Sun Mo brought Zheng Qingfang into the living room.
Gu Xiuxun hurriedly stood up to show her respect. Although Zheng Qingfang didn’t have much influence in the great teacher world. He was a character who could summon the wind and rain in the Tang Country’s Imperial Court.
“Teacher Gu, there’s no need to be so polite!”
Zheng Qingfang sat down and smiled. “Come over girls, pay your respects to Teacher Sun Mo!”
The two girls lowered their heads and moved forward, bowing to Sun Mo.
“Slave Xia He, Dong He, pays our respect to Teacher Sun!”
The voices of the two girls were gentle, akin to flowers in spring and the purring of kittens. “The two of you are too polite!”
Sun Mo’s smile and sunshine-like demeanor caused the two girls, who were originally filled with trepidation, to let go of a little worry in their hearts.
They had learned of their future fate from their old master. They would be gifted to this teacher.
When these two girls were very young, they were sold by their parents for money. In the end, because they were beautiful, they were bought by the Zheng Clan.
Honestly speaking, the two girls didn’t feel that their origins were tragedies. At the very least, they could fill their bellies and have warm clothes to wear in the Zheng Clan. They could even learn to read and write, practice the zither, read books, and learn chess.
hau
As the most outstanding and beautiful girls among a batch of slaves, they already knew their futures. They would become a concubine of the clan lord, and things would be secure if they could give birth to a child.
No, not a child, it had to be a male child. Only then would they and their children be able to lead a happy life.
But just when the two girls were dreaming about becoming the concubines of the clan lord, they were summoned by the old master, and he said he wanted to give them to a teacher. He also told them that they had to do their utmost and serve him well.
Honestly speaking, when the two of them heard of this, they felt as though they were struck by a thunderbolt. What if their new owner was someone extremely ugly or poor? How should they continue to live in the future?
The two girls were very intelligent, hence, they managed to learn some things from the words of their old master. Their new owner was a teacher, not a great teacher.
The disparity of the statuses between a teacher and a great teacher was extremely great.
Also, if a great teacher wasn’t at the 3-star rank or above, how could they speak on equal terms like this with the clan lord of the Zheng Clan?
However, Dong He thought a little deeper. Old Master Zheng was a righteous individual and didn’t like to speak much or smile. He also hated to entertain guests, hence, given his status, only a relatively few people were qualified enough to be given gifts from him. And it seemed that Old Master Zheng had never given any before.
However, Master Zheng made an exception for this teacher, and he even gave these precious two girls to him.
“Being able to be a teacher whom the Old Master regards so highly, he most probably wouldn’t be too inferior, right?”
Dong He silently surveyed Sun Mo.
Leaving aside his talent and temperament for now, Sun Mo’s appearance was truly very handsome.
If she could be with him and had to make a little sacrifice in terms of not leading a life as comfortable as now, it was still acceptable.
Dong He’s heart grew a little softer after thinking of this.
Women were also creatures that judged people by looks. They would always say they didn’t care about one’s appearance and would place the emphasis on one’s demeanor and character. But if you didn’t meet their required standard of looks, they wouldn’t even want to learn about your existence.
“So what if he is handsome? Can it put food on the table?”
Xia He had a smile on her face, but she felt extremely unhappy in her heart. Her ambition was to become a young mistress of the Zheng Clan. What the hell was this? Wanting her to follow a teacher?
“Uncle Zheng, please be seated first. Let me brew the tea!”
After Sun Mo spoke, Dong He immediately moved forward. “Where are the tea leaves? Let me be the one to prepare the tea. I’ve learned many things in Old Master Zheng’s residence!”
Xia He glanced at Dong He and lowered her head. As to whether she would offend Sun Mo or not, she didn’t really care. In any case, it was better if she offended him. He would definitely not want her then.
“It’s fine. Miss Dong He, please be seated!”
Although Sun Mo had lived in Jinling for more than half a year, the habits and twenty-years of culture that set his personality in his past world were still deep in his bones. He had never treated Dong He as a slave that was one-tier lower in terms of status. After hearing Sun Mo’s voice, Dong He’s hand trembled violently.
Although the Zheng Clan had treated them well, there were differences in class as well. Among the slaves, the old butler that the old master trusted the most was ranked the highest. After that, it was the various deacons of the different fields.
Xia He and Dong He, as slaves raised by the clan, their statuses were very low. Even the maids around the misses and madams would be able to scold them when they felt like it.
(You say you will be chosen as a concubine for the young master? Forget about it. Who knows if the old master might be in a bad mood one day and directly give you as a present to a deacon?) Yes, because they had capital in terms of their beauty, as long as Dong He and Xia He didn’t make any mistakes, they would not be rewarded as gifts to low-ranking deacons.
Bluntly speaking, Dong He and Xia He were objects!
Dong He was already used to being looked down upon by people. All of a sudden, when someone treated her so gently, her heart grew softer as her will shook.
Ding! Favorable impression points from Dong He +50. Prestige connection activated. Neutral (50/100).
Sun Mo curiously looked at Dong He while mentally musing at the fact that he didn’t seem to have done anything. Why would she suddenly provide favorable impression points?
“Teacher Sun, allow me!”
Dong He took over the tea leaves. At such a time, she naturally had to display her skill.
“Sun Mo, just let her prepare the tea. Come over and sit with me!”
Zheng Qingfang waved his hand. “I’ll have to trouble you then.”
Sun Mo sat back down.
Dong He’s actions were well-practiced. Very soon, the tea was ready. When she passed a cup to Gu Xiuxun, she couldn’t help but survey her.
Such a beautiful young woman was actually a teacher?
How envious!
Wait a minute, the more beautiful a woman was, the more prideful she would be. It was very rare for someone to be able to invite them over successfully. Since she was in Teacher Sun’s home, this meant that their statuses were equal.
This indicated that Teacher Sun was either someone who had a higher status than her or someone more talented. This was the only way he would be able to gain this beautiful female teacher’s friendship.
When she thought of this, Dong He grew happy. No matter which was the case, she would be able to live a relatively comfortable life if she went with Sun Mo.
Xia He stood at the side and was racking her brains, trying to find a solution to make Sun Mo not want her while not making Old Master Zheng angry!
After chatting idly for a while, Zheng Qingfang went to the main point.
“Sun Mo, what do you think of these two girls?”
If he was facing other juniors, Zheng Qingfang would have just delivered the girls as gifts. But to Sun Mo, since he treated Sun Mo as an equal, he didn’t dare to be too casual. He would ask Sun Mo for his opinion first. If Sun Mo didn’t like them, he would change them to another pair of girls.
“Slender and elegant, they also have beautiful appearances!”
Sun Mo said this due to politeness as he hadn’t activated Divine Sight. However, he felt that he better do so. What if this was a test by Zheng Qingfang?
He didn’t wish to throw Zheng Qingfang’s good impression of him away.
Xia He, 15 years old. An ordinary person.
Strength: 3. Mediocre
Intellect: 5. She has some smarts and likes to exercise her wits for small gains.
Agility: 4. Not agile enough.
Will: 2. Weak and easily bullied!
Endurance: 3!
Potential value: None!
Note: This is an ordinary person, but she is quite beautiful. It isn’t bad for her to act like a vase*.
Sun Mo stared at the information and had a look of speechlessness. “System, what evaluation was this? Why does it sound like an insult?”
“I’m only making a judgment based on her functionality!”
The system spoke boldly and confidently as though justice was on its side.
“Functionality?”
Sun Mo frowned.
“She is a slave. What do you think slaves do? If she doesn’t do her job well, her master can casually give her away to others as a present.”
The system explained, its tone was colored with disdain for Sun Mo’s ignorance.
What else could Sun Mo have said? Feudalism was really harmful!
Dong He, 15 years old. An ordinary person.
Strength: 3. Mediocre
Intellect: 6. She has pretty good analysis skills and is somewhat capable of independent thoughts.
Agility: 7. Congratulations to her. Will: 1. Don’t beat me, please! Endurance: 2!
Potential value: None
Note: Other than a vase, she can be a pretty study companion or a tea brewer!
Sun Mo just wanted to say something more to display his judgment, but Zheng Qingfang beat him to it.
“Sun Mo, I can see that you just moved in here and have no serving girls yet. I shall give them both to you.”
Zhang Qingfang basically never thought that Sun Mo would reject this. Sun Mo was the one who thought too much earlier.
“Ah?”
Sun Mo was stunned.
Actually, Gu Xiuxun had guessed a little of the truth, but she couldn’t be sure. After all, these two girls were too beautiful. If they were in brothels, even if they weren’t the top-rated queen of flowers, they would still be capable of ranking among the top few, with as many customers each day as the floating clouds in the sky.
For girls of this level, even if they were in a clan, only the clan lord had the qualifications to enjoy them. Either that or they would be used as important presents in exchange for huge benefits.
When Gu Xiuxun was young, her family was very poor. If it hadn’t been for her mother being unable to bear it and had snatched her back from the middleman, she would have been among the servants in some luxurious mansion, leading a cold and cautious life.
(Reject me quickly!)
Xia He prayed. However, she knew it was impossible given her beauty.
Dong He was curiously surveying Sun Mo instead, wanting to hear his answer. She felt that such a man wasn’t the same as the vulgar common crowd.
“You are a teacher and will usually be busy. Your time is extremely precious and you can’t possibly let small tasks like washing clothes and cooking waste your time, right? Just hand these minor tasks to them!”
Zheng Qingfang drank his tea.
Naturally, he didn’t mention the implicit assertion. However, given Sun Mo’s appearance, he shouldn’t lack women either.
The girls from the brothels loved guys like Sun Mo who were sentimental and handsome the most.
“Oh right, Sun Mo. You can play around at the brothels, but you must not be overly addicted to them. Also, don’t throw away your money recklessly for these prostitutes. No matter what they say to you, their ultimate goal is still to drain your wallet dry.”
Zheng Qingfang’s expression was solemn as he warned.
“Uncle Zheng, I’ve lived for twenty years and have never been to places like that before!”
Sun Mo hurriedly cleared the air. After speaking, he felt a little embarrassed. After all, there were three women here.
Dong He frowned, her gaze immediately drifted to Sun Mo. He couldn’t have a problem, right? Xia He’s lips curled into a mocking smile. A man of this age that hadn’t been to a brothel? He must be a coward or he was too poor.
Gu Xiuxun started. After that, she involuntarily smiled. (Sun Mo, you look really interesting when you try to explain.) But after that, she felt somewhat impressed.
Sun Mo’s self-control was truly terrifying.
One must know that the Middle-Earth Nine Provinces were the same as ancient china. Girls were considered of age and ready for marriage when they hit 15.
As for the guys, if they were descendants of a wealthy clan, they would have visited the brothel umpteen times by this age. Although it couldn’t be said that they had savored countless women, the number of women they tried was definitely in the double digits!
[1] Vase refers to women who are good looking and bad for everything else
