Chapter 30 Chapter 30 I can’t bear it! (Two in one)…
It was almost dark when Erlin and his family returned to Lantian County. They had dug so much blue stone that they had to clean up the sludge and some of the lower quality ones before they could barely carry it, stopping and starting along the way.
Seeing the sun setting, he was extremely anxious. He relied on the belief of eating meat to encourage himself and finished the last mile in one breath. When he saw the city gate, he almost collapsed to the ground.
Erlin immediately lowered his voice and said, "It's not time to rest yet. We need to hurry to Liuyeli."
Even in the past, they would not keep the blue stone at home and would only feel at ease after selling it.
I won’t do that anymore since I picked up so many this time.
The family rested for a quarter of an hour, and then went to Liuye to encourage each other. All the blue stones were weighed one by one. The one in charge was Hutou, who had lived here recently. After the house in Liuye was gradually repaired, all of Tofu's things began to move here. Xiaohua and the group of little beggars also felt more comfortable here.
After examining the bluestone's appearance, Hutou pondered for a moment and said, "The bluestone you brought this time is very good. As Mr. Zhu said, it's of very high purity. So I can make the decision and give you a little more money."
The added cost for each pound was less than a penny, but the blue stone was very heavy. Erlin immediately made up his mind to pick out the blue stones carefully in the future.
It saves trouble for yourself and is also cheaper for the young lady.
After the settlement, Erlin felt extremely happy holding the gold, and his family was also very happy. They felt that all the fatigue from the whole day's work had disappeared.
People at the bottom of society rarely laugh. Poverty has bent their backs. Every day when they open their eyes, they have too many bad things to worry about. How can they laugh?
Over time, the facial nerves seem to have degenerated.
This is the case with Erlin's family. However, they have had too many happy events recently, and they have eaten enough oil and water, and their bodies have absorbed enough nutrients, so their smiles are no longer as stiff as before.
As they approached the reeds, Erlin didn't need to remind them. The others immediately rubbed their faces, wiped away their smiles, and acted as if they were extremely tired.
They were just happy in their hearts, and that spirit was hard to erase, so they all put on a serious face, as if going to the countryside to build houses for people that day was not a pleasant day.
Sanlin was the youngest and was not as strong as his brothers and sisters-in-law. He could hardly open his eyes. Slowly, the urge to have sex faded and fell behind.
"Hey, the Erlin family is back."
"They dare to come back..."
Erlin felt something strange just after entering the reeds. He didn't know if it was the magic that the young lady used on him yesterday, but his ears became much more sensitive and he heard the whispers hiding in the house.
Although everyone basically ate and washed up as soon as it got dark in order to save candles, they would not go to bed so early and would sit outside and chat with others.
It looks like a child with very good eyesight, playing in the alley under the moonlight.
Erlin was already alert when he heard the sound, and when he saw that almost every household had their doors and windows closed along the way, he felt even more uneasy.
His intuition told him what had happened, and it was very likely aimed at their home.
Almost immediately, Erlin walked to the back, grabbed his brother who was drowsy and walking forward completely on instinct, and whispered a few words to him.
Sanlin was completely awakened from his sleep: "Second, second brother..."
"Be obedient!" Erlin's voice was low but stern.
Others also saw the actions of the two brothers. People who live in a precarious environment are just like the little mouse. The slightest movement can scare them away, not to mention that the Erlin family not only faces the crisis of not having enough food, but also has a mortal enemy targeting them.
So even though they were feeling uneasy, they did not start a loud quarrel, but instead surrounded the two brothers.
The sky was getting darker. The moonlight was not bright tonight, and dark clouds covered the moon from time to time.
The Erlin family often buys fish to replenish their bodies, so their eyesight is pretty good, unlike many families in Luhuali who are completely blind once it gets dark.
With the help of cover, no one saw Sanlin quietly retreat.
He followed at a distance.
The second elder brother told him to keep an eye on it. If nothing happens, then it's all good. But if something happens, he has to figure out the situation and decide whether to ask Erlin's street brothers for help, or if it's something more difficult that they can't solve... then he should go find the young lady!
Erlin didn't think he had any special relationship with the young lady.
But if a small ant like him alarmed the nobles, he would undoubtedly come for Lan Shi.
Erlin felt that given the young lady's temperament, there was a possibility of helping her.
——Apart from the young lady, I really can’t think of anyone else to turn to for help.
I have to say that Erlin's decision was really far-sighted.
It was this consideration that saved their entire family.
As soon as they saw the door of the house, everyone's face changed. The door was kicked in, and more than a dozen men who looked difficult to deal with were crowded in the yard, with impatience on their faces.
It was too late to escape now.
Erlin forced a smile and said, "My dear gentlemen, what important matters have brought you to my humble home? Please tell me. If I can do it, I will not refuse."
"Is that them?"
The skinny guy in the lead raised his chin.
"It's him, it's Erlin. He's the one who found the blue stone that the young lady loves. He came back so late, he must have been digging for a long time."
One person said angrily.
Erlin looked up in surprise and saw Erguzi with a bruised face and nose. His face changed.
Erguzi raised his head proudly: "You think you've hidden it well, but our family has already found out."
He then said flatteringly to the leader, "Butler Zhao, look at my face. I was beaten by them because I discovered their secret. I wanted to find the location of the blue stone and present it to the noble, but I didn't expect them to be so cruel. I went to that forest because I wanted to meet the noble."
Da Zhao sneered and only half believed his words. It was true that he was followed and beaten, but it was complete nonsense that he wanted to present the blue stone to his master.
He didn't know that he had a wild rabbit in his arms, which was the prey stolen from his master.
"What blue stone? You have misunderstood, sir. This man has an old grudge against our family. He is completely lying to deceive you. Please don't believe him. He just wants to use your power to deal with our family." Brother Erlin was anxious and said quickly.
But Erlin was not optimistic.
Because he still had the gold given by the young lady in his arms. If it was found...
Er Guzi sneered, "If it weren't for Lan Shi, your family would eat meat every day and even bought a large piece of top-quality fat to make lard? Do you really think we're blind?"
He suddenly remembered something and started talking nonsense again, "I saw Erlin asking around for a shop. He even bought one. Isn't this just like getting gold from Lan Shi?"
That’s right, these are all Erguzi’s exaggerated words.
He only knew that the Erlin family found the stone the young lady wanted and made money, but he didn't know it was blue stone, and he didn't know that their family wanted to buy a shop. However, he did hear that Erlin wanted to rent a shop to sell the mountain products he collected from the countryside.
It was just to attract the attention of the nobleman that she deliberately exaggerated the Erlin family's gains, so that it would appear that the young lady valued Erlin.
Don’t you want to please the young lady?
You can't go wrong finding their house.
Driven by his will to survive and his hatred for Erlin's family, Erguzi convinced himself, and his fanatical enthusiasm seemed real.
This attitude also confused Xiang Gaoyuan.
However, the Great Zhao was quite understanding of people like Erguzi. They would do anything to survive, and they could tell any nonsense as if it were true.
However, he couldn't think of a good way to please the tofu girl for the time being, so he just tried his best.
However, let alone Da Zhao, even Erguzi, who fabricated this lie, did not expect that he actually guessed it right.
Erlin was still arguing, "We don't eat meat every day. It's just that the kids are greedy, and I make some money selling tofu, so I only buy meat once every three or five days. I haven't thought about buying a shop..."
Erlin interrupted, "Sir, we have indeed discovered a bluestone mine. The young lady was very pleased with the quality of the bluestone I sent her, so she gave her some money as a reward. If you would like it, I will lead the way immediately. The bluestone mine is ownerless, and it is fortunate for it to have found you."
Erguzi's eyes suddenly widened. There really is a bluestone mine?
His eyes turned red with jealousy.
Da Zhao was a little surprised by his frankness, but he also thought it was normal.
The common people dare not act rashly in front of the noble.
He was so tactful and saved himself a lot of trouble. Da Zhao was about to agree.
Suddenly, Er Guzi shouted, "Butler Da Zhao, this person said the bluestone mine is ownerless. I don't think so. They are clearly trying to escape the crime of stealing from the nobleman. I followed them all the way to the nobleman's forest. It's clearly not far from the bluestone mine. Maybe it's in the nobleman's manor!"
Erlin's heart skipped a beat. He had originally decided to cut off his tail to survive and gave up the benefits of Lanshi in order to get out of this matter.
Although I thought about asking the young lady for help, I would rather not use this relationship if possible.
I didn't expect that the housekeeper was ready to let it go, but Erguzi was so vicious.
If I had known this would happen, I should have taken ruthless action yesterday!
Erlin regretted it in his heart and had the intention to kill, but he quickly explained, "That's not the case. The bluestone mine is thirty or forty miles away from Changpingli..."
He simply told the direction directly.
He smiled bitterly and said, "We common people always treat you with respect and respect, and dare not even cross the line. Even in a deserted mountain where no one has ever entered, we will repeatedly search around for boundary markers. How could we dare to act so recklessly as this person?"
His original intention was to hate Erguzi and to put on a veil, but he didn't know that his words hit the mark.
Compared with Erlin's tact and propriety, Erguzi, who did not leave a good impression at first sight, is undoubtedly less trustworthy.
Now that the location was known, Da Zhao was not going to delay any longer. He had been out for long enough today, and he didn't know if any lackey would take advantage of his absence to flatter his master.
Da Zhao has only recently become Xiang Gaoyuan's confidant, so he dare not be negligent at all.
He glanced at Erguzi with a smile, turned around and was about to leave.
"Butler Zhao, this man has already appeared at the young lady's place. If you take the bluestone mine to present the treasure to the young lady, will she misunderstand that you are robbing someone else's money?" Er Guzi knew that he had completely offended Er Lin and would not be willing to let him escape, so he blurted out in a hurry.
Da Zhao's face changed.
Seeing this, Erguzi knew that he was right.
Erlin's expression changed, and he quickly said, "Your Excellency, you are worrying too much. How could we, the common people, have the courage to complain to the young lady..."
"You wouldn't dare, but the young lady isn't someone you can easily fool!" Er Guzi shouted. "Butler of the Great Zhao, I'm sure you've heard about the young lady's deeds and know how kind she is. She's clearly a noble lady, yet she frequents a city populated by ordinary people, even sharing her tofu-making recipe with them... Butler of the Great Zhao, you're betting that the young lady's knowledge of this won't change her mind about you. Why do you bet?"
"When we serve our master, shouldn't we be wholeheartedly doing our duty? Shouldn't we leave any hidden dangers?"
Butler Da Zhao looked deeply at Er Guzi, then looked at Erlin, with a hint of regret in his eyes.
With these words in mind, there was no way he could just let it go.
After all, if he lets this one go, someone will definitely tell the master about it.
And the master will never tolerate a servant who is not wholeheartedly devoted.
"Then tell me what we should do?" Butler Da Zhao asked Er Guzi lightly, feeling unhappy.
This person actually plotted against him!
"In my opinion, these people stole the noble's things, which is a serious crime. Their entire family should be confiscated and enslaved." Er Guzi couldn't wait to speak out his plan. "That way, even if the young lady knew about this, she would only think that they were truly greedy and deceived her for profit. At the same time, she would also feel pity for the noble who had his property taken away..."
While he was talking, Er Guzi suddenly rushed towards Er Lin and touched him. Er Lin would not sit idly by, but Er Guzi shouted: "Hold him down quickly, I touched the gold, this is the evidence!"
Erlin's heart had already turned cold, but he still struggled and said, "I, Erlin, have some reputation in the streets. I have never done anything sneaky. Why would you go to such trouble and leave such hidden dangers for the future..."
His arms were empty, but the hot gold was snatched away.
Erlin was pinned down and unable to move. He could only pray that his younger brother heard the commotion over here and would be smart enough to quickly ask the young lady for help.
"Look, Steward Zhao! Gold!" Er Guzi held up the gold, extremely excited. "I didn't lie to you. The young lady gave them the gold directly. How could she not be impressed?"
Da Zhao's heart sank. He didn't expect that there really was gold. He had a vague feeling that things were out of his control.
Although it can be seen from the young lady's behavior that she is a kind person, he did not expect that she would give gold directly!
Even if they were to buy it, they wouldn't want such a high price. What do these lowly people know?
Erguzi reluctantly gave the gold to Dazhao, even though he really wanted to stay, but... Suddenly, Erguzi's expression froze, and his eyes wandered among Erlin's family: "Where's Sanlin?"
The person he was most concerned about was Sanlin, because he seduced Jinhuan. But he also knew that the smartest person in the family was Erlin, and he had to control this person to be safe.
Even if Sanlin is good-looking, it is of no use to a family like theirs.
It's not so good as to be particularly outstanding.
So my presence has always been low, but...
Erguzi's heart was in his throat. "Butler Zhao, quickly find Sanlin! Sanlin must have gone to inform the young lady! Quick, quickly stop him!"
His voice was no longer clear.
Da Zhao also felt that things were going badly, and glared at Er Guzi fiercely: "It's all because of you! I tell you, if you ruin the master's plan..."
They had come to ask about the bluestone mine in a friendly manner, but he had gone to such lengths to abruptly stop them.
The bluestone mine is originally ownerless, and anyone can pick it up, so there will be no trouble... For a moment, Da Zhao was extremely annoyed.
"Go find someone!" He took a deep breath and calmed down.
"I'm going too. I know Sanlin." Erguzi said hurriedly.
Erlin didn't expect to be exposed so quickly, and could only hope in his heart that his younger brother would be smarter.
Sanlin ran very fast on the dark and deserted street.
He felt that he had never run so fast in his life. From a distance, he couldn't see what was happening over there, but he heard the noise.
As the youngest son, he was more spoiled and protected by his parents and brothers and sisters. He was not as worldly-wise as Erlin, nor as polished as Dalin. When he heard that his second brother had taken the initiative to give up his family's way to wealth, he felt unwilling.
Why?
That was clearly an ownerless item discovered by my second brother!
In the past, no matter how unwilling Sanlin was, he had no choice but to endure it.
But when he met the young lady, his second brother had clearly said that he would give the bluestone mine to the young lady, but the young lady refused and was willing to buy it with money. So what was this noble who suddenly appeared?
You want to use this to show your affection to the young lady? Bah!
Sanlin ran away as fast as he could. He didn't want to endure it any longer. He wanted to ask the young lady to make the decision for them!
With this belief, it seemed as if all the fatigue from a busy day had disappeared. Sanlin originally wanted to run to the Meng family's villa. After all, the young lady was not there when they went to Liuye to sell goods before. But the Meng family's villa was too far away. He heard the sound of footsteps and was afraid that he would be stopped halfway, so he went to Liuye.
Liu Ye Li, who had just been there, was very familiar with the place. Sanlin quickly went into the alley and lowered his footsteps.
Soon the gate was in sight. Sanlin was about to rush over and knock on the door when he suddenly heard a sound behind him. He became anxious and quickly took a run-up, climbed up the wall next to him and jumped in.
This side has not been repaired yet, the wall is relatively low and there are no thorns.
People like Sanlin have been running around since they were young, and climbing roofs and trees are no problem for them.
Just as I jumped into the wall, I heard a loud shout: "Who is it?"
It turned out to be the guards who lived in the willow leaf patrol. Sanlin quickly raised his hands and said: "I just came to sell blue stone. I want to see Hutou. I have something important to tell him."
*
Zhu Dan went to the mountains during the day to collect materials for the Transformation Pill. He was very tired and went to bed early. When he was woken up, he was still a little grumpy.
But when he knew what happened, his expression immediately became serious: "Take me to your house quickly."
The housekeeper also woke up and wanted to go with Zhu Dan, but Zhu Dan shook his head.
The old man is already very old, and she is not so nagging even though he has to follow her around in the middle of the night.
After thinking for a while, he said, "No need. There are only a dozen of them. I can defeat them. However, the ownership of that forest is a problem. It is now ownerless, but after tonight, that may not be the case."
Zhu Dan knew very well that as the national teacher, her status was already very transcendent, so she could not set a bad example for the people around her.
Everything must be done rationally.
The housekeeper immediately understood what Zhu Dan meant. He was trying to prevent someone from tampering with the plan.
Zhu Dan had been learning horse riding for some time, and in order to take Sanlin with her to show the way, she put him on the horse.
Sanlin crawled on the ground and hugged the horse, his face red as if blood was dripping out. He had never been so close to a girl, especially a lady he respected very much.
But Zhu Dan's words calmed him down: "Hurry up and show us the way. If we go too late, be careful of those people who might kill us to silence us."
Although it was meant to be intimidating, Zhu Dan never underestimates other people's malice.
*
"Don't smash it, don't smash my house..."
From Erlin's house came the sound of smashing houses, Erguzi's angry curses and the man's angry curses, mixed with the woman's screams.
Because Da Zhao and others brought more than a dozen big men, the neighbors didn't even dare to go out and didn't dare to watch the excitement, so they hid in their houses, feeling terrified.
They were afraid that this nobleman would not be satisfied with dealing with Erlin's family and would vent his anger on them in Luhuali.
Some people were directly resentful: "It's all Erlin's fault. He must have caused this disaster."
"I heard that Erlin went to the nobleman's mountain to look for the treasure that the young lady wanted, and the nobleman found out and came to beat him up."
"No wonder they've been eating so much meat lately!"
Some people immediately confirmed the matter, but others said weakly, "Er Lin wouldn't dare..."
"What are you afraid of? He is the bravest one. There is nothing he can't do!"
The person who said this was also quite clever. When the nobleman destroyed the house, he loudly explained the reason because he wanted them to be witnesses.
So, it is not unreasonable to step on the Erlin family in order to please the noble.
This idea reached its peak when Da Zhao came forward and said, "Thank you all for speaking out for justice..."
Along with the crying of the Erlin family, the noise became louder and louder.
Only a few families who were close to Erlin looked indignant, but remained silent.
Erlin has offended an important person.
"Why are they..." A little girl started to yell, but her grandmother covered her mouth. Grandmother Wang warned her favorite granddaughter, Jinhuan, "I know you like Sanlin. I thought he was a good person, but his family got into such trouble. No matter what, you have to give up the idea."
"Why are you like this, mother? Before, they were doing well and you said Sanlin would have a bright future thanks to his brother. Now that their family is in trouble, you're just whining."
Jinhuan's mouth was covered and her words were unclear.
But Wang Po understood her, shook her head, and lowered her voice, saying, "Er Lin is indeed capable, but he is also prone to getting into trouble. I would rather you live in peace and security than become rich and powerful in the future."
Jinhuan was stunned, then slowly stopped and stopped struggling.
I thought my mother was just a snob... Jinhuan's tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffed. She couldn't be willful and couldn't let her family get into trouble because of herself.
They are all ordinary people. If Erlin offended Erguzi's family, they could certainly help.
But he happened to be a noble person.
There was hatred in Jinhuan's eyes, and even a kind of fear of the rabbit's death and the fox's grief.
Why are these nobles here, why... No, the young lady is still different!
Thinking about not seeing Sanlin when she peeked through the crack in the door, Jinhuan silently prayed that Sanlin could run out and find the young lady for help.
"She should be able to help!"
Wang Po shook her head, but she was not as expectant as her granddaughter.
No one could sleep on such a night. Gradually, even the voices of response became quieter. Everyone waited silently, waiting for those people to leave, and waiting for the end of Erlin's family.
He shouldn't be beaten to death, but he will definitely be fined and enslaved...
Suddenly, Jinhuan's eyes moved: "Grandmother, I seem to hear the sound of horse hooves."
"Horse hoof sounds! Why are there horse hoof sounds so late at night?" Just as she was about to ask if her granddaughter was hallucinating, Wang Po's eyes glazed over. "I heard it too. It was so loud..."
That’s right, the sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer, rushing towards us, like thunder in the quiet night.
Wang Po covered her mouth, her eyes full of disbelief.
"It's the young lady. I saw the first person riding a horse!" Jinhuan excitedly grabbed the eldest mother's arm.
Wang Po's eyesight was not as good as her granddaughter's, but the group of people on horseback stopped almost at the location of Erlin's house.
She couldn't think of anyone else who would stand up for them except the young lady?
"How could this be?" Even if the young lady was kind, running over at this time would be very disturbing. Besides, the housekeeper Zhao said they were from the Xiang family...
The Xiang family is the most powerful noble family in Lantian County. Don’t offend them no matter who you are.
*
After arriving in Luhuali, Zhu Dan could feel the gazes coming from all directions, including those from the nearby people.
In other circumstances, she would have been proud of the fact that her heroic riding posture had attracted so much attention, but now she had no time to care about them.
A group of people in front of me were arrogantly smashing the wall. All the people in the Erlin family were tied up and huddled together. There were wounds on their faces and bodies. It was obvious that they had been taught a lesson.
What kind of scene is this? It should be a place where gangs and evil should be eradicated! Zhu Dan's face sank.
At the same time, Da Zhao was also shocked. The young lady actually came?
She cared about the Erlin family more than they expected.
Da Zhao felt regretful.
Maybe I did something wrong in this matter.
When they discovered that the person had escaped and had not been caught at the door of the Meng family, Da Zhao already had a bad premonition and decisively ordered the guards to start smashing and destroying things, pretending to be angry that their property had been stolen by the common people.
This is a very timely remedy.
But now he didn't know whether he could hide this from the young lady.
"Father, mother, elder brother, and second brother!"
As soon as Sanlin was taken off the horse by Zhu Dan, he rushed towards his tied family members crying.
Zhu Dan fixed his gaze on the leader and recognized him: "Why are you here again?"
It was Da Zhao who had not been able to recognize the then inconspicuous Er Lin due to the dark weather. However, he already knew that the visitor was a young lady, so he took a deep breath and was about to explain.
Zhu Dan said with disgust, "Before, you treated people like prey, shooting arrows at them recklessly. Now, you're not angry enough and have gone to people's homes to smash, threaten, and rob them of their property. This is truly lawless. If the magistrate of Lantian County can't handle this, then replace him with someone who can."
Zhu Dan might have just said it in anger, but Cao Teng, who rode over with him, had already silently remembered it in his heart.
Da Zhao was horrified. This young lady was even more powerful than he had imagined. How could she actually influence the position of the county magistrate?
He couldn't remain calm anymore. He had caused such a big disaster for his master. He would not be able to survive when he returned.
"Young lady, you've misunderstood. We had no choice but to destroy the house." He suppressed his anxiety and spoke as gently as possible. "The thief was cunning and deceived you. Young lady, you must not believe the thief's one-sided words and rashly exonerate us."
Zhu Dan sneered: "Then tell me, what's the compelling reason?"
Da Zhao was afraid that she would not listen and would directly judge them as bad people. After all, this first meeting was not a pleasant one.
Upon hearing this, he immediately discarded the hastily devised response and said with great grievance, "...these common people will do anything for their own benefit. If we don't impose severe penalties to deter them, what face will our Xiang family have in Lantian County? Even a mere commoner can so arbitrarily seize our Xiang family's property. How can a fellow noble think of it?"
"I'm afraid my Xiang family will be squeezed out and unable to survive soon."
Cao Teng looked at Zhu Dan in surprise. The young lady actually guessed that they would confuse right and wrong?
Zhu Dan was not surprised. Although she thought she was very low-key, what she did in Lantian County was not low-key.
After more than half a month, as tofu became popular, his name should have spread to the ears of local tyrants. The reason why no one made trouble and wanted to monopolize the benefits was simply because they were afraid of the Meng family's reputation.
This is the benefit of having a big tree to sit under and enjoy the shade.
Perhaps they didn't know that he was protecting Erlin's family before, but as Sanlin said, the man named Erguzi must have known that he was running to him for help.
"You're still lying even now. I've already verified that the bluestone mine is ownerless!" Zhu Dan sneered. "Why? Your Xiang family is so all-powerful that all the ownerless things in the world belong to you?"
Da Zhao looked at Zhu Dan in surprise and doubt.
He really hadn't had time to go to the government office to handle the relevant procedures.
Simply because he didn't know where it was.
Originally, Erguzi suggested following Erlin first to find out his location, but he felt that it was unnecessary and that they could just go and ask directly.
result……
Why is the young lady so sure?
Zhu Dan did not lie.
She was sure that it was no-man's land not because she believed in Erlin's character, but because she had asked Brother Zheng about the copper mine and confirmed that the piece had not been sold, so it naturally belonged to Brother Zheng.
Who do you think you are, Xiang family?
Brother Zheng loves the people like his own children and never competes with them for profit, yet you guys are still going after him?
Uncle can tolerate it, but aunt can’t!
"Cao Teng, tie them up and send them to the county government office. I want to see who dares to bend the law for personal gain."
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