During this era, the thing those high officials and nobles, as well as scholars and poets, loved to do the most was to look for famous courtesans to accompany them. After that, they would recite poems and match couplets to display their elegance.
Only by doing so would one be able to display how classy they were.
Although Sun Mo wasn’t from this world, he could understand this practice. It was just like people in his world who loved to go to Starbucks and post pictures of their drinks on their social media. (Damn, did I spend so much money back then for nothing?)
“Uncle Zheng, I appreciate your intentions, but please bring them back!”
Sun Mo rejected it cleanly.
“Sun Mo, I have no ill intentions!” Zheng Qingfang could hear from Sun Mo’s tone that he was a little unhappy. He frowned as he didn’t really understand the reason. Was Sun Mo fond of guys instead?
Zheng Qingfang wouldn’t be able to imagine that Sun Mo didn’t like the behavior of treating a human being as a gift because this practice was way too common in this world.
“I understand.”
Sun Mo squeezed out a smile on his face. He was being unreasonable.
One must know that during the Song Dynasty of his world, the famous poet Sushi who wrote the ancient famous writing (Former Ode on the Red Cliffs] actually had the experience of gifting away his pregnant concubine to others. At that era, this wasn’t an unlawful issue at all!
Zheng Qingfang was giving him two slaves his clan had educated for over ten years. He was doing so because he held Sun Mo in high regard.
“Alright, but if you have any requirements or needs in the future, you must definitely tell
me!”
After Zheng Qingfang finished speaking, he waved his hands. “You two can go outside and wait first!”
Xia He felt as if she had just received amnesty upon hearing this. To her, this could be considered as her avoiding a calamity. She bowed and immediately headed out. It was like she was afraid that if she moved slower by a step, Sun Mo might change his mind.
However, Dong He was frowning. After gritting her teeth, she fell to her knees with a thudding sound. “Old Master, please forgive this slave for being impudent. Dong He wishes to stay behind and take care of Teacher Sun’s needs.”
Xia He, who just walked out of the living room, was stunned. She glanced at Dong He. (Has this woman gone mad? You could become a concubine of a Zheng Clan, but you don’t want to and you’d rather stay here to be a servant?)
Honestly speaking, no matter who slept with them, as long as the person was someone from the direct line of descent, they would definitely be able to get the status of a concubine. Although their lives might not be that good, it would surely be much better than the life of a slave where everyone could order them around.
“Impudent!” Zheng Qingfang berated. With his tens of years of experience witnessing the battle of wits in the imperial court, he only needed a single glance at Dong He to determine what she was thinking
This woman wanted to use Sun Mo as a jumping board and regain her freedom!
Sun Mo was very gentle and friendly. Because of Daoist White Bird, he had obtained about two million taels, but his way of life was as simple as before.
For a slightly richer family, who wouldn’t want to buy a few serving maids for their son? However, even after Sun Mo struck it rich, he didn’t get any!
From this, one could see that if Dong He was with Sun Mo, she only needed to do a few cleaning tasks daily, and there were no strenuous activities that she had to do. If Sun Mo led students to the Darkness Continent to temper themselves, she would have a two-to-three months holiday.
If Dong He was sinister enough, she could even use Sun Mo’s fame in the future and force him to release her slave contract. After all, if a great teacher had a conflict with a slave, the one that would feel embarrassed was undoubtedly the great teacher. Dong He was badly frightened. She quickly knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dong He’s head slammed into the floor as she begged for mercy.
“Old Master, I was wrong. I don’t dare to do this anymore!”
Dong He was afraid. To someone of astute judgment like Zheng Qingfang, beautiful women were useless. They would be punished as long as they angered him. “Stop kowtowing.”
Sun Mo’s frown deepened. This was the first time he saw the lowly appearance of a slave.
Yes, these slaves who sold themselves into a slavery contract was even lower compared to ordinary folks. To put it unpleasantly, if the owner beat her to death and simply made up an excuse saying that she stole money and reported it to the authorities, the owner wouldn’t suffer a single repercussion.
Sun Mo’s words made Dong He even more panicky. Hence, she kowtowed with even more force.
“Stop kowtowing, didn’t you hear him?” Zheng Qingfang was very unhappy. (By acting like this, not only are you showing that my discipline and control of subordinates is lacking, but Sun Mo might even feel that I’m a person of mean character.)
This was originally a good thing, but he didn’t expect the situation to develop like this.
In Zheng Qingfang’s heart, Sun Mo had a very important status. Hence, this was why he paid so much attention to his image. He must not let Sun Mo loathe him under any circumstances.
Dong He prostrated herself on the ground. She was like a frightened quail. “Teacher Sun, just keep her!”
Gu Xiuxun, who had been observing from the side, couldn’t help but feel compassion for Dong He when she saw this. If this girl returned, she might still be gifted to another man in the future. Since that was the case, she might as well stay at Sun Mo’s side.
At the very least, Sun Mo was a good man. He wouldn’t abuse her.
“No, I don’t dare to. What capabilities do I have? How am I worthy to stay beside Teacher Sun?”
Dong He’s voice was filled with nervousness and panic.
“Alright, stop talking nonsense. Get up, I will bring you to a place to dress your wounds!”
Sun Mo instructed. Without Zheng Qingfang’s order, Dong He didn’t dare to get up. “Teacher Sun’s words are my words too. You have to listen to him!” Zheng Qingfang berated. “This slave has remembered it!”
Dong He stood up. Sun Mo saw that her face was covered with blood due to the wound on her head
“Uncle Zheng, you are right. I do need someone to be in charge of the cleanliness here. Since that’s the case, I would be impolite if I continue to refuse!”
Sun Mo’s heart grew soft.
This girl was after all the one who had contributed favorable impression points. Since he could help her, he wouldn’t hesitate.
Sun Mo’s home had medicaments and bandages. Hence, he brought Dong He to the study and helped her dress her wounds.
Upon looking at Sun Mo’s face that was inches away from her, Dong He felt that the risk she took earlier was worth it.
If it was other men, who would care about her, a slave?
“Is it painful?”
As Sun Mo asked this, Dong He couldn’t control her tears anymore. Her tears flowed down her face, dripping onto the ground.
How many years had it been since someone was concerned for her?
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Dong He +100. Friendly (150/1,000).
After Sun Mo dressed Dong He’s wounds, he left the study and pointed to the corridor. “The third room on the east side is a guest room, you can go and rest first!”
After handling Dong He, Sun Mo returned to the living room.
Xia He, who stood at the door, saw this scene. She suddenly felt a little regret. Should she stay here too? No, her fate was to become a young mistress of the Zheng Clan.
This foolish woman Dong He… This move of hers was absolutely wrong.
“Ai, I was too abrupt with regard to this matter.”
Zheng Qingfang sighed.
“Uncle Zheng, your words are too serious!” Sun Mo chortled. “I don’t have anything that I can give you as a return. How about this? I’ll draw a painting for you.” When Zheng Qingfang heard this, it seemed that he received a mental shock. He was like an old dog who smelled the fragrance of meat. His eyes became wide open as he looked at Sun Mo.
“Is it okay?”
Zheng Qingfeng grew agitated. “Let’s head to the study!”
Sun Mo walked in the front to lead the way. When Gu Xiuxun entered, she involuntarily praised, “Teacher Sun, the layout of your study isn’t bad. Also, it is filled with the essentials of calligraphy and scholarship. Everything here was high-quality goods!”
“I have no idea. Ziqi was the one who cleaned and prepared this!”
Sun Mo explained.
After hearing this name, Zheng Qingfang’s lips twitched. He originally wanted to remind Sun Mo but eventually decided to give up.
Gu Xiuxun ground the ink and prepared the paper. “Let me do it!”
How would Dong He really go to rest? This was the first time they met, if she didn’t leave a good first impression to her new master, when would she do it? Hence, even if she was feeling unwell, she had to endure.
Sun Mo took up his brush. After imagining the concept in his mind, he dipped his brush into ink.
The spring rain just stopped, rainbows filled the sky.
At the grasslands of the outskirts, dew was present everywhere. Tender shoots that sprouted during spring could be seen swaying in the gentle breeze.
Over ten minutes later, a painting of the season of spring appeared on the paper.
“I didn’t expect Sun Mo’s drawing skills to be so impressive!”
Gu Xiuxun felt a little taken aback. After that, she glanced at Zheng Qingfang and she suddenly frowned.
Why was this old man so agitated? Sun Mo’s painting was not bad indeed, but it still wasn’t at the level of a famous artist.
“Would it become a famous painting?”
Zheng Qingfang stared at the paper and had a nervous look on his face. His heart was also filled with trepidation. He hoped to witness the birth of a famous painting again, but logic told him that this was too difficult.
For something like a famous painting, it would only occur by chance. Even for famous artists who had reached the third realm of Wondrous Blossoms, they wouldn’t dare to guarantee that every painting they drew would be a famous painting
After the background was roughly done, Sun Mo started to draw the characters. Because he had the grandmaster-grade Traditional and Character Painting Drawing Technique, this was his strong point.
After a few brushes, a young girl flying a kite under a willow tree appeared. She stood on the tips of her toe and stared at the main path. Her face was unadorned by any make-up, an aura of pure freshness manifested from her.
All of a sudden, half-horse was drawn on the left side of the painting. A young master was riding the horse. He had a fan in his left hand and the reins in his right.
Further ahead, by the side of the creek, a few children were trying to catch some fish. A young girl was careless and fell into the water, and her elder brother at the side was attempting to pull her up.
Also, there were two innocent playmates, a male and a female child, sitting on the grass in the forest, whispering to each other.
Sun Mo was brewing his emotions. As he drew, a sense of sorrow appeared in his heart. In this world, there would surely be many more young girls like Dong He. He truly hoped that they could reunite with their parents and families instead of being sold away at a young age and had to be a slave for their entire lives.
If this was in the modern era, a girl like Dong He wouldn’t even have finished secondary school yet. But now, in order not to be beaten or scolded by her masters, she had to live extremely cautiously.
The brush in Sun Mo’s hand lit up.
The spirit qi in the surroundings began to gather over here.
“This is…”
Gu Xiuxun’s face was filled with shock. Wasn’t this the Wondrous Blossom realm?
No, it couldn’t be. How old was Sun Mo? He didn’t have a lot of time to practice drawing. If he created a famous painting, wouldn’t it be too cruel to those other old fellows who couldn’t attain the Wondrous Blossoms Realm despite pursuing it for years? Zheng Qingfeng was agitated. He had to exert force and dug his nails into his palm to control his emotions, or he would have shouted happily. On the grass, over ten young children were flying kites and running about. Their clothes were drenched in sweat and their faces were filled with fatigue. However, no one dared to stop.
Far away, there was a banquet under a pavilion. Gu Xiuxun glanced over and saw a few descendants from rich clans clad in luxurious clothing drinking tea and looking at the kites in the sky while they chatted idly.
A young lady was standing outside the pavilion, berating the children. It was as though she wanted them to run faster. At the same time, she was shooing a young girl, indicating for her not to disturb the mood here.
In the stream, the few bare-footed slaves weren’t idle. They were cleaning the horses.
This drawing was originally a spring trip painting that would cause joy in the hearts of those who saw it. But as the fatigued-looking children slaves were drawn, the feelings invoked by the painting also changed. BOOM!
As Sun Mo painted the final stroke, the motes of spirit qi gushed over and infused into the paper, endowing it with color.
“W…Wondrous Blossom?”
Dong He exclaimed in shock. After that, she hurriedly covered her mouth, worried that she might disturb the birth of a famous painting. If that really happened, her old master would surely skin her alive.