Chapter 2, Moving into the West Courtyard

The girl widened her eyes, looking at Sun Le in disbelief. After examining her from head to toe and then from toe to head, the girl exclaimed, "Who is this ugly girl? Why does she have a morning glory on her collar?"

Sun Le softly uttered an "mm" and stood still outside the west gate of the courtyard designated by A Fu. A Fu glanced at her a few more times before turning and walking along the gravel path to the right

At this moment, Sun Le had lowered her head; she was completely unaware of her situation and had lost the mood to exchange glances with the other girls.

She usually has no particular hobbies, and the little money she earns is almost entirely spent on reading various miscellaneous books and self-study. After living such a life for less than a year, she woke up one day to find herself transformed into such a little girl

Afu bent down and only turned his head to look at Sun Le after the Fifth Young Master had walked far away

At this point, Ah Fu turned his head and hurriedly left with large strides

It was only after Afu's figure disappeared from Sun Le's sight that she slowly turned her head to survey her surroundings

Such a pair of eyes were fixed intently on Sun Le. Sun Le lifted her head, which had been lowered to her chest, and defiantly stared back at the group of girls with wide eyes.

Beneath the banyan tree, apart from a gravel path leading to the archway, the rest of the area has been repaired to the point where not a blade of grass can grow.

On what basis? Why does the Fifth Young Master take an interest in her? Among us sisters, which one is not a beauty selected from a thousand candidates to be given to the Fifth Young Master? How is it that the one chosen by the Fifth Young Master is so ugly?

In the midst of the lively discussion, another young girl who had also seen Sun Le said, "It is true, the Fifth Young Master said it himself"

Afufu turned his head and glanced back, noticing that Sun Le was staring intently at his surroundings. He curled his lips in slight disdain and muttered under his breath, "Truly someone who has never seen the world, and he doesn't even know about the Fifth Young Master..." His voice was very soft, and he did not continue speaking

Sun Le quickly raised her hand to shield her eyes, but the dust continued to invade her mouth and nose, causing her to cough repeatedly

The place where she stood was outside a stone archway, which was quite large and could easily accommodate a bullock cart. Surrounding her were banyan trees, each large enough for a person to embrace, forming a canopy that completely blocked out the sunlight.

Afu brought her to the end of the western courtyard, where there stood a small wooden house, particularly small and unremarkable compared to the other wooden houses. It was surrounded by weeds and tall banyan trees, in a rather secluded location. The wooden house was also quite old, with vines climbing all over the gauze windows. Afu brought her to the front of the wooden house and stopped, saying: "Eighteen Beauties, this is your temporary residence." He emphasized the word "temporary" heavily and continued: "This western courtyard is filled with the Fifth Young Master's eighteen concubines, and you are the youngest. In the future, it would be beneficial for you to do more and yield more when necessary. I have brought you here, so you may enter. If you have any questions, feel free to ask your sisters."

At that moment, a burst of clear laughter came from afar. The laughter grew closer, and Sun Le couldn't help but look up at the approaching person

At this sight, he also wore a look of astonishment, gazing at her for a while, and A Fu said: "Come with me."

Sun Le lowered his head and hurried a few steps to catch up with A Fu. As A Fu walked, he spoke without turning his head, saying: "You wait in the west courtyard first, I will go ask the steward about the situation and then come back to arrange for you."

A series of astonished and bewildered exclamations arose in succession, as the young girls widened their eyes in shock, unable to utter a word for a long time

Indeed, it is impossible! The Fifth Young Master would never take a fancy to such an ugly and small girl!

After waiting for quite a while, the dust before my eyes gradually faded away

Standing in such a strange place, waiting for an unfamiliar future, Sun Le's heart was indeed in a state of turmoil, filled with an indescribable sense of anxiety and unease

The girl's voice was somewhat high-pitched, filled with astonishment.

Afu glanced at the group of young girls but paid them no mind. Instead, he turned to Sun Le and said, "I specifically asked Deputy Steward Chen. From now on, you will stay in the fifth wing of the western courtyard, and your name will be Eighteen Ji. Let's go."

What Sun Le did not know was that in this world, the lowly and marginalized had no names. Those who had names were individuals who had attained a certain status, and having a surname was even more characteristic of nobility. In her original village, people simply referred to her as the girl or the ugly girl.

Ah?

Following closely behind the young girl was another girl whom Sun Le had just seen while weaving hemp. She quickly replied, "Sister Qiji, she is indeed the Eighteenth Ji newly accepted by the Fifth Young Master"

Sun Leqing responded lightly and followed Afu through the archway into the western courtyard. She thought to herself: It turns out that upon arriving at this place, one must take on a new name again

Impossible

Five or six young girls arrived, among whom three were the ones who had just been weaving hemp. These girls were originally laughing and playing joyfully, but when they met Sun Le's gaze, their laughter gradually subsided

The young man who ran over, named Afu, appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five years old. He had a slender build, a slightly yellow complexion, and a pair of eyes that were slightly bulging outward

Sun Le rubbed his eyes and slowly stepped into the wooden house, which was covered with a thick layer of dust

Sun Le turned around and reached out to push the door of the wooden house. With a harsh screeching sound, the wooden door was pushed open, and at the same time, a flurry of dust particles rushed towards her.

As soon as this sentence was uttered, all the young girls fell silent.

The structure of the wooden house is quite rustic, with much of the exterior wall's green bark left unshaved, adorned with small branches or entwined with vines

Stepping into the western courtyard, more than twenty wooden houses appeared before Sun Le. Each of these wooden houses is independent, and between them stand tall banyan trees, connected by a gravel path

The voice filled with resentment came from Qi Ji, who glared fiercely at Sun Le. Her expression was extremely complex, making it difficult to determine whether she was overly disappointed or had come to understand something.

Sun Le heard A Fu's mumbling and quickly withdrew his gaze

Sun Le's eyes were fixed on the tips of his shoes, vigorously rubbing against the pebbles, his mind a chaotic jumble.

She was originally an orphan, growing up in the countryside. At the age of six, she completed nine years of compulsory education with government assistance. Upon graduating from junior high school, she achieved good results, ranking tenth in her school and gaining admission to the county's No. 2 Middle School. However, by this time, no one was willing to support her, and she was reluctant to beg her distant relatives, whom she had not seen for two or three generations. Thus, she gave up her studies and came to the county town to work in a restaurant.

Watching Afu's departing figure, Sun Le's stomach began to rumble. She reached out to caress her small belly and thought to herself: He actually left just like that, and I don't even know where to eat.

At that moment, a sound of footsteps approached. Sun Le looked up and saw that A Fu was walking towards several people.

The girl at the forefront has a delicate appearance, with a pair of bright, expressive eyes