Chapter 114: A Lesson
The fake county magistrate sighed and even wiped away a tear. "It wasn't easy. It was the same for us back then. When we left the village, we had only this one piece of clothing on our bodies. The women and children were all washed away, and not even their bodies could be found. We had no choice but to lead our brothers on an expedition. We walked until our feet were festering, but we didn't dare stop. When we were hungry, we ate grass roots, and when we were tired, we covered ourselves with leaves. More than half of our fellow villagers from the same village died. The rest of us only hoped that we would be fine once we got to the city, where we would always have something to eat..."
At this moment, listening to the story of the fake county magistrate's escape, the others were actually moved.
Starving people everywhere, these four words have only been seen in history books.
But I didn't expect that reality would be so cruel.
Xu Qingying also wiped her tears and tugged at the fake county magistrate's sleeve, complaining, "Damn it! Officials are such bastards! We finally saw the city wall and were so hopeful we'd get a hot meal. Not to mention hot rice, even porridge would be fine. Those bastards actually shut the city gates and wouldn't even let us in to beg for food!"
"It's so hard! If life wasn't so unbearable, who would be willing to leave their hometown? But what happened next... Are they really not officials?"
"I swear to God, if you don't believe me, big brother!" Xu Qingying said, her face filled with grief. "Do you know why we have to pretend to be exiled prisoners? Because only with that bastard official's badge and documents can we enter the city!"
"Ah!" The fake county magistrate was extremely shocked.
"Brother, isn't that ridiculous? With just an official uniform and a badge, we can open the closed city gates, get a place to stay at the post station, and have free hot soup and hot meals! We relied on this method to pass through two cities and eat our fill! Otherwise, look at us, all of us are old, weak, and sick, how could we have walked to your Ye County alive?"
Xu Qingying shook her head and sighed, "There's a time limit for pretending to be exiled prisoners. We can only stay in the city for two or three days at most. Oh, we really want to hide in the city forever! Unfortunately, if we are discovered, it will definitely be a death penalty. We originally wanted to follow their example and come to Ye County to make a living, but we didn't expect Ye County to have been occupied by heroes. I wanted to explain just now, but impersonating an official is a capital crime. They have a hard time saying it..."
"Nonsense!" A young man beside the fake county magistrate pointed a sword at Xu Qingying. "Since you are also refugees, why did you remain silent even after our master revealed his identity?!"
Xu Qingying puffed out her chest and said, "We never thought in our lives that someone would dare to occupy the county town. This is treason. We are from a small place and have never seen much of the world. We would have been scared silly and would not have reacted. If you don't believe me, just ask the people we are traveling with!"
Xu Qingying quickly winked at everyone frantically.
The eldest aunt immediately sat down on the ground and began to beat her chest and stamp her feet. "I, Huang Cui'e, have had a miserable life. I gave birth to three sons for the Xu family. My eldest son was about to get married, but who would have thought that a flood came and wiped out the fields and land, and even the piglets I raised. Not only did all my hard work for a year go down the drain, but I also had to leave my hometown to make a living. I have no food to eat. I finally managed to get the identity of a prisoner and could have entered Ye County to eat a mouthful of hot soup, but I didn't expect that I would be taken away and beheaded--"
When they saw Huang Cui'e starting to throw a tantrum, everyone was fed up. How could they easily admit defeat at this life-and-death moment of acting?
The eldest sister of the Ma family also sat down, shaking her sleeves and howling, "My husband died unjustly... In order to save me and my son, he was swept away by the flood! My poor husband's body is still warm, and my son and I are afraid that we will have to go down to accompany him again——"
Huh? Why is there a word for "grab"?
Besides, didn’t the eldest sister of the Ma family’s husband die a long time ago?
Someone else shouted, "These damn corrupt officials, they watched the people starve to death but refused to open the city gates, while they themselves hid inside and enjoyed the good life. One moment it's the head tax, the next it's the land tax. We work hard all year and can't even get a full meal! This life is unbearable, why not give us a quick death with a knife!"
Men can't act like women, so they can only pretend to wipe away tears. If they can't cry, they pinch their thighs. No matter what, they have to make it look like their eyes are red.
The younger ones thought about their own experiences along the way and the tragic deaths of their friends. They actually felt the same pain and burst into tears without hesitation.
For a moment, the whole team was filled with crying.
Perhaps the fake magistrate was thinking of his family, as he also cried for a while. Then he felt a little embarrassed, wiped his tears and said, "Since we are all refugees, we should help each other. To tell you the truth, I, Li Datou, killed the magistrate of Ye County, occupied this city, and prepared to rise up in rebellion! We will occupy more cities in the future. To put it bluntly, what we are doing is rebellion! Anyway, that dog emperor doesn't care about our lives. We are barefoot and have no fear of him wearing shoes. So we might as well rebel. Maybe there is still a way to survive! If you follow me to conquer the world, you can at least get the merit of following the emperor. If you are willing to follow me, I will let you into the city. If you don't want to, I will let you go for the sake of our fellow villagers!"
What, this is rebellion?
Just rely on such a small number of soldiers and generals?
Xu Qingying felt a headache after hearing this.
From exile to escape, and now directly to rebellion?
How many heads does she have?
But did Xu Qingying dare to say no? The gleaming guillotine was right beside her, as if if any of them showed the slightest hesitation, they would be pushed up and their heads would be chopped off immediately.
The situation is stronger than people.
Xu Qingying wiped away her empty tears, cursing the heavens in her heart, but on the surface she pretended to be flattered and immediately pledged to follow him. "Brother Li, you're absolutely right! The imperial court doesn't care about our lives, so why should we be its running dogs? We might as well rebel against them and live a few more years!"
Xu Qingying truly hated her lackey, but for the sake of her life, she could only rack her brains and use all her lifelong knowledge to flatter him. "Also, I see that Big Brother Li has a full forehead, a square chin, and bright eyes. As the saying goes, a long and full upper face, square and wide, indicates nobility; a flat and full lower face, short and narrow, indicates wealth. At first glance, Big Brother Li is a heavenly being, and he truly has the potential to vie for the throne!"
Eh——
This time, not to mention Xu Lezhi and others, even everyone else felt that Xu Qingying's lies were a bit disgusting.
Still a celestial being?
You don't even mention the matchmaker mole on Li Datou's lip, right?
It's really hard for Miss Xu.
"Good!" Li Datou didn't understand a word at all, but it didn't prevent him from knowing that Xu Qingying said only good words. He was so happy that he clapped Xu Qingying's back "clang clang clang" to express his appreciation, the sound like a bell.
"Good boy, you have the best vision among this group of people! I see that you are smart and good at talking, so I decided to train you. From now on, I will appoint you as the second military advisor of our team and give you ten soldiers. Oh, and do you want the woman? I will also give you the county magistrate's two concubines!"
Xu Qingying was stunned.
After all this time, Li Datou finally assumed that she was a man?
The problem is that she describes herself as too sloppy, and since she hasn't started to develop yet, it's hard to tell whether she's a boy or a girl.
But how did she become Li Datou's military advisor? Dog-headed military advisor, and second in command?
She was really curious about who the number one military advisor was and what he looked like, because it was said that Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick always appeared in pairs. She, the Phoenix Chick, was already in place, so where was Crouching Dragon?
Everyone was also stunned.
This situation changed too quickly.
Their lives are saved now, right? But how did they inexplicably join the rebels? Isn't rebellion a more serious crime than exile?
But now that things have come to this, no one dares to mention it.
The guillotine is right next to it.
Zhao Bantou and others were still being held there.
Everyone could only force a smile.
"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Li. It is my honor to fight for you, Brother Li."
Xu Qingying was really determined. She clasped her fists and half-knelt, performing a great salute.
Oh, never mind, just consider it as a memorial to the dead.
How much is dignity worth?
Li Datou was so happy that the hair on the matchmaker's mole trembled. He liked Xu Qingying's cleverness, but he didn't have the same patience for others. He said in a gruff voice, "Since you are truly submitting to me, why don't you kneel?!"
Just kneel down.
Everyone was open-minded. As the saying goes, you should sing the song that suits you. It is not a shame to submit to others in order to save your life.
Besides, Miss Xu has already knelt down, so why should they still be reserved?
Everyone knelt down one after another, shouting reluctantly: "Greetings, Your Majesty..."
"Why do you sound like you haven't eaten?" The sword-wielding guards beside Li Datou were dissatisfied. "Could it be that you don't really respect my brother?"
"Join the King!"
Well, it's neat this time.
Li Datou was dissatisfied again and pointed at the three people standing there. "Boy, what do these three people mean? Why don't they kneel?"
Xu Qingying took a look and held her forehead.
The three men, Old Master Fang, Xu Deyuan and Li Xiucai, all looked disdainful and stood out in the crowd with their strong character.
Needless to say, Old Master Fang is a man of iron.
Xu Deyuan was simply despicable. At this moment, his eyes were wide open, staring at her as if she were a murderous enemy.
Li Xiucai, he has the same problem as Xu Deyuan, so despicable!
Scholars are, after all, a bit more arrogant than ordinary people.
Lian wanted to pull Xu Deyuan back, knowing that Xu Deyuan was being stubborn again. She was angry and anxious, but she had no way to deal with him in public.
On the other hand, Fang Ruyu and Fang Ningmo watched their grandfather with their own eyes, wondering whether their kneeling would bring shame to the Fang family, while at the same time worrying about their grandfather's safety.
In just this moment, everyone's hearts were lifted high again.
Xu Qingying quickly stood up to smooth things over. "Brother Li, please excuse me. This old man injured his knee and can't kneel. He's about the same age as your father, so please forgive him this time. I'll bring him back to apologize to you later."
I don’t know why, but looking at Old Master Fang, who was dressed in rags but still had an immortal look, especially when their eyes met, Li Datou actually felt a sense of fear.
This old man is a scholar!
He looks quite similar to the old boy who taught Li Datou in the village school.
Especially when he's puffing his beard and glaring...
Li Datou recalled the painful memory of being spanked by his teacher when he was a child because of his poor handwriting. He had no choice but to find a way out. "Forget it, since he is old, I will forgive him this time!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and this time they all turned to the other two.
Cao Qin'er suddenly appeared out of nowhere and dragged Li Xiucai to his knees with a plop. Li Xiucai's eyes widened in anger, but before he could say anything, Aunt Hu covered his mouth.
Aunt Hu was trembling with fear. She met Li Datou's gaze and said with a stiff face, "Your Majesty, please don't bother with him. A few days ago, while fighting for food with other refugees, our daughter fell off a cliff and died. My husband is in great pain and has become a little delirious. He often talks nonsense and babbles. Please don't pay attention to it."
Speaking of Yin Zhang, Cao Qiner's tears suddenly flowed out.
Li Zhaodi on the side also had tears in her eyes, but she bit her lower lip stubbornly to prevent herself from crying out loud.
Seeing this, Li Datou also waved his hand, but said no more. In the end, he only looked at Xu Deyuan.
"What about you? Don't tell me your daughter is dead too?"
"Haha, how could that be, Brother Li, this is my second uncle, he's not very smart. I'm going to talk to him now. He's old, he doesn't understand things, I'll say a few words to him."
Xu Qingying stood up and walked quickly to Xu Deyuan.
Xu Deyuan looked at the petite and thin figure, and the smile on Xu Qingying's lips, and vaguely remembered the rainy night when Liu Jieshi died in front of him.
In Xu Deyuan's opinion, Li Datou is far less terrifying than Xu Qingying.
Almost unconsciously, Xu Deyuan took half a step back, but he still said stubbornly: "What do you want to do? Don't mess around. I am you..."
Before she finished speaking, Xu Qingying gave a flying kick, directly kicking Xu Deyuan in the knee.
Xu Deyuan screamed, cold sweat pouring down his face, and he immediately fell to his knees with his head slamming to the ground, splashing a shower of snow and water on the ground!
Everyone was shocked, especially the people from the second house who were close to Xu Deyuan. They were all frightened by this sudden change and turned pale, and took a step back.
"Qingying, you——"
Huang was shocked and wanted to scold him, but when she thought about the situation she was in, she could only shut up abruptly.
She knew that the sixth girl was resentful of her second son.
The sixth girl was blaming Xu Deyuan for causing her trouble, and was also warning the disobedient Xu family members.
"Dad!" All the children from the second wife rushed over.
Xu Lezhi glared at Xu Qingying with vicious eyes. She was so angry that her face turned pale and her chest heaved, but she didn't dare to say a word.
Lian's expression remained unchanged, and she even cheered in her heart.
Xu Qingying turned her head and looked at Li Datou with a smile, "Brother Li, look, you don't have to do anything, I will teach you."
"Hahaha!" Big Head Li laughed loudly. "Good boy, this is interesting! I like it! Come on, I'll take you into the city for a stroll!"
Meanwhile, Zhao Bantou had been untied, and the soldier who had tied him up earlier said with a smile, "From now on, we'll follow Brother Li and I guarantee you'll have a good life."
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