and the candlestick fell onto the floor with a clang.
He rolled off the bed, both eyes red as he pulled his robes back into order and harshly wiped his face, wiping off the liquid on his face that could be tears or sweat.
In the end, he was still agitated enough that his anger only dissipated when he viciously went to kick Chen Zi Qi.

One, two, all of them have only seen him just as a plaything.
Already one Xiao Feng Wu was enough to make him mad.
Was it because his life was destined to be low that he deserved to be played and be humiliated?

Chen Zi Qi did not wake up and Xiao Feng Wu let out a breath.
He suddenly felt a thick stack of paper in his sleeves and he froze.
Whatever he thought about then, he suddenly opened the dresser after a moment, hastily packing up some clothing and money, grabbing a conical hat from the wall and heading out.
Zhong Bo was just coming out of the kitchen and paused in surprise, 

“Xian-sheng, where are you going?”

Qin Ming Yue paused his footsteps.
The top half of his face was hidden in shadows, with only his skinny chin exposed, making it hard to tell his expression.
He untied the money bag by his waist and without turning back his head, he tossed it to Zhong Bo, 

“I’m heading out to the city to lay low and I won’t be back for a while.”

He then quickly left, heading towards the north streets, the shadows of his body quickly disappeared into the night.

Xiao Feng Wu had seen the prognosis of the Empress and he had a general idea of the issue.
He quietly counted to the day when the Empress was going to give birth, as if to figure out his death date.

 

They’ve said the doors to the officials were open to the south in the shape of an “八”, an 8, and if you don’t have money, only reason, don’t even bother stepping a foot in1. 

The district magistrate was no exception.
The prison was normally very empty but when it was full, pick any one out of them and it was very likely that it was an innocent man.
Quite a few people have been caught these past few days, making it quite noisy every so often which caused Xiao Feng Wu to always take a look, unable to help himself.
But since that day, Qin Ming Yue had never set foot back in.

He didn’t know if he should be happy or if he should be disappointed.

Xiao Feng Wu picked up one of the numerous tiny rocks on the floor.
Drawing a symbol on the wall, he realized that they had already been in jail for four days.
After some contemplation he figured that the Empress should be giving birth either tonight or tomorrow and not one second later.

“Ey ey ey, time for a meal.
Time for a meal.”

The guards came in with a wooden barrel full of congee.
Each person got one bowl with two mantous and nothing more.
When it came to Xiao Feng Wu, he was given an extra bag full of chicken, shimmering with a layer of oil on top, the scent of meat travelling far.

“Sixteen, Sixteen,” 

Xiao Feng Ming grabbed onto the jail bars, salivating, 

“Pass a chicken leg to your seventh Brother.”

Xiao Feng Wu thought, no fucking way I’ll even give you the chicken butt, but then the thought that humans that were alive naturally had to be dumb, just like Seventh Brother who did not care for a single sad thing in the world came to his mind.
The moment he himself had the thought that he could be dying tomorrow made him lose his appetite.
He tossed the bag of chicken over between the bars, 

“I’m not hungry.
Eat it yourself.”

Xiao Feng Ming didn’t ask why and immediately picked it up, eating without a care, liberally covering himself with oil stains. 

Jiang Ping An was not on duty today.
Xiao Feng Wu looked through the bars a few times, but he still couldn’t spot him and he could only rest his anxious heart for any news.

He was normally very calm but now he was evidently so apprehensive that even Xiao Feng Ming could see it.
He swallowed down the chicken in his mouth and hesitantly asked, 

“Sixteen, do you……do you know something? Are we all going to die?”

Xiao Feng Wu walked back and forth inside his cell, his eyes too lazy to even lift up, 

“You don’t die now, you’ll still die one day or another.
What’s the difference between now and then? After all, you will just spend all your days in a casino, so you can at least save yourself from handing money off to others on a silver platter.”

Xiao Feng Ming grabbed the bars, hitting his head and regretfully shutting his eyes, unwilling to keep conversing with him.

And they all held on until the night when they suddenly heard a racket outside coming from afar.
Xiao Liu-Ge couldn’t sleep and he stood up to try and see what was going on.
Yawning, he said, 

“So late at night.
Who has been caught now? Can’t they stop for one day.”

 

Xiao Feng Ming couldn’t sleep either and he agreed lazily, 

“Perhaps it was a serial rapist2, and he got caught just as he was sneaking into the girl’s room.”

The newcomer was likely some troublemaker, someone who wasn’t easily taken down, as there was quite a racket going on outside as if there was a fight.
Quite a few guards had rushed over before finally getting the person under control.

“Fuck your grandmother! Who do you think you are to grab onto me! Let me go! Let me go!”

Two guards were on either side of a young man, detaining him, and Xiao Feng Ming was just about to see who this crazy man was, who could be so rash and aggressive even after entering the jail.
Yet ignorance was bliss as the moment he looked, fear struck his heart.
Was that person not just Eight Brother, the one who joined a merchant’s caravan to Xi Yi?

Xiao Feng Ming kicked at the jail door, angrily yelling, 

“Unlucky bastard! Did you not go to Xi Yi? Why are you caught back here?!”

Xiao Liu-Ge helplessly shook his head and shrugged, 

“This sure is good, we’re all together now.”

Xiao Feng Chuan was originally struggling but the moment he saw his brothers, he subconsciously stopped fighting.
Seeing that Xiao Feng Wu was the only one in his jail cell, the guards quickly opened the door and pushed Xiao Feng Chuan in.

Xiao Feng Wu slightly furrowed his eyebrows and thought, his single room was no more.
But then he thought that he wouldn’t be living here for more than a few days at most, and he relaxed.
He reached out to pull Xiao Feng Chuan up from the floor and asked perfunctorily, 

“Didn’t you go to Xi Yi to do business? Why are you back?”

Xiao Feng Chuan was a simple minded man, having chosen to bulk up most of his body instead.
Hearing that he blankly responded, 

“I did, but then I came back after I was done.”

Xiao Liu-Ge couldn’t keep his inner thoughts from coming out, 

“What a dumbass!”

Although Xiao Feng Chuan was a bit rash, he had never fought with his elder brothers, caring a lot about seniority.
So he wasn’t mad at the other’s cursing and swung a fist that was bigger than a bowl up in the air, 

“Scared of whose balls on his grandmother! One fist to the wall and there’ll be a hole.
We can escape, head up to the mountains and declare ourselves kings! With so many of us here, can we not win in a fight with some guards!”

The guards had not gone far and immediately at his words came back around to forcefully add another pair of handcuffs on Xiao Feng Chuan, tightly cuffing his legs and hands.

Xiao Feng Wu had no words and as he lay on the bed lazily, he said, 

“Don’t think so mindlessly.
Go to sleep early or you’ll suffer even more under torture.”

Xiao Feng Chuan tugged a few times before finding that he could not move his iron cuffs.
He looked left and right, finding that there was only one bed and he dumbly asked, 

“Where am I going to sleep?”

Without even lifting his eyes, Xiao Feng Wu said, 

“The floor.”

Notes:

*1 This is an adage passed down that basically states to report a crime or whatever, the doors to enter the official’s court would be facing the south (and it’s referenced to have like this shape “八”, which is an “8” in Chinese characters – where the official’s court is basically the “office” of the reigning official and back then basically whoever was the mayor, or in this case the district magistrate, would also be in charge of the crimes and the “law”.

 

The second part of the adage is to reference that it was super corrupt in the eyes of the commoners as if you don’t have money to bribe the officials, then don’t think you get any fair trials or treatment and so don’t even bother to go in.

*2 serial rapist: technically “flower thief” which basically means someone who takes a girl’s virginity which of course in ancient history has always been very “special”.
There’s actually quite a few horror stories/oral tales passed down where some families, when the girl gets married into their family, on their first night, they check for blood, making sure the girl had her hymen broken as the sign of losing it. 

So you may have seen novels or dramas where they check for blood on the sheets, etc and to do so, in some cases, the family actually watches the couple have sex and verify that the girl is really a “virgin” but of course as modern science tells us that’s not true but anyway I digress, I believe this term came about from a novel but it also apparently can mean serial rapist and there are “reverse” flower thieves for girls who take a man’s virginity or rape him.