Chapter 11: The Slave Bullies the Weak Master

I can’t afford it. Li Yaoguang said he couldn’t afford it.

But feeling his rumbling stomach, he couldn't resist the hunger. Knowing that he had just recovered from a serious illness, for the sake of his health, Li Yaoguang went in and sat down. He asked the busy couple who owned the shop and ordered a vegetarian soup noodle. It was just a vegetarian soup noodle.

She would never admit that she was stingy.

The vegetarian soup noodles are truly vegetarian, even the base soup is made with mushrooms and seaweed. It is vegetarian and does not contain any meat. Fortunately, the pear seller’s recommendation was good, and the taste is really good, not worse than those meat noodles in modern century-old shops.

It was delicious, so he finished it in no time. After wiping his mouth, he handed over two Tongbao coins. The shopkeeper gave him five copper coins in change. Li Yaoguang quickly took them and ended today's shopping trip.

A mirror, exchanged for five taels of silver, four hundred and fifty-five coins were spent in a flash, but the thing I got was just this little, what a waste! I better hurry home.

It was still early when I got home. At this time, some women who were not on duty in the servants' courtyard gathered by the well in the courtyard, washing clothes, mending clothes, and chatting.

When they saw Li Yaoguang, some greeted her warmly, while others curled their lips in disdain, wondering why such an arrogant cousin like her could be so arrogant.

Li Yaoguang didn't care about all these things. She walked into the house with the old bag in her pocket, closed the door, and immediately spread the bag on the kang. She thought for a while and took out two taels of the four taels of silver from her chest and put them back in her pocket. She would give them to her aunt when she saw her later.

Living in this crappy marquis's mansion, the monthly allowance of my aunt and her family of three is often deducted. It would be fine if she didn't have money, but if she did, she would naturally want her relatives to live a more comfortable and relaxed life. Although the money is little, it is her thoughtful intention.

He put the remaining fifty-three Tongbao coins and two taels of silver together and placed them together with the registration card. Li Yaoguang took the remaining Tongbao coin and the five copper coins he got as change from the meal and put them into his sleeve pocket. He then brought the food box on the red lacquered table at the head of the kang to his side, took out the bowls and dishes inside and placed them on the table, put the newly bought cakes and candies in there, and three pears. He closed the lid, picked up the food box and went out.

He walked to the familiar corner gate and knocked on the doorknob. When the person inside opened the door, Li Yaoguang, who did not want to delay the other party, handed over the fifteen cents in his sleeve pocket without letting the other party say anything.

When Mrs. Zhou saw this, although she curled her lips in disdain for the small amount, she thought that for a poor guy like Li Yaoguang, it was good enough to be able to squeeze out some oil, so she accepted the money after a little whine and finally opened the corner door to Li Yaoguang.

Li Yaoguang didn't say much. Under the shrewd gaze of Mrs. Zhou, he calmly walked in with the food box, passed through the archway with hanging flowers inside the door, looked at the familiar road, and followed the memory in his mind to the northwest corner of the backyard of the marquis' mansion.

The Mansion of Marquis Zhenwei is located in the west of the inner city, facing north and south, with the main gate opening to the south. The main gate is not opened unless there are distinguished guests or important matters in the mansion. The mansion covers a large area, and is divided into front and back by high walls. The front is where the men work and receive guests, while the women in the backyard are the queens.

The houses where the servants in the family who had children but did not work for the mansion, or those who were married with their own families, or distant relatives as poor as himself, lived were located around the northern part of the backyard of the mansion, surrounding the entire rear of the mansion, forming a layer of protection.

The corner gate she entered and exited today was in the northwest corner of the Marquis' Mansion, which was completely different from the corner gate in the northeast corner that was used for purchasing. The reason she was arranged to live in the northwest corner was because of her poor status. Also, because her aunt and her husband were not respected in the mansion, they lived in Green Garden, the most remote and worst-off northwest courtyard in the backyard of the Marquis' Mansion. When the mistress of the house knew that she had come to live with her relatives, she arranged such a place for her in the name of making it easier for her aunt to take care of her.

Let's not talk about these things for now. The so-called Green Garden has no greenery, but the houses are all "small and exquisite", crowded and smelly, all because the Green Garden is separated from the palace horse stable by a wall;
The so-called Green Garden is cool in winter and warm in summer, with a foul smell and countless mosquitoes. In order to make life easier every summer, my aunt would always save money and spend most of her monthly allowance on window screens and fumigants, just so that her husband and children could have a good night's sleep.

Li Yaoguang smiled when he thought about the Green Garden. The road was not far, so Li Yaoguang quickened his pace, passed the townhouses where the servants lived, crossed the garden, met some maids and said goodbye, and then walked through a corridor shaded by green bamboos, and the Green Garden was right in front of him.

Li Yaoguang changed into a portable lunch box and walked quickly towards the place. Before he reached the place, he heard familiar harsh words coming from Green Garden in the distance.

"Oh, my Sixth Grandma, those who know you know you are the Grandma, but those who don't think you are the Madam of the Marquis! Who wouldn't be hot in this hot summer? There is no one to fan Yang'er to drive away mosquitoes, so why should I bother you? It's not that I don't want to serve in the house, but there are important matters in the mansion, and the Madam of the Marquis has sent us, so we have to obey, so we neglected Yang'er. I didn't mean it, but you are so mean to us, aren't you afraid of getting a bad reputation for mistreating servants?"

"You are talking nonsense! How could I ever be mean to you? It is you who think that my Green Garden Temple is too small!"

"Yes, yes, Sixth Madam, you are not mean, it is us servants who are ignorant. But as servants, we serve the Marquis's dishes and eat the Marquis's meals. When the proper master of the Marquis's mansion returns home and the proper mistress sends people to do things, how can we, the servants, disobey? We just went to the upper house to help out, not to disobey Sixth Madam's orders on purpose. Why would Sixth Madam treat us so badly? Aren't servants human beings? Although Sixth Madam is also a master, don't forget that the Marquis's wife is the one who makes the decisions in this mansion!"

"You...you, you are going too far, too much, too..."

"Auntie!"

Hearing the noise in the yard, Li Yaoguang thought something was wrong and rushed in. What he saw was his own aunt holding his pitiful little cousin, whose face was red from the heat and covered with mosquito bites, and pointing at the two maids in front of her who were swearing and showing off their power, and were confronting each other with red eyes.

This scene made Li Yaoguang angry and distressed. She quickly stepped forward, walked past the two arrogant girls and went forward to help the person.

When Yu Meixue saw Li Yaoguang coming, she looked at her with red eyes full of disbelief.

"Guang'er, why are you here?"

Li Yaoguang held the person who was stretching out towards her, and patted her hands which were trembling with excitement in a soothing manner, "Aunt, now is not the time to talk about this. Don't be afraid, take good care of Yang'er, and leave the rest to me." After comforting her relative, Li Yaoguang turned around abruptly and smiled coldly at the two maids, Fangcao and Lvliu, who also looked surprised.

"Humph, I have learned a lot today. The dignified Zhenwei Marquis Mansion actually allows servants to bully their masters!"

This hat was a bit too much. Even though Fangcao and Luliu were no longer happy to be working in Luyuan, they were already thinking of finding another job and were getting anxious.

Their little thoughts were pointed out so openly, by a little outsider at least, and the two of them didn't care about their face at all. The fierce Fangcao started to retort.

"My cousin, you are young and don't understand what's going on here, so please don't make false accusations. Also, my cousin is an outsider, so please don't get involved in the family affairs of my mansion."

"Family affairs? You are wrongly accusing people?" Li Yaoguang wanted to laugh at the two slaves, "Bah! Do you think that others don't know about your obvious intentions? Of course, I understand that people go to high places and water flows to low places, but you said it yourself just now, you are slaves, slaves whose lives and property are tied to the master, and you have signed a contract to sell your bodies!
No matter how bad my aunt is, she is still the master. If things in the past really get out of hand, and my uncle and aunt really want to argue with you and make a scene in front of the Marquis's wife, even if it's just for the face of the Marquis's mansion, do you think the mistress will side with my aunt, the master? Or will she side with you two, the slaves who betrayed the master!"

(End of this chapter)