Chapter Sixteen: The Dog Rides on Human Power

  Ding Xiang blinked her big eyes and said: "Young master has had a hard day, Ding Xiang will help young master soak his feet, and he will sleep comfortably at night."

  She said and reached out to help Shi Wei take off his shoes.

  This time Shi Wei did not refuse, he thought of this Ding Xiang who was bought by himself as a maid, and letting her serve him to wash his feet was also a matter of course.

  He then got up and took off his shoes and socks with the help of Tingxiang.

  His foot stretched into the steaming water, and with Ding Xiang's pair of deft hands gently massaging, Shi Wei felt an inexplicable comfort all over his body.

  As he enjoyed himself, he lowered his head and took a closer look at Ding Xiang, only to discover that this little girl was vastly different from the first time they met.

  The fragrant scent of cloves wafted up, and her face and the exposed half of her arm were a radiant white with a hint of pink. She was wearing a crimson blouse given to her by her teacher's wife, and as she leaned forward, the white undershirt was open at the front, revealing more than half of her full breasts, which were squeezed together to form a deep cleavage.

  Shi Wei only then noticed that although Ding Xiang was young, he had developed to such an extent, and was truly a "childlike giant".

  "This servant girl is worth every penny..."

  Three parts drunk, Shi Wei gazed at Ding Xiang's charming and alluring appearance as he lay half-reclined on the bed, his lower body unknowingly raising a small tent.

  "Since you're so tired, Master, I'll give you a foot massage every night from now on."

  Ding Xiang said as he raised his head, originally wanting to seek Shi Wei's consent, but when he lifted his head, he happened to see the small tent that had been set up.

  Shi Weidong felt embarrassed and was about to cover himself with a quilt when he suddenly found something unusual about Ding Xiang.

  Normally, an ordinary woman would be so shy that she would avoid eye contact if she saw a man in such a situation, unless she was a courtesan.

  But instead of being shy, she stared blankly at the stone curtain, her small face filled with a puzzled expression, as if she had seen something novel.

  Shi Wei suddenly understood why.

  This young girl is only twelve or thirteen years old, and since childhood has lost her parents, living with her grandfather. As for the things between men and women, naturally no one taught her, so it's not surprising that she would have such an expression.

  In the era of Shi Wei, there were also many little girls as small as a thumb who had seen quite a few things. Those young girls learned to be more open-minded than them, one after another.

  Lilac and those girls of the same age he had met before were really worlds apart.

  It was this difference that gave Shi Wei a very refreshing feeling, and he simply didn't cover up, standing upright in the tent, with great interest admiring Ding Xiang's innocent and bewildered expression.

  "Sir, what's going on here..."

  She curiously reached out her hand and touched the lower abdomen of Shi Wei.

  Just as Dang Xiang's fingertips were about to touch, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Yuan Zhi, I've made you some hangover soup."

  The words had just entered his ears when Huan Pei Lan hurried in with a bowl.

  Shi Wei was startled and instinctively covered his lower abdomen with a quilt, then quickly sat up straight.

  Actually, Ding Xiang selling herself to him as a slave is what makes her his person. In this era, maids and slaves have no status whatsoever. Even if Shi Wei possesses her body, he won't be shamed by others.

  It's just that Ding Xiang is new here, and after all, there is still the presence of Shifu's wife in the household. Without her tacit consent, it would be somewhat inappropriate for him to take liberties.

  Fan Peilan brought the sobering soup forward, and saw that Shi Wei was wrapped in a quilt. She couldn't help but ask: "It's so hot today, aren't you hot being wrapped up like this?"

  "Not hot, not hot at all." Shi Wei smiled wryly and wiped the beads of sweat on his face.

  Fan Peilan let out a snort of laughter, thinking she had drunk too much wine and was acting strangely, so she lowered her head to take a sip of the soup, feeling it wasn't too hot before handing it over to him. "I knew that Bear would get you drinking again, come on, while this hangover soup is neither too hot nor too cold, hurry up and drink it."

  "Thank you, teacher's wife."

  Shi Wei saw that Shi Fu didn't notice anything and secretly let out a breath of relief, hastily taking the bowl and gulping down its contents with a few loud slurps.

  After finishing this bowl of hot soup, the wine was digested, but his whole body became hot again.

  When he returned the bowl to Fan Peilan, he noticed that his teacher's wife was wearing a milky white Chinese tunic tonight, with her shoulders and arms vaguely visible. The blue vest only covered half of it, and under her fair neck, large patches of snow-white skin were surging and swaying like waves as she moved her body.

  At this time, the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism had not yet risen to prominence, and people in the early Song Dynasty still inherited the customs of the Tang Dynasty. Women's clothing was relatively open anyway, and it being midsummer, there was nothing unusual about Shi Niang and Ding Xiang dressing like this.

  It's only natural that Shi Wei, a hot-blooded young man, would have a physical reaction when faced with a bunch of white, fluffy softness fluttering around in front of him.

  He was only afraid of accidentally revealing his true feelings, making the atmosphere awkward. So he pretended to be sleepy and yawned, saying: "I'm a bit tired, Master's wife, Ding Xiang, you should also go rest early."

  Shi Wei was the pillar of the family, he said he was tired, and the two women did not dare to disturb him again. Ding Xiang carried the foot basin out first, and Fan Peilan also wanted to leave. Just as she was about to go out the door, she suddenly remembered something and instructed: "I bought some tonics on my way back from shopping today. Tomorrow, if you have time, take them with you and visit Old Man Ding for me."

  "Uh-huh, don't worry, I remember."

  Shi Wei nodded repeatedly, and when Fan Peilan closed the door, he let out a long sigh of relief. He quickly threw off his bedding and took off all his clothes, fanning himself to cool down his sweaty body.

  He got out of bed, fanning himself to the window, watching the lights in the two rooms in the yard go out one after another, and couldn't help but mutter: "No air conditioning, no fan, and two women standing in front of me all day with their breasts swaying back and forth, how can this damn summer be spent, alas..."

  ……………

  The next day was busy until noon, and Shi Wei closed the clinic early in the afternoon. He had Ding Xiang take him to East City to visit Old Man Ding.

  She turned into a narrow alley, and pointed to a dilapidated wooden gate ahead: "This is my home, sir. Please wait for a moment, I'll go call Grandpa."

  Ding Xiang quickly walked a few steps, and as soon as she pushed open the wooden door, she let out a scream and rushed in.

  Shi Wei knew something was up and hurriedly followed him. Before they even entered the door, they heard a commotion coming from inside the courtyard.

  As he entered the courtyard, he only saw Old Man Ding and Ding Xiang retreating to a corner of the yard, surrounded by several men who looked like household servants but had ferocious expressions. A man dressed in fine clothes, with a greasy face, who appeared to be the master, was scolding Old Man Ding with a finger pointed at him.

  That man was Shi Wei, who recognized him as the nephew of Xin Yi, the county magistrate of Da County, and seemed to be called Ma Bo.

  This surname Ma Yin is a relative of the county magistrate, and in this Da Tu County, he is also a figure with head and face. Now, however, he would run all the way to the poor district in East City, shouting at Ding Lao Han, such a poor commoner, there must be some reason for this.

  "Little girl, it's been years since we last met, and you've grown up to be so lovely."

  Na Ma Bo saw Ding Xiang and his eyes gleamed with lust. He actually reached out to touch Ding Xiang's face in front of everyone.

  Seeing this scene, Shi Wei was furious in his heart and rushed forward a few steps, blocking Ma Bo's hand with one move.

  This horse was just about to get into the mood when it was suddenly ruined by a man who came out of nowhere, and he couldn't help but burst into anger: "Where did this dog thing come from? How dare you ruin my good deed, are you tired of living?"

  Ma Bo was so angry that the lackeys around him immediately rolled up their sleeves and made a gesture to take action.

  Shi Wei was never the kind of person who would interfere with others' business, but now that he had bought Ding Xiang, Ding Xiang was his woman. Whoever dared to touch his woman, even if they were the county magistrate's nephew, would not be tolerated.

  Facing a group of evil thugs, Shi Wei was calm and collected. He looked up at Ma Bo with disdain and said loudly: "Young Master Ma, under the bright sky, you dare to openly flirt with respectable women. If this gets out, aren't you afraid of losing face for County Magistrate?"

  The noise in the courtyard had startled the neighbors on all sides, and many people were peeking over the wall to take a look.

  Ma Bo was choked by Shi Wei like this, and he was even more angry, but under the gaze of everyone, he couldn't make a move.

  He suppressed his anger and looked at Shi Wei with disdain, asking: "Which onion are you, daring to lecture your horse's grandfather?"

  "In the lower Shi Wei, I am Lang Zhong of Ping An Tang." Shi Wei said calmly.

  When he heard his self-introduction, Ma Bo's fierce expression obviously converged a few points, and he looked up and down at Shi Wei with a cold hum: "So you're the Shi Langzhong who almost got beheaded."

  The fishing gang leader Xiong Qingye came forward to guarantee Shi Wei's matter. As the county magistrate's nephew, Ma Bo naturally couldn't have been unaware of it.

  Ma Bo knew that Shi Wei had a relationship with Xiong Qingye, so he immediately retracted his rough thoughts. Although his tone was still arrogant, it was much more polite than before.

  Shi Wei nodded and said lightly, "Fortunately, Xin County Magistrate is wise and just, so I was able to clear my name. Xin County Magistrate has a high reputation, and I suppose Ma Gongzi has also been influenced by him, he must be a reasonable person too. But I don't know how the Ding family father and daughter offended Ma Gongzi, that they would make him so angry."

  Shi Wei said so, Ma Bo was even more unbearable and couldn't be arrogant anymore.

  He glanced around, motioning for the servants to retreat to one side, before speaking with a forced smile: "Stone Langzhong, you've arrived just in time. Several years ago, this old man had already promised me that he would sell his granddaughter to me, but now he's gone back on his word and secretly sold her to you instead. I've come today to demand an explanation from him. Stone Langzhong, what do you think should be done about this?"