Breakfast was brought to the room by He Nuan, and He Sheng came with him, "Miss, Master Qi, I just went to the stables to check. The carriage is fine, but our horses have been replaced."
Zhan Feiyu, who picked up the chopsticks, was surprised for a moment, and finally understood what caused the fuss last night, "They will do anything to get money."
He Sheng went to the stables to check just to prevent them from tampering with the carriage for revenge, but he never thought that these people were going for the horses.
"I have some discernment. Our three horses are good horses in the army." Chongguang took a bite of the steamed buns with soy sauce. The rich flavor of the sauce made Chongguang's eyes light up. "Fat girl, don't worry about the horses. Eat quickly.
This bun is authentic.”
"Eat first." Yin Wuyan's deep phoenix eyes were full of doting. Seeing Zhan Feiyu eating breakfast obediently, he said to He Sheng: "Go and watch, don't let them resell the horse.
.”
"Yes." He Sheng agreed. Naturally, the three good horses cannot be harmed by a few villains. These are military horses. If they dare to reach out, they are simply seeking death.
After Zhan Feiyu and Yin Wuyan set off for Koujia Village, the two scoundrels who were watching at the door of the inn looked at each other and said, "You stay here and keep watching. I'll tell the Third Young Master."
"Okay, bring me two big meat buns when you come back." The scoundrel who stayed behind warned him and continued to sit in the corner and stare at the inn door.
In the room on the second floor, Chongguang, who was idle and bored, stood at the window and looked at the gangsters who were leaving in a hurry, "A Nuan, do you think these people are just confused? If Master Qi hadn't been merciful before, Zhao San would have
His life was gone, and they actually dared to get two ruffians to keep an eye on him."
He Nuan is making clothes, and Zhan Feiyu posts every day to practice calligraphy, so except for a few sets of dresses for going out, the other clothes are made of narrow-sleeved styles, which makes it easier to hold up a pen and write.
"Wealth and silk touch people's hearts. They are used to being arrogant and domineering in Huai County. They have forgotten that there are laws in the Daqing Dynasty." He used scissors to cut off the thread, and He Nuan's seemingly gentle face was filled with ridicule and coldness.
Miss Qi studied hard to find a way out, so it was easy and convenient for people like Zhao San to make money by relying on their status.
…
Zhao San drank medicine in the morning, and his throat was finally less swollen and sore. At this moment, he was discussing with Capt. Cao how to deal with the three good horses. "The three horses are now being raised in my house. These foreigners have turned Huai County upside down."
I can't find it even if it's turned upside down."
Zhao San got engaged. Magistrate Zhao paid half of the money for the house. In addition, the seller was a merchant. It was almost half sold and half given away. He only received one hundred taels of silver. The furniture in the house was all ready, and it was just short of being sold.
The oil, salt, sauce and vinegar are all ready in the kitchen.
On weekdays, Zhao San lived in the house behind the county government office, which represented his identity. But every time he wanted to upset Feng, Zhao San would go back to the house. The three horses were indeed safe with him.
"Third Young Master, how about we wait until they leave Huai County before taking action?" Cao Captou said angrily, "I will go to Fucheng then and I will definitely be able to sell it at a high price."
Zhao San nodded, "What did Hou Xianwei say? How much is the estimated value of this horse?"
Zhao San and Cao Baotou, one of them is a dandy and the other is a rough man. They only know that the three horses are good horses, but they don't know what is good about them, let alone the price.
Zhao San didn't like the taciturn and solitary Hou Xianwei, but he and Cao Captou combined were not as capable as Hou Xianwei. Fortunately, Hou Xianwei didn't interfere much in their affairs on weekdays, as long as Cao Captou was more filial.
For money, the county lieutenant turned a blind eye.
When Cao Baotou mentioned Hou Xianwei, his immediate superior, he was still in awe, "Hou Xianwei said that it is at least five hundred taels, and it is one of the best horses in a hundred. If you meet an expert who knows horses, the price can be even higher."
There are also people with money in Huai County, but they are absolutely reluctant to spend six to seven hundred taels to buy a horse. But it is different in Fucheng. The children of aristocratic families in Fucheng are all big spenders, and there is a dock in Fucheng, and there are often people there.
When big merchants come and go, if you send this horse over, it might be snapped up.
"One vote is worth it for several years." Zhao San's voice trembled with excitement. He had known that the three horses were valuable before, but County Lieutenant Hou was not sure of the specific price since he didn't see the horses.
In total, Zhao San, Hou Xianwei, and Wang Xiancheng each can get at least 500 taels, and Capt. Cao and other fast-moving government officials can get at least 20 taels.
Zhao San swallowed his saliva and ignored the pain in his throat. He grabbed Capt. Cao's arm and said eagerly: "They also brought a carriage's worth of luggage!"
Capt. Cao, who was as tall and burly as a bear, was stunned for a moment. The amount of money he received was not as good as that of Zhao San, Wang County Cheng and others, but it was several times more than that of ordinary captors. Capt. Cao also made a mental evaluation just now.
Three horses can be sold for two thousand taels, and I might be able to get two hundred taels for myself.
Thinking about the luggage of Zhan Feiyu's carriage again, the daughter of a wealthy family from Fucheng is really different from the rich girls in Huai County. She does not have her head full of jewelry, but the horse pulling the carriage is worth five or six hundred taels of silver, so she must have carried it with her.
There are many valuable items in the gift.
As a catcher, Captain Cao knows very well that even though these gold hairpins are so bright and dazzling, they are really not as good as a jade pendant. The year before last, a nobleman from Zhongzhou Prefecture returned to his hometown in Huai County to visit relatives, and he lost a jade pendant at that time.
, the reward is a hundred taels of silver!
Later, Capt. Cao asked the owner of the jewelry shop and found out that it was a jade pendant made of mutton-fat white jade. One piece costs thousands of taels of silver. The key is that you can't buy high-quality mutton-fat white jade even if you have money.
"Those two guards are both practicing masters." Capt. Cao touched the scarred wound on his neck. Although it was only a cut on the surface, he knew that Chongguang's skills could not be beaten by ten of himself.
Zhao San was already blinded by the money at this moment, and said with a ferocious smile: "There are six of them, only two guards, and a little girl and a maid. There are one or two hundred of our people in total, and each of us can only spit."
Drown them!"
Huai County, like Shangsi County, is a medium-sized county. There are more than 20 policemen and more than 100 yamen and Minzhuang combined. There are three shifts of yamen and yamen are responsible for the yamen's station, arrests, arrests, and dispatches.
Requisitioning grain, releasing people from custody, etc.
The so-called Minzhuang are actually young laborers drawn from the villages below. They work at home and farm on weekdays. When the county government needs people, they are summoned to serve as government servants.
"Third Young Master, I'm going to ask Hou Xianwei and Wang County Cheng." Capt. Cao was also moved, but he knew that both he and the Third Young Master were brainless. It was one thing to secretly exchange horses, but it was another to rob someone on the road.
Another thing, this has to be decided by Hou Xianwei and Wangxian Cheng.
Zhao San's throat hurt after just talking, so he waved his hand and asked Cao to go find Hou Xianwei and Wang Xiancheng.
…
Koujia Village is a big village, and one-third of the people in the village have the surname Kou. During this period, the most talked about person in the village was Kou Yuanxing, who died tragically in the government prison. However, Kou was a common surname, and people with other surnames in the village did not dare to say it openly.
.
"I thought the Kou family was going to have a talented scholar, but I didn't expect that Yuan Xing would just leave like that. He was still just a child." Under the shade of the tree, the aunt holding the soles of her shoes couldn't help but sigh.
The woman sitting aside glanced around, and then whispered: "Let me tell you, Yuan Xing was forced to death by his mother. The family has more than 20 acres of fertile land, but Yuan Xing is skinny and skinny. At the end of the village,
The second child’s family is so poor that they can’t even open the pot, but the third child has more meat than Yuan Xing.”
"Forcing Yuan Xing to study day and night, getting up earlier than a chicken and going to bed later than a dog. My Xiaohao said that Yuan Xing often stayed up all night to study. The body bones of a thirteen-year-old child have not yet grown strong. You said that private school is so
Among all the scholars, who is as thin as Yuan Xing?"
Thinking of Kou Yuanxing's skinny body and his gloomy eyes, the four or five women under the shade of the tree shook their heads.
"Xiao Hao said that during the Yuan Xing Yue exam last year, he didn't get the first grade because he was ill. As a result, his left hand was swollen by his mother. It was a cold day and the hand was swollen. It was my Xiao Hao who secretly told Mr. Xiao,
Master Xiao took Yuan Xing to the medical clinic, otherwise his hand would have been disabled."
It is said that Kou Yuanxing had a strict father and a loving mother. Kou Yuanxing lost his father when he was young. Even if Kou's mother was stricter, especially in studying and homework, people in the village would not say much. But Kou's mother was so strict that she could not wait to see her for a day.
Let Kou Yuanxing study at twelve o'clock.
Other children can relax a bit during the holidays, but Kou Yuanxing still has to study. Even during the Chinese New Year, Kou Yuanxing will visit relatives to pay New Year greetings, and he cannot go to the county town to visit temple fairs.
Since the Enlightenment, the villagers have never seen Kou Yuanxing come out to play. The son of a boy who was detained by Kou's mother did nothing but study.
The road in the village was not wide and the carriage could not enter. Zhan Feiyu got off the carriage and walked for a while. Several women spoke angrily and their voices were louder. Zhan Feiyu happened to hear them.
"No wonder he cares about Wang Linlang." Zhan Feiyu understood a little bit. Wang Linlang's appearance was probably the only happiness and light in Kou Yuanxing's boring study life.
And because Wang Linlang was born in Wangji, the county town, Kou's mother forbade the children in the village, including the younger generations of the Kou family, to play with Kou Yuanxing, not wanting these children to disturb Kou Yuanxing's studies. However, since the Wang family was wealthy, Kou's mother naturally did not dare to make things difficult for Wang Linlang.
"Let's go." Yin Wuyan patted Zhan Feiyu on the shoulder.
For many years in the Forbidden Dragon Guard, Yin Wuyan has seen mothers who are more vicious and selfish, and those in the Zhan family's old house are no less generous. It's just that the little girl has a tough temper and is not as obedient to Kou's mother as Kou Yuanxing. Yin Wuyan's eyes are cold and ruthless
, in the final analysis, it was Kou Yuanxing’s own fault.
Hearing the footsteps behind them, several women who were talking looked over in surprise.
Yin Wuyan still looks ordinary after the change, but Zhan Feiyu is obviously different from the little girl in the village. She has a fair bun face, dark and moist eyes, and her bun is fixed with a pearl cicada pattern hairpin. Her elegance contains delicacy.
Especially the bookish look and indescribable elegance and quiet beauty of her body made several women secretly frightened. This must be the daughter of a wealthy family.
"Hello, aunties, I am the same year as Kou Yuanxing..." Zhan Feiyu said hello and explained his purpose of visit.
Upon hearing that they were here to pay homage to Kou Yuanxing, the enthusiastic aunt quickly showed them the way, "Kou's ancestral grave is on the east mountain at the end of the road. When you go up the mountain and go east, there are two green cypress trees at the intersection.
This is the tomb that was raised.”
"Thank you, Auntie." Zhan Feiyu thanked him and continued walking along the dirt road with Yin Wuyan, who was carrying the basket.
After watching the two people go away, the aunt who was guiding the way whispered: "You are really thoughtful. I see there are three animals in the basket."
If it is a family worship, the three animals used as sacrifices are cows, sheep, and pigs. When ordinary people worship, people who pay attention to rules will use pigs, fish, and chickens as sacrifices.
"Look at the hairpin on that little girl's head. The pearls are so big and round." The woman who replied thought of her daughter, who was already old enough to get married, but she didn't even have any decent jewelry.
"Then why didn't the little girl go to the Kou family?" the eldest aunt muttered in confusion. Logically speaking, to pay homage to Kou Yuanxing, one should go to the Kou family first and let the Kou family take them to the grave.
Thinking of the greed of the Kou family and the sharp, strong and mean temper of Kou's mother, the women looked at each other and knew something in their hearts. They probably didn't want to deal with the Kou family, so they went to worship alone.
Kou Yuanxing's tomb is in the far right corner of Kou's tomb. The newly raised tomb is very simple. Even the tombstone is just a bluestone pried from the mountain. There are no sacrifices in front of the tomb. People who don't know it think this is a simple small tomb.
Bao buried an orphan with no father, no mother, and no clansmen.
"This is tea for people to leave." Zhan Feiyu laughed mockingly and placed the sacrifices one by one in front of the tomb.
Kou Yuanxing, who died young, had no talent for reading and was of no value to the Kou family. A thin coffin and this tomb were the Kou family's greatest gift to Kou Yuanxing.
"He suffered when he was alive, but he was clean when he left." Yin Wuyan had never met Kou Yuanxing, but he had such a selfish, strong and mean mother. Kou Yuanxing studied just to make Kou's mother more glorious in the future, but he himself was like a walking corpse.
alive.
Pieces of banknotes and yellow paper were ignited, and a faint green smoke came out. Zhan Feiyu looked at the cold tombstone and only hoped that Kou Yuanxing could live an unrestrained and free life in the next life.
…
On the other side, the Kou family in the middle of the village.
Mother Kou sat in the main room with a gloomy face, sewing clothes with the needle in her hand. The light in the room was dim, which made her mean and thin face even more sinister and mean.
After Kou's father died, he left behind 23 acres of fertile land, but now that Kou Yuanxing also died, Kou's mother had to hand over 13 acres of fertile land to the clan in order to have a place to live.
As for the remaining ten acres, Kou's mother rented out all of them, and the rent was enough for her to eat and drink.
In order to have someone to take care of her until the end of her life, Kou's mother adopted a child from the Kou family. He was one year younger than Kou Yuanxing. When he was twelve or five years old, his parents were caught in a storm on a boat and were buried in the river. Fortunately, his grandparents helped him.
Now, my uncle is taking care of me and I have grown up.
Now that it has been adopted to Kou's mother, the betrothal gift for his future wife will naturally come from Kou's mother. After a hundred years, Kou's mother will return five acres of the ten acres of land to the clan, and the remaining five acres will be given to her stepson.
Although her life has settled down, the more Kou Mu thinks about it, the more she hates her. Her face is ferocious and twisted, "That useless thing died like this! So much money was wasted to study!"
Studying consumes money. A year of repair requires twenty taels of silver, not to mention the cost of pens, inks, paper and inkstones. Moreover, as a scholar, Kou Yuanxing naturally cannot wear too bad clothes. He also has to eat at a private school at noon, which costs thirty or forty taels in a year.
There is not even enough money.
The rent of more than 20 acres of fertile land was spent on Kou Yuanxing's education, and Kou's mother didn't save any money. Now that the person is dead, Kou's mother just feels that the bamboo basket is empty, and she wishes she could go to the underworld to find Kou Yuanxing to spend all these years.
The money is coming back.
"Auntie, my father asked me to tell you that a little girl went to Dongshan to pay homage to her cousin." The little girl who came in from the courtyard gate was fifteen or sixteen years old. She stood at the door of the hall and told her the story.
"My father asked me to ask if my cousin knew him when he was studying in the past. Now that someone has come to our Koujia Village, we can't be rude. My father asked my aunt to go to Dongshan to have a look."
Little girl? Kou's mother was stunned. The needle pricked her finger, and she hissed in pain. She was even more resentful that Kou Yuanxing would not let her live in peace even after he died!