Liu's mansion is not located in Zhangqiu City, but is located ten miles southeast of Zhangqiu City. It is only more than ten miles away from Zhang Guangqi's Qiuchi Villa. This is why the Zou family placed Liu Ruyi there for recuperation.
.After all, Zou can feel a little more at ease if her son can be closer to her.
The entire Liu Mansion has a small river running through the main structure and two hills. It covers an area of about fifty acres and is decorated with green tiles and blue bricks. It is extremely majestic!
Since Kong Youde launched a rebellion in Denglai in the fifth year of Chongzhen reign, the entire Shandong region has suffered a heavy blow in terms of politics, economy, population and other aspects. The rebels passed by like ants crossing the border, and the people suffered terribly. Although the rebellion
More than two years have passed, but now the imperial court can control some big cities. Bandits and bandits are everywhere in the mountains and fields. They burn, kill, loot and do all kinds of evil, so that many gentry and powerful people have built forts and recruited soldiers.
, to protect their family and property, and the Liu Mansion is just one of them.
Liu Hu was originally a soldier. He had participated in suppressing bandits and suppressing rebellions many times. He had a more intuitive understanding of the dangers of these bandits. Therefore, Liu Hu was extremely careful about the defense of the Liu Mansion.
Now, after several years of hard work by Liu Hu, the fortress wall in the outer courtyard of Liu Mansion is more than ten feet high, wide and thick. Moreover, around the fortress wall, a moat ten feet wide and bottomless has been dug to provide access to and from the mansion.
, there is only one road at the main entrance to travel, it is really like a small military fortress.
This is just the surface. In addition to the more than 200 strong villagers who look after the home and nursing home in Liu Mansion, Liu Ruyi knows that Liu Hu also took advantage of his position and spent a lot of money to privately raise a group of about
The elite cavalry of about fifty people is personally led by Qi Meng, a younger brother of Liu Ruyi's mother's Qi clan! Most of these cavalry are descendants of the Qi clan who were born in Jiyang. They are well-equipped, well-trained, and very powerful in combat.
This is also the foundation that Qi and Liu Jianwu, mother and son, rely on!
It’s ridiculous to say that Qi’s grandfather was once the biggest horse thief in Shandong. However, for unknown reasons, Qi’s grandfather gave up his business, accepted the imperial offer, and returned to his hometown of Jiyang to become a wealthy man.
!However, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and all the men in the Qi family have superb riding skills and excellent martial arts. This is also Liu Hu's most reliable source of troops!
Although feeding these people will consume a lot of money and food from the Liu family, when comparing money and food to lives, the latter is more important! Moreover, the Liu family has a wide business and makes a lot of money. Although these elite cavalry will be difficult to maintain, they are not
As for making it impossible to uncover the pot in the Liu Mansion!
In this way, even if there are really bandits attacking, I am afraid that without a few thousand people, they will never be able to attack the impregnable Liu Mansion!
At this time, the carriage of Liu Ruyi and his son passed through the suspension bridge at the city gate and quietly arrived at a small courtyard in the backyard of Liu's residence.
The small courtyard is not big, but it is very well-kept. It is surrounded by a variety of fragrant flowers and plants. In the middle of the courtyard, there is a small rockery, and you can faintly hear the sound of dripping water coming from it.
During the period when Liu Ruyi left, this scenery with hints of the Jiangnan water town was the only sustenance of her mother, Zou.
"Ruyi, I have already asked the maid to tidy up your house when you come here. Have a good sleep! Tomorrow, we will visit your father again!" Zou gently adjusted Liu Ruyi's clothes and said softly.
"Well, mother, it's getting late now, you should go to bed early!" Liu Ruyi also knew that her mother was very tired after this trip, so she turned around and wanted to leave.
But before Liu Ruyi stepped out of the door, an old servant in his early fifties trotted over in a panic. Liu Ruyi knew that this old servant's name was Sun Fu. Liu Ruyi called him Uncle Fu, and he was the housekeeper in the Liu Mansion's backyard.
One of them is also the mother's confidant.
"Uncle Fu, what happened?" Liu Ruyi asked calmly.
"Ah! Young Master, you, are you really back?" Uncle Fu was startled. He looked around and found that there was no outsider, and then said: "Young Master, why are you back at this time? Hey! This
Really! Where is the little lady?"
"Mom is inside, what happened?" Liu Ruyi asked again.
Uncle Fu leaned into Liu Ruyi's ear and whispered: "Young Master, the eldest lady has just sent someone to tell you and the young lady to go see her now!"
"What?" Liu Ruyi was also shocked. She had just arrived home, and the Qi family had already received the news. It seemed that her mother was also uneasy.
"Go to see her now?" Ms. Zou also walked out of the room, with a faint look of fear on her face.
"Little madam, the news came from Chun'e, the eldest madam's personal maid. She is still waiting at the gate of the courtyard." Uncle Fu also said worriedly.
"This? What should we do?" Mrs. Zou looked at her son nervously, her hands tangled together. Obviously, Mrs. Qi left a deep shadow in Zou's heart.
Liu Ruyi pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Mom, it's a blessing, not a curse, but we can't avoid it! Besides, daddy is still here, so she shouldn't dare to do anything to us! Some things she says will make things brighter!"
Zou nodded slightly. Although she was scared in her heart, looking at Liu Ruyi beside her, Zou's heart was filled with endless courage.
…………
The Qi family's house is located in the middle of the backyard of the Liu Mansion. It is the best location in the Liu Mansion. The yard is very large, with a square pond in the middle filled with lotus leaves, so it is also called the "Lotus Garden".
It was already dark at this time, but Qi didn't feel sleepy at all, because a maid had just brought news that the master's favorite evil son was back, which made Qi feel a strong sense of uneasiness in her heart.
Ms. Qi is only forty this year, and she takes good care of herself. However, her cheekbones are concave, her lips are very thin, and her eyes are thin and long. Judging from her appearance, she gives people a very mean feeling. Moreover, casually
As she got older, Qi's body became slightly heavier. Compared with Zou, who was full of the aura of Jiangnan, she was really far behind.
Although she has mastered most of the power in the Liu family and has the strong backing of her mother's family, Mrs. Qi is still a little worried. She is an extremely stingy woman. Liu Hu's love for Mrs. Zou and his indifference to herself at that time,
It left a deep shadow in Qi's heart.
Liu Hu had said more than once in front of the Qi family, "My son is happy because God has given me the treasure of the Liu family!" This was like a poisonous thorn, slowly taking root and sprouting in the Qi family's heart.
Before you know it, it has grown into a towering tree.
"You bitch, you bitch, how dare you come back! It seems we need to take action earlier!" Mrs. Qi said bitterly in her heart.
…………
After a while, Liu Ruyi and her son, led by the maid named "Chun'e", walked into the yard of their eldest mother Qi. Liu Jianwu had already married and did not live with the Qi family, so there were only some mothers-in-law in the huge yard.
The maid looked a little deserted.
"Little sister has met eldest sister!" Mrs. Zou bowed respectfully to Mrs. Qi.
Liu Ruyi, on the other hand, knelt down on the ground and kowtowed to Mrs. Qi a few times, "I wish I had met my aunt!"
Mrs. Qi looked at Liu Ruyi and her son with a very respectful attitude. The gloom in her heart dissipated a little. She turned her nostrils to the sky and said calmly: "Get up! Ruyi, I heard that you are back tonight. I am still a little worried. How about your health?"
Are you feeling better now?"
"Mrs. Lao, I'm worried about you. Ruyi's health has improved a lot. As long as you rest for a while, you should be able to recover!" Liu Ruyi responded without being humble or arrogant.
"Haha, then I'm relieved!" Ms. Qi smiled slightly and said to Ms. Zou: "Sister, we are all a family, so if something like this happens, I am also very sad! You know, swords and guns have no eyes.
Ah, if it happens next time, I’m afraid Ruyi won’t have such good luck!”
After Mrs. Qi finished speaking, she stared straight into Mrs. Zou's eyes, with a threatening tone evident in her words.
"Yes, yes! What the eldest sister said is true! My sister will definitely discipline Ruyi well in the future, and she will definitely not let him act recklessly." Mrs. Zou quickly assured, "Sister, I have asked Ruyi to worship the great scribe Mr. Yuan Ming.
, in the future, if you wish, you will definitely devote yourself to studying, obtain academic honors, and will not interfere with family affairs at all."
"Huh?" Mrs. Qi was startled when she heard this and asked, but she felt a little bit disgusted in her heart. At first, Mrs. Qi also wanted Liu Jianwu to become a disciple of Zhang Guangqi and gain a reputation. Who knew that Zhang Guangqi was so cruel and tyrannical?
Liu Jianwu didn't have the slightest favorable impression, and returned the property sent by the Qi family in full without giving the Qi family any favor. This also made the Qi family very angry, and inadvertently made Zhang Guangqi hate him.
"Ruyi, do you think so too?" The corner of Qi's mouth twitched and she asked in a neutral tone.
"Yes, aunt! After this period of cultivation in Mr. Yuan Ming's house, Ruyi has also figured out a lot of things. It is enough for his father's foundation to have his eldest brother. The eldest brother's literary talent and martial arts are all inherited from his father, while Ruyi's martial arts are low and not as good as
My eldest brother is one in ten thousand, so Ruyi decided to study hard and strive to get the honors as soon as possible, find a job in Jinan Mansion, get married and start a business as soon as possible, so that my mother can feel at ease." Liu Ruyi said respectfully.
"It's good that you think so!" Ms. Qi nodded, but she felt a little proud in her heart. It seems that this bitch was really stunned by her son's knife. If he had known this, he should have dealt with it in the first place.
They are a little more ruthless.
"That's it for today, I'm a little tired too!" Seeing that she couldn't ask for anything valuable, Qi waved her hand impatiently.
Liu Ruyi couldn't stand Qi's gloomy gaze, so she took her mother's hand and wanted to leave this place of right and wrong.
But Ms. Zou gently pulled Liu Ruyi, bowed to Mr. Qi, and said respectfully: "Sister, Ruyi has been away from home for two months. I want to take Ruyi to see his father tomorrow. Is it possible?"
Mrs. Qi's originally soothing nerves suddenly became tense. She stood up and shouted angrily: "This is absolutely not possible! The master is seriously ill and needs rest. He cannot see guests!"
"Yes, yes! Then Ruyi and her mother will go to the temple tomorrow to burn incense and pray for daddy!" Ms. Zou wanted to say something more, but Liu Ruyi had already forcefully dragged her out of the door.
Seeing Liu Ruyi's mother and son leaving, Mrs. Qi angrily threw a tea cup on the table to the ground, "Bitch, bastard, I thought you had really changed your mind, and I wanted to keep you a dog."
Life, who knew you were so ignorant! Then don’t blame me for being so ruthless!"