Chapter 186: Guardian Tiger
Zhang Yong's work is indeed worry-free, under his arrangements.

Liu Qing completed the move in just one day.

After moving into the mansion, she and Qu Feiyan walked around the yard several times. Every time they discovered a new viewing point, they were very happy.

The so-called slaves are male and maids are female.

According to Zhu's "Ming Hui Dian", dukes and marquises could own 20 slaves and servants, first-rank officials could own 12 slaves and servants, and third-rank officials could own 8 slaves and servants.

During the Wanli period, it was stipulated that civilians were not allowed to keep slaves. Violators would not only be punished, but the slaves would also have their personal freedom restored.

But the rules set by Lao Zhu are dead, but people are alive.

Therefore, by the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the number of slaves and servants had far exceeded the number stipulated by the court.

For example, Gu Yanwu recorded in "Rizhilu" that the official families in Jiangnan had one or two thousand slaves.

People who did not have the right to employ slaves also used slaves in large numbers as long as their economic conditions allowed. For example, Li Qin, a landlord in Zhongxiang County, had thousands of slaves.

In the court, as long as it is not too extreme, such as keeping thousands of slaves,

Normally, even the most demanding censors would not use this to attack, because everyone is the same, it is an AOE skill with a very large range.

Using this move will not hurt the enemy at all except killing yourself.

As for the price of slaves, it is not as expensive as imagined.

Yang Jisheng, a deputy minister of the Ministry of War during the Jiajing period, mentioned in his work "Collected Works of Yang Zhongmin" that his slave Qu Yue was bought for four taels of silver.

This market situation was confirmed in "Jin Ping Mei", in which the buying and selling prices of slaves ranged from three to thirty taels of silver.

The price difference was due to the age and talent of the servants. Chunmei spent three and a half taels of silver to buy the maid Jinqianer.

Ximen Qing spent five taels to buy Xiaoyu.

When the fifteen-year-old Pan Jinlian was sold to the wealthy Zhang for the second time, she was not only beautiful but also could play the musical instrument and sing and do housework. She was sold for thirty taels of silver.

The sources of slaves were mainly divided into two parts. The first part was the family members of criminals sold as slaves by the government.

For example, after Liu Jin and his followers were executed, many of their female relatives became servants. For example, Yang Yu and Shi Wenyi, commanders of the Imperial Guard who defected to Liu Jin, were killed and their families were exiled as slaves.

Another part of them had no means of living and had to live as slaves in the homes of officials.

Ximen Qing's male servant Lai Jue and his wife voluntarily became slaves in Ximen Qing's house because they were at odds with their family and neighbors.

Gu Yanwu also recorded in "Rizhilu" that the custom of seeking refuge was very popular in Jiangnan. If someone became an official, many people would come to him to seek refuge and become slaves, and some people would even accept a thousand people for this purpose.

In comparison, Ou Zanghua was promoted to a fourth-rank official before he accepted Mu Gaoweng as his servant. He is simply a great saint in the world!
However, this merit will be broken by Liu Qing today.

The young eunuch brought thirty maids and twenty slaves and asked them to stand in four rows. He then bowed to Liu Qing and said, "Madam Ou, these slaves were sold by the court after the fall of the eunuch party last year. Ten of the women can do calligraphy and needlework, and the rest can read."

After hearing this, Liu Qing and Qu Feiyan walked over to check it out. They noticed that among the group of women, four of them had completely different figures, temperaments and looks from the others. It was obvious at first glance that they were once educated young ladies.

"The first two are the daughters of Li Xian, the former official of the Ministry of Personnel. The elder Li is named Shuyan and the younger Li is named Huaiwei. Shuyan is good at calligraphy, painting, and playing the zither, while Huaiwei is good at playing chess, drinking tea, and studying the art of Qihuang."

The young eunuch noticed the look in the two women's eyes, and introduced them: "Li Xian is a despicable and shameless man. He used trickery to deprive Liu Jian, Liu Daxia and more than 670 other officials of their imperial edicts. Later, the eunuch party fell, and Li Xian was afraid of the disaster, so he impeached the rest of the eunuch party. It was really a snake and a rat. If it weren't for the godfather who saved these two women because Li Xian had helped him once, otherwise they would have died a year ago."

"The latter two are the nieces of the former Jinyiwei commander Shi Wenyi. Their names are Shi Jingnu and Shi Jianxi respectively."

"Shi Wenyi is from Shaanxi, so these two girls can't play the piano or music, but they have learned a lot of skills in Chongyang Palace. Ordinary ten strong men can't get close to them, so they can protect Madam Ou's safety."

Liu Qing was stunned after hearing this. She was the "Hengshan Heroine" recognized by her husband himself, so why did she still need protection from others?

Qu Feiyan, who was standing by, smiled and said, "Sister Qingqing, you must accept these two. Chongyang Palace! That is the ancestral home of the Quanzhen Sect."

"Miss Qu misunderstood."

The young eunuch smiled and explained, "They were all given to Lord Ou by his godfather, and Lord Ou has given them to Madam Ou. If Madam Ou doesn't like them, we can take this batch away and get another batch until Madam Ou is satisfied."

After these words were spoken, Liu Qing did not react at all, but the fifty people all showed expressions of horror.

Xiang Danian, who was guarding the rear, stepped forward and said, "Madam, those ten servants have long arms and legs and strong bodies, so they should be good fighters."

The young eunuch immediately said, "This young man has a good eye. They were originally from the Jinyiwei and were implicated by Shi Wenyi and sold themselves. They are very suitable to be guards."

Liu Qing thought for a while and said, "There's no need for guards. We don't lack experts. The rest of you can stay!"

As soon as she finished speaking, forty people knelt down and kowtowed, saying with some gratitude: "Thank you, Madam, for taking us in!"

Only the ten guards looked a little depressed, but Liu Qing would not be soft-hearted because she was not confident in entrusting the safety of her home to others.

"Everyone get up!"

She looked at Xiang Danian beside her and said, "Second Brother, please arrange a place for them to live."

"Yes!" Xiang Da Nian responded.

This house is big enough to accommodate not only forty people, but even another forty people can be accommodated.

"Since Madam Ou has accepted it, it's time for us to return to the palace and report back."

The young eunuch cupped his hands and continued, "By the way, please rest assured, Madam Ou, they have all been trained in the East Factory and know exactly what they should and should not do."

"This is their indentures. Please keep them safe, Madam Ou." After arranging everything, the young eunuch said goodbye.

When Liu Qing returned to the backyard, he found that there were many more maids there. They would sweep away the fallen leaves in the yard and move the dead vegetation.

Xiang Da Nian walked over and explained, "Madam, I have arranged twenty maids in the backyard, and the remaining ten maids and ten servants in the front yard. Do you think there is anything you want to change?"

"No, this is good." Liu Qing shook her head. She felt that with more people in the backyard, the place seemed more lively.

Turning around, I saw Shi Jingnu and Shi Jianxi cleaning up the dead branches and leaves in the pool. They looked calm, as if they were not aware of the freezing cold water.

Seeing this, Liu Qing said, "Jingnu, Jianxi, come up quickly! I'll get the tools to clean it up. It may be a little slow, but it won't freeze anyone."

When the two girls heard Liu Qing's call, they came out of the pool, walked to Liu Qing, bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, Madam."

"How long have you been practicing martial arts in Chongyang Palace? I remember that Chongyang Sect is composed of only men!" Liu Qing looked at the two beautiful and intelligent women and asked curiously.

"Madam, my sister and I went to Chongyang Palace in Zhongnan Mountain when we were ten years old, arranged by our uncle, and practiced there for five years."

Shi Jing explained in a soft female voice: "The founder of our branch is Qing Jing San Ren. We are the only branch in Chongyang Palace that accepts female disciples. We also practice the internal skills passed down by the founder, "Yuan Jun Fa Yu". "

"Sister majored in Huayang Sword Technique and minored in Quanzhen Fast Fist." Shi Jianxi also said at the right time: "I majored in Nong Yue Sword Technique and minored in Kong Ming Fist."

After the two women finished speaking, an old voice suddenly came from the side: "I have heard that Chongyang Palace has a double sword formation technique, and there is a saying that 'two swords combined to fight against heaven and earth'."

The two women turned their heads and saw a hunchbacked old man who had appeared next to the rockery at some point. It was Mu Gaoweng who had transported furniture from the small house.

However, the two women looked very calm and were obviously not afraid of each other.

"Mr. Gao, you're back!" Qu Feiyan greeted him with a smile when she saw him coming.

"Madam, Miss Qu." Mu Gaoweng didn't dare to act high and mighty in front of these two girls. He bowed and greeted them with a silly smile on his face.

Liu Qing nodded as a response.

She looked at Shi Jingnu and Shi Jianxi and asked curiously, "Is there really a double sword formation?"

"Yes," Shi Jingnv explained, "The combination of Huayang Sword Technique and Nong Yue Sword Technique forms the Sun and Moon Sword Formation, which is enough to deal with masters who are stronger than us sisters."

"That's incredible!" Liu Qing said in surprise.

You know, even the most exquisite swordsmanship of the Hengshan School, the Hengshan Five Divine Swords, cannot challenge opponents of higher levels!
However, Shi Jingnu and Shi Jianxi only said a few humble words. If it were a year ago, they would have been proud.

But this year's wasted time has made them realize that no matter how skilled a person is in martial arts, he or she is still afraid of a gun.

Especially when being targeted by hundreds of iron guns, even if Chongyang Patriarch was resurrected, he might not be able to withstand it.
In the palace, Ou Zanghua accompanied Emperor Zhengde to the morning court today. After finally listening to the bosses from various departments finish arguing, it was already the hour of You.

Not to mention Ou Zanghua, even Emperor Zhengde couldn't resist any longer.

He stopped this group of old men and asked them to go back and write a memorial and discuss the matter another day. Only then was he freed from the government affairs.

Ou Zanghua, who had been standing aside and listening for a whole day, was about to go back with the old men, but unexpectedly Zhengde suddenly said, "Ou Qing, wait a moment."

"Your Majesty, I am moving to a new house today and cannot wait."

"Then Mr. Ou has to wait a little longer!" Zhengde stood up and directly grabbed Ou Zanghua.

Seeing Yang Tinghe, Liu Zhong, Liang Chu, and Fei Hong still standing by, he smiled and said, "You four go first. I still have some vassal state matters to discuss with Lord Ou."

"Your Majesty, let's do it another day!"

Ou Zanghua really doesn't want to work overtime!

Yang Tinghe rarely saw such an active Emperor Zhengde, so he said gently: "Jingyu, since His Majesty is concerned about the affairs of the vassal state, you should stay and have a good chat with His Majesty."

Ou Zanghua looked at Yang Tinghe speechlessly, Old Yang, have you forgotten?

I’ve only been back in Beijing for three days and I don’t even know which way the gate of the Honglu Temple opens. Do you think I can know anything about the vassal states?
After Yang Tinghe finished speaking, he also realized this problem. He felt embarrassed and turned his head away somewhat unnaturally.

Liang Chu, who was watching the fun from the sidelines, said cheerfully, "Then your majesty can chat with Jingyu slowly, and I will take my leave first."

Then, the four cabinet ministers patted their butts and left, leaving Ou Zanghua alone in the Qianqing Palace, staring at Emperor Zhengde.

"What advice do you have for me, Your Majesty?"

"Didn't Mr. Ou move into a new house?" Emperor Zhengde said cheerfully, "I will give you a great gift!"

As he spoke, Emperor Zhengde clapped his hands, and several eunuchs came out pushing a cage, in which was a huge white-browed tiger with hanging eyes!
"Mr. Ou, I have heard of the 'house-guarding divine tiger' and specially prepared this. It is said that a fierce tiger entering the house can ward off evil spirits, eliminate disasters and bring blessings!"

Emperor Zhengde patted Ou Zanghua on the shoulder and asked proudly, "Do you like this gift?"

Ou Zanghua was so moved that he almost cried, and all his tiredness disappeared: "I love your legs! Who was the idiot who told him that the house-guarding divine tiger was for a real tiger? ! "

"His Majesty…"

"Well, what's up, Mr. Ou?"

"It seems your divine tiger is about to be released from the cage..."

"?!"

(End of this chapter)