Ding Mansion, a large courtyard with three entrances and nine layers, and the third courtyard and Ding Hao's residence are only a few miles away, but this is the first time he has walked in in his life.

If you don't come here, you don't know how rich the Ding family is. Every brick on the wall here, every tile on the house, every pillar under the hall, and every square stone under the foot are all meticulously carved and skillfully crafted, whether it is the building or the flowers, trees and ponds in the courtyard, they are scattered, showing the atmosphere and grace.

Lan'er, the maid of the inner house, got the instructions of the Yan steward, and introduced him into the back house, walked around the cloister, crossed the stone bridge through the small pavilion, went straight to the deepest part of the back house, and finally stopped in a solemn and luxurious courtyard. Even the door and window lattices here are made of expensive golden silk nanmu, the flowers and trees are sparse, the red fence and vermilion tiles are all enclosed in the high courtyard wall, and it looks like there is a feeling of waiting for the door like the sea.

"This sister, where is the master?" Ding Hao asked politely.

Lan'er glanced at him, with contempt and disgust in her eyes, and said disdainfully: "Master just took a nap, you can wait here." When the master wakes up, someone will call you in. With that, he flicked his sleeves and walked away.

Ding Hao was stunned, and then he became angry, you want to take a nap, what do you want me to do?

He raised his eyebrows, turned around and left, a pair of eyes hidden in the dark of the corner of the wall couldn't help but light up, but Ding Hao walked to the moon gate but suddenly stopped, only to see him looking up at the sky, his lips moved slightly, and he didn't know what he was muttering, after a while, he turned around, walked step by step under the corridor, and stood there calmly, and even had a relaxed smile on the corner of his mouth.

The eyes in the corner showed a slight look of surprise, and after a little thought, they quietly disappeared.

Ding Hao stood under the corridor for more than an hour, and his feet were sore, and at this moment, someone inside coughed, and Master Ding got up.

As soon as Ding Tingxun woke up, Yahuan, who was waiting in the outhouse, went in with a spittoon teacup, and asked the master to rinse his mouth and change his clothes...... Is Ding Hao here? If he comes, call him in to me. ”

"Yes!" The little maid answered, opened the door and looked, and saw Ding Hao standing under the porch, so she pursed her lips and smiled, and said, "Dumb, the master asked you to come in." ”

Ding Hao listened to the breath and walked towards the door.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Ding Tingxun sitting upright on the chair in the hall, his face was as calm as water, but a pair of eyes looked at him with some strange eyes, and his expression was a little complicated.

Ding Hao...... I've seen the master! Ding Hao hesitated for a moment, stepped forward, and saluted the old man of the Ding family, who was facing him head-on for the first time, but had a father-son relationship with his body.

"That's it, just stand and talk." The voice was flat and majestic.

"Yes!" Ding Hao stood to the side, neither humble nor arrogant, and his eyes did not squint.

Ding Tingxun watched his actions, the corners of his eyes jumped slightly, and then he drooped slightly, and said slowly: "Ding Hao, this time to transport grain to Guangyuan, you have made great efforts all the way. The eldest lady has already told the old man what happened, and the old man is very pleased. ”

"The master complimented, this is all the eldest lady presiding over the overall situation, and Ding Hao is just running to work. If it weren't for the fact that for many years, the master has been running the northwest and making a wide range of contacts, and he would not have turned evil into good fortune and was auspicious in distress. ”

The corners of Ding Tingxun's mouth twitched as a smile: "You have assisted Miss Meritorious, and you deserve to be rewarded, I don't know what kind of reward you want?" If you want to be an errand in the Ding family, the old man will promote you to be a steward; If you want to set up your own door, then the old man will give you a thousand pieces of silver, and then build a house and two or three acres of land for you, choose one of the two, I don't know...... What do you want? ”

After Ding Tingxun finished speaking, he looked at Ding Hao quietly.

Ding Hao bowed slightly and said calmly: "Master, Ding Hao doesn't want money and things from the master, and he doesn't want the steward promoted by the master, Ding Hao just wants to ask the master for one thing." ”

"Oh?" Ding Tingxun's hand holding his beard stopped, looked at Ding Hao deeply, and asked, "What is it?" ”

"Mother's deed of sale!"

Ding Tingxun's waist straightened up suddenly, and then he realized his gaffe, and slowly sat back again: "Yang's deed of sale? Well...... What is the purpose of asking for her deed of sale? ”

Ding Hao's slightly bowed waist gradually straightened, and there was a solemnity between his eyebrows: "Ding Hao wants to earn an innocent identity for his mother, in order to do the way of the son of man, that's it, and he has no intention." ”

Before the Song Dynasty, domestic servants were domestic slaves, and they were the private property of the head of the house, although if they did things such as killing slaves and maids with a rod, the government still had to investigate them, such as the famous female title prostitute Yu Xuanji of the Tang Dynasty who killed Yahuan, which was also a felony. However, in addition to such major events as killing and injuring human lives, the head of the house has a very wide range of rights to dispose of slaves.

And even if the cane kills the slave and maid, it is generally the government of the big city and the big fu to take care of it, in the mountains and countryside, everyone can only punish the people who violate the clan rules at will according to the patriarchal law, not to mention the rich families who beat the slaves and maids to death. As long as no one denounces, the people don't raise it, and the officials don't hold it accountable, the government won't bother to care. The power of the wealthy clan in the local area is like that of the emperor, if he really wants to kill a slave and maid, who dares to denounce it? So domestic slaves actually don't even have personal security.

By the time of the Song Dynasty, the imperial court had issued an explicit decree that the hired servants were servants rather than slaves. A maid is a profession, and although his status is low, it is completely different from a slave. Servants have greater personal rights than slaves, and they can come and go if they don't, as long as you have the ability, you can take the imperial examination, you can be an official, and you don't care about your experience as a servant. Although the domestic servant is still not comparable to the modern employed, it is a world away from the domestic slaves of the past.

However, because the Great Song Dynasty had just been established and was in the alternating period of the old and new systems, slaves and servants were still in the stage of coexistence, and there were still many large families with a large number of domestic slaves. These domestic slaves left over from the old system are not protected by the new law, so don't talk about commoners, even domestic servants, and they are also a little contemptuous of domestic slaves. Slave is a humiliating and lowly identity, Ding Hao wants to get back the deed of sale for his mother out of filial piety, and this reason is also sufficient.

Ding Tingxun's eyes flickered, a little surprise quickly disappeared, and he looked at Ding Hao carefully for a long time before he said lightly: "The old man cherishes your ability, and originally intended to allow you the identity of a steward, you are a steward, you naturally have considerable power, even if your mother is still a domestic slave at that time, in this Ding family village, who dares to underestimate her?" Why give up something that really helps you for the sake of a false name? ”

"Master, for the son of man, how can anyone want his mother to be a slave for the rest of his life, Ding Hao doesn't want to do anything, he just wants to exchange for his mother's freedom, this is a piece of filial piety for a son, and please fulfill it. Since the old man said that it was just a false name, then ...... What harm does it matter to give back to the mother's free body? ”

Ding Tingxun's muddy but shrewd old eyes stared at Ding Hao deeply, Ding Hao's expression was calm, his eyes were calm, after a while, Ding Tingxun slowly lowered his eyes, and laughed twice: "You remember, even if you make great contributions, you are also a servant of my Ding Mansion, as the head of the family, the old man wants to reward you, not to do business with you, let you bargain." A stewardship, a thousand yuan and a house, you can choose one of them, there is no third choice. ”

"Ding Hao only wants his mother's deed of sale!"

Ding Tingxun's eyelids were raised, and two sharp gazes burst out from the slightly cloudy old eyes: "What the old man has decided, no one in the Ding family has ever dared to disobey me!" ”

"Master, Ding Hao is not disobeying your orders." Ding Hao said calmly: "I don't want much, just to return my mother's identity as a civilian, such a request is not too much." If the master is afraid of arousing the delusions of other house slaves, then ...... Please ask the master to offer a price, Ding Hao is willing to redeem his mother. ”

Ding Tingxun raised his eyebrows, not angry and arrogant. Ding Hao did not show weakness, the two exchanged eyes for a long time, Ding Tingxun did not get angry but laughed: "How many people want to ask my Ding family to be in charge, but you can't avoid it, and it is also an outlier." You don't have to fight with the old man anymore, so let's do it, your mother is sick, and the old man will send you a relatively easy errand, but there is a lot of money per month, so that you have both leisure and surplus money to take her into the city to see a doctor, so that she can recuperate. Let's take half a year, and after half a year, if you are serious and successful, the old man will consider it...... How about giving her the deed of sale back to you? ”

Ding Hao's heart jumped "bang": "What is his intention to keep me for half a year?" Half...... Half a year later, it was the time when the Ding family delivered a large amount of grain and grass to Guangyuan to fill the official warehouse. It is estimated that General Cheng also sent troops to the Northern Expedition at that time, and the wind and clouds will meet, but he will not miss my big event. Now he refuses to hand over his mother's deed of sale, and I can't force it, and besides, my mother is infected with scabies, and she can't travel far, and she doesn't want to go, I might as well make peace with this old fox, and adjust my mother's body, and then persuade her, once the half year is over, I will come to discuss the length with him Ding Tingxun, and if he still delays for some reason, that is, he is at a loss, and I can't say that I will sacrifice General Cheng to press him. ”

Thinking of this, Ding Hao asked, "Only for half a year?" ”

"Yes, just half a year."

"Good! In this case, Ding Hao will follow the master, let's make a decision! ”

Speaking of the decision he had been thinking about for a long time today, Ding Hao's heart suddenly relaxed, he walked out of the door without looking back, looked up at a white cloud in the blue sky outside the courtyard wall, and his mind was open: "Half a year later, I will completely leave the Ding family compound, and since then, the sea is wide and the sky is high and the birds have flown ......"

Looking at Ding Hao's departing back, he was silent for a long time, and Ding Tingxun muttered: "Unexpectedly, you want to leave the Ding family forever, the old man really looks down on you." In this way, after half a year, I might as well give you a rich Chengyi. Now...... The old man wants to see if he can throw a gazi fish into this troubled water, and he can get out the muddy bones (loaches) ...... deep in the ground";