Mrs. Li was relieved to see someone finally come out, but her attitude was much more polite than her daughter's. "My dear, we are just here today to have a talk. The Ren family accepted our betrothal gifts, but sold Chun'er. Who will my son marry?"

The maid Xiangqin glared at her with a fierce look, "Marry whoever you want! The Chun'er you're talking about is our Ninth Young Lady's maid, right? She committed a serious offense, so Madam Zhou, who was by our Madam's side, punished her and then sold her off! Since when have we in the Ren family had to give you an explanation for the punishment of a maid who committed a crime? If you want an explanation, go find the great judge in the government!"

"We gave the betrothal gift..." Li Ma said immediately.

But Xiang Qin rudely interrupted her: "What betrothal gift? Did she accept your betrothal gift? She's just a maid, not even a free person, how can she decide her own marriage? If she really did accept your betrothal gift, I'll have someone report her to the police and have her arrested! No wonder she was kicked out of the Ren Mansion, this girl has evil intentions!"

Mrs. Li said hurriedly, "No, no, she only accepted the betrothal gift after your master promised the marriage. She didn't marry secretly without the master's knowledge."

"Oh?" Xiang Qin glanced at Li and said, "Our Third Master and Third Wife have never been engaged. Who promised her marriage?"

"It's Aunt Fang." Mrs. Li said immediately.

Xiang Qin chuckled when she heard this: "Sister-in-law, are you here to tease me? Although Concubine Fang is also half a mistress, which family has a concubine who is willing to marry?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd gathered to murmur. A concubine was not a proper mistress, and even if she wanted to give a maid a proper treatment, she had to get the mistress's consent.

Outsiders didn't know that Concubine Fang had always held a special position in the Ren family. She even held more respect in front of Old Madam Ren than the legitimate wife of the third room. Even the eldest wife, Wang, would give Concubine Fang face in some small matters. It wasn't a big deal for Concubine Fang to marry a maid to win people's hearts.

Mrs. Li and Mrs. Li Ma looked at each other.

Xiangqin continued, "Since our family was able to sell Chun'er, her indenture is in our master's hands. Do you want to go back and check the laws of the Great Zhou?"

The Great Zhou law, "Household Law on Marriage," stipulated that "the marriage of slaves and servants was the sole responsibility of their masters. Anyone who entered into a marriage without consulting their master would be punished with 100 lashes, regardless of the duration of the marriage or whether the marriage had produced any children, and would be divorced."

This head of the household naturally refers to the master who holds the indenture contract for the slaves.

Although Xiang Qin brought up the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty in order to scare the people of the Li family, the common people also knew this rule and were even used to it. Therefore, Xiang Qin, who was also a slave, did not feel uncomfortable when she said it, because it was accepted by everyone at that time.

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Note: The Great Zhou Code is based on the Great Qing Code.

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I'm sorry for posting so late. It takes a long time for the author to write a chapter. It's not that the author is too lazy, but that the efficiency is too poor.

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