A Gift of Young Male Slaves

The eighteenth year of Taihe.

It was March, and the chill seeped through the window cracks. Su Yuhe tightened the quilt around herself on the bed.

But the spring chill crept up the back of her neck where it lay outside the quilt, leaving her too cold to sleep. Her mind was awake, but her body refused to move.

"Bang, bang, bang."

Su Yuhe reluctantly sat up. She had gone out for a secret tryst with her lover last night and had only returned at daybreak.

"Open the door!"

The woman outside had a deep, powerful voice. Although Su Yuhe had no idea who she was or what she wanted, she dared not delay. She threw on an outer robe and put on her shoes.

"Coming, coming."

She opened the door. Two tall women in blue constable uniforms stood outside.

Su Yuhe panicked. Surely they hadn't come to arrest her?

The woman who had shouted "open the door" said irritably, "What took you so long?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. If they really had come to arrest her, they probably wouldn't speak in that tone.

She gave them a fawning smile. "What brings you here, officers? Have you had breakfast? Would you like to join me?"

The constable's stern face softened a little, though her tone remained stiff. "We've eaten. We're here to give you some good news."

Su Yuhe opened the door wide and stepped aside to invite them in. The two constables walked into the courtyard, but unexpectedly, three more people followed them.

They wore coarse hemp clothing, their hair disheveled and their faces grimy. All looked listless, their heads lowered so she couldn't see their faces clearly.

The other constable pointed at the three slender youths and said to Su Yuhe, "You're almost twenty, and you still don't have someone you fancy by your side. Well, three new slaves arrived a few days ago, and a kind soul bought them for you. Keep them here to serve you."

Su Yuhe could no longer smile. She hurriedly asked, "What kind soul? Since she bought them, why not send them to her?"

The constable looked displeased and slapped three slave contracts against her chest. "How would we know? They've been delivered, so they're yours. Check their chastity marks yourself. We're leaving."

With that, the two walked out. She followed behind, still turning it over in her mind, but a threat from the constables stopped her from pursuing them any farther.

When she returned, several gossiping village husbands had gathered at her gate, pointing at the three youths in her courtyard.

"So that's why she wouldn't marry that Li boy. He wasn't good enough for her."

"Look at those figures. Must've cost a pretty penny, eh?"

"You can say that again. Last time, the Li family to the east bought a young male slave for their daughter. Said it cost ten taels."

Su Yuhe walked through their midst and slammed the gate shut with a cold expression. The gossiping husbands hurled a few curses at the gate.

"Look at her, looking down on us now she's got money."

"Who knows where her money comes from? For all we know, she stole or robbed it."

The gossiping husbands' voices gradually faded into the distance.

The three youths stood huddled together, their hands below their coarse hemp cuffs red from the cold.

She bit her lip hard, staring darkly at the three before her. Just who was trying to ruin her?

Suddenly, the tallest youth came up to her, swayed, and dropped to his knees at her feet.

"W-wife-mistress."

The other two caught on and knelt at her feet as well. "Wife-mistress."

Su Yuhe was nearly mad with anger. She stepped around the three on the ground and headed inside. "Don't call me that!"

The first youth to kneel shuffled forward on his knees and caught a small corner of her clothing. She stopped and looked down at him. "Let go!"

His beautiful eyes froze for a moment. Then he lowered his head and slowly let go.

She slammed her bedroom door shut and sat fuming on the bed.

Who on earth had she offended for them to do this to her?

Most slaves sold by the authorities were family members of officials who had committed crimes. Sometimes, one might even buy members of the households of imperial relatives who had committed crimes and been exiled.

His Majesty was merciful. However heinous the crimes committed by officials or imperial relatives, any family members under twenty would be spared implication and merely reduced to government slaves.

Those over twenty were exiled if their sentence was exile and beheaded if their sentence was death.

The slaves sold by the authorities were of good quality, most proficient in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Wealthy households loved buying them, but she wasn't wealthy!

Commoners could barely feed themselves. Unless they reached twenty without marrying a husband, they wouldn't consider buying a slave to carry on the family line. But children born with slaves were barred from official careers, so no one took that path if they had any other choice.

Su Yuhe clawed at her hair. Even though she hadn't had to pay for them, these three slaves had ruined her.

She came from the twenty-first century. After waking from a sleep, she had found herself in this alternate dynasty, with no household registration, no money, no family, and nowhere to live.

In less than two years, she had acquired a blue-brick, tiled-roof house and meat to eat every day-not through diligence or ability, but through her talent for living off a man.

If her golden thigh found out she had three slaves at home...

Su Yuhe let out a wail and buried her face in her pillow.

No. She couldn't let this happen.

She rallied herself. Even if it was already a done deal, she had to tell him herself. If that gossip Lanxin at his side told him first, who knew how he might add oil and vinegar and twist the facts?

At that thought, Su Yuhe washed up and sat before her dressing mirror to carefully do herself up.

She wasn't particularly beautiful. Her eyes weren't especially large, nor was her nose especially straight, but her skin was fair, and she was well versed in the art of living off a man. She coaxed the refined young gentleman into helping her out often.

She took a pale yellow dress embroidered with silk tree blossoms from her wardrobe. This, too, had been a gift from that young gentleman.

Usually, to make begging easier, she went dressed in rags and always managed to come back with some food and silver.

When she emerged, the three youths were still kneeling in the courtyard. She nudged the one nearest her door with her foot. "Get up."

Without waiting to see whether he stood, she hurried out of the house and toward the mountain behind it.

Walking along the broad flagstone path, Su Yuhe felt uneasy. In just over twenty minutes, she reached the farmstead's gate.

She came often under the pretext of visiting Xubai's servant, so the gatekeeper didn't stop her. Instead, the gatekeeper teased, "Here to see Lanxin again?"

She smiled, nodded, and walked inside.

When she reached the little courtyard in the deepest part of the farmstead, Zhuxin, who served Xubai, had just come out. Zhuxin paused upon seeing her. "You're early today, miss. The young master is still asleep."

"That's all right. I'll wait here."

Zhuxin stepped aside. "Please come in, miss."

Beyond the little courtyard gate stood a two-story building adorned with carved ornamentation. A flagstone path divided the courtyard in half, with a pond dug on one side and flowers planted on the other.

Su Yuhe sat waiting in the central hall, beginning to work out how she would put on her performance.

Zhuxin went upstairs. Lanxin asked in puzzlement, "Why are you back?"

"I'd only just left when I ran into Miss Su."

Lanxin said irritably, "That pauper's here to sponge off us again!"

"Who's here?"

A low, husky voice came from inside. Lanxin and Zhuxin exchanged a glance, then opened the door and went in.

Zhuxin bowed. "Young master, Miss Su is here."

"Tell her to come up."

Lanxin hesitated. "Young master, wouldn't that be improper?"

Silence fell inside the room. Zhuxin tugged at Lanxin's sleeve. "I'll go fetch her right away."