[The Legend of Jiangshan] Chapter 1: Historians in History

In the first year of the Wanli reign, 1573, the ten-year-old Zhu Yijun, the Wanli Emperor, ascended the throne, becoming the most powerful child emperor in the land.

Of course, the young and inexperienced Wanli Emperor couldn't do as he pleased. After all, he had a strict mother above him and the ever-present, patriotic Zhang Juzheng under his command. If these two found out about his misbehavior, the result would certainly be a reprimand and a beating, with no reward whatsoever.

Far away in the capital, Zhu Yijun's life wasn't easy, and neither was Chen Zhao, also ten years old. Chen Zhao's room was now filled with maids, the youngest eleven or twelve, the oldest no more than thirteen or fourteen, each with their own unique charm. Chen Zhao sat awkwardly on the bed, one of the bolder maids already sitting beside him, giggling and blowing fragrant breezes into his ear while touching his thigh.

Chen Zhao cursed his father a thousand times over in his heart. "I'm only ten years old! This is such a stimulating orgy so early. Wouldn't most kids be scared into being impotent for life?"

Chen Zhao, courtesy name Hufeng, was born into a landlord family in Renhe County, Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. Chen Zhao's ancestor was the chief of logistics in Zhu Yuanzhang's uprising army, which is to put it bluntly, he was the head cook. When Zhu Yuanzhang captured Nanjing, Chen Zhao's ancestor did not go north with the army. Instead, he took the land he was allocated and became a landlord in Hangzhou Prefecture. This ancestor of the Chen family followed a wise ruler and happily enjoyed a carefree life for more than ten years. Only when he was about to die did he remember that he had not asked for a generational title for his descendants.

As fate would have it, the Chen family, especially the landowning family, had been a single-son lineage for eight generations by the time of Chen Zhao. Each generation either had five, six, or even seven or eight girls born before the arrival of a boy, or the boy died young. In short, for two hundred years, no matter how hard each generation of the Chen family head worked, the entire family had only one heir.

When Chen Zhao was born, his father, Chen Ba Nu, who was slightly intellectually challenged, was overjoyed. He traveled to a well-known Buddhist temple in Hangzhou, far away, to ask for a name. The head monk, upon hearing the name, said, "Oh, you want your family to prosper, and there are no generational restrictions, so let's name him Chen Hu Feng."

Chen Ba Nu, who couldn't read a single character, had the head monk write the name on a piece of Xuan paper, put it in his pocket, and rushed home to show it to his father, Chen Zhao's grandfather, who was literate.

Chen Ba Nu rushed back, only to be caught in a thunderstorm in Jiangnan. Without an umbrella, the Xuan paper on which she had written her name got soaked, making the writing barely legible. Chen Zhao's grandfather gave Chen Ba Nu a severe beating, then stroked his beard and stared at the paper for a long time, mistaking the characters "Hu Feng" for "Zhao." Thus, Chen Zhao became known as Chen Zhao.

Later, on his deathbed, Chen Zhao's grandfather suddenly remembered, "Could it be that the paper said 'Chen Hu Feng'?" The old man thought, "I can't let the Chen family line continue," and so Chen Zhao's courtesy name became "Hu Feng."

Having introduced our male protagonist's background, his predicament remains unresolved. He's now been gently pushed down onto the bed by a young maid. His feet feel cold, presumably because his shoes have been removed. Chen Zhao's face flushes red. Looking up, he unfortunately sees his father lewdly grinning and peeking at him from outside the window, seemingly eyeing his future grandson. Chen Zhao shouts, shoving aside the maids who are practically pressing against him, and runs barefoot out.

"You unfilial son! Where are you going!" Chen Ba Nu shouts at her son's retreating back.

"Father, I'm still young!" Chen Zhao shouts as he runs into the courtyard.

"Young my foot! When I was your age, I already had two wives!" Chen Ba Nu quickly chases after him. The father and son, completely unrefined, stage a chase scene in the courtyard. Chen Zhao's maids all peek out from their rooms, making the Chen family compound incredibly lively.

It's not surprising that Chen Zhao's father was anxious for Chen Zhao to continue the family line. After all, the Chen family had faced many perilous times, and if they hadn't started having children early, the Chen family might not have even had a single heir

in that generation. Many readers have asked, at ten years old, shouldn't he understand things about men and women, be interested in them, and have women guiding him? If Chen Zhao wasn't gay, he should have been happy to indulge in the gentle embrace of women, so why was he so resistant?

Actually, Chen Zhao's soul had already died. The soul in his body was that of a modern person who had transmigrated.

I won't introduce the name of this guy in modern society, or the bizarre reason for his death, but he died, and his soul transmigrated into Chen Zhao's body. This guy was a historian in modern times. After transmigrating, he looked at his clothes and went outside to see the scenery, and immediately realized that he had returned to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

After transmigrating, Chen Zhao took a few days to adapt to his new environment. With the intelligence of a historian, he managed to avoid being discovered by his adoptive father. Once he was comfortable with his new identity, he quickly realized that the current dynasty was the Ming Dynasty, a time of great prosperity. His family background was quite good; they owned large tracts of land in the wealthy Jiangnan region, placing them among the upper echelons of the landlord class. The heads of the Chen family were not frugal; they were nouveau riche who spent money extravagantly and incurred many unnecessary expenses. However, each generation of the Chen family had several daughters who married into official families, establishing kinship ties with minor officials in the surrounding area. Therefore, even some officials in Renhe County were happy to give the Chen family some face.

Chen Zhao himself was spoiled and pampered from a young age. His mother, second aunt, third aunt, and fourth aunt (see note 1 for details on Ming Dynasty landlords taking concubines) constantly surrounded him. The Chen family was already dominated by women, and with several maids and various female elders, Chen Zhao felt like he had fallen into a den of women after transmigrating.

Chen Zhao was a modern man with an adult's mind, but his body was that of a ten-year-old child. He knew very well that if he started indulging in unrestrained pleasures now, he would weaken rapidly in the future, and his sexual ability might not even be fully developed. That's why he vehemently rejected his father's "kindness."

After running away from home and finally escaping his awful father, Chen Zhao lay down beside a waterwheel, looking at the approaching night sky, listening to the rumbling of the waterwheel, his thoughts drifting far away.

It's difficult to describe Chen Zhao's feelings. He was resurrected from the dead and transmigrated into a wealthy landowning family in ancient times. His father doted on him, and his six concubines treated him like royalty. He had no worries about food, drink, women, or property—wasn't this exactly what Chen Zhao had been pursuing before his death?

But Chen Zhao couldn't be happy.

As a historian, Chen Zhao knew what the future held. It was the first year of the Wanli era, Emperor Shenzong of Ming had just ascended the throne, and his birth mother, Empress Dowager Li, was still in charge of the government. Before long, Zhang Juzheng would begin to implement his policies, reforming the entire country and attempting to fundamentally improve the Ming Dynasty's system and resolve the numerous internal conflicts. However, Zhang Juzheng could not have imagined that under the existing political system, no matter how hard he tried, he could only give the already wounded Ming Dynasty a temporary reprieve. The wheels of history rolled on, and during the Wanli era, China only briefly remained at the pinnacle of the world before falling behind Western countries at an alarming rate, and then experiencing a period of humiliation.

Chen Zhao was incredibly sensitive to years; he could effortlessly convert calendars from around the world to the Gregorian calendar, and he could recite historical events by heart. Emperor Shenzong of Ming reigned for forty-eight years, after which the Ming Dynasty descended into widespread peasant uprisings. At that time, Chen Zhao was already fifty-eight years old. When Li Zicheng captured Beijing in 1664, Chen Zhao, if still alive, would have been ninety-one. One

could say that Chen Zhao would have lived a relatively peaceful life, and even with his longevity, he would only have encountered war and chaos in his later years.

But should Chen Zhao really have lived such a life of debauchery and extravagance? This was, in fact, Chen Zhao's inner conflict.

Chen Zhao's high school history teacher was a radical youth. Radical youths aren't scary; what's scary is a radical youth with culture. When this history teacher lectured on China's modern history, a period marked by foreign aggression, he spoke with incredible passion and fervor. But mere passion and fervor wouldn't have captured the interest of high school students; he also quoted extensively from classical texts, drawing on a wide range of sources, making each historical story more captivating than the last. History was Chen Zhao's most anticipated class.

After finishing the modern history course, Chen Zhao and a large group of his classmates were essentially assimilated by their history teacher. They all gritted their teeth at the mention of modern history, wishing they had been born a hundred years earlier to participate in the great era of change and contribute to China's rise.

After graduating from high school, Chen Zhao resolutely chose history as his major, putting into practice the phrase his high school history teacher constantly repeated, "Learn from history to understand rise and fall," and embarking on a journey to find the broad road of history.

Upon arriving in the Ming Dynasty, Chen Zhao was initially excited, believing himself to be a prescient transmigrator who would guide the dynasty to the pinnacle of power. However, after careful consideration, he pessimistically realized he was powerless. Becoming

an examiner? Impossible.

Chen Zhao knew the Ming Dynasty's officialdom intimately. Even a righteous and incorruptible official like Hai Rui was not readily employed by Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary. Instead, the government preferred corrupt officials who were better at navigating unspoken rules and maneuvering. From this alone, Chen Zhao knew that as the son of a landlord, without genuine talent, becoming an official was extremely difficult. Even with talent, he would struggle to achieve great things in the Ming Dynasty's bureaucracy.

Going into business? Perhaps he could become incredibly wealthy, but achieving great things was unlikely.

The Ming Dynasty already had the concept of "three religions and nine streams," which, from highest to lowest status, were: emperor, scholars, officials, doctors, monks and Taoists, soldiers, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants. This clearly shows the low status of merchants in the Ming Dynasty; even farmers and craftsmen felt superior to them.

Rebellion? Forget it.

The peasant leaders who rose up during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty died tragically. The Ming Dynasty now had arquebusiers, and more cannons and other weapons of mass destruction than the West. How could swords and red-tasseled spears possibly defeat the Liaoning Iron Cavalry and the Divine Machine Battalion of the Ming Dynasty?

After understanding the situation, Chen Zhao could only sigh to the heavens. He, as a time traveler, was probably going to embarrass all time travelers. However, he was only ten years old; perhaps some opportunity would arise in the future, and maybe he would even be made a king or a prime minister?

Chen Zhao was lost in thought when he suddenly heard some unsettling noises coming from inside the watermill. It was already getting late, and Chen Zhao felt a chill run down his spine. However, having died once, he was now a bit bolder. He tiptoed closer to the watermill and peered inside, his eyes widening in shock.

"You idiot, I haven't even called out yet, and you're already..."

The bearing connecting the watermill to the mill had been removed. A voluptuous woman was lying on the millstone, her buttocks raised. Behind her stood a naked, muscular man, one hand lifting the woman's coarse cloth skirt, the other supporting her white buttocks. His thick penis was thrusting in and out of her vagina. The man's pubic hair was thick and black, creating a striking contrast with the woman's white buttocks, quite eye-catching.

"That's only because it feels too good inside..." the man said, squinting as he vibrated his hips. "Show the top."

The woman glared at him, telling him to be careful not to leave red marks, and then obediently pulled open her upper garment. A pair of white, tender breasts immediately sprang out, swaying in rhythm with her body's movements. The man's gaze was instantly drawn to them. He couldn't wait to reach out and grab one breast, playing with it. The moderately sized breast changed shape constantly in his dark hands, and the nipples quickly became erect, rosy and seemingly ready to squeeze out milk. The woman felt the firm thrusting inside her vagina while enjoying the man's caresses. The two of them lost in their mutual desires.

"Wow! Isn't that woman Li's wife? She's actually having an affair with a tenant farmer from the east village..." Chen Zhao thought to himself, "Growing up in modern times, I've never had the chance to spy on others having sex or cheating. Modern people who cheat would hide it in a bank safe deposit box unless they were foolish enough to film it for posterity. Otherwise, it's very difficult to be discovered. Unlike in ancient times, when lovers were in the throes of passion, they would just get down to business right there in the watermill. How exciting!"

These two women having an affair were farmers working for the Chen family. Chen Zhao had often dealt with the Chen family and had met them once before. In the

Ming Dynasty, the peasant class, or the tenant farmers of landlords, actually had a relatively high status. Ming Dynasty law clearly stipulated that landlords could not use their status to oppress their tenant farmers, could not default on taxes, and could not forcibly conscript them for labor or farming. Otherwise, they would be treated like servants. Therefore, the relationship between these tenant farmers and landlords was essentially one of employment (see note 2 for details).

In the prosperous Jiangnan region, tenant farmers enjoyed a more secure life, and their primary concern was simply having enough to eat and wear. As the saying goes, "when people are well-fed and warm, lust arises,

" and people in the Ming Dynasty had relatively open views on sex, unlike the sexual oppression and control of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Chen Zhao wasn't surprised by this scene. "Hey, Chen Zhao!"

Chen Zhao was engrossed in his reading when a sudden voice behind him startled him

so much he almost screamed. "Don't yell, keep watching." The voice seemed both near and far, as if right next to him, yet its location was unclear. The tone was flat, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female, and the words lacked emotion. Chen Zhao panicked even more and quickly turned around, but there was nothing behind him.

"Oh dear, I told you not to look back! I exist within your sea of consciousness; you can't see me."

Chen Zhao was, after all, a transmigrator, and had some immunity to such supernatural situations. If Chen Zhao were the original eldest son of a landlord family, he would probably have been terrified.

"Who are you?" Chen Zhao asked in a low voice. Inside the mill, the couple was passionately engaged in their lovemaking. The man's face was flushed, his neck was thick, and he was panting heavily, clearly on the verge of ejaculation. The woman gripped the millstone tightly with both hands, her two fair thighs trembling uncontrollably. The two were completely absorbed in their passion, staring at each other's faces with hazy eyes, as if trying to imprint the image of the other's climax in their minds forever. Their bodies were colliding wildly, enjoying the ecstasy of their physical union, completely unaware of Chen Zhao's voice outside.

"Who I am isn't important, what's important is that I can help you," the voice in Chen Zhao's mind said. "Don't rush to ask, you won't know for sure right now anyway, just watch the show!"

Chen Zhao's heart was still racing. He swallowed hard, turned his head slightly stiffly, and saw the man thrust forward suddenly, the woman screamed, and the man's hips slammed into the woman's buttocks. After holding the position for more than ten seconds, they both collapsed against the millstone, exhausted. The burly tenant farmer pulled his thick penis, covered in vaginal fluid, out of the woman's vagina. The woman's bright red vaginal opening immediately flowed out a white mixed liquid. The thick semen mixed with the vaginal fluid released during the woman's orgasm, creating a very lewd scene. The woman took a deep breath and used her hand to manipulate her labia below her clitoris, causing more vaginal fluid to flow out. As the tenant farmer watched the woman slowly cleaning her genitals, his penis involuntarily became erect again.

However, Chen Zhao had long since lost interest in everything before him. His mind was racing. Was that strange voice really existing in his head? And what was that thing? Even nanobots couldn't invade human thought, or was it some kind of ancient mythical deity or monster?

"Sigh, I told you to look carefully, but you didn't absorb anything. Never mind, let's leave. Let me introduce myself to you."

Chen Zhao thought to himself, "I was just about to leave. If you can really speak inside my head, then I should be able to hear this thing no matter where I go."

The couple inside the watermill were clearly not done yet. Taking advantage of their excitement, Chen Zhao secretly left the watermill and, after walking a short distance, immediately jogged back to his room. That voice, seemingly near yet far, and always the same size, rang out once again.

"Let's get straight to the point. My name is Mr. Shanshui, codename 'First Generation Call Girl'... Don't laugh! I chose the name myself, and the codename was given to me by that demigod with a perverse sense of humor. As for what I actually am... have you ever read any infinite flow novels?"

Chen Zhaoxian was almost amused by this self-proclaimed "Call Girl Number One" codename, but upon hearing "infinite flow novel," he jumped up from the bed and said, "Ah... I've read them. It's about traveling to parallel worlds, unlocking your genetic lock, and then exchanging abilities and items in the God's Space to continuously strengthen yourself, eventually gaining power surpassing that of a god..."

"You're quite knowledgeable. Since you know that, that makes things easier. Simply put, I'm a replica of the God." Mr. Shanshui's voice remained unchanged in tone, but a hint of pride was clearly detectable.

"Wh...what!? So, my time travel is to this era to complete a story mission, and then use story points to exchange for abilities here? When does the story start? The first year of Wanli, which is 1573, there aren't any major historical events that would affect the Jiangzhe region. Emperor Shenzong reigned for 47 years, and although there were a few peasant uprisings, they wouldn't affect me here..." Chen Zhao blurted out his thoughts with skepticism.

"Let me finish! I already said I'm a replica of the main god, I don't have the ability to take you through time and space to other parallel worlds, and there's no story point system here." "

Oh...even though there are no story points, you should at least be able to exchange for something for me, right? Can you exchange for abilities? Like flying on a sword, unparalleled martial arts..." Chen Zhao asked, drooling.

"Um... what you're saying, I can't."

"Huh? Then what kind of god are you? You can't even exchange these things, what use are you to me?" Chen Zhao's initial excitement was instantly extinguished.

"The only things I can exchange for you are things from the era before you traveled here. Magic, advanced technology, and items with divine power are theoretically exchangeable, but I haven't fully grasped these things myself, so I can't exchange them for you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao thought that even modern items would be incredible in ancient times, and immediately said with a smile, "You think you can just exchange them like that? Show me your abilities, otherwise I won't believe you."

To Chen Zhao's surprise, Mr. Shui Mu didn't hesitate at all, confidently saying, "No problem, hold out your hand, take a good look."

Chen Zhao's eyes widened, staring intently at his palm. Would it be a gun? Or a detailed map from the Ming Dynasty? Or just a cell phone...?

Suddenly, Chen Zhao felt a chill on his hand. He quickly snapped out of his reverie and looked closely. A paperclip lay in his palm.

"Damn it! What kind of garbage is this?!" Chen Zhao yelled, extremely dissatisfied with what Mr. Shanshui had given him.

"You wanted me to give you something modern, right? Look at this paperclip. There's absolutely no way such a thing existed in the Ming Dynasty. First, there was no stainless steel technology; second, there was no forging technology; and third, the tip of a paperclip couldn't be polished. This is a genuine product of modern light industry!"

Chen Zhao opened his mouth, continuing to argue, "I know all that, but other people's main characters at least start with a gun, or at least a Swiss Army knife. What is this?! Are you expecting me to use this paperclip for self-defense?"

“Oh dear, I wanted to give you something powerful and practical, but you haven’t been accumulating energy. I do have the guns you mentioned, but without energy, I can’t help you. The energy you’ve accumulated is only worth this paperclip, so this is all I can give you.”

Faced with Mr. Shanshui’s self-righteous explanation, Chen Zhao couldn’t continue to extort money. He pressed, “What is energy? How do I accumulate energy?”

Mr. Shanshui said, “Oh dear, after all this time, we’ve finally gotten to the point. The energy I can accept is called sexual energy, which is obtained through sexual desire and hormone secretion!”

Chen Zhao was stunned.

Three days later.

Since Chen Zhao ran away from home that day, Chen Ba Nu had been quite depressed. When her son returned that night, Chen Ba Nu did not force Chen Zhao to continue having sex. Chen Ba Nu placed great importance on the continuation of the Chen family line, and therefore closely monitored her only son's sexual development. When Chen Zhao was nine years old, a maidservant discovered he already had an erection while bathing him. Chen Ba Nu was very excited and resolved to find him a wife of equal social standing within a year. If she couldn't find a suitable wife, she would at least find maidservants to provide him with sexual enlightenment. She never expected her son to resist so strongly.

Just as Chen Ba Nu was sitting on a recliner in the Chen family courtyard, pondering how to handle this situation, Chen Zhao peeked into the courtyard from the gate and then walked to his father's side.

"Father, find me two obedient maidservants to be my personal attendants," Chen Zhao said.

Chen Banu, her face covered by a palm-leaf fan, sat swaying back and forth in a rocking chair. Hearing that her son was asking for something, she casually said, "No problem, just go find Steward Ma what you want..."

Before she could finish, she suddenly sat up abruptly, her face flushed with excitement, "Son! What do you want?"

Chen Zhao blushed. Asking his father for women was a first for him, a modern man. He coughed and said, "I want two personal maids."

Chen Banu slapped her thigh, exclaiming happily, "Hey! Son, you've finally figured it out! Want women? No problem! We have over ten maids, Xiaohua, Xiaocui, and Xiaoyu. Pick any you like, they're all big-bottomed and easy to raise..."

Chen Zhao quickly interrupted his father. He said, "Don't panic! Father, let me finish. I have conditions for taking these two maids."

Chen Ba Nu was taken aback and asked, "What conditions?"

Chen Zhao held up three fingers and said, "First, I want them to only listen to me. How I treat them is my business. Second, once they come with me, you can't take them back. Third, no peeping."

Upon hearing these three conditions, Chen Ba Nu immediately beamed and said, "Hey! I thought there were some conditions. It's simple. If I give them to you, they're yours. You can choose for yourself. What kind of person am I? How could I do something like peeping? Go on, go on!"

Chen Zhao rolled his eyes and didn't bother arguing with his eccentric father. He called the steward and headed towards the side courtyard of the Chen family compound.

Chen Ba Nu watched her son walk out of the main gate with a smile, but suddenly remembered his behavior and felt a little strange.

Chen Ba Nu's strange feeling stemmed from this: Children's speech is generally illogical, and Chen Zhao was the same when he was young, just playing around and shouting, doing whatever pleased him. But recently, his son's speech had become very organized. Just now, when he was negotiating with her, he even divided his demands into three points, putting the most important one first and the less important one last, demonstrating excellent logic. Therefore, Chen Ba Nu found it very pleasant to listen to.

Chen Ba Nu, being a nouveau riche, pondered for a long time but couldn't figure out what was wrong with his son. He fanned himself a couple of times with his palm-leaf fan, smiling to himself, thinking that perhaps his son had simply grown up.

The Chen family's architectural structure was already considered old-fashioned during the Wanli era. It was a three-courtyard structure, which meant that three large courtyards were built side by side. The main courtyard was in the middle, and the two side courtyards were on the left and right. The main courtyard was naturally where the Chen family patriarch, his wife, Chen Zhao, and Chen Zhao's many sisters lived. In the Ming Dynasty, the left was considered superior. The side courtyard to the left of the main courtyard was where the concubines of the Chen family patriarch, also known as Chen Ba Nu, lived, while the side courtyard to the right was where servants and stewards lived. Of course, this kind of residential rule was not strictly divided in every household. Some large families even had guards in the courtyard, and some family stewards were very close to the family and also lived in the main courtyard. It is hard to say for sure.

Chen Zhao was going to choose his concubine, so he naturally went to the courtyard on the right. This side courtyard was full of servants, and it had the strongest sense of daily life. There were dried fruits and clothes drying in the courtyard, bottles and jars in the corners, and paper-cut window decorations on the windows. After all, there were too many people living in this courtyard. There were nearly twenty maids and servants, eight of whom took care of Madam Chen and several concubines. The rest were all available for Chen Zhao to choose from.

Steward Ma, head bowed, followed behind Chen Zhao. As soon as Chen Zhao entered the courtyard, Steward Ma immediately shouted, "Young Master is here to choose his personal maid!"

This shout caused an uproar in the courtyard. More than a dozen girls stopped what they were doing and rushed to Chen Zhao, each hoping to catch his eye. Some of the maids, more thoughtful, had gone back to their rooms to tidy themselves before joining the competition. Steward Ma quickly stepped forward, saying, "Don't push! Line up neatly for the young master."

The girls then began vying for the center position, and it took quite a while to arrange them.

A row of girls stood in the middle, frantically flirting with him. The grooms, accountants, servants, and other men and women around the courtyard all sat on small stools by the room door, watching the show with smiles on their faces. Chen Zhao was incredibly embarrassed. He scolded the servants for a long time, but no one was afraid of him. After all, everyone understood the situation and knew that teasing the young master at this time wouldn't really get them punished.

Chen Zhao calmed himself down and began to scrutinize the row of maids. They were all quite young, the oldest no more than twenty, which would be considered very young by modern standards. After looking around, Chen Zhao's eyes suddenly lit up. The maid in the far right corner of the line was different from the others. The other maids all flirted and flirted, doing their best to display their feminine charm. But the maid in the corner was much more shy and reserved. When Chen Zhao glanced at her, she blushed and lowered her head, not daring to lower it too much. Her hesitant, coy demeanor sent a shiver down Chen Zhao's spine, who was nearing forty. Chen Zhao stepped forward and softly asked, "What's your name?" "Your name?"

The little maid's face was exquisitely beautiful, with thin lips, large eyes, and delicate eyebrows. Although her face showed signs of malnutrition, her inherent cuteness and natural beauty captivated Chen Zhao's gaze. She twisted the hem of her dress with both hands, and after a long mental preparation, she finally managed to utter, "My nickname is Qianqian."

Her voice was as soft as glutinous rice, giving a sweet feeling. Chen Zhao nodded and asked, "And your full name?"

The little maid replied, "Young Master, I don't know."

Chen Zhao nodded again, thinking that this daughter must have been abandoned by some poor family at birth, adopted, and then sold to the Chen family at such a young age. She must have suffered a lot in her childhood; her background was truly pitiful. While Chen

Zhao was lost in thought, the little maid named Qianqian blushed, unsure what to do. Qianqian was conflicted; why was the young master standing motionless in front of her? Had he chosen her or not? Could it be that I said something wrong and displeased the young master? Besides, Chen Zhao was standing quite close; although he was still the size of a ten-year-old child, he was still a man, which made Qianqian even more uneasy.

When Chen Zhao came to his senses, he realized that the little maid in front of him was almost fainting from nervousness. Chen Zhao quickly asked, "Are you willing to come with me?"

The little maid hesitated for a moment, then quickly knelt down and said, "This servant belongs to the young master. If the young master allows this servant to follow him, this servant is willing to follow."

Chen Zhao felt a slight pang in his heart; the little maid in front of him had touched a vulnerable spot in his heart. Chen Zhao quickly wanted to reach out and help her up, but then he remembered that this was ancient times, and the idea that men and women should not touch each other was deeply ingrained among young women of low status. Reaching out to help her in public would ruin her reputation. Chen Zhao quickly said, "Get up quickly and wait for me next to Steward Ma."

Qianqian felt dizzy and disoriented. She couldn't believe she had actually been chosen. She knew that life as a maid was rarely easy. Most maids were replaced by younger maids as they grew older, then married off to bachelor tenants employed by landlords. If the tenant was an honest farmer, it was fine; but if he was wicked, her life would be ruined. But becoming Chen Zhao's personal maid would be a world of difference. She wouldn't have to do dirty or strenuous work, she would eat and live with the young master, and her clothes would be more elegant. Most importantly, if she gave the young master a son, she would be promoted to concubine and become someone to be served. Chen

Zhao smiled and glanced at Qianqian's rosy cheeks. Qianqian lowered her head shyly, a feeling of happiness instantly filling her heart. She stood up and tiptoed to Steward Ma's side. Steward Ma, who used to boss her around, immediately smiled at her in a friendly manner.

Chen Zhao, having settled on Qianqian, returned to the queue to choose a second woman. Upon his return, the maids who had been flirting with him all changed their expressions, clutching their clothes and bowing their heads, mimicking Qianqian's reserved and gentle demeanor. Chen Zhao was momentarily speechless with amusement. Suddenly, another woman caught his eye.

This woman wasn't among the somewhat scheming maids in front of him, but rather one of the Third Concubine's personal maids.

The Third Concubine loved red, and her two maids wore specially purchased red maid uniforms.

Chen Zhao could sense that this red-clad maid had initially only looked on with amusement, but after seeing Chen Zhao accept Qianqian, her gaze towards him became somewhat fiery. However, this fiery gaze was different from the fiery gaze of the other maids in front of him.

Those maids looked at him as if they were seeing their own future, dreaming of rising to prominence, while this red-clad maid was simply looking at him, her eyes fixed solely on him.

Chen Zhao, being a modern man who had lived for over thirty years, was quite adept at discerning such gazes. Amidst the strange looks from the crowd, he walked up to the red-clad maid and asked, "What's your name?"

Only then did Chen Zhao clearly see the red-clad maid's face. She was clearly mature, and compared to Qianqian's innocence, the red-clad maid's face was incredibly alluring—in the parlance of common gossip, a face that could seduce men. A

perfectly oval face, with delicate, rosy skin, a high nose, and curved eyes—she was undeniably beautiful. Any more allure would be vulgar, any less would be inadequate; her features were just right, neither too much nor too little, making her the most captivating face for men.

The maid in red, like Qianqian, was also taken aback, but quickly recovered. She curtsied slightly and said in a clear, melodious voice, "Young Master, my name is Liu Yue'er, and I am the Third Madam's maid."

Liu Yue'er first answered Chen Zhao's question, then subtly reminded him, "I am your Third Madam's maid, and according to proper etiquette, you cannot choose me as your maid."

Chen Zhao smiled slightly, thinking that this Liu Yue'er was not only beautiful but also quite shrewd.

At this moment, Butler Ma hurriedly walked to Chen Zhao's side, bowed his head, and whispered, "Young Master... this doesn't seem to suit Master's wishes, does it?"

Chen Zhao gently shook his head and said, "Whether it's feasible or not, we'll only know after asking. But I've taken a liking to Liu Yue'er, so I should at least try to win her over, right? My third aunt spoils me a lot, so even if she doesn't agree, she won't be angry."

After saying that, Chen Zhao turned back to Liu Yue'er and said, "You look really good in your red dress. Wait for me, I'll go ask my third aunt."

Liu Yue'er stood there, stunned, watching this boy, who was clearly several years younger than her, walk confidently out of the side courtyard. The words "You look really good in your red dress" kept lingering in her mind. The Chen family servants in the courtyard were also shocked by Chen Zhao's mature and unconventional way of speaking and acting. Was this still the same young master of the Chen family who only knew how to play all day long?

(Note 1: Many people have asked, didn't the Ming Dynasty law strictly prohibit ordinary people from taking concubines? That's true, but there was another clause: "A man who is forty years old and has no offspring may take a concubine." There's an old saying, "Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is having no descendants." If a man was unable to have children or had difficulty conceiving due to his wife, this law would have contradicted prevailing social norms. Therefore, this additional condition was added to ensure that even farmers could have children through concubines. Regarding the number of concubines, although there were restrictions on the number in the Ming Dynasty, women's status remained very low. The concubines referred to in the law were legally recognized as concubines.) In other words, these were women who could be taken out in public and loudly proclaimed to others, "This is my concubine." The key issue was that many maids and servants had sexual relations with their masters, but their status was extremely low. Even if they didn't bear children, or even if they gave birth to a girl, they wouldn't be recognized as concubines. They had no right to appeal, nor the right to leave the household. They only enjoyed the treatment of concubines, not the title. As the old saying goes, laws are made by people. Therefore, the situation described in this article is reasonable. As I mentioned in the article, the Chen family had a good relationship with local officials, so no one cared whether the Chen family's concubines and secondary wives had any problems.

(Note 2: Many people may have questions here. Didn't the Ming Dynasty suffer from severe land annexation, complex taxes, and a poor peasant life, with the most uprisings in history? How come you write that the peasants not only lived well but also had such a high status? First, let me clarify one point: the Ming Dynasty did have land conflicts, but taxes were by no means as high as you might imagine. The severe oppression of peasants was mostly due to the corruption and embezzlement of Ming officials. In the wealthy Jiangnan region, peasants had no problem having enough to eat and wear. The status of peasants in the Ming Dynasty is also well-documented. It's impossible to say that all peasants in China were starving and freezing at that time, is it?)

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[The Legend of Jiangshan] Chapter 1: Historians in History

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