BDSMST -Chapter 5 A Hunger Strike? Then Stay Hungry

A sleepless night.

When the sky turned pale with the first hint of dawn and the earliest ray of sunlight shone through the holes in the roof, Gu Xuan felt like he was about to die.

His stomach no longer growled; instead, it cramped in waves of sharp pain. Black spots swam before his eyes, and his ears rang incessantly. He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger. Leaning against the icy wall, his small body curled into itself, lips cracked, face ashen.

He had never imagined hunger could feel like this. Not the kind of “hunger” in the Marquisate, when he pouted for an extra pastry—but a hollow, gnawing void rising from his stomach, as if it would swallow his very organs whole.

Jiang Suisui had already awakened.

She opened her eyes almost at the first rooster’s crow—an internal clock formed in her previous life working in the laboratory, steady as iron. Stretching lazily, her joints gave a series of faint pops. Though she had slept on straw, freed from the suffocating atmosphere of the Marquisate, she felt as if every cell in her body was breathing in the air of freedom.

She glanced at the small figure huddled in the corner. Saying nothing, she rose and pushed open the creaking, broken door.

The mountain air at dawn was intoxicatingly fresh, tinged with the scent of soil and wild grass. Jiang Suisui inhaled deeply and began jogging around the dilapidated estate. Maintaining her stamina was a habit. A healthy body was the foundation of everything.

Chunxing had woken as well. Seeing Gu Xuan’s pitiful state, her heart ached. She hurried to Jiang Suisui’s side and pleaded softly, “Madam, the young lord… he hasn’t eaten all night. He looks like he can’t hold on much longer. Maybe… maybe I could make him something warm?”

“Did you forget what I said yesterday?” Jiang Suisui stopped and looked back at her. Her gaze was calm but unquestionable.

“But… he’s still just a child! What if something really happens from hunger? How would we explain it to the Marquisate?” Chunxing’s voice trembled on the verge of tears.

“Explain?” Jiang Suisui let out a faint laugh, though it never reached her eyes. “They sent us to this place and cut off all our money. Aren’t they just waiting for something to happen to us? If you go soft now, you’re harming him. Some lessons can’t be taught by books or coaxing servants—only hunger can teach them.”

With that, she ignored Chunxing and walked to the half-dried well. Using a battered bucket, she hauled up half a pail of murky water and began to wash up.

Li Si and the two farmhands had already emerged, shivering as they carried their hoes. At the sight of Jiang Suisui, they bowed from a distance like mice spotting a cat, then hurried toward the barren field without delay. The echo of yesterday’s crack still rang in their ears.

After washing, Jiang Suisui grabbed a tattered basket Chunxing had brought for storage and headed toward the foot of the mountain behind the estate.

“Madam, where are you going?” Chunxing followed anxiously.

“To find food.” Jiang Suisui didn’t look back.

Though she was a modern agricultural expert, she was also well-versed in wild plants from ancient times. Before long, in a damp patch of woodland, she found a cluster of tender fiddlehead ferns. By a small stream, she dug up a few wild taro roots. It wasn’t much, but enough to fill two people’s stomachs.

When Jiang Suisui returned with half a basket of her harvest, Gu Xuan had moved from the corner to the doorway, staring longingly outside. The moment he saw her, he quickly turned his head, pretending indifference. But his eyes betrayed him, flicking uncontrollably toward the basket in her hand.

He caught the faint earthy scent—no rich aroma of meat, but enough to make his empty stomach spasm violently.

Jiang Suisui completely ignored his eager gaze.

She instructed Chunxing to wash the taro and tossed them straight into the dying embers from the previous night. Then she cleaned the ferns and mixed them with the last bit of salt they had, making a simple cold dish.

Soon, the fragrance of roasting taro drifted from the coals—an honest, rustic aroma, sweet and slightly charred. To a child who had gone hungry for a full day and night, it was a deadly temptation.

Gu Xuan’s throat bobbed uncontrollably as saliva flooded his mouth.

He watched Jiang Suisui and Chunxing each take a roasted taro—charred black on the outside, golden and soft within. They blew on them gently and ate in small bites. They even enjoyed the plate of bright green fiddlehead ferns, savoring every mouthful.

Not once during the entire meal did anyone look at him. Not once did anyone ask if he wanted to eat.

It was as if he were invisible—completely and utterly forgotten.

That feeling of being ignored hurt more than any scolding or beating ever could. Back at the Marquisate, the slightest frown from him would bring a crowd fussing over him with concern. His grandparents treated him like a treasure that might melt in their palms. But here, in front of this wicked woman, all his status and privileges had turned to nothing.

His hunger strike was like a silent punch thrown into empty air—it failed to harm the opponent in the slightest, while leaving himself grievously wounded instead.

Chunxing ate her taro with a heavy heart. She wanted to speak up several times, but every time she saw Jiang Suisui’s calm expression, the words died in her throat. She knew this time her madam was resolute.

After breakfast, Jiang Suisui wiped her hands and said to Chunxing, “Open the bundle we brought. Take out the clothes, wash them by the river, and hang them up somewhere to dry.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“And you—” Jiang Suisui walked over to Gu Xuan, looking down at him from above.

He shrank slightly under her shadow but stubbornly lifted his head, glaring at her with reddened eyes.

Contrary to his expectations, she neither mocked him nor forced him to eat. Instead, she tossed him a rag and pointed at the filthy house. In a flat, emotionless tone, she ordered:

“Go sweep the floor and wipe down the table and benches. If you’re not done before noon, there’ll be no lunch either.”

With that, she turned and left, heading back to the barren fields to begin planning the land.

Gu Xuan stood frozen. He stared at the rag in his hand, then at the house dirtier than a pigsty, trembling with fury.

She… she was actually making him do a servant’s work?

He was the dignified heir of the Yongning Marquisate, born of noble blood. When had he ever done such menial labor?

“I won’t do it!” he shouted hoarsely, throwing the rag to the ground with the last of his strength. “You can’t order me around! I’d rather starve than be your beast of burden!”

His voice was ragged, filled with outrage and humiliation.

But the only response was the distant sound of Jiang Suisui directing Li Si and the others in reclaiming the fields, along with the desolate whisper of wind sweeping through the wild grass.

Once again, she ignored him.

Collapsed on the ground, Gu Xuan looked toward the calm figure walking along the ridges of the fields. For the first time, he felt despair. The “protest” he thought so powerful was nothing more than a ridiculous farce in her eyes.

Another violent cramp seized his stomach. His vision went black—

And he lost consciousness.