After carefully considering discussing the matter of buying back his freedom with Madam Li, Wei Tu decided it should not be delayed for too long.
He feared that delays would breed unforeseen changes.
According to Cai Xia, Master Li Yaozu intended to use the autumn harvest from the tenant fields to threaten the couple, forcing him and Xinghua to submit.
Qingshan County's wheat harvest was only ten or so days away.
If too much time passed and Li Yaozu resorted to threats and coercion... then there would be no master-servant affection left to speak of.
If he brought up buying back his freedom then, Li Yaozu would surely do everything in his power to stop him. He might even resort to framing him, all to get rid of this "calamity" in the Li Residence.
But if he bought back his freedom in advance—
Although he was still a little short on silver—
The master and servant had not yet torn off all pretense. Seeing how "strong and sturdy" he was, Li Yaozu would also harbor some apprehension. There was a great chance he would abandon his original plan and avoid making an enemy of him.
That night.
Wei Tu told Xinghua of his plan and asked for her opinion.
"You're my man. I'll listen to you in everything," Xinghua replied.
Xinghua knew her own vision was shallow, so she never argued with Wei Tu over major decisions.
"That's enough for me." Wei Tu nodded and instructed Xinghua to return to the Li Residence later than usual when she went to the county town to buy vegetables tomorrow.
"If anything changes, leave the county town as quickly as you can and hide outside the city..."
He warned her.
"Wei, you mean to..." Xinghua's heart jolted, and she instantly thought of something terrible.
But the words had barely reached her throat before she swallowed them back. She softly murmured assent, pulled her legs out from beneath the quilt, and began packing the family's valuables under cover of night.
"Don't leave me behind when you go."
After the lamp was extinguished, the couple embraced and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, Xinghua pried open Wei Tu's eyes and whispered those words.
Wei Tu had been sleeping deeply. After being woken, he remained dazed for a moment.
In his haze, he heard Xinghua clearly, yet he did not know how to answer her.
If it truly came to that, amid the panic, he could not guarantee that he would still take along a burden and drag himself to his death.
"I still need you to cook for me. I'm used to your cooking—anyone else's food just wouldn't taste right..." Wei Tu thought for a long time before giving an answer that was not especially fitting.
Yet—
As soon as his words fell—
Xinghua had fallen asleep, her hurried breaths carrying a trace of heat.
The next morning.
Wei Tu rose early as always. He attended to his work, mixing feed for the horses and chopping up, piece by piece, the hay that had accumulated over the past few days.
He even filled the water buckets to the brim, leaving not the slightest bit of room.
After finishing his chores.
Wei Tu watched Xinghua leave through the front gate of the Li Residence with a basket in hand. Then he sat on a stone stool and waited for a while. Only when the sun scorched his back until he could hardly bear it did he rise and head for the inner quarters.
Without an order from the master's household, no outside man was permitted to enter the inner quarters.
Remembering his "proper place," Wei Tu stood at the entrance to the inner quarters and asked a passing maid to go inside and report to Madam Li.
Soon.
The maid brought Madam Li's instructions and led Wei Tu into the reception hall.
"Wei, what urgent matter do you have for me? Is something lacking at home? Or have you and Xinghua had a falling-out?" Madam Li frowned and glanced at Wei Tu, who stood in the middle of the hall.
Madam Li's voice was calm, without the slightest hint of condescension. But anyone familiar with her knew that she was deliberately suppressing the anger and dissatisfaction in her heart.
If a male servant had something to say, he could speak directly in the outer residence and have it conveyed through a maid. There was no need to enter the inner quarters to "discuss" it.
In Madam Li's eyes, Wei Tu's entry into the inner quarters today was a breach of propriety.
Without rules, there could be no square or circle.
As the mistress of the household, Madam Li had to suppress and stamp out any "sign" that might cause unrest within the Li Residence.
Madam Li sipped her tea. The scalding liquid stung her lips and tongue, but she maintained the bearing of the household mistress all the same, watching Wei Tu coldly as she waited for his answer.
Yet what Wei Tu said caught Madam Li completely off guard.
Wei Tu bowed and said, "First Mistress, I came to the inner quarters this time because I wish to buy back my indenture contract. I plan to take next year's martial examination."
The moment his words fell, the entire hall went silent. The atmosphere froze to its lowest point; one could hear a needle drop.
Madam Li was stunned.
Even the serving maids standing behind Madam Li were shocked one after another.
Within an estate—rather, within any wealthy household—the one thing servants must never mention was their indenture contracts.
It was a taboo.
So long as no one mentioned the contracts that had sold them into servitude, the servants of the outer residence and inner quarters could each perform their duties, as though things had been born that way rather than imposed afterward.
"Wei, you have been with the Li Family for quite some years. The Li Family has not treated you poorly, has it?" Madam Li's expression did not change, but her fingers hidden in her sleeves clenched the edge of the fabric.
Servants buying back their freedom usually happened only in households plagued by discord. Madam Li had managed the Li Residence's internal affairs for so many years, and she did not want a stain to appear—a stain that the other women of the county could use to attack her.
"The Li Residence saved my life."
Wei Tu nodded and answered.
The reception hall faced south from the north. Under the shadows cast by the sunlight, Madam Li's expression softened slightly.
"Is the pay insufficient?"
Her tone turned gentle.
Only then did Madam Li recall that Wei Tu's wages had not risen in a long time. She assumed it was because of his pay that he had brought up buying back his freedom to remind her.
"No, First Mistress." Wei Tu shook his head firmly. "First Mistress, I said just now that I intend to buy back my freedom and take next year's martial examination."
Wei Tu was puzzled. He had spoken clearly just now, so why had Madam Li not heard the latter half of his words?
"The martial examination?"
Those four words surfaced in Madam Li's mind again. This time, she finally understood what they meant.
Madam Li raised her eyes and carefully scrutinized the slightly dark-skinned young man before her. After looking for a long while, she said, "Raise your head."
Ever since entering the reception hall, Wei Tu had kept his head lowered and had not raised it once.
Or rather, ever since the Li Residence had bought Wei Tu as a servant, she had never seen him raise his head.
All along, she had been greatly satisfied with Wei Tu's strict observance of the rules. But today, she felt that she had miscalculated.
The one who had always seemed most obedient was, in truth, the most restless at heart. He actually wanted to buy back his freedom, take the martial examination, and leave the Li Family.
"Yes, First Mistress." Following her order, Wei Tu raised his head and looked levelly at the mistress of the Li Residence before him.
"Why do you want to take the martial examination? It is no easy thing..." Having seen Wei Tu's appearance, Madam Li felt somewhat reassured and asked warmly.
Wei Tu did not possess the extraordinary visage described in books as a "high nose and dragon's countenance." On the contrary, his looks were rather plain, no different from those of a rural farmer.
"First Mistress may not know this, but two years ago, Wei Tu obtained a copy of the Health Cultivation Technique from my Second Aunt. After practicing it for the past two years, my strength has increased greatly, and I now meet the requirements for taking the martial examination..."
After thinking for a moment, Wei Tu laid out his practice of the Health Cultivation Technique in full detail, incidentally mentioning his Second Aunt, Wei Hong.
Many thanks to woshileilei for the reward of 100 Qidian coins.
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