“But,” Li Jiran’s face turned grim, “I have clearly investigated and found that the two families do not have a good relationship, and there are even some unsavory things going on between them.”
Even so, they are not people you can bully.
Upon hearing this, Li Jiran was immediately unwilling.
If he had known this would happen, he certainly wouldn't have done it this way.
But now, it's too late to change anything.
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He bit his lip and resolutely knelt on the ground. "Teacher, save me. Please give me one last chance."
Seeing this, Grand Secretary An left without saying a word.
"Lord Li, please," the servant said immediately after Elder An left, "Don't make things difficult for me!"
After realizing that there was truly no way to salvage the situation, Li Jiran bit her lip and left with a grim expression.
As he walked out of the An residence, he glanced back with a gloomy look in his eyes, his gaze filled with surging resentment.
That old man, you really can't trust him!
All his seven years of filial piety and flattery were wasted.
And the Lady Protector of the Nation is also despicable. Why does she have to make things difficult for me?
Thinking of this, Li Jiran became nervous. If what the letter said really happened, his family might...
"No, the Lady Protector of the Nation shouldn't have that much power. The Li family isn't a lump of mud; they certainly won't be so easily defeated."
After trying to console himself for a while, Li Jiran angrily went to settle accounts with the Cui family.
After the servant of the An family, who had been keeping an eye on Li Jiran, reported the matter to Grand Secretary An, he simply sneered, "Just consider these seven years as raising a dog."
They're just disobedient; just kill them.
"You're right, sir!"
"Have those people outside the city lie low for now, and wait for my signal. I will make my move at any time. I want these aristocratic families to die without a burial place!"
Why not just enjoy a good life instead of making trouble? Fine, he'll play along to the end.
An Qingyun wasn't easily intimidated; he'd weathered countless storms. They were nothing but a bunch of clowns. He hadn't wanted to intervene before because they were still useful, but now that they had other intentions, a slap wouldn't hurt.
"Your subordinate obeys."
"Furthermore, deal with all the bandits who robbed the Huang family under some pretext, throw them directly into the Heavenly Prison, and make sure that no one who got involved is spared."
"The Liu family is also inside. Should we deal with them as well, Your Excellency?"
"No need. Liu An has already returned to the capital. Let him handle his family affairs himself."
He was already being kind by not causing trouble for Liu An, let alone cleaning up his mess. He's dreaming.
"Understood!"
The Huang family of three slunk away from Beijing, unaware of the upheaval that their actions had caused in the capital.
Within just three days, the Li family was completely divided up, and Li Jiran, who originally had a bright future, was demoted to Fujian by Ji Xuan on some pretext.
The fate of the Li family truly demonstrated the power of the phrase "banished immortal."
The world was in uproar, and from then on, people deeply feared these two words.
The three of them returned from Huangjiakou after a long journey, all looking exhausted, especially Huangshan, who was seriously ill and could barely keep his eyes open all day.
"There's no place like home, no place like a golden nest or a silver nest," Huang Shi said with a sigh.
The outside world is vast and challenging; it's better to stay content with your own little corner of the world.
"Hurry home, let's boil some water for a bath. You're all smelly from the journey back," Sister-in-law Huang urged hurriedly.
Having lost the money, he was terrified and didn't dare to stop all the way back, rushing back without even changing his clothes.
"I wonder if Dad has harvested the rice yet?" Huang Shi looked at the people in the field, feeling a little guilty. "With so much land and only Dad here, he might not be able to manage it all."
"There's nothing we can do about it," Sister-in-law Huang said dismissively. "With Dashan like this, and us unable to spare any manpower, we can only trouble Father. Anyway, he has money and can hire day laborers."
In the past, Huang Da Sao would feel indignant whenever the old man's thousand taels of silver were mentioned, but now she only feels fortunate.
Fortunately, I didn't take all the silver to the capital, otherwise it would have all gone to the thieves.
"Let's go back and check on things. We haven't been here for a while, and we don't know how Dad is doing."
Huang Sige saw the family of three from afar and wanted to greet them, but their disheveled appearance made him hesitant to recognize them. After a moment's hesitation, he tentatively called out, "Clan Chief?"
"It's you," Huang Shi said, feeling very comfortable back in his own home. "How's the village lately? Has anything happened? Is your rice stored up? Is someone taking care of the ferry crossing?"
"Everything is fine. All the rice has been stored in the warehouse," Brother Huang said with a smile, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart. "Your rice has also been stored in the warehouse. Everyone helped with the work. We also helped sell some watermelons. It's just that everyone has their own things to do, so sometimes we inevitably overlooked some things and didn't make much money."
“These are all minor matters,” Huang Shi said, instantly relieved to hear that everything was alright. “Come on, let’s go home and have a couple of drinks together.”
"No, thank you," Brother Huang waved his hands repeatedly. "This is the last batch of watermelons. I'm rushing to sell them, and I also have work to do at the ferry. I really don't have time. Clan chief, please don't be so polite. We're all from the same clan, and we should support each other. I'll send you the money from selling the watermelons tonight when I have time. We'll talk about it later."
After saying that, he hurriedly pushed the cart away.
He found it strange that the old man had been gone for so long, yet the couple hadn't mentioned it at all, as if they knew nothing about it.
However, other people's affairs are none of his business, and after a little thought, Brother Huang completely puts them out of his mind.
After Huang Sige left, Huang Shi sighed with emotion, "Indeed, family is the most reliable. With these people helping, Dad can handle things on his own. We won't have to worry about him when we go out in the future."
“That’s right,” Sister-in-law Huang said happily. “Luckily, we didn’t let Dad go to the capital with us. Not only was the journey fraught with fear, but there was also no one to look after the family.”
No wonder people say that having an elder in the family is like having a treasure; they really can hold things together in critical moments.
The couple hurried back home in high spirits, only stopping their conversation when they reached their doorstep.
Seeing the dense weeds and insects flying around the entrance, Sister-in-law Huang complained, "Husband, Dad is really something. The entrance is the face of the family. He doesn't even know how to tidy it up. He's so careless."
Upon hearing this, Huang Shi did not reply.
A sense of unease suddenly arose in his heart.
Upon seeing the rusty lock, the unease reached its peak: "What happened? It seems like no one lives here."
"No one lives here?"
Sister-in-law Huang was stunned. She hurriedly opened the door and saw the yard full of withered branches and fallen leaves. She was immediately shocked. "What happened? Where is Father? And where are the animals?"
"Perhaps they live in the second room. Let's go take a look."
When they still couldn't find the second wife, the couple realized something was wrong.
"Dad, husband," Sister-in-law Huang gripped her husband's arm tightly, "Will something happen to Father?"
They abandoned the elderly person on the road without a second thought. If something had happened to them, they would have been tormented by their conscience for the rest of their lives.
"It shouldn't be," Huang Shi thought to himself, but he didn't forget to reassure his wife. "Dad is a grown man, not a child. He knows this area very well. How could anything happen to him?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com