Chapter 65: Bizarre and erotic plea (Part 2)

With the returned hundreds of stagnants of money, Zhao Xing felt a little dull. He was stunned for a long time before he heard the vague voice of the Lijianjiu: "The magistrate... passed away... worship..."

Xu Zhizhou died? A few days ago, Su Dongpo wrote a farewell poem for him, but he passed away so soon.

I think there were signs before, such as Su Dongpo gave his child more than a hundred feet, but he did not show up. Perhaps, he was unwilling to use his condition to disrupt the festive atmosphere at that time.

"I'll notify the bachelor's degree now," Zhao Xing immediately ran out.

The death of Xu Zhizhou not only involves the ownership of Cheng Jiaji, but also Su Shi's future life. This change must be dealt with as soon as possible.

In the sacrificial hall, Su Shi was reciting the "Elegy of Xu Junyou" - a boat traveled south and did not return, and the red cirque in the Qingjiang River shone with sadness. Please see that you can't cry when you walk, all of which were unbearable to deceive you back then.

After the snow, I came to plant willows alone, and when I walked among the bamboos, I picked tea again. The mountain city was filled with the guests in front of me, and I only knew the old hatred and new sorrows."

A few days ago, he wrote "Good Things Are Coming" to congratulate Xu Zhizhou on his promotion. On the 9th day of Chongjiu, he wrote "The 9th day of Chongjiu Hanhui Tower presents Xu Junyou", which has two sentences: "Everything is always a dream, rest, and tomorrow the yellow flowers and butterflies will be sad."

Xu Zhizhou's name is revealed because of Su Shi, and Su Shi's noun is mostly related to this generous elder. Now, he is like "Yellow Flower Tomorrow" and has left.

A grand ceremony was being held in the sacrificial hall, and Zhao Xing sat alone in the back hall, mourning silently.

He was not familiar with Xu Zhizhou and was able to appear in the rituals because of Su Dongpo. However, an ordinary tribute priest like him who had no poems was not listed in the guest of honor, so Xu Zhizhou's family arranged him in the back hall to wait for the end of the rituals.

The back hall was filled with panic, and every servant seemed to be whispering. Several concubines from Xu Zhizhou were packing their luggage, and the servants were called away one by one. After a while, Zhao Xing was left in the back hall.

A jingling sound of ringing and pendant walked into the back hall. Zhao Xing looked up and saw that it was the concubine named Shengzhi. She seemed to have something to say. After meeting Zhao Xing with a lot of worries, she asked, "I heard that you are a big wine merchant in Huangzhou?"

"Um."

"I heard that you are still Mr. Dongpo's disciple - a strange disciple who knows how to write poetry?"

“…”

"I heard that you just married a bride?"

“…”

"I know Pan Sheng. I heard that Pan Sheng is now obedient to your orders - have you bought Pan Sheng winery?"

...

After hesitating for a long time, the dancer mustered up the courage to say, "I'll go with you."

Zhao Xing didn't know how to answer for a moment, and his eyes swept aimlessly across the walls, and finally stopped on the bookshelf against the wall.

In normal history, this concubine named Shengzhi finally followed Zhang Houzhi. One day, Zhang Houzhi held a banquet to entertain Dongpo. At the banquet, Su Dongpo met Shengzhi again and "covered his face and cried", but Shengzhi "chuckled with his disciples". After that, Su Dongpo often mentioned this matter to others, "to keep a maid's warning."

Later generations often blamed this when talking about this matter, believing that this concubine was so arrogant. However, Zhou Zuoren expressed his understanding and believed that Su Dongpo's crying and the concubine's laughter were both true feelings - "all the seven emotions can be cried."

People can cry when they are extremely angry. Isn’t the laughter of Shengzhi a big laugh? Isn’t it that the resentment and anger that makes him laugh with great anger?

In fact, they did not pay attention to the laws on concubines and maids in the Song Dynasty.

According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, concubines had a service life. The law also stipulated that the service life would need to be calculated continuously, up to three years.

In other words, if you buy a woman as a concubine and resell it one year later, all you resell is just "right to use". She works with her new owner for another two years. After three years of work, the "ownership" will be back in her own hands and she is free.

When the service period expires, if the concubine feels that she has "high salary and good benefits, and has great appreciation potential" from her master, and therefore is unwilling to leave, then she will face "change of jobs". One way is to be promoted to "Madam" - the procedures are complicated and troublesome; if you settle for the second best, you will become a maid.

Song Xingtong stipulates that the maximum service time for a maid is ten years. After being converted to a maid, she can continue to serve for seven years. If she still has no hope of promotion and is unwilling to leave, the Song people have another way to take advantage of legal loopholes, that is, to be converted to a "adopted daughter", and the adopted daughter has no service period.

As for how the child born to the owner and the "adopted daughter" should be counted...that is a confused account of the Song people, and it has nothing to do with you and me.

In the Song Dynasty, the two words "concubine" were used in a row. Girls who specialize in labor were called "female messengers", which means "master girls".

Zhao Xing recently discovered this strange phenomenon when he turned the Song Dynasty. In a sense, being a concubine is actually a way of working for women in the Song Dynasty. The concubines and maids of the Song Dynasty were a group of "working girls in the Song Dynasty". They relied on renting for their own dowry, so they had "both women in Zhejiang were all dressed and made a living." "Although the poor women in Pengmen had one or two brocade clothes and silk skirts, and several headdresses."

If a working woman has feelings for her boss, she will continue to work. She has no feelings - either looking for a new owner, or marrying a greedy man with money as her "wife". This is the market life of ordinary people in the Song Dynasty.

In a legal sense, requiring a working girl to be full of love for her boss is a forced desire, so Shengzhi has the right to laugh.

After figuring out this law, Zhao Xing was shocked for a long time. He did not expect that women's behavior in the Song Dynasty, which was regarded as the most harshest of ethics, would be so shocking.

Now Xu Zhizhou is dead. According to convention, his son inherited the ownership of these concubines and maids. Also, according to convention, these concubines and maids will be sold and replaced with a master to serve again until the three-year service period expires. Shengzhi came to ask Zhao Xing if he had the desire to buy her. Seeing that Zhao Xing had no response for a long time, she whispered: "I will be full in seven months, so the price will not be too high."

In nature, Zhao Xing didn't want such a 14-year-old girl to be tortured by another old man, but he couldn't agree.

One is because of Su Dongpo.

In his interactions with Xu Zhizhou, Su Dongpo, the criminal, treated Xu Zhizhou's concubine very respectfully. In order to repay the love, he wrote many erotic words to give to Xu Zhizhou's four favorite concubines. If Zhao Xing bought Shengzhi home, how should Su Dongpo face it?

Second, it is because of the law.

Later generations could not imagine the self-consciousness of the Song people to abide by the law, so there was a saying that "there is no China after Yashan". The laws of concubines and maids in the Song Dynasty were unable to overcome even Su Dongpo, let alone a small person like Zhao Xing.

Chaoyun, who "there is nowhere to go", is now a maid in legal documents. She successfully became a "maid" in the 11th year after she had been in the service for 10 years. But she is just a maid at present.

Perhaps, this kind of maid's treatment is slightly higher than that of ordinary maids, which is what the Song people often call "Madam Like" - its full meaning is: the treatment is "Madam Like" and "Madam".

Zhao Xing could not change the other party's identity, but he felt from the bottom of his heart that such a 14-year-old girl was really unbearable to deal with the old man.

What should he do?

Shengzhi was quietly adding: "I can sing and dance, sing music, mix tea, treat guests, pick up pens and settle accounts, and cook with skirts... There are many more! I heard that your wife is just an illiterate villager. You often deal with officials and are all literati and poets. If you buy me, you don't have to worry about having a banquet and socializing. I promise to let your friends go all out."
Chapter completed!