The street slowly moved past Anning as the scared bodyguard started moving. After a while of walking, voices that sounded familiar reached her ears.
"That's her!"
"Stop right there!"
The group of armored guards came to a halt. Anning lifted her head slightly and saw the servants from earlier...the ones sent by the nobleman she slapped. They looked slightly frustrated and relieved at this point.
"That girl belongs to our master." One of them shouted. "Put her down immediately!"
The scarred man didn't even spare them a glance. Instead, he nudged his head towards the servants.
One of the men beside him stepped forward, he reached into his armor And pulled out a small pouch. Then, he tossed it towards the servants.
The pouch landed at their feet with a soft thud, one gold coin rolling out of it.
"Return to your young master. Tell him this slave now belongs to the Gu family." The man said calmly.
The servants exchanged glances, they didn't know what to say but they were clearly uncertain.
"I'm not property of anyone!"
Anning yelled, her voice breaking the silence or rather the tension in the air.
"I don't care who you people are. But do I look like some object you can pass around?" She continued, her voice rising despite herself.
"You should know how to stay quiet." The scared man said, his hand sliding up her legs.
Anning didn't say another word as the scar faced man walked. By the time they stopped, the noise from the market had faded completely.
Even the servants that had been chasing her, left immediately they received a pouch full of gold.
The street they had walked into seemed to be on the quieter edge of the market, concealed from the eyes of the people walking around.
The man carrying her did not slow down until they reached a carriage stationed by the end of the road. This one was nothing like the ones she had seen earlier.
This one was far more refined, its wooden frame polished to a soft sheen and the edge of the carriage had carvings Anning couldn't read.
The curtains that hung inside it blocked her from seeing the inside of the carriage but she could tell it was expensive just by looking at it.
But before she could take in more of the appearance, the scar faced man finally dropped her to the floor.
Yes, he literally dropped her.
Anning barely had time to brace herself before her knees hit the ground. (As always). This time, she managed to hold herself up at some point, minimizing the impact.
She lifted her hand and then froze. Standing a few steps away from her was the woman she had bumped into earlier.
She was clad in a different hanfu, her hair devoid of any gold ornaments. The only thing that was left unchanged were her eyes.
The same cold, unreadable eyes that had stared at her as if she were nothing more than a passing inconvenience. For a brief moment, Anning didn't say a single.
It's, it's her.
The realization settled in slowly, and she felt a strange sense of uneasiness. She hadn't expected to see this woman again, especially not like this.
After a few seconds, Anning pushed herself up from the ground, ignoring the dull ache in her knees. She ran a hand over her face quickly, trying to compose herself despite how horrible she might look at that moment.
"I..." She began, her voice sounding but deep before she cleared her throat."I'm sorry about earlier."
The words felt strange coming out of her mouth, she was never one to apologize. But she still forced herself to continue.
"I-i was in a bit of trouble back then. I didn't mean to push you." She said, briefly glancing at wanqing before looking away.
For a moment, no one spoke. Wanqing didn't respond, it seemed as though she didn't see the need to respond. She didn't even acknowledge that Anning had just spoken.
Instead, she turned her head towards the scar-faced man standing beside her.
"Slap her." She said, running her tongue over her plump red lips.
The order was delivered so calmly that Anning thought she was starting to hear things.
"But, I just..."
SMACK!
The rest of her words never came out, because she was suddenly slapped hard across the cheek, the force making her head snap to the side.
A sharp sting spread across her face almost instantly, and for a second, her mind was completely blank.
She had literally apologized. At least for once, she had decided to be reasonable.
But this, this is what she got for that?
She slowly reached up to touch her cheek, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"What was that for?" She demanded, her voice trembling. Even though she tried to keep it firm.
Gu Wanqing finally turned her gaze to Anning. Her expression devoid of anger or even irritation.
She just looked detached in some way.
"Filthy slave."
Wanqing said, her voice wasn't above a whisper, but they cut deeper than any slap would've.
Anning's hand beside her body curled into loose fists. Wanqing cocked her head to the side, her gaze leaving Anning's face and slowly trailed down her body.
"My. Filthy. Slave."
Anning felt her flash warm up at her words. Before she could respond, Wanqing had already turned away as if she hadn't just said anything.
"Throw her into the carriage," she simply said. "We need to head home before the sunsets."
The scar faced man stepped forward without hesitation. Anning instinctively took a step back, her heart racing against her chest.
"Try touch me, and see what the fuck I would do." She quickly said, her voice rising."I don't belong here and I'm definitely not a slave, and I don't deserve to be treated like this."
"Okay." The scar faced man replied and calmly reached for her.
Anning tried to pull away, but her strength was nothing compared to his. His hand was wrapped around her wrist, stopping her from moving.
Then, he lifted her off the floor like she weighed nothing.
"Didn't you hear what I said? I don't belong to you people!"