The steward didn't dare to offend Yu Shu, so he quickly found a group of female slaves for her to choose from. Among them, there were many young ladies from official families who had been convicted and sold. Not only were they literate, but they were also proficient in the four arts.
On the way, the steward kindly reminded them, "The one who came back is the Celestial Commissioner, a female official of the fifth rank. She is quite famous in the capital. If she takes a liking to you, although you will only be ordered around as a servant, isn't it better than being a plaything for those rich men? Who knows, good days are waiting for you. Mother, for the sake of our relationship, will tell you the truth. It's fine as long as you know what to do."
The group of girls responded in a low voice, each of them having their own considerations.
.....
The Minister's Quarters was very good at training people. When Yu Shu saw these spoiled girls in front of her, they didn't have the slightest bit of disobedience. They were abnormally well-behaved and answered whatever she asked. When she asked them to write, one of them even wrote a poem on the spot. When she asked them what they could do, they were good at playing the zither, painting, needlework, and so on.
This made Yun Dou, who was standing behind Yu Shu, very nervous. She was worried that her daughter would buy these maidservants who were several streets ahead of her and then look down on her in the future.
In the end, Yu Shu chose two people. One was a fourteen-year-old girl with dark eyebrows and big eyes. She looked quite clever. The other was a bit older, about seventeen years old. She looked gentle and quiet, spoke at a steady pace, and was very well-behaved. Compared to the other girls waiting to be chosen, she was less nervous.
For these two people, the steward asked for a total of one hundred and eighty taels. On one hand, he was careful because he was afraid that Yu Shu would think it was too expensive. On the other hand, he was depressed. For such an upright and clean girl, if someone from a brothel came to pick her, they would have to pay three times the price.
However, the owner heard that Official Yu had come yesterday, so he specially sent someone over to tell them not to raise the price. It was fine to sell her half and give her half as gifts, but they must return with satisfaction. "That's it." Yu Shu happily took out the banknotes, and the steward quickly handed over the two's indenture and confession cards to her.
Yu Shu asked Yun Dou to put it away and immediately changed the names of the two girls. She couldn't think of any elegant words, so she used the meaning of the five elements. The older one was called Xin 'er, and the younger one was called Lin' er.
Seeing that Yu Shu specially gave them new names, Yun Dou quietly pouted.
Xin 'er and Lin' er received two small bundles from the disciplinarian aunt under the envious gazes of their friends. He followed behind Yu Shu.
After exiting the Heaven Room, Xiao Chen passed through a Drooping Flower Door and exited the backyard. Suddenly, she heard a commotion. Yu Shu turned her head to look. From afar, she saw a figure crawling out from under the moon door on the other side of the corridor. He was limping towards her, and there were a few people chasing after him.
The expression of the steward who led the way for Yu Shu changed. He turned to Yu Shu and smiled, "Madam, please don't be offended. Let's go this way."
After saying that, he pointed to a corridor on the side. However, Yu Shu stood there without moving. Zhao Hui and the maidservants also stopped.
Soon, the figure ran in front of her and was blocked by Yu Shu and the others. She stopped in a panic and raised her head. Her messy hair hung loosely over her shoulders. Between the strands of hair was a pair of abnormally bright eyes.
Yu Shu was stunned for a moment.
That person was also stunned.
"Stop! Where are you going!" Two tall and burly women also chased after her.
The steward scolded in a low voice, "What are you doing? You're disturbing the honored guest. Hurry and take her away."
Thus, the two women hurriedly grabbed the dazed person and secretly pinched her soft flesh. They dragged her away.
After being pinched a few times, the person came back to her senses from the pain. She struggled weakly and turned her head. Her fearful eyes fell on Yu Shu. She straightened her neck and cried out in a pitiful voice, "Save, save me!"
With a slightly stiff accent and a hoarse voice, it was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman.
The steward coughed. One of the women hurriedly covered the person's mouth and used all her strength to drag her away. The person desperately twisted her neck and looked at Yu Shu with a look of despair.
"Wait." Yu Shu said.
"Madam?"
"Let them bring the person over for me to take a look."
The steward couldn't refuse her. After hesitating for a moment, she called the person back. Thus, the two women came back and brought the person in front of Yu Shu.
The person's hair was unkempt and her legs were powerless as she knelt on the ground. Yu Shu squatted down and used one hand to brush the hair on her face and put it behind her ear, exposing her eyes and looking at her for a while.
The steward was worried that she would misunderstand and quickly explained, "This is a sinner who has just been sold from prison and doesn't know the rules."
The Da An laws were not harsh. The punishments were the same as the previous dynasty. They were divided into five levels: flogging, flogging, apprenticeship, exile, and death. The death penalty was rare, but those who were exiled would often be sold to a place to be a slave. The House of Enslavement was one of those places.
From Yu Shu's understanding, it was to deprive the person of their rights for life.
Under her stare, the sinner stammered, "They took off my, clothes, beat, beat me, and even put their hands under me …"
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she bit her lips. She looked ashamed and indignant, unable to continue. Her clothes were so dirty that the color could not be distinguished. Because her collar was pulled open, it was difficult to hide the rising and falling curves of her chest, so people would not mistake her gender.
Yu Shu's brows furrowed.
The steward immediately felt awkward. All new female prisoners had to be checked to see if they were virgins or not. This wasn't a big deal, but he couldn't bring himself to say this to a woman like Yu Shu.
"Save me, please …"
Yu Shu looked at the criminal begging on the ground and thought for a while. Then she said to the steward, "I want to buy her. You name a price."
The steward looked embarrassed. "Daren, this sinner has not been disciplined. According to our rules, it is not good to sell her. If you take her back and something happens to her, we can't bear the responsibility."
That was what he said, but in fact, when this female prisoner was sent here, the higher-ups had specifically told him to train her well. Obviously, someone had booked her. How could he dare to sell such a high-class goods to Yu Shu on his own?
Yu Shu didn't know what was going on, but she could see that the steward couldn't make the decision, so she said, "It doesn't matter. I won't blame you if something happens. Speaking of which, this female convict has some history with me. I'm determined to have her. If you can't be the steward, you might as well ask the master."
Then she turned to Zhao Hui and said, "Mother, take her back to the house first. I will stay for a while."
Although Zhao Hui was puzzled, she did not ask much. She nodded and left first.
The steward had no choice but to invite Yu Shu to the living room to wait. He sent the female prisoner over, and then left in a hurry to report to the higher-ups.
Yu Shu sat on a chair and looked at the female prisoner, who was kneeling on the ground with her hands and feet tied. She bent down and called her, "Abe … Kui?"
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