Chapter One: You Are Now His Property

Our story is about two women swept off by the tornado of love, but in their path lies a dangerous terrain full of obstacles and tribulations that would test their love. Only their faith in each other and the strength of their love would aid them to the other side.

The story begins in a small village of Xiangluan.

MEILIN'S POV

It is a beautiful morning in Xiangluan Village. A rich and fancy carriage is racing down the grassy path, surrounded by trees. The carriage arrives at a thatched House, looking old and about to collapse on its legs.

The horseman leading the carriage, a slave dressed in a dirty white sleeveless rough hemp tunic, matching loose trousers, and straw sandals, steps down from the front of the carriage and runs to the back to open the door for his master.

He goes on his knees and hands, forming a footstool for his rich master.

A fat man, dressed in rich and expensive robes, pushes the curtains aside and steps out, using the servant as his stairs.

The servant grimaces at the weight on his back, but bears it silently.

The rich man comes down, and looks to the house before him, his nose flaring in disgust. “Poor people,” he snorts, and walks ahead.

His knock on the door is immediately answered by a beautiful woman with rough, ashen blonde hair, whose beauty has been tarnished by age and the hardship of life.

The tired green eyes widen in horror at the sight of the man. She knows why he is here, and it strikes terror in her heart.

Meekily, she courtseyed to the man and led him further into the dilapidated house.

The man stares lechrously at her behind, but halts, when they get into the living room and encounter another living soul.

The man in the living room, smoking a pipe straightens when his wife walks in with the stranger, his eyes widening in horror.

He flies to his seat and points to a worn-out couch for his visitor.

The rich man’s nose turns up at where he has been asked to sit.

Seeing the look of disgust on the man’s face, the man looks at his wife, instructing her without speaking.

The man looks lanky and shabby from years of smoking and drinking obsessively.

His wife quietly leaves the room and comes back bearing one of their expensive-looking clothes, which doesn’t look much compared to the expensive robe the rich man has on.

Anyways, she spreads it over the dirty surface of the couch and the rich man sits down.

Leaning back, the man fixes his beady eyes on the man of the house, who squirms and hides his eyes from him.

“Where is my money?” The rich man demands.

Looking nervous, the man of the house lifts his eyes, sweat forming on his forehead. “I–I-I don’t have it,” he stutters.

The rich man smirks, a sly look in his eyes. He looks around and his eyes fall on a family photo hanging on the wall. He catches sight of an innocent girl amongst the children. She bears a striking resemblance to the woman before him, only her beauty is still young and fresh.

His cock tightens at the thought of the young girl lying beneath him while he thrusts himself into her young virgin body.

He looks back at the man and says. “I will take your daughter.”

The woman's eyes fly to her husband, wide with shock and fear, hoping her husband would refuse, but the man refuses to meet his wife’s eyes.

Holding the rich man’s eyes, he cowardly nods his head.

The woman’s hand clenches into a fist but she doesn’t say a word, knowing she can’t oppose her husband publicly.

The husband looks in the direction and orders. “Get Meilin for him.”

The woman nods, and leaves the room, her head bowed.

She enters her daughter’s room and finds her still asleep. She walks to her with a sad face, full of sorrow, and sits beside her sleeping daughter.

She gazes upon her beautiful face with the fond eyes of a mother, her pale green eyes full of regret.

“I am sorry,” she mutters into the silence, her eyes wet with tears. She wipes it clean before reaching out to wake her daughter.

The sleeping blonde moans and groans, as her smooth, unblemished face twists in annoyance at being woken up before she is ready.

The older blonde musters a weak smile, knowing how much effort it takes to wake her daughter. She shakes her daughter’s slender shoulders harder until the young woman stirs and wakes.

Her eyes flutter open, revealing huge deep green eyes that stare sleepily at her mother.

“Mum,” Meilin blinks at the older woman, surprised to find her by her bedside.

The older woman puts on a brave face for her daughter. “Your father wants to see you.”

Meilin hears something her mother’s voice that alarms her. “Why?” She questions suspiciously.

The older woman became flustered at her daughter’s question. “Don’t ask questions. Just get dressed and come to the living room,” she snaps, a look of discomfort on her face.

She stands and leaves the room immediately, unable to stand seeing her daughter and knowing what awaits her.

Puzzled by her mother’s strange reaction, Meilin gets out of bed, revealing a slender body encased inside a simple long, cotton tunic.

She yawns and stretches before going to her miserly belongings. She searches through it for one of her gowns that has seen better days.

She pulls out a long plain blue gown with a lacey puff that has lost all of its glorious rich blueness, and slips it over her head.

The gown fell in one swoop to snuggle against the trim waist before spreading out to the ankles. She went to her small worn-out out brown leather shoes neatly arranged near the door and slipped her small slender feet into them before making her way out of the room.

There wasn't much to their house. The rooms are barely enough. Her parents took one of the rooms, her two older brothers share one, her three younger brothers squatter in there somewhat living room and once in the morning they clear out.

She was lucky to get a small map out to call her own. With the kind of brothers she has, privacy is a much-chcherished commodity.

It didn't take her much to make her way into the living room and then she froze to her feet at the sight of the stranger sitting on the only couch in the living room that didn't look like it was falling apart.

The man was sitting like he owned the damn place, and from the rich and beautiful clothes he had on he was from the Central City. The King's city.

Their kingdom, the Hanrui Empire, is made up of several towns and villages but there is only one Central City. And that is where the King lives and the other upper-class citizens of the kingdom.

What is he doing here?

The imagined answer strikes a ball of fear into Meilin's heart as she recalls her mother’s earlier behaviour and her heart sinks to her stomach.

No, it can't be. They wouldn't. She panicked as her heart thundered like a war drum against her ribs.

She has heard stories in the villages of parents selling their daughters, even some men selling their wives just to put food on the table but she had hoped that her father would never consider much.

Their village had been struck by a great drought, and it was a place that survived solely on the produce from their farmland. Things had been a lot difficult but her family had managed to get by from the menial earnings her mother made from her sewing.

There weren't many people in the village that needed her services and a lot more that couldn't afford to pay but they managed.

Her fear was so great that Meilin turned to flee only her father chose that moment to look in her direction.

"Meilin come here. There is someone I want you to meet, " her father beckoned her with a forced bright expression, as if downplaying the magnitude of what he was about to do to his daughter.

Meilin doesn’t move, her frozen feet refusing to move her forward.

Her fear was magnified by the hungry and lecherous look in the very fat man sitting in their living room.

She might be innocent, but that look needs no explanation.

The urge to flee regardless of the consequences had her feet and body moving back.

Her father who was waiting anxiously for her to come to him frowned severely in her direction when he read the panicked look in Meilin's eyes.

“COME HERE, MEILIN!” he barks, his voice laced with command and authority, leaving Meilin with no choice but to make her way fully into the living room.

Her brothers were nowhere to be found, and her mother was sitting meekly on the other side of the chair in the living room with her head bent.

Meilin tries to catch her eyes, but her mother forcefully keeps her gaze averted.

“Mum,” Meilin gasps softly. The words barely carried further than her lips but had all the terrified emotions running through her.

Her mother ignores her.

" Master Chang, this is my daughter, " her father reached out to grip her by the wrist strongly pulling her forward.

Meilin not expecting the pull stumbled almost falling into her father's lap but she was able to right herself.

" Sorry, " she apologized softly with her face burning like fire. She quickly looked away from the harsh glare her father shot her way for embarrassing him.

Master Chang grinned wolfishly at her, running his eyes over her body. His hungry gaze makes Meilin's skin crawl. She feels disgusted at the lustful gaze that the man wasn't trying to hide. Her body shrinks into itself as if trying to escape from the lewd eyes.

" She is one beautiful young thing and I can't wait to have her in my bed. "

Meilin’s eyes widen in horror as she gapes at the rich man.

" And such an innocent, don't worry my other dolls will train you in no time, and in a short while those green eyes of yours will be glowing with passion for me, " Master Chang smirked licking his lips.

A sick feeling grips Meilin's soul, making her shudder in fear and worry. She shot a look at her father to see if he could hear what the man was saying. Her father's face looks blank like a slate, but when Meilin looks closer, she sees the worry in his eyes.

"Father, please! " she begs, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her dad flashed a look of sympathy before his expression closed off and hardened. " I am sorry, Meilin, but you are now his property. "

What an apt word, Meilin thinks as her world crumbles.