Shen Jiu Gets A Mother

by Potatoneato

Summary:

Shen Jiu runs away with a baby that was meant to replace him in the Qiu manor.

Chapter 1: Qiu Jialou is one creepy motherfucker

Anger came to Shen Jiu easily, with his past in the streets with Qi-ge.

 

He fought for his meals long before Qi-ge taught him how to act cute and beg for scraps from strangers. He didn’t hesitate to get into a scuffle with other children whenever they crossed his and Qi-ge’s territory and he also fought with them if they called his Qi-ge, Qi-ge. He was the only brother Qi-ge had and he made sure it stays that way. He also gets angry at his Qi-ge, especially when they first met. He didn’t trust anybody, but Qi-ge’s kind actions and words slowly melted away the walls he built to protect himself. The part of the streets they call their home is far away from other slave children, for he was the one and only person Qi-ge chose to be brothers with. Nowadays, his anger towards Qi-ge is mellower and it is always because of Qi-ge’s kindness towards other slave children. They take it up as an invitation to be closer to Qi-ge and he does not like it, because where would he be if Qi-ge would be brothers with other people and leave him in this desolate part of the street? He always tell this to Qi-ge while he’s wrapping up Shen Jiu’s wounds from the fights he participated in earlier that day, but Qi-ge always reassures him that no he won’t be abandoned by him and yes he will be the only brother he has forever if Shen Jiu wants it to be and that’s all it takes to make Shen Jiu happy.

 

 Now, Shen Jiu plays dirty when he fights. He has to if he wants to win against kids bigger than him. Unfortunately today he was outnumbered by the other slave kids while he was begging for some change and Qi-ge was on the other side of the city helping with manual labour that can earn more than the cheap change they get everyday. He fought tooth and nail to not be captured by them, but his efforts were futile. They took him to the slave trader and were given a few coins for secrecy they fought over with, along with the money Shen Jiu begged for that day.

 

He was appraised and sold to the Qiu mansion dressed in clothes finer than he ever wore in his entire life but he was still apprehensive. He was right to be. For this was his hell from this day forwards.

 

Shen Jiu was 14 now and it’s been four years ever since he stepped foot in this mansion. His hope to be saved by Qi-ge was turned into despair the first year he was sent here. Unwanted touches and shame crawled under every inch of his skin. Despite Qiu Haitang’s kindness and warmth shared with him throughout the years, Qiu Jianlou’s nightly tortuous methods made him wish this place burned and every single man in it and he was going to make it a reality. He hid oils from the lamps under that wretched room where Qiu Jianluo enacted his sadistic machinations. He also snatched away the medicine that made him unconscious a few weeks ago to make him silent throughout the whole thing. He vowed to kill Qiu Jianluo with his own hands and finally leave this place behind to find his brother and smack him on the face for failing to save him for these 4 ungodly years.

 

Qiu Haitang and Shen Jiu’s engagement was announced yesterday. It was a joyous occasion for the young lady who was enamored with Shen Jiu’s fair face, but all Shen Jiu felt was dread. He was running out of time to escape this mansion. Qiu Jianluo was putting another shackle on him as well as Qiu Haitang who will not be married into another household, but she is too pure and innocent to realize that. After the announcement, Qiu Jianluo called for Shen Jiu to “talk” in another room and although he wanted to enact the plan to kill the bastard right then and there, he forced his smile and finalized his plans on the way to the room where all of Shen Jiu’s suffering come from. However they did not go to the terrible terrible room and instead went to one nearer to Qiu Jianluo’s official residence where a single cradle lay.

 

A baby who looked eerily similar to Shen Jiu lay on the solitary cradle, it slowly opened it’s eyes and grabbed Shen Jiu’s finger who was hovering over it. It’s eyes were green, like his own, and was looking at him with a strange but still terrified expression. 

 

“I figured that since you were going to be married to my dear little sister, I might as well train another one because I’ll have less opportunities with you.” Qiu Jianlou sleazily says. They both know it’s a lie. Qiu Haitang has no real power over the household and Qiu Jianluo’s orders were rules in this household. “Besides, we can also act like it’s our child A-Jiu. Don’t you want it? A real family in addition to your marriage? Ah… but he already looks so much like you. I might not be able to keep my hands to myself for long.” Goosebumps rolled through Shen Jiu’s skins and made him determined to lessen the medicine he’ll give and let the bastard suffer as he cuts all of his fingers and dick off. Qiu Jianluo must end and it will not be long before he reaches his reckoning.

 

A few days pass and the normal hustle and bustle in the Qiu household occurs, but surprisingly Qiu Jianluo has not called for him since that day. He does not think about it that much or the disgust will make him act impulsively and stab that human-faced demon when the time is not right. Qiu Haitang is out today, bringing her small retinue of maids on the way to her aunt. Qiu Jianluo will call for him tonight and he will make sure it will be his last time to do so. 

 

He instructed the slave children training to be maids in the household how to escape the mansion and to grab the ladies that make the household work away. “The men in this household will not save any woman but Qiu Haitang in times of tragedies, and that’s why you must learn this yourselves.” He reasoned, and gave treats that’s fancier to the ones he occasionally gives to the poor girls. “If the master asks about our conversation today, tell him I asked about the baby.” The girls replied with a variety of “Yes gege” and shared their gossip about the baby kept near Qiu Jianluo’s dwelling. ‘It didn’t cry a lot, but it makes a weird face. Don’t worry gege you are more handsome than the baby. It’s a wonder how the young lady hasn’t found out about the baby yet.’ The girls say. He just listened until he was called to prepare to meet the young master. The girls suddenly became alert and hurried Shen Jiu to help prepare him. 

 

It was another night full of pain and humiliation. Qiu Jianluo was more brutal tonight just as always whenever he doesn’t call for Shen Jiu for a period of time. As he takes a swig of his alcohol, he beats Shen Jiu up with his feet and berates him that he is not a man and was not worthy to be Qiu Haitang’s husband until he finally collapsed. Shen Jiu quickly rose to his feet and bounded Qiu Jianluo’s mouth to keep him silent throughout his retribution. He could not stop the tears and even over exaggerated his cries to hide the sounds of struggling beneath him.

 

First was the fingers, then the eyes, and dick. Qiu Jianluo was squirming in pain and delirium while Shen Jiu was screaming like a madman. The guards outside thought it was nothing unusual. Finally, after skinning multiple parts of his atrocious body and shaving all of the hair in his head, he stabbed Qiu Jianluo multiple times on every conceivable part of his body. He looked more of a minced meat than a human at the end of it. Shen Jiu doused the body in oil and knocked a lantern by the side of the bed. He then ran. It was not uncommon for him to run after one of these nightly sessions, but today he ran like his life depended on it, because it does. It would not be long before the guards notices the smell of smoke and oil from within the room. He ran to his quarters and told the girls it is now the time to escape.

 

He made sure that all of the guards and other men in the mansion would also burn by shouting that the young master was in danger and that they would be flagged if they didn’t go to his abode immediately. He escapes through a route with women and girls when he hears a loud cry coming from a room near the fire. It was the baby. He contemplates whether to save that awful thing but the girls beg him to save it. He rushes back near the fire and got burned near his bruises before he reached that thing. The path where he came from is now filled with fire so he took another route separate to the initial plan and finally stepped out of the mansion. The fire is bigger now, but before he can admire it he must still run far from the mansion.

 

The baby was now coughing weakly and Shen Jiu was covered in burns that nearly went up to his face. Once he was a distance away from the mansion, he roamed around aimlessly. People thought he was a crazy woman roaming around the red light district with a baby. He didn’t know why he just didn’t leave it somewhere but the baby was tightly clutching his clothes despite being asleep. Running low on energy, he bumped to a haggard-looking woman in front of a brothel and collapsed.

 

Notes:

Hi! This is my first time writing and posting a fic so please be kind. This one demanded to get out of my brain and couldn't be contained so here it is lol. If there are any OOC moments of Shen Jiu forgive me it's been a while since I read SVSS. Corrections and other stuff... That'll be in the morning. I hope I'll get the courage to continue this,,, it's like 2AM so I am feeling kinda bold. Anyways enjoy!

Chapter 2: Warm Red Pavillion

“What a …. face… him…”

“Should… we… baby”

Shen Jiu blearily woke up to the sound of murmuring around him. The scent of flowers was almost nauseating with the smell of various herbs on his body. Every muscle he knew were aching, but at least it reminds him that he is alive. Finally free from that hell that he burned to the ground.

“Where…” Shen Jiu asked nobody. The room went quiet as they heard his feeble voice. He felt the stares towards him and motion to get up when—

“I would stay in the bed if I were you, the sooner you are able to stand the sooner you’ll have to work to pay me back.” A voice of an old woman at his side went. She looked tired, blood still staining her clothes. This made him urge to run more but his body JUST. WON’T. LISTEN.

“Please… just do it quickly” He weakly pleads as he shut his eyes out.

“What the hell are you talking about?!” replied the old woman

“Auntie, your clothes” he heard a young woman say gently with other voices of giggles and a loud “STOP SCARING THE PRETTY BOY AWAY DOC”

Doctor?... He slowly opened his eyes and looked around him. Near the door were a gaggle of women dressed promiscuously. A brothel. Is he gonna get sold again? He looked at a sign near the door “Silk… Storage?” He finally noticed the rows of blankets and bedsheets surrounding him. So this was a high-end brothel then. Just like the one his mother was sold to. He only knew one in the town near the mansion, one that the bastard Qiu Jianluo complained about because he was kicked out after accidentally killing one of their girls.

“WHAT ARE YOU ALL GATHERING THERE AROUND FOR DON’T BOTHER ME UNLESS SOMEONE IS DEAD”

“But healer you’ve picked a pretty one this time we wanted to see an eye-candy.” Cloyingly says another voice from the group.

“I SWEAR YOU GIRLS ARE–”

“Excuse me healer, is this the Hidden Lotus pavilion?” Shen Jiu finally mustered to ask the screaming woman.

“Huh, were you hoping it is, young man?” the doctor replies, eyeing him like he was a perverted runaway teen who was hoping to get a good time in this kind of establishment.

“No, not at all. I had noticed from the fabrics that this is a brothel with significant prestige and spoke the first one that came to mind” said Shen Jiu politely.

“And you mention that run-off-the-mill establishment that can’t even take care of their girls properly? That is also mighty far. We’re near Ciang Qiong Mountain, and that brothel is one of Huan Hua Palace’s territory." the doctor spoke curiously. “Although I do frequent that place more than this one, you were lucky you ran into me.”

“I’m still terribly sorry about that ma’am. I will repay you in whatever way possible. Does this pavilion need another courtesan?” Shen Jiu still uses his prim and proper voice as if he wasn’t saying that he was willing to subject himself to men’s lusts in order to survive.

“Goodness, what in the world are you saying? You? Becoming a courtesan here? Not in a thousand years. You do have the looks but this pavilion only offers women. How are you even gonna take care of your brother? Warm Red Pavillion can’t afford to raise another baby.” the doctor says exasperatedly.

“But I still have to repay you back. I’m being a trouble–” Shen Jiu weakly replies

“Trouble? You are damn right you did cause a hefty amount of trouble for me this week. You passing out on the street triggered the labor of a courtesan in this pavilion. I had to take care of her and you cause she can’t stop screaming about how she’ll become like you once she gives birth and how her baby is gonna be sick and die like the one you held in your hands. As if the father of the kid hasn’t already bought her… I also had to take care of your brother cause she won’t stop crying bout a baby dying just as she was giving birth. So stupid, can’t even see that you were a man…” The doctor rambled as she was preparing medicine for him. “Now drink up, I’m gonna bring you your brother later. Take it easy so that you can pay me back faster.”

“Are they okay? The courtesan and my… Br-brother?” The word still tasted like ash on his mouth. His previous brother left him to the wolves.

“Who the hell do you think I am? Of course I did. Name’s Li Fei. Make sure to spread the word as soon as you heal.” Li Fei finally finishes up replacing the bandages on his foot and arms.

“My name is Shen Jiu, as for my brother… I don’t– he doesn’t have a name.” In truth, he also doesn’t have a proper name either. His birth name forever buried and forgotten in his memories as he was sold to the slave traders all this years ago. Only his surname stuck. His current name also stuck and he still wasn’t willing to let go of it, that’s the one his Qi-ge knew.

“You’re a sharp one though, you know how to read right?” Shen Jiu nods. “I doubt your parents give a rat's ass about your names so why don’t you give him one. You can even give him a fancy one from poems or whatnot. You’re gonna be stuck with him for a long time after all.”

A brother that’s gonna be stuck with him? He’s still a baby and it’s going to make his life much more difficult, but a brother who can’t run away and leave him all behind... He likes that. The baby is gonna be a burden but still… “Yuan. I would like to name him Yuan.” It’s a burden he’s willing to shoulder in this new life.

“Hope. How quaint” Li Fei says as she finally leaves Shen Jiu alone in the room.

 

Notes:

I'm sorry for the late update. Had a hard time reading the first chapter cause the mistakes made me cringe. Guess that was the extent of my 3am writing lol. Anyways enjoy the second chap. I wasn't really expecting other people to read this (even though I literally posted to THE fanfic site like of course???) Every kudo gave me a mini heartattack I wasn't ready to be perceived I was like "what should I do I'm getting nearly 100 kudos" and like I could've left it but I already spammed my friend with the plot before I started writing this so I guess I can continue and I feel bad for leaving it hanging so yeah see you next chap whenever it is.