Chapter 298 Kill the gigolo's wife and child
Yun Zhaoxue put down the food box and walked towards Xiao Xuance.
"Whose hoe is this? How did it fall out?"
Xiao Liuzi got nervous when the beautiful woman asked him a question, and stammered, "I...my."
Yun Zhaoxue flicked her toes, sending the wooden stick flying into her palm. She inserted the end of the stick into the hoe holder, flicked her wrist slightly, and slammed it into the ground. With a casual twist, a crisp "clang!" was heard—the thick wooden stick was firmly embedded in the hoe holder.
Then he tossed the hoe to Xiao Liuzi, saying, "Catch!"
Xiao Liu caught the hoe, looking incredulous. "You just pressed it in so easily? I tried with all my might and couldn't get it in. It falls off every few times I hoe this morning."
Yun Zhaoxue laughed and said, "I just ate a full meal, so I have a lot of strength."
Xiao Liuzi felt that she was no ordinary person either. "Boss, she's a master too. What should we do? How about we call a truce for today and then outsmart her?"
"Outsmart them my foot! Do you even have any wisdom? They're all from the capital; they've read more books than we've eaten rice. Stop boosting their morale and diminishing our own."
Old Liu, standing to the side, stroked his chin, his eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at Yun Zhaoxue, a glistening drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, his face revealing undisguised greed.
What a stunningly beautiful woman!
If you kill her husband and the woman in her womb, and offer her to a high-ranking official as a concubine, wouldn't he get promoted and become rich?
Hehehe~~~
Thinking of this, he slammed his fist on the table, "Fight! We must fight!"
When Yun Zhaoxue saw Lao Liao and his escorts, she greeted him, "Lord Liao, they're over here."
They came together and split up to look for people. Yun Zhaoxue found this side first, and Lao Liao came over after hearing the commotion.
"What Lord Liao? Where did this Lord Liao come from?" Old Liu shrank his neck and looked over. "Isn't he just a guard? He doesn't deserve to be called a lord, haha."
He had seen Lao Liao at the camp, but he didn't take Lao Liao seriously.
"This exile team consists of important officials of the court, including a prince. The people who are assigned by the court to escort such a team are no ordinary people. Lord Liao has influence with Lord Liu, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Doesn't he have more right to be called a 'Lord' than you?"
"I..." Old Liu was just a squad leader. His soldiers would call him "sir" to flatter him. In front of the officials, he was nothing but a fart. Besides, the other party had access to high-ranking officials in the capital. Such a bluff was quite intimidating.
He hurried forward, a fawning smile on his face. "Lord Liao, what brings you here? I am so sorry for not greeting you properly. Please have a seat."
"Someone, quickly bring tea."
Old Liao withdrew a thousand taels of silver from the Pei family's shop in Lingnan. The shopkeeper, entrusted by Pei Huaiji, was to deliver something to Yun Zhaoxue.
He brought the other party over, thinking that since he had taken so much silver, he suddenly felt kind and decided to buy the prisoners one last meal as a farewell dinner.
I don't know what got into this officer, he actually treated him like an honored guest and even fanned him.
"I humbly request that when Lord Liao returns to the capital, he put in a good word for me before the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. If I can be promoted, I will repay Lord Liao's kindness with a generous reward." Old Liu kept babbling on, his words full of flattery.
As he spoke, he reached behind him and took a bag of silver from his subordinate, intending to give it to Lao Liao.
Old Liao said sternly with a straight face, "No, take it back..."
He's just a jailer; he can't even get promoted himself, so how could he possibly have the ability to help others get promoted?
This imposing manner convinced Old Liu that he was someone of great importance. Suspecting that he was complaining about the amount, he took out all the silver from his own person and searched his men, gathering two large, heavy bags of silver to hand over again.
"Lord Liao is an upright and incorruptible man; money won't sway him. You have to use your character." Yun Zhaoxue took the silver and placed it in Old Liao's hand.
When Old Liu saw that he had taken the money, his face beamed with joy. "I understand, I understand everything."
Yun Zhaoxue lowered her voice and said to Lao Liao, "Master Liao, just cooperate for a moment, it will be over soon."
Old Liao glanced at her and knew it was her doing.
Considering the Pei family gave him another thousand taels for travel expenses this morning, what harm is there in putting on an act? He gets money and people to serve him—how wonderful! How brilliant!
Old Liao's gaze swept over Meng Dahu and the others. "What are they doing here? Waiting for dinner? Where's the food? Look at what your city defense battalion feeds the prisoners. How does it compare to what we ate on the road to exile?"
Old Liu smiled obsequiously, "No, no, no, these people are conscripts, responsible for clearing land on the other side of the mountain. There was a bit of a conflict, but I'm mediating it. I've got them all under control, and it's almost resolved."
He waved at Meng Dahu and the others, "What are you all standing there for? Get back to work! Get out of here!!!"
Old Liao smelled a foul odor and saw several buckets of swill on the ground. "Is this all you feed them? They're not getting enough to eat and won't have the strength to work."
Old Liu replied, "Sir, they are all prisoners. They are lucky to have any food. People in the prison do the same when they encounter prisoners, and they don't say anything."
The convicts, "..."
Isn't that obvious? Who would a prisoner be saying that to in their cell?
Old Liao continued, "The fact that the imperial court didn't behead them means their crimes don't warrant death. We dare not beat or scold them casually, because if the emperor were to become enraged one day and pardon them to return to the capital, we escorts would be in big trouble..."
"This...this...they still have any hope of returning to the capital? Oh my god, I..."
Old Liu slapped his forehead, his knees buckled, and he almost knelt down before them. He had really offended them today. If he said that one thing, he would lose his head. Was it too late to appease them now?
Old Liao brought white flour steamed buns for the prisoners, one for each person. The white flour steamed buns, which originally sold for three coins, were bargained down to two cents each. Nearly two hundred people spent four hundred coins.
Yun Zhaoxue brought food to the Xiao family.
Seeing the still steaming food, Yang swallowed hard, even more worried about tiring her daughter-in-law. "Xue'er, did you make all this? You must be exhausted. You still have two bodies to carry. Don't do this kind of work anymore."
"Xian'er helped me with everything, from burning firewood to preparing ingredients. I only had to cook the dishes. She worked much harder than me."
Xian'er said, "I'm not tired. My grandmother, mother and brothers are much more tired. Their faces are all sunburned."
When Xian'er saw that her mother's forehead was red and sweaty, she raised her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her face and then took out a fan to fan them.
Meng Dahu and the others, who had been scolded and driven away by Lao Liu, squatted in the shadows at the foot of the mountain and continued to eat swill.
Some people got angrier and angrier, tilted their heads back, finished the last bite, slammed down their bowls and chopsticks, and rudely wiped the oily corners of their lips with the back of their hands.
"Boss, let's kill that pretty boy's wife and child to avenge Zhang Shan."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com