From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 689

The wooden bench was very short, but it was already very smooth, with the patina of years, old and full of history.

The four people sat on the long bench and looked at the old man in front of them.

The old man did not rush to speak, but sat in front of them, lit a pipe and started smoking.

An old woman brought a bowl of cold water to each of the four people, smiled and nodded to everyone, saying: "This is the water from our Yuequan, it is sweet."

Tea is obviously rare here.

Zhou Yuan took a sip and couldn't help nodding. The spring water was indeed clear and sweet, but it was still a little cold to drink in this season.

"There shouldn't be any family in Yuequan who has lost their daughter."

Li Song put down his pipe and looked at Zhou Yuan and others, saying, "I've lived here for decades and have never heard of such a thing. If the girl's parents are really in Shuixi, they are probably in another village."

Zhou Yuan said, "Grandpa Li Song, we know that more than ten or twenty years have passed. It's difficult to find Madam's parents, but this is her heart knot after all, and we are willing to make an effort."

"Grandpa is a well-known local elder. Everyone respects you and recognizes you, so we found you."

Li Song's expression was slightly After looking at it more, he picked up the pipe again and said, "There is no fame, it's just that I have lived a few more years."

Zhou Yuan said, "So please take us to visit the Miao village in Shuixi, learn more about the situation, and try to find my wife's parents to fulfill her wish."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan paused and said, "I know that you have to deal with the affairs of the village, and I think you are very busy. I am sorry to waste your time... I am the son of a businessman, and I don't have anything else to think about. I can only express my gratitude with money and food."

He quickly winked at Cai Ni.

Cai Ni then took out a silver ingot from her arms with tears in her eyes, put it on the table, and begged, "Grandpa, Cai Ni has been displaced since she was a child, wandering around, and suffered a lot. Now I finally have a good life, but I am afraid that my father and mother are still not living well. Please help me, Grandpa!"

She is beautiful, and her acting skills are good at this moment. Her tearful appearance is really distressing.

Zhou Yuan couldn't help but sigh, after all this time, I'm the worst actor in our team.

Li Song's eyes bulged, looking at the silver ingot on the table that was bigger than his fist, this... This must be a full 100 taels!

He was completely attracted, began to pant, and began to have difficulty breathing.

Then he shouted: "Serve tea, take out the tea at home and brew it for the distinguished guests! Hurry up!"

"Here it comes."

The old woman quickly put the tea bowl on the table and brewed the tea carefully. This time she didn't say anything, just glanced at the silver ingot on the table and hurried down.

Li Song took a deep breath, looked at Zhou Yuan, and said: "What's your name, young man?"

Zhou Yuan hurriedly said: "My surname is Ye, and my given name is Fan."

Li Song said: "Mr. Ye, do you know what this silver ingot of yours means to us?"

It's good for every household here to have a few copper coins, broken silver is a rare thing, and as for such silver ingots, it is almost impossible to see.

Zhou Yuan nodded and said, "Grandpa Li Song, we are not short of money. We also hope to help Yuequan Village. We hope to find our relatives, so please help us."

Li Song said in a deep voice, "We Miao people are not greedy for money, but life has been difficult in recent years. I will take this money. In the next period of time, I will personally take you to the major Miao villages in Shuixi and try to help you find your relatives."

Zhou Yuan immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Grandpa. We are very grateful. If you can really find my wife's parents, I, Ye Fan, will give you a great gift, which is definitely not as simple as silver and money."

Li Song said, "This ingot of silver is enough. I dare not ask for other things. People have to rely on themselves after all."

He also stood up and said, "I don't know what your wife's surname is? There must be clues to find relatives."

What surname? Cai Ni didn't know her surname at all. This name was given to her by Wanyan Daichan.

Zhou Yuan had already made plans, narrowed his eyes and said: "The surname is An, and the name is An Cai Ni. When she was four years old, she went out with her parents and was robbed by bandits, so they got separated."

Among the hundreds of villages in Shuixi, the most powerful one is the An family. They have been in charge of the Guizhou Xuanwei Office for many years and are well-deserved local emperors.

Of course, the An family has many collateral branches, and even if this surname is mentioned, it may not be linked to the direct line.

Li Song was obviously stunned for a moment, then nodded and said: "It will be much easier if you know the surname."

"How old are your parents?"

This question is asking Cai Ni.

And Cai Ni can only make up: "About nearly forty. "

She is 21 years old, and here people have to give birth at the age of 15 or 16. Calculating the time, it is almost 40.

"Almost 40, surnamed An, encountered bandits and robbed, and lost his daughter..."

Li Song said in a deep voice: "If it really exists, it should not be difficult to find."

"Let's go, I will take you to see someone. He lived in the An family's village for a long time before, and you may have heard of it."

The few people looked at each other, drank a few sips of tea casually, and went out.

This tea is indeed not good to drink, not as good as the spring water before.

Following Li Song, Zhou Yuan and others saw the whole picture of this village. More than 20 families were scattered in the foothills of the river valley. The mountains and forests reflected the sun, and the shadows of the trees danced between the houses. The beautiful scenery made this place a paradise.

Just after bypassing a small road, Li Song suddenly stopped and turned back and said: "There are Miao soldiers, you should hide quickly. "

It was obviously too late. At the end of the path, more than a dozen young men with knives on their waists came over quickly.

This was the first time Zhou Yuan saw so many young and strong Miao people.

When they saw Zhou Yuan and others, they were obviously stunned for a moment, and then they stared at Cai Ni and swallowed their saliva.

Li Song's heart sank, and he hurriedly shouted: "Qingshan, what are you doing with so many people back to the village!"

The leading Miao soldier was tall and obviously from Yuequan Village.

He had a sharp look in his eyes, bowed slightly to Li Song, and said: "Grandpa, where did these Han people come from? How dare he let them into the village!"

Li Song said: "They just came to find their relatives, it's none of your business. You are not at the front line, what are you doing back to the village."

Qingshan said in a deep voice: "I'll come back to inform you that within five days, each household must collect 100 coins to pay taxes."

Li Song suddenly raised his head and said in a trembling voice: "What did you say? How much? ”

“Pay taxes!”

Qingshan shouted, “One hundred coins per household. We have 24 households in Yuequan Village, so we should collect 2,400 coins.”

“One hundred coins… one hundred coins!”

Li Song seemed to have heard the most terrible words. He stamped his feet anxiously and shouted, “Qingshan, do you want to think about what you are talking about? One hundred coins. Which household in Yuequan can come up with one hundred coins? Besides, it’s not time to pay taxes yet!”

Qingshan lowered his head, and seemed a little reluctant, but he still gritted his teeth and said, “This is an order from above. We are just following orders. Now the military rations on the front line are tight, and we need money to buy food.”

“Not only Yuequan, but other villages also pay one hundred coins per household.”

“For the victory of the war, for the good days of our Miao people, Grandpa Li Song, you are responsible for raising funds.”

“Every household must give, even if it is borrowed. "

Li Song couldn't help but grab his collar, his eyes were red, and he shouted: "Good life? What good life! Every year, we fight, our tribesmen are gone, our money is gone, and our farmland is barren. How long are you going to fight!"

"You always say that you want our tribesmen to live a good life, but where is our good life over the years? Why can't we afford food? Why can't we make ends meet!"

Qingshan stepped back a few steps and gritted his teeth and said: "It's because the Han dogs are too despicable! They ask us to pay tribute every year! That's why we are getting poorer and poorer!"

"As long as we defeat the Han dogs! As long as we split the southwest! We don't have to farm for them anymore! We can...we can live a good life."

At this point, he complained: "Grandpa, you are an elder, you should have a long-term vision, don't just see the suffering in front of you, but the good in the future. "

Li Song was so angry that he was panting and muttered, "I can't take it out. You can't find so much money in the village. One hundred coins, do you know how much one hundred coins is!"

Qingshan said, "The county lord said that if there are no copper coins, you can use silver jewelry to pay for it."

Li Song lowered his head and turned around for several times. He didn't find anything suitable, so he simply punched the other side.

"You bastard! You actually set your sights on the silver jewelry! This is the foundation of every household. How dare you... snatch it away!"

"If your mother heard it, she would definitely beat you to death!"

Qingshan pushed him to the ground and said coldly, "Grandpa, you are old and you can't keep up with the times. Now we young people will no longer listen to you."

"We just want to fight, use our own knives, and find our own good days. "

Here, he looked at Zhou Yuan and the others, and his voice became cold: "You Han dogs have oppressed us for generations, forced us to pay tribute, and treated us as slaves. It's time for us to take revenge."

"You dare to come to the village... Ha! Hand over all your money! Otherwise, I will make you look good!"

As he spoke, more than tenAll the Miao soldiers rushed up and surrounded everyone.

Zhou Yuan smiled and said lightly: "It's just money. We can discuss it if there is anything. We will give you all the money."

In fact, Zhou Yuan and others did not bring much money. After all, they could not use silver notes of large denominations in the village. They just brought some silver.

Everyone took out all of them, a total of two or three hundred taels.

Seeing this pile of silver, Qingshan's eyes were straight.

This... How many villages are equivalent to taxes?

He quickly put away the silver and money and shouted: "You Han dog are really rich. These are our Miao people's money, and you took them all away!"

"Get out now! Get out of the Miao village! Otherwise I will kill you!"

Li Song grabbed his sleeve and shouted angrily: "Qingshan, what are you doing! You are robbing! Robbery!"

"You went to the army and learned this! Are you still worthy of being a Miao!"

Qingshan said angrily: "These originally belonged to us! We just took back what they robbed!"

Li Song hurriedly said: "This girl is also our Miao! She is here to find her relatives! You quickly return the money!"

"Are you also a Miao?"

Qingshan looked at Cai Ni and saw that she was very beautiful, and his heart was moved for a moment.

However, he saw Cai Ni holding Zhou Yuan's arm, and then he couldn't help but yelled: "You are a Miao, how can you marry a Han? How can you degenerate like a bitch!"

Zhou Yuan's face suddenly darkened. He knew that he had to endure it at this moment, but Cai Ni was scolded...

Just when he thought of this, Qingshan yelled again: "There are so many good brothers in our Miao village, but you married this bastard, you still know shame..."

Before he finished speaking, Cai Ni suddenly dodged and rushed up to strangle the other person's neck.

"Cai Ni, don't!"

Zhou Yuan shouted hurriedly, but it was too late.

Cai Ni had already twisted the man's neck directly.

More than a dozen Miao soldiers had already roared, Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said: "Old Xiong, don't leave any."

Xiong Kuohai and Wang Ang looked at each other and killed them directly.