Chapter 2

For the next two days, Wang Fulin tried his best to avoid being alone with his sisters to prevent any slip-ups. However, whether it was his eldest sister or his second sister and youngest sister, no matter what they said, their actions showed deep concern for him. In the end, he could only blame this穿越 (time travel) for not giving him any memories. From his slightly older eldest sister, he finally understood what that contract was all about.

It turned out that Zhu Yuanzhang strictly prohibited commoners from keeping slaves. However, there were always poor families who sold their children or even themselves for a living. Thus, they used the form of a marriage contract and wrote the content of buying and selling slaves in a vague manner. As a result, servants in the folk often called their masters "father" and "mother," and the masters' children "elder brother" and "elder sister." Of course, the gentry and officials would not be so casual.

Now that he understood this, Wang Fulin, relieved, deliberately got closer to Jinbao. There was no other reason; he and Jinbao had little interaction in the past, making it less likely for him to be seen through and exorcised. Besides, the little guy was still young and easy to manipulate. However, despite Jinbao's willingness to speak his mind to please him, he was too young and only had a superficial understanding of many things, so Wang Fulin still knew very little about the Songming Mountain Village where he lived. The only good news was that he could finally walk a few steps and was no longer bedridden like a cripple.

At this moment, Jinbao, seeing that Wang Fulin was only listening without comment, gradually relaxed and began to ramble: "These days, Father has been bedridden. While I was taking care of him, I overheard Elder Sister and Second Sister talking quietly. They said that because Old Master was ill, Old Lady personally went to attend to him despite the long journey. Father, however, stayed home to prepare for the prefectural examination. Some people are spreading rumors that Father only cares about his own success and neglects his father's illness, which is a great lack of filial piety. They also say that Father cheated in the county examination, which is why he did well in the county examination but poorly in the prefectural examination and failed the provincial examination. They want to report to the chief examiner to revoke Father's success in the examination..."

He suddenly stopped, hurriedly explaining, "Father, I said something wrong. Elder Sister said not to mention it to you. Please don't take it to heart!"

Wang Fulin was greatly shocked but secretly relieved that the little guy was so honest and said everything. Thanks to this, he finally understood his current situation. In this era where the imperial examinations were paramount, even a scholar had already entered the class of scholars and enjoyed various privileges such as tax exemption and exemption from corvée labor. No matter whether he planned to continue in the examination system in the future, he must keep this success!

However, before he could think of more ways to probe deeper into the situation from Jinbao, there was a loud bang, and the door was suddenly pushed open. It was the fiery-tempered second sister, Wang Erniang, who rushed in.

"Brother, why did they send another one?"

Wang Fulin, who had been sprayed with saliva by Wang Erniang, was taken aback: "What do you mean, 'another one'?"

"Are you asking me? Fine, I'll show you! Jinbao, what are you standing there for? Help your father put on his shoes!"

Wang Fulin was involuntarily dragged out of bed by Wang Erniang, and Jinbao, quick on his feet, knelt down and quickly put on his shoes. When Wang Fulin was half-dragged out of the door, he saw his eldest sister and youngest sister in the courtyard. The youngest sister was just curious, but the eldest sister's expression was very subtle.

In front of them stood a middle-aged woman with a thick layer of makeup, and beside her was a boy about two or three years older than Jinbao, with rosy lips and white teeth, looking exceptionally handsome. He was currently looking down with tightly pursed lips, his face showing a mix of tension and fear.

"Has the young master recovered well?"

The middle-aged woman, clearly a smooth talker, immediately left the boy and approached, placing her hands on her waist and bowing deeply. After getting up, she smiled and whispered, "The young master has taken the examinations in the city several times and has always been closest to Master Cheng. Master Cheng heard that you were badly hurt on your way back from the county to Qianqiu Village by two bold sedan bearers. He felt guilty because he had kept you for lunch, which made you leave late. Therefore, when he heard that the young master had bought a young servant from a fellow clansman, he specially sent a good child through me to apologize."

Seeing Wang Fulin's puzzled expression, the middle-aged woman smiled and took out a contract from her chest, presenting it with both hands. She then lowered her voice, "Master Cheng specially instructed me, so I carefully selected from over a dozen families selling their children, choosing the best-looking and most suitable one. With a little training, he will be obedient and compliant."

Before Wang Fulin could respond, she glanced back at the boy, her eyes flashing with a stern look, "Qiufeng, come and greet your father!"

Although he had no memory of his past, Wang Fulin's current body was that of a fourteen-year-old scholar, but his soul was that of a man who had struggled in the world for many years. From the middle-aged woman's deliberate whisper, he sensed that Master Cheng's gift was not as simple as it seemed.

If it were just a servant, emphasizing his abilities and talents would suffice. Why emphasize his fine skin and slender build?

Damn, the previous owner of this body must have been a bad influence from a young age! If that were true, he would rather die again!

Under the middle-aged woman's stern gaze, Qiufeng finally approached, knelt down in front of Wang Fulin, and said softly, "Qiufeng greets Father."

"Don't forget that your real father received twelve taels of silver from Master Cheng. If the young master says you're not good, you know what will happen!"

The middle-aged woman sternly intimidated Qiufeng, then, seeing that Wang Fulin's face showed no emotion, neither calling him up nor taking the contract, she felt awkward. Suddenly, she slapped her forehead and took out a letter from her chest, smiling, "I almost forgot, Master Cheng also has a letter for the young master."

Wang Fulin did not take the contract but snatched the letter first, tearing it open and quickly scanning it. The letter began with polite greetings, then subtly mentioned that the gift was not only to apologize for the injury on the way back from the city but also to make up for the unfinished pleasure at the last banquet. It ended with a somewhat ambiguous sentence.

"Mo Xiang was given by my grandmother. Without your permission, I dare not let her serve you. Now, I have sent a good child through a matchmaker to replace her."

Although Wang Fulin had only received a few pieces of information from Jinbao, one crucial piece was that the original Wang Fulin had studied in Songming Mountain since childhood and only went to the county for examinations.

In an instant, he pieced together the likely scenario of the last banquet. Upon first encountering the world, the young man, during a drinking party, saw Master Cheng showing off a handsome young servant and was immediately attracted. However, since the letter said "dare not let her serve you," it probably meant... maybe... should... definitely nothing truly out of line happened!

Heaven help him, he hoped he was right!

While pondering these relationships, Wang Fulin absentmindedly took the contract from the middle-aged woman. Having seen Jinbao's contract before, he recognized the format, which was also a contract for a foster son, with only the middleman and the seller's names changed. The space for the contracting party was left blank. He glanced up at the middle-aged woman.

"This is a special contract I obtained from the government office, spending four taels of silver to have the household registrar, Liu, personally handle it."

The middle-aged woman, knowing that Wang Fulin would be suspicious of the blank space for the contracting party, boasted, "If you pay two taels of silver, the household registrar, Liu, will stamp the contract with the official seal. If you pay two more taels, the blank space for the contracting party is not a problem. The official seal will still be stamped, and you can add your name and fingerprint later. This contract is recognized by the government and cannot be questioned!"

Wang Fulin, hearing these underhanded methods for the first time, noted them in his mind. However, he was more concerned about the potential loss of his scholar status. He had no interest in this "great gift" and shook his head, "No reward without merit. I will keep Master Cheng's letter, but please take the contract and the boy back."

The middle-aged woman, an experienced matchmaker, had never encountered a refusal before. She quickly forced a smile, "Young master, Master Cheng's sincerity is genuine. If you don't accept it, it would mean you don't forgive him."

"My injury was due to my own carelessness and the treachery of the bandits, and it has nothing to do with Master Cheng. Accepting his apology would make me seem unreasonable. If this spreads, people might think I don't know right from wrong!"

Seeing Wang Fulin's lack of appreciation, the middle-aged woman, thinking of the reward promised by Master Cheng, became anxious. Bullying Wang Fulin as a naive country boy, she lowered her voice but added a sharp edge, "Young master, though you are a newly successful scholar, you have been recuperating for half a month and may not know what's happening outside. The rumors against you in the county are rampant. Master Cheng's family is powerful. If you befriend him, he can help you by asking his elders to intercede on your behalf. But if you reject his kindness, it will only make things worse! Young master, please think carefully. Exchanging fine servants among scholars is a beautiful story, not a bad thing!"

It seemed those rumors were indeed serious, even a mere matchmaker knew about them and dared to use them to threaten him!

"An upright person has nothing to fear. Please tell Master Cheng that I appreciate his kindness but cannot accept the gift. My injury is not fully healed, and my hand is weak, so I cannot write a letter. I can only thank him verbally."

The middle-aged woman sized up Wang Fulin, seeing that he was not budging. She realized she was dealing with a naive young scholar and that her harsh words might have backfired. Feeling frustrated, she reluctantly bowed and smiled at the eldest sister, second sister, and youngest sister, then grabbed Qiufeng from the ground and left.

As she left, the second sister, who had been held back by the eldest sister, stomped her foot and said angrily, "Brother, what's going on?"

"You ask me, who should I ask?" Wang Fulin raised an eyebrow, then muttered to himself, "This is too much of a pain!"

He had thought that being reborn would allow him to live a leisurely life as a scholar, but now he faced both the crisis of his scholar status and the gift of a suspected young male servant. This was too much of a pain!

Seeing Wang Fulin turn and head back into the house, Jinbao quickly supported him, while the eldest sister felt a headache. Recalling the middle-aged woman's private conversation with Wang Fulin, her unease grew. Unnecessary kindness often harbored ulterior motives. Although Wang Fulin had not accepted the gift today, what was Master Cheng's true intention?

The second sister pondered for a while before asking, "What does 'too much of a pain' mean?"

The youngest sister blinked innocently and said seriously, "Second Sister is so silly. Jinbao calls Brother 'Father,' so 'too much of a pain' means Father is being tricked!"

PS: Please continue to support me with recommendations! Regarding the terms 'Father' and 'Mother,' refer to "The Golden Lotus" for more context... ^_^

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