Chapter 12: Lü Yang's Background

  "Director Jin, you have been in charge of the medicine garden for many years and are known for your strictness. When subordinates make mistakes, it is only natural to punish them severely according to the rules. This has nothing to do with me originally, but today I just want to spare this person. Can you give me some face and hand him over to me to deal with?"

  The woman in white helped Lu Yang up and looked at the manager of the medicine garden, asking faintly.

  Her voice was soft and gentle, but it carried an unmistakable air of authority, as if it could inspire a sense of not daring to disobey from the bottom of one's heart.

  "Fourth Miss, you're being too serious. You can deal with this servant as you see fit, just don't bother me with the details." The head of the Medicine Garden couldn't help but wipe his forehead and nodded in agreement.

  In front of this white-clothed woman who was generally outstanding among the fairies, the head of the medicine garden who had the power to kill or spare the lives of slaves and servants was humble to the extreme, completely devoid of his earlier majesty.

  This phenomenon was not only astonishing to the slaves and guards who were watching from the sidelines, but even Lü Yang couldn't help but feel secretly amazed when he saw it.

  "Who is this woman and why does Jin Zongguan seem to be afraid of her? Logically speaking, as the person in charge of the medicine garden, he shouldn't have to be so humble."

  "Moreover, this is a place where inferior people are dealt with, a filthy and dirty place. A woman like her, one look and you can tell she's a noble person from the government, how could she possibly come here for no reason?"

  "How strange! It's really too strange!"

  Lü Yang vaguely felt that behind this matter, there were some unknown mysteries hidden, but what exactly these mysteries were, he couldn't see through. It was just an instinctive feeling that the timing of the white-clothed woman's appearance was a bit too coincidental.

  "Are you Lü Yang?" The white-clad woman, referred to as Fourth Miss by the Medicine Garden's manager, asked lightly. She shifted her gaze towards Lü Yang, looking at his expression with a hint of something unusual that ordinary people couldn't quite detect.

  "Me..." Lü Yang opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

  "Lu Yang, what's wrong with you? Fourth Miss is asking you a question and you're still standing there like a fool. Can't you just answer honestly?" The manager of the Medicine Garden couldn't help but scold Lu Yang for his silence, his face stern as he let out a loud cough.

  "It doesn't matter." The woman in white didn't mind Lu Yang's rudeness, instead she looked him up and down carefully, after a long time, she finally spoke: "Lu Yang, how old are you this year?"

  "Sixteen." Lü Yang silently sighed and replied with a stiff upper lip.

  He is after all a slave of the Lü family, and when a noble asks questions, he has no choice but to answer.

  "Sixteen?" The woman in white clothes flashed a hint of curiosity in her eyes and asked again, "You serve in the mansion, what is your duty?"

  Xiao Ren is the steward of the medicinal garden behind the mountain, Jia Chen Garden. He is in charge of taking care of all the spiritual medicines in Jia Chen Garden, from planting and nurturing to harvesting and storing, everything is done by Xiao Ren alone.

  "Is that so? I seem to recall that only those who have served in the Imperial Palace for over twenty years can take on this role?" The woman in white seemed somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

  Lü Yang's identity was not an ordinary miscellaneous servant, but a steward.

  "Fourth Miss is unaware, the parents of this slave were both first-class slaves with merit. According to household rules, he can be directly promoted to a steward and serve in the Rear Mountain Medicine Garden." The manager of the medicine garden, who was standing beside them, seized the opportunity to explain in a flattering tone.

  He observed her expression and saw that the woman in white seemed interested in Lü Yang's situation, so he took the initiative to introduce Lü Yang's background to her.

  Originally, Lü Yang's grandfather Lü Hai, his father Lü Shan, and Lü Yang himself, three generations of the family were all slaves of the Lü family. It can be said that Lü Yang's origin was completely and utterly a slave of the Lü family.

  Many years ago, Lü Yang's grandfather Lü Hai saved the master and made great contributions. The master's family married Cui'er, who was then a maid in the mansion, to Lü Yang's father Lü Shan as his wife. Later, Lü Shan started a business and had children, including Lü Yang, and was allowed to move into the city to manage the pharmacy under the name of Lü Fu.

  This is extremely good, the Lyu family has many slaves who have left their slave status, become prominent and taken this path of external promotion. If Lyu Shan accumulates enough experience and becomes a shopkeeper, he may be able to change his fate and leave his slave status to become an ordinary citizen.

  But fate played a trick on them, and Lü Shan, who had been holding onto hope, did not live to see the day. A murder took place at the pharmacy, where a young master of the Lü family was nearly killed while patrolling the city. Lü Shan and his wife fought bravely against the assassin, sacrificing their lives in the process, leaving behind their young son, Lü Yang, as an orphan.

  Because Lü Shan and his wife never escaped their slave status, the young Lü Yang, as a house-born slave, was taken back to the Lü manor by that rescued legitimate son to be looked after. At the age of eight, he was sent to the medicinal garden at the back mountain to learn skills.

  Hou Shan Medicine Garden, located on the mountain slope behind the Lyu Mansion, has a unique land energy that is suitable for the growth of various strange and exotic spiritual objects. Therefore, it was opened up as a medicine garden. Among them, there are sixty gardens with names, each named after the heavenly stems and earthly branches. The garden managed by Lyu Yang is called Jia Chen Garden.

  Jiayuan Garden ranks among the top five out of sixty gardens in terms of its location.

  Although Lü Yang's experience as a servant in the Lü household didn't warrant such a high position, his late parents had rendered great service to the master of the house, and their reward was passed down to him, qualifying him to take charge of the Xiazi Medicine Garden. Moreover, having been saved by Lü Shan and his wife at the risk of their own lives, he received special care from the legitimate heir, so no one dared look down on him, not even the manager of the medicine garden who held the power of life and death over the servants, who could only punish him lightly.

  The woman in white did not respond with a yes or no, but instead listened quietly before asking: "Lü Yang, I'm asking you, do you like cultivating herbs in this medicinal garden?"

  "This..." Yu Yang hesitated again.

  How should I answer this question?

  "Don't hold back, say what's on your mind. I won't blame you." The woman in white said slowly, as if she had seen through his concerns.

  "What does she mean by asking this?" Lü Yang gritted his teeth, wanting to flatter her and show loyalty, but just as the words were about to come out, he suddenly changed his mind and spoke the truth.

  "Miss Hui's words, I don't like a life accompanied by spiritual medicine."

  The slaves of the Lu Mansion are divided into five grades, each corresponding to different levels of labor and responsibility. The fifth grade is responsible for menial tasks, while the fourth grade is also engaged in miscellaneous chores. The third grade consists of slightly higher-ranking servants who serve their masters directly and carry out various tasks as ordered. Their workload and rewards vary depending on which master they serve under. However, regardless of which master they serve, they do not have the authority to discipline or assign tasks to others, and are still considered part of the lower class. Only slaves of the second grade and above hold positions of authority.

  As for the second-class and first-class, they are just servants who manage affairs and supervise at a higher level.

  But there are exceptions to these situations, such as extremely spoiled young masters and maidservants. Although they are third-class slaves, they can rely on the power of others and boss around other servants, or be in charge of wealthy positions, although it is possible that they are third-class or even fourth-class slaves with low authority, many people still try to curry favor with them.

  Then there are those like Lü Yang, who were born into families that had rendered great service to the state through their ancestors' sacrifices and thus enjoyed imperial protection. Because they were still young, they first served as attendants but held ranks in the first degree; eventually, they would be promoted to serve as administrators or managers and receive heavy responsibilities. In the eyes of slaves and servants, having such a status was the greatest favor from one's master.

  But whether it was a top-notch slave or a bottom-of-the-barrel slave, a servant was just a servant, with no dignity and no freedom. Lü Yang had long since had enough of such days.

  Dislike living with spiritual medicine, this sentence is heartfelt words.