Chapter 43: The New Mansion (Part 2)

  At this time, inside the highland house, there were already eight people, four men and four women, all kneeling on the ground.

  Gao Yuan furrowed his brow. He was still very unaccustomed to others kneeling before him, so he said: "All of you get up. From now on, when you see me, there's no need to kneel."

  Eight people stood up, divided into two sides, but all lowered their heads and didn't dare to look at Gao Yuan face-to-face. They were all in a state of honest fear, but Gao Yuan also knew that this habit couldn't be changed overnight. Still, it was slightly more pleasing than kneeling before him.

  At this time, Geng Zhong's expression was also somewhat tense, and he said: "What does your lordship think of these people?"

  Actually, all eight of them hung their heads in shame, and Gao Yuan couldn't see their faces clearly at all. He could only roughly make out that none of these people were very old, the women were all under twenty years old, and the men were all around twenty years old, not exceeding twenty-five years old. It wasn't good to let them all lift their heads up and look at him clearly either, so Gao Yuan nodded and said: "Let's just have everyone stay for now, and work by my side for a while before we talk about anything else."

  Geng Zhong also showed a delighted expression and hastily said to those eight people: "Quickly, don't you quickly thank the adult?"

  Eight people also said in unison: "Thank you, sir."

  "Is anyone among you literate?" Gaoyuan asked, thinking to himself that if they were going to work by his side, reading and writing were unavoidable skills. In this era, China's literacy rate was not high, probably less than one percent. If they couldn't read or write, he would have to find someone to teach them, so it was best to ask first.

  Everyone listened and looked at each other in dismay, no one answered. At this time, a maid slightly raised her head, glanced at Geng Zhong, and after getting his confirmation, she said softly: "Replying to the master, I can read."

  Just now when she raised her head, Gao Yuan finally saw her face clearly, and found that she was about 17 or 18 years old. Although her clothes were simple, her eyebrows and eyes were very delicate, and compared to Li Yinghong, she was only slightly inferior. Although she lacked a few points of heroic spirit, she had more feminine tenderness, and her temperament was also extremely beautiful, making her an extremely beautiful young girl. Compared to those twenty songstresses, she was not at all inferior.

  Gao Yuan was also slightly surprised, not expecting to find such a beautiful woman among the maids. It seemed that Geng Zhong was indeed very capable. Although Gao Yuan didn't place much importance on women, he still had an appreciation for beauty, and seeing a lovely maiden made him feel more pleased. So he asked: "What's your name?"

  The maid said: "My name is Yuanyan."

  Her voice was soft and delicate, very pleasant to hear. Gaoyuan asked again: "Can you read? Can you write?"

  Yu Yan said: "Report to the master, my father... was a teacher, so when I was young, my father taught me for several years, so I can read and write."

  Gao Yuan smiled and said: "What kind of books did you read before?"

  Yu Yan said: "There are [Analects], [Spring and Autumn Annals], [Book of Songs]."

  Gao Yuan thought for a moment, then said: "You've read the Book of Songs, can you recite one poem?" Because among these three books, Gao Yuan was still somewhat familiar with the Book of Songs and knew several poems, but he was completely ignorant of the Spring and Autumn Annals, and only knew a few sentences from the Analects like "Among three people walking together, there must be one who can be my teacher". Therefore, he could only ask Yu Yan to recite the Book of Songs.

  She thought for a moment, then opened her mouth and sang softly: "You gave me a calabaza, I'll repay you with a jade zither. If not repaid, it will be considered good forever! You gave me a peach, I'll repay you with a jade ornament. If not repaid, it will be considered good forever! You gave me a plum, I'll repay you with a jade pendant. If not repaid, it will be considered good forever!"

  This song is called "Melon", it's one of the poems in "The Book of Songs, Guofeng, Zhengfeng" and was popular in the State of Wei area. It's a love song that describes a couple giving each other tokens of their affection. The idiom "to return peach for plum" also originated from this poem. Gaoyuan didn't know the origin of the poem but could roughly understand its meaning. Actually, he just wanted to test Yuyan to see if she had really read "The Book of Songs", so he didn't delve deeper into the meaning of the poem.

  Gao Yuan asked: "Where is your father now? Why are you serving as a maid in this mansion?"

  Yuanyan opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to speak but hesitating. At this time, Geng Zhong said from the side: "Reporting to Your Excellency, Yuanyan's parents have already passed away. She sold herself to bury her father, which is why she entered this mansion. Now, she has no relatives left." Yuanyan also lowered her head and softly murmured in agreement.

  Gao Yuan also felt a little sympathy for her, and said: "Okay, you can stay. From today on, you will be responsible for teaching these few people to read and write." He then turned to the other seven people and said: "You all need to study hard too, because when working by my side, one must know how to read and write. I hope that within three months, they can learn some basic reading and writing skills. Study diligently with Yu Yan."

  Seven people said in unison: "Yes."

  The remaining three women were nothing, but the four men were overjoyed, so the literacy rate in this era was very low, and people who could read and write were extremely rare. As long as they could read and write, no matter where they went, they wouldn't have to worry about finding food, and they might even find opportunities to make a name for themselves. Ordinary civilians found it difficult to have the conditions to learn to read and write, let alone servants, but Gao Yuan giving them the opportunity to learn to read with Yu Yan was an extremely rare chance.

  Gao Yuan nodded and waved his hand, saying: "Alright, you all go down and rest now."

  Everyone responded and, under Geng Zhong's leadership, retreated one after another. Gao Yuan also turned around and got into bed, just about to rest, when he saw Yu Yan still standing at the door, hesitant to enter. The room door had already been closed. Gao Yuan found it a bit strange and asked: "Yu Yan, do you have something else?"

  Only to see Yu Yan's face flush with a layer of red, biting her lip, taking a few steps forward, and tremblingly saying: "Slave... slave wants to serve the master before... before bed." After finishing speaking, her head had already lowered to her chest, and even her ears were blushing.

  Gao Yuan finally understood, it turned out that this little girl was trying to offer herself as a concubine, to warm his bed. Thinking about it, it wasn't strange at all, he was now the Grand Minister of Zhao State, very young, unmarried, and everyone in the mansion, from top to bottom, were like his private property, he could take or give as he pleased. For a maid like Yu Yan, she only had a chance to rise through his favor when she still had some beauty left, it was her only way up. Otherwise, she would either be given away to someone else or assigned to another family member after growing old and losing her looks.

  At this time, Yu Yan had already walked to the front of Gao Yuan, stretched out her hand to help Gao Yuan take off his clothes and untie his belt, but both hands were trembling, and breathing also became urgent, showing that she was very nervous in her heart, it seemed that she had never served a man before.

  Kougen found it somewhat amusing, but he wanted to see how far she would go. After all, Kougen was also a normal man, and having been in this era for over three months without being with a woman, despite having some feelings for Li Yinghong, her status was different and they were still far from developing a real romantic relationship. Therefore, Kougen's heart had some desires in that regard. Moreover, since Yu Yan was essentially his private property, even if he were to push her down, it would be a natural thing, and for Yu Yan, it might just be what she hoped for. So Kougen remained still, allowing Yu Yan to grab onto his collar.

  Although Yu Yan had already grabbed the collar of Gao Yuan's clothes, she was so tense that she didn't know how to move. At this time, the two people were even closer together. Yu Yan felt a manly aura emanating from Gao Yuan's body, which made her heart beat faster and her face feel hot. Suddenly, her legs went weak and she fell into Gao Yuan's arms.

  The plateau subconsciously clasped his hands together, and suddenly hugged Jade Swallow. But Jade Swallow let out a sudden sharp cry, her body completely stiffened, her hands grasping the plateau's shoulders, shaking violently, her beautiful eyes tightly closed, two rows of tears had already flowed down her cheeks. The plateau also felt somewhat unexpected, it seemed that this little girl was not only nervous, but also seemed to be afraid. It didn't seem like she came willingly to serve in bed. Could it be said that Geng Zhong forced her to come?

  Although Gao Yuan also knew that if he took the initiative now, he could easily make Yu Yan submit to him. However, looking at Yu Yan's expression, it seemed that she was not too willing, which greatly reduced Gao Yuan's interest. Although Gao Yuan had not married before crossing over, he did have experience with women and had a girlfriend before, sometimes also finding temporary companions, but they were all consensual and would never force the other party. Despite knowing that Yu Yan would not resist him.

  Gao Yuan held Yu Yan in his arms and lay her down on the bed, wiping away the tears from her face. Yu Yan opened her eyes, looking at Gao Yuan with some confusion. Although she was still an innocent woman, she had some understanding of men and women's matters. In her mind, at this time, Gao Yuan should have put himself on top of her and started possessing her body. But she didn't expect Gao Yuan to treat her like this, and her heart couldn't help but feel a little moved.

  Gao Yuan Dao: "If you don't want to, then forget it, no need to force yourself."

  Yu Yan was taken aback for a moment, then hastily said: "No, sir, I am willing."

  Gao Yuan gently scratched her small nose and smiled: "Look at how tense you are, and yet you're crying. If you were willing, why would you cry?"

  Yu Yan suddenly became anxious and said: "No, sir, I really am willing. I'll come and help you change your clothes right away." As she spoke, she struggled to get up and help Gao Yuan change his clothes.

  Gao Yuan grasped her hand and said, "Is it Ge Zhong who told you to do this?"

  Yu Yan's face lost color, and she hastily said: "No, no, this has nothing to do with Zhongbo, it was I who volunteered, it was really I who volunteered to serve the master. Master, please don't blame Zhongbo, Zhongbo did it for my own good."

  Gaoyuan saw her so tense and didn't seem to be forced by Geng Zhong, so he said: "Alright, I won't blame him, you can get up too, you don't have to attend to me tonight."

  Yu Yan was taken aback and said: "Could it be that you, sir, think Yu Yan's appearance is not good?"

  Gao Yuan helped her up from his embrace, smiling: "I think you're not ready yet today, let's do it another day. Go rest, when you feel ready, come serve me in bed again. Anyway, you'll be mine sooner or later, and there's no escape."

  At this time, Yu Yan also knew that she would definitely not be able to serve the emperor in bed tonight. She stood up, seemingly letting out a sigh of relief, but feeling a little disappointed in her heart. She bowed to Gao Yuan and said, "Your Majesty should rest early, I'll retire first." After finishing speaking, she retreated and went out.