Wei Tan didn't have many attendants at all, and he brought them all with him when he was away on an expedition. After meeting the emperor, Mrs. Guo ordered the steward to assign servants to my courtyard.
But the Wei family has more servants than maidservants. The steward came to ask me what I meant, and I said kindly, since that's the case, I didn't bring a maid anyway, so I might as well go to the market and come back.
The steward agreed and went to report to Mrs. Guo. There was no objection there, and he quickly agreed.
After receiving the report, I think this Mrs. Guo is a person with a clear mind. My mother once told me that when a new bride gets started, and the distribution and arrangement of property at home, you can follow the trend. However, the personal servants must not be casual. I didn't quite understand it when I heard it back then, but as I gradually saw more things, I understood it.
But who can not have some secrets? In particular, the nobles in the high school have a lot of private transactions, and most of the scandals that have been publicized come from the mouths of servants. Of course, I'm not prepared to do anything bad, but in this completely unfamiliar family, I don't want everything I do to be heard by my aunt or others.
Wars are raging everywhere, and there are many refugees in the world. It is not difficult at all to buy people, and the price is favorable.
Now there are emperors and officials in Yongdu, and many wealthy households from Luoyang, Chang'an also follow, and the market is extremely hot. Dirty, messy and full of people. Men and women waiting for the buyer to come to the photo crowded and occupied every corner, some with full heads and faces, and some with unkempt faces, led by toothmen, with grass marks on their heads without exception.
There were also quite a few buyers, and most of the richer and more prestigious owners came in horse-drawn carts or ox carts, and through thin bamboo curtains, they asked their servants to ask whoever they liked.
The steward led a few family members with sticks, guarded my carriage and walked into the market. As soon as I appeared, many people surrounded me.
"Ma'am! Do you want to buy maidservants? These maidservants of mine look handsome and work well!"
"Ma'am, madam! Look at my side! They are all young maidservants from Yangzhou, Shui Ling is obedient!"
"Let's look at my wife! All my servants are from Luoyang, and they used to serve in big households! There are also those in Chang'an, madam!"
"Oh! Madame is going to be older? You have all of them! I have given birth to a child and taken care of the owner, and I can even help deliver the baby!"
"There is a wife for a male servant! He is strong and full of energy. You can try it for half a month. Mrs. Bao is full..."
There were too many people, and the carriage could not move forward. The steward called on his family to drive them back.
"Ma'am, is there anyone you fancy?" the steward asked from outside the car.
"Look further ahead," I said.
The carriage continued to move forward, along the way, there were endless chatter and peddlers, and the steward was extremely busy looking at people and blocking them.
Suddenly, there was a noise from the side of the road ahead, accompanied by crying. The carriage passed by, and through the thin bamboo curtain, I saw a man with an angry expression, yelling something. The person who was arguing with him seemed to be a jerk, and the two of them pulled a crying woman, as if they were fighting for each other.
My gaze was fixed on them, and I hurriedly said, "Steward, stop the car."
The steward told the driver to stop.
"Ma'am, is there anyone you fancy?" the steward asked.
"The woman the two are fighting over, go and ask." I said.
The steward was surprised, promised, and went to ask. Not long after, he came back and said, "Ma'am, I have asked. The woman and the man are brother and sister, and her father was seriously ill. The woman voluntarily sold herself to the dentist in exchange for money to save her father. Now the elder brother came here, claiming that he didn't know, and insisted on taking the woman back. "
I see. I said: "You go and tell the Yaman, I will buy this woman."
The steward was taken aback, and hesitated: "Ma'am, there are still many people in the market, Ma'am, do you want to take a look again? There are disputes in this woman's family, I'm afraid they may not be clear."
"It's all right," I said, "Go and ask the dentist for the price."
The steward promised, then turned and walked over.
The sound of quarreling stopped suddenly, and I saw Yaren's face was full of joy, and he saluted to the steward. The woman's elder brother's face changed drastically, he looked at him, waved his hands, and rushed towards the carriage.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the family members beside the car rushed forward to stop him.
The man was full of anger, pushing and shoving with his family, and was about to speak when I lifted the bamboo curtain.
The four eyes met, the man saw me, his face changed from furious to shocked, and his mouth was half-opened.
"Ah Huan." I said to him.
In the south of Yongdu, there are narrow alleys, where the poor and homeless gather. There were beggars everywhere, and there were wailing and wails everywhere. This place is dirtier and dilapidated than the human city, with thatched huts everywhere, and sewage flowing across the ground. The stench was accompanied by flies flying around, and there were yellow and emaciated people lying on the straw beds everywhere.
"Ma'am, the mess here can't last long, Ma'am, you should go back." The steward frowned, looking at the miserable surroundings, and persuaded me.
Ah Huan, who was leading the way, turned his head and looked at me with a hesitant expression, as if he was also a little embarrassed.
"My lady..." he stammered, "This place... um... is not where a lady should come."
"It's okay, let's go." I said.
Ah Huan's home is in an alley that is less than ten feet wide. It is better to say it is a nest than a home. The small courtyard is full of sheds, crowded with nearly ten families.
"I have no place to stay in Yongdu, so I have to rent here." Ah Huan whispered. His younger sister, A Yuan, lowered her head, with tears still hanging from the corners of her eyes.
My eyes flicked over the messy huts and human faces, and after a while, I settled on a turf not far away. Li Shang, the former housekeeper of my family, is lying there now, with disheveled hair, showing half of his lifeless face under the dirty black quilt.
"Father," Ah Huan knelt down beside him, his voice choked up, "Father, the lady has come to see you... Father, wake up, it's the lady..."
The side face seemed to move, and I walked over, only to see the drooping eyelids slowly opening on Li Shang's sallow face. His eye sockets are deeply sunken, and his former hale eyes are now like two ancient wells. But the moment he saw me, his pupils suddenly gathered light, as if he had seen the most incredible thing.
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"Female..." Li Shang opened his chapped lips, his voice was hoarse, but he couldn't say a complete sentence.
I leaned over to look at him and held the corner of my lips: "It's me who is in charge."
Tears welled up in those haggard eyes, Li Shang opened his mouth, and suddenly hissed and cried. "Female...Female..." He struggled to get up from the bunk, as if he wanted to salute.
My eyes became hot, and I quickly pressed him down: "You don't need to be polite, don't get up."
"Nv Jun..." Li Shang looked at me, crying and laughing while panting, his hands tightly clutching my sleeves.
I nodded vigorously while wiping the tears off my face, and looked at A Huan and A Yuan brothers and sisters beside me.
When they reunited after parting, their faces were wrinkled from crying.
Ah Huan told me that before Fu's accident, Li Shang happened to bring his brother and sister back to their hometown. It has been a month since the bad news was heard. Li Shangdang hides his brother and sister deep in the mountains, and returns to Chang'an to find out at the risk of his own life. I don't want to think that at that time, Fu's house was completely destroyed, and none of my father, brother and family members remained. Although Li Shang found out that I was left beside the queen mother, he couldn't see me, so he had to go back to his hometown crying bitterly.
Later, the situation took a turn for the worse, Chang'an was in chaos, and wars broke out everywhere. Last year, their hometown was plundered by rebels and all their houses were destroyed, so they had to go out with the villagers to seek refuge. Unexpectedly, there were thieves everywhere, and the three of them lost all their belongings, begging all the way to Yongdu.
I don't need him to tell me what will happen in the future. The three of them were helpless in Yongdu, Li Shang fell seriously ill again, and A Yuan sold himself without telling them, thus what happened in today's market.
I looked at Li Shang, he had calmed down under A Yuan's care. He was so sad and happy just now, his strength was almost exhausted, and he fell into a deep sleep at this moment.
I can't help but sigh in my heart.
Li Shang is a loyal and upright man with the ability to run a family. My father always respected him very much and did not allow his family to use him as a servant. Even though he has sold himself into the government, his father still allows him to go back to his hometown every year to pay homage to his ancestors. Because of the friendship of my parents, Li Huan and Li Yuan brothers and sisters are also very close to me, and they played together since childhood.
Li Shang always had a smiling face in the past, and everyone in the mansion said that Li Guanshi was a man of good fortune. But now, this middle-aged man in his early forties has been tortured out of shape by hardship and illness.
"Madam..." The steward came over with a troubled expression on his face, "Madam, it's getting late, it's time to go home."
I nodded, turned to Li Huan, took out a small piece of gold from my sleeve and gave it to him.
Li Huan's complexion changed, and he hurriedly said: "My lady, this can't be..."
"Take it." I firmly stuffed it into his hand, and said, "Your father's illness can't be delayed any longer. I'll take A Yuan away, and you go to the city to find the best doctor to treat your father. Besides, No one can live here, you find another house to settle down."
Li Huan looked at me with red eyes.
Seeing that he was about to cry again, I sighed and said, "Don't be sad, take good care of your father."
Li Huan nodded, wiped his eyes, and bowed to me: "Thank you, ma'am."
I looked at him, then at Li Shang who was lying quietly on the grass bed, stopped talking, turned and left.