Chapter 1977 Death Contract

Even if he couldn't see what Long Qian Xing was thinking, but he could see the progress over the years. "Really?" Chu Yue asked and then tilted her head before chuckling. "Forget it, don't answer that. I don't think I want to know."

"I don't think I dare to answer either." Lou smiled. He watched Chu Yue's face for a moment before saying, "I don't believe in love before either. I have no parents and no one to teach me. The only kindness I received is from Young Master's father and himself."

So from the very young age, Lou has determined that he would serve Long Qian Xing for the rest of his life and it was something that he thought to be a good thing. "I guess it's good for you," Chu Yue murmured.

Her life was not very good either. To be honest, Chu Yue's father was an official. A small official who was very arrogant and annoying. Her mother was a rural woman from a village and he himself was also one. However, after passing the exams and able to become a small official, he fell in love with another official wife. But since he was already married, he couldn't marry a wife again without divorcing her first. So he did that. Divorcing his wife, he sent his wife and his young daughter back to the village while he stayed in the city and married the official wife, strengthening his position even further. It would have been a revenge story if her mother was any stronger. But Chu Yue's mother always blamed her for not being a boy and thus, letting her not able to stay with her husband. Because if Chu Yue is a boy, then there was no way her husband would leave her so easily. Hatred and unwillingness filled Chu Yue's childhood.

Her mother's family hated her and their daughter for not being able to hold onto that man. And a divorced woman was hard to find another partner, so their lives hasn't been very good.

In order to fill her stomach, Chu Yue had to run to the mountain, digging herbs, setting traps, and so on. In order to get away, Chu Yue purposely learned martial arts, following the boys when they went to the school while dressing as a boy. She was beaten up several times, but she persisted in order to be able to learn.

But then her hope was shattered. Her own mother sold her into a death contract.*

The young Chu Yue was hysterical and screamed at her mother in anger. But her mother and their family only said that she should be grateful for being able to have some use because that's all she was worth. Chu Yue could still remember that in anger, she threw the burning lamp that she was holding into the house, setting it on fire. Even if they had sold her out, the money they earned wouldn't be enough to cover up the damage to their houses. It was chaotic afterwards.

She could only remember that she was being beaten and not being able to fight back in the slightest bit. At that time, she only felt hatred and unwillingness. She hated the so called family who kept on abandoning her and pushing her down into the abyss.

Chu Yue didn't remember what happened afterwards. She was ready to die from the moment she threw that lamp and even if she was in the place of her so called new Master, Chu Yue just wanted to kill that person. So that when she woke up in the new place, Chu Yue knew that she was saved. But for what?

She would just be asked to work to her death again. She was not even allowed to rest and then asked to work and cleaned the entire place, which was extremely big by herself.

Chu Yue knew that they were making trouble for her.

Thinking that she would not fight back?

Chu Yue refused this fate, so all she did was to set up the entire manor in blaze. She didn't even leave the entrance of the manor when the guards came and asked what happened. Her answer was that she burned it down.

Why?

Because she didn't want to serve these people whom her parents sold her to. If they wanted to blame someone, blame her parents for doing this. Afterwards, Chu Yue was taken away and stayed in jail. That was when she met with Old Master Nan. He asked her whether she wanted to live or not because based on her crime, it would not be too much to execute her. 'I want to live, but can I?'

That was her answer back then.

Chu Yue didn't trust anyone, including the strange Old Master Nan who came to her for the first time. But he bought her, taught her martial arts and etiquette in order to be able to become a maidservants. Life was much more better compared to the days when she was risking her life and being beaten up all the time. Before Chu Yue met Nan Hua, she asked Old Master Nan one question. 'Why did you pick me?'

Old Master Nan answered, 'Because your eyes reminded me of my granddaughter.'

…

Sora's Corner: Death Contract

The so called death contract is not a contract to die. There were two types of servants/slaves contract in this era. One was the contract that had the buyback clause, which allowed the servants/slaves to redeem themselves once they have enough money or their families wanted to redeem them and had enough money. The other one was the contract without the buyback clause, which meant that they have been sold for their entire life without any chance of earning back their freedom. The second contract was usually called as death contract. Because in this kind of contract, there was basically no hope for someone to be a free person again. They would forever be the slaves/servants for the person who had their contract. There might be other contracts too, but from what I know, they were generally divided into these two types. You can search for more details yourself.