Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

The night is deep.

Deep courtyard.

It should have been an extremely quiet scene, but at this moment it was crowded with people and brightly lit.

The red lion was surrounded by the guards holding torches. Looking down from the upper floor, it seemed as if it was trapped in a huge circle of fire. Yin Kaishan was a famous brave general in his early years, so many of the guards in his family were from the military, skilled in archery and horse riding, and better than ordinary soldiers. At this moment, the guards were not afraid of the fierce lion, but could draw their bows and aim and shoot arrows.

Tens of thousands of arrows were fired at once, densely packed like a swarm of locusts. The lion ran, roared, and banged its head, unable to dodge. The arrows landed on its flaming fur, but there was no sound of sharp weapons entering flesh, but rather a crisp sound of tinkling.

The red lion could not break out of the encirclement, and the guards surrounding it could not hurt it either. They could only rely on their numbers to slowly exhaust the strength of this strange beast. As the sky gradually turned pale, more and more servants gathered and surrounded the lion. They were divided into three shifts under the command of the captain and took turns shooting arrows.

The red lion's strength was fading, and seeing that there was no hope of breaking out, he suddenly rolled on the ground and turned into a red-clothed barbarian, shouting loudly: "No more fighting, no more fighting, I surrender!"

In the flickering flames, Wen Jiao saw that he was extremely tall, with red hair and blue eyes. She couldn't help but exclaimed, "Huh?" Wasn't this the Hu man who performed magic at the Princess Xiangyang's banquet that day?

As soon as Yin Kaishan got up, he heard a report from his subordinates that a big lion had entered his beloved daughter's yard. He was so scared that he almost asked for leave from the morning court. He was ready to kill Wanhua Tower with dirty shoes. Madam Yin yelled at him: "If something really happened to Mantangjiao, how could the subordinates tell you at this hour? Go to court immediately and don't delay the business. It will be bad if Wei Zheng reports you. That madman is too desperate. All the old party members of Jiancheng are now behaving themselves. He bites whoever he catches. Even the emperor dares not to provoke him. It's really strange."

Madam Yin was very calm when she advised Yin Kaishan. After sending Yin Kaishan away, she immediately rushed to Wanhua Tower. As soon as she entered the door, she asked anxiously, "Where is Mantangjiao? Was she not frightened? How did the lion get in through the door? Are the gate openers and patrollers blind?"

After a series of questions, she saw Wen Jiao dressed neatly and sitting upright on a chair. Opposite her stood a woman in red, with her head down, like she was tied up like a dumpling, and she looked like she was being interrogated. Madam Yin looked closely and saw that the woman was tall, with a slightly dark complexion, round eyes, and fiery red lips. She was very charming and beautiful.

"Mantangjiao, who is this female thief and when was she caught?" Madam Yin couldn't help but ask.

Wen Jiao spent a second struggling over how to explain, and the next second she gave up completely and decided to tell the truth: "Mom, I think you heard that a lion broke into Wanhua Tower last night and was caught by the servants."

Madam Yin nodded, "At least they didn't slack off. Even though the lion sneaked into your yard without anyone noticing, they finally caught it and gave you only a false alarm. I have asked people to reward them with the best titles. I heard that it was Suxin, the girl beside you, who risked her life to rush out and shout? This girl is very loyal. I will give her my pair of precious gold bracelets as a reward, and also give her two pieces of cloth to make clothes."

Su Xin hurried forward to thank her for the reward. Wen Jiao's heart moved, and she took the opportunity to say, "Mother, Su Xin not only saved my daughter last night, but also saved everyone in the entire Wanhua Tower. This is a great contribution. I want to give her an extra reward in addition to the reward."

"Oh? How do you mean to reward?" Mrs. Yin was curious.

"Except for her slave status." Wen Jiao said regretfully, "It's a pity that there is no one at home, otherwise she could be released and reunited with her family."

Unlike the employment relationship between modern nannies and housekeepers, in ancient times, maids were slaves of their masters, and their lives and deaths were determined by their masters' moods. Even if the imperial court advocated benevolence and justice and did not allow the killing of slaves, it was still the master's business to decide how to do it. If someone died, they would just find an excuse such as being seriously ill or running away, and unless someone reported it, it would be covered up.

In addition to not being able to control their own lives, domestic slaves were not allowed to own private property or land, nor to do business privately. Not only did everything they owned belong to the master, but their descendants were also domestic slaves. Like Qingwen in "Dream of Red Mansions", she received monthly wages, clothes and jewelry from the government all year round, and rewards from her master. She was also a maid who could wear gold and silver, eat delicious food, and was more respectable than the ladies of small families. Once she was disliked by Mrs. Wang, she would be carried out alive when she was sick. Except for her underwear, she was not allowed to take away the savings from years of slavery. Even her previous clothes had to be left behind "for the good maids to wear."

What is "sucking the marrow out of the bones"? This is called "sucking the marrow out of the bones". The cruelty of slavery is hard for modern people to imagine. Unless the master removes the slave, as a domestic slave, there will be no chance of turning over.

Wen Jiao had long intended to remove the slave status of the maids in the room, but she had never found a suitable opportunity. This time, by chance, she could release one. Of course, removing the slave status does not mean dismissing Su Xin. The living standard of the maids in the prime minister's mansion was beyond the reach of ordinary people in that era. Before Su Xin found a better future, she could continue to be a maid by her side, but this time it would be more like a modern employment relationship. All of Su Xin's income could legally belong to her, instead of being deprived of everything by the master's words "you are not allowed to take it away".

Su Xin was so excited that her face was full of spring. When she received the reward from Madam Yin just now, she just bowed to accept it. This time, she knelt down and kowtowed three times. The other maids also congratulated her, their eyes full of envy.

Madam Yin also felt that her daughter handled the situation very well, and pulled out another pearl hairpin: "Returning to a good family is a great joy, this hairpin can be considered as a gift to you." Seeing Su Xin accept it with a smile, Madam Yin turned her attention back to the woman in red, "I was off topic just now, Mantangjiao, how did this female thief come here?"

Wen Jiao said: "Mother, you also heard that a lion broke into Wanhua Tower last night."

Madam Yin said angrily, "How dare you say that! You should have sent someone to report to me and your father last night. I heard from them that you stopped them from reporting to us? Don't you know that we woke up early and heard about this in our sleepy state? You almost scared us to death!"

"It's my daughter's fault. I won't dare to hide it from my parents next time." Wen Jiao admitted her mistake decisively, then pointed at the woman in red and said weakly, "She is the lion."

The woman in red gave Mrs. Yin an awkward but friendly smile.