Chapter 3: The Young Lady of the Dong Family

  Ding Hao is dead. The news spread in the Ding family's large courtyard after 9 o'clock, without even causing a ripple. Although Ding Hao's life was a taboo topic in the Ding family, the old villagers still knew something about the past events. They just sighed softly and muttered: "This poor child, it's good that he died, it's good that he died, may his soul rest in peace..."

  Ding Hao has come back to life. This news didn't cause any commotion in the large Ding family compound, which was even bigger than a village. Instead, people who weren't very clear about his background were saying: "This Ding Hao, really is a case of 'the more worthless you are, the harder it is to die', indeed, better to live shamefully than to die a good death..."

  It was Ding Ershao who returned from the Qu Hua Guan, changed his clothes, took a comfortable hot bath, drank some good ginseng soup, and after hearing the news of Ding Hao's resurrection, he laughed three times and said: "This kid is really something. I heard that people who have faked their own deaths will go to Naihe Bridge for a walk, and can remember some scenes from the underworld, so it would be best to call him over and have him tell me about it."

  Outside, the water was freezing into ice, but in his room it was warm as spring. In the house there was a large copper cauldron with smokeless charcoal inside, emitting waves of heat, and wearing loose thin robes still felt the heat rushing to his face. A maid wearing a beautiful silk shirt was sitting on his lap. This beauty wore a tight-sleeved spring shirt, which set off her plump chest and slender waist in a wonderful curve.

  She originally had a 70-80% beauty, and with cleverly applied makeup, wearing fitting clothes, she immediately showed off her full charm. Ding Ershao hugged her soft, fragrant body, lecherously smiling as he dug into her impressively ample bosom. The woman glanced at him with a flirtatious smile, giggling, her chest heaving with waves of excitement.

  However, Ding Ershao had been tossed about all night and was already exhausted from the red girls' flirtatious skills at the Quhuaguan, so he couldn't muster up the energy to ride his horse. As for calling Ding Hao over to ask him questions, he just said a few words - the Ding family's large estate has nine entrances and exits, with increasing grandeur as one goes deeper inside; the gates, servants, long-term workers, short-term workers, lower-class people, inner courtyard attendants, outer courtyard attendants, all have their own distinct roles. The Ding family's estate is strictly hierarchical, with clear divisions between classes, so a lowly servant from an external farm wouldn't have the qualifications to enter the main hall and meet him.

  After waking up, Ding Hao's high fever miraculously receded, leaving only a weak body. The outer court steward showed mercy and gave him two days off to rest. During these two days, Ding Hao wandered around the Ding manor, and many people and things that existed only in his memory gradually became familiar again. He had adapted to this identity before his eyes and could use the original wooden and timid Ding Hao's identity to conceal his true existence very well. However, his heart was restless, always looking forward to finding a way out different from the original Ding Hao.

  He is not a man with great ambitions, contentment and happiness have always been his motto, but this does not mean that he can calmly accept being a lowly servant. In an era where social hierarchy is strict and class divisions are clear, the days of being a servant or a slave are unimaginable for a modern ordinary person. He wants to break free from this circle, but he is like a fly stuck on glass, with brightness in front of him, yet unable to find a path to take.

  From the memories he inherited, he learned about his obscure origins. His previous life had worked at the grassroots level for several years, changed several communities, and saw and heard many cruel parents: a father who made his mentally handicapped daughter eat wastewater, a biological father who beat his five-year-old son to fracture and then poured boiling oil into his mouth to torture him to death, a mother who was afraid of delaying her remarriage and gave her own son pesticide...

  But those beasts are bad, and it's written all over their faces. And what about Master Ding? He treats one of his own flesh and blood with kindness, while treating the other like a stranger. The reason is simply that one is legitimate and the other is illegitimate, one was born to his proper wife, while the other was the result of his drunken debauchery and deception of another person. One is his heir, while the other is a shameful reminder of his own hypocrisy. This man truly has "clear likes and dislikes".

  He had reached a point where he didn't know what to do. In this era, he had hardly ever left the Ding family's large courtyard, and most of the news from the outside world came from the attendants at the prefecture, who provided limited information. From their accounts, he could tell that this world was not entirely different from the history he knew. Geographically, the Northern Song Dynasty also had a powerful nomadic people in the north, the East China Sea to the east, and various small Western Regions countries and nomadic tribes to the west. However, the details of development were not quite similar. Ding Hao suspected that someone might have traveled back to a historical dynasty before recorded history, changing the world's pattern and historical development to some extent, which was why things seemed similar yet different.

  But for him, all of this was not the main problem. Even if he could know some major trends in the world's development ahead of time, those changes would still take place over hundreds of years and wouldn't help change his current situation. He was just a lowly servant in the Ding family's large compound, at most able to live for one hundred years - this was the reality that he couldn't change, no matter if he had foresight or hindsight spanning five hundred years.

  In the afternoon, the winter sun had a bit of warmth, and Ding Hao strolled to a quiet little courtyard. He thought for a moment and remembered that this was where Needle Maiden wove and cut fabric in the Ding Mansion. He wanted to turn around and leave. As he turned around, he happened to see two people standing face-to-face under the eaves of the corridor in front of him. Ding Hao stopped in his tracks and looked over, and from the silhouette, the tall figure seemed familiar - a cyan-based bamboo flower patterned cotton-padded jacket, a five-colored silk waistband with a beautiful green jade pendant, and a sable hat on his head. After thinking carefully, he remembered that this was the Second Master Ding, whom he served in this life. A hint of bitterness appeared at the corner of Ding Hao's lips.

  In front of the second master, there was a young woman wearing a moon-white shirt and a delicate silk skirt. The young woman was about 17 or 18 years old, wearing a moon-white long gown with a high collar, over which she wore a jacket made of floral fabric. Although it was winter, she didn't seem to be wearing any thick clothing underneath, but either due to her slender figure or her natural beauty, the narrow waist tied with a delicate plum blossom ribbon appeared particularly slim and elegant. On top of her raven-black hair, she wore an ordinary wooden hairpin, and her entire outfit was unadorned, yet when she stood there, it seemed as if a refreshing aura would seep into one's heart.

  The second young master of the Ding family, with his back to Ding Hao, did not see him. He was looking at the charming young woman in front of him, and a smile full of charm hung on his handsome face. He said warmly: "Miss Dong, I called you from afar, but you walked so fast that I almost lost you. What brings you here?"

  The young woman opposite him blushed and lowered her head, saying: "Second Master, your esteemed household has several pieces of fabric that need to be used during the festival. Li Daignang entrusted our humble household with the embroidery, so we just finished making them. Afraid of delaying their use in the mansion, I've just delivered them to Daignang."

  Ding Chengye smiled and said, "I've long heard that the embroidery of Dong's daughter is among the best in these ten miles. The needlework of my Ding Manor can't compare to it at all. Whenever there are any precious or delicate items, the needlewomen are afraid of ruining them, so they're always handed over to the young lady to do. It seems it's really true. How can your hands be so skilled?"

  He was admiring her while reaching out to grab the young woman's wrist, which was slender and delicate. The young woman was startled and quickly withdrew her hand, which had already slipped out of his grasp. She then took a step back, slightly displeased, and raised an eyebrow.

  This young woman's slender fingers were as delicate as orchids, and Ding Chengye felt a slight remaining slipperiness at his fingertips, which made him even more lustful. His eyes, with a hint of evil intentions, added a few degrees of heat. He raised an eyebrow and said in a soft voice: "Dongjia's daughter, why are you so afraid of me? Can't you see my feelings for you?"

  The young woman's face turned bright red as she spoke in a soft and gentle voice: "Second Master, please restrain yourself, Dong Luoshi is a married woman."

  Ding Chengye said proudly, "What's the big deal? Even if Dong was still alive, does he have the qualifications to compete with me, Ding Er Gongzi, for a woman? Luo Dong'er, do you know how much I like you? Even when I'm sleeping with the most beautiful and charming girl in Qu Hua Guan, my heart is always thinking of your appearance. You're still young and beautiful, can't bear the loneliness and bitterness of being alone? Why not... just follow me, Ding Er Gongzi, and you'll have a life of wealth and glory, and I won't let you suffer..."

  "Second Master!" Luo Dong'er, who was called out by name, was both embarrassed and angry, her tone slightly higher: "Although the Dong Luo family is poor and of low status, they are a clean and honest household. Second Master is a young master from a wealthy family, knowledgeable and courteous, with honors to his name. How can you say such things? If this gets out, will I still be able to show my face? Second Master, please step aside, I want to leave."

  Ding Chengye was displeased upon hearing this. He was a lustful person, especially fond of young women from good families. In his opinion, although women from good families were not as skilled in entertaining men like those in the pleasure quarters, they had a unique charm that was even more alluring, which is why he was most enthusiastic about this pursuit.

  Having an affair requires a sense of romance, from playing the zither and chess to painting and poetry, all are means to an end. Ding Chengye is handsome, well-read in poetry and books, skilled in music and art, and proficient in various games, truly a refined and elegant gentleman. Any respectable woman he sets his eyes on would fall for him as long as he makes some effort, but surprisingly, this seasoned ladies' man lost his touch in front of this village woman. Luo Dong'er was not swayed by his charms, no matter how eloquent he was, she refused to take the bait.

  Since he was young, he has always gotten what he wanted. If it weren't for his father's strict upbringing and the fact that he often turns a blind eye to his son's escapades in brothels, he would have long taken this widow by force, snatching away her chastity.

  But having been frustrated time and again, Ding Chengye's patience had worn thin. He tore off his elegant demeanor, revealing a ferocious glare in his eyes as he thundered: "Luo Dong'er, don't you know the magnitude of the Ding family's influence in this region, in the entire city of Baizhou? I'm doing you a favor by taking a liking to you..."

  "I don't care!" Dong Luo shot back, her flustered and embarrassed expression gradually replaced by a resolute one.

  "You..." Ding Chengye's heart was on fire, and for a moment he forgot about the consequences. He wanted to hug this lovely little woman tightly and kiss her passionately to quench his thirst. Perhaps she would lose control and completely surrender to him. Just as he shrugged his shoulders, someone behind him coughed and said dryly, "The junior servant has seen Second Young Master."