I want to die!

Chapter 18 In-laws

Li Yingjie's family's farmland was also mortgaged to Zhao Dashanren?

Zhou Xing vaguely remembered that Li Yingcai had also sold land to Zhao Shanren in the town ten years ago.

The flow of land from the poor to the rich is nothing more than a major chaotic phenomenon at the end of dynasties throughout history: land annexation.

The only difference between these two incidents involving the Li brothers is...

That was Li Yingcai, the father, who had been castrated and entered the palace ten years ago to pay off debts, while his younger brother's family was his own son.

"Since you are so frank, then I will not hide anything from you either..." After thinking for a long time, Zhou Xing finally made his decision:

"I am powerless to help with this matter. The Imperial Prison is responsible for purchasing children in the palace. I am just an ordinary eunuch serving nobles. I don't have the connections, nor can I get involved."

"Moreover, I am now serving as the personal attendant of the hostage prince of Southern Zhou. From now on, I will be living in the hostage residence within the Court of State Ceremonial, no longer in the Great Mang Imperial Palace, so naturally my influence will be limited."

The old scholar was taken aback upon hearing this, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Brother, don't try to fool me. I'm not asking you to help me for nothing..." He shook the money pouch in his hand.

"...It's really impossible." Zhou Xing looked at Li Yingjie with a strange expression.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Nowadays, if you want to become a eunuch in the palace, you have to spend money to bribe officials and make connections in private?

In Li Yingjie's eyes, becoming a eunuch in the palace was a secure and lucrative position, and he would spend money and bribes to secure one.

Therefore, his attitude towards his elder brother "Li Yingcai," who had been working in the capital for many years, was completely different from his attitude towards Li Xuanqing back then.

This guy's come to pull strings and try to get a permanent position.

It's unclear whether Li Yingjie has gone mad, or if the world has finally become so mad that Zhou Xing can't understand it anymore.

The two brothers remained locked in a stalemate inside the house for almost half an hour before Li Yingjie finally gave up on the idea.

He just sat there blankly in the house, staring at his child climbing the tree in the yard outside, completely frozen in place, muttering to himself:

"My Ping'er is no longer able to have sex, and now she can't enter the palace as a eunuch to serve the noble ladies... What kind of sin has this caused!"

Zhou Xing watched this scene in silence for a moment.

He then weighed the money in his pocket and took out one tael of silver.

Eunuch Li Yingcai was not as strapped for cash as Li Xuanqing was back then; he still had some savings.

"Brother, no, brother, what do you mean—" The old scholar subconsciously tried to refuse, his eyes widening, but he took the silver and held it tightly in his hand.

"Brother, it's not that I don't want to help, it's just that I'm a nobody and have no power to do anything about it."

"The world is a difficult time, and everyone has their share of troubles. I usually live in the imperial palace in the capital, and my wife and daughter live alone at home. If my family ever faces difficulties in the future, I hope that you will take care of my wife and daughter in consideration of what happened today and our brotherly bond."

Zhou Xing pressed the old scholar's hand and said solemnly.

One tael of silver is roughly equivalent to the purchasing power of a thousand dollars in the previous life. Li Yingcai has been in the palace for many years and is a stingy miser, yet he already has a hundred taels of silver in savings.

Zhou Xing knew in his heart that "Li Yingcai" wouldn't live much longer.

He will die again soon. If he can establish a good relationship with his younger brother and ease tensions, and take care of the orphans and widows in the future, he can probably earn some points.

Furthermore.

Anyway, it wasn't Zhou Xing's own money he saved, so he didn't feel bad at all.

Li Yingcai said he had no objection.

The old scholar was deeply moved to have received Zhou Xing's money for nothing, and said emotionally:

"Brother, this is truly a man of character! I will surely repay you with a blade of grass one day!"

"We're all family, so we should naturally support each other when we're in trouble!" Zhou Xing said emotionally, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Brother!"

"Brother!"

"Brother!"

"old...."

"I object!"

A voice suddenly interrupted the chanting.

Before anyone knew it, her daughter, Li Ziqing, arrived and stood silently beside her.

"What are you against?" Zhou Xing was taken aback.

Li Ziqing opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence:

"Our family is far from wealthy. Have you forgotten what it was like to be in debt?"

"…Xiaoqing is right, it was never appropriate in the first place." The old scholar chuckled and released his grip, but his eyes were unconsciously fixed on the two taels of silver.

"This is none other than your own uncle." Zhou Xing and the old scholar went back and forth for thirty rounds before Zhou Xing finally managed to hand over the money.

Li Ziqing stood to the side, watching the scene quietly, without saying anything more.

I felt a little helpless.

Using money to pave the way for good karma might be the right thing to do... but it depends on the person.

Ten years is a long time, enough to change a person's values ​​and character.

What his father knew about Li Yingjie was from more than ten years ago.

But as soon as she thought of this, her gaze fell on Zhou Xing again.

The history of Li Yingcai's father dying naked on the hostage bed has been changed.

So, will Second Uncle still be the same Second Uncle from the previous life?

Perhaps we can be more patient.

...Never mind.

The two parents in the family were a eunuch who served noble people and a maid in a restaurant in town. Limited by their limited knowledge and experience, they could only do so much, which was not their fault.

If something really goes wrong, she will take responsibility for cleaning up the mess and act as a pillar of stability.

................

The night was as dark as churning ink, and the moonlight gradually dimmed.

The town was very small, and the old scholar's house was only a few steps away from Li Yingcai's house.

But those three steps took the old scholar a very, very long time to cover.

After walking a few steps, he unconsciously reached into his pocket to check if the silver was still there.

Lost in thought, I felt truly grateful for my elder brother's generous help.

"Father, does this mean I don't have to become a eunuch anymore? Then I can just farm for Zhao Shan's family and won't have to leave this town, right?" The voice of his son, Li Qingping, brought the old scholar back to reality.

As he weighed the silver in his hand, the initial joy gradually receded like waves, leaving behind a pool of rough bitterness.

Li Qingping was the only son in his family, and he had personally arranged the marriage, so now the family line has ended.

How will we get through this?

One tael of silver, one tael of silver, this can solve their immediate problem, but what about in the future?

"My brother-in-law is so generous, giving me money right away. He must have made a lot of money in the palace all these years," the old scholar thought to himself.

Life's encounters are truly unpredictable and immeasurable.

He was a learned man who had read the classics, and he placed too much importance on propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame.

Unlike his elder brother Li Yingcai, who abandoned his manhood to resolutely enter the palace to serve the nobles.

Ten years have passed, and he has been languishing in his hometown, becoming an old scholar, while his elder brother has already made enough money in the palace and returned home in wealth and honor.

What can a eunuch do?

Now that the old scholar is middle-aged, he has long known that in this world, money and power are the most important things.

Fame and fortune are all meaningless!

The night deepened like ink, dark clouds obscured the bright moon, and the path through the fields before us became gloomy.

But the brightly lit Zhao family mansion in the distance, visible from the town's roads, seemed like an isolated island in this black ocean.

Li Yingjie suddenly stopped, his expression gradually crumbling.

He could see from afar that a lantern was swaying out of the brightly lit Zhao family mansion in the distance, its dim yellow light standing out conspicuously in the darkness.

"Ping'er, you have sharp eyes. Look over there at the Zhao family's house. Who's coming out?"

"Is he a fat man wearing a warm hat and a thick cotton-padded coat? Is he accompanied by two or three strong guards?"

"Yes, Father," the son nodded, "It's the Zhao family's steward walking this way."

"He seems to have spotted us too, and is smiling and waving at us?"

Li Yingjie's heart gradually sank and plummeted.

The fat butler in Zhao Shan's family is a smiling tiger.

Just like the night his nephew Li Xuanqing died at his house, it was Zhao's steward who came out to collect debts!

The old scholar weighed the one or two taels of silver in his hand once more.

He had thought that one or two taels of silver was a lot.

After all, it's money gained for free. Even if it's just a hundred or fifty coins, let alone an ounce, people would still be happy.

But now, his thoughts have undergone a subtle change.

"One tael of silver is still too little, too little," the old scholar muttered to himself.

"If we could have more, it would be much easier."

"Father, what did you say?" The son beside him did not hear the old scholar Li Yingjie's low muttering.

"Brother-in-law, I'm trying to help you too." The old scholar made up his mind and muttered to himself:

"After all, your family has no male heirs, and you yourself are single, and you don't usually live in town. I'm just thinking of my niece and want to find a sheltered tree for your family in these chaotic times."

..................

Day three.

As dawn broke, Zhou Xing was dragged to the town's market by his wife and daughter.

Last night, after Zhou Xing took out the hundred-tael silver note that Li Yingcai had stored in the palace from his bag, his wife Zhang was naturally overjoyed.

Besides buying some food and rice, he took Zhou Xing to a tailor shop to make new clothes for both father and daughter, and also bought a fake beard to stick on their chins.

In the Great Mang Dynasty, men considered having a beard to be beautiful, and Li Yingcai, with his fair face and no beard, was still too conspicuous even though he had changed into casual clothes before.

Now, when he came out of the tailor shop, he had changed into a well-fitting crescent-white robe.

Li Yingcai entered the palace at an advanced age, far beyond the legal age limit, which naturally indicates his exceptional abilities.

Besides being hardworking and conscientious, Li Yingcai was also good-looking, with regular features and a dignified appearance even in middle age.

When he emerged wearing a well-tailored white robe, his wife and daughter, who were waiting outside, were immediately struck by his appearance.

He didn't look like a eunuch, but rather like a refined scholar, yet he possessed a gentle and graceful charm rarely seen in men, making his temperament truly unique.

Not only were the wife and daughter somewhat dazed, but even passersby and travelers in the town stopped to watch.

"What a handsome young man... Is this what they mean by a man with feminine features?"

"The beard on his face looks fake, is it just glued on? Could he be a eunuch who escaped from the palace?"

The speakers were four or five passersby, all wearing straw hats and carrying swords at their waists; there were both men and women.

"Don't talk too much, or you'll get into trouble. We still have a long way to go, don't let this delay our important mission," said the long-bearded man in the straw hat, before leading his companions away.

Leaving aside the few passing travelers, his wife, Zhang, was already overjoyed.

Even his arms seemed to have gained some strength, and he carried a pound of pork, walking side by side with him home.

The daughter, Li Ziqing, walked behind, staring intently at her parents' backs, her double pupils softening slightly.

In his previous life, his father did not return to his hometown; he died naked on the prince's bed, becoming a laughing stock.

He rarely went home during his lifetime, and the time when the family was reunited was extremely rare.

Perhaps, she wouldn't have to travel and wander like she did in her previous life; living a peaceful life in this small hometown wouldn't be so bad.

Since she is a reincarnated person, she can regain the power of her previous life as long as she cultivates step by step.

It can even make up for the shortcomings of rapid progress and unstable foundation in the previous life.

Not much is needed; with just a little bit of the power regained from my past life, I can live a peaceful life in this small town.

The family of three strolled slowly home.

But when they got to the gate of the courtyard, they found that someone was already waiting there.

It was Li Yingjie, the old scholar I had just met yesterday.

"Why is my brother-in-law waiting outside this yard?" his wife, Zhang, asked.

The old scholar turned around upon hearing the sound, and a smile immediately appeared on his face:

"What my brother said yesterday is right. We are all family, so we should help each other when we encounter difficulties."

"I thought about it all night last night. I know that my elder brother has been away for many years and the family is short of male heirs, so I specially found a marriage for you."

Marriage?

Li Ziqing was slightly taken aback.

"So my brother-in-law came to arrange a marriage, but I wonder which family he found for my daughter?" his wife, Zhang, asked hurriedly.

My daughter is indeed of marriageable age.

"It's the Zhao family from town," the old scholar said with a slight smile.

"The eldest son of Zhao Dashan is thirty-five years old this year. He is a forthright man who can wield a spear and stick. He has already cultivated martial arts true qi and can be considered a ninth-rank internal martial artist. He is a definite 'martial arts scholar'."

At this point, the old scholar couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

Since the celestial beings descended to the mortal realm, the hierarchical distinctions among the various schools of thought and sects in the martial arts world have undergone a complete transformation.

Once one's cultivation within the profession reaches the threshold of the ninth rank of Heavenly Beings, one can obtain the official position that one has sought all one's life but could never attain.

But Li Yingjie, a middle-aged scholar, didn't have such a bright future.

"Moreover, the key point is that Zhao's second daughter was taken in by a centurion of Da Mang's army and married as his third concubine."

"If we can arrange a marriage between his family and my brother-in-law's family, they will be able to live in peace."

"Marriage? Me?" Upon hearing this, Li Ziqing merely looked at the old scholar indifferently.

Despite being a generation younger, the old scholar unconsciously took a half-step back under Li Ziqing's gaze.

"Your second uncle meant well, don't be rude," Zhang scolded.

Zhou Xing remained silent throughout.

After all, he wasn't the real Li Yingcai, and Li Ziqing wasn't his real daughter.

It's best to leave the decision of the child's marriage to Zhang or Li Ziqing themselves.

But the Zhao family that the old scholar found... is that the Zhao family that owed him seventy taels of debt before?

Li Yingcai was forced to leave the palace with nothing because of this debt, and the woman in the cheongsam that his eldest son, Li Xuanqing, met on the street that day also had the surname Zhao.

The second brother, Li Yingjie, has now become a long-term worker for the Zhao family.

So when the old scholar found this in-law, he was truly the local tyrant of the town...

I was just thinking about this.

Then the sound of horses' hooves could be heard.

Looking towards the sound, they saw a young man riding a tall horse, leaving trails of dust like snakes.

Seven or eight broad-shouldered servants followed the galloping horse from afar.

"Zhao Da is quite impatient; he's already here." The old scholar smiled slightly upon seeing the newcomer.