BDSMST -Chapter 3 Welcome to the Beginner’s Village, Madam!

The rickety carriage jolted violently along the bumpy official road, each lurch threatening to shake a person’s bones apart.

“I don’t want to ride in this broken carriage! I want to go back to the marquisate! I want my luxurious carriage with eight fine horses!”

Gu Xuan’s wailing hadn’t stopped since the moment he got on. His energy was boundless, like a little monkey.

Chunxing was so overwhelmed by the noise that her face turned pale. “Young Heir, please just sit quietly for a while…”

“None of your business! You lackey of that bad woman!” Gu Xuan glared at her viciously.

Chunxing’s eyes reddened from the scolding, and she shrank back in grievance.

Throughout it all, Jiang Suisui kept her eyes closed, leaning against the carriage wall, completely indifferent to the noise.

After making a fuss for half the day and realizing that the bad woman—who should have been angered the most—was giving no reaction at all, Gu Xuan felt as though his punches were landing on cotton.

His eyes darted around. Quietly, he edged closer and suddenly reached out to yank the hairpin from Jiang Suisui’s hair.

But before his hand could touch it, a cool hand shot out like lightning and seized his wrist.

At some point, Jiang Suisui had opened her eyes and was staring at him coldly.

“Y-You let go!” Gu Xuan felt a chill under her gaze, his wrist aching from her grip.

“Do you want to eat?” Jiang Suisui suddenly asked.

Gu Xuan froze, instinctively swallowing. After a whole morning of tantrums, he was indeed hungry.

“From now on,” Jiang Suisui said evenly, “if you want to eat, sit quietly and shut your mouth. Say one more word, and today you won’t even get a sip of water.”

“How dare you!” Gu Xuan shouted stubbornly. “I’m the heir! If you starve me, I’ll—”

“I dare.” Jiang Suisui cut him off, tightening her grip slightly.

Gu Xuan’s face turned pale from the pain, tears welling in his eyes—but he didn’t dare make another sound.

Jiang Suisui released him and closed her eyes again.

At last, the carriage fell silent.

Chunxing watched in astonishment.

Just… like that? One sentence, and the little demon king was subdued?

—

By noon, the driver stopped for a break. Chunxing took out the two rock-hard steamed buns they had brought that morning, handing one to Jiang Suisui and timidly offering the other to Gu Xuan.

Gu Xuan stared at the cold bun, hard enough to be used as a brick. His little face immediately crumpled. “I’m not eating that! I want Eight-Treasure Duck and Crystal Pork Trotters!”

Jiang Suisui ignored him completely and calmly broke apart her bun, eating it in small bites.

Chunxing grew anxious. “Madam, the Young Heir won’t eat…”

“If he doesn’t want to eat, don’t force him.” Jiang Suisui didn’t even look up. “The next stop for food won’t be until tonight. If he wants to starve, let him.”

Enraged, Gu Xuan threw the bun onto the ground and turned his back, sulking.

After finishing her own, Jiang Suisui glanced at the bun on the ground, then at Gu Xuan’s stubborn little back. She said nothing and instructed the driver to continue.

The carriage jolted forward once more.

Grrrrr…

An ill-timed sound came from Gu Xuan’s stomach.

He clutched his belly, his face flushed red.

He stole a glance at Jiang Suisui and saw she was still resting with her eyes closed, as lifeless as ever. Anger and grievance filled his heart. This bad woman really didn’t care about him at all!

Another hour passed. Dizzy from hunger, Gu Xuan finally couldn’t endure it any longer. In a small, tearful voice, he muttered, “I… I’m hungry…”

Jiang Suisui didn’t even lift her eyelids. “Where’s the bun?”

“I… I threw it away…”

“Then stay hungry.”

Three words. Cold. Merciless.

Tears fell from Gu Xuan’s eyes with a soft plop. In all his life, he had never suffered such grievance! He wanted to cry and scream, but when he saw Jiang Suisui’s emotionless profile, every word lodged in his throat. He had a strong feeling that if he made another scene, this woman would truly let him starve to death.

So he endured the hunger all the way until dusk.

Finally, the carriage left the main road and turned onto an even rougher country path.

The driver pointed toward a dilapidated courtyard nestled beneath barren hills in the distance. “Madam, that is your estate.”

Even before they arrived, a desolate chill seemed to rush toward them.

When the carriage finally stopped at the entrance of the estate, all three of them fell silent.

This was an estate? Calling it a haunted house beside a mass grave would’ve been more believable!

Half the courtyard wall had collapsed, revealing waist-high wild grass. The few houses that remained leaned crookedly, most of the roof tiles missing. The dark beams jutted out like the open jaws of some beast.

Chunxing’s face turned deathly pale. “M-Madam… can people even live here?”

Even Gu Xuan was stunned. He had imagined the countryside to be shabby—but not this shabby!

Only Jiang Suisui stood there, looking at the desolate land, her eyes gleaming.

The land was spacious. Though neglected, the soil quality looked decent. There was even a small river nearby—water supply solved. And beyond that, mountains. Mountains meant resources—lots of them!

This was practically a dream starting location tailored just for her.

“It’s livable. We’ll just tidy it up,” Jiang Suisui said, jumping down from the carriage first.

At that moment, a dark, wiry man in his forties with shrewd eyes walked out of the ruined courtyard. Two loafing farmhands followed behind him.

The man sized Jiang Suisui up, his gaze undisguisedly contemptuous. With a fake smile, he cupped his hands. “Oh? You must be the new master from the capital? I’m Li Si, the steward of this estate.”

Jiang Suisui nodded. “My surname is Jiang. From now on, I make the decisions here.”

A trace of mockery flashed through Li Si’s eyes, though he said smoothly, “Naturally. But… as you can see, the estate has fallen into disrepair. The fields have been abandoned for years. There’s really… no yield to speak of. The few of us here haven’t been paid for nearly half a year.”

It was both a disguised demand for money—and a show of dominance.

Jiang Suisui understood immediately. Calmly, she replied, “There was no yield before. That doesn’t mean there won’t be in the future. Your wages will be deferred. Once the estate has a harvest, you’ll be paid in full.”

“Once there’s a harvest?” Li Si burst into exaggerated laughter. “Madam, you must be joking! On this land? Even a god couldn’t grow grain here! I’d suggest you hurry back to the capital to enjoy your comforts. Why suffer in this poor place?”

The two farmhands behind him snickered as well, their eyes full of ridicule.

A woman cast out from the marquisate, with just a maid and a little brat—she thought she could take charge here? Dream on.

Chunxing trembled in anger. “H-How dare you speak like that! This is the Marquisate’s Madam!”

“The Marquisate’s Madam?” Li Si dug at his ear, grinning wider. “What kind of marquisate madam rides here in a broken-down carriage like that? Little girl, don’t be fooled. I’d bet she couldn’t survive in the capital and got kicked out!”

“That’s nonsense!”

Just as Chunxing was about to argue further, an even more arrogant voice rang out from a distance.

“Li Si! Who the hell are you yapping to? Got this month’s tribute money ready or not?”

Seven or eight ruffians carrying sticks swaggered over. Leading them was a burly man with a fleshy face and a brass chain around his neck—a notorious local bully known as “Wang Laohu” (Tiger Wang).

The moment Wang Laohu spotted Jiang Suisui and Chunxing, his eyes lit up. He practically started drooling.

“Well now, Li Si, when did your estate get such tender little ladies?”

Li Si instantly switched to a fawning expression. “Brother Tiger, you’re here! This is the new master from the capital. Not bad-looking, right?”

Wang Laohu’s gaze roamed brazenly over Jiang Suisui before settling on her dust-streaked yet breathtakingly beautiful face. He chuckled lewdly.

“Not bad? She’s more flavorful than the top courtesan at Chunxiang Pavilion in town!”

He stepped right up to Jiang Suisui and stretched out his greasy hand, aiming to touch her face.

“Little lady, since you’re on my turf now, you’ve gotta follow the rules. Serve your big brother well today, and from now on, I’ll protect this land for you. How about that?”

Chunxing screamed and threw herself in front of Jiang Suisui protectively.

Gu Xuan was terrified too, hiding behind Jiang Suisui, his small body trembling like a leaf.

Jiang Suisui’s expression finally darkened.

She had just escaped the civil battles of the marquisate’s wolf den—only to fall straight into the countryside’s tiger pit of brute force.

The welcome ceremony of the “beginner’s village” was certainly… unique.

Slowly, she raised her hand—not to dodge.

Just as Wang Laohu’s filthy fingers were about to brush her cheek, she stepped forward instead of back. With a swift twist of her wrist—fast as lightning—her five fingers clamped precisely onto the pulse point of his wrist!

“AAARGH—!”

Wang Laohu let out a pig-slaughtering scream. His fleshy face twisted grotesquely as sweat the size of beans poured down.

A searing, soul-shattering pain exploded from his wrist!

“Y-You… damn it… let go! Let go of me!”

Jiang Suisui remained expressionless. Her grip only tightened as she looked at the local tyrant and enunciated each word coldly:

“Do you still want this hand?”