Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Someone's madness is known to everyone...
Tao Jinrong did not have a marriage contract, which was a hidden danger. She was right. He really shouldn't have announced his marriage with such fanfare. He should have asked someone to get her a fake identity in private, so that he could avoid all the messy social interactions and entertainment.
Household registration management in small places is chaotic, and it is common to have a few unregistered residents. Many people living here don't even have their own real names in their entire lives, which makes it convenient for hiding a living person.
"Never mind. I just want to go home and be with my wife. Don't tell anyone that I'm back."
"No, you're the only one in our hometown who's passed the provincial examination. Who wouldn't know you? Once you come back, word will spread like wildfire, and everyone will know. Besides, if there's any difficult or complicated illness, they're waiting for you to treat it. Who else would they turn to if not you?"
Just hearing him say this gave Qin Sizhao a headache.
There were too many big shots in the capital, so he felt that he was just an ordinary person and almost forgot that he was also a big shot in this small place.
Qin Sizhao's eyes darkened, and he began to think silently.
If the capital really starts looking for her, they'll definitely look for her in their hometown first. If he has a marriage contract, it will be easy to find out, and it will look very suspicious...
Otherwise, he should take Tao Jinrong to another place first, avoid the limelight for a while, and come back after the situation stabilizes.
"Oh, by the way, it's a good thing you came back early. Taxes have been heavier lately, and the world is in a bad state. The public security in some places has also declined significantly. I heard that bandits have appeared in many other places. Don't wander around."
Qin Sizhao frowned, lowered his eyes and said:
"Thank you, Brother Li, for letting me know."
He sighed silently.
Fortunately, the people in my hometown are simple and honest, with few rules and free movement. Nothing too outrageous happens. The residents in this area are very familiar with each other. They have almost grown up together. When they need help from others, they always give each other some face.
The medical level in this place is not high. He used to memorize two medical books and dared to help others with their medical treatment. He also accumulated a lot of favors through the interactions. Here, he can also well guarantee the lives of both him and Tao Jinrong.
No matter where it is, small places are full of acquaintances. If he and Tao Jinrong rashly go to an unfamiliar village, it will be difficult for them to integrate into the village, and the safety risks will also be great.
Tao Jinrong suddenly raised the tone of his voice and asked:
"What? What's going on? Have taxes gotten heavier again recently?"
Her heart trembled, and she suddenly had a bad premonition.
She had already made it clear to Gu Shi that they wanted to break up, but he misunderstood that she was dead... This matter did leave some hidden dangers.
She bit her lower lip anxiously. If he found out one day that she was not dead, that it was all a misunderstanding, the consequences would be unimaginable! She used to hang out with him every day, and she knew what he could do, but now even she could not predict what crazy thing he would do.
Tao Jinrong gritted her teeth and felt a little regretful that she had left in a fit of anger. She should have gone back to tell Gu Shi that she was still alive, and then left openly to avoid future troubles.
But now, it's too late to regret.
Li Zhang laughed and said:
"That's right. They used to collect taxes once a year, but now they come and take away a bit of everything."
Tao Jinrong muttered:
"What does he need so much money for..."
Her eyebrows furrowed, and she felt very puzzled.
He's alone now. How much can he afford to spend, no matter how much he indulges? He even laid off a number of palace maids, claiming it was to increase revenue and cut costs. Could it be for war? I haven't heard of any urgent war. Suppressing bandits? They haven't seen any results.
Tao Jinrong gave a wry smile. Could it be that she couldn't think of where the money went because she'd never been an official, hadn't received much education, and wasn't smart enough? Or was it that she couldn't see the true face of Mount Lu because she was already in it, too familiar with it and couldn't see the situation clearly?
It’s better to listen to what others say first.
Li Zhang took a sip of water and said with a wry smile:
"The emperor's intentions are unpredictable, so I dare not speak rashly. Perhaps he wants to start a large-scale construction project... However, the governance in the past few years has been good. Taxes are not heavy, and some local businesses have been supported. Everything that needs to be built has been built, but some large facilities are still under construction."
His words made Tao Jinrong feel a little puzzled. The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. It was definitely not what he said.
Although she doesn't know how to govern a country, she knows how to take care of the times.
Tao Jinrong gritted his teeth, showed a hateful expression, and put his hand on his chin.
Based on her understanding of him, his actions were clearly self-destructive.
Either he was secretly planning some evil plan, or he had suffered a mental breakdown and was simply harming others, waiting for them to lose their patience and kill him.
There's no way the Holy Heart is unpredictable... He's just going crazy.
She knew that Gu Shi had a good eye and could basically make any deal he bet on. Moreover, if he really needed money, he would have found a way to raid the homes of some corrupt officials long ago.
He always did this kind of thing before. He would first coax the corrupt officials into thinking they were invincible, then sow discord among other ministers to make them resentful of him, and finally confiscate their property.
The gold and silver jewelry seized from the homes of those corrupt officials were worn on her head openly the next day. Gu Shi basically let her choose whatever she wanted.
She still remembered how the exiled family sat in the prison car with disheveled hair and dirty faces, turning their heads and looking at her with almost cannibalistic expressions. She wore the red coral they smuggled from foreign countries on her head, swaggering through the city and giving them a provocative look.
Thinking about it now, it was really bad luck.
There is more than one such unlucky thing.
Once she saw a girl wearing an amethyst necklace. She had never seen it before and it was quite novel, so she couldn't help but take a few more glances. Gu Shi seemed to have remembered something halfway and raided the girl's house. It was said that her father was not a high-ranking official, but he was more greedy than high-ranking officials. This was an unexpected surprise.
While Gu Shi was hanging the amethyst necklace around her neck, he kept telling her about the tragic plight of the girl's family.
Now that she thought about it, he wanted to use the girl's family's plight to warn her. She was young at the time and didn't understand a word. Instead, she clapped her hands happily and said that it was a good thing for him to die. She hated the tax collectors the most.
Thinking about it now, Tao Jinrong also feels that it was a good thing they died.
But now she dared not wear the gold, silver and jewelry that were made with her flesh and blood, for fear that she would accidentally bear the karma of her entire family. She could not afford such a bloody blessing.
Qin Sizhao poured another cup of hot water for Li Zhang and whispered:
"Brother Li, be prepared. It could get even worse. Commoners like us can only protect ourselves. Autumn is almost here, and I'm afraid this winter won't be easy."
Li Zhang sighed deeply:
"Hey, you said everything was fine before, how come it suddenly changed..."
Qin Sizhao blocked his words:
"Don't ask. This isn't something we ordinary people should be concerned about."
Li Zhang didn't understand his hidden meaning and just responded casually.
Tao Jinrong's eyes became a little complicated. He turned his head to the side, lowered his eyelids, and began to feel uneasy.
Now that things have come to this, it is useless for her to regret. I heard that Gu Shi's family is not very normal, so she can't blame him for going crazy.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth in the palm of her hand. Qin Sizhao gently held her hand, rubbed it slowly twice, and stroked her palm with his fingers, soothing her carefully.
She felt her heart suddenly calm down, as if she was lying in a ball of warm cotton. In an instant, she was no longer afraid of anything and felt suddenly relieved.
He knew what she was worried about at the moment, and he was telling her in his own considerate way not to feel guilty about it.
She could no longer control her eyes and looked straight at him. Her eyelashes became moist and her gaze was filled with dependence, sweetness and desire.
“Cough cough… cough cough cough cough…”
Li Zhang cleared his throat loudly, "Help, he's still here, can he please calm down a little?"
He knew that they were a newlywed couple, deeply in love, and a perfect match made in heaven. However, he was in his twenties and still felt neither high nor low enough to marry. It was either that he looked down on others, or that others did not like him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not find a suitable wife. He begged Qin Sizhao to consider his feelings.
Seeing Li Zhang's expression, Tao Jinrong also felt a little embarrassed. She was afraid that what she did was not very appropriate. Qin Sizhao was a very polite and sensible person. He probably didn't like her flirting with him in front of others. She was really too presumptuous by relying on her closeness to him.
She blushed and pulled her hand back, tucked it into her sleeves, turned her eyes away, and deliberately avoided looking at Qin Sizhao.
But Qin Sizhao gave him a cold look, which scared Li Zhang so much that he shrank his neck.
He also knew that Qin Sizhao was not as easy to get along with as he seemed. Only after getting to know him could he discover that Qin Sizhao actually had a rather eccentric and stubborn personality, making it very difficult to get close to him.
But you two still have so much time. After you return to your room, you can be as intimate as you want. A little while won't make a difference. Qin Sizhao is really a full man who doesn't know the hunger of a hungry man. Please ask him to restrain himself in front of single men.
"I'm leaving... Goodbye... Haha... Happy wedding, Brother Qin..."
Li Zhang decided not to be an eyesore here, so he quickly slipped away.
As soon as Li Zhang left, Tao Jinrong immediately leaned into Qin Sizhao's arms like a kitten, impatiently and cautiously.
Seeing that Qin Sizhao was not hiding from her, she plucked up the courage to hook his neck, blinked her eyes, and looked at him with some anger.
"A Zhao, will my behavior annoy you?"
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