Chapter 1: I Want to See Wen Zhaoyin! Women Are Respected, Men Follow the Three Obediences and Four Virtues...
Meng Huan opened his eyes in a daze, directly facing a beam of sunlight shining through the window, stinging his eyes painfully. He wanted to raise his hand to shield them, but his arms had long since lost all feeling.
Yesterday, that woman was in some inexplicable mood. Reeking of alcohol, she had him tied up without a word and took her pleasure. When finished, she pulled up her skirt and left, not even bothering to untie him.
"What rotten luck!" he cursed in a hoarse voice, turning his head as much as possible to the shaded side to give his eyes some relief.
There was no help for it. His hands were now tied above his head, secured to a corner of the bed frame. His legs were also tightly bound, leaving no room for movement. Just turning his head was already a feat of difficulty.
Creak—
With the sound of a key in the lock, the wooden door of the room was pushed open from the outside. Meng Huan didn't turn his head; he didn't need to guess who it was. It must be the servant coming to attend to his daily needs.
"Young master, what time do you think it is? You're still not up?"
Wang Fu was a middle-aged man who had served in the Wen household for half his life, considered one of the more experienced servants in the house.
He used to serve the Zu Jun in the east wing, living an easy and comfortable life. But after Meng Huan's arrival, he was assigned to take care of him. At his age, he now had to do the work of a menial servant.
Both demoted and overworked, he was naturally very unhappy and often slacked off in his duties.
When Wang Fu entered the room carrying a basin and saw the scene inside, he was truly startled, involuntarily exclaiming, "Ah!"
In all his years, he had seen wild and crazy things, but never anything this wild. He stood there stunned.
Meng Huan had been badly worn out last night. Everything he saw irritated him. He felt Wang Fu was looking at him like a defiled housewife, and what little male dignity he had left stirred within him. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
"What are you looking at! Hurry up and untie me!"
Wang Fu put down the basin and walked over. Unable to bear looking at Meng Huan's disheveled state, he used his peripheral vision as he untied the ropes on his wrists.
This gesture of disgust only made Meng Huan feel more humiliated.
He forcefully shook off Wang Fu's hand, accidentally hitting his face. Usually, he might have apologized, but now, in his anger, he didn't even blink. "No one's forcing you to serve me. If you're unwilling, go ask your master for a different job. Don't stand there with that reluctant look on your face!"
The body Meng Huan inhabited was typical of a male in a female-dominated society: weak and without much strength. His attempt to shake off Wang Fu was more like a gentle scratch, and the hit to the face merely grazed him. Though the physical harm was minimal, the insult was great.
If it had been a young servant attending to him today, they might have just endured it. But Wang Fu had once been by the Zu Jun's side and was used to being respected wherever he went. Now, to be put down by someone without name or status was infuriating.
However, he was old now and didn't like to play things openly. So, he forced a smile and said, "The young master seems to be in a poor mood today and doesn't wish to see this old servant. Then this old servant will take his leave."
With that, he left the room without looking back, even locking the door on his way out.
Meng Huan sat up to untie the ropes on his ankles, thinking it was better that Wang Fu had left. It would be best if he never came back! Not only was he old, but he also talked in that nauseating, effeminate way.
With just him in the room, it was very quiet. He could hear almost everything from outside.
"Where are you going?" Wang Fu was asking someone.
"This servant is here to bring the young master his breakfast."
"The young master has had no appetite lately. There's no need to bring breakfast. Also, tell the kitchen that from now on, the young master will only have one bowl of rice porridge a day. Nothing more."
"But..."
"Hmm?"
"This servant understands."
One bowl of porridge a day? Wouldn't that starve him to death? That old bastard was trying to cut off his food! Meng Huan ran barefoot to the window and shouted, "Don't believe him! I have a great appetite! Bring my breakfast back!"
"..." There was no response.
The window was locked, so he could only poke a hole in the paper to look outside. After looking around, there wasn't a soul in sight.
Meng Huan stomped his foot in anger, but with both the door and window locked, he had no way out with his current strength. He could only fume inside the room.
He slipped on his shoes and walked to the water basin, holding his waist. He washed his face and stared blankly at the reflection in the water.
Half a month ago, when he had crossed over, he hadn't understood the situation and was attracted by a beautiful woman on the street. That woman was stunning and very attractive, so without thinking, he had agreed to spend a night with her.
The next day, before he could even pull up his pants and leave, the woman had dragged him back to her manor, saying something about marrying him.
How could Meng Huan, who had vowed to warm every lonely beauty, agree? No matter what she said, he refused to marry. In the end, he was threatened with being thrown into the river if he didn't marry, so he pretended to agree and stayed, but kept looking for chances to escape every day.
After being caught twice while trying to escape, his freedom was taken away. He was locked in a small, shabby room, passing his days in boredom.
"Heh, women are respected, and men must follow the three obediences and four virtues? Drowning for not being chaste? Ridiculous, since when do men need to be chaste?" Meng Huan muttered to himself. Although he had lived here for half a month, he still refused to believe this was a real world.
But disbelief didn't help. He had tried various methods, attempting multiple times to treat this as a dream, but no matter how long he slept or how he opened his eyes, his surroundings remained unchanged.
He had truly crossed over, and there was no way back.
With no one to talk to and no entertainment, the things Meng Huan did most, apart from eating, were sleeping and daydreaming.
That old fox Wang Fu must have given some instructions, as they really only brought one bowl of porridge a day.
He had tried to persuade the young servant who brought the food, saying that he was brought back by their mistress, and had even slept with her. Surely he would starve to death on just one bowl of porridge a day, and then they would have to take responsibility.
Wang Fu must have scared the young servant somehow, because no matter how much Meng Huan tried to talk him around, he couldn't get even one extra grain of rice. The second time, the young servant just put down the porridge and ran, refusing to communicate at all.
Meng Huan weakly cursed Wang Fu as a crafty slave.
He wasn't afraid of anything except death. He cherished his life. Temper and dignity meant nothing in the face of hunger. Now he didn't want anything else, he just wanted to eat his fill.
But to apologize to Wang Fu? He still felt it wasn't worth it.
"I want to see her! I want to see Wen Zhaoyin!"
He had been short-sighted before. What freedom did he need? He should first sweet-talk that woman, treat her as a girlfriend, win her over in bed, and then wouldn't he get whatever he wanted?