Evergreen Immortal-Chapter 19: Redeeming His Status

"You..."

Zhu Ping suddenly stood up, staring at Li Rui in utter disbelief.

He never would have imagined that Li Rui would actually choose to redeem his status.

If this got out, it would undoubtedly deal a huge blow to the Zhu family's reputation. Rumors would fly that the Zhu family mistreated their servants, how would they manage them then? Who would still be willing to sell themselves to the Zhu family?

Once a family grew powerful, what it valued most was a good reputation.

Zhu Ping decided he needed to eliminate this source of disorder.

Even though his son Zhu Yue had once said Li Rui was capable, compared to the stability of the Zhu family, that was insignificant. He absolutely would not allow anything harmful to the Zhu family to happen.

"Old Li, has our Zhu family ever mistreated you?"

"Never."

Li Rui shook his head. "If the old master hadn’t taken me in, I would’ve died during the famine all those years ago."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping's expression softened a bit.

Since it wasn’t the Zhu family’s fault, the issue became much simpler.

"Old Li, if your allowance isn’t enough, I can raise it by thirty percent."

In Zhu Ping’s eyes, there was nothing money couldn’t solve, especially with these servants. It had always worked without fail.

And he wasn’t worried about complaints from other servants either.

Anyone who lived to seventy would get a raise, no exceptions!

Li Rui shook his head again. "Years ago, I fled to Qinghe with my parents. They died along the way, and I didn’t even have time to bury them properly. After entering the manor, I didn’t get the chance to observe mourning. Now, with what remains of this old body, I want to observe mourning for three years to fulfill my filial duty."

Upon hearing this, both Zhu Ping and Lord Ma were somewhat moved.

The Yu Nation was founded on martial prowess.

But martial valor could easily lead to disorder. Controlling these brave and fierce warriors wasn’t easy.

A martial artist could choose not to marry or have children.

But they definitely had parents.

So, under the advocacy of a renowned Confucian scholar, the ideology of ruling the nation with filial piety gradually took root in Yu. In the social order, filial piety was second only to loyalty to the ruler.

As an official in charge of rites and rituals, Lord Ma quickly latched onto the key phrase:

Filial piety.

A political achievement, another one!

He had already begun drafting the memorial to present to the court. Such a compelling example was hard to come by, even with a lantern in hand!

Lord Ma suddenly felt that this trip had been more than worthwhile!

Zhu Ping’s previous smile returned.

"Old Li, you truly are a lucky star for the Zhu family. Since that’s your wish, I won’t press you further. I’ll have someone fetch your deed of servitude. In recognition of your filial devotion, I’ll grant you thirty taels of silver as mourning funds."

"Thank you, Master."

Li Rui was overjoyed.

Not only did he redeem his status, he even received thirty taels of silver for free!

The Zhu family’s master was not known for generosity. Strict in managing the household, he was infamous for being stingy, like a metal rooster that wouldn’t give up a single feather. By his orders, candles had to be extinguished by the Xu Hour (7–9 p.m.) every night, just to save on candle expenses.

As a result, people often resorted to carving holes in walls to borrow light, which caused endless complaints from the neighbors.

The only reason he was so generous today was because he hoped the Zhu family would be mentioned more favorably in the memorial Lord Ma would submit to the court.

Lord Ma was also extremely satisfied.

Under his governance, fathers were kind, sons were filial, masters were benevolent, and servants were loyal, a glorious scene of prosperity and virtue.

"Ha, ha, ha~"

Lord Ma stroked his beard and laughed. "As for the matter of removing your servant status, I’ll make the arrangements. Go on now, no one will give you trouble."

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

Li Rui bowed again.

Today was turning out to be filled with blessings.

Because he was registered as a bonded servant at the government office, in addition to retrieving his deed, he also needed to go to the county office to remove his servile status from the records.

But avoiding the King of Hell was easier than dealing with his little demons.

Even with the deed, getting delisted required at least five taels of silver for bribes—otherwise, the clerks in the household registry office would make things difficult.

Such was the corruption of Yu’s bureaucracy.

"Master, you really got off the register?"

When Wang Zhao heard Li Rui’s news, he didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad.

With Li Rui gone, he would become the new stablehand.

Not only would his pay double, but he’d also gain respect. Otherwise, Ma Yang wouldn’t have fallen out with Li Rui over the position.

But after all these years of living and working alongside Li Rui day and night, he had grown used to him.

With his master leaving so suddenly, his heart was a mess of emotions.

Li Rui sighed softly and patted Wang Zhao on the shoulder. "Take good care of the horses. If anything goes wrong, go find your Uncle Yang."

"Okay."

Wang Zhao nodded, holding back tears.

After speaking to Wang Zhao, Li Rui went to find Yang Yong.

When Yang Yong heard that Li Rui had chosen to redeem himself, his shock was no less than Wang Zhao’s.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"Old Li, you’re serious?"

Li Rui smiled faintly. "Your blade."

He returned the blade he had borrowed from Yang Yong. It belonged to the Zhu family, borrowing it was one thing, but taking it would only bring trouble to Yang Yong.

Yang Yong accepted the blade, sighing. "You’re set. Once you find a place to live, I’ll come drink with you."

"Deal!"

Li Rui laughed heartily.

Back in his room.

After packing up, he realized that despite living in the Zhu household for decades, he had very little he could actually take with him, just a quilt and three sets of clothes.

It didn’t take long to pack.

He waited until Steward Zhu appeared.

"Old Li, here’s your deed of servitude, and the thirty taels the Master gave you."

Steward Zhu looked at Li Rui with envy on his face.

Though he had clawed his way up to the position of steward, it was mostly just appearances.

A bonded status was still a bonded status in the end.

But Li Rui not only got delisted, he also received thirty taels of silver. How could he not be envious?

By the time of the Wei Hour (1–3 p.m.).

Li Rui walked down the main road toward the county office with his belongings on his back.

Although the Zhu family’s master had tried to persuade him to stay until after New Year’s Eve, he had refused.

After the New Year, the county office wouldn’t reopen until the eighth day of the first month.

That would mean waiting eight or nine days, too much uncertainty. This wasn’t something that could be delayed.

Because of the New Year preparations, there were far fewer people in the streets. Most were home preparing the New Year’s Eve feast.

Li Rui arrived at the county office.

It was quiet and deserted.

He followed the route in his memory to the household registry office. Inside, there was only a young clerk, propping his head on his right hand, dozing off and jerking awake again.

"Excuse me, young sir."

The young clerk snapped awake at Li Rui’s words, and replied impatiently, "Old man, what do you want?"

Li Rui pulled out his deed from his robe. "I’m here to get delisted."

Upon hearing that, the young clerk suddenly became interested.

Although it was rare for people to get delisted in Qinghe, it wasn’t unheard of, maybe a dozen or so cases a year, but it is the first time to see an old man as old as the one in front of him.

"Zhu family?"

The clerk noticed the Zhu family seal and suddenly remembered that Lord Ma had come by the office that morning.

He had specifically said that someone from the Zhu family would come to be delisted today and to make sure they weren’t hassled.

So this was the guy!

The young clerk couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.

With the registrar’s orders in mind, he didn’t dare give Li Rui a hard time. He pulled out the household register, used a red brush to cross out Li Rui’s name from the bonded registry, and then added his name to the free citizen list.

The whole thing took less than a quarter of an hour.

But if Lord Ma hadn’t given prior instruction, it would’ve taken at least ten days to two weeks.