admire

"Girl, what happened? I feel like you're in a bad mood." Xue Liu brought over the hot tea.

"It's okay." Mingyu smiled and picked up the tea.

They left food and medicine with Yu Tong, asked some detailed questions, and then came back.

She knew that the current situation in Sulou County had nothing to do with her. She just had to cooperate with Yu Tongan to investigate whether the local cause was related to the Wuzhu Hall or the Imperial Palace, so that Yu Tongan and his forces could speculate what the Imperial Palace wanted to do.

Mingyu looked up at the six gangsters still in the yard.

She knew the plight of Sulou County, but she could not do anything. She did not have such great ability and there was no way she could change the current situation of Sulou County.

Just do your own thing and help Yu Tongan do this, what else can she do...

What can she do?

Mingyu was a little at a loss. He lowered his head and drank a sip of hot tea. The warmth passed through his throat and into his stomach, but it quietly calmed his heart.

She can still be Yu Tongxin and Xiaoya's teacher again, and play and fight with Xueliu and Muqian in the small courtyard.

Ever since Mingyu intervened in Xiaoya's father's treatment, the Yu family has had fewer restrictions on her, so it can be considered a good place to be.

Mingyu put down the teacup and relaxed a little.

"Thank you for the tea."

"It's good that the girl didn't do that." Xue Liu's eyes curved, "I thought the girl was bullied outside."

"What if I get bullied?"

Seeing that Mingyu was in a better mood, Xueliu said with a hint of playfulness, "Then I'll tell you, Master."

"What if it's your young master who bullies me?" Mingyu deliberately made things difficult for Xueliu.

Xueliu's eyes rolled around in her sockets, and she leaned close to Mingyu's ear and whispered, "Then I'll scold him in private with you."

"That's it?"

Xueliu shrugged, pretending to be helpless: "There's nothing I can do. The young master can deduct my wages."

"What are you talking about?" Yu Tongan walked in and glanced at Mingyu.

"Young Master." Xue Liu bowed and saw that Yu Tongan wanted to see Mingyu for something. She winked at Mingyu and walked out.

"Nothing." Mingyu restrained his smile and looked at Yu Tongan, "What's wrong?"

As soon as he returned, Yu Tongan went straight to find Yu Yao and Wu Pi. I don’t know what they were discussing.

"I plan to do it before the sun goes down..."

A sharp shout interrupted Yu Tongan's words.

"You bastards! Get out of here right now!"

Before anyone here could react, the leader of the gangsters in the yard became excited, making a humming sound and moving towards the outside, seemingly to attract attention from outside, and the others also became more energetic.

Mingyu looked at Yu Tongan and found that he was also looking at her.

Mingyu took a step back and made a gesture to invite Yu Tongan to solve it himself, as he couldn't handle it himself.

"Young Master?" Wu Pi and Wu Ren were waiting outside for Yu Tongan's instructions.

Yu Tongan sighed and walked out.

"Don't you know where we are? How dare you tie up my husband here? Get out here right now!"

The constant cursing was annoying to hear.

Wu Ren opened the door, and Yu Tongan walked out slowly, whispering, "Why don't you tell her to shut up?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Pi drew his sword and pointed the tip at the person who was cursing.

The shouting and cursing stopped for a moment, and a brief calm was restored.

The woman was wearing a short, coarse cloth shirt with her sleeves rolled up. Her face was pale and she was too frightened to speak. She took two steps back, away from the sword tip, and spoke in a trembling voice, "You, you damned thing! You kidnapped my husband and you still dare to do this?"

As he spoke, his confidence grew for some reason, and although his voice didn't start out loud, it gradually grew louder.

"It's so unfair! You kidnapped my husband and now you want to kill me. Don't you want us to die?" At the end she actually started to howl, crying very loudly but without a single tear.

"So?" Yu Tong'an's voice was steady but intimidating. "What can you do? Cry here? Or will anyone help you?"

The woman paused for a moment and looked around. The people around her retreated and lowered their heads, avoiding her gaze.

The swords were not yet sheathed, and they knew that the other party was not someone to be trifled with. No one knew if they had a future, so why should they stand up for a woman?

Everyone knew what the woman and the man had done. Even if he snatched the food, would he share it with them? Or would they be rewarded for taking the initiative?

Of course not.

The woman gritted her teeth. What a useless thing! Not only did she not get anything, but her belongings were also confiscated. If she hadn't had no men at home and was afraid of being bullied, she wouldn't have wanted to come.

"How dare you be so arrogant! This is Sulou County. As an outsider, you should obey our arrangements! You should..."

"Oh." Yu Tongan interrupted her, waved his hand and said, "Drag the person inside out and return it to her."

The woman was overwhelmed by Yu Tongan's "obedience".

Wu Pi still held the sword, and Wu Ren quickly dragged the six people out and threw them to the ground at the woman's feet.

"Yes, take them all if you want."

Yu Tongan looked at the woman indifferently, wanting to incite the crowd to put them under the locals, and then "rightfully" ask them to hand over all their belongings for the locals to "arrange".

The woman didn't know how to respond for a moment. Seeing her husband struggling and whimpering, trying to get her to notice his cowardly look, she suddenly thought of something. With a calculating look in her eyes, she started crying again.

"How could my husband be beaten like this by you! How can we live? You have to compensate me!" The woman glared at Yu Tongan, as if her eyes were about to pop out. If she hadn't been talking about compensation, one would have thought she loved her husband very much.

"Then don't live."

"What?" The woman couldn't believe her ears.

"Didn't you say he couldn't survive? There's no government around now, so just kill him." Yu Tongan glanced at Wu Pi and asked, "Do you need help?"

"You! You! You!" The woman's hands were shaking with anger.

"Wu Pi, go ahead." Yu Tongan said coldly.

"yes."

Wu Pi approached the woman and the gangster with his sword raised. The woman stepped back and fell to the ground, her legs weakening. The man was not much better off.

"Forget it." Yu Tongan stopped and sighed, "For the sake of my family's female relatives, I don't want to stain my door with blood."

"Go away. I don't really want to see you alive." Yu Tongan turned back, leaving only a light sentence, "If they are still arguing, move away and help them."

Wu Ren and Wu Pi responded.

When he returned to the hall, he saw Mingyu looking at him with his eyes wide open.

"how?"

"Awesome." Mingyu's eyes were full of admiration.

Yu Tongan found it very funny. He had never received the other party's admiration before, but now he got Mingyu's praise for arguing with a woman?

"I think it's really amazing." Seeing Yu Tong'an's disbelief, Mingyu added, "Before, when I was leaving the palace and returning home, someone, seeing my young age, falsely accused me of taking his things. No matter how I said it, I couldn't explain it clearly. It's hard to reason with someone who doesn't want to reason. It's all about him and not me."

Yu Tongan frowned: "What about the servants? Why didn't they stop it?"

"I didn't bring it." At that time, I was young and depressed in the palace. I could only go back home after court. The only way I could be free was on the way home, so I let it go.

"And then?"

"He asked me to pay compensation. I had just been released from office and didn't have enough money. I finally reported it to the government. After the investigation, he had to apologize to me." The worst thing was that Emperor Dewen found out and scolded me. I no longer had freedom even when I returned home.

Yu Tongan looked at Mingyu and felt that she was a bit pitiful. There was no one to take care of her in the palace, and her identity was special. She was probably not living a very good life.

"Come, I'll teach you a trick now. If you encounter any problems, go to the Yu family shop and someone will help you."

Mingyu pursed his lips and smiled, then pretended to bow.

"Then thank you, Master Yu."

…

There was no one in the yard, so they could move around more easily.

South of Sulou County is where the city lord moved his patients. According to Ding Yuan and the others, the situation there is not very good. Most people are not in good health, and many are even sick and lack medicine and food. Only those who can still move can barely go up the mountain to find some wild vegetables.

"But there aren't many wild vegetables left in winter." Mingyu walked towards the direction Ding Yuan mentioned with a gloomy face. "I'm also looking for any medicine left in the mountains. I don't dare to throw away the dregs."

They deliberately avoided the people in the city. It happened that Yu Tongan's "evil deeds" had spread in the city, and not many people dared to approach him. They came to the city lord's mansion unimpeded, took advantage of the terrain of the mansion to enter the mountains, and came to Sulou County to investigate the situation in the south.

Wu Ren and Wu Pi stayed in the yard to prevent anyone from causing trouble. At first, they did not agree with Yu Tongan coming here in person because they were not sure whether there was an epidemic, and the area south of Sulou County happened to be a severely affected area, but Yu Tongan had other arrangements for them.

The mountains are quiet and you can occasionally hear birds singing.

"Mingyu." Yu Tongan's voice was so soft that it almost blended into the mountain breeze.

Mingyu turned her head to look at Yu Tongan on the left, but Yu Tongan didn't look at her and was still looking at the road ahead.

"My mother once had a cat she loved very much."

Mingyu was a little confused. Why did he suddenly say this?

But Yu Tongan continued, "But one time, a servant came into the house to clean and accidentally scared the cat. The cat ran out and was bitten by a dog. The cat was dying. My mother was very sad, and I felt a little guilty."

Mingyu was a little confused and asked directly, "Why? It's not your fault."

"Yeah. That's what my mother said when she found out." Yu Tongan smiled, as if lost in memory. "Maybe my mother was too sad, or maybe the kitten was just pitiful. I started blaming myself for no reason."

"I blame myself for not explaining it clearly to the servants, for not being home at the time, for not being able to heal the kitten. Ultimately, I blame myself for being unable to do anything about the kitten's death and my mother's grief."

Yu Tongan looked at Mingyu, and Mingyu could see his own outline in the other's eyes.

"Later I realized that, just as you said, it wasn't my fault and it wasn't necessary."