Xie Ming

Chapter 67: A Single Horse and a Trapped General
"Jialu, you are hurting people by talking like that!"

"No matter what, Jialin and you are still within the fifth degree of mourning. We are all family. Why bother?"

Seeing that Xu Jialin was so angry that he was about to vomit blood, an older man with a melon-shaped hat next to him wanted to change the subject back to ease the atmosphere a little so as not to make it too awkward.

"Oh? Third Grandpa, you can't meddle in other people's business like this!"

"Well, I'm just taking the lead in speaking for everyone. If you think it's inappropriate, that's easy to do. Just pay the money!"

Xu Jialu, with a pipe in his hand, stretched his neck and put his hands behind his back, counterattacking.

The old man in the melon-shaped hat who was called Third Grandpa was speechless for a moment when he heard this. He didn't expect that just by saying one too many words, he brought trouble upon himself. So he pretended to cough lightly a few times to get away with it and did not make any more comments.

The clan leader Xu Jialin, who was standing in front of the main seat, was extremely angry when he saw the situation, but after all, this was his own private matter, and it would be seen as a failure to distinguish between public and private if he took his anger out on his clan members, so he had to hold his breath, took two steps forward, and moved closer to the center of the hall.

"My fellow men, I won't say anything else. If any of you here believe in me, Xu Jialin, please lend a hand!"

"I will definitely find a way to pay you back in the future!"

After he finished speaking, Xu Jialin bowed and looked around at everyone in the hall.

But the situation became even more awkward from then on.

There were very few people who were willing to walk forward to the temple and lend money to the clan leader, let alone five thousand taels. After half an hour, the scattered silver spread out by the tribute table in the ancestral hall might not even have a fraction of the money!
Jialu took out the pipe from his waist and waited to watch the fun. Seeing that there were not many people around, he made sarcastic remarks.

"Hey, Jialin, I advise you to forget it!"

"I've already told you the reason!"

"You, just stop forcing us!"

Not only Xu Jialu, but after a while, all the elders of the clan who were sitting on both sides, who usually called each other Jialin, were unwilling to lend money at the critical moment.

At this moment, how could his clan leader Xu Jialin not be disheartened seeing this scene!

"Jia Lin, it's not me, Xu Jialu, who is trying to save your face."

"There is no hatred between our two families in the past or today. You know the situation of my family very well, so I won't hide it."

"Well, if you can come up with four thousand taels of silver, I will pay you the remaining one thousand taels even if I have to sell everything I have. What do you think?"

"What is a brother? This is a brother! Got it?"

Jialu intended to add fuel to the fire, and he even wanted to gain all the face and benefits at once.

But he never thought that it would happen at this moment!

Suddenly, at the outermost door of the main hall of the ancestral hall, a loud exclamation was heard!
"I'll pay for the four thousand taels!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell silent, and everyone looked towards the hall door, wanting to see who dared to speak so arrogantly.

But what no one expected was that no one recognized the person who said this!
For a moment, there was an uproar in the ancestral hall. The clansmen who were gathered below huddled together in groups of three or two, all discussing in a low voice, wondering whose family this fair-faced young man dressed at the door, Xiao Jingchuan, belonged to!

"Ah? This"

"Silence! Everyone, be quiet!"

When Xu Jialin suddenly saw this sudden change, he took on the airs of the clan leader and spoke first to stabilize the situation.

Afterwards, after all the tribesmen calmed down, the tribe leader Jialin asked Xiao Lang with doubt but expectation.

"Um, may I ask this gentleman, are you a member of our Xu family?"

As it was a large and prosperous family in the town, it was inevitable that some of the clan members would go out to seek other ways to make a living over the years. Therefore, for some people, especially those who looked like handsome young men like Xiao Jingchuan, even though Xu Jialin was the clan leader, he didn't know which branch of the family tree the descendant was from, or that he didn't recognize them because they looked unfamiliar. That was all normal.

"Hahaha"

Xiao Jingchuan walked slowly towards the center of the hall with a smile on his face, and did not seem to be in a hurry to answer.

Behind him, a man dressed as a scholar named Qiu Zhizhong and a heroic and chivalrous Gu Changting followed. "Haha, please don't be offended, clan leader!"

"I am a person from the capital, so I have come to the mountains to avoid the dangers of war!"

"My last name is Xiao, and I am not from your clan!"

Xiao Lang got a folding fan from somewhere, opened and closed it, bowed and introduced himself without missing a beat.

"Ah? You're not from our Xu family? Then why are you coming to our Xu family ancestral hall?!"

"Who is guarding the gate of the ancestral hall today? How come unrelated people are allowed in? They are really losing their manners!"

"Go, go, go, what are you outsiders doing here?!"

"Get out of the ancestral hall!"

Before clan leader Xu Jialin could say anything, Xu Jialu, who was smoking a pipe beside him, stopped working.

He was afraid that the young man in front of him who said his surname was Xiao would mess things up. He was also afraid that the excuse of one thousand taels of silver he had just boasted about would really come true. So he jumped out impatiently and wanted to drive Xiao Jingchuan and the other three out of the hall immediately!
"Jia Lu, shut up!" Seeing the situation, clan leader Jia Lin hurriedly stepped forward to stop Jia Lu.

"Do you know any etiquette?!"

"It's our Xu family's rule to kick people out before they even meet!"

As he spoke, Xu Jialin, who was less than fifty years old, with a pair of bloodshot and slightly cloudy eyes, shifted his target and looked carefully at Xiao Jingchuan and his three companions.

Then he began to speak.

"The young master's surname is Xiao."

"Mr. Xiao, what you just said was a joke?!"

No matter what the intention of the visitor was, Xu Jialin was eager to raise money, so he had to ask and not miss any possibility of rescuing his daughter.

"Haha, the clan leader and all the senior officials of the Xu family are here. How dare I make such a joke!"

"I just said that I am willing to lend you 4,000 silver coins to help you redeem the person!"

Xiao Jingchuan's firm statement once again confirmed what I just said!
"Well, this..." Xu Jialin found it difficult to make a judgment when he saw that Mr. Xiao was so sure of what he said.

"Ha, there's no need to worry so much, Patriarch."

"To be honest, I come from a noble family, so this amount of money is no problem for me!" Xiao Lang took another step forward.

"Cough cough."

"Sir, do you have any connection with our Xu family?" an old man at the side interrupted.

"There is no connection!" Xiao Jingchuan replied neatly.

"Well, Sir, if you want to help me, what are the conditions? Or do you have any request for me, Xu Jialin?"

"My daughter is in danger. If you really have any conditions to ask for, please tell me directly. As long as I, Xu Jialin, can do it, I will definitely not refuse!"

As the saying goes, there is no free lunch in the world, so it is normal for Xu Jialin to ask so cautiously.

"Hahaha"

"The clan leader is so unhappy!"

"If I said I didn't want anything from you, then I would be the one who deserves death?!"

"Do you want this money or not?"

Xiao Lang’s words hit the nail on the head: a single horse is trapping a general, General!

Talk to death
(End of this chapter)