Ye Nuan, on horseback, looked stunning and heroic. She chuckled and said, "Why? You came to see me but I don't recognize you?"
Zhou Shou looked at Qi Wuze again with a sullen face, "So this is the Lord of Luomu City?"
Qi Wuze denied: "You recognized the wrong person, didn't you see that I was a horse bandit?"
Zhou Shou spat out a mouthful of blood: Humph, did they think he was stupid? These two are so shameless!
Qi Wuze waved his hand, and the wolves began to approach. Zhou Shou hurriedly shouted, "Stop, stop, stop! Master Ye, I'm only here to borrow food. I mean no harm. Why are you doing this?"
Ye Nuan sneered: "Borrow food? Are you borrowing or are you going to write an IOU?"
Zhou Shou was speechless: I did originally want to write an IOU.
Ye Nuan said slowly, word by word, "I'm a businessman and never do business that loses money. If it's real money, then that's fine, but if you want an IOU, sorry, no way!"
The wolves gradually approached. Zhou Shou tried to struggle again, but he shouted, "I am following the emperor's orders. If you don't lend me this grain, are you planning a rebellion?"
Qi Wuze's expression was quite sarcastic. "Imperial order? General Zhou, don't you know that the wasteland is Luomu City's territory? If the imperial court wants to get its hands on it, don't blame me for chopping you off!"
Zhou Shou: This cunning villain has simply admitted his identity now. During the previous ambushes, we all thought he was a real horse bandit!
"How can you be so brave to rely on a wolf pack to win? If you have the guts, City Lord Qi, challenge me in a one-on-one duel."
Qi Wuze leaned on his horse and raised his eyebrows and smiled, "This city lord has never been a hero. Single combat? That's something only fools do."
Zhou Shou kept complaining, but the two men refused to listen.
Ye Nuan continued, "General Zhou, think carefully. Do you want to live up to the emperor's order and die on the battlefield, or do you want to tie yourself up now and let us throw you back inside the pass?"
The closer the hungry wolves got, the more their horses spun around in panic. Zhou Shou struggled for a moment before looking at Qi Wuze and saying, "City Lord Qi, please fight me today. If I lose, I will be tied up and I will never venture into the wilderness again. Otherwise, even if I die today, another general will come with his men tomorrow."
The desire to fight was so strong in his eyes that Qi Wuze became interested. He drove his horse towards the wolf pack, and the wolves spread out and formed a circle. Qi Wuze drew his sword and said fiercely, "Xiao Hu, A Ya, watch how I beat him into submission!"
Ye Nuan said to the other four people around Zhou Shou, "One on one. If you dare to attack me, don't blame me for being rude!"
The four people around Zhou Shou quickly stepped back, all looking at the two nervously.
Qi Wuze, the lord of Luomu City, was a brave warrior, single-handedly balancing the two great bandits of the wilderness. His name was often heard within Shentian Pass. Zhou Shou, a belligerent man, was unrivaled within Shentian Pass. Before coming to the wilderness, he had anticipated meeting Qi Wuze.
Instead of meeting his match as he had expected, he was outmaneuvered several times. Zhou Shou was not convinced and wanted to fight simply because he was not seeking food.
Just as he was about to mount his horse and charge out, Qi Wuze chopped off his jade crown. Before he could recover, his horse was knocked over and he fell directly to the ground. The next second, a boot crushed his head, mocking him: "How dare you provoke me when you're so weak?"
Zhou Shou never thought that he could not survive a single round against him. He felt a breath stuck in his chest and was about to get up when Qi Wuze hit him with the handle of his knife.
"Grandson Zhou, are you convinced?"
He got up again, and with another thud, his entire face was stepped directly into the yellow earth.
"I'm asking you a question, are you convinced?"
The four men under Zhou Shou's command twitched their eyes, their bodies shaking with every step. Damn, this is too brutal! He's worthy of being the one who can check and balance the horse bandits! This is a complete face-to-face beating!
Her husband, who was incredibly powerful, was so handsome. Ye Nuan took her time to admire his heroic figure and reminded him at the right moment: "Aze, at least show your face!"
Qi Wuze innocently lifted his leg. Zhou Shou, who had a mouthful of mud on his face, finally breathed a sigh of relief. The weapon in his hand fell to the ground with a clang. He gritted his teeth and said, "Submit! Tie me up!"
The other four were helpless when they saw that their general had admitted defeat. They dropped their weapons, put their hands behind their backs, lowered their heads and said nothing.
Qi Wuze ordered his men to throw a few hemp ropes over, and Zhou Shou and the others tied them up one by one obediently, sitting in the middle of the wolf pack in humiliation without saying a word.
Qi Wuze strung the men together and threw them to his subordinates nearby, saying, "Take them to the madman and have him throw them back."
Several subordinates followed the order and went forward.
Qi Wuze came close to Ye Nuan and asked softly, "Ah Nuan, you're not scared, are you?"
Ye Nuan shook her head: "No." Not only that, she was also impressed by her husband's handsomeness!
Thinking of his encounter with Ye Ling just now, he thought for a moment and asked, "Aze, are there more criminals exiled from the interior?"
Qi Wuze frowned: "Those were originally refugees from Shentian Pass. Zhou Shou deliberately sent people here to protect them."
"What about these refugees?"
Qi Wuze pondered for a while: "The wasteland is peaceful now, it's not a place where you can just throw things away. We'll find these people and send them back to Shentian Pass. If there are those who don't want to go back, they can stay as long as they are willing to abide by the rules of Luomu City. If they don't want to go back and are unwilling to obey, we'll kill them."
The two of them walked slowly towards the farm. Ye Nuan suggested, "Let's plant a poison barrier forest 500 meters from Shentian Pass. Plant some aggressive plants in it. If any enemy attacks, we can block some of them."
"It's a good idea, but..." Qi Wuze was a little troubled. "It's hard to plant trees on wasteland, let alone a forest?"
Ye Nuan chuckled: "I forgot what your wife does. You just need to find the people and I will do the planting."
Qi Wuze was stunned for a moment, then he started laughing: "Yes, yes, yes, look at my brain, I forgot that my wife was here."
After returning to the farm, Ye Nuan did not tell Su about these things, and the family was very happy.
Before they started to build the poisonous forest, Shen Tianguan began to send letters to Yunjian Farm frequently, but the pigeons never returned.
One day in late July, a carrier pigeon brought a token of trust: a letter from Su's nephew and a jade pendant.
That jade pendant belonged to Su and the eldest brother of the Su family. After the eldest brother of the Su family passed away, her sister-in-law lived in a side courtyard of the marquis's mansion with her young nephew and lived a low-key life.
Su had a close relationship with her eldest brother and had often supported them in the past, but she had not seen him since his exile. Now that her nephew was thirteen, Su was very excited to receive his letter and agreed to meet Zhou Shou.
Ye Nuan held the jade pendant in her hand and examined it carefully, then asked her mother, "Mom, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
Su shook her head: "No, this is indeed your uncle's jade pendant."
"Mom, have you ever thought that they must have other motives for asking Mingcheng to come here?"
Su sighed: "Of course I know, but I must meet your uncle's only flesh and blood."
Ye Nuan tried hard to recall the original owner's memories. Her uncle Su Mu treated her very well and often rode her on his neck when she was a child.
Just meet him. If there is something wrong with Mingcheng, she will throw him out immediately.
The next day at noon, Zhou Shou arrived on time, followed by a young boy. Unlike Xiao Hu's lively side and Qi Ya's dull side, this boy was very calm and had a good eye for people. Although he was a little excited when he saw Su, he quickly calmed down.
There were two people following the young man. They were Ye Ling and his wife. Su's expression immediately changed. She stood up and pointed at him and asked, "Why are you here?"
Zhou Shou immediately came over to smooth things over: "Lord Ye is an imperial envoy specially sent by the emperor to collect food this time."
Ye Nuan sat on the edge of the terrace, looked up and sneered, "Imperial Envoy? How come he was a refugee yesterday and an Imperial Envoy today?"
Ye Ling was also very upset about this matter. His daughter had become a noble lady and was extremely favored. As a father-in-law, he had risen to prominence and had many people fawning over him. But the emperor was the emperor after all. Three palaces and six courtyards were normal. The emperor had sworn that marrying an empress and taking concubines were only temporary measures, but Ru'er insisted on making a fuss. Because of this incident, the emperor even took away her unborn child. In anger, the emperor confined Ru'er to his house.
Concerned about her daughter, Xu took the opportunity to bring the man out while visiting the palace. However, the man threw a tantrum and ran away, prompting the emperor to exile them both to Shentian Pass. Just three days after their arrival, they were driven into the wilderness by soldiers. Fortunately, Zhou Shou, upon learning their identities, allowed him to redeem himself for meritorious service and come to persuade Ye Nuan.
Ye Ling was very confident: no matter what, he was Ye Nuan and Xiao Hu's father after all, and they would eventually give him some face.
Facing Su's questioning, Ye Ling said with a straight face: "Why can't I come? If I didn't come, how would I know that you actually told A Nuan and Xiao Hu that I was dead!" This fierce woman, even after being exiled to the wilderness for a long time, her temper has not been smoothed over.
Su didn't give him any face at all and immediately scolded him, "If you don't die, I will kill you. Ah Nuan and Xiao Hu are my children, what do you care about them? You were so heartless back then, why are you pretending to be so now?"
Xu, who had been silent the whole time, came to Ye Ling's side and suddenly knelt down in front of Su. She kowtowed twice and turned away with a pitiful look on her face. "Sister, this is all my fault. You can hate me if you want, but please don't make things difficult for him. If you have any food, please lend it to him. My husband's talent for revenge cannot be buried in a remote village."
Ye Ling reached out to pull Xu up, gritting his teeth and saying, "Jiaojiao, get up! Don't ask her. I'm well-educated, how can I bow down for a few grains of rice?" When Su was exiled here, he had thought she would live in poverty and eventually die in a foreign land. For a moment, he felt reluctant, but the thought of Su's various faults immediately dissipated.
Now, seeing how well the three of them, mother and son, were doing, and even hooking up with City Lord Qi, Ye Ling's slight pity turned into anger and shame. It was supposed to be Su who was divorced and suffered misery, but now the situation seemed to be reversed.
He actually came to beg her!
Zhou Shou watched the two men tugging and pulling at each other, his face bulging with veins, and he almost gave up and kicked them down. He had invited them here as lobbyists, but before he could do anything, they were already singing about bitterness and hatred. What was he going to do with his food?
Seeing that Xu was about to speak, Zhou Shou could no longer hold back and roared, "Shut up!"
Xu was startled, and her eyes instantly filled with tears. She was obviously a woman in her thirties, but she acted like a girl in her teens. She felt very aggrieved and kept pulling Ye Ling's hand and refused to let go.
Ye Nuan got goosebumps all over her body. The heroine's mother was a typical Qiong Yao heroine, crying at the drop of a hat. She was still pretentious at her age and had a strong sense of humor.
You're not here to borrow food, you're here to attract hatred!
And her father won't bow down for a few pieces of silver, haha!
He came here today with a broken waist, okay?
Zhou Shou frowned and looked at Ye Ling fiercely: "Master Ye, don't forget why you came here today! Don't you want to go back to Kyoto?"
Ye Ling felt humiliated when he thought about having to beg this wicked woman whom he had divorced. He was extremely reluctant to speak, but he had no choice for the sake of his future.
"Su Ya, if you are willing to lend me grain, I will guarantee Mingcheng's title for you." The Su family is now headed by a concubine's son. If Mingcheng can make a contribution this time, he is confident that he can win back Mingcheng's title in front of the emperor.
Su looked at Su Mingcheng with some pity in her eyes. At Zhou Shou's signal, Su Mingcheng rushed to her side and cried, "Auntie, Mingcheng misses you so much!"
Su patted his back and asked, trying hard to hold back tears, "Where's your mother?"
"My mother, my mother passed away due to illness years ago!"
Su's throat choked, and her eyes instantly turned red. She asked again, "Are you here to persuade Auntie to borrow some grain?"
Su Mingcheng looked at Zhou Shou, gritted his teeth and hid behind her, shaking his head and said, "No, Mingcheng wants to ask for protection from my aunt!" Kyoto is an inhumane place. There is no one closer to him in this world than his aunt!
Zhou Shou had a mouthful of blood stuck in his chest, and his eyes were bloodshot.
The boy was so cunning that he even dared to deceive him. When he came, he swore that he would definitely help persuade them to borrow grain.
"Su Mingcheng, you are the eldest grandson of the Duke of Rong's family. You are likely to inherit the title in the future. Do you really want to give up?"
Su Mingcheng pursed his lips. "I'm not a three-year-old child. I can't let you deceive me. As long as Ye Ling is in Kyoto, I won't be able to inherit the title. Why should I go back and let you control me? I can see clearly who is my closest relative and who truly has the best interests at heart. Lord Zhou and Ye Ling, you guys are going to use me after you die!"
This grandson of Duke Rong looked weak and silent, but unexpectedly he was actually a little fox.
Ye Ling snorted coldly: "You really look just like your father!"
Su Shi was not happy with this. She pushed Su Mingcheng behind her and pointed at his nose and scolded him, "How dare you mention my elder brother? If it weren't for my elder brother, you would have been out of the running and worthless! The ancients said that a drop of water should be repaid with a spring. What have you done for the favor? You've read so much that it's like a dog's stomach!"
Ye Ling had never imagined that he would be scolded by Su Shi, a shrew. Just as he was about to take action, he saw Ye Xiaohu and Ye Nuan standing behind Su Shi, glaring at him. His breath caught in his throat.
After a long pause, he said, "You're still blaming me. So, if you're willing to lend me the grain, I'll ask for permission to marry you back. Ah Nuan and Xiao Hu will also go back with me. You can still live in the scholar's mansion and be respected by the servants."
"Pooh!"
Su spitted directly in his face, and Ye Ling stepped back repeatedly, feeling nauseous. His face turned pale as he pointed at her and kept yelling at her for a long time, unable to utter a word.
Ye Nuan found it funny that Zha Ling still didn't understand the situation.
Su put the abacus in his hand on the table and started calculating in front of everyone.
"My farm brings in ten dou of jade a month. One dou of jade sells for a hundred thousand taels of silver. Ten dou is one million taels, and a year it's thirty million taels. I also have thousands of acres of fertile land, countless farmhands, successful children, and a filial son-in-law. Why would I go back to your shabby place and suffer?"
"You have a really big face!"
With every word she spoke, Ye Ling's face turned paler.
Thirty million taels a year was far more than his salary for a hundred years. Seeing her now radiant appearance, she was indeed much more comfortable than in the scholar's residence. Ye Ling's hands tightened in his sleeves, and he could not utter a word.
Su sneered, "What a bullshit university scholar, so righteous and sanctimonious, he's a perfect match for a weak and helpless wife like you!"
It’s so satisfying, so fucking satisfying!
Su felt happier than ever before. The depression that had been accumulating in her heart for years finally dissipated. She looked even younger, in stark contrast to the now dejected Ye Ling.
Being ridiculed, Xu burst into tears again and kowtowed to Su: "Sister, it's all my fault, it's all my fault. If you want to scold someone, scold me, don't scold my husband!"
Just as she was about to reach out to pull the corner of Su's clothes, Ye Nuan kicked her away and said with a frown, "Don't touch my mother!"
Su felt more relieved and sighed, "Xu Jiao, you always feel that my daughter has taken your daughter's things. Now look at my daughter, then look at your daughter! Look at your son-in-law, then look at my son-in-law!"
For a long time, her face turned pale again and again: Ye Nuan's ruined appearance was not only restored, but now it was even more beautiful and charming. City Lord Qi was handsome and tall, and he treated his mother-in-law very kindly. Although her daughter was a noble, to put it bluntly, she was the emperor's concubine. She didn't dare call the emperor "son-in-law". He could exile them before anything happened. What kind of son-in-law was this?
If you don't compare, you won't feel anything. Once you compare, you'll want to die! She had clearly defeated the Su family and monopolized her husband, so why is it like this now?
I'm so unwilling!
Su's demeanor suddenly changed, and she smiled at her kindly, "Well, if you tell Ye Ling how you falsely accused A Nuan of poisoning your daughter, I might lend you some food."
Not only Ye Ling was stunned, but Ye Nuan was also confused: the book said that the original female supporting character poisoned Ye Ru, could there be another story behind it?
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