Yunna was leaning on a tree branch, walking unsteadily. She felt like she had reached her limit. There were still no signs of people ahead.
Did she just arrive in this world only to die right away?
Her vision started to go dark. Her foot slipped and she fell, rolling down a slope. Luckily, the slope wasn't too steep. When she finally stopped, she let out a quiet groan.
That small sound startled two members of the Yang family who were talking at the foot of the hill.
Sister Yang immediately picked up the bow on her horse, ready to shoot into the forest where the sound had come from.
Yunna, lying on the ground, gritted her teeth and tried to sit up. Her entire body ached terribly. She looked like a complete mess.
From where he was, Xael barely saw Yunna. Without thinking, he nudged his horse forward a few steps.
But Sister Yang didn't see Yunna. She thought it was a wild animal and prepared to shoot.
"Don't, Sister!" Xael shouted loudly.
But it was too late. The arrow had already been released.
Xael jumped off the horse and stepped on the saddle, diving toward Yunna. The arrow grazed Yunna's sleeve and shot into the forest beside her.
Sister Yang was startled and rushed over.
Other people nearby heard the commotion and came quickly.
Yunna, now pinned under Xael, didn't even have time to react before she passed out.
"Xael, are you okay? Get up quickly!" Sister Yang saw that her brother was lying on top of Yunna, who had fainted. She immediately scolded him.
If someone saw Xael like this with a woman, it would ruin his reputation. Who would want to marry him after that?
Just as Xael was about to get up, a woman nearby spoke up.
"Isn't that Yunna, the eldest daughter of the Su family? Why was Young Master Xael just holding her like that?"
Everyone around gasped in shock.
Yunna from the Su family was infamous in the county. People said she'd been disowned because she gambled away her family's shop.
Sister Yang's face turned pale as she heard the crowd and quickly tried to explain.
"My brother was just trying to save—"
"Sister..." Xael pulled on her sleeve, signaling her to stop talking.
According to the law of the land, if someone harmed a woman, even by accident, they could be punished. If it was serious, the woman could be sent to the female penitentiary.
Even if Sister Yang didn't mean to shoot Yunna, she had aimed the arrow at her. If the others found out, it would be hard to explain. And if anyone said their aunt, who was the county magistrate, was protecting them, their whole family could get dragged into trouble.
"Something's clearly wrong with Yunna. What happened, Sister Yang?" a girl from the county magistrate's family stepped forward to ask.
"We don't really know. We were just out hunting when we heard a noise. When we came over, we saw Yunna about to faint, and my brother instinctively reached out to catch her," Sister Yang answered quickly.
"Get ready to take Yunna back to the county to be treated!" the magistrate's daughter said.
"Yes, Lady Li," Sister Yang replied right away.
The people around looked at Yunna with disgust. If she hadn't been a woman, they wouldn't have bothered saving her. She brought bad luck. The Yang siblings had only just arrived in the county, and now they had rescued Yunna. Everyone felt annoyed by it.
Was Xael really just trying to catch Yunna? The woman who had spoken first gave Xael another curious look. She clearly saw him hugging Yunna just now.
Sister Yang noticed the change in everyone's expression. She instinctively moved to stand in front of her brother, blocking their view.
Once they arrived at the county, nobody wanted to deal with Yunna. They all quickly left, except for Lady Li and the Yang siblings.
"Sister Yang, since you were the ones who found her, you'll have to take care of her and arrange for treatment. I have other things to do," Lady Li said. She didn't wait for their reply and left right away with her servants.
"Sister, take Yunna home first. Then send someone to get a doctor," Xael said coldly while sitting at the edge of the carriage.
He didn't think they'd be able to find another suitable family to take her in.
"Xael... you..."
"Sister, I'm fine. But if something happens to this Lady Yunna, we might be in trouble," Xael said helplessly.
The coachman drove the carriage back to their residence in Yi County, a two-courtyard home. They arranged for Yunna to stay in a guest room in the front yard.
"She's fine, just some minor injuries. Apply some ointment and let her drink a few doses of medicine. There's no serious internal damage," the doctor said after checking her pulse.
"Thank you, Doctor." Sister Yang immediately expressed her gratitude and ordered a servant to get the medicine.
She also asked a servant to bring a clean set of clothes from her room. Judging by how things looked earlier, this woman probably wasn't easy to deal with. She was known for her bad temper. Sister Yang regretted shooting that arrow just now.
Sigh.
Afterward, Sister Yang helped Yunna clean up and applied medicine. When she saw the chastity mark on Yunna's chest, she was shocked. Wasn't she supposed to be a spoiled troublemaker? How could she still be untouched?
In this world, both men and women had chastity marks. A woman's was on her chest, usually hidden. A man's was on his arm. Because women were rare, their chastity marks weren't often noticed.
Also, since women were few in number, the government strictly banned buying or selling women. There were no female servants.
In a woman's household, the people serving her were men chosen when they were young, assigned to stay with her and serve her.
Once a woman turned sixteen and chose a husband, the main husband would formally elevate those male companions to become servant-husbands.
These companions grew up with the woman and often had deep feelings for her. To avoid them competing with the main husband for attention, and to ensure the woman wouldn't ignore her husband later, they were all required to take medicine to prevent them from having children.
After helping Yunna get cleaned up and settled, Sister Yang told the servants to keep watch outside the door. The moment she woke up, they were to inform her right away. Then she went to Xael's courtyard.
"Xael, I need to talk to you."
"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Sit down and eat first," Xael said while eating in the courtyard, seeing how hurried Sister Yang was.
A servant quickly brought out another set of utensils as soon as she sat down.
"All of you leave," Sister Yang said to the servants behind her.
After eating quickly, she turned to Xael and said,
"Brother, that Lady Yunna is still untouched."
Xael paused while holding his chopsticks. His face didn't change, but inside, he was shocked.
That girl looked around seventeen or eighteen, yet she was still pure.
Most girls had several male companions. Many would be intimate with them before marriage.
Could it be that Yunna's family didn't assign her any companions? Earlier, those women said her family, the Su family, was a middle-class merchant family in town. They should have given her some.
"Sister, what if... since Yunna is still untouched and has been kicked out of her family, why not let her marry you? I'll pay her bride price for you," Sister Yang whispered.
"Sister, nowadays what woman wants to get married? To marry into a man's household is humiliating."
In the past hundred years, ever since the Empress took power, the idea of women marrying into a man's household had become outdated and shameful.
If a woman married into a man's household, the children would take the man's family name. She'd also have to listen to her main husband, and her dowry would belong to the man's family. It was like living under their control.
But when a woman married a man into her household, the children followed her surname, and the bride price and dowry became her property. The husband had no say.
It used to happen more often, but as women became fewer, almost no woman would marry into a man's household now. Even the poorest ones wouldn't, because there were always plenty of men waiting to marry them.
"Xael, but this is a special case. Didn't you see how hated she is? I'll go to the county office and ask Aunt," Sister Yang said, becoming more convinced that it could work. Her brother was incredibly handsome. If Yunna married him, his position as the main husband in the household would be secure.
Xael watched his sister leave in a rush, feeling helpless. To him, if he didn't love the woman, marrying anyone would feel the same.
His sister always told him to let go of Lady Nyla from the Xie family. Deep down, he knew he didn't truly like her. But he couldn't let her know. If she found out, his life in the household would become difficult, and it would worry his sister.
Ever since their father died, his sister had sacrificed too much for him. If she could marry him off successfully in Yi County, and be free of worries, that would be enough.
His sister was talented. Without him dragging her down, she would gain their mother's attention and live a better life in the future.