In Linzi City, the houses not far from the city were brightly lit, servants were holding torches, and slaves were holding bows and arrows and spears.

Everyone was in a hurry. The maid stood in the corner, holding her breath, listening to the master of the house getting angry.

"A businessman! How dare you kidnap the head of the Yang family! Insult the Yang family!"

A male voice was heard, followed by the sound of a wooden desk being kicked over.

“If we don’t kill him, how can our Yang family survive!” In the lobby, dozens of people from the Yang family sat together, watching the head of the family’s younger brother get angry. People had different expressions on their faces, some were genuinely angry, and some lowered their heads and remained silent.

But none of them spoke.

The man pointed outside the door and said, "If we really give them money, how will the people of Linzi see us? How will people all over the world see us?"

"The head of a noble family was kidnapped by merchants, and we still have to send him money and food?"

The Yang family said, "This won't do. If we give up this time, there will be another time. In the future, everyone who looks at us, the Yang family, will think that we are easy to bully. This ban cannot be lifted."

"But if we attack, it will be hard to explain to Lord Chen."

"Although we have been giving gifts to the Zheng and Zhang families over the years, they have verbally promised to bring the children of the Yang family to the court, but they have been delaying it year after year. Until now, no one from my Yang family has been in the court."

"How about we wait until Lord Chen recovers and ask him to do justice?"

"Yes, otherwise, if Lord Chen wakes up and finds out that we have launched a war in Linzi City, I'm afraid it won't end well."

The man looked at them and sneered, "How can the Chen Kingdom tolerate the Marquis of Chen's words now? Is it enough for him to kill Zhang Rong? It's just that there are many children of the Zhang family, so we won't bother with him. If we do, he, the Marquis of Chen, can only stay in the Chen Palace!"

The Yang family members looked at each other. Although they knew that what the man said made sense, many of them were still afraid.

The young Yang family member stood up and said to the man nervously, "Uncle, I think no matter what, we are all subjects of the monarch. It is a taboo for subjects to use weapons without authorization. What the head of the family did today is inappropriate. We should stop the fighting and ask the merchant to negotiate. If we can solve it with money and food, it is not a bad idea..."

Before he could finish his words, the man kicked him in the abdomen, sending him back a few steps. He was able to regain his footing with the help of others.

"You have no blood in your veins!" The man pointed at the Yang family member's nose, "You are unworthy of being a Yang family man!"

The man looked at the Yang family members with different expressions, and a nameless anger rose. He cursed: "The Yang family is getting worse day by day, and it is precisely because you are hesitant and timid, afraid of the aristocratic families, afraid of the king and high officials, and you are afraid of coming and going, that the Yang family has fallen to the point where it is today."

"In the past, we had to give gifts to the Zheng and Zhang families. Do we have to give gifts to a mere businessman from now on?"

"You can afford to lose this person, but the Yang family can't!"

"Someone come! Drag him out!" the man yelled outside.

Two servants came in immediately and dragged out the young man who had just spoken.

The young man's parents were angry but dared not say anything. They could only look at the man and then look away.

Although those who stayed in Linzi were the main branch of the Yang family, the main branch was divided into those who lived well and those who lived poorly. As the relatives became more distant, the gap became greater and greater. Some people could eat meat, while others could only drink soup.

If they split up again, many of them would have to leave Linzi.

But those who eat meat ask those who drink soup to go into battle with them and share the risk. Even if those who drink soup are dumb, they know not to agree easily.

Man: "This is a major family event. You can't afford to hesitate. If you can't rescue the head of the family tonight, the Yang family will have no place to stand in the future!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" the man shouted to the outside of the door, "Send them over!"

The soldier waiting outside agreed. He turned to look at the people holding torches and sighed in his heart.

Although he was a soldier, he was originally just a commoner. It was the Yang family that gave him a meal, so he became a soldier and was able to support his family.

"Let's go!" the soldier shouted to the servants in the yard.

The servants hurriedly walked out with their weapons in hand. The servants were not soldiers and they didn't even know how to use the weapons. They were panicked but didn't dare to run away. They could only follow the people in front of them towards the supermarket.

Late at night, there were no people walking on the streets of Linzi City. There were only flickering lights. Human shadows were imprinted on the walls. Because of the firelight, they became hideous, and continued to lengthen and become thinner. The evening breeze blew through the torches, and the human shadows also changed and distorted.

The servants lined up in a long queue, they walked towards the supermarket with blank and numb eyes, there were soldiers leading the way in front and soldiers following behind, they didn't look like "soldiers" but more like prisoners being escorted.

But no one complained. They were all "members of the Yang family" and had been slaves of the Yang family for generations. If they were driven out of the Yang family, they would be even worse than ordinary slaves.

The leading soldier stopped in front of the house.

The house has been renovated, and although it still resembles its original appearance, it looks brand new.

The missing and broken tiles have long been replaced and rearranged.

A new tree has been planted in place of the dead tree sticking out of the yard. The tree is now on the eve of bearing fruit, with petals scattered all over the ground. People passing by can always smell the fragrance of the flowers.

The soldier glanced back.

No one from the Yang family came this time.

They were all afraid that after the head of the family was arrested, they would be the next to be arrested.

Even the patriarch's younger brother, who gave the orders and made the loudest noises, didn't come.

The soldier pursed his lips and shouted to the servants, "Break the door! Break it open!"

The slaves didn't have a hammer, and even if they did, most of them didn't know how to use it. They could only look at the soldier and tell him with their numb and ignorant eyes that they didn't know how to use it.

The soldier looked up and pointed at one of the tall men and said, "You, go and break the door open."

When the soldier pointed at him, the man couldn't help shrinking his neck. Although he was tall, he looked like a frightened quail. His lips trembled slightly, and he said cautiously, "Nu, Nunu can't do it."

The soldier heaved a long sigh in his heart. Even if he was a god, he would not be able to win a battle with this group of servants who had been trained by the Yang family to be timid and cowardly.

The Yang family does not keep anyone on staff. They do not need capable subordinates. In their opinion, only clan members are trustworthy.

As for the domestic servants and slaves, they were nothing but expendable commodities one after another. All the troublemakers were killed and executed in public. This went on year after year, and the domestic servants and slaves, who were already extremely obedient, became even more obedient and numb.

They have even stopped thinking and have no reaction to anything except responding.

Slaves are also human beings. As long as they are not working non-stop, they will always use their brains. But the slaves of the Yang family will not do that.

They have completely lost themselves and only know how to obey, and will never have their own ideas.

The soldier hesitated for a moment, and finally, he stood in front of the gate of the house.

Looking back again, he raised his arm and knocked on the gate.

——

"Surrender?" Ye Zhou was woken up in the middle of the night. He put on a coat, washed his face with the water from Cao'er, and rinsed his mouth with mouthwash before asking, "Yang family?"

Cao'er nodded, but then shook her head. She didn't know how to describe it, so she just said, "He is a soldier raised by the Yang family. I don't know if he is considered a member of the Yang family. He didn't change his last name."

Didn't change my last name.

Not to mention the Yang family's close associates, the Yang family even spared no effort to target foreign merchants doing business in Linzi, and forced them to change their surnames.

Not to mention the soldiers they support themselves.

I'm afraid this soldier is not valued in the Yang family. Maybe he is even worse than a servant in the eyes of the Yang family.

No matter how bad the soldiers are, they are of common people. Unlike slaves, they will not receive brainwashing education from childhood and have no idea of ​​serving a family for life.

"Let him go to the lobby." Ye Zhou, "I'll wait for him there."

In this dimension, people are ignorant, barbaric and free. This is a reflection of the decline of royal power, so various ideas emerge like mushrooms after rain.

The children of aristocratic families bring more ideas to this world, while the monarchs of various countries only care about how to consolidate their own position and expand their country's territory. This world may have various problems, but it is indeed full of vitality.

However, in such a social environment, only common people and nobles are considered human beings.

Slaves and commoners were not considered human beings.

For the powerful and aristocratic families, this world is a beautiful one. It may not have much material enjoyment, but it imposes few shackles on people. Both men and women enjoy the same aristocratic privileges. They can remain single for life or have many lovers. They can do whatever they want.

There is no essential difference between a princess and a prince. Sometimes a princess can even live a better life than a prince.

But it is not so good for the lower class people. They do not enjoy any privileges. Freedom brings chaos, and they may go hungry and become slaves at any time. Even if the powerful people rob them of their only remaining things, or even their lives, they can only blame themselves for their bad luck and not being able to reincarnate into a powerful family.

Everything has its pros and cons, and Ye Zhou also knows that the path from slave society to feudal society is inevitable.

But it did not prevent him from believing that the world also had a good side. Unmarried men and women could fall in love freely, and even it was not a big deal for women to give birth to children out of wedlock. Scholars could choose good people to live with and did not have to hang themselves on a tree. Those "customs" that persecuted people had not yet appeared.

A man would not lock his wife up in the house just to ensure that the child was his own.

Nor would they allow women to bind their feet, depriving them of their personal freedom and the right to own their own property.

Although here, women still do not have the right of inheritance, they cannot become the head of a family.

But if they were born into a wealthy family, their parents would buy them property. Even if they were bullied by their husbands, their maternal clan could directly come to their homes, forcibly take their daughters back, and unilaterally divorce their husbands.

Even though this was only a privilege for the nobility, there were still common people who bought and sold their wives and daughters, but they were not without their own advanced qualities.

However, this advancement is only aimed at one class.

In slave society, the powerful lived better, and in feudal society, the common people lived better.

Ye Zhou walked into the hall, which had been renovated by the employees. People in the supermarket were not used to sitting on their knees, and Ye Zhou was not used to it either. Every time he knelt, his butt would rest on his heels, which hurt him. Later, he observed the sitting postures of the people here and found that when they sat down, their feet were turned to the sides.

They did it very naturally, but Ye Zhou just couldn't learn it. Not only did his knees and legs hurt, but his feet also felt awkward.

So he asked his employees to remodel the lobby according to their own living habits.

The hall is furnished with simple and elegant chairs, and next to them are tall wooden tables, on which are usually placed some small plant ornaments. When guests come, the ornaments are removed and the table can be used to place tea sets.

There is also a Fushan stove placed in the corner. When someone comes, they will light incense. At that time, the guests can taste tea, smell the gentle fragrance on the tip of their noses, and see the thin smoke rising from the stove, curling and very pleasing to the eye.

Ye Zhou sat in the main seat in the hall. He asked Feng Yao to help him make a cup of strong tea. Just after he took two sips, Cao'er brought someone in.

Cao'er walked into the hall first. She trotted to Ye Zhou's side, leaned over and whispered in his ear, "He brought nearly a hundred people with him. Brother Wu took those people to the backyard first. Brother Wu and Brother Zhou are watching them together. Sister Chen said she will go there later."

Ye Zhou nodded, put down the teacup, and Cao'er left the hall again, asking the soldiers waiting outside to go in.

The soldier was feeling nervous as it was the first time he had come into contact with such a "big shot".

Although businessmen have nothing to do with big shots in any way, a businessman who can go against aristocratic families and not lose out and has a subtle advantage is definitely a big shot.

He swallowed hard and almost stepped on his heels as he walked.

Walking into the hall, the soldier did not dare to look up at the face of the man sitting in the main seat. He smelled the fragrance of tea in the hall and told himself to stay calm countless times in his mind.

But when the man's voice sounded, the soldier knelt down immediately without even having time to react.

He couldn't even remember, and trembled as he said, "Please forgive me, sir. This night attack was the result of the Yang family's despicable and shameless behavior. It has nothing to do with us. We were just following orders."

The soldier fell to the ground and cried, "Please spare our lives, sir. I am willing to hold the horse and stirrup for you."

He didn't dare to move. After an unknown amount of time, he finally heard a light laugh from the person at the top.

This made the soldiers feel cold all over, their scalps tingling, and all the hair on their bodies standing up.

He saw that the master of the house was still calm, but at this moment he was upset and couldn't sort out the thoughts in his mind.

"Since it's a night attack, why didn't you obey the order and charge in?" The man's voice was gentle, as if he was not facing an enemy who was going to attack his house, but an ordinary stranger.

The soldier's hair stood on end suddenly disappeared. For some reason, he felt that this man would not kill him or harm him.

But his voice was still trembling, and he whispered: "The Yang family's actions are treasonous! To mobilize troops without the emperor's order is a capital crime. Although I am not a scholar, I know a few words and some principles. I dare not obey the Yang family's orders to do such a perverse thing."

"Besides..." The soldier said with a bitter smile, "The Yang family can't afford to support a few soldiers. They have to support them, but they are afraid of being discovered, and they don't want to spend too much money and food. Except for me, the other soldiers have been captured by the adults. The people I brought are all servants of the Yang family."

"They have never held a weapon. They don't even know how to swing a knife, let alone kill someone."

He heard the man hum softly.

The voice was understated, and no emotion could be heard.

The soldier's heart was lifted again, and he realized once again that the man not far from him was now controlling his life.

The soldier's voice trembled: "Please forgive us, sir!"

After a long time, he heard the man at the top say, "In that case, stay here for now."

The soldier breathed a sigh of relief, but when he let out the breath, he was shocked to find that his whole body was covered in cold sweat and his clothes were soaked with sweat. A gust of evening breeze blew in from outside, making him shiver involuntarily.

"Take him to the room where the head of the Yang family is imprisoned." The man ordered the people outside the door, "It's a good opportunity to ask him to tell you about the current situation of the Yang family."

The soldier didn't want to go, but he didn't dare to object.

Logically speaking, the head of the Yang family is his former boss. He is a traitor to his master. What can he say when he meets the head of the Yang family?

Tell the truth?

But he couldn't object and could only follow the leader to the room in the backyard.

The woman leading the way was wearing strange clothes. She was not tall and had a scar on her face which still looked hideous even after healing, as if someone had once cruelly tried to destroy her face.

But perhaps because he had seen women with more scars on their faces than her, the soldier was not too scared.

They walked through the path and the stone road, and when they reached the courtyard, the woman turned around and said to him, "The head of the Yang family has a bad temper. He has been hungry for a day, so he probably doesn't have the energy to hit you. Talk to him and make him feel at ease."

She was smiling when she said this. The soldier only took a glance and hurriedly lowered his head and replied in a low voice: "I know."

The woman raised her hand towards a room and said, "He's in there, go in."

The soldier looked up at her in disbelief, not understanding why the door was not locked and he could go in directly.

The woman saw through his doubts as if she could read his mind, and said with a smile, "He can't get out."

The soldier was frightened. He nodded repeatedly, walked up the stairs hesitantly, raised his hand and put it on the door, but did not push it open.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally steeled himself and opened the door.

There was no light in the room, and it was so dark that there seemed to be no light at all.

He smelled blood, vomit, and sweat. All the smells intertwined together made him hate himself for having a good nose.

The soldier groped his way to the table, touched the oil lamp, then took out the smoldering fire from his arms and lit the bean lamp.

The small flame finally provided some light to the room.

In the flickering firelight, the soldier finally saw the man huddled in the corner.

He couldn't even believe that this disheveled man with disheveled hair who looked like a beggar was actually the patriarch of the Yang family, who had always been high above him and whom he could only look up to and never dared to see clearly.

The man in his memory who was arrogant, gave orders, and could control their fate, now looked like a frightened mouse, daring only to hide in a dark corner.

For a moment, the soldier didn't know whether he should be happy for the other party's situation or sad about it.

But strangely, he suddenly felt a hidden and cruel sense of smugness.

His fate was once in the hands of this man, and he thought he was omnipotent.

Now it seems that the other party is just the same as him.

The soldier walked towards the man holding a bean lamp.

·

Ye Zhou drank a cup of strong tea. He was originally very sleepy, but now he couldn't fall asleep no matter what. Since he couldn't fall asleep, Ye Zhou decided to do what he had planned to do tomorrow morning.

"Prepare the carriage, let's go into Chen Palace." Ye Zhou put on his coat and rushed into Zou Ming and said, "Call Zhou Yuanhe as well, to see what exactly is wrong with Lord Chen."

As soon as Lord Chen fell ill, all kinds of demons and monsters came out, and it was hard for Ye Zhou not to have conspiracy theories.

As soon as he fell ill, the Yang family took action.

Is it the Yang family who acted on their own initiative, or is there someone behind the scenes directing them?

How could a noble family with no one in the family holding an official position be so domineering in Linzi? Was there really no one else behind them?

Ye Zhou believed that this was a conspiracy rather than a coincidence.

If it was a conspiracy, then Lord Chen's illness should not be an illness.

The three of them entered the palace in a carriage. The palace gate was still unguarded. Only in the inner palace could one see a few guards changing shifts.

The guards in the palace are allowed to carry swords. Here, carrying swords is not a privilege limited to guards of a certain rank. Just as they were about to stop a car, they saw a hand reaching out from behind the curtain, holding a token.

The guards looked at each other, and in the end no one stopped him.

After entering the inner palace, Ye Zhou followed his memory and found Lord Chen's bedroom.

The one driving Ye Zhou was the young general "given" to him by Chen Hou, Zheng Shaoyu. He had been eating and living with Wu Yan and the others these days, and had also taught them how to drive a cart. He had become familiar with the employees. Although he still remembered that he was Chen Hou's man, he did not feel that there was any gap between him and Wu Yan and the others.

After all, Lord Chen did not instruct him to monitor or watch over the people in the supermarket.

In that case, he followed his heart and interacted with them, and they soon became friends.

"Immortal, you go in, I will guard here." The young general also believed that this was a conspiracy, so he would rather stay outside the palace to guard.

Ye Zhou did not stop him. He nodded to the young general and walked into Lord Chen's bedroom first.

The palace servants standing at the door of the bedroom did not dare to stop Ye Zhou when they saw that it was Ye Zhou coming.

When Ye Zhou came forward, a monk immediately went to meet him and said cautiously, "Your Majesty has had a fever these days and can't get out of bed easily. Madam has been visiting him every day, but the fever hasn't subsided."

Ye Zhou frowned, but did not stop: "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

The eunuch quickly said, "It was ordered by the Lord."

"Your Majesty said that it is really not a good idea to cause you any more trouble."

Ye Zhou didn't say anything else. He walked straight to the bed. Sure enough, Chen Hou, who was lying on the bed, had a flushed face and a frown even in his sleep. His hands were exposed outside the quilt, and his fists were clenched tightly, as if he had encountered some danger in his dream.

As soon as Ye Zhou stood still, Zhou Yuanhe came over with a medical box.

He took out a thermometer to measure Chen Hou's temperature and took Chen Hou's blood for testing.

While Zhou Yuanhe was inspecting, Ye Zhou asked the eunuch, "Has anyone been here recently? Is there any unusual movement in the palace?"

This eunuch was the confidant of Marquis Chen and had grown up with him. Marquis Chen specifically told Ye Zhou that among so many people in the palace, he only trusted this eunuch and his wife.

The eunuch bowed his head and said, "The heads of the Zhang and Zheng families have been here, but they don't seem to be in any trouble."

The eunuch hesitated for a moment and then said, "On the contrary, few of the ministers in the court came to visit His Majesty."

Before he finished speaking, Ye Zhou had already understood his implication.

Ye Zhou suddenly thought of something.

"That's right, so I don't have to look for them one by one."

He looked at Lord Chen.

This person is quite lucky.