I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

Not long after, he returned, carrying a large piece of pork tied with straw rope, weighing a full five pounds.

"!!!"

The three women stared wide-eyed at the piece of pork with its perfect balance of fat and lean meat.

In these times of war and chaos, even food is precious, let alone meat.

Ordinary families rarely see meat throughout the year.

"Husband, where...where did you get the money?" Zhou Xue couldn't help but ask.

"The reward for suppressing the bandits."

He handed the meat to Zhou Xue: "I'll stew it tonight, it'll help you recover."

Zhou Xue took the heavy piece of meat, her fingers trembling.

She looked at Qi Shan with an extremely complex expression.

This man rescued the second and third sons yesterday, beat up Wang Erlai today, repaired the roof, and even bought so much meat...

What he said seemed to be true.

In the evening, a pot of fragrant stewed meat was placed on the table.

The three women couldn't help but swallow as they watched the meat bubbling in the pot.

Qi Shan served each of them a large piece, but barely touched his own chopsticks.

"Eat."

The meal was eaten in unusual quiet.

After dinner, as usual, they went back to their rooms.

Qi Shan slept alone in the east wing room.

If it were the old Qi Shan, he would probably be thinking about jumping out of his wife's window by now.

But now Qi Shan is just lying in bed, resting his head on his arm, thinking about what to do next.

Li Yushu will definitely take revenge; the head constable of the county government is a problem.

And that woman disguised as a man, Jia Zhangwei, I wonder what her background is.

This family is too poor; we need to find a way to make money.

In chaotic times, if you have strength and the ability to kill, you can always survive.

Just as he was lost in thought, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Knock knock".

Qi Shan got up and opened the door. Standing outside was his third wife, Su Yue.

She was wearing only a thin undergarment, holding a pillow in her hands, and her small face looked somewhat pale in the moonlight.

"Husband..." she began timidly, "I...I'm scared to sleep alone."

What happened at the casino today clearly terrified her.

Qi Shan's heart softened when he saw her pitiful appearance.

He stepped aside to let her in.

"Go to sleep."

Su Yue hugged her pillow and climbed onto the bed, shrinking into the corner and wrapping herself tightly in the blanket, leaving only her eyes showing as she secretly watched Qi Shan.

Qi Shan blew out the lamp and lay down on the other side.

The room was quiet; you could hear each other breathing.

After a while, Su Yue quietly moved closer and gently leaned against him.

"My lord, please...please hold me."

Her voice trembled.

Qi Shan sighed, reached out his arm, and pulled her into his embrace.

The girl's body was very soft and had a faint fragrance.

Qi Shan's hands unconsciously arched upwards. Su Yue initially resisted, but gradually relaxed under Qi Shan's reassurance.

Just as Qi Shan was about to take things further, Su Yue trembled, raised her small face, and said pitifully, "I'm sorry, husband, I'm not feeling well today... I can't serve you."

Qi Shan was taken aback at first, then he felt something wet under his hand and there was a fishy smell in the quilt.

This girl is keeping him from doing his important work.

But on second thought, it's not impossible.

"Actually, there are other alternatives for that kind of thing that are also very comfortable."

"Really?" Xiao Suyue blinked her eyes and asked curiously.

Qi Shan coughed lightly twice, gently took Su Yue's fair hand, and slipped it under the covers.

The next second, Su Yue blushed and gave a coquettish cry, but afraid of disturbing others, she quickly covered her mouth.

"Husband, is this really alright?"

"Why can't that be?"

"Then I'll spend every day with my husband from now on..."

"No, let's try a different approach tomorrow."

"Are there other ways?" Xiao Suyue's face turned even redder.

He had never heard of such a thing before, let alone the other things the other person was talking about.

An hour later.

Su Yue was exhausted and, without realizing it, had fallen asleep.

Early the next morning.

Qi Shan had just opened his eyes when the courtyard gate was pounded on loudly.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A boastful yet familiar voice came from outside, filled with schadenfreude.

"Open the door! Open the door now! Commander Li has sent men! Qi Shan, your death is near!"

It's Wang Erlai.

Wang Er stayed outside, displaying a smug and self-satisfied demeanor.

"The border troops are here to collect taxes!"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhou Xue and Lin Wan turned deathly pale and rushed out of their respective rooms.

"Taxes?" Zhou Xue asked, looking surprised.

Qi Shan patted her hand to reassure her, then walked to the courtyard gate and slowly opened the bolt.

Outside the door, the morning light was blinding.

Wang Erlai, with one leg in a splint, stood limping beside several soldiers dressed in standard leather armor and carrying swords at their waists, bowing and scraping as he pointed at Qishan.

The leader was a burly officer with triangular eyes and a hooked nose, who looked at people as if he were sizing up livestock waiting to be slaughtered.

Four soldiers followed behind him, each with their hands on the hilts of their swords, their expressions arrogant.

"So you're Qi Shan?" The officer glanced at him up and down, his tone dismissive.

"It's me." Qi Shan's gaze was calm.

"This year's border tax is fifty taels of silver. Pay up." The officer held out his hand, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.

Fifty taels?

Zhou Xue gasped, unable to hold back her anger, and stepped forward, shouting, "Sir! We just paid this year's autumn tax and corvée labor fee half a month ago! Why are you collecting taxes again? And another fifty taels?"

The officer squinted his triangular eyes and sneered, "That's the imperial court's tax, this is our Commander Li's tax! The border soldiers risk their lives to protect you, is there a problem with collecting a little extra for their hard work?"

Wang Erlai chimed in, adding fuel to the fire: "That's right! Qi Shan, don't push your luck! Li Ba Zong is doing you a favor by letting you in! Hurry up and pay up, or else..."

His sinister gaze swept over Zhou Xue and Lin Wan behind Qi Shan.

Ordinary people, toiling in the fields, can't even save 5 taels of silver a year, let alone 50 taels. Isn't that going to kill them?

The border troops' pay also came from the local people; this was blatant self-destruction. Was Commander Li really that brainless? If these civilians starved to death, who would support the army?

"Oh?" Qi Shan's lips curled into a cold smile. "What if I can't pay this money?"

The officer scoffed, gripping his knife hilt tightly. He took a step forward, a stench of blood filling the air. "Enough nonsense! Today you either hand over fifty taels of silver, or..."

His gaze lingered on Zhou Xue, Lin Wan, and Su Yue, who had just peeked out, his lewd intent undisguised: "I can use these women of yours to pay the taxes. Chief Li said they're quite pretty, each one worth ten taels!"

The three women's faces were drained of color; they had just escaped from the gambling den yesterday, and now trouble had come knocking again.

"Hey, this young lady is quite attractive. Today, I can also inspect her for Commander Li."

Qi Shan's face turned cold: "You're dead if you dare to move!"

The officer grinned maliciously, flicked his wrist, and his dagger clattered half an inch from its sheath. "I'll show you today that in this territory, the border troops are the law!"

The air in the courtyard froze instantly.

The four soldiers also drew their swords at the same time, the cold blades reflecting a chilling glint in the morning light.

Zhou Xue and the others were so frightened that they stopped breathing.

They knew that these border troops, far from the emperor's reach, had truly stained their hands with blood. Killing one or two ordinary civilians was no different to them than crushing an ant.