The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

A gentle breeze blew by, and the eunuch's high-pitched, clear voice drifted into Zhang Shuo's ears.

One hundred bolts of silk, ten catties of silverware, one imperial horse, two maids, one cook, and three servants... Brother Chu Yu has only just entered officialdom, yet he has already made such a great contribution?

Was it that you left a message for me that day and offered some good suggestions?

Was it because of the Empress Dowager's praise for "Appreciating Peonies"?

or……

Zhang said he was already very familiar with Lu Jun, but he still decided to take a closer look and re-examine his friend's figure.

He's definitely tall, and undeniably handsome, but this physique doesn't seem like someone capable of achieving great things...

Brother Chu Yu must have relied on his own abilities to present his memorials in a way that was both profound and easy to understand, which greatly pleased the Empress Dowager.

Something just doesn't feel right...

At this moment, Lu Jun's eyes curved into crescent moons, and a warm current flowed out, instantly spreading throughout her body.

Auntie is a sentimental person... Ugh, the Empress Dowager is truly a person who rewards merit!

He immediately realized that the meaning of the Mahavagga Sutra must have been proven.

Later, Xue Huaiyi led nine eminent monks to present the "Commentary on the Great Cloud Sutra," using their imagination to interpret the passage, saying that the Empress Dowager was the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha and should rule the world.

For this, the nine eminent monks were all granted the title of county duke and bestowed with purple kasaya robes and silver tortoise-shaped pouches.

I only mentioned it briefly, so the credit naturally goes to Master Xue, but in the future... there might be some compensation.

At least, the immediate reward is generous enough.

The silk in the palace was a tribute item, of very high quality, and a hundred bolts were worth at least thirty or forty strings of cash.

Nowadays, silver is not used as currency and has no fixed price, but it can be sold in jewelry stores.

Roughly speaking, the silverware must have been produced by the Imperial Workshop, with exquisite craftsmanship. Ten catties of it should be worth a hundred or even two hundred strings of cash.

A royal horse... An ordinary packhorse costs more than ten strings of cash, a warhorse costs twenty-five strings of cash, and a royal horse will cost even more.

But this cannot be sold, lest it be impeached for blaspheming against the grace of Heaven; it's best to keep it for transportation.

All the rewards combined were worth about two hundred strings of cash!

After accompanying the eunuch to express her gratitude, Lu Jun immediately booked a house in Chongye Ward for a monthly rent of two thousand coins.

It is fifteen steps wide and thirty steps deep, covering nearly two acres in total. It has three courtyards, including a stable, a storeroom, a main hall, and fifteen side rooms, as well as a small garden.

After all, we need to add more servants, and the current staff is not enough.

Chongyefang has a great location, being four blocks away from Nanshi, two blocks away from Weiwangchi, and four blocks away from Tianjin Bridge.

Commuting to and from work is very convenient, and you only need to prepay one month's rent.

Lu Jun had just settled in and moved her clothes from Chengjunjian when the palace sent her the reward.

Three carriages, carrying both the goods and the people, stopped in front of the house. The eunuch handed Lu Jun the slave deeds for the household servants.

There are six sheets in total, each bearing the name and age of its respective person and stamped with the county government's seal.

The two maids, one named Yingniang and the other Yanniang, were servants of the Imperial Household Department, both sixteen years old this year.

When Lu Jun reached out to help, she saw two beautiful faces, lovely and charming, with graceful and slender figures.

This demeanor suggests he is the descendant of a convicted official.

The cook's name was Jiu Niang, and the three male servants were named A De, Liu Da, and Bai San. They were all government slaves of the Ministry of Agriculture and entered the ministry at a young age, so they were not given formal names.

Jiu Niang is twenty-six years old this year, while Ade, Liu Da, and Bai San are all around thirty years old, and each of them is very strong.

The male slaves of the Ministry of Agriculture were responsible for farming, growing flowers, and raising livestock in the forbidden garden, while the female slaves were responsible for cooking.

They all come with prior work experience.

After the eunuch left, Lu Jun had Ade close the door and called the six people to stand in a row in the front yard.

"Everyone, my name is Lu Jun, courtesy name Chuyu. I am currently the Left Advisor of the Imperial Secretariat. From now on, we are all family."

Seeing that their new owner was kind and gentle, and that his eyes were clear and bright when he smiled, all six of them breathed a sigh of relief.

They looked down at each other, their lips subtly pursed.

Once a government slave is given to a minister, their future is uncertain, like throwing a sieve – it's all up to fate.

Those who were lucky were treated as family by their masters, who allowed them to marry and have children, and to live a normal life in their masters' homes.

Those with bad luck were treated like livestock by their masters, who would scold and beat them at will. Maids were taken as their own by their masters, or forced to serve guests, or given away as playthings.

Judging from Lu Jun's speech and demeanor, she should be the former.

However, they were still wrong...

Lu Jun is the third type.

After finishing his opening remarks, he suddenly said, "My rules are different from others, let's make an agreement."

It turned out to be a case of polite persuasion before resorting to force... The six servants' hearts skipped a beat, and their smiles vanished instantly.

Some people appear gentle on the surface, but are actually very strict and can be frightening when they get angry. I think this is the type of person.

Yingniang and Yanniang glanced at Lu Jun out of the corner of their eyes, feeling secretly disappointed and worried about themselves.

Male servants and cooks earn their living through their skills, while I, though I learned reading, playing musical instruments, and needlework in the inner palace, may not be the kind of people my master values...

Whether the master is of good character or not is truly important.

They each clasped their hands together and held their breath.

"The rules for entering and exiting the inner and outer courtyards, as well as the rules for deception and theft, are the same in every mansion, so I won't go into them."

"Just two things..."

"First of all, I am an official of the imperial court. If anyone asks you about me in order to find out secrets, remember, you must not say a word to anyone."

"If you speak, I may be punished, and you, as household slaves, will be torn to pieces!"

"Therefore, if I find out that anyone is disloyal or doesn't keep their word, I will punish them severely!"

"Secondly, you are not allowed to accept anything from outsiders, regardless of its weight or quantity!"

"Taking bribes is a serious crime, and it will implicate me as well. I absolutely will not allow it!"

"Did you hear that?"

Lu Jun's face was tense. She raised her chin, revealing a resolute line, and her gaze was stern, like the scorching sun shining down.

His tone was extremely stern; this was the first time he had spoken like this since arriving in the Tang Dynasty.

After the incident with Jiang Qianshi, he realized that he had already encountered a formidable enemy as soon as he entered officialdom.

The other party holds a high position and is a close relative of the emperor. They see me as an ant and I will definitely be upset if I lose face.

If you can set one trap, you can set another.

We need to take precautions in advance.

After hearing those words, the six servants respectfully replied in unison, "Yes, sir."

In fact, most official families would mention those two rules, but the contrast of hearing them from the mouth of a handsome young man gave people an eerie feeling.

The servants felt the burning gazes and dared not look up; their throats felt dry.

I thought I had met a kind owner, but the greater my expectations, the greater my disappointment.

Yingniang and Yanniang exchanged a timid glance, then held each other's hands even tighter.

Lu Jun smiled slightly, her eyebrows and eyes suddenly relaxed, and her kind expression returned.

"Alright, there should be both punishment and reward."

"If you are diligent and conscientious at home and can keep your promise, I will release you to good status after ten years."

"From this day forward, you will never be slaves for all your lives, and your descendants will all be good men."

"If you still wish to stay at home then, I will continue to employ you and pay you wages monthly."

what--

A gasp of surprise echoed through the front yard.

The six servants, who had been looking down at the ground and not daring to look at their master, raised their eyes at the same time, but stood there motionless as if struck by lightning, their faces stiff.

Gradually, the stiffness melted away with the blood, and her eyes began to moisten, turning a deep red.

His lips trembled more and more, but he couldn't utter a single word.

I can't believe it's true.

Servants were all of low social status, born from being captured in war, having ancestors who had committed serious crimes, or being implicated in crimes and confiscated; nobody wanted to be one.

Conversely, those who buy servants or are given servants treat them as valuables, and no one would easily discard them.

Unless a servant performs a great service for his master, there has never been a case of anyone being willing to release a servant from prison.

Is my husband really serious?

"I will write down the rules and post them in the inner hall. I will never break my word. Let's get to work." Lu Jun waved his hand.

He was not a saint; since he had earned the servants through their own merit, he certainly wouldn't release them immediately.

But his conscience from later generations reminded him that people should have equal opportunities, and that a hopeless life is painful.

Give them ten years to fight for their freedom. If they can do it, they will still be young ten years from now.

This is hope.

In fact, Uncle Zhong was not a slave. Although he called himself an old slave, he was actually an old servant who voluntarily followed the Lu family. Everyone in the Lu family treated him as family.

Ten years from now, as long as these people are willing to stay, Lu Jun will naturally open the door.

wow——

The six servants immediately dispersed.

The master did not give any instructions on what to do, but they got to work, carried the rewards into the inner quarters, gathered together for a moment to discuss, and then each found something to do.

Ade led his horse to the stable, received some copper coins from Lu Jun, and went to the South Market to buy hay, firewood, and vegetables.

Liu Da went to find tools for the house and tidied up the front courtyard, guest rooms, storerooms, and gatehouse, cleaning the house.

Bai San, holding the token for collecting stipend rice, helped his master retrieve the stipend rice from Hanjia Granary.

Jiu Niang entered the inner courtyard and tidied up the kitchen, then used water to wash the main hall, side rooms, courtyard, and east toilet.

One of the maids, Yingniang, was responsible for tidying up the master's room, clothes, and bedding, while the other was responsible for cleaning the garden.

The house was very large, and it would take at least three or four days to clean it up, but they seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

A smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"All we're missing is a butler..."

Lu Jun was very satisfied with the group and prepared to personally ride to Luhun to bring Uncle Zhong over to enjoy a life of luxury.

Bang bang bang, bang bang bang... The door knocker sounded, and guests had already arrived even though we had just moved into our new home.

It was Feng Yan, the steward of Princess Taiping's household.

"Lu Lang's house is nice! Why didn't you say you wanted to rent it sooner? Don't you consider me a friend...?"

"If you had told me earlier, two thousand dollars could have rented a bigger and better-maintained place."

Feng Yan sat down with a smile, mysteriously, without explaining why he was qualified to rent a bigger and better place.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he blinked and said, "The princess asked me to question Lu Lang about why he hasn't gone to the princess's residence to see her."

Lu Jun explained, "I wanted to settle in first, prepare some generous gifts, and then formally visit to express my gratitude another day."

"Haha, why would the princess want Lu Lang's gift?" Feng Yan laughed. "Just send her."

That last sentence is worrying...

Feng Yan immediately stood up: "I am here on a mission today. The princess has kindly invited me to the banquet, and I cannot let her down, otherwise I will not be able to explain myself."

"Go today?" Lu Jun asked, inexplicably nervous.

Feng Yan nodded: "I'll go today."