《明史·志·卷六十九》
违犯此条的人都声称是雇工人而已，当初法律也没有言及士大夫之家可否蓄奴。
有犯者皆称雇工人，初未言及缙绅之家也。
Everyone who violated this regulation claimed that they were just hiring workers.  And yet, the original law did not specify whether scholar-officials were allowed to own slaves. 