Slaves and maids are sluts, and the law is better than livestock. From Han to Tang. Slaves have always been insignificant. Until the Song Dynasty, servants and the like were no longer lifelong, they often signed contracts, and the master's family was not allowed to dispose of them arbitrarily, and in the early years of the Great Chu, the system of officials, slaves and maids was abolished for a time. However, when Wuzong seized the throne, he once demoted the entire family of those opponents to slaves and maids, and gave them to a group of nobles who had the merit of supporting them, and disposed of a large number of displaced people as tenants along with the land, so the slaves and maids of the noble family became a rather large number after years of reproduction, and the tenants were no different from slaves and maids over time because they could not leave the land at all, and they did not even have a household registration. Whether in Jiangbei or Jiangnan, there are not a few families who treat ancestral tenants as servants at will.

And among all the tenants, the most miserable is the tenants in the imperial village. With an imperial word, whether it is the state capital or the capital guard, or according to the judge and the patrol, no one dares to care, if it is a compassionate village, it is just that, if it is encountered, if it is encountered, it is not enough. Not to mention that the only family background can't be kept, even the wife and daughter are also appointed**. It is not that no one has resisted for decades, but every time the spark is extinguished as soon as it is ignited, and the miserable fate of the rebels is often publicized by the government, and over time, most tenants are completely despaired and numb.

At this time, the same is true of the tenants at the gate of Anyuan. Just like Chen Lan's previous opinion, the people in the inspection department didn't even see a shadow at all, it was said that they found something forbidden on the card over there, and they were busy, at least today they couldn't distinguish people. As the sun set and night fell, the cold was worse than in the daytime, and the tenants knelt on the cold ground, and many of them had blue lips and no sensation in their knees.

But even so, no one moved half a step. I don't know how long it took, when the closed door was suddenly opened, and a number of people poured out of it, the stiffened tenants' minds could not turn, until one person was set up, and they suddenly realized, but it was not as easy to move as before. After a while, there were only a few people left on the ground that had just been kneeling with twenty or thirty people. These people looked at me, and suddenly struggled to get up, and stumbled away the way they came.

A dozen tenants came in, and the rest ran away, and the front of the door was finally cleaned. Zhang Zhuangtou ordered the door to be closed and locked without mentioning it. This was followed by a group of people who were about to freeze, and the cotton quilt ginger soup was hot...... All in all, the outer courtyard of Anyuan was in chaos. Although it is an extra errand, the people who came out with the old lady this time have a heavy reward in advance, and there is nothing to say about doing some extra work. As for Zhang Zhuangtou and the others, they all knew that this was the Zhuangzi of the long house, so Chen Lan also worked hard to speak, and he had to stop cooking for a while. The eldest Zhang Zhuangtou asked again one by one, but this time he started chatting from common words.

The inner courtyard is peaceful. Although Zhu knew from Chen Lan and Lu Calyx's expressions that something was going on outside, Imperial Physician Liu told her not to worry about it, so she simply put her hand away and went to bed early to rest. Chen Lan served the Zhu family to lie down, and then drove Chen Yan, who was following behind with a face full of energy to help, back to the room, saying that everything would be said tomorrow morning, and then returned to his room.

The east wing room here is the same as the upper room, it is also three, it has been cleaned up at this time, the covers and so on are all neatly arranged, and the tea has already been made in the pouch. After drinking a cup of tea to moisten his throat, Chen Lan called Hongluo Yun'er over. Although it was not easy for the two of them to run to the outer courtyard, which was full of men, they touched the courtyard and the area outside the weeping flower gate.

Yun'er grew up in the Houmen since she was a child, and she counted the wood workmanship of those furniture with her fingers. And the red snail grew up in the folk after all. He chatted with a few servant women outside for a while. Although the information obtained is not much different from the previous one, it is more detailed - in addition to the rosewood rosewood and other mahogany obtained from the West, there are also fir woods that have always been used by rich and noble families to make furniture, and there are a lot of golden silk nanmu, and some furniture is new, and some are old, as if it has been some years, but the style is quite luxurious - Chen Lan learned more about the situation, and felt more and more that the emperor rewarded the village of Changfang at the beginning, and it was definitely not to pity their orphans and weak brothers. Or simply reward her for saving King Zhou.

This Tiananzhuang and this Anyuan are afraid that there are strange things, especially the Anyuan should not be completely newly built. Having said that, her father was a well-known gentleman back then, and it is said that he was the first to mess around, so how could he buy this land? However, with his character, he probably didn't think about it that much when he bought it. You know, in a place like Tongzhou, which is close to Jingshi and Pingchuan, how can anyone suddenly rush to sell land? That's right...... Why did she forget to inquire about how much money was spent on this land when she first bought it!

"Miss, Lai's mother is here!"

Chen Lan raised his head, only to see that the curtain in front of him was raised high, but a middle-aged horse-faced woman entered the door, one of the two mothers who followed Zhu out this time. Knowing that the Zhu family has a mother Zheng who has served since childhood, the rest of the housekeeper mothers are indifferent, and Lai's mother is not a cronie with a head and a face, and even a big girl who is a generation younger than her like Green Calyx can't catch up, and this time she just needs a servant. Only then did he bring her and Zhang's mother, and Chen Lan became more cordial to him.

"Mom, please take a seat." Chen Lan asked Yun'er to bring a small pestle over, and when she saw Lai's mother's flattered face, she smiled again, "On such a cold day, Lao's mother is waiting for news in the outer courtyard, which is really tiring." ”

"What does the third lady say, the little one is used to doing such errands on weekdays, what is this little thing." Lai's mother didn't know that the third lady was now liked by the old lady, and she couldn't wait to show her face in front of her, at this time, she was humble with a smile on her face, and finally remembered that it was important to get down to business, and hurriedly said, "Miss Haojiao learned that after the busy work just now, a tenant finally confided the truth to Zhang Zhuangtou, saying that they were forced to come this time!" The head of the Xia Zhuang ordered someone to find them again, saying that if they didn't pay off the arrears of rent, they would sell their children and wives to settle the debt. This group of people is a frightened person, and I heard that our old lady of the Hou Mansion is the most kind-hearted to pity the old and the poor, so she was encouraged to kneel here and plead. ”

Hearing this, not only Chen Lan, but even the red snail Yun'er in the house and the Sumu pepper who came in from behind also had a bad face. Especially the red snail that once experienced the taste of being sold here and there, even bit his lip. Seeing that these girls all had such expressions, Lai's mother hurriedly wiped her completely dry eyes with a handkerchief.

When the little one heard this, he was furious, and asked those who had escaped as the young lady had instructed. The man said that they didn't know the rest of the people, and they looked like they were in a broken house, and they didn't know the specific situation. Lai's mother followed up and relayed the other gossips relayed by Zhang Zhuangtou, and only then did she finally speak, "It's not a small mouth, the previous Xia Zhuang Touta is not a thing, this time it is also falsely accused of our Hou Mansion, this is the Zhuangzi given by the emperor!" ”

"Mom worked hard."

Chen Lan remained silent. didn't take this stubble, and said a few words of laughter and rewarded Lai's mother with dozens of copper to make wine money, and asked Su Mu Pepper to send someone out. After pondering for a while, she expected that even if there was nothing to do tonight, there would be something tomorrow, so she pinched her fingers and counted the time, then stood up and walked out. Yun'er saw the opportunity quickly and hurriedly chased after her.

"Miss, it's so late, you still want to go out?"

"No need to follow, I'll go to the upper room to find Sister Green Calyx and say a few words."

When Yun'er heard this, she saw that Hongluo was quick to add a big piece to Chen Lan, so she stopped, and when the people went out, she stepped forward and muttered next to Hongluo: "Miss is becoming more and more incomprehensible now." ”

Out of the east wing, Chen Lan looked up at the sky, and saw that the dark clouds just covered the full moon that was still bright before, so he hurried a few steps to the door of the main room. Just as the green calyx came out of it, he was still holding a thick burden in his hand, and he was taken aback when he saw Chen Lan, and then explained curtly: "Third Miss...... The old lady was already asleep, and I was worried that the room was too cold, so I packed two cotton armors and blankets, and wanted to send them to Hibiscus Muxi. ”

Chen Lan was still thinking about Mu Xi and Furong before, but when something happened outside, she forgot about that end, and after looking at it at this time, she nodded and said, "I just have something to say to you, so let's go together." ”

These days, Lu Calyx watched coldly, and felt that this third lady was not only clever and intelligent, but also rare and kind-hearted.

Muxi and Hibiscus said that it was a firewood house. But because Chen Lan had ordered it before, the person was just locked up in the small pavilion next to the hall. Because the charcoal on the village was not prepared enough, the house was naturally cold. The two of them listened to the green calyx through the mouth, and they were not so scared at first, but how could they sleep on this cold night with just two quilts, they could only keep warm next to each other, and when they saw the green calyx sending their clothes over, they were all inexplicably grateful, and they kowtowed to Chen Lan again and again to thank them. Chen Lan had something in his heart, and he didn't want to ask them anything at this time, so he pulled the green calyx away after a few words of persuasion.

Walking on the road, she whispered to the green calyx to pick up the important news she had gotten, and seeing that the green calyx's footsteps gradually slowed down, as if she was digesting the information, she whispered: "If I'm not mistaken, I'm afraid there will be a big movement in the future." ”

As soon as the three words came out, the green calyx immediately stopped. There was no moon at this time, and the road was not like the rows of bright tile lamps at home, but she carried a lantern in her hand, so she did not let outsiders see her dark face. She stood there for a while before she gritted her teeth and said, "I see...... This has come to this, and if the old lady gets up early tomorrow, I will definitely remind you. ”

This night was calm, Chen Lan tossed and turned for half the night, and finally fell asleep. However, early the next morning, when she got up and had just finished freshening up, she heard the call of a mother-in-law outside, so she sent Su Mu out to see what was going on. After a while, Su Mu's face turned back anxiously.

"Miss, the door outside has been blocked again. Also, Chen Da, who went back to Beijing last night to inquire about the news, came back, saying that the Hou Mansion was preparing carriages and horses early in the morning. ”