Chapter 161
The gate of the Yin family's courtyard was opened inward. There were two obvious footprints on the door, and a broken door bolt was found on the ground. The dining table in the main room was overturned on the ground, and the hot wild vegetable soup spilled all over the floor. Yin Youcai and Yin Youbai, who were crying loudly in fear, were pulled into their mother's arms and comforted.
Yin Dazhu pointed at Yin Zheng and cursed him loudly. Yin Yuanzhi and Yin Youcai couldn't help but scold him. Old Mrs. Wu refused to admit that she had taken Jiaojiao's hat, and even turned the tables, saying that those damn kids were slandering her.
Yin Zheng ignored their entanglement, turned around and kicked open Old Mrs. Wu's door. Old Mrs. Wu's face changed and she was about to go over to stop him, but Yin Zheng pushed her into Yin Yuanzhi's arms.
He walked forward and opened the pearwood box that was Old Wu's treasure, and took out Jiaojiao and Qin Mianmian's hats from the bottom.
Jiaojiao, who was held in her father's arms, took her hat, checked it carefully, patted it gently, and then hid the hat in her arms as a treasure.
This hat was sewn by my father after he pricked several fingers. Jiaojiao usually didn't want to wear it herself, so it was snatched away by Old Mrs. Wu and pressed under the quilt in the box. It was so sad.
Seeing Jiaojiao's distressed look, Yin Zheng reached out and patted his back soothingly: "It's okay, I'll make a few more when I get home."
"No." Jiaojiao shook her head hurriedly. She held her father's fingers with her little hand and blew on them. "It will bleed and hurt. I won't sew it."
"Well, no sewing."
Yin Zheng carried Jiaojiao away, leaving the Yin family in a mess. That night, Old Wu went to the clan elder crying and asked him to make a decision for her, but was ruthlessly retorted by the clan elder.
The next day, Zhao and Feng talked about this matter when they carried baskets to Chen's room to mend shoe soles.
Feng: "I don't know how Aunt Wu has become so backward. At her age, she stole something from a child who was not even three years old. This attracted Yin Zheng to come to her house. Not only did she refuse to admit that she took the child's hat, but she also turned around and slandered her. In the end, Yin Zheng dug out the hat that was buried under the box. She even had the nerve to go to the elders. I feel so ashamed just hearing about it."
Chen coaxed Li Duoduo to sleep in her arms and said, "Aunt Wu wasn't like this before. I don't know what happened after so long."
"You're not right," Feng retorted. "How has she exploited Yin Zheng in the past? Even the lowest servant in a landlord's household wouldn't be exploited like this. Look at Yin Zheng's face. He got this scar from serving under Yin Youcai."
"This is my own mother. So many people die in the military service every year, and she forced Yin Zheng to serve in the military service for Yin Yuanzhi and Yin Youcai. It's a blessing for Yin Zheng, otherwise the grass on his grave would be so long. Even so, she doesn't treat Yin Zheng well, doesn't let him marry, and even lets him go hunting in the mountains in the heavy snow. Doesn't she care about Yin Zheng's life? I even doubt that Yin Zheng is her own son."
"In the past, Yin Zheng was in her care, and the money he made fed her appetite. Now that Yin Zheng has moved out, the money hasn't fallen into her hands. Seeing that Yin Zheng's life has improved a lot, isn't she unhappy? Yin Zheng was driven out with a letter of severance, and the villagers are not on her side. Since she can't deal with Yin Zheng, won't she set her sights on this little kid Jiaojiao?"
"If you ask me, Aunt Wu has always been like this!"
Chen put Li Duoduo down from her arms and sighed, "My heart softened when I saw Duoduo. I don't know how Uncle Yin and Aunt Wu could have the heart to treat Yin Zheng like this. As the saying goes, even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. They've really gone too far."
"But Aunt Wu is Yin Zheng's mother after all. She just gave him a hat. Why did she make a scene at home and even overturn the dining table? I heard that Youcai and Youbai were scared to death." Zhao interrupted, knitting the sole of the shoe in her hand.
Feng rolled her eyes and said, "Third sister, what you said is not very honest. It was Aunt Wu who stole the child's things first. Why can't she let him get them back?"
Chen: "This fault is indeed Aunt Wu's."
Seeing the two of them standing on the same side, Zhao put down the sole of her shoe in dissatisfaction and shouted, "Aunt Wu is wrong, but Yin Zheng is not? After all, he was born from Aunt Wu's belly. How could he treat his own parents like this? Besides, the child was picked up and has no blood relationship with Yin Zheng. This is not only biased against his own flesh and blood to protect an outsider. Yin Zheng is also confused. No wonder Aunt Wu is unhappy."
"Forget it, I can't get rid of you!" Feng turned around and left with the basket in her hand in a bad mood.
Zhao didn't stay either. She picked up the basket and left angrily, thinking to herself that it would be best if the baby in Feng's belly was as unfilial as Yin Zheng. Then she would see if she could still smile!
While the three sisters-in-law at the village chief's house were quarreling, Yin Zheng was rushing to the county town with Jiaojiao and Qin Mianmian on his back.
The weather was cold, but it would take too long to go to the county. Yin Zheng was worried about Jiaojiao staying at home, so he prepared a larger backpack, filled it with a blanket and cotton clothes, and put some fur on top, then put Jiaojiao and Qin Mianmian in it.
In order to prevent the wind from blowing in and making them cold, Yin Zheng covered the backpack with cotton cloth. Jiaojiao and Qin Mianmian stayed in the backpack, holding pebbles in their arms to cover their hands, and they were warm and not cold at all.
But Jiaojiao would often crawl out of the backpack and stand on tiptoe to cover her father's ears. Yin Zheng didn't let him cover his ears and asked him to stay in the backpack, but Jiaojiao refused and kept standing on tiptoe and stretching out her hands to cover his ears.
Yin Zheng had no choice but to tilt his head back and let him warm him up. Only after Jiaojiao was warmed up did he get back into the backpack.
The dense rain fell on his face, and the cold wind felt like fine ice knives cutting his face. Yin Zheng walked on the road with his head down, feeling that this year's early winter was not as cold as in previous years.
After a while, Jiaojiao came out of the backpack again, and Qin Mianmian also came out. However, he didn't know what to do. After standing there in a daze for a while, he suddenly moved his feet to block the wind for Jiaojiao.
After warming up his father's ears, Jiaojiao put his beloved rabbit fur hat on his father's head. However, compared to Jiaojiao, Yin Zheng's head was too big, so he couldn't wear the hat and could only put it on his head crookedly.
Afraid that the hat would fall to the ground and get dirty, Yin Zheng took it off his head and handed it to Jiaojiao to wear it himself.
Jiaojiao took the hat from her father's hand and put it on her head awkwardly.
He was wearing too many clothes, and even if he stretched out his little hands he couldn't reach his head. In the end, Qin Mianmian had to put it on for him.
Yoyo has grown a lot in the past few months and is almost as tall as Yin Zheng's waist. It also has a collar on its neck and is following Yin Zheng with its hooves tapping. From time to time, it comes forward and nudges Yin Zheng with its head, indicating that Yin Zheng should sit on its back.
Yin Zheng glanced at its not-so-strong back and didn't sit down.
Jiayang County is far away from Lijia Village. It took Yin Zheng almost two hours to walk there. In late autumn, there were few pedestrians on the road. Coupled with the famine, there were even fewer people to be seen along the way. The situation did not get better after entering the county town. Apart from the beggars everywhere, there were almost no other people to be seen.
Almost all the disaster victims were kept outside the city. It was only two days ago that the relief grain arrived. The county government arranged for officers and soldiers to set up porridge tents outside the city. The wealthy families in the county also set up porridge tents outside. The city gates were opened only when the situation was under control.
This area is close to the border, so the disaster relief efforts were the greatest. This was because there had been a war up ahead, and the authorities were worried that the disaster victims would cause unrest, affecting the war at the border and exposing them to attack from both sides. Therefore, this batch of disaster relief grain was monitored very closely, and almost no grain was withheld from the government.
When he got close to the county town, Yin Zheng originally planned to knock on the corner door of a wealthy family like he did in the town, but before he got close, the person guarding the door shooed him away with a look of disgust.
After going to several houses and seeing the same thing, Yin Zheng gave up the idea and went to wait at the road that must be taken to Lingyin Temple outside the city.
As the New Year approaches, the temples become increasingly popular, mostly due to the women of wealthy families.
The rain gradually stopped, and the cold sun peeked out from under the thick clouds. Yin Zheng put down the backpack and took Jiaojiao and Qin Mianmian out to get some fresh air.
Jiaojiao, who had never been to such a place before, looked around for a while with confusion and curiosity, then ran to her father and leaned against his legs.
Qin Mianmian also followed over, clutching Yin Zheng's clothes with her little hands. Youyou also followed suit and came over, opened her mouth and grabbed the corner of Yin Zheng's clothes.
After waiting for a while, three carriages drove over from a distance. In addition to the three carriages, there were four or five young men riding horses and wearing colorful cloaks, who looked either heroic or handsome.
Sunshine, puddles, a quiet and deserted official road, a tall man in coarse cotton and a fair-skinned baby in fine cotton at his feet. Looking further into the distance, one can vaguely see the disaster victims queuing for porridge and bare branches.
The tall and fierce man in coarse cotton and the small and tender child in fine cotton, the two together are full of incongruity.
A hint of doubt flashed in Zhao Zexi's eyes. He rode his horse forward. The closer he got to the man, the more dangerous he felt, and the hairs on his body stood up.
He suppressed his discomfort, bent down and asked the child, "Who is this to you?"
Yes, he suspected that this man was most likely a kidnapper, and that he was standing on the official road preparing to sell the kidnapped child.
Jiaojiao looked up at her brother riding a big horse, her dark, bright eyes filled with pride. She puffed out her chest and said, "It's Daddy, Jiaojiao's Daddy!"
Zhao Zexi saw that the child's eyes, which seemed to be filled with broken stars, did not show any fear or reluctance, so he knew that he had misunderstood. He smiled immediately and then realized that there was a child about five years old and a deer standing next to him.
Um?
Zhao Zexi took another look and realized that it was an elk, and a rare white one.
"What's wrong?" Several other young men also rode forward.
"Nothing." Zhao Zexi smiled, "I'm just curious what they are doing here."
Hearing this, the others looked at Yin Zheng, Jiaojiao, and the others. One of the teenagers asked curiously, "What are you doing here in such a cold weather?"
"Selling minks." Jiaojiao answered in a childish voice, then took the mink off his neck and showed it to them: "Brothers, do you want to buy some?"
Zhao Zexi and the others looked at the snow-white mink in Jiaojiao's hand, without a trace of other colors, and exclaimed in surprise, "This mink is quite good!"
"Daddy caught it." Jiaojiao puffed out her chest and said with sparkling eyes, "Daddy is awesome."
"Yes, yes, your father is awesome!" Zhao Zexi said with a smile.
"Sister!" One of the young men turned and shouted towards the carriage behind him, "Here's a rare mink. Don't you always like these things? Do you want one?"
The maid pushed open the door, and Liu Nanxu poked her head out from the carriage: "What kind of mink is this? It's worth all the fuss. Let me take a look."
Liu Nanxu stepped forward to take a look, her eyes flashing with admiration. "This mink is indeed of good quality. How much is it?"
Yin Zheng, who had never sold prey such as marten, had a trace of confusion in his heavy eyes. Finally, he compared some roe deer he sold. One roe deer cost one tael and two cents. It was said that prey such as marten could be sold for a high price, probably worth ten roe deer!
After thinking for a while, Yin Zheng looked up and said, "Fifteen taels."
Zhao Zexi, Liu Nanxu, and others: "......?"
This person looks scary, how could he... Never mind, she, Liu Nanxu, is not the kind of person who would take advantage of others.
As the daughter of a salt merchant, she had little but silver.
Liu Nanxu glanced at the maid beside her. The maid understood and came forward to hand Yin Zheng a 100-liang note. "Silver is heavy, and we usually don't carry it with us. Take this note to the county bank and they will exchange it for 100 liang of silver."
Yin Zheng, who didn't expect that the mink could be sold for so much money, reached out to take the flying money.
When giving the mink to them, Jiaojiao pursed her lips and happily took out some malt candy from her pocket and gave it to them.
Jiaojiao has a good impression of these brothers and sisters who bought minks. You know, many families are unwilling to buy minks and drive their father away from a distance, which is so annoying.
Looking at the candy in Jiaojiao's hand, the young men and Liu Nanxu didn't show it on their faces, but they were very disgusted with the candy in Jiaojiao's hand in their hearts. They pretended not to see it and ignored Jiaojiao's raised hand. Only Zhao Zexi bent down to take the candy and said thank you with a smile.
In the carriage, Meng Qiwu, who was getting a little impatient, glanced outside the carriage. When his eyes fell on Qin Mianmian who was standing next to Jiaojiao, he paused. After confirming that he was not mistaken, she suddenly got out of the carriage.
Those who heard the noise turned around to look at her.
"What happened to Qiwu?" Liu Nanxu asked in confusion.
Meng Qiwu didn't say anything, her eyes fell on Qin Mianmian who turned her head to look at her. After making sure that she was not mistaken, she tightened the handkerchief in her hand.
She had once gone to the Qin Mansion with her cousin from the royal palace in the capital, and had also met Qin Zhiyi, the legitimate son of the Qin Mansion. Although the child was five years old now, she recognized him as the legitimate son of the Qin Mansion at a glance.
Thinking about the uproar some time ago about the missing son of the Qin family...
"Qiwu?" Seeing that she ignored him, Liu Nanxu called out again in dissatisfaction.
Meng Qiwu, who had come to her senses, was afraid that they would notice something was wrong with her, so she abruptly looked away and said to Liu Nanxu, "It's nothing. I just stayed in the carriage for too long and felt stuffy, so I came out to get some fresh air."
"Oh, then do you want to come down and take a walk?"
Afraid that they would notice the child, Meng Qiwu said directly: "No, it's so cold today, it might snow again later, let's go back quickly!"
"Okay!" Liu Nanxu happily carried Diao into the carriage.
Zhao Zexi climbed onto his horse and waved to Jiaojiao, "Kids, we're leaving now. It's so cold, you should hurry back too!"
Jiaojiao, who was held in her father's arms, waved her little hands and said with curved eyes, "Goodbye, brother."
Zhao Zexi laughed. He didn't expect that although the man looked fierce, he was very good at raising children. Both children were raised to be fair and tender.
In the carriage, Meng Qiwu heard what Zhao Zexi said and hurriedly stuck his head out to see. After finding that the person he was talking to was another child, he felt relieved and urged them to leave quickly.
The carriage drove away, and Meng Qiwu in the car lowered his head and clenched his fists.
Qin Zhiyi's status is very noble. He is not only the only legitimate son of the Qin family, but also the nephew of the current emperor. Moreover, the emperor, as his uncle, likes his nephew Qin Zhiyi very much. Not only was he named a prince as soon as he was born, but he was also often brought into the palace to play by Princess Yonghe. It is said that he was personally enlightened by the emperor, which is a treatment that no prince has.
If...if she was the savior of this young prince, then she...
Meng Qiwu's heart began to beat rapidly. She leaned out of the window and glanced at Yin Zheng who was walking away with a basket on his back. A ruthless gleam flashed in her eyes.
She must be Qin Zhiyi's savior, Qin Zhiyi's savior can only be her!
I'm so sorry that the update is a little late!
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