Chapter 50 The Wind Has Changed
When the delicious hot and sour noodles came out of the pot, Xu Zhenying served two bowls to the Fang family's master and mistress, and one bowl to Fang's fourth sister. Finally, after thinking about it, he served another bowl to Li Zhaodi.
After searching everywhere in the camp and the post station, they couldn't find it. Finally, Li Zhaodi's sister, Li Yinzhang, said to her with red eyes, "Sister is crying in the woodshed. Auntie took her new clothes away, and she refused to take them, saying that the Xu family's sister lent them to her. Father was very angry and kicked her, saying that the Xu family still owed her twenty taels of silver, so this dress should be considered as interest."
Xu Zhenying's heart skipped a beat and he thought something bad had happened.
Xu Zhenying walked in the direction Li Yinzhang pointed, and sure enough, he saw Li Zhaodi curled up in the corner of the woodshed. She was thin, curled up into a ball, her shoulders twitching, and even her crying was very small.
"Li Zhaodi!" Xu Zhenying shouted.
Li Zhaodi quickly wiped away her tears and said in surprise, "Miss Xu, why are you here? Ah... Is it Yin Zhang looking for you? I'm fine... It's just... It's just that I'm useless... My aunt snatched it away... I told her that it wasn't mine, but she wouldn't listen. I had no choice... I'm useless... I'm sorry... I'll find a way to earn money to pay you back in the future..."
Li Zhaodi became sadder and sadder as she spoke, and finally she started crying.
Xu Zhenying felt a little distressed. Li Zhaodi was only sixteen or seventeen years old. In her previous life, she was only in the first or second year of high school, so she was still a minor.
Xu Zhenying patted her shoulder gently and comforted her: "It's okay, it's just a piece of clothing, I don't want you to pay for it."
"But...but..." Li Zhaodi cried sadly, as if all the grievances at this moment came to her heart. She endured it at first, but the more Xu Zhenying comforted her, the sadder she became. "But she clearly had several clothes in the box, why did she have to take mine...That was my first new dress...Daddy is also partial...He only loves my aunt...He doesn't love me at all..."
Xu Zhenying was speechless at this moment. She could come up with many ideas to help Li Zhaodi get back her clothes, but what after that?
Li Zhaodi's situation will not change at all——
Xu Zhenying felt a little tired, and even more powerless towards reality.
Her arrival here did not change anyone or anything. Everything continued to move forward along its original trajectory.
Xu Zhenying was very concerned about Li Zhaodi's injury. Being kicked by an adult man could be a big or small injury. If the force was too great, it was very likely to injure her internal organs.
"Clothes are no big deal. Zhaodi, lift up your clothes and I'll help you check your injuries."
Li Zhaodi was a little shy, her eyes were red and swollen, and she shook her head to indicate her refusal.
Xu Zhenying said, "We're both girls, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Let me check your injuries. I'm telling you, if you're kicked, your internal organs could rupture in the worst case. You might even die in your sleep. Li Zhaodi, do you really want to die?"
Li Zhaodi was frightened by her and quickly shook her head, "I don't want to die. I want to protect my mother and sister! If I die, my sister will have to do all the work. My sister is still young and has no strength. I can't die yet——"
Xu Zhenying felt sad when she heard this. "Then lift up your clothes and I'll show you."
Li Zhaodi did not resist this time. She carefully lifted up her clothes, revealing her skinny body. She looked at Xu Zhenying's face from time to time.
Xu Zhenying saw a large bruise on her stomach, and it was obvious that Li Xiucai must have been very cruel to her at that time.
She frowned and suddenly became furious, wishing she could beat that bastard Li Xiucai to death with a few sticks.
Xu Zhenying suppressed his anger, pressed her belly several times, and asked repeatedly, but Li Zhaodi shook her head and said it didn't hurt. Only then did she dare to confirm that it was just a superficial injury.
Seeing Xu Zhenying's unhappy expression, Li Zhaodi quickly said, "Miss Xu, I'm not hurt... Daddy doesn't often do this... Auntie gave birth to a son, which is a great contribution to the Li family. I shouldn't have snatched things from Auntie..."
After saying that, she carefully looked at Xu Zhenying's face again, with a bit of guilt and flattery: "Good girl, don't be angry... Don't give me anything next time... I can't keep it even if you give it to me... It's a waste of such a good thing..."
"I'm not angry." Xu Zhenying sighed and explained word by word, "I just feel very powerless."
There was confusion in Li Zhaodi's eyes.
She always felt that Xu Zhenying was different from all the girls in the world.
But she couldn't figure out what was different.
She only felt that Xu Zhenying's eyes were deep at this moment, as if he was looking at her, but also as if his gaze was drifting far away.
Xu Zhenying retracted his gaze and forced a smile, "Just bear with it for a few days, I'll find a way to make you..."
There was no further words after that.
Li Zhaodi often wondered, what should she do?
Let her not be beaten or starved, let her not be exiled, or let her not be bullied by her aunt?
Many years later, Li Zhaodi recalled this scene and lamented her own confusion. If she had been smarter, she would have realized the grand vision hidden in Xu Zhenying's unfinished words.
"Let's leave it like this for now. Maybe it will get better after a while. Just wait for me." Xu Zhenying put down his clothes and seemed to have regained his composure. He smiled at her and said, "You haven't had dinner yet, right? My aunt made some hot and sour noodles. They're not available in Bianjing. You should try them. I'll have Yinzhang bring them to you. Don't let your aunt see them."
Li Zhaodi was infected by her emotions and was no longer sad. She finally smiled through her tears and said, "I understand."
That night, an uninvited guest appeared in Zhao Bantou's room.
Liu Jieshi stood at the door, bowing and waiting for Zhao Bantou. When he saw Zhao Bantou coming back, he greeted him enthusiastically, "Bantou."
Zhao Bantou was picking his teeth, his eyes narrowed to a line, and he chuckled twice. "I was wondering why you didn't come to see me yet? You're quite patient."
"What are you talking about? I just thought there was no water in the captain's room, so I went to help get some..." Liu Jieshi handed him the water bag and took out something from his pocket. "I heard that you like to drink tea, captain. It's been hard on the exile, and I haven't been able to buy any good tea. This is from my brother at the post station. I bought some for you to satisfy your craving."
Zhao Bantou said nothing, pushed the door open and walked in, signaling with his eyes.
Liu Jieshi immediately took action and put the bag of tea on the table.
"If you don't come to me, I'll come to you." Team leader Zhao slumped onto a stool, crossed his legs, and continued to leisurely pick his teeth. "Starting tomorrow, you and Ming Xiaoshuang will switch roles. You won't be responsible for the dozens of people in the Xu family. You'll lead Ming Xiaoshuang's team."
Liu Jieshi was shocked. He learned that the Xu family had fallen, but he spent a lot of money to smooth things over and finally joined the escort team just to take revenge. Why did he have to change people so soon after his exile?
Liu Jieshi's heart was in turmoil, but he didn't show it on his face. Years of dormancy had taught him to remain calm. He pretended to be puzzled, "Hey, why did you suddenly change people? But what did I do wrong?"
Zhao Bantou stared at him, his sharp eyes sizing him up and down, then he sneered, "You didn't do a bad job, you did it too well. Looking at me, I can't see any deep hatred between you and the Xu family. I tell you the truth, I don't care what happened in the past, but from now on, if you dare to touch the Xu family again, don't blame me for being rude to you!"
Liu Jieshi was stunned for a moment, then resumed his playful smile. "How could I not understand what the squad leader said? Why... why did they suddenly change people when everything was fine? Could it be some instructions from above?"
He clasped his fists again, his expression sincere: "This is my first time doing escort work, and I don't know the rules. Please explain it to me, Zhao Bantou!"
Zhao Bantou's expression calmed down a little. Who doesn't like obedient subordinates?
What's more, Liu Jieshi was very good at dealing with people. He would show his respect from time to time and always nodded and scraped in front of others, giving enough face to the young leader.
Thinking that if Liu Jieshi was stubborn and continued to embarrass the Xu family, he would be implicated, Zhao Bantou pondered for a moment and decided to reveal a little bit of information to prevent Liu Jieshi from making trouble and implicating everyone.
Thinking of this, Zhao Bantou knocked on the table with his hand and put on a mysterious look. "Don't ask about things you shouldn't know. But considering that you have done your job well in the past, I am not afraid to let you know a little."
Liu Jieshi immediately pricked up his ears.
After making sure no one was around, Zhao Bantou lowered his voice and said, "I have reliable information. The reinstatement of the Second Master of the Xu family is a foregone conclusion."
Liu Jieshi's face turned pale as paper in an instant.
Seeing his expression, Zhao Bantou was very satisfied. He patted Liu Jieshi's shoulder, half threatening, half warning, "That's all I have to say. I can't reveal more. You also know the seriousness of this matter. If you continue to embarrass the Xu family, there's no guarantee that Mr. Xu will deal with us when he returns to Bianjing City in the future. As the saying goes, leave a way out for us so that we can meet again in the future. You are still young, so don't be too extreme in everything."
Liu Jieshi suddenly realized and almost fell to the ground.
"I don't care what grudge you have against the Second Master of the Xu Family. Even if there's a huge grudge, as the saying goes, the people shouldn't fight the officials. No matter how many tricks you use, can you really tear the sky apart? I advise you to let go of that idea as soon as possible."
Liu Jieshi regained consciousness, clasped his fists and said to Zhao Bantou, "Thank you so much for saving my life! Without your warning, I would have been in great trouble! Your kindness is like reborn parents—"
Liu Jieshi actually knelt on the ground and kowtowed hard.
Zhao Bantou stroked his chin, looking extremely satisfied. After Liu Jieshi kowtowed, he helped him up and said with a sincere look, "It's worth my while that you can think this through. However, this matter is of great importance, and I shouldn't have told you..."
"I know. Captain Zhao risked his life to tell me. I will keep it a secret. No one else will know after we leave this room."
Zhao Bantou patted Liu Jieshi's shoulder with satisfaction. He felt that he had solved the Xu family's problem and done Liu Jieshi a huge favor. He felt very happy.
After Liu Jieshi bowed and left, he felt a chill on his back.
He looked at the lights in the house from afar, but his mind was full of what Zhao Bantou had just said.
The Xu family is going to rise again... Is this news true?
It must be true, otherwise Zhao Bantou wouldn't have changed his attitude so drastically.
He didn't really believe what Zhao Bantou said about telling him just to save him. It was obvious that he was afraid that he would do something too harsh and get himself into trouble in the future.
But what should he do if the Xu family wants to revive?
The Xu family will definitely deal with him first.
No, we must never let the Xu family rise again.
After thinking about it, Liu Jieshi couldn't help but come up with a bold idea: Wouldn't killing Xu Deyuan solve all the problems?
Now he is on the road of exile. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. There are mountains, forests and rivers everywhere. As long as he finds an excuse to find a remote place, he can kill Xu Deyuan without anyone knowing. What can he do to the remaining group of old, weak, women and children?
Liu Jieshi was shocked by his own boldness, but the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
He walked very slowly, and the moonlight stretched his back very long. He thought carefully: Killing Xu Deyuan can not only avenge his mother, but also prevent him from rising up and taking revenge on himself in the future. This is simply a great plan to eliminate the trouble forever!
Just thinking about this, Liu Jieshi felt refreshed all over and goose bumps appeared on his skin. He remembered how his clansmen had tried to seize his property and slandered him for not being his father's son. His mother had hanged herself to prove her innocence. He had also endured the gossip of neighbors for so many years.
He had been hiding in the city of Bianjing, doing the lowest kind of work to survive, and thought that this was the end of his life. However, he never knew that there was always a way out, and he actually received the news that Xu Deyuan was imprisoned.
He spent all the money he had saved over the years, used his connections everywhere, and finally became a police officer.
Just one step away.
Besides, he was planning to take Xu Deyuan's life.
Thinking of this, Liu Jieshi no longer felt the fear and uneasiness that had initially brought up the idea of killing. Instead, he felt a strange calmness.
But right now, he needs a helper as he cannot accomplish everything alone.
Thinking of this, he stopped, turned around, and found Huang Yazi's room.
Huang Yazi took off his shoes and socks and lay on the bed, with his trouser legs rolled up to reveal his feet. The room was filled with a sour odor, but Huang Yazi seemed to be oblivious to it. Seeing him coming, he even grinned, "Hey, Brother Liu is here?"
He slapped his thigh, casually threw on a shirt, and stood up. "I was just saying I wanted to look for you, and here you are. We two brothers really have that... thing going on."
Liu Jieshi was so irritated by the foot odor that he took a step back, but he managed to hold it in. "It's just a telepathic connection."
He really didn't want to go into the house, so he said, "Brother Huang, come out and talk."
Huang Yazi was aware of the smell in his room, but he didn't mind it. He just smiled apologetically and said, "What's wrong? You don't look well. Hey, you said you were going to ask about the situation of Zhao Bantou during the day, but did you go to ask? Does Zhao Bantou have any gossip?"
Zhao Bantou's change of attitude towards the Xu family made not only Liu Jieshi anxious, but another person was also anxious.
That is Huang Yazi.
It is obvious that in this exile team, the people of the Fang family cannot be moved and must be respected. You never know when they will be reinstated, and you never know which local official is a student of Old Master Fang, and he can dismiss you and kill you with just one word; the people of the Xu family can be moved at will, even if they are beaten to death, no one will ask a question.
As escorts, they naturally have to follow the instructions of the squad leader. In the past, Huang Yazi often yelled at the Xu family. Squad leader Zhao didn't say a word, so the people under him naturally knew who they could touch and who they couldn't.
But now, the wind has clearly changed.
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