Chapter 109: Three more confidants

After seeing Gao off, the servants said that Prince Luoyang had left with his people, as if they were afraid that people would know that they had spent the night here, and they left without alarming anyone.

Feng Ying thought that they were not afraid of being known to spend the night here, but were afraid of being known to be busy here all night.

After all, it was harmless for the prince to enjoy a walk, but it was unpleasant to hear the guards quarrel among themselves.

Feng Ying ignored these matters of outsiders. The master of the house had entrusted her with the important task of looking after the household, so she absolutely could not be careless.

In two days, her ancestors will be buried in peace, so she needs to be in good spirits during these two days.

Compared with the trivial matters at home, Feng Ying found that big things like family development seemed more important and made her more motivated.

But Feng Ying had never been in charge of the household properly before.

The Li family only thought of her when they needed money or help. Sometimes they just asked her for money but had no control over how she spent it. So when she just took over the house, she didn't know where to start and it was a bit tricky.

Silang, Wulang and Li Yanzhao went out. Feng Ying didn't want to keep her sons by her side. Gao was gone again, and she didn't even have anyone to discuss things with.

"My lady, you should first count how many people and industries are left in our ancestors' family, and then record them in the account book." Ah Liu said, "I think that after our ancestors are buried, those people will definitely come to divide the family property. We can't control this. I'm just afraid that our ancestors have left some legacy that has not been discovered yet, so you should sort it out."

Feng Ying asked, "This family head should have sorted everything out, right?"

"That's not necessarily true." Ah Liu said, "I think the master can't even get into some places, he's not as good as us."

"Okay, let's sort it out first."

Feng Ying looked at Ah Liu differently as he spoke: "Ah Liu, you actually know this."

Ah Liu was not very happy, he lowered his head and said: "Madam, actually, actually... don't blame me, I am actually a deserter."

Feng Ying:?

Ah Liu confessed the truth. When she grew up, it became more difficult for her to beg. Also, as a woman, it was inconvenient for her to be a beggar, so she joined the army.

At that time, she had been a beggar for a long time. She was dark and thin, her breasts were not developed, and she had never had her period. Others thought she was a man.

They also couldn't imagine that the woman could have wandered for so long without being harmed.

Ah Liu hid well. Although life in the military camp was hard, with not enough food to eat and not enough clothes to wear, at least he didn't starve to death.

Of course, you might die in battle.

But that has a completely different meaning than dying on the streets.

In the Battle of Rose River, they secured the border and repelled the main force of the Turks, forcing the Turks to remain silent for ten years without daring to invade.

But their losses were also heavy.

Ah Liu told Feng Ying all this, and then took out a set of tattered clothes with crooked words embroidered all over it.

Ah Liu said, "This is the clothes of Wu Xiucai in the army. They are all our comrades-in-arms. He writes down the next one after sacrificing one. If the court and the superiors can't remember our names, then we have to remember them ourselves."

"It's a pity that Wu Xiucai's whereabouts were unknown. He was probably killed in battle. I embroidered his name. I don't know his full name. I just know that he was the most familiar to us, so we all called him Xiucai."

"…Madam, did I say too much? Later, the court blamed our generals for the poor performance in the war and the heavy losses, and punished us. Some of us died, some were imprisoned, and many more retired."

"I didn't want to stay any longer, so I ran away."

She was originally a woman, but she changed into women's clothes after escaping, so the people in the military camp couldn't find her when they were catching deserters.

Later, she met a human trafficker and sold herself to Feng Ying.

Feng Ying had always stayed in the backyard, taking care of her husband and children, and had never thought about things like war.

It's not just the war. The people and events she experienced these days were more numerous and shocking than those in her previous thirty years combined.

It made her realize deeply how narrow and insular her mindset was as a person.

There are still wars, hunger, killing, and diseases in this world...

Each one involves life and death, but she only thinks about her man loving her every day.

"A Liu, I love to hear that." Feng Ying was really moved. She said, "We won't talk about your past anymore. When we have the ability in the future, we will make sure your followers are well fed and well clothed, and will not suffer humiliation."

[Yes!] Li Jidao sat at the door in the sun and listened quietly: [Those who carry firewood for the people should not be allowed to freeze to death in the wind and snow.]

[However, if you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world. It is also good to take care of yourself when you have no ability, and don't cause trouble for others. When you are capable, you can think about helping the world. ]

Feng Ying nodded secretly. Ah Jian was right. She was just an ignorant woman now and was not yet capable of helping the world.

Ah Liu used to manage the flower roster in the army.

So her experience is still very desirable.

Feng Ying began to count the people and things left behind by Li Jidao.

Fortunately, Li Jidao is alone and very low-key. Although the yard is large, there are not many people serving him.

Feng Ying searched the flower directory and asked the housekeeper.

There are three people in their family who serve Li Jidao closely.

A maid, in charge of feeding the pets.

A young man who was two years older than Li Jidao was the son of a high-ranking official. Unfortunately, his family was purged a few years ago because they sided with the prince, and the whole family was exiled.

This young man was an illegitimate child and luckily was not involved.

His mother committed suicide along with his father for love, and he began to wander the streets at the age of six. Li Jidao saw that he was a talented person, so he brought him back and taught him some esoteric arts.

He is considered Li Jidao's first disciple.

There is also a second disciple who is the nephew of the former Crown Princess.

Li Jidao's father owed a favor to the Crown Princess's family. During the Taikang Emperor's Jingnan period, the Crown Princess's family was liquidated. Li Jidao's father found a way to save a three-year-old boy from the Crown Princess's family.

Of course the housekeeper didn't know about this, but there were special records of these three people in Li Jidao's study.

In short, these three people are the closest people to Li Jidao and they practice with Li Jidao.

Two of the male disciples also worked with Li Hongxin to manage the Li family's Xuanguan.

This is the core industry of the Li family and the most profitable one.

The rest of the people are just menials, just doing the work.

As for government affairs, they are naturally handled by Li Hongxin and his people.

There are many other industries, but they are all managed by the clansmen. Feng Ying has no control over whether they make losses or profits.

I didn't see any money or treasures, nor were they recorded anywhere.

It’s good that there isn’t one, otherwise Feng Ying wouldn’t know what to do with it.

After all, Li Jidao really has no descendants.

All these things were counted in a day and a half, but Feng Ying did not see the three people.

Logically, it shouldn’t be the animals that are guarding the house, so what about these three people?