1: Chapter 1 Selling Oneself to Save Mother

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Jinchai Town near Jinling City.

A carriage drove in from the town entrance, flanked by two sturdy attendants on horseback carrying swords. This display was clearly not from an ordinary family.

When the surrounding commoners saw this, they all consciously made way.

Halfway through, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"Why have we stopped?"

An inquiry came from inside the carriage. It sounded like a young man, yet his tone possessed a composure that didn't match his age.

The driver, Wang Wu, replied respectfully, "In response to the Young Master, a crowd has gathered ahead and blocked the road. It sounds like someone is selling themselves to save their mother."

"Selling herself to save her mother?"

The person in the carriage uttered a soft exclamation of surprise, then said with interest, "Find a place to park; let's go take a look."

Hearing this, Wang Wu looked around, found a suitable spot, and drove the carriage over to park.

Before long, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a young man in green robes stepped out. He had a tall, upright posture, handsome features, and two strands of hair hanging like tassels by his temples.

The young man lightly jumped down and walked toward the crowd.

Seeing this, the two sturdy attendants, Zhang Shan and Li Shi, quickly dismounted and followed.

Wang Wu stayed behind to guard the carriage and the two horses.

With the attendants clearing the way, the young man soon entered the crowd and saw the situation inside.

He saw a frail young girl dressed in coarse cloth with long braided hair, kneeling on the ground with her head bowed. In front of her was a wooden sign with the four characters "Selling Herself to Save Mother" written crookedly, and the price listed next to it.

One hundred taels (crossed out), eighty taels (crossed out), fifty taels (crossed out), thirty taels.

Seeing the price that had dropped again and again, the young man was stunned for a moment, then found it both funny and tragic.

From the looks of it, the girl had clearly tried to sell herself many times but had never succeeded. It was a bit pitiful.

But this was also within reason.

Because the price she set was too high!

In this era, the usual price for a maidservant was between six and fifteen taels of silver.

In a year of disaster, one could be bought for one tael or even less.

The girl's asking price of one hundred taels was essentially an exorbitant demand. Even after dropping repeatedly to the current thirty taels, it was still on the high side. After all, by normal market standards, this price was enough to buy two to five maidservants. Spending it on her alone was undoubtedly a losing deal.

Was this a deliberate attempt to inflate the price, did she have something to rely on, or was there another reason?

Filled with doubt, the young man said to the girl, "Young lady, please raise your head and let me see your face."

Hearing this, the girl was stunned for a moment.

For no other reason than that the voice was too young—sounding about the same age as her—and very polite. Many people had asked her to look up before, but they were all young or middle-aged men, and their tones were mostly flirtatious, dismissive, or even contemptuous.

The sudden emergence of such a polite young man's voice made her feel quite surprised.

However, despite her surprise, she looked up as requested.

Instantly, an oval face with wispy bangs entered the young man's vision.

The most striking feature of her face was her eyes—large and spirited. Set against her thin cheeks, they appeared even more prominent. These eyes held a spiritual light; to use a term the young man was familiar with, they were "bling-bling," naturally suited for looking innocent and pitiful.

If narrowed slightly, they gave off a sense of cunning, like a fox smiling after a successful scheme.

After seeing her clearly, the young man was momentarily dazed.

Wispy bangs, and those eyes...

It's her!

Having confirmed a certain possibility in his heart, the young man regained his composure, suppressed his emotions, and looked at the girl, asking calmly, "What is your name, young lady?"

"Yu Yan."

The girl replied softly.

The young man thought to himself "as expected" and continued to ask, "What is your surname?"

The girl named "Yu Yan" shook her head gently, a trace of gloom flashing in her eyes. "I don't know. My mother didn't tell me."

"Why is the price for selling yourself to save your mother thirty taels? This far exceeds the market rate."

Hearing this, Yu Yan's eyes misted over. With a crying tone, she said helplessly, "My mother is very ill. The doctor said it would cost a lot of money to cure her. If I set the price too low, not only will I be unable to save her, but I will also lose my freedom and be unable to continue taking care of her."

The young man nodded slightly and pondered, "In that case, come with me."

Yu Yan was stunned. "What does the Young Master mean?"

The young man replied, "I intend to buy you. We'll find a place to sign the contract, and I'll give you the money while we're at it."

As soon as these words were spoken, both Yu Yan and the surrounding onlookers were shocked.

Because the young man was too straightforward.

Yu Yan could hardly believe it was true.

Thirty taels of silver was not a small amount for an ordinary family. Although the young man before her seemed extraordinary, based on what he had just said, he knew the market rate and had clearly pointed out that the price was unreasonable.

This was a fact; even if she explained the reason and it was true, it still couldn't be changed.

As for pity and sympathy, those had occurred before.

But people with those emotions only expressed them. Most didn't have that much money, or were unwilling to pay for their feelings. Those who could afford it basically only calculated gains and losses, then chose to drive the price down, and would leave in a huff when unsuccessful.

Those were the better ones; if she encountered the worse kind, they would inevitably ridicule her with words.

She thought this handsome young man would be the same and had prepared herself mentally.

Little did she expect that he would so readily agree to the price.

However, after the initial surprise, Yu Yan felt no joy but instead grew wary. "I wonder where the Young Master wants to go to sign the contract?"

Currently, the act of selling oneself into slavery was supposed to be notarized and recorded at the county yamen according to regulations. But the reality was that the common people lived too bitterly, and such sales happened frequently—not to mention in years of disaster. If everyone went to the county yamen, the officials there simply wouldn't be able to keep up.

Therefore, the process later evolved into both parties privately drawing up a contract and signing it with a thumbprint.

By doing this, the government recognized it, and few problems ever arose.

Because generally, those who were reduced to selling themselves into slavery, besides needing urgent help, mostly wanted a place to go, a way to get a meal, and to survive.

Once they signed the deed of sale, they accepted their fate.

Even if there were those who were unwilling, they could not compete with the master's family or the government, and could not cause any trouble.

Thus, private signing gradually became the common method for both parties in such sales.

Over time, people with ill intentions took advantage of this loophole, often using it to engage in forced buying and selling.

Yu Yan had seen many such things when she was wandering with her mother in the past.

Now, the young man before her was unusually straightforward, which couldn't help but make her suspicious.

Many of the onlookers also thought of this. Hearing her question, they couldn't help but look at the young man.

The young man understood as well.

He looked at Yu Yan, thinking to himself that she truly was a figure who almost became a second Wu Zetian in the future. At this moment, before the gears of fate had even begun to turn, she already displayed a shrewdness that surpassed her peers. However, he had no intention of being dishonest in this matter, so he said, "Where do you want to sign it?"

Yu Yan hadn't expected him to say that, but she quickly responded, "If the Young Master doesn't mind, could you please have someone prepare the contract and sign it right here?"

The young man smiled and said, "As you wish."

With that, he scanned the surroundings through the gaps in the crowd and happened to see a bookstore nearby, so he walked in.

A short while later, two copies of the deed of sale were successfully written.

Through the signature on it, Yu Yan learned the young man's name—Meng Li!