Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 603: Bookboy
Two white cranes flew up from the bank of Luo River, soared twice in the sky, and landed above the Mingtang. They flapped their wings and looked proudly at Xue Bai on the other side of the railing.

Immediately, the eunuchs diligently took out dried shrimps and small fishes and handed them to Xue Bai.

Seeing this, the two white cranes staggered forward and looked at him with their round eyes. After waiting for a while, seeing that he was still in a daze, they spread their wings impatiently.

"Your Majesty, Yu Ling and Qing Ming are back."

"Oh."

Xue Bai then came to his senses, took the jar, and slowly fed the two cranes.

They were presented by Tian Chengsi and are very spiritual.

Xue Bai had always disliked the idea of ​​presenting tributes, and he had previously released many rare and exotic animals in the palace. If it were up to him, he would have reprimanded Tian Chengsi, but Pugu Huai'en was making trouble at the time. Considering the strategy of hitting one and pulling the other, Xue Bai only said to the envoy from Fan Yang, "I know."

He didn't even say "not next time", which didn't mean that he would allow it this time. Tian Chengsi couldn't guess his intentions, and felt that the tribute he had worked so hard to collect was not worth it.

He took the trouble to feed them shrimps and dried fish bit by bit, but the two cranes didn't even look at Xue Bai. They spread their wings and flew into the sky again, very arrogantly.

No matter how great the emperors in the world are, they don’t understand and don’t care anyway.

When Du Wulang came to see the emperor, he saw the scene of "cranes flying around the hall" and could not help but sigh: "He is truly a banished immortal."

"It's just pretend." Xue Bai stood by the railing, overlooking the Luo River. He felt that he could understand the mood of Wu Zetian when she ascended the throne here.

After taking all the officials away from Chang'an, he felt that he had a stronger control over the court.

"Your Majesty, I want to ask about the provincial examination." Du Wulang said, "The court said that it does not matter what household registration is, so can slaves also take the exam?"

"Are there any slaves who want to take the test?"

When Du Wulang saw Xue Bai's somewhat surprised expression, he knew that Cui Dong was right. The so-called "not limited by household registration" on the official list was intended to break the mutual exclusion between regions, and it could not be intended to allow slaves to participate in the imperial examinations.

He then scratched his head and said, "Although there is, I misunderstood. Also, if I were to take the imperial examinations together with the children of aristocratic families, there would be a big quarrel."

If someone else had said this, it would probably be a roundabout way of speaking. Xue Bai looked at Du Wulang deeply, but knew that he was speaking unintentionally.

It was this unintentional remark that made Xue Bai take it to heart.

"Slaves participating in the imperial examinations? That's a good idea."

Du Wulang was a little confused by his question and said, "Ah? I'm here to give advice to His Majesty?"

Xue Bai had long ago thought of abolishing the slavery system in the Tang Dynasty.

Many years ago, he had felt the pain of slaves being bought and sold like pork by the pound. If he was motivated by passion then, now it was a more realistic consideration.

Today, the national treasury is empty, but the burden of taxes collected on the people is still very heavy. In other words, the government always takes money from ordinary people and the poor, but never gets more money. One of the reasons for this is the large number of people who have fled.

As for where did the runaways go? Xue Bai and Yan Zhenqing had seen this when they went to catch them. They often became slaves and worked for the rich without paying taxes.

The master-servant relationship may not be abolished for a generation, but if slavery can be abolished, at least the excuse for wealthy families to evade taxes by borrowing money will be removed officially.

Of course, this matter cannot be abolished just by his words. There must be a loophole.

Du Wulang's proposal this time is a good one. He should start with slaves who are ambitious and can read, and open a clear channel for them to escape from slavery. Even if only a few people can change their fate through this channel at the beginning, it can be expected that quantitative changes will lead to qualitative changes.

Xue Bai thought about it, tapped his fingers on the railing for a while, and muttered to himself: "Can the court issue a rule that if a slave can pass the child examination, he will be granted a white body?"

Du Wulang asked doubtfully, "Tongshi?"

Xue Bai said: "You must be sure of this matter, otherwise if the imperial court issues an order but there are no slaves to take the exam, this example of buying horse bones for a thousand gold coins will not stand up, but will expose our thoughts and lose face, and it will be difficult to do it next time."

"What do we think?" Du Wulang asked, "But I just want to ask..."

"Well, I'll have someone prepare a test paper, and you can give it to the servant who wants to take the exam, to see if he has real talent and knowledge. If he does, you can set him up as an example."

"Ok."

Although Du Wulang didn't quite understand Xue Bai's feelings, he still knew what to do.

"I see that Yan Fang is very good at reading. He must be a man of real talent and learning."

~~
"Oh oh oh-"

Yan had just fallen asleep and was very sleepy when the rooster crowed. However, he struggled for a few times and finally managed to get up from the small couch.

Feeling a little dizzy, he didn't dare to make any noise. He put on his clothes quietly and left the ear room.

Yan Fang was not actually Cui Dong's servant, but Cui Jing, Cui Sanshisan. At this time, Cui Jing was lying on the couch, snoring loudly.

Even though he had followed Cui Jing for ten years, Yan Fang still could not sleep well amidst the snoring.

He walked slowly to the bed, leaned over in the dark, sniffed, identifying the smell of alcohol and fishy stench, reached out his hand, and touched the urinal.

The urinal was very heavy and Cui Jing had urinated so full that there seemed to be a layer of foam floating on it.

This was something that bothered Yan Fang a lot. He thought that he must find a way to remind his husband today that it is better to pee in two basins than to fill one basin so full.

He had no choice but to hold the urinal with both hands and stand up carefully.

"what!"

Cui Jing suddenly shouted.

Yan Fang was startled and his hand shook, causing urine to spill all over his hand, with a lot of it staining the ground.

"My dear? What can I do for you?"

The snoring sound started again, Cui Jing was still sleeping soundly, it seemed that he was just awakened by a nightmare.

Yan Fang then took the urine pot and went out to empty it.

In the Cui family's villa, the servants had all woken up, some were sweeping the floor, some were preparing dishes, but their movements were gentle and made no sound. They wanted their master to wake up in silence, to see a spotless yard, and to use water of just the right temperature.

So it was not until he left the dormitory that Yan was finally able to breathe normally. Before that, he had been holding his breath and walking slowly on tiptoe.

"Yan Fang!" Suddenly, a middle-aged man called out to him softly.

"I have met the Third Steward."

"You're slow again. How many times have I told you to take the chamber pot out before this path is swept? If it drips on the ground, won't that delay things?"

"Yes, I know I was wrong."

Yan Fang didn't dare to say a word of defense and immediately lowered his head to admit his mistake.

Even though the chamber pot in his hand had not yet dripped any urine; even though he knew clearly that he could never be faster than Uncle Zeng who started sweeping the floor in the middle of the night; even though he knew clearly that the flowers and plants on both sides of the path were watered with urine, two drops of urine from the chamber pot in his hand would not make any difference.

He admitted his mistake very experiencedly, but he only hoped that the third steward would say less.

"Is it useful to admit your mistakes? You always say you know you are wrong, but you will make the same mistake again next time. I think you don't take it to heart at all. Do you think you are different from other servants just because you secretly learned a few words of 'zhihuzheya'? I hate people like you who don't keep to the rules the most..."

Yan Fang stood there helplessly holding the full pot of urine and listening. He could smell the taste of bacon in the third manager's mouth and thought expectantly that maybe he could have bacon for breakfast today.

His hands were getting more and more sore, and his urine was getting more and more swollen. What he was more worried about was that after such a long delay, it would be too late to do other things.

But the third manager scolded him for a long time before letting him go.

"You lazy, sneaky thing, if you dare to act insolently in front of the gentlemen again, I will punish you by not allowing you to eat for three days. Go ahead."

"Yes, Third Steward."

"Wait! I let you go this time, and you didn't even say thank you?"

Yan Fang's throat rolled for a few times, and finally said, "Thank you, Third Steward."

He finally reached the toilet and impatiently put down the chamber pot and urinated himself, which he had been holding all night.

"Which room's servant is so slow?"

Behind him, the dirty old man who was carrying sewage water came over, cursing and swearing.

"You are so delicate and tender, you must be loved by your husband, right? You are so hesitant when doing things, and it makes me wait so long!"

"I'll do it." Yan Fang was still pulling up his pants, and when he saw the dirty old man reaching for the chamber pot, he quickly said, "I'll pour it."

It was too late, so the dirty old man picked up the chamber pot, emptied it into the bucket, and deliberately dropped the chamber pot at his feet, and the remaining urine splashed onto his trouser legs.

It was sewn by his mother herself.

"You come? How can you, as servants, do such dirty things?" The dirty old man muttered and pushed the manure cart away.

Yan Fang knew that he could not win the fight, so he picked up the chamber pot and hurried back, but this time he quickened his pace.

It was too late for him.

He fetched water, washed the chamber pot, made sure there was no smell, and put it back beside the couch. He fetched more water and mopped the floor... After finishing all this, Yan Fang had already missed breakfast.

He thought that perhaps another servant would leave a portion for him, which might be enough to fill his stomach, otherwise he would go hungry until the evening.

"Boom-"

When the bell of the villa rang, he had to wake Cui Jing up immediately to wash up.

The Cui family has strict family education, and it is absolutely not too late now.

"My dear, my dear, please wake up."

Cui Jing yawned, and a smell of alcohol hit Yan Fang's nose. Yan Fang was immediately startled. He couldn't stop his lover from sneaking out last night, and now the consequences have come. If Cui Jing is punished, he will be punished with him.

"My dear, are you drunk?"

"No, I just peed, hold it."

Yan Fang looked down and was stunned. At this time, a faint light came through the window, and he saw an overturned chamber pot on the ground. He picked it up and found urine in it.

Last night Cui Jing urinated in two pots and knocked over one of them. He hasn't even mopped the floor yet and the manager will come to check on him soon.

"You didn't fall down, did you? Did you oversleep again?" Cui Jing muttered, "It's okay, I don't blame you, hurry up and serve it."

Yan Fang had a thousand words to say, but she just responded: "I know I was wrong and shouldn't have overslept."

"Hey, I know you are lazy, but what can I do?" Cui Jing smiled heartlessly.

Yan Fang picked up the chamber pot.

He knew that it was okay to admit that he was lazy and stupid, as the children of the noble families would not take it personally. But if he tried to defend himself, the master would think that he was speaking ill of the master's family... Once before, he was almost beaten to death because he opened his mouth to defend himself.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

The whip hit Cui Jing and Yan Fang three times on their backs respectively.

The person holding the whip was Zhao Hua, a famous scholar invited by the Cui family.

Zhao Hua was a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Kaiyuan, along with Xiao Yingshi and Li Hua. Later, he started out as a prince's official, and was later appointed as a judge in Dali. He was demoted for offending Li Linfu, and later, when An Lushan's rebels came to Henan, he surrendered. After the court recovered Luoyang, he fled here and became a teacher for the children of the Cui family.

He is really knowledgeable and is strict with his students.

Cui Jing was a full minute late today, and was dragged here by his servant. This made Zhao Hua very unhappy, and of course he had to punish him severely.

Although he whipped Cui Jing three times each, he did not hit him lightly. He finally held back a bit of his strength. The three times he whipped the servant boy were the real vent of his anger, and the clothes on his back were all bloody. "You don't focus on your studies, but spend your time in debauchery. Do you deserve the reputation of your ancestors? And you, as a servant boy, should have urged him to make progress and study hard. You are not doing your job, so you deserve to be beaten."

After being whipped, Yan Fang became even more respectful of Zhao Hua. He had always admired Jinshi scholars, and if he could study under a great scholar by being whipped a few times, he would wish he could be whipped every day.

After finally calming down, Cui Jing sat down in the classroom. It was unknown whether he studied hard or not, but he looked like he was listening to the lecture.

Yan Fang, the servant, was not allowed to stay in the school, so he had to wait outside. This was one of the few times he could rest. But unlike other servants, he did not go to the river to take a bath or fish, but leaned against the wall to eavesdrop.

He was so studious not because he truly liked the classics, history, and literature, but because he hoped to change his destiny through them.

In those days, no one told him that studying was useful. On the contrary, everyone told him, "Given your status, why would you learn to study like me? It's useless." The reason why he was like this was that he had no other choice.

As he listened, he also felt sleepy, because Cui Jing was always making trouble every night. After escaping from home, he asked him to keep watch and open the door. Last night, it was three o'clock in the morning before Cui Jing came back.

Now Cui Jing is sleeping in class, but Yan Fang is trying hard to pinch himself to keep himself from falling asleep.

This is the only time of the day when he can study hard.

A bell rang in the distance, and the school class was over. Yan Fang suddenly felt sad. He had to take care of Cui Jing's eating, drinking, and going to the toilet at night.

When he looked up, he saw Cui Jing and Cui Dong walking out side by side.

"Lord, Sanshijiu Lang."

"You, the servant, look so tired?" Cui Dong said, "How about this, Forty-three-year-old will come to my courtyard tonight to study, and you can take a day off."

Yan Fang was overjoyed and quickly thanked Cui Dong.

If he had a choice, he would rather be with Cui Dong and learn more poetry and books. Cui Dong is also more considerate of servants, which is well-known among the servants.

~~
Jinping Mountain is beside the Luo River, and there are fields along the river.

There were two rows of farmhouses beside the field, and several women were gathered together weaving nets and chopping wood.

"Auntie!"

A woman heard this, turned around, and said happily, "Son."

When the people around saw that it was Yan Fang coming, they started talking about it.

"I heard that the son of the old Yuan family is a servant to you, young master."

"Yes, if my Gousheng was half as smart as Yuan, he might be able to get a job in the mansion..."

Yan Fang was not happy after hearing this, and his joy of seeing A Niang was instead diluted.

His mother was originally very happy, but soon she became worried. She pulled him into the house and asked, "Son, why are you back at this time? Did you do something wrong again and the master rushed you back?"

"It would be better if he was really driven back." Yan Fang said, "So that he wouldn't have to wait on others."

"What kind of talk is that? Can you do the rough work that your grandfather does?" His mother burst into tears immediately. "You will starve to death if you do this kind of work that depends on the weather for your living."

"Mother, my son was not driven back because the gentlemen appreciated me and let me rest for a day."

"I'm glad that I appreciate you. I just hope that you can become a steward in the future. Not to mention a major steward, but a small steward in charge of a room in the mansion. That would be a great mercy from the Buddha."

"Okay." Yan Fang had a smile on his face, but his eyes were still dim.

"You kid, why don't you wear the pants your mother made for you?"

"My son is reluctant to wear it." Yan Fang said, "I have something to ask Grandpa, is he in the fields?"

"Look at what you said, where else can it be."

Yan Fang glanced at the wall and saw a dry wreath still hanging there. His eyes dimmed.

He went out and walked toward the field.

"Grandma!"

An old farmer who was hunched over and cutting weeds turned around and saw Yan Fang coming back. He was very happy and his eyes were filled with pride.

The farmers not far away also cast envious glances.

Yan Fang walked forward and saw that his grandfather had no extra sickles, so he bent down and pulled out the weeds.

The father and son were silent for a while before he spoke.

"Grandpa, our family name is Yuan. Do I have a full name?"

"You were only two years old when we fled to the Cui family. It was the housekeeper who gave you this name."

"This is the name of the servant in the mansion. The servant who died before was called Yan Fang. Grandpa, do I have my own name?"

"You don't have it, but your sister does..."

The father and son were silent for a while.

Yan Fang asked, "Grandpa, our family used to be a registered household in Shou'an County, right?"

"That's not right, good citizen."

"I heard the court announced that if the households are willing to return, each adult will be given 100 mu of land, free of rent for one year, half the tax the next year, and after three years..."

"How can we go back?! If we encounter a disaster, we will starve to death!"

Yan Fang said, "Grandpa farms for the Cui family. The land belongs to the Cui family, the grain belongs to the Cui family, and even our people and our descendants all belong to the Cui family. We grow so much grain every year, and the rent we pay is three times the new policy. Is it worth it? Let's go back. We won't starve to death. In times of disaster, the court has granaries and spring seedling loans..."

"Where else can we find such a good host?!"

Old Yuan became anxious, waving the mowing knife in his hand, and asked, "Where did you hear all this? Did the new clerk in the county say it? He took advantage of someone's young widow and will soon be thrown into a pig cage by the township. Did you listen to him?"

"What? Shao Wenyuan can't possibly occupy a widow."

"Silly boy, you have only just eaten a few grains of salt. You are restless when you meet such a good master. We only hope that you can become a small steward, marry a maid in the mansion, and give birth to a few big fat boys."

"You're going to be a slave again after I'm born?!" Yan Fang suddenly broke down and shouted, "I don't want to be a slave anymore!"

After he shouted, he saw that his grandfather was standing there in a daze, so he quickly lowered his voice.

"Grandpa, please go back and settle down. I want to take the imperial examination. I want to be a high-ranking official in the future and be filial to you two."

"No wonder the Third Steward said last time that you have high expectations but low skills."

Yan Fang was surprised and asked, "What did he say?"

"The master has been very kind to us. If the third steward hadn't lent us money, I would have died of illness. Later, there was a famine and we owed three years of rent and taxes. If the third steward hadn't persuaded the master to buy us out, this family would have been gone. It took a lot of effort to raise you to this age. Now you want to leave your family. What can you use to repay the master's kindness?"

"Don't worry, Grandpa, when I become an official..."

"You can't be an official. None of our ancestors ever became an official. How dare you have such a daydream?"

“Because I study!”

"Snapped."

Before Yan Fang could say anything more, he was slapped in the face.

It didn't hurt, but his grandfather, who had lived there all his life, was extremely determined.

"Go back tonight to serve your husband, kowtow to the third steward and admit your mistake, and say that you will never dare to be arrogant again."

After saying this, Old Yuan left, leaving Yan Fang alone at the edge of the field.

He sniffed and walked towards Cui's villa alone.

~~
"Yan Fang, you're back. There's a man looking for you. Come with me."

Chuntao, the maid who was looking out the small door, was overjoyed to see Yanfang coming back and couldn't wait to wave to him.

"Come on, don't look so sad all day long. Being a servant in your husband's room is the most respectable job in the mansion. What else is there to be lacking?"

Yan Fang did not answer, but asked, "Who called me?"

"In short, he is a man who looks ordinary, very, very ordinary." Chun Tao hesitated for a while and added, "But not as handsome as you."

After saying that, she lowered her head shyly.

Yan Fang acted as if he didn't hear it.

He knew that Chuntao wanted him to ask the master for mercy and let her be with him, so as to avoid her being promised to the outer courtyard to do rude things. It's not that he didn't like her, but he didn't want to have a slave child with a slave.

When I arrived in front of Cui Dong's yard, a figure came out to greet me.

"Kichiro-kun?"

Yan Fang bowed quickly.

"Come here." Du Wulang whispered, and led Yan Fang aside, asking, "You really want to take the imperial examination, right?"

"Yes, I would like to refer to it even if I die."

"Well, I want to help you, but I have to make sure you have real skills first."

Yan Fang was overjoyed, his eyes lit up instantly, and he nodded repeatedly, not knowing what to say.

Du Wulang then took out a piece of paper and handed it to Yan Fang.

"This is difficult. I've looked at it and I can't answer any of it. Try your best to answer it and I'll see how much you've learned. Don't try to show off, or there will be more people criticizing you. We should only do what we can according to our own learning."

"Thank you, Jilang-kun!"

Yan Fang took the paper and glanced at it. There were a lot of questions on it.

First, the students were tested on the interpretation of classics, history, and miscellaneous works; then there were twenty civil case questions, a poem, and finally a policy question about the Spring Seedling Loan.

Yan Fang estimated it and although he was not very confident, he was determined to do his best within his ability.

He thanked Du Wulang deeply again.

"I've also taken the Spring Examination, and it took three days to complete the test." Du Wulang said, "Then I'll come and get it in three days, okay?"

Yan Fang originally wanted to say that he had to serve the master every day and had very little time to spare, but he thought this was a test for himself and quickly agreed.

"Don't worry, Jilangjun, I will definitely finish it within three days."

"Okay, I'll come get it then."

Du Wulang smiled, patted Yan Fang on the shoulder, and turned to find Cui Dong.

In the yard, Cui Dong was playing the piano facing the moon.

When Cui Jing saw Du Wulang coming in, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother Ji, did you run away because you thought my brother's music was unpleasant?"

"No, I just went to relieve myself."

Du Wulang thought that if he wanted to redeem Yan Fang, he would need Cui Jing's consent, so he asked, "By the way, I just met your servant. How is his talent?"

Cui Dong stopped playing the strings and said, "Speaking of this, why don't you give Yan Fang a future? How about sending him to Brother Ji?"

(End of this chapter)