Upon realizing that no one would dare to buy the third servant, the man finally gave him for free on a cheap brothel around the red district. The Head of the brothel was a middle-aged woman who also came from the East, with a hint of sympathy for her fellow men she willingly took the youth even though she surely couldn't make an income from him.

The youth was silent and unpleasant to look at with all the bruises around his body and face so she decided that he can assign him to work as an errand boy around the place.

The boy has been afraid to talk or meet with people but the head lady wasn't that harsh and cold towards him, she managed to speak a few words to him in their dialect. The boy was reluctant at first but it's a good thing he wasn't injured in the head or anything since they successfully got his name, Zedong.

The Head was amused, "What a beautiful name! 泽 (zé) meaning "moist, grace, brilliance" combined with 东 (dōng) meaning "east". A perfect pair." said the lady

But the other servants inside the brothel frowned and got confused, 'where is the part of him that is moist, graceful and brilliant?!' they spoke their mind because even though they fixed the youth, got him into a bath, and gave him clean clothes...he was still miserable to look at!

Aside from his small eyes and thin lips, he also had bruises and scars on his face. So the head decided not to let him inside the brothel when work is going because the customers mostly came from rich households plus the lustful palace ministers who only wanted beauty here and beauty there, so letting them see a filthy looking servant may lose their interest,

"Okay Ah'Dong, you only need to rest and stay out of this place every evening, every evening! You understand?" the head instructed him

The youth could only nod since he still couldn't understand the function of this place nor in the Capital.

The head could only sigh, reading the boy clearly, she changed her tone into a soft one as if pampering a young sheep, "This place isn't good so you better keep your feet out of here but when you're older or more...pleasant to look, you may come to work here."

"But for now, you may work to get some bucket of waters in the dam," she added

The brothel he's currently working on was located in the corner most place on the wide and bustling area of the red district. Theirs was very small compared to those big red houses in the main road, that's why they're tried on luck every evening to get some rich young masters aside from those cheap and ugly merchants which was the majority of their regular customers.

And Zedong had a simple task, to rest every evening then work every daylight.

The boy isn't truly withdrawn from socializing so he managed to feel a bit comfortable with the people around the house, treating him fairly enough. He got close to those servants on his age and the beauty working on the brothel seemed to become fond of him and is usually calling him for minor works than giving him some tips from the money they got from their customers.

Zedong was opening up slowly and the head is reluctant since she knew very well how things ended up on the survivors of their homeland, some were thrown into slavery and some became experimental hosts for Alpha reproducing.

And Zedong, unfortunately, gained both.

He is no longer an Alpha, beta, or omega. He lost his identity.

One afternoon when they were preparing to open again, the head saw some beautys gathering in a corner as they gossiped nonstop not realizing that she was coming near.

When the head stopped behind them, she waisted and called in a loud voice, "MAY I JOIN?"

The beauty mixed with pretty ladies and beautiful male omegas flinched and got their hearts almost bursts, "Madam!" they called altogether

"With all the beauty's gathering here, who wouldn't want to join?" she asked

The beauty giggled and decided to share their news with her since the Head felt like a guardian to them. Very approachable in anyways.

"Madam, did you hear that the Main House lost another talented beauty?" they started

Madam's brows raised.

One beauty said, "He couldn't move for days and got his face ruined in angering the General during the bed so they let him free since they he couldn't be of any use now that his face is ruined."

"SHH!" they shushed him altogether since it became taboo not to mention the general around the red district or else he'll come to your own house unexpectedly.

"Even though the general was a man of all masculinity, I wouldn't dare to seduce him." one beauty remarked

"Enough, enough, at the very least he wouldn't dare to our little punny house. Get back to work." the head flipped her sleeves away.

At the very least, it's better this way.

.....

2 years passed and the intermediate stage of the empire slowly rose, peaking towards the Golden Age. The industry rose and the ruined towns slowly gets back on their feet, the refugees in the capital lessened as they find their new land just by the retrieved prefectures.

Some got married, some died and some grew up well with proper guidance including Zedong.

He reached adolescence well enough that the people around him couldn't call him filthy again. He's clean and neat, hard-working and polite. He may be a bit shy in some areas but he got friends in the house that get along with him.

One sunny day. He was humming while plucking the herbs that he was tasked to take, the garden was just around the field of Magnolia trees so the overall scent of the green place was so good to smell. Not until he heard faint calls coming towards him,

"Zedong...! Zedong..!"

He lifted his head just to see his friend, Gu Yin waving at him, "HURRY UP! The Seaweed monster is getting on loose!"

Knowing what he meant, he laughed and stood, fixing the basket bag on his back full of aromatics herbs. "Coming!"

They both ran back towards the bumpy path leading to the house. They reached the rear part of the house and hurriedly went upstairs.

Upon arriving in a luxurious room, they saw some servants kneeling in front of a beauty who was massaging his head.

"Ah'Xi----" they both stopped when the beauty opened his eyes wickedly and threw a chair pillow towards them, hitting Gu Yun and Zedong.

"5 MINUTES! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO COUNT 300 SECONDS!" he yelled

Xun Xi had a beautiful face, comparable to those of lady phoenixes. Fair face with a hint of courage and strictness, his lips red and he had a slender body that is clearly shown on his layered-tight robes, that's why he's favored in all sorts of demand he wanted.

"ZEDONG!"

Zedong flinched the moment his name was called, "YES!" he involuntarily stood upright as if facing a general.

Xun Xi calmed down as he crossed his legs, "Brew my tea."

Gu Yun made a last glance at his friend signaling 'you can do it!'.

The first time Gu Yun brew him a tea, it tasted awful and the beauty angrily demanded him to drink all of it to avoid waste of sources.

Zedong silently went to the table when he heard the beauty call again, "Massage my back after." he said with his eyes closed as if resting.

Zedong gulped. He couldn't afford to offend the beauty!

.....

A/N: Is this the past Lin???? hohoho