A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 134: Taking Off the Sword and Kneeling

Yu Youniang left,
Li Yi sat alone in the room drinking tea.

Two hundred thousand coins can buy two three-acre houses in Huaiyuanfang, Xicheng District, and can buy twelve Pipa girls like Hongxiao.

You can buy ten good horses and dozens of ordinary oxen.

After preparing tomorrow's betrothal gift and paying 2 million as compensation to the family, Li Yi actually didn't have much money left.

But I just finished a pot of tea,

Yu Youniang told a good story, and Li Yi planned to meet Xiao Shisanlang.

Just now, she said that Xiao Shisanlang was a chivalrous man who was brave and righteous, and who was good at martial arts, riding and shooting, and writing.

When he was young, he was a knight-errant in Kyoto. Now he is a fugitive in the martial arts world. However, he still has a bottom line and is even deeply in love with his fiancée Yu Youniang.

He really wanted to meet such a person.

If what she said was true, then it would be worth it for him to pay 200,000 yuan.

Half an hour passed and no one came.

An hour passed,
No one has come yet.

Watching time slowly pass by,
Li Yi thought they would not come.

He poured out the remaining tea in the cup,

I got up and prepared to go to bed because I had to go to bed tomorrow.

Li Yi came to the bed and just lifted the mosquito net, but was surprised to find that there was a person sitting on the bed.

A tall man with a messy beard,

"Xiao Shisanlang?" he asked.

"Hello, County Master."

"when did you come?"

"Actually, I was here before Youniang came."

Li Yi was shocked again.

"Didn't she say she tied you up?"

The man smiled.

"I was the one who taught Youniang martial arts,"

"She said you were drunk."

"I realized she was trying to get me drunk, so I pretended to be drunk. I can handle a lot of alcohol."

"So, you heard everything Madam Yu said to me?"

"Well, as soon as she left, I followed her out. I saw her coming this way, so I knew she was coming to see you, so I took a shortcut and came here first."

"I really didn't notice it at all,"

"It's normal. I've been following you for days. I've even held a sword to your throat several times while you were asleep. If I wanted to kill you, you would have died long ago."

Li Yi got goose bumps all over his body, which was really scary.

"You are really amazing."

"I've been hiding here and there all these years. I'm used to it."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Would you like a couple of glasses of wine or some tea?"

"Let's have tea."

Li Yi then turned around and went to light the fire again, boiling water to make tea. Xiao Shisan also came and sat down opposite him.

"Thank you, Brother Xiao, for not killing me."

Xiao Shisanlang looked at him and asked, "Do you know who wants to kill you?"

"If I'm guessing correctly, it should be Du Zhili from Luoyang, right?"

Xiao Shisan neither admitted nor denied it.

"Madam Yu actually cares about you very much. You took the risk to come to me tonight. I am very touched by the relationship between you two. You know, I also have a girl who treats me so well. So even though her family objects, I still decided to marry her.

I'll give you two hundred thousand coins, and you can help Yu Youniang redeem herself from slavery."

"Are you really willing to give me two hundred thousand dollars?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "If you are willing, you can bring my head back to Luoyang and exchange it for 400,000 coins."

Xiao Shisanlang was quite straightforward. "Not necessarily. Maybe if I bring your head back, I'll be silenced."

"Then you still dare to take this job?"

"I have to try. There's a dog slave who wants to take Young Lady as his concubine. I can't wait any longer."

Li Yi made tea and handed him a cup.
"Have you ever thought about what to do in the future?"

"I've thought about it, dreamed of it countless times. I'd find a place with Youniang, hide our identities, farm and we weave, and live a simple yet happy life. We'd have many children, and I'd teach them martial arts and reading..."

Li Yi smiled and said, "A simple life is not easy. Look at the world today, it is still turbulent, and it is even harder for ordinary people."

"Yes, in prosperous times, the people are like cattle and horses, and in troubled times, the people are worse than pigs and dogs." Xiao Shisanlang said.

"If you redeem Miss Yu and have nowhere to go for the time being, you can stay with me first. You know I have some connections in the court. Taking advantage of the current chaos, it won't be difficult to find a new identity for you."

"Sir, do you want me to be your retainer or your bodyguard?"

"No, you can be a guest first. You can leave anytime you want."

"Why are you so nice to us, just because I didn't kill you?"

"Half and half, I think you are quite interesting. You were once a noble son of a noble family, but even though you have fallen from grace, you still have a bottom line.
I know many so-called common people who are heroes. They do not have the family background of those noble sons and great heroes, nor do they have sufficient family property and money, nor do they have gifts from the powerful and support from their peers.

Their means of survival are mostly through plundering, burying, looting, hostage-taking, illegal minting, illegal cooking, and tomb-dug-up."

Xiao Shisan said bluntly, "Those people are just scoundrels, how can they be called heroes?"

"Tomorrow I'm going to the Du family to ask for marriage," Li Yi said to him. "What do you think? Should I give you twenty-five taels of gold now and let you redeem your daughter yourself, or should I wait until the day after tomorrow and then I'll help you redeem her?"

Xiao Shisan looked directly at Li Yi.
After a long while, he said, "Are you really willing to give me the gold now?"

"In my eyes, you, Xiao Shisanlang, are definitely worth more than twenty-five taels of gold. Just consider it as making a friend."

"Okay, I'll lend it to you."

Li Yi nodded, turned around and went to another room, actually taking out twenty-five taels of gold from the space.

He returned to the tea table.

Put five gold bars of five ounces in front of him,
Xiao Shisan grabbed it in his hand,
He looked at it, but didn't put it away. Instead, he put it back on the table. "Thank you for your trust, sir. I'll just borrow these 25 taels of gold. Please come forward the day after tomorrow to help me redeem my daughter. You know my current status, so it's not easy for me to do that."

"Row."

"How about I help both of you get new identities then?"

"Thank you very much."

Xiao Shisan picked up the teacup, drank it all in one gulp, and clasped his fists towards him: "Goodbye!"

He pushed the door open and disappeared into the night.
Li Yi looked at the open door for a long time.

Suddenly I felt a chill on my back, and it turned out that the back of my clothes was already soaked with sweat.

This Xiao Shisan is really awesome. Before, Yu Youniang said that Xiao Shisan had been following him secretly for several days, and he was skeptical, but now he believed it completely.

He had no idea when or how Xiao Shisan came tonight, as he had been sitting here the entire time.

He could sneak into the room without anyone noticing and sit on his bed.

Tianming,

When Li Yi opened his eyes, he found Xiao Shisan sleeping beside his bed.

As soon as he moved, Xiao Shisan opened his eyes.

"When did Brother Xiao come?"

"I went back to see Youniang last night and came back," Xiao Shisan said, holding a sword in his arms. "From today on, I will be your retainer and personal guard."

"Maybe the one from Luoyang hired more than just me,"

"Thank you." Li Yi clasped his fists.

Xiao Shisanlang is a very loyal person. He is really a personal bodyguard who follows him everywhere.

Even when Li Yi went to the East Office, he followed him and was not afraid of the smell.

Li Yi felt a little embarrassed, so he asked him what he told Yu Youniang after he returned home last night.

"She was very angry, but then after listening to my conversation with you, she wasn't angry with me anymore."

"Would she like you to redeem her?"

"willing."

"That's good."

Early in the morning,

Sun Fujia and Du Ruhui both took special leave to help Li Yi complete this major event in his life.

They bore witness to it themselves.

Li Yi also packed the gold he had prepared into boxes, and loaded the silk and money onto the cart.

Go directly to Anminfang.

The last time, the thirty-two gifts for the betrothal were presented in a grand manner, but Guo didn't even invite any relatives or friends, and even didn't let her own family members come out.

So this time Li Yi simply saved himself the trouble.
The betrothal gift was one million in gold, silk and copper coins, and the compensation of one million was directly converted into gold.

Still in the inner courtyard,
Guo was sitting in the hall, with only Du Sanlang and his wife, and Du Ruhui's wife and children beside her.

"Sanlang, click on the compensation and betrothal gifts to see if there is 2 million."

As soon as Guo opens his mouth, it makes people angry.

Li Yi restrained himself and let Du Sanlang count the items.

"Mother, the gold, silk, and money are worth exactly two million." Du Sanlang took a long time to confirm.

Guo just nodded.

"Matchmaker, bring me the marriage certificate."

Sun Fujia handed over the sandalwood box, which contained the marriage certificate and a piece of paper with Li Yi's information.

Guo took a glance.
"Sanlang, give them the marriage certificate and the note."

"Has the wedding date been set?"

"The twenty-sixth of this month."

"Okay." Guo agreed.

Without even a word of politeness, Guo stood up and said, "Please go back. I will come to pick you up on the 26th."

"Can I meet with Shi Niang?"

"That's not necessary. I'll be here to welcome you in a few days anyway. Then you can see me every day."

Li Yi stood up and said goodbye.
When they leave,
Du Ruhui looked at Guo and said, "Grandmother accepted a million as compensation for the family fortune and another million as a betrothal gift, but didn't give a penny for dowry. If this gets out, our Jingzhao Du family's Fengxiang Marquis Mansion will be the first to be exposed.

By then, people will inevitably say that the old lady is selling her marriage and granddaughter."

Guo just looked at Du Ruhui coldly and said, "If it weren't for you, I, the daughter of the Du family, would not have ended up marrying an orphan! It's not your turn to be the head of this family!" After that, she left angrily.

Du Sanlang looked at his nephew and smiled ingratiatingly.

Du Ruhui didn't have a good face towards this illegitimate uncle and left with a wave of his sleeves.

As for the two million, Du Ruhui ignored it. As long as Mrs. Guo was still alive, the family would not be able to divide the money.

He took Li Yi's marriage certificate and went to the West Chamber to see Shi Niang.

"Keep it."

Du Shiniang took the marriage certificate and the farewell paper, read them carefully, tears streaming down her face, and she was extremely excited.

"From now on, you and Wuyi are officially engaged. Five days later, he will come to pick you up, and you will officially marry into the family."

"Has Li Lang left?"

"Well, he wanted to see you, but the old lady refused."

Shi Niang's eyes were red as she said, "I didn't expect Grandpa to make things so difficult for Wu Yi. One million as compensation and one million as betrothal gift. It must be very difficult for Wu Yi to come up with so much at once."

"You, don't worry about this kid. Just prepare well and wait for the wedding in a few days."

"This time, I didn't expect the old lady would not give you a dowry, but don't worry, I'm here to help you prepare a generous dowry. Although I believe Li Yi won't care about those things, and it won't be a loss for him to marry you, but I won't let you suffer this grievance." Du Ruhui comforted his cousin.

He felt quite relieved now, but he didn't know how furious Du Yan in Luoyang would be when he got the news that his daughter was getting married.

If he didn't release his third brother, he would send Guo to Luoyang.

It's a chaotic time now, and if something unexpected happens on the road, Du Yan won't regret it.

(End of this chapter)