Shipin Dalizheng

Outside the shabby courtyard where everyone was discussing matters, Yang Liangui's lackeys banged on gongs and shouted, "You are all heartless losers. If our master hadn't taken you in, you would have starved to death. How dare you come to Jingzhao Prefecture and falsely accuse our master of being unkind? What a joke! You have been eating and drinking from our master for years, but you have become ungrateful. I'm telling you, next season, no, starting from this season, 70% of the grain will be collected as rent. If you can plant, plant. If you can't, get out."

Finally, someone stepped forward to reason with him, "This is Uncle's land. Uncle gave us the land to survive. Who is eating and drinking from you?"

The lackey sneered, "Lord's land? Don't you think it's ridiculous to say this now? Have you given the land deeds? Forget about the fact that our Minister is Lord's son-in-law. Even if it's Lord's daughter-in-law now, and there's no one in the Lord's mansion, she's still the only owner. We can take the land back if we want. Do you think you, a bunch of poor bastards, are right?"

"I……"

This person felt very aggrieved, but was still dragged away. Yes, now that the owner of the Bo Mansion has changed, they are not in the right.

Everyone in the dilapidated courtyard felt like the sky was falling. If 60% of the food was taken away, they would not have enough to eat. If 70% was taken away, would they still have a chance to survive?

The lackey-leader trotted back to Yang Liangui, fawning like a dog wagging its tail, "Master, now that you've given them a lesson, no one will dare to speak out against you anymore."

Yang Liangui pursed his overbite lips and sneered. If his brother-in-law hadn't asked him to keep a low profile these days, he would definitely have kicked this bunch of useless people out of the village.

As he was staggering back to the manor with his men, he saw his plump wife running towards him, panting heavily, "Boss, hurry up, something's happened, someone's here to cause trouble and they want to chase us away."

Yang Liangui didn't believe it. He had been dominating Fuxinzhuang for many years and had never seen anyone so blind.

"Who? Didn't you tell them that your brother-in-law is the Minister of Rites?"

"said."

The fat woman slapped her thigh and cried, "It's no use! They say the farm has been sold to their family. Not only the minister's relatives, but even the royal family will have to move out. They'll give us one day. If we don't move out by evening, they'll seal the gates tomorrow and you won't be able to take anything with you."

Yang Liangui was confused for a moment, then quickly ran towards his residence. He saw that hundreds of people had gathered at the gate of the manor, all of them were aggressive and domineering. The remaining servants in the manor confronted them, but they were as ridiculous as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

"Who are you? How dare you come here to cause trouble? Do you know..."

Mr. Du San came out from behind the crowd and slowly took out the sales deed. "See? We've bought this farm. If you know what's good for you, get out of here now. If you're late, you won't be able to take anything with you."

"My brother-in-law..."

"I know your brother-in-law is Minister Jin, but my eldest brother is Duke Du. Listen carefully, Duke Du. Don't say that our Duke's Mansion is bullying your Jin family. The owner of this manor is surnamed Rong after all. As long as Prince Rong is willing to sell it and there are land deeds and transfer documents, it is legal and legitimate. We have already given the real money, so there is no reason not to take back the manor. What do you think, Second Master Yang?"

Yang Liangui's throat felt as if it was cut. There were two dukes in Dai Viet, Duke Yin and Duke Du, neither of whom his brother-in-law could afford to offend.

He suppressed his anger and said, "My brother-in-law will never agree to sell Fuxinzhuang. Your contract is invalid. If you have any problems, you can go to my brother-in-law and talk to him. Don't be so ruthless. My brother-in-law is also a minister. Everyone in the court knows that he is the Prince Rui's man. Don't you care about the Prince Rui at all by doing this?"

If I had said this a month ago, Duke Du's Mansion might have been more cautious, but now...

"You mean His Royal Highness Prince Rui, who broke his leg and injured his head because of Minister Jin's involvement? He hasn't attended court for a long time. Such a handsome prince was harmed like that, and you still have the nerve to mention him. Besides, even if Prince Rui is here, he can't be unreasonable! Whether this contract is real or fake, there is the official seal of Jingzhao Prefecture as proof. If you don't believe it, go to Jingzhao Prefecture and file a complaint. Your Third Master is waiting here. Forget it, since you don't seem willing to cooperate, come in and put up the seal. Second Master Yang doesn't want the things in the manor anymore."

"you dare!"

Yang Liangui was furious and his heart was beating fast. If the man dared to say that, he must be very brave.

Third Master Du sneered, "Second Master Yang, think carefully. Once the seal of the Duke's Mansion is affixed, if you go in and take things, it will be considered theft."

Yang Liangui saw that hundreds of people were staring at him like wolves and tigers, as if they wanted to rush in to smash and loot. The twenty or so men under his command were not enough, so he could only swallow his anger and let them go in to collect the gold, silver and valuables, while sending people into the city to report the news.

An old soldier following Yang Liangui was stunned and dragged his broken leg to find Wei Wu.

"Old Five, bad news! Fuxinzhuang has been sold."

Wei Wuteng jumped up, and the three-legged stool fell over, becoming a two-legged stool.

"What? Who sold it? Jin Shizhao?"

"No." The tearful voice was filled with despair, "It was Prince Rong. He doesn't want us anymore. He dumped us."

Wei Wu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly covered his face with a bitter smile, "Don't blame him, don't blame him, he has no ability and can't help us. Don't blame him either, he is still a child, the only blood of the uncle. Even for this little relationship, we can't implicate him anymore. Everyone, everyone, please disperse, the manor has a new owner, let's wait and see what the owner says next."

But how could they be willing to disperse? Some people burst into tears. Years of suffering had not made them cry, and now they were not even sure whether these days of suffering would end. It turned out that even hard times would become attached after a long time.

"Don't cry, don't cry. We are the old members of the Rong family army. We can only shed blood, not tears..."

But as he spoke, Wei Wu also started crying.

The news spread to every corner of Fuxinzhuang. Wounded veterans staggered out of the dilapidated thatched houses and gathered in front of the newly renovated manor with high walls and green tiles. They stood in three layers inside and outside, watching numbly as Yang Liangui's men moved things out.

Mr. Du Sanye was originally just watching outside the door, waiting for Yang Liangui to finish moving and then put up the seal. Suddenly, he saw a large group of incomplete people watching them. All of them were emaciated. Their tattered clothes and haggard faces scared him.

Holy shit, this is the veteran from Fuxinzhuang? How pitiful!

Although Duke Du inherited the title, he had also fought bravely on the battlefield. Therefore, the brothers and nephews of the Duke's Mansion all felt a sense of kinship with soldiers and did not look down on veterans. Seeing the miserable situation, Master Du San felt extremely disgusted with Yang Liangui.

"Master Yang, this manor belongs to Rong Shizi, and the furniture and belongings inside also belong to Rong Shizi. He sold it to my family, so it's mine. What do you mean by moving out? Come on, move it back to the courtyard. You can't take even a stool leg with you."

When the men heard this, they immediately went up to grab the furniture and other belongings and put them back in the yard. Anyone who came out again was not allowed to take anything with them except their bags and valuables.

"you……"

Yang Liangui was so angry that he was shaking. "I bought all these things."

"Did you buy it? Bring me the receipt folder and have the merchant come to testify that you bought it. If not, then it must be something that was already in the courtyard. It's really funny. Where did a stinking peasant like him, who climbed up the sheep pen thanks to his sister, get the money to buy such things? Did he steal all this from the Rong family?"

Yang Liangui was both ashamed and embarrassed. Although the romantic stories of Yang Lianhua and Jin Shizhao had been made into novels and told in teahouses in the city, no one had ever offended him in front of him.