Redeem Oneself

"You—"

Zhu Ping shot to his feet, staring at Li Rui with utter disbelief.

No matter what, he had never imagined that Li Rui would choose to redeem himself.

If word got out, it would undoubtedly deal a massive blow to the Zhu Family's reputation. Rumors would surely spread that the Zhu Family withheld the wages of its servants. How would they manage the household then? Who would still be willing to sell themselves into the Zhu Family?

Once a family grew large, what it valued most was a good reputation.

Zhu Ping decided to erase this source of chaos.

Even if his son Zhu Yue had once said that Li Rui possessed some skill, that was not worth mentioning compared with the Zhu Family's stability. He would never allow anything detrimental to the Zhu Family to happen.

"Old Li, has my Zhu Family ever treated you poorly?"

"Never."

Li Rui shook his head. "Had the old master not taken me in, I would have died in that famine years ago."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping's expression eased somewhat.

Since it was not the Zhu Family's problem, things became much simpler.

"Old Li, if your monthly allowance is not enough, I can grant you an additional thirty percent."

In Zhu Ping's eyes, there was nothing money could not solve, especially when dealing with household servants like these. It worked every time and had never failed him.

Nor did he need to worry that this would provoke objections from the other servants.

Anyone who lived to seventy would receive the increase!

Li Rui shook his head again. "In my early years, I fled to Clear River with my parents. They died on the road, and I did not even have time to bury them. Later, after entering the estate, I never had the chance to observe mourning for them either. Now, I wish to use this broken body of mine to mourn them for three years, and thus fulfill my Filial Piety."

Upon hearing this, both Zhu Ping and Registrar Ma were somewhat moved.

The Yu Kingdom had been founded on martial strength.

Yet martial heroes used force to defy prohibitions; controlling these fearless, hard-fighting martial artists was no easy task.

A martial artist might choose not to marry or have children.

But he could not possibly have no parents.

Thus, under the urging of a great Confucian scholar, the notion of ruling the Yu Kingdom through Filial Piety gradually took deep root. Filial Piety ranked second only to loyalty to the sovereign.

As the official in charge of rites and law, Registrar Ma swiftly seized upon the key phrase.

Filial Piety.

Merit, more merit!

He had even thought of how he would write the memorial to the Imperial Court. Such excellent material was harder to find than a needle in a haystack.

Registrar Ma immediately felt that this trip had been more than worthwhile!

Zhu Ping regained his previous smile.

"Old Li, you truly are a fortunate general of my Zhu Family. Since that is the case, I will not keep you any longer. Someone will fetch your indenture contract shortly. In recognition of your filial heart, I shall grant you thirty taels as mourning funds."

"Thank you, Master."

Li Rui was overjoyed.

Not only had he redeemed himself, he had even received thirty taels of silver for nothing!

Master Zhu of the Zhu Family was not a generous man. Not only did he run his household strictly, he was a miser who would not pluck a single feather from a goose. By his order, the Zhu Family had to extinguish its candles just after the hour of Xu to save on candle costs.

Because of that, there had been no shortage of people boring through walls to steal a neighbor's light.

The surrounding neighbors had complained bitterly about it.

The only reason he was being so generous today was that he hoped the Zhu Family would receive more space in Registrar Ma's memorial to the Imperial Court—and be portrayed in a better light.

Registrar Ma was also extremely satisfied.

Under his governance, fathers were kind and sons filial, masters benevolent and servants loyal.

What a flourishing age it was!

"Ha, ha, ha~"

Registrar Ma stroked his beard and laughed. "I will personally give the order regarding the removal of your registration. Go shortly, and no one will dare make things difficult for you."

"Thank you, sir."

Li Rui bowed once more.

Good fortune had come one after another today.

He was registered with the authorities as belonging to the lowly class, so aside from retrieving his indenture contract, he also had to go to the County Office to register the removal of his lowly status.

The King of Hell was easy to avoid, but petty demons were hard to deal with.

To remove one's registration, even with an indenture contract, one needed at least five taels of silver to grease palms. Otherwise, the clerks of the household registry office would inevitably give him a hard time.

The corruption of the Yu Kingdom's government was plain for all to see.

"Master, you've had your registration removed?"

When Wang Zhao heard the news from Li Rui, he did not know whether he should feel happy or sad.

Once Li Rui left, he would become the new Groom.

Not only would his monthly allowance double, he would also earn the respect of others. Otherwise, Ma Yang would not have fallen out with Li Rui over the Groom's position.

But over the years, he had grown accustomed to spending every day and night with Li Rui.

With his master suddenly leaving, his feelings were a tangled mess.

Li Rui sighed softly and patted Wang Zhao on the shoulder. "Take good care of the horses. If anything happens, go find your Uncle Yang."

"Mm."

Wang Zhao nodded, tears in his eyes.

After giving Wang Zhao his instructions, Li Rui went to see Yang Yong.

When Yang Yong heard that Li Rui had actually chosen to redeem himself, he was no less shocked than Wang Zhao.

"Old Li, are you serious?"

Li Rui smiled faintly. "Your saber."

He returned the saber he had borrowed from Yang Yong earlier. It belonged to the Zhu Family; borrowing it was one thing, but if he took it away, Yang Yong would certainly be in trouble.

Yang Yong accepted the saber, his face full of emotion. "You... Forget it. Once you find a place to live, I'll come find you for a drink."

"Good!"

Li Rui laughed heartily.

He returned to his room.

After packing, he discovered that despite having lived in the Zhu Family for decades, there was pitifully little he could take with him.

One rolled quilt and three sets of clothes. That was all.

He finished packing quickly.

Then he waited until Steward Zhu appeared.

"Old Li, here is your indenture contract, along with the thirty taels of silver bestowed by the master."

Steward Zhu looked at Li Rui with envy written all over his face.

Though he had clawed his way upward and become a steward, it was only outward glory.

A lowly registration was still a lowly registration in the end.

Yet Li Rui was not only able to remove his registration, but had also received thirty taels of silver. How could Steward Zhu not envy him?

At the hour of Wei.

Li Rui carried his luggage along the main street toward the County Office.

Although Master Zhu of the Zhu Family had tried to persuade him to stay until New Year's Eve had passed, he still refused.

After the New Year, the County Office would not reopen until the eighth day of the first month.

Staying another eight or nine days meant too many possible changes. A matter like removing one's registration could not be delayed.

Because of the New Year, there were far fewer pedestrians on the streets. Most people were at home preparing the New Year's Eve meal.

Li Rui arrived before the County Office.

It was very deserted.

Following the route he remembered, he reached the household registry office. Only a young clerk remained inside, supporting his head with his right hand as it drooped and lifted again.

"Sir Clerk."

Hearing Li Rui's words, the young clerk finally jolted awake. Impatiently, he said, "Old man, what is it?"

Li Rui took the indenture contract from his robe. "I am here to remove my registration."

When he heard that Li Rui wanted to remove his registration, the young clerk immediately became interested.

Few people in Clear River removed their registrations, but there were some. Every year, there would be more than a dozen, yet this was the first time he had seen someone as old as the man before him.

"The Zhu Family?"

When the clerk saw the Zhu Family name, he remembered that Registrar Ma had specifically visited the household registry office that morning.

He had said that someone from the Zhu Family would come today to remove his registration, and that they were not to make things difficult for him.

So it was him!

The young clerk could not help examining him a few more times.

Since there was an order from the Registrar, he naturally did not dare cause trouble. He took out the household register, crossed out the entry bearing Li Rui's name in red ink, then added Li Rui's name under the commoner household register.

The entire process took no more than a quarter of an hour.

But without Registrar Ma's advance instruction, it would have taken at least ten days to half a month.