Ding Mansion is a large courtyard in the third and ninth floors. The third courtyard in the third entrance is only a few miles away from Ding Hao's residence, but this is the first time he has walked in here in his life.
No one would know the wealth of the Ding family until they come here. Every brick on the wall here, every tile on the house, every pillar under the hall, and every square stone under the feet are all carefully carved and skillfully used.
The architecture of the house, as well as the flowers, trees, ponds and stones in the courtyard, are well-proportioned, showing grandeur and grace.
Lan'er, the maid of the inner palace, received the order from Manager Yan and introduced him into the back house. He walked through the winding garden, around the cloister, across the stone bridge and through the small pavilion, straight to the deepest part of the back house, and finally stopped in a solemn and luxurious courtyard. Here
Even the door leaves and window lattice are made of expensive golden nanmu. The flowers and trees are sparse, and the red railings and red tiles are all enclosed within the high courtyard wall. It looks like a noble family like the sea.
"Sister, where is the master?" Ding Hao asked politely.
Lan'er rolled her eyes at him, with contempt and disgust in her eyes, and said disdainfully: "Master just took a nap, just wait here. When master wakes up, someone will call you in." After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and raised his head.
go.
Ding Hao was stunned and immediately became angry. If you wanted to take a nap, why did you call me?
He raised his eyebrows, turned around and left. A pair of eyes hidden in the dark corner of the wall couldn't help but light up. Unexpectedly, Ding Hao suddenly stopped when he reached the moon gate. He looked up at the sky, his lips moved slightly, and he was murmuring.
After muttering something to himself, after a while, he turned around and walked down the corridor step by step. He stopped there calmly and calmly, with even a light smile on his lips.
The pair of eyes in the corner looked slightly surprised, thought for a moment, and then quietly disappeared.
Ding Hao stood in the corridor for more than an hour, and his feet were sore from standing. At this moment, someone inside coughed, and Mr. Ding got up.
As soon as Ding Tingxun woke up, the maid serving in the outer room brought a spittoon, tea cup, and asked the master to rinse his mouth and change clothes. After a lot of work, Ding Tingxun came out dressed in clothes and asked the maid: "Go and see, that Ding... Ding Hao is here
Are you there? If he arrives, call him in to see me."
"Yes!" The maid responded, opened the door and took a look. She saw Ding Hao standing on the corridor, she pursed her lips and smiled and said, "Dai, the master asked you to come in."
Ding Hao sighed after hearing this and walked towards the door.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw Ding Tingxun sitting upright on the chair in the hall, his face as calm as water, but his eyes looked at him with a strange look, and his expression was a bit complicated.
"Ding Hao... I've met the master!" Ding Hao hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and saluted the Ding family master who was facing him head-on for the first time, but who had a father-son blood relationship with his own body.
"That's all, stand and answer." His voice was calm and dignified.
"Yes!" Ding Hao stood aside, neither humble nor arrogant, nor squinting.
Ding Tingxun looked at his actions, the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and then he lowered his head slightly and said slowly: "Ding Hao, this time we went to Guangyuan to transport grain, you made great contributions with your suggestions and advice. The eldest lady has told me what happened.
Having said that, I am very pleased."
"The master praises me. This is all because the eldest lady is in charge of the overall situation, and Ding Hao is working hard to serve. If it hadn't been for the past many years, the master has been running the northwest and has a wide network of contacts, he would not have turned misfortune into good luck, and turned every adversity into auspiciousness."
Ding Tingxun twitched the corner of his mouth to express a smile: "You have helped the young lady, and you should be rewarded. I wonder what kind of reward you want? If you want to take on an errand in the Ding family, I will promote you to be a manager; if you want to start your own business, I will promote you to be a manager." , then I will give you a thousand guans of silver, build another house, and give you two or three acres of land. You can choose one of the two. I wonder...what do you want?"
After Ding Tingxun finished speaking, he looked at Ding Hao calmly.
Ding Hao bowed slightly and said calmly: "Master, Ding Hao doesn't want the money or gifts from the master, nor does he want the manager promoted by the master. Ding Hao just wants one thing from the master."
"Oh?" Ding Tingxun stopped stroking his beard, looked at Ding Hao deeply, and asked, "What is it?"
"My mother's contract of sale!"
Ding Tingxun's back suddenly straightened up, and then he realized his gaffe, and slowly sat back: "Yang's deed of betrayal? Hmm... What is your purpose in asking for her deed of betrayal?"
Ding Hao's slightly bowed waist gradually straightened, and there was a solemn expression between his eyebrows: "Ding Hao wants to earn a pure identity for his mother so that he can fulfill his duties as the Son of Man. That's all. It has no purpose."
Before the Song Dynasty, domestic servants were domestic slaves and the private property of the family owner. Although the government would still investigate if someone killed a slave with a stick, such as the famous female prostitute Yu Xuanji of the Tang Dynasty who beat her maid to death. It is also a serious crime. However, except for serious matters such as killing and wounding human lives, the master's power to deal with slaves is very broad.
Moreover, even if a slave is killed with a stick, it is usually only the officials in the big cities and towns who take care of it. In the mountains and countryside, the big families can punish those who violate the clan rules at will according to the clan law, let alone the rich and powerful families who beat the slaves to death. As long as no one reports it. , the people don’t promote it, and the officials don’t investigate it, so the government doesn’t bother to care about it. The power of a wealthy family in the local area is like that of a local emperor. If a slave is really wanted to be beaten to death, who would dare to report it? So the domestic slave actually has no personal protection. of.
By the Song Dynasty, the court had issued an explicit decree that the servants hired were servants, not slaves. A servant was a profession, and although his status was low, it was completely different from a slave. A servant had greater personal rights than a slave, and he could do whatever he wanted. Go, as long as you have the ability, can take the imperial examination, and can be an official, it doesn't matter your experience as a servant. Although servants are still incomparable to modern employees, they are vastly different from the domestic slaves of the past.
However, because the Song Dynasty had just been founded and was in the transition period between the old and the new systems, slaves and servants still coexisted, and many large families owned a large number of domestic slaves. These domestic slaves left over from the old system were not subject to the new laws. Protection, so let’s not talk about civilians, even domestic servants are somewhat contemptuous of domestic slaves. A slave is a humiliating and lowly status. Out of filial piety, Ding Hao wants to get the deed of sale for his mother. This reason is quite sufficient.
Ding Tingxun's eyes flickered, and his surprise quickly disappeared. He looked at Ding Hao carefully for a while, and then said calmly: "I cherish your ability, and I originally intended to allow you to be a manager. As a manager, you naturally have considerable power. At that time, even if your mother She is still a domestic slave. Who in this Ding family manor dares to look down on her? Why give up something that is really helpful to you just for a false reputation? "
"Master, as a son, no one would want his mother to be a slave for the rest of her life. Ding Hao doesn't want to be in charge, he just wants to get his mother's freedom. This is a filial piety as a son. Please fulfill it. Since the master said that, It's just a false name, so...what's the harm in giving my mother her freedom."
Ding Tingxun stared deeply at Ding Hao with a pair of cloudy but shrewd old eyes. Ding Hao looked calm and his eyes were calm. After a while, Ding Tingxun slowly lowered his eyes and laughed "haha" twice: "Remember, even if you immediately
No matter how great your contribution is, you are still a servant of my Ding family. As the head of the family, I want to reward you. I am not doing business with you, so you can bargain. With the status of a steward, a thousand guan of money and a house, you
You can choose either one, there is no third option.”
"Ding Hao only wants my mother's marriage contract!"
Ding Tingxun raised his eyelids, and two sharp gazes shot out from his slightly cloudy old eyes: "No one in the Ding family has ever dared to disobey me for what I have decided!"
"Master, Ding Hao is not disobeying your order." Ding Hao said calmly: "What I want is not much. I just want to return my mother's status as a commoner. This request is not excessive. If the master is afraid of causing other slaves to have delusions, then
...Please give me a price, Ding Hao is willing to redeem his mother's life."
Ding Tingxun raised his eyebrows, showing no signs of anger. Ding Hao showed no sign of weakness. The two looked at each other for a long time. Ding Tingxun smiled instead of getting angry: "How many people want to beg me to be the manager of the Ding family, but you can't even get one, but you avoid me. You are also a
Odd number. Don’t argue with me anymore. Let’s do this. If your mother is ill, I will send you a relatively easy job, but the monthly salary will be quite a lot. This way you will have both leisure and money to take with you.
She went to the city for medical treatment and she is well and well. We will do it for half a year. After half a year, if you are serious about your work and have achieved a lot, I will consider... returning her deed of bondage to you, how about that?"
Ding Hao's heart skipped a beat: "Why did he insist on keeping me for half a year? Half a year... half a year later, it was the time for the Ding family to deliver a large amount of grain and grass to Guangyuan to fill the official warehouse. It is estimated that General Cheng also sent troops at that time
The Northern Expedition, the stormy meeting, will not miss my important event. Now that he refuses to hand over my mother's deed of betrayal, I can't force him. Besides, my mother is seriously ill and cannot travel far in the first place, and she doesn't want to leave.
I might as well argue with this old fox, get my mother's health back in order, and then convince her. After the half-year period is over, I can come back to discuss the merits with him, Ding Tingxun. If he still makes excuses for delaying at that time, it means that he is in the wrong first, and I can't say that I
We have to sacrifice General Cheng to suppress him."
Thinking of this, Ding Hao asked: "Only for half a year?"
"Yes, just half a year."
"Okay! In that case, Ding Hao will follow the master, and we will make an agreement!"
Speaking out the decision he had been thinking about for a long time today, Ding Hao suddenly felt relaxed. He walked out of the door without looking back, looked up at a white cloud in the blue sky outside the courtyard wall, and felt relieved: "After half a year,
I will completely leave the Ding family compound. From now on, the sea will be wide for fish to leap, and the sky will be high for birds to fly..."
Looking at Ding Hao's leaving figure, he was silent for a long time before Ding Tingxun murmured: "I can't believe that you want to leave the Ding family forever. I really underestimate you. In this way, after half a year, I might as well give you a rich gift
Cheng Yi. Now...I want to see if I can throw a gazi fish into this muddy water and get out the muddy loach hidden deep in the ground..."