Chapter 253 Busy Qi Er
However, when everyone took the torches and took a closer look at the appearance of the people coming, someone soon exclaimed: "No! They are the Green-headed Bandits! The people coming -"
As soon as he finished speaking, a hot head fell to the ground!
Chang Zizai lifted his hat and cursed, "Damn it! This is the inconvenience of having short hair. It makes it easy for people to recognize us! Otherwise, tell the city lord that we should keep our hair long in the future!"
The man next to him was already enjoying the killing spree, laughing wildly and saying, "What a neat and clean short hair! A green-headed thief, that sounds so impressive!"
"That's right, long hair is so dirty and it's prone to lice. At worst, we can ask the people at the research institute to research wigs. We can put them on and no one will recognize us!"
The man who was speaking thrust his spear forward, swung the tip, and instantly killed another person.
"Damn it, you guys are still talking so much nonsense during the battle. The city lord is right behind us. If he sees us chatting, won't he make us run dozens of laps as punishment?"
"Yes, yes, we are still at war, we can't chat—"
The noise in Xingyuan Mansion soon woke Feng'er up.
She guessed that Xu Zhenying had come in the past few days, so she took everyone to the inn closest to the city gate early in the morning.
She also specially left someone to keep watch at night. When there was some movement in Xingyuan Mansion, she was instantly awakened by the sound of footsteps of someone holding a lantern.
Feng'er even slept in her clothes, with a weapon next to her pillow. As soon as she opened her eyes and heard the commotion in the city, she knew Xu Zhenying's men had arrived. She immediately said, "Quick, wake everyone up. According to our previous division of labor, shout slogans. Give everyone a pound of copper coins. If anything happens, spread them out to welcome the city lord into the city!"
Lian Shi had also woken up. She immediately rushed over to find Feng Er and asked, "Is the city lord and his men attacking the city?"
Feng Er smiled slightly and said firmly: "It must be!"
"What are we going to do?"
"As mentioned before, Qi Er has already sent people he knows to infiltrate several city gates to see if they can take advantage of the situation to cause unrest and capture them first. Minister Lian, take the women with you to maintain order in the city and light all the lanterns to prevent the people from rushing around."
Lian took the order and left. Feng'er went out again and called the twenty soldiers who were ready to go: "You must rush into the government office immediately and arrest the whole family of the prefect."
Zhao Qiaonian and others had woken up a long time ago. Seeing that everyone was busy but in order, they became a little anxious. This was their first meeting with Xu Zhenying, so he had to bring some gift.
Sun Qingchen was also anxious. He had stabbed Xu Zhenying when he went to Beijing this time, and he must be eager to make some achievements. Gu Yunxia had already gone out to help maintain order, and they had not yet been assigned tasks, so they had no choice but to come to Feng'er with a thick face.
Feng Er smiled and said, "Don't worry, there will be a time for you to show your talents. Since the City Lord has already entered the city, we just need to cooperate and prevent the people in the city from causing trouble. All other matters have been arranged. Zhao Bantou, why don't you just come with me to welcome the emperor? The City Lord will be happier to see you than to win a battle!"
The night was dark, but the streets of Xingyuan Prefecture were bustling with activity.
Someone shouted, "The rebels from Jinzhou Prefecture are attacking us!"
One sound is louder than the other.
The people were so frightened by the sudden bad news that they either closed their doors or packed up their belongings and prepared to flee, fearing that they would be killed by the rebels who rushed in!
Once this rebel enters the city, he will burn and kill for several days!
However, this time the rebels' siege seemed to have a slightly different meaning.
At first, there was a commotion at the south gate in the city, but then there was no more movement.
No one set fire, no one took advantage of the chaos to rob, and the streets seemed empty, with a peaceful and quiet atmosphere.
Instead, you could hear the sound of horse hooves, like thunder rolling across the ground.
The people couldn't help but wonder, why is it so quiet when the rebels enter the city?
Where did the garrison of Xingyuan Prefecture go?
Why is there no resistance?
Soon, someone appeared from nowhere, banging a gong. Someone then repeated across the wall, "Xingyuan Prefecture has been occupied by soldiers from Jinzhou Prefecture! The prefect has been captured! We from Jinzhou Prefecture are now taking over Xingyuan Prefecture. All citizens, close your doors and windows and don't move around freely, lest you be mistaken for rebels and killed! After dawn tomorrow, everything will return to normal!"
Someone stretched his head out tremblingly to look.
Someone immediately asked, "What are they saying outside?"
"They say our Xingyuan Mansion has been occupied by someone!"
"Is it the rebel leader from Jinzhou Prefecture? How come the city was taken so quickly without any fighting? Didn't they say that we have a general defending Xingyuan Prefecture? Why haven't we heard anything?"
"Who knows? I heard that it meant that we shouldn't go out casually, because if we do, we might get killed!"
"Isn't it said that the rebel in Jinzhou Prefecture is very capable? A few days ago, there was a rumor that he never killed innocent people in the places he occupied, and he never allowed burning, killing, looting, or torture. And didn't that peddler Xiao Jia say that the people in Jinzhou Prefecture were given land and grain? If that's true, then it would be great if the mountain king came -"
"Hush, you dare to say that? You're going to die!"
The common people were trembling with fear, and the rich families in Xingyuan Prefecture had an even harder time!
Everyone knows that once the city is broken, the first to suffer will be the officials, followed by the wealthy, and finally the women!
Although the wealthy families were naturally better informed, and some even secretly cooperated with them in small businesses such as selling pencils and Lanxian pigs, they probably knew more about Jinzhou Prefecture than the prefect.
They naturally knew that there was a rebel who was in power in Jinzhou Prefecture. Not only did he love the people like his own children, but he was also financially strong. The pigs in Lan County alone generated a lot of income every year.
Perhaps only the magistrate Yan, who only cared about love and romance all day long, did not realize the coming crisis.
At this moment, Old Man Lin and his family were all dressed and standing neatly in the lobby, all looking at Old Man Lin with worried expressions.
The sound of the gong outside came in waves, making people's hearts skip a beat!
"Dad, why don't we pack up and run!"
"Run, where are you running to? I just heard from the people next door that the four city gates (east, south, west, and north) have been occupied by the rebels. Where are we going?!"
Old Man Lin's eldest daughter-in-law held her newborn grandson in her arms, her face filled with sorrow: "I should have known not to start this soap business earlier. I wouldn't have grown it so big and become a thorn in other people's eyes!"
"That's right. What if they steal our silver? We still have this year's soap dividends in there! If Master Xu sends someone to check the accounts, how can we fill the hole of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? What's more, his contract is written in such detail that there is no loophole to be found. We will be bankrupt if we lose everything!"
"My life is almost gone, why would I care about money?! Who knows where that Master Xu is? We'll find out when he comes to check the accounts! This is all done by the traitors, he can't put all the blame on our Lin family!"
"Oh, if you ask me, instead of waiting for the rebels to come and settle accounts, it's better to just donate it!"
Old Man Lin raised his hand, interrupting the younger generation's chatter. He sat in the armchair, his face apprehensive. "That's not necessarily true. Although Jinzhou Prefecture is far away, I have heard that the rebels in Jinzhou Prefecture behave in a disciplined manner and rarely engage in massacres."
Lin Mushan, the eldest son of the old man Lin, said, "Dad, I heard from the peddlers that the rebel leader in Jinzhou Prefecture is different from ordinary bandits. He managed Jinzhou Prefecture in less than a year. And everyone listened to the siege tonight. They took Xingyuan Prefecture effortlessly, and there has been no noise since entering the city. I think it may be true as the rumors in the city said before, that the rebel leader is really a man who can do big things! Why don't we wait and see how the situation develops!"
Old Man Lin could only nod, "That's all we can do. Let's keep everyone alert and don't sleep too deeply! Carry the weapons with you, and shout to let everyone know if anything happens!"
And the same thing is happening in the Qi family.
Ever since Qi Er started his business partnership with Master Xu, they moved almost all of their belongings to Xingyuan Prefecture. Coupled with the thousands of acres of cotton fields, the prosperity of the Qi family was noticed by those who were interested, and they became even more envious.
Qi's father and mother were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. When they saw that Qi Er's husband looked calm and seemed not worried at all about Qi Er who was traveling outside, they were furious.
My daughter is capable, but my son-in-law is useless!
It's also their fault. In order to protect the family property and not want to adopt from the ambitious side branch, they just randomly chose a man with a clean family background who was easy to control.
He did manage to get the hang of it, but unfortunately the son-in-law and daughter didn't seem to get along. The daughter was fully focused on her cooperation with Mr. Xu, while the son-in-law was absorbed in entertaining birds and watching flowers.
The woman who marries into her son-in-law's family wants her son-in-law to be successful, but is also afraid that he will become a successful person. In short, no matter how she looks at him, she always feels annoyed.
Mother Qi couldn't help but grab her handkerchief and yelled at her son-in-law: "There's chaos and turmoil in Xingyuan Prefecture tonight, and you don't seem to be worried about my daughter, let alone asking me if you are still my son-in-law?"
Qi Er's husband was completely unconcerned about his mother-in-law's wrath. He leisurely crossed his legs and listened to the noise outside as if he were watching a commotion. "Don't worry, mother. Qi Er is quite capable! Isn't he having a hot affair with that girl Feng Er? Didn't he even say he was going to Henan Prefecture to ask Mr. Zhao to come over and collect the cotton-padded clothes? Who knows, I might not even be your son-in-law in the Qi family anytime soon!"
Qi's mother was furious: "What do you mean by that? My daughter works hard day and night for this family, and instead of taking care of the household chores at home, you dare to throw dirty water on her?"
Qi Er's husband narrowed his eyes and smiled, as if he had given up. "Look at you, why are you so angry after telling me the truth? I'm just a pawn for you to keep your business going. Don't worry, if Qi Er wants to kick me out, I don't mind. As long as the price is satisfactory, everything is fine. I won't stop her and Boss Zhao from having an affair."
"You!" Mother Qi covered her chest in anger, but a maid came to report happily, "Madam, the girl is back! The girl is back!"
Qi Er was wearing a tight suit with a narrow waist and a black cape. She walked leisurely. Even though there was chaos outside, there was no panic on her face. Instead, she had a calm and happy look.
Qi's father and mother rushed over and hugged her, calling "Son!"
Qi Er looked at her elderly parents and bowed quickly: "I am an unfilial daughter and have made you worry!"
Qi's father asked, "What's going on today? I just heard someone say that the rebels from Jinzhou Prefecture are attacking! Then I heard someone telling us not to go out. Where have you been? Have you seen any of those rebels on your way here?"
Qi Er didn't know how to explain this to his parents, so he just mumbled a few words of comfort: "It's true that the rebels from Jinzhou Prefecture have entered the city. They've already occupied the four city gates and have already stormed into the prefect's house to arrest someone!"
Mother Qi turned pale with fear. "Isn't it said that people from Jinzhou Prefecture behave in a very disciplined manner?"
"Mother, they didn't kill innocent people when they entered the city. They only shot and killed the guards at the city gates. That was already considered merciful. Besides, there is no war without bloodshed. Now they went to the prefect's house to take people away, but they didn't mean to kill them."
But Qi's father only cared about themselves. "What about us? Will the king come and plunder us?"
Qi Er shook his head. "Don't worry, I've noticed along the way that this group of people behaves very disciplined. They're telling us to stay indoors for now, and everything will be back to normal tomorrow morning! Just think of it as a new prefect!"
Father Qi was a little puzzled as Qi Er was acting a little abnormally today.
In this chaotic time, she only brought back two maids. Her words and deeds not only showed that she was defending the rebels, but also seemed to know everything about their affairs.
But Father Qi didn't think much of it. "Alas, then our Xingyuan Prefecture will become the territory of the rebels! Isn't there Zhou Cangwu guarding the city? Did he defect to the rebels? Otherwise, how could the gate of Xingyuan Prefecture be broken open so easily?"
"It is said that Zhou Cangwu is dead. They fought fiercely outside the city. Most of the elite troops of Xingyuan Prefecture died, and the rest all defected to the rebels."
Qi Er naturally did not mention the role he played in this.
Her parents are old. If they knew that she was colluding with the rebels and working together from inside and outside, they would not know how they would react.
Qi's father kept shaking his head and sighing, as if he couldn't understand the fact that Xingyuan Prefecture was occupied by rebels overnight.
Qi Er comforted his parents and looked at the daylight outside. He thought that since he had done so much, he had to go out and show his face in front of Xu Zhenying. He hurriedly said to his parents, "Father and Mother, I just came back to check on you and make sure you are all right. Tell the servants to keep the door closed and not rush out to inquire about the news. I have something else to do and need to leave first."
Qi's mother held her back and refused to leave: "Where are you going in the dead of night? Besides, there are rebels outside—"
"Mother, I still have to send someone to guard the cotton field, and Feng'er also has things to do. Don't worry, I've brought enough people with me, and I won't let anything happen to me. I'll tell you everything in detail when I get back—"
Qi Er ignored his father and mother's objection and went out with only two or three maids.
Mr. Qi's second husband shook his head, curled his lips, and didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Well, he is just a son-in-law. Who in the Qi family would take him seriously?
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