The clerk was stunned when a silver ingot was temporarily thrust into his hand. He did not expect that a refugee would spend so generously.
In fact, there are indeed a small number of refugees who have lost their household registration. In this era, it is difficult to verify those who have lost their household registration. They can only be sorted out first and arranged separately.
"What's wrong?" Xia Jing just arrived outside the city and saw a stalemate at the nearest registration office, so she walked over here.
"ah"
The clerk received the silver ingot and was fighting over whether to accept it or not. Suddenly, he heard the princess' question coming from behind him. He was so frightened that he trembled all over and the silver ingot in his hand fell and rolled to the ground.
"Hiss!" The rolling silver ingots caused a gasp from the surrounding refugees!
Xia Jing also had a look of surprise on her face. Hongmei picked up the silver ingot and glanced at the scribe, "This is your silver? Why didn't you pick it up if you dropped it?"
The scribe blushed and pointed at Sha Yuliang anxiously, "The silver belongs to him."
Xia Jing's eyes glanced back and forth between the two, and finally landed on the clerk, "He gave it to you, and you took it?"
The clerk was so frightened that he waved his hands hurriedly, "No, he suddenly gave it to the younger one. The younger one couldn't react in time, and just in time, Princess, you came over."
The clerk's words were a bit off-the-wall, but Xia Jing saw how nervous he was and thought it might be the first time he had encountered such a thing.
If she is a seasoned person, she will not reveal her flaws after she comes.
At this moment, Xia Jing took a serious look at the man who bribed the scribe.
With a tall build and rugged appearance, he looked like a typical northern man. Faced with Xia Jing's inspection, his face looked calm.
Xia Jing raised her eyebrows, which seemed interesting.
"Brother, why do you want to bribe the scribe?"
The clerk hurriedly explained: "He said that his household registration was lost on the way to escape! He..."
Xia Jing glanced at him lightly, which shocked the scribe. The next words were stuck in his throat and he could no longer spit them out.
It's over, it's over!
The princess didn't let him speak, but he grabbed the conversation. Would the princess blame him and ruin his job?
Xia Jing ignored the clerk and motioned to Sha Yuliang to follow her to the side. This is the refugee registration office, and other refugee registrations cannot be delayed because of his affairs.
Sha Yuliang hesitated for a moment, but followed him honestly, "Sha Yuliang, I have met the princess. I did something wrong just now. It's none of the clerk's business. He was also stunned by my actions.
I couldn’t react in time.”
"Hey, you can't protect yourself, but now you can still think about others." Xia Jing squinted her eyes slightly and thought about it in her mind, "Sha Yuliang? Why does this name seem familiar? I think I heard it somewhere?
"
Hongmei and Baimei looked at each other. They had never heard of the name Sha Yuliang and could not remind the princess.
But Ye Fei, who was standing behind Xia Jing, knew better. He took a step forward and leaned into Xia Jing's ear, "Sha Yuliang, a border guard general, killed the enemy bravely, but the newspaper said that he had died on the battlefield. This person
I don’t know.”
Xia Jing understood what he meant. Even Ye Fei was not sure whether the Sha Yuliang in front of him was the border guard general.
Ye Fei spoke very quietly, but Sha Yuliang still heard a little bit. He didn't wait for Xia Jing to ask again, and took the initiative to confess: "Officially, I died in the battle, but in fact, I am still standing in front of you now."
After saying that, a slightly sarcastic smile flashed in his eyes.
This smile made both Xia Jing and Ye Fei slightly stunned.
"If you are Sha Yuliang, then it makes sense that you don't have household registration documents." At this moment, Xia Jing became interested in how he was killed in battle, "Can you tell me what happened?"
"Now that we've reached this point, there's nothing we can't say." Sha Yuliang explained without hesitation how he was killed in battle.
Regarding what he said, Xia Jing did not say whether she believed it or not, but asked again: "It has been more than half a year since you died in the border battlefield. How did you come to Lingnan?"
"I returned home from the battlefield. Because I didn't have household registration, I couldn't enter the towns. I had to take detours wherever there were towns, so it took me two months." Sha Yuliang glanced at Xia Jing, with no unnecessary expression on his face.
, the narrative is straightforward and seems to be telling someone else’s story.
"Later, due to drought in my hometown, in order to survive, my family fled south. It took several months to reach Lingnan. Now our family is staying at a friend's house. We know that refugees are resettled here, so we came here to try
Let’s try our luck and see if we can get a few acres of wasteland for our family.”
Xia Jing looked at him indifferently: "I don't see resentment on your face. Don't you have dissatisfaction and resentment towards those officials in the border areas?"
Sha Yuliang scratched his head, "How can I say this? I must have been quite angry at first. Later, when I returned to my hometown and witnessed the severe drought in my hometown, I actually silently thanked the superiors who helped me report my death. If it hadn't been for their
With this outrageous operation, I will have no chance to return to my hometown at this time."
"If I had not returned to my hometown, I would not have known that the drought in my hometown was so serious, and that my family might have died due to the drought. Now because I was killed in battle, my whole family's life was saved, so what should I be angry about?"
The two girls, Hongmei and Whitemei, were stunned. How could they understand death like this?
But after thinking about it carefully, they felt that what he said was correct, and the cycle of cause and effect was indeed determined.
Xia Jing was very satisfied with Sha Yuliang's answer and asked with a smile: "If I invite you to join our team, will you be willing?"
Sha Yuliang frowned slightly: "But, I have a family to take care of."
Xia Jing chuckled softly: "Of course, since you have joined our team, your family will naturally be arranged by us and will be taken care of properly. You can rest assured about this."
Sha Yuliang looked happy, "My family doesn't do anything else but farm."
Xia Jing couldn't help laughing after hearing his words: "Farming is good. When I come to Lingnan, I don't have much else but plenty of land."
The two girls stood behind, covering their mouths and laughing. This Sha Yuliang is so stupid!
The clerk who had just been arrested had been a little absent-minded. While registering the refugees, he paid attention to Xia Jing.
Seeing that they were all laughing now, he fell down a little. It was good if he could laugh. Being able to laugh meant that big things had become trivial and small things had become trivial.
——
On the outskirts of Luofu Mountain, a convoy of horse-drawn carriages came from the foot of the mountain in the distance.
After climbing up a hill, Yangcai panted heavily and said, "Third Master, when we get around the foot of this mountain, we will arrive at our prince's farm."
"Um."
Li Chengli responded lightly, looked up and looked around. The leaves in the mountain forest were very prosperous. The carriages were passing through it, and it was difficult for the sun to shine above them. This showed how remote this farm was.
He even suspected that his father had purchased this farm specifically for his aunt.
After turning the corner, the scenery in front of us suddenly opened up, with rice fields layer upon layer, but it was not spring plowing yet, so the rice fields looked a bit deserted.
Occasionally, you can see ducks looking for food or cattle grazing in a certain hilly field.
Coupled with the chirping of birds in the woods on the roadside, it is like a pastoral scenery painting that cleanses the soul.
If you are someone who is indifferent to fame and wealth, the peace of mind here is a pure land that is hard to find for him.
However, Li Chengli didn't believe that Aunt Sun would stay here peacefully, and she must have caused a lot of trouble.
When Yangcai saw his master looking at the courtyard halfway up the mountain, he explained carefully: "The bungalows halfway up the mountain are for tenants to live in, and the courtyard where my aunt lives is the courtyard with raised eaves."
Last time I sent Aunt Sun over, Li Chengli didn't come with her.
Now he asked: "Why did my father buy a property in such a remote place?"
Yangcai knew some details, "I heard from Butler Yan that the farm here was obtained from the Lou family. Due to the remote location, the prince felt that it could not be sold at a good price, so he never disposed of it."
When Li Chengli heard this, he felt better. If this farm was specially purchased by his father for his aunt, it would be impossible not to feel resentful.
While the two were talking, the carriage had stopped in front of the house halfway up the mountain.
The farm steward had already greeted him at the door. Seeing the carriage stop, he immediately walked quickly towards the most luxurious carriage.
"Tian Wen, the steward of the Villain Farm, has met the Third Master."
"No need to be polite, just get up."
Li Chengli entered the courtyard, and Tian Wen asked: "The villain has arranged a room for the third master. Should the third master wash up first or have lunch first?"
Li Chengli glanced at Yangcai.
Yangcai smiled and walked side by side with Tian Wen. He smiled and asked, "Where does our aunt live? The third master wants to go see my aunt first."
Tian Wen did not expect that Li Chengli would pay so much attention to his demoted aunt, so he had some concerns in his mind and replied: "Aunt Sun lives in a side courtyard in the backyard. Does the Third Master want to have dinner with Aunt Sun?"
Li Chengli nodded: "Yes."
"The young man asked someone to prepare the meal." As he said this, he called a passing boy.
There is a side yard in the backyard.
Although the location is a bit further away from the main courtyard, it's still pretty good for one use, and it's not much different from the palace.
Aunt Sun had been looking longingly at the entrance of the courtyard since she knew Li Chengli was coming to visit her early in the morning.
As soon as Li Chengli stepped into the courtyard gate, he met a pair of expectant eyes.
He was slightly shocked. Was she expecting him to come to visit her?
Then the expectant eyes turned into surprise.
"Li'er, you are finally willing to come see me as your mother!"
Aunt Sun walked a few steps quickly, leaned against the door frame with a delighted look on her face, and stared at Li Chengli for a moment, as if Li Chengli would disappear if she blinked.
"Auntie, why are you standing at the door? Go in and rest quickly, don't get caught by the mountain wind." Li Chengli was momentarily moved at this moment.
The connection between mother and son is not just about words.
It was rare to hear caring words from her son. One can imagine how touched Auntie Sun was. She was so excited that she didn't know what to say.
As the maid brought in plates of lunch, Aunt Sun's mood gradually calmed down.
"Li'er, your father asked you to come here this time?"
After Li Chengli heard this, the feeling of admiration he felt just now dissipated instantly, "My aunt is always thinking about my father, so she never thought about me coming to see you. I just want to come and see you?"
Aunt Sun reluctantly pulled her lips, "Of course Auntie knows that you are filial, but I have been here in the mountains for a month or two. There is no way your father would miss me."
After hearing Aunt Sun's confident words, Li Chengli's mouth twitched and he really wanted to touch his forehead.
"Auntie, are you so confident that your father will go against the princess for you and cause them to be at odds with each other?"
Aunt Sun didn't like to hear this, "It's none of my business that they are at odds with each other. Don't always talk to Mr. Xia!"
Li Chengli was too lazy to argue with her and motioned to the maid to prepare the dishes.
"We'll talk about the rest later, let's eat first!"
Aunt Sun pushed away the rice bowl in front of her, maintaining her image of a loving mother for less than half a quarter of an hour.
She said displeasedly: "Eat whatever you want. If your father hadn't asked you to come see me, no matter how delicious the food is, it will be like chewing wax!"
Li Chengli's patience when he first came in was exhausted, so he picked up his chopsticks and started eating by himself.
He set out before dawn today. After traveling all morning, he was so hungry that his chest pressed against his back.
Even if there was a big deal at the moment, he had to fill his stomach first before talking about it.
Aunt Sun felt an unknown fire arose in her heart when she saw him enjoying his meal with such indifference.
The maid standing nearby saw that Aunt Sun wanted to lose her temper with the third master again, so she hurriedly served her food and said: "Auntie, the third master has been traveling all morning and is tired and hungry. What can we do? Eat."
After that, talk to Third Master properly. If you have any difficulties, talk to Third Master and let Third Master think of a solution for you. You should eat quickly now."
Aunt Sun thought of her son's usual rebelliousness and his attitude towards her, so she didn't dare to go too far.
The maid felt relieved when she saw that Aunt Sun listened to her advice and sat down to eat obediently.
If Aunt Sun disobeys her advice and makes Third Master angry, and Third Master never comes to see her again, then it will really be a loss that outweighs the gain.
The only person the aunt can rely on now is the third master. Without the third master's care, the farm management will bully them.
The clever maid attracted Li Chengli's attention.
The maid's eyes met Li Chengli's unexpectedly. She smiled at him, calm and well-behaved. Such a smile could easily make people put down their guard.
Aunt Sun didn't notice the quarrel between the two. When she saw Li Chengli slowing down in eating, she knew that he had food in his stomach, so she started chattering again.
"Your father never mentioned me during the time I left?"
Li Chengli pushed away his half-eaten rice bowl and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief: "No!"
By the way, he took the teacup handed over by the maid, took a sip of tea and rinsed his mouth.
"How is this possible? I used to miss the prince so much if he didn't see me for a day." Aunt Sun couldn't believe it.
She asked unwillingly: "When you came here today, did your father know?"
Li Chengli stroked his forehead, "My father doesn't know, so don't think about my father. My father is not in Lingnan now."
Aunt Sun asked eagerly: "Where has the prince gone?"
"Jiankang is under siege, and my father has led his troops to help the king!" As he spoke, Li Chengli stared into Aunt Sun's eyes and said word by word: "So don't worry about him anymore. You won't know when he comes back.
When is it?"
Aunt Sun opened her mouth, patted her forehead and said, "Your father has led his troops out of the city. Who will be in charge of the border land in Lingnan?"
"Auntie, don't worry too much. My father has his own arrangements. He left with his soldiers and horses, but the princess's fifty thousand soldiers and horses are still stationed outside the city!"
"How can this happen? Without the restraint of the prince, I don't know what the Xia family will do!"
Aunt Sun was so frightened when she imagined that Xia Jing was the master of the world in Lingnan!
How dare he?
How dare he abandon the land of Lingnan and the great family of the palace to go and build the King of Kangxi and Qinfu alone!
Thank you to the hacked book friends for constantly checking in again, my heart is as still as water, a! Ziye, ?-bd, chaoqiong, Dawn Dance, Ai Nian Yu, Miaomiao Zi for their support~