Back in Xinzhou City, after the disaster a few years ago, the entire prefectural government was in dire straits.
Ever since Yun was taken back to Zezhou by her nephew, the mansion has been completely empty. Not to mention the masters, even the servants' three meals a day have become a problem.
The steward sent by Yao Xu had run three horses to death, and he only returned to the mansion on the afternoon of the third day with the silver and grain collected from Luzhou.
How did they get through these two days without money? Although Yao Xu was not very close to the emperor's nephew, he took advantage of the fact that the emperor was far away and secretly gave the local officials below a bad face from time to time.
The people below him were worried that he was related to the emperor, so they had no choice but to give him large amounts of silver every month as a tribute.
Coincidentally, the day before Song Wan went to move the silver was the day when the officials below were supposed to pay silver as tribute that month.
The result was that before Yao Xu could even get a chance to enjoy the fun, Song Wan caught him off guard.
Now that Yao Xu had no money to spend, he naturally thought of the obedient local officials under him. He called it a loan, but when they would be repaid depended on his mood.
Originally, Yao Xu thought that this matter would go smoothly. After all, he didn't borrow much, only two days' worth of government money.
But he forgot that the officials under him also had families to support, and since he had just received a batch of silver, there was no extra money left.
Yao Xu sent people to the officials' homes in the morning.
, and did not return until evening.
The total amount of change in the purses of these people was no more than two hundred taels.
Two hundred taels may seem like a lot, enough for common people in the countryside to live a wealthy life for the rest of their lives, but it is not enough for a prefect.
Not to mention the hundreds of servants and maids in the mansion, there are more than a dozen concubines in the backyard alone, and the concubines also have children and so on.
If you calculate carefully, these two hundred taels are still a long way from the monthly salary.
I heard that when Yao Xu got those bags of silver, his face almost broke into pieces of stone.
Song Wan, disguised as a black-faced young man, sat in front of the wonton stall, listening to Mrs. Zhang who sold wontons and Mrs. Li from the grocery store next door, chatting about the gossip in the city.
After finishing the third bowl of wontons, Song Wan still didn't see Song Qi and the others. It seemed that they were not trained enough. The traps she set on the road seemed to be enough for them to study and deal with for a long time.
So Song Wan thought about it and decided to stay and continue listening. By the way, she asked Zhang Po's honest daughter-in-law to cook two more bowls of wontons for her to eat slowly.
After drinking a bowl of water, Mrs. Zhang and the others started again.
I heard that the two hundred taels were later given to Concubine Yu, who temporarily took over the power of the household. As a result, the silver that was only asked for in the evening was used for a meal in the mansion, and not a single copper coin was left.
Concubine Yu was a short-sighted person without any intelligence in her head. The servants who bought rice, flour, vegetables and meat for her were used to deceiving their superiors and hiding the truth from their subordinates, and they made a lot of money from a single dinner.
That night, Yao Xu didn't know that all the money had been spent. He sat down at the dinner table and looked at the dishes that were not as luxurious as before but still exquisite. He immediately became more friendly to Concubine Yu and praised her for her good housekeeping.
Aunt Yu, who was already frightened, was even more afraid to tell the truth to Yao Xu when she heard him praising her so much. She could only anxiously think about how to make amends.
Just when Yao Xu thought that everything was going in a good direction, he woke up the next morning and was told that Concubine Yu was trying to escape with the money, and was eventually stopped by the secret guards in the mansion before she left the backyard through a side door.
When Yao Xu heard the news, he almost vomited blood. What was going on? These concubines in the mansion were either cheating on him or wanted to run away. Do they still take him seriously?
Because of Concubine Yu's incompetent housekeeping, the mansion was once again in a state of having no food to eat. Last night, there was porridge with silver sprouts and shredded chicken, but this morning, there was only a bowl of bland porridge that could be used as a bronze mirror. The only side dish to go with the porridge was a bowl of salted dried radish, which was given by a loyal housekeeper to his wife from home to help the masters in an emergency.
They live even worse than ordinary people outside.
Yao Xu was so angry that he wanted to overturn the dining table, but the steward next to him was quick-witted and reminded him in a roundabout way that there was not much rice left in the house.
The anger in his heart stopped halfway, neither going up nor down, and finally he fainted and vomited blood.
After waking up from a brief coma, Yao Xu took away the housekeeper power from Concubine Yu and had her beaten with twenty boards.
These were all told to Aunt Li in the grocery store by her niece, who was from her distant cousin's aunt and whose second daughter's half-sister-in-law was from her husband's family and worked as a cleaner in the prefectural magistrate's house.
When Song Wan heard this, he sighed and shook his head. The mansion had been emptied, so how could he have any power as a steward? Isn't this just like a commander without troops in later generations?
She said that the "newly appointed" eldest son of a concubine had not cheated on his biological father, so why was he suddenly exiled to Guizhou to commit murder?
After all this trouble, it was his own stupid mother who implicated him.
After finishing six bowls of wontons at the wonton shop, Song Wan left with a stern face and her hands on her waist under the attentive gaze of Mrs. Zhang.
It’s because I was too engrossed in listening and ate too much.
Because of Yu Yi Niang's poor housekeeping skills, Yao Xu took his anger out on the illegitimate son born from her belly.
It's not that he likes to show off and be in power, he gave it to him today.
What followed was what Song Wan heard from Gu Yanji. Yao Xu secretly sent his current eldest son and a group of trusted secret guards to Guizhou to secretly deal with their two families.
The day of departure is today. After leaving the wonton shop, Song Wan went straight out of the city and waited for them outside the city.
It's not that she doesn't want to catch the turtle in the jar in the city, but Xinzhou City is quite prosperous, with a wide variety of restaurants and shops. She is afraid that she will forget her business while walking around.
And the most important thing is that except for one main road, she hasn't recognized all the other alleys and streets.
Song Wan was lying bored on a tree branch. There were no green leaves blocking her view in the middle of winter. Anyone with sufficient eyesight could see her from a distance.
Yao Xu's new eldest son was named Yao Liwei. Perhaps because of the contrast with the previous dissolute and lustful son, Yao Liwei had a pretty good reputation in Xinzhou City. In addition, he was good at pretending. Although he was obviously an extremely selfish and unkind person, he forced himself to act like a good brother who was very friendly with his sisters.
He was not very willing to be sent to Guizhou at this moment, so he had already despised his good-for-nothing mother in his heart.
Even though the Song and Gu families are now vulnerable, it is still dangerous to go there. How can he, a young man who has only learned some physical fitness techniques for a few days, withstand such a torment?
Fortunately, my father still took into consideration the father-son relationship and assigned him the best secret guards in the mansion.
After secretly feeling annoyed all the way, Yao Liwei gradually calmed down. Looking at the deserted road, he actually began to vaguely look forward to whether his identity would change after he completed the task assigned by his father.
For example, if he is adopted as a son by the deceased childless first wife, then he can be considered a legitimate son.
As Yao Liwei rode his horse, the more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed, and he couldn't help but start fantasizing.
Little did he know that his good days were already counting down.
When the opponent was less than 500 meters away from the steep slope where he was, Song Wan suddenly changed his previous idea of solving the problem directly.
Song Qi and his men will definitely lose completely this time, but next time they come out for a real fight, it is impossible for Yao Xu to send someone out by chance every time.
It would be such a waste if these people don't reuse their waste.
Just when Song Qi and a few others were still studying the "enemy" traces that Song Wan had deliberately left along the way, Song Wan had already jumped down from the big tree on the back of the steep slope.
Yao Liwei and his secret guards stopped on the road five meters away.
Yao Liwei's heart trembled at the young man who suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. He quickly glanced at the several secret guards surrounding him, and he saw shock and vigilance in their eyes.
The reaction of the secret guards meant that the young man in front of them was not easy to deal with.
Having been secret guards in Yao Xu's mansion for so many years, Li Hu and his companions are all really capable. Whether it's concealing their voices or using assassination and reconnaissance methods, they are all top-notch masters.
But now, the sudden appearance of this young man left them completely unaware along the way.
When did he appear, or what started following them?
Which side is he from and what is his purpose?
Yao Liwei and several secret guards had a very good understanding of each other and thought of the same thing.
Song Wan was still holding the simple rope whip she had made before. It looked tattered on the surface, but she had made it sturdy and it was still easy to use.
She whipped up a whip to raise the dust, which frightened the horses of several people and made them howl. Yao Liwei was not careful and almost fell off the horse to the ground.
It was Li Hu, who was closest to him, who supported him with the hilt of his sword, so that he would not be embarrassed.
Li Hu helped Yao Liwei steady himself, then immediately bowed to Song Wan and asked, "Excuse me, Excellency, if you are stopping here, if you just need money, we can discuss it."
Song Wan's eyes lit up when he heard this, but he pretended not to care and asked, "How much silver do you have?"
Li Hu and Yao Liwei exchanged a glance, then replied, "If you are only short of a few hundred taels, we can certainly help you."
In fact, for this mission, Yao Xu allocated 125 taels of silver to be divided equally among the five brothers.
But this was only what he had on him. As for how much the eldest young master in the mansion had on him, Li Hu had no idea.
Li Hu had a blank expression on his face, but he began to ponder secretly in his heart. When he mentioned the silver just now, he did not miss the flash of light in the boy's eyes. If it was really just for the money, it would not be a serious matter.
Speaking of which, Song Wan had never robbed money in front of others before, and she didn't know what to say for a moment. By the time she reacted, all the silver on Li Hu was in her hands.
Song Wan glanced down at the banknotes and change in her hand and blinked. She just couldn't control herself and used to sweeping the whip around, and accidentally let it reach into someone's silver bag.
Li Hu's expression did not change obviously, but Yao Liwei's face was very ugly. This was the money he had just collected from his friend not long ago. Because of the lesson of being emptied last time, he dared not leave the five hundred taels with him no matter what, for fear that the thieves would not be satisfied and attack him back.
In the end, it was taken away by this little thief in front of him. How could Yao Liwei not be angry?
Even if the opponent is powerful, he has a huge advantage in terms of numbers.
"Give the banknote back!" Yao Liwei shouted sternly.
Li Hu wanted to stop "Young Master——" but was interrupted.
"All the money in your Yao family belongs to me. Who do you want me to return it to?" Song Wan stuffed the banknotes and change into the empty purse.
She only earned 625 taels on this trip, which was a huge loss. This also made her more determined to take these people back and use them repeatedly. At least she had to use up the value of a wall of silver to make her trip worthwhile.
"What do you mean all the money in our Yao family is yours! Who are you going to?" Yao Liwei sat astride the horse, his eyes full of scrutiny and suspicion.
"It's only been over a month, and you've already forgotten?" Song Wan shook her head in disdain. "There's so much gold and silver in your cheap father's study. It took us almost two hours to move it."
Yao Liwei was shocked, "You are the thief!"
Song Wan admitted it readily, "I took the silver."
"My father is a fourth-rank official in the imperial court, and the current empress dowager is from the Yao family. If you just return all the silver, I can plead for mercy in front of my father and the empress dowager and spare your death!"
Yao Liwei thought happily in his heart that it was really a case of searching for something after a long time and finally getting it without any effort. If he could get back all the gold, silver and treasures that were stolen from the mansion, his father would definitely use him.
Song Wan felt that this person was even worse than his scumbag father. How come each generation is getting dumber than the previous one?
Li Hu was used to observing people's expressions. Seeing that the young man's patience was gradually losing, he thought to himself that something was wrong. He quickly signaled to the other secret guards, asking them to take Yao Liwei back to Xinzhou when he was not prepared.
Regardless of whether he looked down on Yao Liwei or not, he was still the young master of the master's family. Moreover, Yao Xu asked them to bring Yao Liwei with him on this trip simply because he wanted to make him suffer and be frightened for a few days, and he did not really want to kill his son.
But no matter how fast they were, they could not be faster than the whip in Song Wan's hand.
But in the blink of an eye, several people were firmly "nailed" to the horse's back, unable to move.
Yao Liwei, who had no internal energy to protect himself, was thrown down and saw stars, and the acid in his stomach kept coming out.
Thinking of what just happened, Li Hu couldn't help but feel fear in his heart. This young man's skills have reached the point where he can point blood through the air without the help of any external objects!
He had never heard of or encountered such a method when he was in the underworld.
Moreover, he vaguely felt that the acupoints the young man practiced seemed to be very different from theirs.
Song Wan traveled all the way to Xinzhou, either relying on his martial arts skills or riding on mule or donkey carts he came across on the road. They were very cheap, costing only a few copper coins.
Now they could ride horses when they returned. There were six horses for seven people. Song Wan took the best horse to herself and asked Yao Liqian, the extra one, to share one with Li Hu.
Yao Liwei wanted to protest, but it was no use. Song Wan simply shut his mouth.
Song Wan jumped onto the horse with quick and clean movements, and used his mental power to control the other horses, making them follow him obediently.
Li Hu was surprised that she had such superb horse-riding skills. If there was a chance to offer him to the master, then...
Before he could think deeply, he heard Song Wan say fiercely, "Don't overthink it! Think about how you're going to survive if you fall into my hands."
Li Hu thought he had seen something, and said confidently, "Since you didn't understand us on the spot, I'm afraid you have already decided not to take action."
Song Wan uttered an "oh" in a doubtful tone. She turned her head and lowered her eyes to look at the man lying on the horse's back. She smiled innocently, but her words were chilling. "But how can you be sure that living is better than dying?"
Although it is still a cold winter day, the view outside is wide and open.
The weather was rare and sunny, and the wind along the way was warm and cool.
After hearing what Song Wan said, Li Hu felt as if he had suddenly fallen into an ice cellar in the cold winter. He opened his mouth but could no longer speak.
He had a premonition that it would be difficult to return to Xinzhou after going to Guizhou.
Song Wan led his men and horses and galloped all the way to Guizhou, thinking that maybe he could still make it in time for dinner.
This time, apart from a few bowls of wontons from the wonton shop in the morning, she only had a few cold sesame cakes at noon, which was far worse than what she had at home.
Song Wan wanted to go back early because she wanted to eat the potato-stuffed buns that Qi had just invented.
This kind of work to make money is too tiring. On the way back, Song Wan was thinking that he had to train Song Qi and the others later.
This way she can lie down and collect food, count money and eat.
Gu Yan was anxious to make a whip for Song Wan to wear. He searched through all kinds of leather, but was not satisfied with any of them.
Finally, it was Jiang Zhen who mentioned it to him, saying that when he first sent the 5,000 people into the back mountain of Dadong Village, he encountered a golden python, which poisoned the five brothers to death.
The golden python's skin was impervious to knives and swords, and was a good material for making whips. It was a pity that we couldn't catch it at that time and it escaped.
However, the soldiers hiding in the mountains were never seen again. Jiang Zhen was probably eaten by other wild beasts.
Gu Yan was anxious and felt that he had to try as long as there was a glimmer of hope, so while Song Wan took Song Qi and others out for actual combat training, he also took Gu Wen and Gu Wu into the deep mountains and dense forests to look for the golden python.
I don’t know if he was lucky, but he actually ran into the other party. The other party was hibernating, which gave him an opportunity to take advantage of.
In order not to damage the entire skin, Gu Yanji relied on close combat, inserted a dagger into the snake's eyes, and then tied the head, abdomen and tail of the golden python with ropes, tightened them crosswise, and tied the other end to a tree.
Gu Yan took advantage of the pause in the golden python's struggle, held his breath and moved closer, and with lightning speed, he used a dagger to pry open the skin from its head, all the way to the seven inches.
Then he exerted his strength and the huge golden python fell to the ground, and the snake skin that was invulnerable to swords and knives was completely peeled off.
Gu Wen and Gu Wu gasped for breath and breathed a sigh of relief. The process was really too dangerous. Moreover, they had heard from Jiang Zhen that the poison of this snake was extremely venomous and there was no antidote yet. Those bitten would die instantly.
If the master falls into the trap accidentally, it will be the end of him.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
Now that he had the raw materials, Gu Yan was anxious but not in a hurry to start. He asked Gu Wen and Gu Wu to keep the golden python skin safely and wait for him to come back.
Gu Wen and Gu Wu didn't ask him where he was going, because they could guess without asking that he was going to find Miss Song again.
Song Wan met Gu Yanji after traveling fifty miles. What surprised her was that Song Qi and others were following him.
Several people had sad faces, as if they had suffered a devastating blow.
I don't know on which road they met again.
After getting closer, Song Wan noticed the blood on Gu Yanji's body. Thinking that he was injured again, she hurriedly asked, "Where are you injured? Why is there so much blood?"
"It's not my blood. I went to the back mountain at noon." Gu Yan was anxious and didn't say what he was doing specifically.
Fortunately, Song Wan did not ask too many questions. She used her mental power to scan his body and found no wounds, so she thought he was stained with the blood of wild animals such as rabbits and pheasants.
"Oh oh." Song Wan replied indifferently. She looked at Song Qi and the others and sighed in a formal manner, "You lost."
Song Qi looked pale. It turned out that the eldest lady was really much better than them, and it was not an exaggeration at all.
Compared to the eldest lady, they are indeed a burden.
The two teams clearly left the city at the same time, but after the five of them drove twenty miles, they began to encounter traps set by Song Wan in advance one after another.
They were still riding fast on horseback, but the eldest lady only chose to ride a mule cart for a while and then run for another distance. Not only did she still arrive before them, she could even set up a series of secret traps.
Song Qi didn't dare to imagine how fast the eldest lady was.
By the time they finally escaped from the trap, it was too late to go to Xinzhou. If they took the main road, they would only run into the people sent by Yao Xu.
As the former head of the secret guards, Song Yi immediately decided to make a roundabout attack, but accidentally fell into the formation set up by Song Wan and couldn't find the exit for a long time until he met Gu Yanji.
Song Qi felt a little embarrassed that he was saved by his future son-in-law even though he was the eldest lady's personal bodyguard.
Song Wu was not as depressed as the others. When he looked at Song Wan, his eyes were brighter than those of the others.
It goes without saying that his martial arts obsession has come back and he wants to take the eldest lady as his master to become even more powerful.
Song Wan pulled the horses carrying people towards Song Qi and the others and said, "Look, these are the people Yao Xu sent. However, this time they only have a few hundred taels, which is a big loss compared to last time. So I decided to take them back and help Gou Wa's mother plant potatoes."
Li Hu on horseback...thought about his possible endings along the way, and never expected it to be like this.
When Yao Liwei saw that Gu Yan was safe and sound, he immediately widened his eyes and whimpered.
Gu Yanji is actually not dead! She is actually not dead! She is actually still alive and well...
Song Wan was annoyed by his whining, so she whipped him and said fiercely, "Shut up!"
Yao Liwei, who was beaten unconscious, was completely quiet.
Song Qi swallowed silently, and suddenly he felt that the eldest lady was very nice to them.
After scolding Yao Liwei, an idea suddenly popped up in Song Wan's mind. She looked at Gu Yan eagerly and asked, "This Yao Xu is the younger uncle of Prince Xiang. Does that mean Prince Xiang also has an older uncle and a younger uncle?"
Gu Yan stared into her eyes anxiously, and after a moment's thought, he understood what she meant.
The corners of his lips couldn't help but rise, and he explained with a smile, "The other two uncles of King Xiang, one is an official in the court, and the other is stationed at Donglin Pass."
Song Wan didn't care about all this. She only knew that her eldest uncle and second uncle were both uncles, and she couldn't favor one over the other.
The author has something to say:
Did anyone win? I don't know if there's a bug in Jinjiang again, but my coins were deducted but I can't see the list of winners...
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