usatvline Chapter 28 Renaming
Chapter 28 Renaming
The two women didn't look very old, and their faces were not very clear because they were both looking down.
One of them kept his head down obediently, while the other kept moving his arms and legs, looking quite uneasy.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Zhicheng's face darkened for a moment, then he looked at Li Chong with a smile and said, "This country girl is a bit lacking in manners, please forgive her, Your Excellency."
As he spoke, he waved his hand: "Hurry up and say hello!"
The two women stepped forward and curtsied, saying, "This servant greets Your Excellency, the County Magistrate."
"Wait, wait." Li Chong raised his hand to stop him, turning to look at him. "What does Master Zhu mean by this? These two women..."
Zhu Zhicheng said sincerely, "How can I be at ease seeing that there is no suitable person by the county magistrate's side? These two women have only recently entered the government office and are quite capable. If the county magistrate is willing, I will give them to the county magistrate. Sooner or later, you will have someone to take care of you."
"Peach Blossom and Willow Green, you two have come to pay your respects to the County Magistrate. From now on, you are his people." Turning to the two women, Zhu Zhicheng's gentle expression turned serious again.
As expected, Li Chong nodded slightly. It was a bribe, and such a blatant one at that.
Moreover, the bribe was...
No, it cannot be considered an object.
But it wouldn't be right to say it's not a thing.
In short, Li Chong was filled with mixed feelings as he looked at the two women bowing their heads before him.
Everyone says that the Song Dynasty was prosperous, but what does such prosperity have to do with the women in front of us? They were also born of parents, yet they willingly let themselves be sent around. Where is the humanity in that?
Judging from the bundles on the shoulders of the two women, this was clearly not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather a long-planned scheme. It's likely that Zhu Zhicheng came in for this very reason.
Otherwise, where did these two women come from when we arrived?
Seeing Li Chong staring at the two women on the ground for a long time without looking away, Zhu Zhicheng's old face showed a smile. These days, where is there a cat that doesn't eat fish?
Yang Chengde, standing to the side, also flashed a hint of disdain in his eyes. Such a loss of composure showed that he had never seen the world.
Little did they know what Li Chong was thinking.
Li Chong slowly withdrew his gaze, hesitated slightly, and said, "Isn't this... inappropriate? As the saying goes, one should not accept a reward without merit, and a gentleman does not take what others cherish. How could I shamelessly accept it?"
"Hey," Zhu Zhicheng advised again, "Your Excellency has just arrived in Yanggu and is determined to wipe out the bandits. How can you say you have accomplished nothing? Besides, this is a gift I voluntarily gave you. The contract is here. How can it be called 'seizing'? Your Excellency should accept it. I will feel much more at ease."
"this……"
Li Chong twitched his fingers slightly, then withdrew his hand.
After a moment of silence, he looked at Yang Chengde beside him and said, "Registrar Yang, if I accept it, wouldn't I be breaking the law? You have a lot of dealings with Zhu Taigong, so please help me persuade him."
Yang Chengde feigned surprise upon hearing this: "What are you saying, Your Excellency? Taking in two maids is nothing; how could it be considered a violation of the law?"
Li Chong explained, "Accepting a beauty is tantamount to bribery. You are an official of the court; how could you not know this?"
"Your Excellency is mistaken," Yang Chengde laughed. "Bribery and accepting bribes are nothing more than a connection of interests. Now that Lord Zhu sees that Your Excellency is living in poverty, he voluntarily gives you a servant. How can that be considered accepting a bribe?"
Zhu Zhicheng then added, "Just as Registrar Yang said, I have no requests of the magistrate, nor do I need him to bend the law for me. There is no risk of bribery. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude."
"Besides," Zhu Zhicheng said, glancing at Cui Shi, who was serving tea, "with these two maids, this young Cui brother under the magistrate's command can have some free time, and there's no need for the magistrate's confidants to serve tea and water."
Cui Shi's eyes were already fixed on the two women.
Jealousy welled up in his heart, and he kept muttering, "It's so good to be an official."
Seeing that Zhu Zhicheng was turning the conversation to him, Cui Shi was tempted and went to Li Chong's side to persuade him: "Sir, I think what Old Master Zhu said makes sense. Why don't you just take them in?"
Li Chong glared at Cui Shi; this guy was acting up again.
In front of so many people, how dare a servant be so bold? What if people notice something?
"Get out of here! Do you even have the right to speak? You ill-mannered brat!" Li Chong shouted.
Choi Si was startled, and a feeling of displeasure immediately welled up in her heart.
Fortunately, he remembered that there were other people around.
He replied in a muffled voice, "I know I was wrong."
With a simple bow, Cui Shi withdrew, standing silently behind Li Chong.
Yang Chengde chuckled: "Why should the county magistrate be angry? I think Cui Shi's words are quite good. It is inconvenient to refuse Zhu Taigong's good intentions, so the county magistrate should agree."
Li Chong was already prepared to agree, wanting to see what they were really up to.
After being persuaded by several people, he finally reluctantly agreed.
"Since you, Master Zhu, are so kind, then I humbly accept your offer," Li Chong said, cupping his hands in greeting. "However, the names of these two, 'Peach Blossom and Willow Green,' are indeed rather..."
Zhu Zhicheng quickly said, "We country folk tend to give our names rather vulgar ones. Your Excellency is a talented scholar who has passed the imperial examinations; perhaps you could give them more elegant names so they can use them more comfortably in the future."
Listening to Zhu Zhicheng's words and looking at his kind face, Li Chong felt nauseous.
The old man spoke with a kind and benevolent expression, but what he meant was that he didn't treat the two maids as human beings at all, which was truly disgusting.
However, now is not the time to break off relations; we must continue to feign compliance.
Looking at the two maids in front of him again, Li Chong hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the maid who looked somewhat uneasy and said, "From now on, your name will be Baoqin."
Then he looked at the other one: "You can call yourself Siqi."
As soon as Li Chong finished speaking, Yang Chengde clapped his hands and laughed, "What a fine name! A zither and a chess set—the county magistrate is indeed a man of refined taste. However…"
He looked at Zhu Zhicheng and said, "Old Master Zhu has been negligent this time. Why did he only send two women? There should have been two more so that the magistrate could have a complete set of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting."
Zhu Zhicheng apologized with a smile: "It was my mistake. I will definitely present it another day."
Li Chong gave a wry smile: "Please don't tease me, I was just saying it casually. If you keep talking about it, I might have to change my name again."
Zhu Zhicheng shook his head, then said to the two women, "From now on, you two will belong to the county magistrate. Hurry up and thank the county magistrate for bestowing these names upon you."
Baoqin hesitated slightly, but Siqi, who was beside her, knelt down immediately, so she had no choice but to kneel down as well.
"This servant thanks the magistrate and the old master."
As Siqi bowed in gratitude, Baoqin, standing to the side, also said stiffly, "Thank you, Your Excellency, and thank you, Old Master."
Zhu Zhicheng nodded and took out two pieces of paper: "These are their indentures; Your Excellency, please accept them."
"Choi Si." Li Chong gave him a wink.
Li Chong instructed Cui Shi to settle the two men in and also to send him away, lest the boy go crazy again.
As Choi Si-il led the two women downstairs, the atmosphere inside the room became increasingly relaxed.
However, Li Chong knew that the real drama was about to begin.