Since sending away Yang Zhaoquan and Qin Shumei, Dong's life, although not as smooth as before, is gradually improving.

Although the old lady He Shi deeply hated her second daughter-in-law for inducing her to adopt her daughter for her own selfish gain. But after all, she had been married into the Xu family for several years, and her heart was full of flesh. They lived together for a long time. No matter what happened, the old lady could not pull her away.

He came down and took her back to Dong's house.

Ms. Dong is now like a piece of dog-skin plaster. The Xu family can hit and scold her, but because it has been stuck on her body for too long and stuck too tightly, peeling it off will always take away a layer of skin.

After this battle, although Ms. Dong lost her mother-in-law's trust and love, she felt she gained more.

For example, now, she is enjoying Hongfang's fan while drinking the high-quality Biluochun that she could only covet in the past. For this sip, she specially picked a pure white porcelain cup just to enjoy the green and clear tea soup.

The slender ropes, the tea leaves curled into snails floated in the cup, and the bottom of the leaves was as fresh and translucent as jasper. She picked up the cup and smelled it before drinking. In this desolate early autumn, the tip of her nose was full of spring, and her mouth was fresh and mellow.

Sweet, it really tastes so good that I never dared to imagine before.

Mrs. Dong signaled Hongfang to fan herself more slowly and took a sip of tea.

"It's funny to say that our Xu family is also one of the largest households, but my mother-in-law is very frugal in running the household. Even if she wants to drink something better, she can't. She is so mean to her own family, but she is so generous to outsiders."

She flipped through the accounting records on the side. It was full of records, all of which were the gains from the bandits' robbery of Yang Zhaoquan's motorcade.

"Tsk, mom and dad even took out the treasures from the bottom of the box. Look, dad only has two boxes of Tianrong Shengji Pills. When he was seriously injured, he was only willing to take one pill to save his life. This one is a waste.

I gave away a whole box."

Mrs. Dong clicked on the account book, but did not hear Hongfang's response for a long time. She was talking to herself, feeling a little bored, so she turned to look at her maid.

Seeing that she was hesitant to speak, Ms. Dong already had a guess in her mind.

"Did my second brother come to ask for money again?"

She didn't look directly at Hongfang, and just straightened out the satin fabric embroidered with chrysanthemum patterns on her knees.

"Yes, Second Master feels that the portion is too little."

Hongfang nodded quickly and looked at Dong's slightly frowning eyebrows in fear.

"Fifteen hundred taels can't stop him!"

Dong originally agreed to share the money with her brother, but Yang Zhaoquan and the others traveled in a light carriage and did not want to carry a lot of luggage. The robbed items were few and fine, so her share was not much, and now the fat she got was right next to her mouth.

She looked at the treasures on the left and the banknotes on the right. She felt that if any one was missing, it was tearing out her heart.

"Yes, he brought me and Shi Yuan together, and he also got some information, but if he wants to divide it into 40%, wouldn't it be too much! I have risked my life and fortune, so I have to change my body for such a small amount.

, he just talks and runs errands, and actually wants to make a lot of money."

Hongfang saw that Mr. Dong was about to turn his back on her, and Mr. Dong was also pressing harder. As a servant, it was difficult for her to be caught in the middle, so she had to bite the bullet and offer advice.

"Madam, don't be angry. You and the Second Master are blood relatives after all. Even if your bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. Why bother to vent your anger on your own brother? Otherwise, you can pick some things that are difficult to deal with and give them to the Second Master. That can be considered a solution.

Our trouble."

Mr. Dong rolled his eyes a few times, remembering the food items recorded in the account, and finally had a smile on his face.

In fact, General Xu did not prepare a lot of cash for Yang Zhaoquan, and only a few banknotes, but more practical medicines and supplies.

Although they were all rare treasures, they became a burden once they were in her hands. She could neither use them nor sell them, so she asked her brother to sell them for a big price.

"That's a good idea," Madam Dong raised her hand and touched her chin, "Then let's pick some from another courtyard and send them to my second brother someday."

Seeing that her complexion had improved, Hongfang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since Madam got this batch of goods, she had been frightened every day and lost a lot of weight due to worry.

Those treasures were taken out from the old lady and the old general, so naturally they could no longer be kept in the mansion. Turning around and storing them took a lot of effort. Dong even purchased a small courtyard as a warehouse for this purpose.

This money is easy to come by, but it is even more difficult to spend it without leaving any trace. The arrangement of manpower and the mobilization of assets, no matter how cautious Mr. Dong is, will definitely leave traces.

It's just that in recent times, the old lady has focused all her energy on choosing a husband for Tao Jiajia, so she can secretly make some small moves below, intending to clean up the leftovers before Tao Jiajia's marriage is finalized.

Dong was the mastermind in this matter, and Hongfang was the first accomplice.

Although the incident has not yet come to light, Hongfang always feels that the guillotine is hanging above her neck. After all, if something happens, the fate of these servants will definitely be much more miserable than that of the master Dong.

The handle of the fan that Hongfang was holding was soaked with sweat from her palms, but she finally spoke and persuaded Mrs. Dong again.

"Madam, why don't we return all the things that have not been resettled to the master of Shizhai before the old lady and the general find out. Yang Langjun is a member of the royal family after all. If the old general asks, we can't afford it.

, it’s not too late to get away now.”

Mrs. Dong did not catch the maid's fear at all, and she smiled contemptuously.

"Why are you so crazy? Don't say that my father-in-law didn't ask now. Even if he did ask, I would have my own way. You don't have to talk too much!"

Hongfang's back tightened, and she immediately shrank down and kept silent, for fear of upsetting Madam again.

Even if she didn't agree with Dong's actions, as her personal dowry maid, Hongfang had no room for resistance and could only try her best to help Dong cover up.

In the days that followed, Hongfang not only had to help the Dong family communicate with Shi Yuan and the Second Master Dong, but she also had to do her duty as a maid and not let outsiders see anything wrong. She couldn't eat or sleep well at night.

This kind of life where one's heart is hanging on the edge of a knife is really not what people should live.

Tens of days later, when the news came that the entire Panwa village in Shiyuan had been annihilated, she strangely calmed down.

The guillotine finally fell.

Panwa Village has been entrenched in the north of Ningshi for many years. Not only does it have a large number of people, but it is also backed by the forces of Liangzhou and Beijiang. Generations of village owners have worked hard to manage it, and finally reached its peak in Shi Yuan's generation. Not only the common people's expressions changed after hearing this

, he always walked around the road, and even the government and county offices would not easily provoke him.

But such a deep-rooted scourge was wiped out overnight by an unknown force of thousands of Qingqi.

More than ten core figures, including the leader of the village, Shi Yuan, were all captured by the leading general. Due to the night raid, Panwa Village faced such a powerful enemy with little preparation and had no ability to fight back.

, only some insignificant bandits are still living outside, and they will be cleaned up soon.

The serious worry that had been in their hearts for many years was eliminated, and the ordinary people and wealthy gentry around them were all happy and excited. For a while, everyone was praising this team.

Naturally, General Xu got the news immediately. When he learned that the leader of the team was Yang Zhaoquan, he was filled with sorrow and joy. The joy was that Yang Zhaoquan was now in charge of the army again, which showed that he had bet on the right person. The worry was about his own soldiers.

The guard was ineffective, and Qin Shumei was missing.

He sat in the study and asked the boy to summon his youngest son Xu Dingkun.

When the incense in the room burned to two-thirds of the way, Xu Dingkun was led into the study with his back and waist hunched over. He glanced at the incense tremblingly, and when he saw that it was not too late, he relaxed a little.

After a while, he turned his eyes upward and glanced quickly at his father.

After Yang Zhaoquan's incident, General Xu became more and more displeased with his son. The more he disliked him, the harsher he became.

In a short period of time, he transformed from a kind old father into a black-faced king of hell.

Xu Dingkun, who had been happy for half his life, had gone through this, and now half his life was gone when he heard his father's voice.

Old General Xu despised him the most, with his sly eyebrows and stern eyes, which were slashed like steel knives. Xu Dingkun was so frightened that he straightened his back before speaking slowly.

"Take your people and go to Panwa Village to find Yang Langjun and help him solve the remaining problems."

Xu Dingkun had also heard that the leader of the team was Yang Zhaoquan, but he could never associate the ordinary-dressed man with a weak crown with the majestic iron-blooded general. He would rather believe that this was a misunderstanding of the same name.

In his mind, Yang Zhaoquan was just a stupid young man who appeared out of nowhere. It was impossible to follow the army, let alone the leader of a team.

Now that he got the exact news from his father, he still couldn't react. He was too surprised and couldn't grasp the key point.

"Ah? Was it him? Attacked Panwa Village?"

Old General Xu deeply felt that the word "help" he just said was definitely a slip of the tongue. If his son is like this, let alone helping, if he does not cause trouble to His Highness, he is considered Amitabha.

Looking at his incompetent son, he wavered for a moment, but thinking about his grandson Xu Zhenying, and thinking that the Xu family had finally had a chance to get ahead, he bravely repeated the order.

"Yang Langjun is the younger brother of the current Holy Emperor, the former His Highness King Wei. In a moment, you will pack up your luggage, go and lead the people, follow His Highness, and clear away the remaining banditry."

Xu Dingkun was dumbfounded. He never expected that Yang Zhaoquan was the legendary prince.

In fact, this is no wonder Xu Dingkun. After all, few of the Tian family members actually pronounce their names. They are usually called by honorifics. Although the surname is listed there, there are so many people with the surname Yang that one cannot be suspicious of just one person.

Related to the royal family.

Xu Dingkun recalled the details of his previous interactions with Yang Zhaoquan and his wife, and subconsciously shuddered. His attitude seemed not to be respectful, but even basic respect seemed not enough.

He quickly opened his mouth to evade, but was stopped by General Xu.

"This is a nice job. If your eldest brother hadn't been a weakling who fainted when he saw blood, it wouldn't have been your turn to take this job."

General Xu sighed deeply as he recalled his eldest son's frightened and pale appearance when he went to the martial arts training ground for the first time.

"Your Highness is a man who can achieve great things, and is highly valued by the Holy One. If you can follow him, you can also make a lot of progress."

In his mind, General Xu compared Yang Zhaoquan's heroic appearance with his son's mediocrity and cowardice, and began to doubt whether the gap between himself and the late emperor was really that big.

But he is his biological son after all. No matter how much he hates iron, he can only follow the guidance now.

"As a father, I don't ask you to make meritorious deeds. Success is enough. I just ask you to be a manly man in the army so that you can keep the foundation that my Xu family has finally earned."

Old General Xu thought of the pain of marching when he was young, and looked at his son who was older but still ignorant, and a sourness suddenly welled up from the bottom of his heart.

"Son, when I was young, I didn't know many Chinese characters. I just wanted my family to be safe and to have food and drink. It was precisely because of my lack of talent and knowledge that I neglected to discipline your brothers."

"Your brother can still write some poetry. But what about you? What can you do? My father doesn't want to see you live a mediocre life."

"What I have worked so hard for will not last for three generations. You have my name to rely on now, but after a hundred years, who will your children be able to rely on?"

"A man must be self-reliant. I just don't think about the Xu family. Think about your future children. Are you willing to let them lose the background and conditions they should have?"

Even when General Xu was playing the role of a loving father, he had never been so persuasive. Now, Xu Dingkun, who had never wanted to understand his father's heart, was stunned by his heartfelt confession.
To be continued...